Last week, Denise gave a lovely outdoor presentation in "Kitchen Cosmetics: A Treat For Your Feet." Similar to her  spa-like workshop on DIY facials last year, Denise showed us how to create soaks and creams out of natural products such as coconut oil, shea butter, olive oil, vinegar, and essential oils, As lavender and peppermint scented the air, everyone tried out customized foot soaks and scrubs and took home samples of cream, muslin bags filled with herbs for shoes, and countless recipes to  try at home, without the use of toxic chemicals!                                                                                                                                                    Photos by Alison Clary 

Kelly Bradley is teaching her second Nature Camp this week, "Cooking Around the World." Campers from grades 1 - 5 come to the ranch from 9am - 2pm, Monday through Friday, and learn how to prepare dishes from the Mediterranean, Middle East, Mexico, Vietnam, and more! Today they learned about and helped prepare foods from Japan, including miso soup, sunomono (cucumber salad), and even sushi! Kelly encourages participants to always be adventurous when trying new foods and asks them, "What are the two choices you have?" They know the drill and answer, "Yes, please, or No, thank you!" Kids take tours of the community gardens on site, pick produce, learn basic cooking skills, and best of all, taste their delicious creations! Next week, the third nature camp theme is "Little House at Rodgers Ranch," when they will churn butter, make pickles, learn about settler life, and more!
                                                                                                                                          Photos by Alison Clary

"Red, White, and Bloom" was this year's theme for the Pleasant Hill 4th of July parade, and Rodgers Ranch and its partners (historical society, herb society, succulent club, and urban farm) fit in perfectly with their mission of sustainability, organic gardening, etc. We decorated Denise's truck with flowers, fruit, and veggies, along with red, white, and blue buntings, flags, and decorations, and we brought along six four-legged friends, dressed in flower collars! The chihuahua dressed as a bumble bee stole the show!                                                    Photos by Alison Clary, Victoria Holben, Denise Koroslev, and John Kujanek

We had lots of fun today, learning about all the advantages of making your own condiments and sauces. Tyler showed us how to make an awesome mayonnaise, and Denise demonstrated how to make our own scrumptious mustard, almond milk, BBQ sauce, and many other things!
Everyone sampled the goods and took home recipes from this very tasty workshop!                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                              Photos by Alison Clary

There are many wonderful reasons for making your own condiments and sauces: You have control over what goes in them; the ingredients are fresher; they taste better; and, in many cases, they cost less. See how easy it is to make mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup, almond milk, barbecue sauce and salad dressings. Everyone will participate in making one of these, so bring an apron. 
Thursday, June 15, 10am - 12pm, $20. Instructors: Denise Koroslev and Tyler Snortum-Phelps. 
​To register: www.sustainablecoco.org