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Health & Fitness

Who's at the Farmers' Market This Week?

Beverly Farms Soapwerks offers a whole line of chemical-free, non-toxic, all natural, organic body products. Also, a Recipe of the Week for roasted tomatillo salsa.

Did you know that the average woman wears 515 different chemicals each day, and that we absorb 60 percent of what we put on our skin? For children, that percentage is even higher. Some of the toxic ingredients are not even listed on labels, such as dioxin, which is found in antibacterials.

Check this page for a list of the 12 most toxic ingredients in body care products.

So why not visit Beverly Farms Soapwerks today? Rick developed an entire line of organic, chemical-free, mostly vegan body care products. He is a stylist and started experimenting with hair care products, because his clients were not happy with what is commercially available. He uses high quality essential oils that are pure and not cut with alcohol, and all organic oils like shea butter, walnut, olive, argan, apricot, and avocado. You will also find ingredients like pure local bees' wax, aloe, Rhassoulle clay, essences of herbs, barks, and flowers, flower petals, and yes: even Starbuck's coffee and coffee grounds.

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Coffee soap, you wonder? Not only is it a good exfoliant, it also removes cooking odors like fish and garlic that you don't want clinging to your hands.

His other 100 percent organic cleansing bars include light exfolliant, medium exfolliant, antiseptic, a castile blend perfect for facial cleansing, and a sea salt bar that gently exfoliates, tones, and refreshes your skin. 

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Hair care includes a gently cleansing shampoo, deeply nourishing conditioner, leave-in conditioning gel 'Repair & Style,' and a protecting spray that can be used before and after shampooing.

For men, there is a shaving soap with Rhassoulle clay, which can be used with his boar's hair shave brush.

His best-selling fragrances are lime, bourbon/vanilla, and oak musk, so no worries about smelling like a bouquet of flowers after shaving.

Rick even developed a Doggie Shampoo bar that makes your furry friend's coat shiny and lustrous, with essential oils to repel ticks and fleas.

Give your hair and skin a break from chemicals, try one of his products, and see if you notice a difference in how they feel.

RECIPE OF THE WEEK: Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

Cindy Chabot sent me this because I had no idea what to do with Tomatillos. (Note: This recipe is from Alice Water's "In the Green Kitchen - Techniques to Learn by Heart." This recipe was from Rick Bayless, a Chicago chef)

Yields 2 cups

Ingredients:

  • 2 serrano chiles
  • 2 large garlic cloves
  • 4 large ripe tomatillos (or 4 med.-sized tomatoes)
  • 1 small onion
  • Salt
  • 1 lime
  • Handful of cilantro leaves, chopped

Preparation:

  1. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Put the whole chiles and garlic cloves, unreeled, in the pan. Remove the husks from the tomatillos (or core the tomatoes) and cut in half; add to the pan. Cook the vegetables for 10 minutes or so, until they start to soften and brown. Turn them over to brown on the other side and cook until tender throughout. Remove from the pan.
  2. Squeeze the soft garlic cloves out of the skins. Remove the stems from the serranos and slice the chiles. Combine the garlic and chiles in the mortar and grind to a past. Add the tomatillos (or tomatoes with or without the skins) and mash them to blend thoroughly with the garlic and chiles.
  3. Peel and finely dice the onion, put it in a small strainer, and rinse in water to crisp the onion and take away some of the raw bite. Stir the onion into the salsa and season with salt, a squeeze of lime juice, and the chopped cilantro.

NOTE: Green tomatillo salsa is very good with diced fresh avocado added at the end. You may need to add a little water to thin the salsa.

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