planning for Spring 12/28/12

sending for seed catalogs and looking over the online ones I start to get bug eyed and want everything! there are just so many good herbs for medicinal uses and teas. I just have to remember to slow down. I know 1 thing I want to do this year is to try growing stevia I may need to grow it under a hoop house but probably not, we'll see. it's really going to be fun planting a large vegetable and fruit garden this year. especially when I know I don't have to move. I guess you could say we planted roots (hahaha). we will be starting out with our lavender plants at the end of April or early May. hopefully we will have plenty of help or at least some help as we have almost 400 plants to plant and each hole requires amendments. time for that barbecue!
sure wish I could win the lottery! but for now we will grow as we can.

we haven't had but a  dusting of snow this year so far.

oh and our new soap fragrance free simply natural for those of you who are super sensitive or for the babies give this soap a try. it's really nice. just go to the website and order now @ www.blooms-n-bees.com

Making a perfect prime roast

Prime rib or rib
roast

There's no real big secret to preparing a good prime rib or rib roast the only real danger to this is overcooking it. In other words drying it out.  First let's get started by position an oven rack in the lower section of your oven. Preheat the oven to 450°F don't panic about this temperature I'll explain in a minute. Let's make a dry rub for your roast, so what I want you to mix together is: 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 tablespoon minced garlic, 1 tablespoon dried thyme, and 1 tablespoon dried mustard, add 1 tablespoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper at this point I'm going to introduce a new ingredient (lavender buds)  this is an option you don't necessarily have to have this but you must make sure that your lavender is culinary grade so when you look for the spice make sure you double check from your source that it is the culinary lavender. Lavender adds a touch of mystery to any dish and you will have your guests wondering what that special "touch" was that made your dish so special!  Combine all these ingredients together in a bowl, making like a wet paste. I want you to take your prime rib & wash it thoroughly, dry thoroughly & place it in a roasting pan with an elevated rack in it. Take all the yummy spices that you made in the bowl and rub it all over your roast. With a rubber spatula get all the good stuff out of the bowl. Now place the roast in the center of your oven and set your timer for 10 minutes after this time reduce your oven to 250°F place a roasting thermometer in the thickest part of your roast. Now we're going to wait for the internal temperature to get to your desired doneness. 115° to 120° will produce a rare roast,  a temperature of 125º to 130º will give you medium rare or 135º to 140º is slightly more done about 20 to 30 minutes per pound remember the temperature of the middle will continue to rise by 5° so don't forget to consider that when you remove it from the oven. Now if you were creative enough to add the lavender you should have quite the roast. So bon appétit and may you have a wonderful and happy Merry Christmas and a beautiful New Year's.

Very inexpensive tip for beautiful nails

While visiting our daughter in the"very big city"recently & shopping at a local mall, I was stopped by a Very aggressive kiosk employee offering to perform a "miracle" on my neglected fingernails. Being the sapp that I can be, I let her work on my hands.
She was offering a  special kit valued @ around $100 for just $75!
She had a square multi-surface fingernail file that seemed to contain some kind of oil that she vigorously worked on my very rigged thumb nail. To make a long story short, when she was done my nail looked like I had had a very expensive manicure complete with clear nail polish! She even said it would last as until the nail grew out. I really was impressed but since my funds were tied up I was not taken in. (also my husband was there to pull me away) I was determined to find the secret!
When I got home I spoke to my local Sally's manager who used to be a nail specialist. She sold me a"4-way" file which has embedded words to tell you which section to use for what.
If you take flaxseed oil you can dab a very small amount on each nail and massage it in. Flaxseed oil taken internally on a regular basis will help your nails grow harder and faster.
Olive oil is also very nourishing for nails and can also be used for a very inexpensive cuticle oil. Don't know anyone who doesn't have that around!
Of course if you have any of our salves, they are great as cuticle treatments too!

Use the cuticle oil treatment twice a week, but only file the flat surface of your nails every 4-6 weeks or to accomodate the growth. It will tend to thin the surface some, though you can "buff" them more often. You can of course file the edges as needed to keep them smooth.
If you found this helpful, please let us know, we are always looking for your feedback.

creating product

It's been an interesting 2 days investigating new products and seeing how they work. We came up with an fantastic lip balm produce with peppermint and Coco better. This lip balm have a very smooth and relaxing feel to it and it's also great in this cold weather. Will be posting this new product this weekend on our website at www.blooms-n-bees.com

Merry Christmas

where are so excited about all the new happening here at the farm. our new website is up and running at www.blooms-n-bees.com are product line is ready for all your Christmas shopping. So check us out and keep tune for new and exciting happening here at the farm.