The Best Apple Maple Pecan Pancake Topping Ever!

The weather is getting chillier and apple season is approaching!  This has of course presented itself in my kitchen with many new and delicious apple recipes, including this yummy recipe for Apple Maple Pecan Pancake topping.  Of course, it doesn't have to be for pancakes, you could also use it on waffles, oatmeal or as a delicious ice cream topping. The possibilities are endless, and the great thing about this recipe is that it is super easy to make, it's super delicious, and even though it's not low fat by any means...you can feel good that you're adding some fruit and nuts to your breakfast instead of just topping your pancakes with syrup!

Apple Maple Pecan Topping

5 Apples, peeled, cored and diced
6 Tbsp Butter
1/2 cup chopped Pecans
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1 Cup Maple Syrup
 

 Heat the butter in a pan over medium heat until melted.

Add the diced apple and cook until just beginning to soften, about 3-5 minutes. Be sure to stir them occasionally so they don't burn!

Next, add the chopped pecans, the brown sugar, and the maple syrup to the pan.

Cook the apples in this mixture for another 3-5 minutes.

When the apples are done, the mixture will look like the top picture.

You will notice that there is quite a bit of liquid in the bottom of the pan, as in the bottom picture. This is apple flavored maple syrup!

To serve, top your pancakes with a scoop of the apple nut mixture, and then drizzle with the syrup.    MMMmmm, Delicious!
What's your favorite way to incorporate fall apples in your cooking?

The Perfect Omelet

The humble omelet is a delicious breakfast staple that should be in everyone's repertoire of cooking techniques, yet for many it is an elusive and difficult recipe to master.  The most common problem encountered is that the bottom of the omelet burns or browns before the top of the omelet has a chance to fully cook, leaving you with a rubbery and runny mess of an omelet. With a few simple tricks however, you too can make a delicious creamy and fluffy omelet right in your very own kitchen.

Poached Chicken

Many recipes call for poached shredded chicken, including my recipe for Chicken Enchiladas, which I'm going to post about later.  Before I do that, I want to show you a quick and easy way to poach chicken which can be used in any recipe calling for cooked shredded chicken. As a side note, you can poach a whole cut up chicken using this recipe just by doubling the ingredients called for!

Poached Chicken

1 Pound of Bone In Chicken, it can be Breasts, Thighs or Legs
3 Cups of Water
1/4 Onion, Chopped Roughly
1/2 Tsp Salt
2 Bay Leaves
1/2 Tsp Poultry Seasoning

Put the Onion, Water, and Salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat.  Lower the heat to medium high and add the chicken. Skim off any foam that rises during the first few minutes of cooking, then add the Bay Leaves and Poultry Seasoning.  If you need to add more hot water at this point to cover the chicken then please do! Lower the heat to medium, partially cover the pan and leave the chicken to cook for 13 minutes.  Once the time is up, you can leave the chicken in the broth mixture to cool if there is time, otherwise, remove the chicken from the pan and place it on a cutting board to cool enough so that you can handle it for shredding.  Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, bone and skin it if necessary, then shred it into bite size pieces. Now you have delicious shredded chicken to use in your favorite recipes!

Apple Turnovers That Melt In Your Mouth, Made With Whole Wheat Flour!

There's nothing quite as delicious as warm spicy apple filling encased in a buttery pastry crust.  My husband especially enjoyed these apple turnovers, which he proved by eating six of them...  At the time that I made these, I was running out of white flour and the only thing I had left was whole wheat flour... The good news however, is that the addition turned out to be delicious, and it gave these buttery pastries an edge in the health department! Now, on to the recipe!

Flaky Apple Turnovers,
adapted from "Cook's Illustrated Holiday Baking, Holiday 2006"

Ingredients

Puff Pastry
1 1/2 Cups White Flour
1/2 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
1 Tbsp Sugar
1 Tsp Salt
16 Tbsp Cold Unsalted Butter
6 Tbsp Ice Water
1 Tsp Lemon Juice

Apple Filling
1 lb Granny Smith Apples (3-4)
1 Cup Sugar
2 Tsp Lemon Juice
1/4 Tsp Salt
1/2 Tsp Cinnamon

Cinnamon Sugar
1/2 Cup Sugar
2 Tsp Cinnamon

Egg Wash
1 Egg White
1 Tbsp Water

To start out, you need to make the puff pastry.  Put the flour, sugar and salt into the bowl of a food processor and add 4 Tbsp of the butter.  Pulse this until the butter is chopped into dime sized pieces, by the way, it should only take about 4 seconds.  Then add the rest of the butter and pulse the food processor for 2 more seconds.  Your butter will be really chunky, but don't worry, that is what we want.  Place this mixture into a medium sized bowl.

