Eating Acorns… Are They Fattening or Just Delicious?

They do fatten hogs with acorns but we humans eat them in such small amounts I doubt there’s much to worry about. Nutritionally, acorns are said to be comparable to barley, a grain, so yes there are carbohydrates to digest but I’ve NEVER, EVER worried about gaining weight with acorns. BUT… the Acorn Chocolate Cake and Acorn Cheesecake that I make with the acorns… that’s a different story. Next time you see acorns on the ground, grab a handful, take them home and shell, grind and leach them. Make Acorn Onion Dip or the desserts I just mentioned. Be sure to invite friends to join you, otherwise you may find yourself devouring your acorn dishes all by yourself. They’re THAT good. Suellen Ocean is the author of Acorns and Eat’em, a how-to vegetarian cookbook and field guide for eating acorns. Find it here: http://www.amazon.com/Acorns-Eatem-How–Vegetarian-Cookbook/dp/1491288973

Wrinkles… What the Doctor Says… Works For Me

When I was in college, I took a class called the Biology of Aging. It was a wonderful course, with a considerate professor who was constantly reassuring and informing us about what was “normal” for our aging bodies. When it came to studying the integumentary system (skin, hair, nails and various glands located in the skin) Dr. B said, “The worst thing about skin is that it’s so visible and people are judgmental.” Ha! Ya think? But the wise doctor left us with deeper thoughts. He told us that in Eastern Europe they were proud of wrinkles. They tried to look older because that placed them into a higher pecking order. I’ll bet that’s why we often see pictures of an iconic Eastern European woman with a wrinkled suntanned face and a big huge smile. I believe I saw this type of picture during the Winter Olympics hosted by Russia. Obviously, people think differently in other parts of the world.

Suellen Ocean is co-author of The Common Sense Guide to Good Sex Available here:

eBook or computer download through Smashwords:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/259323

eBook through Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AZMT860/ref=nrn_si_text

eBook through Barnes & Noble:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/common-sense-guide-to-good-sex-suellen-ocean/1100335413?ean=2940016619026

Cooking With Acorns… Should I Make Flour First?

Acorn flour is one of the first things people think of when imagining they are cooking with acorns. Those who make and have dried acorn flour on hand, truly appreciate it but dried acorn flour is not my favorite method. My acorns are always wet. I run my shelled acorns through a blender with water and then leach them. After they are thoroughly leached I cook them in water, for just a few minutes. I let it cool then I freeze it. I suppose one could say that this is flour but it will remind you of cooked cornmeal or cream of wheat cereal. Once thawed and the water is squeezed out, you can make just about anything with it and the nice thing about it is, it’s already cooked. Suellen Ocean is the author of Acorns and Eat’em, a how-to vegetarian cookbook and field guide for eating acorns. Find it here: http://www.amazon.com/Acorns-Eatem-How–Vegetarian-Cookbook/dp/1491288973

Natural Hair Dyes…

It would be nice if one could find a plant substance of a pretty color and put it on one’s hair and the hair would accept it and the color would stay put. It just doesn’t happen that way and I keep telling my husband that if I could find one that did, I’d be rich. The problem is, the color doesn’t bond with the hair unless a mordant is added to the plant substance. Mordant derives from the Latin word that means, “to bite.” Long ago, manure and urine were used as mordants, not necessarily on hair but they were used to dye fabric. There is one plant though that’s quite good at adhering to the hair shaft if done correctly and that’s henna but it tends to be orange and not everyone wants orange hair. There is a large selection of natural hair dyes available but they can often be harsh on hair and scalp, perhaps not as much as chemical hair dye but wouldn’t it be nice if we truly had an alternative? Suellen Ocean is the author of the vegetarian cookbook, Poor Jonny’s Cookbook. Available here:

http://www.amazon.com/Poor-Jonnys-Cookbook-Suellen-Ocean/dp/0965114031

eBook or computer download through Smashwords:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/260122

eBook through Barnes & Noble:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/poor-jonnys-cookbook-suellen-ocean/1102338251?ean=2940016618609