Juicing

I try very hard to keep away not just from industrialized food but also industrialized organic food whether it be juice, broth, paste, dough, whatever it maybe, I try to make it from scratch. The other day I had gotten 5 lbs of cranberry from 'Sparrow Farm' which is MOFGA (Maine organic farmers gardeners association) Cranberries are one of the juicing I do by soaking them for a day so they are not so dry then juice them. Usually the bottle keeps for at least 10-12 days. I make cranberry tea by boiling water, add a little bit of the juice, a teaspoon raw, organic honey, drink it in the morning or late afternoon. It is incredibly delicious and well, you all know healthy AND a thousand times better than the industrialized, bottled cranberry juices that sit on the shelf.

Carrot Jam

How to make Carrot Jam:
Carrot jam is quite easy to make it just needs some patience to do the preparation manually and cook slowly. It is also important that all the ingredients be organic. I bought the carrots from a local farm called 'Fish Bowl Farm' I made my own vanilla from organic vanilla beans which I bought from a local organic spice merchant called 'Gryffon Ridge' These were organic Tahitian beans which I marinated in plain vodka for about 6 weeks. Cardamom pods and organic cane juice sugar.
For this batch I used 25 big, fat carrots, 2 teaspoon vanilla, 4 cups sugar, handful cardamom pods.
Wash the carrots.
Peel them.
Grate them manually.
Put a layer of carrots, then sugar, sprinkle some cardamom, repeat till the pot is full, add 2 teaspoonful of vanilla.
Put the lid on, turn the heat on very low to dissolve the sugar.
Once sugar is dissolved, mix it with wooden spoon.
Let it cook under low heat till all the liquid has evaporated.
Set the jars the carrot is going to be used for inside the sink, pour boiling water in the jars then take one jar at a time pouring the water out, putting it on a cloth to get the water out, then fill it up with the jam then put the lid on and tighten it then turn the jar upside down leave over night.
I serve carrot jam to my guests most of whom - kind of all say, they have never had carrot jam before and without exception everyone loves it. The last batch was finished by a guest from Florida to whom I will be sending 5 bottles next week. You can also have it with lentil rice, yogurt even snow. I have a brother who absolutely loves carrot jam, once when it had snowed he took a plate filled it up with snow, put some carrot jam on it and ate it. This was 40 something years ago when the world was less polluted. Enjoy making it or better yet, come over to the Kismet Inn enjoy it for breakfast or afternoon tea.

Kismet Inn's Signature Exfoliation

I went to visit my daughter in L.A for two weeks and had a wonderful time. During my visit we went to a Korean Spa which was simply great, hot pools, cold pool, infrared sauna, heated floors to lie on, shampoo, conditioner, lotion, towels, exfoliation and massages. It was indeed impressive. I thought the exfoliation would be just like the one I offer at the inn ... it is at the same time it is not. The differences are quite a few, it is in the attention an individual receives, the ingredients I use, the setting, the intimacy and relationship I build with the guest which goes both ways, it applies to the guest building up the relationship with me. I speak English so I am able to explain the ritual to the guest, the guest does not lie down on a bench or bed to get exfoliated but sits up on the tile made bench conversing with me while the exfoliation is being done. It is done in a private bathroom, the bathrooms are beautifully tiled. And above all I use absolutely no synthetic ingredient for the exfoliation. the Korean spas use synthetic, cheap mittens, they also don't use any exfoliant to exfoliate the skin. To me when one is cleansing it means one is getting rid of all the pollutions of everyday life, how can one cleanse if all the synthetic stuff touches ones body.

The mitten I use is made with goat wool, the exfoliante is made of sheep fat and beach sand, the pumice is natural volcanic rock. The guest keeps all these ingredients after the exfoliation is done plus a bottle of sesame oil which is all organic and locally produced in Maine by Avena Botanicals. The process takes a few hours which relaxes the muscles, helps the blood circulation and dead skin comes off rolling in big, fat inches leaving the skin soft, silky and smooth, the body simply relaxed.

I also serve tea with some confections/pastries/cookies I make myself. The tea also is a ritual making sure it is not tea bag, it is good tea brewed to the right taste without tasting bitter. The goodies are made with highest quality ingredients. All this is served after the exfoliation while most guests opt to have dinner which they enjoy eating it over couple of hours or longer.

I do try very hard to bring a sense of the Old World where nothing was rushed, pushed or hurried. Life was set at a pace that you could live, learn and enjoy. This kind of bathing and exfoliation was done in a setting as such which also brought about much healing. I try to offer just that.