Next, combine the ice water with the lemon juice and add 3 Tbsp of this to the flour butter mixture.  Toss until it is just barely combined, then add the remaining water and toss some more.  Make sure you mix it only very lightly.  The point here is to end with large chunks of butter still in your dough.


Then turn your dough out onto a floured work surface and press it together as best you can.  In short brisk strokes you are going to take the palm of your hand and push it down and forward in the dough, until you have worked every portion of the dough and it is all spread out again.  Gather the dough back together and repeat.  Gather the dough back together again, wrap it in plastic wrap and chill it in the fridge for 30 minutes.

 While we wait for the dough to chill, we are going to prepare the apples.  Peel the apples, cut them in four pieces and core them.  Then you are going to grate them, being careful not to grate your fingers in the process.  Put the grated apples into a bowl and add the sugar, lemon juice, salt and cinnamon. Mix it all up and put this mixture in a colander set over the bowl you just used. Cover this with plastic wrap and set it in the fridge.

By this time your dough should be just about ready.  Remove it from the fridge, unwrap and place it on a floured piece of parchment paper.  Roll the dough into a 15x10 inch rectangle...

Then fold it lengthwise into 3rds...

Now roll this piece of dough from right to left (or left to right), until you get something that looks like this...










If the dough is starting to get soft and sticky then you want to put it back in the fridge to chill for 10-20 minutes until it firms back up.  To make flaky dough you must maintain the integrity of the cold butter in the dough.  If it gets too warm, these butter pieces melt and your dough will be more hard than flaky. When the dough is ready, repeat the process of rolling the dough into a 15x10 inch rectangle, folding it, and rolling it up.  Again, you may need to stick it back in the fridge after this second rolling to make sure it stays cold.


Finally, you are going to roll the dough into an 18 inch square. Then use a ruler to cut the dough to a precise 15 inch square. A pizza or ravioli cutter works great to make nice straight cuts!

After this is done, you are going to cut the dough into 9, 5inch squares...

At this point my dough was getting soft again, so I separated the pieces with parchment paper and popped them in the freezer for 5 minutes to firm them up. Now is the time to preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.

Remove the dough squares from the freezer, and place 2 Tbsp of the apple mixture into the centers of each. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the edges of the pastry with egg wash. Fold the pastry in half over the egg mixture, and press the edges with the tines of a fork to seal.  Then carefully place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper using a spatula, and pop them back in the freezer for 5 minutes.

Remove them from the freezer after they have had time to chill, and brush each one with egg wash.  Sprinkle each turnover with cinnamon sugar mixture, and cut a slit in the tops of each to allow hot air to escape.  Finally, pop them in the preheated oven for 18-22 minutes until they are golden brown and delicious!






Now sit back, relax, and enjoy! My family of four ate all nine of them in under an hour! I love apple desserts! What are your favorite fruit desserts?

Handmade Salsa & Tortilla Chips

 The one type of food that my husband and I missed when we lived in Arizona was good Chinese food.  There really weren't any good Chinese places to be found, and we tried a lot of them.  There were however an abundance of delicious Mexican restaurants serving up authentic and delectably spicy fare.  Now that we are in Washington, we have the opposite problem! There are a ton of wonderful Chinese places, in fact there's also Japanese, Thai, Laotian, Vietnamese, Asian Fusion, you name it we got it! But the Mexican restaurants seem few and far in between and the ones we have tried so far seem bland and boring compared to what we are used to.  So now I have made it my quest to create delectable and authentic Mexican food at home, starting with the most basic but utterly delicious homemade salsa and tortilla chips.  In this case, because it's a fresh uncooked salsa, it would be called Pico de Gallo or Salsa Mexicana. First, lets start with the salsa which should be made first so the flavors have time to meld and mingle.  

Salsa Mexicana with Homemade Tortilla Chips,
Recipe adapted from
"Authentic Mexican, Regional Cooking from the Heart of Mexico" by Rick Bayless

1 Large Ripe Tomato

2 Chiles Serranos

1 Small Onion

1 Clove Garlic

Handful of Fresh Cilantro

1/2 tsp Salt

1 Tbsp Lime Juice

8 Corn Tortillas

Enough Vegetable Oil to Fill a Pot to a depth of 2 inches.

Salt

Finely dice the tomato, chiles, onion and garlic, taking care to wash your hands after dicing the chiles.  Otherwise you will get hot pepper juice on your face the next time you go to wipe the hair out of your eyes and a lovely burning fiery sensation will follow! Mix these finely diced veggies together, then chop up the cilantro and add that to the mix, and finally add the salt and lime juice.  Set aside and get ready to make the tortilla chips.

To make the tortilla chips cut the tortillas into wedges.  Heat the oil to a temperature of 380 degrees F in a large stockpot or dutch oven.  Once the oil has reached the proper temperature, add a handful of the tortilla wedges.  You don't want to add too many at a time, there should be enough room so the tortillas won't touch.  Stir the tortilla wedges constantly for 45 seconds to 1 minute until they are crisp, then remove them to a paper towel lined plate to drain.  At this point you can sprinkle them with salt if you like. Continue cooking the batches of tortilla wedges until they are all crisp and delicious, then serve them alongside your Salsa Mexicana, and enjoy!

