Noelle likes Good Food

Hello, my name is Noelle and I am researchaholic. I have an idea and then I spend hours and hours researching before I finally take the plunge. Case in point. A year ago I got it into my head that I wanted to make soap. Six months ago I bought the lye and essential oils. 3 weeks ago I finally made my first batch. The crazy thing is that it didn't take long at all and was a lot easier than I thought it would be. I have already made four different batches, and I will be posting a series of recipes. But today we will start with my first ever batch of soap. Lavender Rosemary.  Actually, before I walk you through the steps, lets cover the basics so you know what is going on. To make real soap (not the melt and pour kind you get at your local craft store) you need two things. Sodium Hydroxide (Lye) and Fat. The lye is mixed with water to create a solution that is then mixed into melted fats and blended together. The measurements are extremely important and can be calculated on a sit...

From as far back as I can remember I struggled with chronic binge eating. Especially once I lived on my own and started eating meals alone. I never threw up, though many times I wished I could after eating such large amounts of food. It was a constant cycle of setting limits and boundaries, obsessing over food, eating way too much and then feeling ashamed and guilty afterwards. Eating was a way of coping when I was stressed, bored, or sad. I thought that I would never change, and I feared that I would always be a failure. The funny thing about fear is that it defines the boundaries of our life. The more afraid we are of failing the more power we give that fear and it can easily take over our lives. I thought the solution of making food my idol was just having enough willpower to withstand the cravings. Of course this never worked. The many years I spent overeating is proof of the fact that sheer willpower is not enough to transform a lifestyle. Just so you know, self-depracation i...

So I know you have all been waiting with baited breath. I told you I was going to reveal to you today what I used my coconut butter for. Are you ready? I used it to make homemade coconut dark chocolate. If that doesn't make your mouth water, I don't know what will. It was a work in progress that took a few days. But I definitely learned some things along the way, and I will share with you what I learned. I based my first attempt off of a recipe I found on the internet. I used the double boiler method by placing a bowl with the ingredients over a pan of simmering water. The three components are cocoa powder, coconut oil, and sugar (I used stevia instead). Once they were melted and mixed together I tasted it and it was bad. I don't know if it is because I used the Hershey's Dark Cocoa Powder but it was chalky and nothing like the creamy chocolate I was looking for. I thought pouring it into a pan and letting it solidify would help things and they didn't. It just t...

Have you ever heard of coconut butter? Essentially you take shredded coconut and puree it until creamy. You can use it as a condiment for anything you want to taste like coconut. You can put it on oatmeal, spread on a baked sweet potato with a dash of cinnamon, on muffins, pancakes, cornbread, etc... The uses are endless. I am a coconut lover, and so this stuff is practically gold :). I have never bought it from the store because of the high price tag. The cheapest I've seen it was $11.99 for a 16 oz. jar. That being the case, I can't tell you how the taste of my homemade stuff compares to store bought coconut butter. I can tell mine is a little gritty, but that doesn't really bother me. Also, after knowing how much I can save by making it at home, I will never look back. To figure out savings I found that the cheapest store bought coconut butter is $11.99 for 16 oz. According to my measurements I can get 16 oz. of homemade coconut butter from 6 cups of shredded coconut...

Today has been another stressful day. I have been trying to apply for college to start classes spring semester.  My case is a little special because I was home-schooled and I also qualify as a non-traditional student; meaning it has been five years since I graduated high school and I don't have to submit SAT scores. I emailed the admissions office almost a month ago and asked them if I had to submit SAT scores because I was home-schooled and they said no. So I haven't been worried about it. I have submitted everything else and today I found out that I do indeed need to submit them because I was home-schooled. It is too late to take the test again to be able to still be accepted for the spring semester. So I called the SAT place and they will send my old scores, but they are in the archives and it will take them 2-4 weeks to find them and send them out. I don't know what to do, but I am going to be really disappointed if I can't start classes because of it. Any suggestio...