**REVIEW** Sweet Almond Oil

 Of all the many, many oils I have used over the years, I never got around to trying sweet almond oil. I have no idea how I missed this one. Now that I have tried it... Wow. It's up there with my favorites like Marula and pumpkin seed. I would have to say that it beats both of those as a treatment for the face. Pumpkin can be too thick and "heavy"; Marula is better, in my opinion, for the hair. Plus, good quality Marula tends to be pricy.

This is the brand of sweet almond that I am trying:

There are, of course, several brands but I chose this one for the positive reviews and cheap price - under $3 for the 4-ounce bottle. It really does only take a few drops to treat my face and neck. If I decide to try it on my hair (as a post-wash sealer/moisturizer), I will be getting a much larger bottle.

I am raving about this over other oils (to use on the face) because of the way it soaks into the skin. There is very little residue detectable and almost zero added shine. How great is it that this relieves my dry facial skin without making me look all greasy?

Another positive: one ingredient and only one.

There are probably a million benefits listed online but I will skip those. What I love about this - in addition to the above-mentioned things - is how soft it makes my skin feel. I will probably use this as my "wake-up" oil. In the winter, the first thing in the morning, I have to pat my dried-out skin with a bit of water from my bedside water bottle. If I don't, it almost hurts to yawn. Seriously. Actually, I sometimes even hydrate my face on my nighttime jogs to the bathroom. 

The summer weather here is much more humid and awesome for the skin. Winter though is incredibly parching. 

This stuff is pretty much a friend to my entire face and neck. I have already put some in a little tube for use on my lips.

Anyway, I wanted to share a short take on this oil. It's going to be my best friend first thing in the morning and last thing at night. If I ever try another brand (doubtful), I will come back and compare.

Peace

--Free

**UPDATING LINKS** Archaeology, History, and People from the Bible

 This will be a post that I update on a semi-regular basis. It's going to be a list of links to articles and information. Everything here will relate in some way to people from the Bible in archeology and secular history. Please enjoy.

• List of biblical figures identified in extra-biblical sources 
• 53 People in the Bible Confirmed Archaeologically (from Bible Archeology Society)
• When Bible History and Ancient History Meet Face to Face (from The Mystery of History)
• Unearthing the World of Jesus
• Archaeology of Israel
• Archaeological Excavations Relating to Jewish History - Index
• Archeology of the Hebrew Bible
• 15 Historical Proofs of the Bible

Perhaps you should bookmark this page so that you can come back and check for updates.

Peace

--Free

**REVIEW** Tangle Teezer Thick & Curly Detangling Hairbrush

 Listen. If you have kinky-curly-nappy-knotty-whatever hair, you need this in your life. 

I have tried a Denman brush, a flexible vent brush, and a couple other brushes to help with tangling and snagging. The Denman brush works better for smoothing in some curls and waves. The vent brush is what I have been using for detangling and, until now, it was my favorite. Until now.

This Tangle Teezer surprised the crap out of me. For one thing, I almost canceled the order right after I bought it. I thought about the price ($12+ with tax), for something that looked so small, then I saw that it wasn't due to be delivered until the 2nd week of February (I ordered it on January 18th and I am not a patient woman). While I was putting in the cancellation, I got the notice that the item had shipped. Okay. So I decided that I could also return it if I was disappointed.

The Teezer turned out not to be as small as it seemed from the Amazon photos. It's just about the size of my computer mouse and is even shaped to be palmed just like the mouse. It's more comfortable to hold than brushes with handles. The shape also helps in how you use the brush to detangle from ends to root.

Now, back to where I started this post...

I have some of the kinkiest, knottiest, 4C hair that there is. It's great when it's been moisturized and styled but, chile, right after washing, this stuff is a job. In other words, I usually have to fight to get to the point of not ripping out at least some of my hair on wash day. Or any day when my hair is dried out. Wash days can be a nightmare. I am not ashamed to admit that I have put off washing my hair for a day or two just because I could not deal with the detangling struggles. Ugh!

But not with the Teezer.

I am shocked that this works so well because the bristles seem a bit fragile when I run my fingers across them. They are not silicone-soft but they are not stiff and unyielding. Yet, they manage to just sort of glide through the kinks and knots in my hair. I brushed my hair tonight before doing a co-wash. Then I brushed it after I washed it so that I could put up my twists. This is what the brush looks like.

 

This is what my vent brush looks like after I used it (pre-wash) to brush through one small section of hair. I wanted something to compare.

SO, yeah, I'm only mad that I never heard of this Tangle Teezer before. As soon as I realized how good it was at detangling, I went ahead and lightly trimmed my ends tonight. I want to see how good my hair looks without so much breakage in a couple of months.