What is your favorite Mexican Recipe? 

Monster sleep mask for kids

 My oldest son has a fear of monsters as many kids do... Anyway, one day he saw me knitting a sleep mask for myself using this pattern.

He said, "I want one of those! But put eyes on mine so the monsters will think I'm a monster and will be scared!"





 So I created a modified version of my sleep mask for Corbin. This one is double sided to block more light, and it is green so it looks like a monster! It also of course has eyes to scare away the monsters.  Corbin is now very happy and says it keeps the monsters away at night!

Homemade Mac and Cheese

One of my kids all time favorite foods is Macaroni & Cheese, and because I discovered a long time ago that it tastes so much better from scratch, they have never eaten boxed Mac & Cheese! This is my recipe for homemade Mac & Cheese, and once you get the hang of making a Bechamel sauce, this becomes a quick and easy supper that you can make with only a few simple ingredients!

Homemade Mac & Cheese
1 pound pasta of your choice, penne or elbow macaroni work well
4 tbsp butter
4 tbsp flour
2 - 2.5 cups milk
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese


Before we make our cheese sauce, you will want to boil a pot of water and start cooking your pasta.  This sauce doesn't take very long! If your pasta is done before your sauce, then simply drain it and set it aside until you're ready for it.




First, we will make a roux with butter and flour.  Cut your butter into 3 or 4 pieces and add to a pan set over medium heat. 

Once the butter has melted and has stopped foaming, add 4 tbsp of flour to the pan.

Whisk the butter and the flour together constantly until the flour is thoroughly cooked.  I would say 2-3 minutes is good.  What we have here is a white roux.  Roux's are cooked to varying levels of darkness depending on what they are being used for.

 Next, we are going to add 2 cups of milk to our roux.  Now, this is where the tricky part comes in! If you have never made a bechamel sauce before, I highly recommend warming your milk up before adding it to the pan.  If you do use cold milk, you will have to whisk very very quickly as you pour to ensure that no lumps form in your bechamel sauce.

Pour the milk into the roux, and while you are pouring, begin whisking as quickly as you can to incorporate the roux and the milk.  Do not dump all the milk into the pan and then try to whisk it! You will definitely get lumps this way! Pour the milk slowly and whisk as you pour.

After the milk is incorporated into the roux, it must thicken.  This takes between 3-5 minutes for the sauce to fully thicken, and once thickened, you have what is known as a bechamel sauce! Bechamel is a french mother sauce that is used as a base to create many other sauces, but today we will be making a cheese sauce!

Slowly add your shredded cheese to the bechamel about 1/2 cup at a time until it is all fully incorporated.

 At this point the thickness of the sauce may be perfect, or it may need to be thinned down a little bit.  If you look at the picture here and the one below, it should give you an idea of the thickness we're looking for.  If the sauce seems too thick, go ahead and add the 1/2 cup of milk to thin it out.

Once your sauce is the right consistency, season it with salt and pepper to taste.  I also like to add about 1/2 tsp of mustard powder to mine, but this is entirely optional.

Finally, pour the sauce over your cooked pasta and mix.

Now eat your delicious Mac & Cheese!

Strawberry Freezer Jam- The less sweet version

I picked up this magazine about canning, and there are so many recipes I want to try! Since we are right in the middle of strawberry season here in the Pacific NW, I thought that Strawberry Freezer Jam would be the perfect place to start! When you compare regular strawberry jam recipes to freezer jam recipes, you'll notice that freezer jam contains more sugar.  I would imagine this is because without the added cooking, freezer jam doesn't thicken as much, and so more sugar is added to compensate.  I would rather have runnier jam than extra sugar, so I reduced the amount of sugar added in my recipe.

Strawberry Freezer Jam
64oz Fresh Strawberries
6 Cups of Sugar
1tsp Lemon Zest (I diced mine after grating so I would not have large pieces of zest in my jam)
2, 1.75oz packages of Pectin
1.5 cups Water
Freezer Jam Containers







To start, you want to cut the stems off all your strawberries and rinse them with cold water.

Then you're going to mash all of the strawberries with a potato masher until they look something like this...

Next, have your best helpers mix the sugar and lemon zest into the strawberry mash. Let this mixture sit for 10 minutes to allow the flavors to mesh together.







The last step it to mix the pectin with 1.5 cups of water in a saucepan, and heat over high heat.  You really need to watch this pectin mixture as it will boil over if not stirred almost continuously.

Once the mixture is boiling, allow it to cook for 1 minute. 

Then, add the pectin mixture to the strawberry mash and stir for around 3 minutes, until sugar in the jam is no longer grainy.

