Recipe: Perfect Fried (or Sunnyside Up) Eggs

Courtesy of One Good Thing by Jillee

Ok now I don't know about you but I'm a little particular when making sunnyside up or fried eggs.  I want the to be perfectly together and not run all over the pan.  Especially when I have to turn them over because I hate runny whites.  Well thanks to Jillee I made them just perfect this morning!  The secret I believe was the Mason Jar rings.

Since the pictures are pretty self-explanatory…I won’t restate the obvious here…but I will add a few “tips” to make this method work best.

Tip #1: Make sure the pan is HOT before you break the eggs into the rings. That way they start cooking right away and won’t seep out from under the rings.

Tip #2: Crack egg and drop into ring S L O W L Y (or as slowly as you can). Again, this will help to keep it from seeping out from under the ring.

Tip #3: Spray the rings LIBERALLY with your favorite cooking spray. This will allow for easy removal of the ring when the eggs are done to your liking.

Tip #4: Once eggs are cooking in their rings…pour a few tablespoons of water in the pan and cover with a lid. I’ve found that steaming them to finish them off results in the most tender eggs. 

Did you try it?  How did they come out?  Please let me know :-)

Halloween Ideas - Spirit Jugs

courtesy of http://www.earthween.com

Materials

• Clean plastic gallon milk jugs
• Black permanent marker

• Craft knife
• String of 50 clear low-wattage holiday lights

Instructions

1. Draw ghost eyes and mouths on the jugs. Tip: Leave the caps on while you do this, so the jugs don't dent.
   
2. Use the craft knife to cut a half-dollar-size hole in the back of each jug (a parent's job).
3. Arrange the ghosts near each other and string the lights between them, stuffing several bulbs into each of the jugs.
   
   
   
   
   I would put and inch or two of sand the bottom of the jugs to make sure they don't blow down in the wind..  Also you might consider cutting a hole in the back side of the jug and inserting an led candle light instead of the string of holiday lights.  
   
   
   This is sure to be an interesting outdoor decoration!

Recipe: Fresh Cherry Syrup

Courtesy of Fields of Cake


I made Elderberry Syrup a few days ago and am loving it.  I also have a tincture going.  I can see using this Cherry Syrup in lots of creative and tasty ways.

Fresh Cherry Syrup

Print

Recipe type: condiment

Author: Carrie Fields

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 45 mins

Total time: 50 mins

You can use this syrup for so many things, in place of your regular syrups for breakfast, as an addition to drinks, even as a part of a vinaigrette!

Ingredients

• 4 cups Sweetheart Cherries (with a slit cut in the side of each)
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 tsp sea salt

Instructions

1. Place all ingredients into a medium sized, heavy bottom pot. Smash around to release some of the cherry juices. (I used a potato masher)
2. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a high simmer (still bubbling, but not boiling)
3. Reduce syrup to about half or until it thickens a bit.
4. It will thicken more as it cools.

Notes

The time it takes to reduce the syrup may take less or more time, depending on the simmer you have going on. Just keep an eye on it.

Great Ways to Use Essential Oils

courtesy of Camp Wander




Below are some great way to use essential oils that you may or may not have known about.

1.  Got hiccups?  Dab some peppermint on the back of your neck, a little on each side of the spinal cord.

2.  Runny nose?  Swipe a drop of lemon down each side of the nose to dry it up.

3.  Can't focus?  Combine peppermint and wild orange, apply to the back of the neck, next inhale the oil left on your hands.

4.  Itchy, irritated eyes?  Dab lavender on the facial bones surrounding your eyes (careful to keep oil away from eyes).  If applying to children, make sure they don't rub their eyes until oil is absorbed.

5.  Allergies?  Mix up equal parts of lavender, lemon and peppermint ~ nature's antibiotic!  Apply to bottom's of feet morning and night.  Diffuse if possible.

6.  Ear Ache/Infection?  Combine 2 drops basil or melaleuca with a some carrier oil such as coconut or olive oil and rub around the rim of ear, behind ear and just inside.  Apply several times a day.  Never drop essential oils into the ear.

7.  Trouble breathing?  Due to congestion or asthma?  Apply Breathe blend on chest, then cup one hand against palm with residual Breathe oil on it ~ creating an "inhaler" ~ and suck the vapors from palm into chest for quick relief.

8.  Bad breath?  A drop of peppermint and you're kissable fresh again!

9.  To freshen laundry?  Add a few drops of your favorite oil onto a clean rag and toss into the dryer with wet laundry.

10.  Smelly carpet?  Add 10 drops of your favorite oil to a box of baking soda or cornstarch, mix well and let sit for a day.  Sprinkle on carpet, let sit for an hour and vacuum the stink away!

11.  Athlete's foot?  Melalueca works wonders!  Apply neat to affected areas.

12.  Toe fungus?  Melaleuca to the rescue again!  Use neat, dab affected toe with saturated q-tip applying to the surface of toenail morning and night.