There are some good videos online of ladies using the Tangle Teezer. I have one warning: Be very careful that you get the right Teezer for your type of hair. I read one review where a 4C chick was disappointed because she got the Teezer for a thinner, straighter type of hair. Now, excuse me, while I go tie up my twists for the night. I can wait to use this Teezer again.

Peace

--Free

**REVIEW** Hamilton Beach 2 Lb Digital Bread Maker

 As mentioned in a prior post, here is my review of the breadmaker that I got for Christmas.

The machine, the bread pan and
2 kneading paddles

You can see the controls beside the LED
and 12 usage options along the 
top left side

I chose this one after looking at a bunch of others because:

• The features, especially being programmable and being able to make a variety of items.
• The price was reasonable & I didn't want or need the fanciest, priciest machine from my family.
• Things mentioned in less-than-glowing reviews didn't really put me off.
• It looked easy to clean.

Now that I have the machine and have used it, I'm really pleased with my choice. I can add these to the positives:

• Incredibly easy to use. I was sweating and stressing but as soon as I started, it was a snap.
• Even though it's quite large and my kitchen is small, I have found a counter for leaving it out on and a space for storing it away. And, believe, me, my kitchen is almost too small to cuss a cat in.
• It's very quiet. I have one annoying and noisy neighbor who I always complain about. I didn't want a machine that made me look bad. I can use this thing at night and it wouldn't wake anyone in the apartment.

There are some things I wish were better, but they don't ruin my experience. These include:

• The LED display doesn't show where in the breadmaking cycle the machine is at. I have to pay attention to the alerting beeps if I want to add seeds/nuts or remove the prepared dough for baking in the oven. (I sometimes want a loaf made in the cast iron or fixed into a particular shape.) I also like to remove the bread after the last kneading so that I can remove the paddle. That way, I don't end up with that hold at the bottom of my finished bread.
• Since my recipes include a lot of seed/nuts and mixed flours, I do have to open the machine sometimes. I do this to see if I need to scrape down the ingredients. For my thinner doughs, I have not had to do this.
• Hamilton Beach does not have one of the silicone-scraper kneading paddles. As a matter or fact, there are no accessories for this machine as far as I know.

Not much to complain about there. Also, the beeping is fairly loud so I can listen for when to add things or remove the paddle.

As I said, this is a pretty quiet machine. Here is what it sounds like (and you can see that I am standing right above it filming):

Basically, I can run this machine in the kitchen and just barely hear it from the bedroom about 12 feet away with the door open. Tiny apartment living can be challenging so this is a Plus.

Here is one of my first loaves of bread because I ate the 2nd loaf without getting photos!

Whole wheat & white flour; turmeric, chia seeds, sunflower seeds, 
and flax (seed and ground).

My play on an Ezekiel Bread type of loaf. With a twist!

I got the basic recipe online. and added the turmeric.

 Now that I have gotten comfortable, I will be modifying all recipes with nuts, ancient grain flours, and as much healthy stuff as I can think of. I don't want to live by bread alone, but I want to enjoy every piece of bread I eat.

I have not even thought about how to use all of the functions yet but here are the choices:

Glad the option is there but I 
won't be using the gluten-free...

The Basic cycle is what I used to make my first loaves of bread. I plan to try doing a Brioche-style loaf soon though. But the thing I am most excited about is that Jam setting. 

I first thought that the Jam setting is the one I would never use (I mean, after the Gluten-free option), but I have watched videos showing how easy it is to make jam in these things. Of all the methods I watched, the easiest recipe was this one:

• Fruit (fresh or frozen but I am going to use unsweetened canned pineapple)
• Sugar (anywhere from 1 to 4 cups. Apparently, sugar thickens the outcome if you aren't using pectin)
• Lemon juice. 

I have seen some recipe videos where people acted pectin to thicken the jam. Since I plan to make very small batches, and I don't want a lot of sugar, I will use either no pectin or a sugar-free version. Also, I am cutting way back on sugar - which is why I'll use pectin at all. This lady here had the most no-nonsense recipe for beginners, in my opinion.

One of the best marmalades I ever had was one I found back home in Anchorage. It was a pineapple-orange marmalade that I've never found yet in Iowa stores. 

Oh, and this machine makes both jam and jelly...

Thanks to Spruce Eats, I understand the differences between jam, jelly, and marmalade:

The more you know...

So that's is all about this amazing bread machine.

The price has been swinging all over the place for the past year. I started looking at this one about 6 months ago when the price seemed to hover between 80 to 90 dollars. When I sent my family the link, the price was around 90 bucks.  I almost changed my mind and when I made the final decision, the price was down to 80 and some change. Not bad, right? Well, when I just now went over to grab the link for this post, the price was sitting at 70 dollars. Crazy.