Finally you can ladle the jam into your prepared containers and seal.  Let them sit at room temperature for 24 hours, and then either freeze or refrigerate.  Supposedly it will keep for 3 weeks in the fridge, and up to 1 year in the freezer!  Oh, and it turned out delicious by the way!

Make Your Own Vicks Type VapoRub

My husband has terrible allergies and upper respiratory problems, which only seem to get worse when the pollution is bad here. This week, I knew he was in for another round of coughing fits as he woke up with his familiar hacking cough, which is loud enough to make your ears ring for days. I've been wanting to try and make my own version of Vicks VapoRub for awhile now, and I thought this would be the perfect time! Vicks VapoRub consists mainly of petrolatum, menthol, eucalyptus oil, and camphor.  These ingredients work in synergy with one another to help thin out the mucous secretions in your lung, and decrease airway inflammation to help you breath easier.  Plus I like the smell, and it seems somehow comforting to rub this on your chest when your sick.

I'm also going to include some additional ingredients in my recipe, such as clove bud oil, peppermint oil and spearmint oil which will add some extra goodness to this rub, and will make it double as a topical Tiger Balm type rub to relieve minor aches and pains. Let's take a closer look at what these ingredients will add to this rub.

Menthol: Menthol is extracted from peppermint oil (mentha arvensis) by freezing the oil to a temperature of -7.6 degrees F.  This causes the menthol within to crystallize, at which point the crystals are removed. Menthol is the constituent of peppermint oil that gives it it's trademark tingly, cold feeling. When inhaled menthol has a decongestant effect, which is why we are using this here, but it also has an analgesic effect when applied topically, which will make this rub double as a tiger balm

Eucalyptus: Eucalyptus essential oil can be extracted from many varieties of Eucalyptus plants, but the most commonly used is Eucalyptus Globulus. It is used for it's expectorant and decongestant abilities, as well as it's minor antispasmodic abilities.

Camphor: Camphor is used to treat coughs, colds, and bronchitis.  You might recognize it as one of the main ingredients in Carmex.

Clove Bud: Clove bud essential oil is an expectorant, which makes it useful for coughs and colds. It is also a topical anesthetic, which is why it's used for toothaches, and it means I could use this rub for aches and pains as well, kind of like tiger balm.

Peppermint: Peppermint does many of the same things as menthol, after all menthol is extracted from peppermint oil.  It does have a pleasant minty aroma that I think enhances my blend.

Spearmint: Spearmint essential oil expectorant and decongestant properties as well as topical anesthetic properties.  It is also said to be a mood uplifter and to help relieve fatigue and depression, which sounds perfect for a rub that you are supposed to use when your sick and feeling down in the dumps.

Now on to the recipe...

Vicks VapoRub Dupe

175g castor oil

16g beeswax

22g camphor

10g menthol crystals

10g clove bud

4g eucalyptus

6g peppermint
6g spearmint

 Directions
1. Weigh our 10g of menthol crystals into a microwave safe container. To this, add 16g of beeswax and microwave for a minute or two, until the beeswax and menthol are melted.
2. Add 175g of castor oil to the beeswax menthol mixture.  At this point you may need to reheat the mixture in the microwave again to ensure everything is fully melted.
3. Add 22g camphor, 10g clove bud, 4g eucalyptus, 6g peppermint, and 6g spearmint to the melted mixture, and stir well.
4. Pour this mixture into your storage container.



I used 2 small tins that I had on hand, but you could simply store this in a food storage container with a lid.

I found that cooling the mixture in the fridge seems to achieve smoother results. The tin on the left was cooled in the fridge and the tin on the right was cooled on the counter.

Now, simply rub the mixture on your chest, or on achy muscles, as this mixture main help relieve minor aches and pains. Enjoy!


Disclaimer:For educational purposes only This information has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Challah Bread

Our family has a tradition of making a big breakfast on Sundays with sausage or bacon, scrambled eggs, and pancakes, waffles, or the favorite... french toast.  And in my opinion, the best french toast ever is made with Challah bread. Challah bread is an egg based bread that is rich and buttery, slightly sweet, and is traditionally used for the Jewish Sabbath.

Since I am lucky enough to be at various farmers markets every week to sell candles, I can usually find Challah bread being sold by one of the artisan bread makers there, but when I don't find it, I make it!

Here is the recipe I use, which I have taken from one of my favorite cookbooks, "The New Best Recipe" from America's Test Kitchen.  I have many cookbooks, and I use this one by far the most of all of them.  Anyway, here is the recipe...