13.  Unsightly warts or skin tags?  Apply morning and night.  If using Oregano, use a Qtip to dab one drop of on affected area...this will give you good control of application.  Oregano is a hot oil so you won't want to spread it around.  Skin tags fall off quickly with Oregano, you'll be impressed!  Wart removal can take several weeks depending on how large it is underneath the skin.

For kids:   Lavender or lemon works wonderfully too!  Apply morning and night and don't cover with a bandaid, it's important to let the area breathe.  Also, it's convenient to put the EO in a roll-on bottle so kids can apply themselves...they like taking charge :)

14.  Cellulite Woes?  Pour a bottle of grapefruit into a bottle of fractionated coconut oil and rub into problem areas after shower or bath.  You'll smell divine and your skin will be so soft!

15.  Diaper Rash?  Mix up some Diaper Spray.  18 oz water, 1 t. organic body wash, 4 drops melaleuca, 4 drops lavender.  (great diaper rash preventative too!)

16.  Sanitizing Wipes:  Make your own, or add lemon and lavender to store bought baby wipes.  Remove wipes from container, squeeze out excess moisture and let dry out a few hours.  Mix 1/2 C. very warm water, 1 T. coconut oil, 6 drops lemon, 6 drops lavender, let coconut oil melt, stir and pour over slightly dried out store bought wipes.  Squeeze out excess water.  These are awesome!

17.  Dogs w/ Fleas?  Drip a couple drops of melaleuca on back of collar.  Or, tie a bandanna with a few drops of melaleuca around your dogs neck and watch fleas flee!

18.  Dog's w/ Ear Infection?  Couple of drops of melaleuca and carrier oil on a cotton ball, wipe inside of ear several times a day.

19.  Dog w/ Sunburned Nose?  Dab a little lavender with carrier oil on his honker.

20.  Muscle Ache?  1 part Deep Blue blend with 4 parts fractionated coconut oil as a penetrating, pain relieving massage oil.

21.  Healthy candle scent?  Add a few drops of your favorite oil to the melted wax of a burning candle for a better scent.

22.  Mice?  Place cotton balls with peppermint in problem areas

23.  Fever?  A few drops of peppermint mixed with a carrier oil and applied to the torso can drop body temp 3 degrees in minutes!

24.  Burns?  A drop of lavender or lemon will immediately stop the pain and tissue damage.

25.  Heartburn?  A couple drops of peppermint in a small glass of milk will knock out the heartburn.

DIY 3 Ingredient Facial Moisturizer

courtesy of Crunchy Betty

Ingredient Number One – Your “Base” or “Carrier” Oil

In all actuality, you might want to just buy a base oil to begin with and test it with your face. See if your skin loves the base oil you choose, and then you can build on that. And, in even further actuality, just one ingredient may be all you ever want.

Your base oil is going to be the main ingredient in your facial oil blend, so choose well.

My two favorite base oils are argan oil and/or jojoba oil, because they’re both verrrrrrrry healing and nourishing, they’re both very light and they sink into your skin without any feeling of greasiness, and they’re great for all skin types.

Here are the base oils you could choose from (this is not an exhaustive list, but it’s most of ‘em):

• Argan oil (great for dry, aging, oily, normal, or acne-prone skin)
• Jojoba oil (great for dry, aging, oily, normal, or acne-prone skin)
• Apricot kernel oil (great for any skin type, but especially good for normal, dry, and aging skin)
• Sweet almond oil (just an all-around great facial oil, but it takes a bit longer to “sink in” than the first two)
• Grapeseed oil (great for normal, oily, or acne-prone skin)
• Avocado oil (great for dry and aging skin)
• Hemp seed oil (great for any skin type, also very light)

Plan on your base oil being at least 2/3 of your facial oil mixture.

Ingredient Number Two – Extra Nourishing Bonus Oils

These are the oils that are a little more pricey, but with that price tag comes a beautiful kick in the pants to your troubled skin. Your skin wears pants, right?

If you want to skip the nourishing oils, that’s just fine. Maybe some day in the future you’ll want to add one. In fact, I’m sure you will. Because once you start rolling around in crunchiness, you never want to stop.

So here are some ideas for the more nourishing “bonus” oils:

• Tamanu oil (wooooooooooonderful for acneic or oily skin, or skin with scars)
• Rosehip seed oil (incredibly regenerating, this oil is known for it’s firming and anti-aging abilities – it’s good for dry, aging, and normal skin)
• Carrot seed oil (you only need a small amount of this oil, but it’s superb for any skin type – is there anything it won’t heal?)
• Borage oil (crazy high in oleic acids, this oil is great for most skin types, but especially oily and acneic skin)
• Evening primrose oil (acne, aging, normal skin, you name it – and evening primrose oil can even be taken internally to help with acne)
• Neem oil (very antimicrobial and healing, neem oil is a stellar choice for acne and oily skin)
• Emu oil (emollient like you wouldn’t believe, emu oil is protective and nourishing for dry or aging skin)

Ingredient Number Three – Add Your Skin’s Favorite Essential Oil

Remember! You only need a couple of tiny drops of essential oil to get an amazing benefit for your skin. Essential oils are potent (and they last forever when you use them this way)!