Still, it is worth what it cost. If I was able to buy it for myself, I would not have been mad about paying $100. If you have priced Ezekiel Bread (or any other good quality bread) lately, you will see how fast the machine pays for itself. And with the jam? Shut UP!

Next time, I will be reviewing the Stand Mixer that was my second gift.

Peace

--Free

Christmas Gifts & Better Nutrition

NOTE: Soon, I will be posting reviews

 of each of the appliances mentioned here.

Guess what I did? I thought I had posted about my Christmas gifts from my family and... The unfinished draft is still sitting on my blog list.

Well, here goes.

For Christmas, I got a stand mixer and a bread machine. Every year, my family asks what I want and I wanted a bread machine. They encouraged me to think of a second item so I asked for a stand mixer.

This is the stand mixer:

This is the bread machine:

I am in love with both of these appliances! I had not used a bread machine since my sister had one years ago. We only ever used ready-to-use bread mixes and I think we gave up buying them because of the prices. The bread wasn't even that good, come to think of it. Well, we have come a long way.

My stand mixer is perfect for my tiny kitchen. When I'm not using it, it fits right on top of the fridge next to the Instant Pot. I had to clean out a cabinet to store the bread machine!

Anyway, I made my first bread today and it came out so much better than I expected. It was slightly salty but that was from using the Food.com recipe. My instincts were to cut down on the salt and add some honey or brown sugar. Since this was my very first loaf, I didn't mess with the recipe, but now I am more confident. King Arthur Flour had a much better-sounding recipe but I wanted to try the simpler one. Bad decision. If you try it, I suggest cutting back on the salt and adding some honey. The bread I made works only because I have some honey butter made up to use on it.

Whole wheat flour/White bread flour mix with chia, sunflower & flax seeds;
turmeric powder and oatmeal

I was using the stand mixer from Day One. I mixed up a from-scratch cake and some frosting. Not very healthy, right? Well, for my next creation, I am going to attempt to make these whole wheat cookies - or rather sables. I will substitute the hemp hearts (which I don't have) for sunflower, chia, and flax seeds. 

My goal is to eventually make both some bread and cookies with some "ancient grains" added in. But I will save some of those ideas as I get money for ingredients.

By the way, for anyone who has considered getting either of these appliances but wanted more detail, go and read every review you can. My family basically let me pick out the ones I wanted and I sifted through a lot of info and reviews. The one thing I didn't find for either was how loud they run. 

The bread machine sounds like a very, very quiet washing machine and only makes noise when kneading. The beeping to signal ending and beginning of cycles was not very loud. I can run the kneading cycle at night and not disturb anyone sleeping 10 feet away in the bedroom with an open door.

The mixer is slightly louder but not annoying at all. I would only run it during the day though. It's not that it's really loud, but it's a more constant whirring than the bread mixer.

I will say that the only thing I wish for the bread machine is that the LED indicated which part of the cycle is currently happening. It's seriously easy to set the machine for bread type/crust shade/start but when I would check to see which kneading or proofing cycle it was on (1st, 2nd, or 3rd) so that I could remove the bread paddle before the last proof start. Other than that, it's perfect.

By the way, the helpful tips listed in the notes to this video are awesome. This is where I learned about removing the paddle so as not to have a hole in my finished bread! Big thanks to that channel.

So, while I hate making resolutions for the start of a year, I can say that I will be saving money and eating better. I whipped up my own version (kind of) of Ezekiel bread for about 40 cents (I'm guestimating here). And I do plan to learn more about ancient grains.

To my family, I want to say again how much I love that they love me!

Peace

--Free

Nutrition Confusion

 Just wanted to post this in case someone can enlighten me.

I have 2 different brands of Pinto Beans. The cheaper, local store brand beans have a much higher fiber content and are darker in color. They also seem just a bit smaller. The other brand I got from Walmart has less fiber and are lighter in color.

Once I noticed the fiber, I looked closer and saw the there are wild differences in fat, sodium, calcium, and potassium. There are smaller differences in some of the other listings.

1/4 cup serving size for both

The color difference is seriously obvious

I did read somewhere a while back that darker beans are "older". Still, I couldn't find anything on the nutritional differences. I have put out feelers on Reddit.

If anyone can clear this up for me, please do. It's times like this when I really miss Google Plus. There were such helpful people in the communities there. Facebook is more... ya know, self-centered.

Peace

--Free

Resting In Peace?

 Here is a post I just did on one of my other blogs. I hope that you will all go over and take a look.

Peace

--Free