Challah
Makes 1 Large Loaf

3-3 1/4 cups (15 to 16 1/4 oz) unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the work surface
1 envelope (about 2 1/4 tsp)  instant yeast
1/4 cup (1 3/4 oz) sugar
1 1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs, plus one egg separated (white will be used for the egg wash)
4 Tbsp (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp room temperature water

Directions
1. Whisk together 3 cups of flour, yeast, sugar and salt, then set aside.  In the bowl of a standing mixer, or a separate bowl if you will be hand kneading the dough, mix together 2 eggs + 1 yolk, melted butter, and 1/2 cup water.  Add the flour mixture to the liquids, then knead with a dough hook, or knead by hand.  You want to knead the dough until it comes together to form and smooth ball. At this point you can add more flour (up to 1/4 cup) if needed. Take the egg white from the egg you separated earlier and whisk it together with the remaining 1 Tbsp of water. Put this in the fridge and save it for later (this will be your egg wash)

2. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, turning it to coat with oil.  Then cover it with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Deflate the dough, cover with plastic wrap again and let rise until doubled in size again, another 40 to 60 minutes. 

3.  Next comes the fun part, dividing and braiding the dough.  Divide the dough into 2 pieces, one roughly about half the size of the other.  Divide the larger piece into 3 pieces then roll each piece until it is 16 inches long.  Line up the dough ropes and braid them together, pinching the ends of the braid to seal. Repeat this process with the smaller ball of dough.  Place the larger braid on a lightly greased baking sheet, and use a pastry brush to coat it with egg wash. Then place the smaller braid on top of the larger braid.  Loosely cover the loaf in plastic wrap, and allow to rise for another 30-45 minutes or until the loaf increases in size by 1/3.

4. Finally, adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Brush the top of the loaf with egg wash and bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until it is golden brown and an instant read thermometer inserted into the side of the loaf registers 190 degrees F. Cool the baking sheet on a wire rack and wait until the loaf is completely cool before slicing.



Next week I'll show you how to make this Challah bread into the most delicious french toast you have ever eaten!

Recipe Taken From:

The Editors of Cook's Illustrated. (2004). The New Best Recipe. Brookline, Massachusetts: America's Test Kitchen.

St. Patricks Day Manicure

For anybody who doesn't know, I love nail polish! I have many different shades, too many to count, and I especially love doing special holiday manicures.  So of course for St Patrick's Day I must have green nails!

I used Essie's "Pretty Edgy" as my base color, and for a glittery top coat I used Orly's "Here Comes Trouble".  Oh and try to ignore my cuticles, I'm really rough on my hands...

Overall, I'm pretty happy with the results, and now no one can pinch me on the 17th!

Single Oil Lotions

I'm currently in the process of formulating lotion for my company, and although I have tried many different recipes with excellent results, I felt that it was important to get a better feel for the individual carrier oils and their properties.  The best way to do this in my opinion was to make one lotion for each carrier oil that I’m interested in.  So for testing purposes I made six different lotions with only one oil as the main moisturizing ingredient.  I'm hoping this will allow me to differentiate between the different moisturizing properties of the carrier oils being used and to decide which oils I want to use in my lotions in the future. Here is the recipe that I came up with for testing...
Single Oil Tester Lotion
Water 70 grams
Oil 20 grams
Emulsifying Wax 5 grams
Cetyl Alcohol 3 grams
Liquid Germall Plus .5 grams


Directions
Making lotion is a fairly simple process; you take your oil, emulsifying wax, and cetyl alcohol and place them in a heat proof container, then take your water and place that into a separate heat proof container. I always heat up extra water in this step because some will evaporate in the heat and hold process.  Place both of these containers into a double boiler then heat them up to 160F. Once they reach 160F, you hold them at that temperature for 20 minutes. After the 20 minutes has passed, place the oil container on a scale and tare it out, then pour in the water required for your recipe from the heated water container.  This can then be mixed together using a stick blender or hand mixer, or if your me, I like to use my kitchen aid mixer.  You want to mix for a couple of minutes then let the lotion cool for a couple of minutes, then mix, cool, mix, cool, you get the idea.  Do this until the lotion reaches 110F, then add your preservative and mix some more.  At this point you want to let the lotion cool to room temperature and then you can bottle it into a clean dry container.

The oils that I chose to test are Sunflower, Apricot Kernel, Sweet Almond, Olive, Avocado, and Virgin Coconut. They each have different skin soothing properties; some are lighter and more easily absorbed while some are heavier.  I did some research on the properties of each of these oils, and here is what I came up with.

Sunflower Oil: Sunflower oil is composed of linoleic acid 48-74%, oleic acid 14-40%, stearic acid 1-7%, and palmitic acid 4-9% [1].  Oils high in linoleic acid have been shown in some studies to improve the barrier function of our skin and decrease transepidermal water loss [2]. Sunflower oil is also a light, fast absorbing, non comedogenic oil that is high in Vitamin E, which has wonderful skin softening and anti-oxidant properties. Unfortunately it also has a short shelf life of only 3-6 months [3]. 