There are FAR too many essential oils with skin benefits to list them all here, so I’m just picking and choosing a few of the more widely available or commonly known essential oils.

• Lavender (acne, oily, or even dry skin – lavender is healing, but a little, tiny bit goes a long way)
• Peppermint (like lavender, peppermint is great for oily and acneic skin, and like lavender don’t use much! It’s very astringent, but it might also tingle your skin right off its bones)
• Chamomile (my favorite chamomile is Roman – and roman chamomile is wonderfully healing and soothing, so it’s great for ALL skin types. Really. Very, very great, but also very expensive)
• Rose (wonderful for aging, dry and normal skin, it’s also pretty expensive, unless you find the “mixed with jojoba” kind, which just means it’s diluted and you can use more in your blend than if it were “neat”)
• Rose geranium (another great, all-around healing essential oil – this is especially good for dry, sensitive, aging, and normal skin)
• Palmarosa (my skin loooves this oil, and it’s great for any skin type, but it does seem to work well for breakouts, in addition to being softening and soothing for aging skin, which, yes, I have)
• Lemongrass (brightening and toning, this is a great oil for normal, oily, or acneic skin)
• Rosemary (got acne and oily skin? You might just want this)

Okay, quickly, here’s how you mix ‘em.

Creating Your Custom Homemade Facial Oil

This is where the fun starts. You get to experiment with what type of blend works best for your skin, but here’s the BEST place to start.

We’re going to assume you’re using a 1-oz bottle (for essential oil purposes), but if you use a smaller bottle, be sure to adjust your essential oil additions downward as necessary.

1. Fill your small bottle just under 2/3 of the way with your base oil
2. Add your “bonus nourishing” oil until the bottle is just about full (unless you’re using carrot seed oil, in which case just put in  a few drops)
3. Add ONLY 4-7 drops of essential oil. Less if you’re using peppermint, especially. Cap and shake well after each drop, and you can gauge, very roughly, just how much essential oil you’ll need. You should be able to smell it, but it should not be overpowering. Just faintly identifiable.

And that’s it!

Keep your facial oil out of the sunlight, and it should be good for 8-12 months.

You can find almost all of these ingredients at the two places I love most: Mountain Rose Herbs and Vitacost (and here’s the $10.00 of coupon etc.).

DIY Sanitizing Wipes

courtesy of One Good Thing by Jillee


You can use quilted napkins or buy dollar store baby wipes and recycle/reuse.   I keep wipes by the back door to clean the puppies paws when he comes in from outside and found since nobody closes the container properly they dried out.  Guess what?  I will be using what is left in that container to make these!!  Another option for a container might be to reuse the container that bathroom wipes come in.  We go through a lot of those in my house and if the refills aren't available I end up with more containers then necessary.

Ok back to the wipes. They are infused with Lavender & Lemon Essential Oils which not only make them fragrant, but also have antibacterial, antiviral, and antiseptic properties.

Pile up folded baby wipes or halved napkins in a container with a lid.

Mix together:

1 1/2 C. very warm water
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 teaspoon rubbing alcohol or vodka
3 drops Lavender essential oil
3 drops Lemon essential oil

Make sure the coconut has melted into the water then pour the mixture onto the stack(s) of wipes. If you are using the baby wipes, you won’t need to use all of the liquid. But save any left over liquid and put it in a container to use later.

And there you have it, nice smelling soft sanitizing wipes :-)

DIY Oil Face Wash

I have been experimenting with different clay washes for my daughter and myself when I recently read about oil, yes you read that right, oil as a face wash.  Well with the addition of essential oils I can definitely see where it would work. The original recipe used coconut oil and olive oil, but since I think olive oil tends to be heavy and I have so many different oils around for making various products, I switched it up a little. 

Here are the ingredients in the batch I made: 

1 cup softened Coconut Oil (I use Nature's Way EfaGold® Coconut Oil and using this link saves you $10.00 off your first purchase!)
1 1/2 tsp avocado oil
1 1/2 tsp grapeseed oil
2 drops lavender essential oil 
2 drops tea tree essential oil (for breakouts)

Mix all ingredients until smooth and store in a plastic container.  I say this because if you are going to keep it in the bathroom you may not want to use glass.

 

When washing your face this way, it's important to use a washcloth and hot water, as hot as you can handle it. Spread about 1 teaspoon of cleanser evenly over your face. Take the hot wash cloth and hold it against your face, moving it, pressing it...steaming your face. Rinse the wash cloth and repeat. This will ensure your pores will open up and let the coconut and accompanying oils get to the toxins.

Remember, you can use ANY essential oil combination you like. Get educated on the benefits of different EO's and customize to your liking. However please use caution with citrus EO's as many are phototoxic and should be avoided prior to exposure to direct sunlight.

Also you can certainly use olive oil instead of grapeseed, you might also want to also want to try castor oil. It's up to you!