Sweet Almond Oil: Sweet almond oil is composed of oleic acid 60-78%, linoleic acid 10-30%, palmitic acid 3-9%, stearic acid 3%, and palmitoleic acid 2%. The high oleic acid content of sweet almond oil offers anti-inflammatory, moisturizing, and regenerative properties, while the linoleic acid content aids in barrier repair. It is also said to contain a phytosterol called B-sitosterol, which may help reduce inflammation, itchiness, and redness in skin. It is a light oil that has a shelf life of around 12 months which makes it a more stable oil to use in formulations, and it can be used as a substitute for olive oil in many recipes due to the similar oleic acid/linoleic acid content [3].

Apricot Kernel Oil: Apricot kernel oil is composed of oleic acid 58-74%, linoleic acid 20-34%, palmitic acid 4-7%, and stearic acid 1%.  This means that this oil is very similar to sweet almond oil, and subsequently means that the two can be subbed for one another in recipes. Apricot kernel oil contains B-sitosterol like sweet almond oil which gives it anti-inflammatory properties. It also contains more vitamin E then sweet almond oil to give it added skin softening properties.  It is a light to medium weight oil that is easily absorbed by skin, and it has a shelf life of around 12 months [4]. 

Olive Oil: Olive oil is composed of oleic acid 55-83%, linoleic acid 4-21%, palmitic acid 10.5%, stearic acid 2.6%, and linolenic acid 1%.  This oil, like sweet almond oil has a high oleic acid content, which has excellent anti-inflammatory, moisturizing, and regenerative properties.  This oil also has linoleic acid which offers barrier repair.  Olive oil does have some extra goodies in it such as vitamin E, phytosterols, polyphenols, and squalene.  The phytosterols and polyphenols have been shown to help repair skin after sun exposure, making this an excellent oil to apply after a long day outside.  Squalene is a substance that mimics the sebum in our skin and for this reason absorbs very quickly and helps to soften skin.  Olive oil is a heavier oil with a shelf life of around 1 year.  The only thing that you need to be aware of is that the scent and taste of extra virgin olive oil can show up in your products, so you may want to use regular olive oil in a lip balm or a product where you don’t want the fragrance to be affected [3].

Avocado Oil: Avocado oil is composed of oleic acid 75-80%, linoleic acid 7-10%, palmitic acid 10% and stearic acid 1-4%. The high oleic acid content of avocado oil makes this oil good for sunburned or wind chapped skin.  It has vitamin E which helps with skin softening, and it also contains vitamin A, D, and phytosterols to sooth itchy and inflamed skin.  It is easily absorbed by our hair and scalp which makes it great for hair care products.  Avocado oil is a medium weight oil that tends to feel oily on the skin, and it has a shelf life of about a year [4].

Virgin Coconut Oil: Coconut oil contains lauric acid 47.5%, myristic acid 18.1%, palmitic acid 8.8%, and small amounts of stearic, oleic, linoleic, and arachidic acids. Virgin coconut oil contains around 5-7 times the amount of polyphenols then regular coconut oil, in the form of ferulic and p-coumaric acids. Ferulic acid is an anti-oxidant which can help to repair damaged and wrinkled skin, and P-coumaric acid is also an anti-oxidant which has anti-inflammatory properties. Coconut oil is a light oil that has a very long shelf life of 18-24 months [3].

Works Cited

[1]	"Sunflower Oil," Wikipedia, 02 March 2012 . [Online]. Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunflower_oil.
[2]	"Impact of topical oils on the skin barrier: possible implications for neonatal health in developing countries," PubMed, 2002. [Online]. Available: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12113324.
[3]	"Carrier Oil Profiles - Macamdamia nut to wheat germ oil," [Online]. Available: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1020026/carrieroilprofilesmacadamiatowheatgerm.pdf.
[4]	"Carrier Oil Profiles - Avocado to jojoba oils," [Online]. Available: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1020026/carrieroilprofilesavocadotojojoba.pdf.

CP Soap Pic

I just wanted to post a quick picture of a soap I made yesterday using an in the pot swirl technique that I saw on YouTube.  This is scented with a blend of Lavender, Peppermint and Spearmint essential oils and it smells divine.  I want to post a cold process soap making tutorial at some point... I'm thinking goats milk soap? Only time will tell.

Glycolic Acid Toner

For my next foray into the world of handmade beauty products, I decided that I wanted to make a facial toner.  Now I realize that this may sound a bit boring, especially since most facial toners are made quite simply with witch hazel and alcohol, but I had something more complex in mind.  I really wanted to formulate a toner that would include glycolic acid as its active ingredient.

Glycolic Acid is an alpha hydroxy acid that penetrates our skin easily, and loosens the glue like bonds between skin cells in the top layers of the skin. This allows dead and dying skin cells to be sloughed off more easily, and helps to prevent dead skin cells from clumping together and blocking pores.  It also makes the surface of your skin feel smoother and softer, and can help overcome a dull or lifeless appearance. Several studies have shown that daily use of 5-10% glycolic acid solution over time can help with acne, photo-damage, melasma, and possibly even wrinkles [1]. In one study done on mice, the use of a 15% glycolic acid solution for 10 weeks decreased wrinkles, increased dermal thickness, and increased collagen synthesis [2], and in a second study glycolic acid actually had a somewhat protective effect against the development of skin tumors caused by UV radiation [3] Of course I’m not claiming that my toner will do these things, but one can hope.

If you do a search for glycolic acid on google, one of the first companies to come up is Peter Thomas Roth.  They make many products with glycolic acid, but the one that appealed to me the most was the Max Complexion Correction Pads which you see here.  The active ingredients in this product are glycolic acid 10%, and salicylic acid 2% which is what I am going to aim for in my toner.  I didn't duplicate this product exactly, but I did use some of the same inactive ingredients such as green tea extract, allantoin, aloe vera juice, and witch hazel extract.  To my version I also added Rose Hydrosol, and Tea Tree Oil.  Let's take a closer look at what each of these ingredients do.


Salicylic Acid is a beta hydroxy acid that is approved by the FDA as an acne treatment, antifungal, corn/callus remover, dandruff treatment, analgesic/skin protectant for poison ivy/oak/sumac, and a wart remover [4]  Salicylic acid has been used for thousands of years in the form of willow bark which was used as far back as 460B.C. in the time of Hippocrates to treat headaches, pains and fevers [5]. Aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) is actually a derivative of salicylic acid which explains why the bark had the effects that it did. Salicylic acid works on skin as a comedolytic, keratolytic, and mild antiseptic. This means that it helped to open up clogged pores, and penetrates deeper into the skin to help kill bacteria within pores.  It also has a similar effect to glycolic acid by helping to loosen the glue like bonds of the uppermost cell layers and promoting cell turnover [6].

Green Tea Extract is loaded with polyphenols, antioxidants that help to eliminate free radicals that could damage your skin, and may help to maintain collagen and elastin production in your skin.  There have also been studies done that show green tea extract may promote wound healing, and reduce inflammation [7].  These are all excellent reasons to want to add this to my toner.

Allantoin is a fairly common additive in skin care products. It helps to protect our skin’s natural water barrier by increasing the capacity of corneocytes to retain water. It is also a keratolytic, helping to loosen the bonds of skin cells on the upper skin surface. Most importantly, it is an anti-irritant and helps to counteract irritation caused by other ingredients it is formulated with [8].  This is why I’m adding this to my toner, to help buffer the skin against the irritating action of the glycolic and salicylic actions.

Aloe Vera has been used for hundreds of years to treat wounds such as burns. It has compounds in it that may stimulate skin growth and repair while decreasing pain and inflammation, and several studies have shown it to increase wound healing time [9]. This can be used in place of water in most recipes, and I like the idea that I can add another healing ingredient like aloe to my toner to help counteract the harshness of the glycolic and salicylic acids.

Witch Hazel Extract is an astringent and anti-inflammatory extract that is commonly used in facial toners. It is approved by the FDA for use as a skin protectant and for anorectal purposes (think hemorrhoid wipes). Witch Hazel extract is also an anti-oxidant that could possibly help with wound and bruise healing, and to increase circulation [10]. It’s a good all-around toner component, which is why it is often used as a toner by itself.
Now, on to the toner recipe…

Glycolic Acid Toner

Oil
Polysorbate 20- 5 grams
Wheat Protein- 3 grams
Tea Tree Oil- 2 grams
(You want to use equal parts oil and polysorbate 20)

Water
Rose Hydrosol- 30 grams
Aloe Vera Juice- 20 grams
Witch Hazel Extract- 18 grams

Green Tea Extract- 5 grams
Glycolic Acid 70%- 14 grams

Dry Ingredients
Allantoin- 1 gram
Salicylic Acid- 2 grams

Directions
Because I’m making such a small amount at a time, I did not add preservative to this, nor did I use the “heat & hold” method.  I simply heated the Rose Hydrosol, Aloe Vera Juice, and Witch Hazel Extract in a microwave safe container for 1 minute.  To this, you add the dry ingredients and mix well.  Mix the polysorbate 20 with the wheat protein and tea tree oil in a separate container.  Then once the witch hazel/rose hydrosol/aloe vera mixture is cool to the touch, add the polysorbate 20 mixture, along with the green tea extract and the glycolic acid. Mix this all together well, then package in your container of choice.  I used a squeeze tube as you can see here. 

I have been using this toner for a little more than a week now, and I really like it.  It does sting a little bit because of the glycolic acid, but you get used to it. Enjoy!

Works Cited

[1]	"Alpha hydroxy acid," 07 March 2012. [Online]. Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha_hydroxy_acid.
[2]	D. Surg, "The effect of glycolic acid on photoaged albino hairless mouse skin.," 25 March 1999. [Online]. Available: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10193963.
[3]	M. Carcinog, "Inhibitory effect of glycolic acid on ultraviolet-induced skin tumorigenesis in SKH-1 hairless mice and its mechanism of action.," 31 July 2001. [Online]. Available: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11479924.
[4]	"OTC Active Ingredients," 07 April 2010. [Online]. Available: http://www.fda.gov/downloads/AboutFDA/CentersOffices/CDER/UCM135691.pdf.
[5]	M. Bellis, "About.com Inventors," 2012. [Online]. Available: http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blaspirin.htm.
[6]	"Salicylic Acid," 2012. [Online]. Available: http://www.kaviskin.com/info/salicylicacid.html.
[7]	"Green tea extract: Proanthocyanidins and procyanidins," Point of Interest!, 24 January 2010. [Online]. Available: http://swiftcraftymonkey.blogspot.com/search?q=green+tea+extract&updated-max=2011-11-29T06:57:00-08:00&max-results=20&start=20&by-date=false.
[8]	"Allantoin An Impressive History...," DSM Nutritional Products, 2005. [Online]. Available: http://www.dsm.com/en_US/downloads/dnpsa/Allantoin_Brochure.pdf.
[9]	"Aloe," University of Maryland Medical Center, 31 12 2010. [Online]. Available: http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/aloe-000221.htm.
[10]	"Witch Hazel," Point of Interest!, 07 March 2010. [Online]. Available: http://swiftcraftymonkey.blogspot.com/search?q=witch+hazel.

Coffee Lip Balm

With my new coffee oil that I made in my previous post, I wanted to make coffee flavored lip balm.  Majestic Mountain Sage has a great base recipe for lip balm formulation that I really like. I used this as the basis for formulating my coffee lip balm recipe which follows...

 
Coffee Lip Balm

20% Beeswax

25% Coffee Butter

15% Cocoa Butter

28% Coffee Infused Olive Oil

12% Castor Oil



Each tube of lip balm is .15 oz, and I wanted to make four so I could give the extras away as testers, so I needed a total of .60oz or 17grams.  This comes to...

3.4g Beeswax
4.25g Coffee Butter
2.55g Cocoa Butter
5.2g Coffee Infused Olive Oil
1.6 g Castor Oil

Simply melt all of the ingredients in a double boiler, than mix and pour into lip balm tubes.  I usually use a glass pyrex measuring cup for this because it has a pouring spout which makes things easier.

I have been testing this lip balm all week, and I have to say that this is my favorite so far of the recipes I've tried! I'm definitely going to be adding this to my Candeo Candle lip care line.

Ingredients
Now you may be asking yourself why I would choose these ingredients in my lip balm?  Well, lets take a closer look shall we.

Beeswax
We need beeswax in a lip balm recipe because when it's added in the right amounts, it causes the mixture of oils and butters to set up to the proper consistency.  It's my favorite base for lip balms because of it's high melting point, and firm yet pliable texture.  I hear that you can also use candelilla wax to formulate vegan lip balms, but I haven't tried that yet.

Coffee Butter
The coffee butter that I'm using is actually an infusion of coffee beans in hydrogenated vegetable oil.  Vegetable oil is usually soybean oil or a blend of soybean oil with other oils such as corn or cottonseed oil so I will just talk about the properties of soybean oil.  Soybean oil is easily absorbed into the skin, and leaves a dry feeling behind when applied at full strength.  It is a natural source of lecithin which can help to repair our skins barrier mechanisms, and vitamin E which is a powerful antioxidant.  I mainly chose this butter because I want the smell of coffee in my balm, but it does add some positive qualities to my lip balm.

Cocoa Butter
Natural cocoa butter has a wonderful chocolate aroma which will be the perfect backdrop for our coffee scent.  It has natural anti-inflammatory and healing properties, and it one of only 3 ingredients approved by the FDA as an occlusive barrier ingredient.  This means that it forms a protective layer on the skin, keeping moisture in and harsh elements such as wind and cold, out.  It also has a good amount of vitamin E which is great for skin softening and its antioxidant abilities.

Olive Oil
I love olive oil in lip balm! It is one of the heavier oils, but it absorbs well, and leaves your lips feeling soft and moisturized.  Olive oil is high in oleic acid which has anti inflammatory and healing properties, and it is also high in a substance called squalene which is a sebum like substance that is very similar to our skins own sebum.  It is also a natural humectant which means it holds moisture next to your skin, not allowing it to escape.

Castor Oil
Castor oil is the last ingredient, and a very valuable one at that.  Castor oil is added to many lip care products including lipsticks, because of its ability to make a lip balm more like a lip gloss.  It gives lip gloss a nice shiny finish that is just so irresistible.