Winter making - solid moisturiser

It is cold and raw outside and my hands, as they do every year, are suffering.  I think I may have found the solution.  It is simple, smells wonderful and involves a little bit of messing around in the kitchen - solid moisturiser bars.

I don't know if you have a pinterest* account filled with wonderful recipes, tutorials and inspiring ideas.  I certainly do.  But I'm not always very good at actually doing anything with them.  Often it is lack of time but many times it is because I'm off thinking about the next great idea.  This year I'd really like to try and slow down a little and make more use of the many many ideas I already have at my fingertips.

With this in mind I had a look through my pinterest boards and remembered how excited I was to find a solid moisturiser recipe (is it a recipe if it isn't edible?).  I ordered some shea butter and looked out my beeswax and coconut oil and was all set to go.

It is such a simple recipe that I think it is okay to share it here, there is so little to it that I don't think the source (Everyday Paleo) will mind.

 Ingredients::
1/2 cup coconut oil (I buy mine from a local whole foods shop)
1/2 cup shea butter (I found unrefined shea butter here)
2/3 cup beeswax (mine came from here)
Essential oils - around 20 drops

To make::
- Add coconut oil, shea butter and beeswax to a large glass jar (or bowl)
- Place in a gently simmering pan of water
- Shake occasionally and wait for it to melt
- Add your choice of essential oils for frangrance (or leave as is, it will smell wonderful anyway)
- Pour into moulds (I used a muffin tin)
- Wait for the bars to cool and set
- Enjoy!

The children were fascinated by the process (if a little miffed to discover the contents of the muffin tin weren't edible!) and have been enjoying using the moisturiser.  I'm keeping it in a little cup next to the kitchen sink.

I think prettily wrapped bars will make lovely presents.  I'm sure I'll be making more.

*I know there is, quite rightly, such a lot of debate around pinterest. For that reason I sat on the sidelines for a long time and I only recently opened an account - I made the decision to open the account with a self-imposed rule that I wouldn't pin anything that I couldn't link directly back to the original source.  Sometimes this means I don't pin because the route back to the original source is too convoluted, and it often takes me a while to be able to pin what I am interested in because I have to search back a few stages  - but I feel much more comfortable doing it this way (I have broken my rule a couple of times where I have felt the idea is so generic that I am not impinging on someone's personal creativity).  It still isn't perfect but it feels right for me .

Making winter - comfort cooking

I think this post may just about sneak into this month's making winter week - by the skin of it's teeth.  Emma at Silverpebble is hosting it this time.  I haven't checked out all the posts yet but know there will be some wonderful ones so do take a look if you have a chance.

I had been planning to post about baking this time as it seems to me to be one of the ultimate ways of making winter, and really any time of year, extra good fun.  And, by coincidence (or perhaps thinking along the same wavelength), Emma has asked for recipes that she will try to compile together in Baking Winter resource.

At the beginning of last week I made one of my favourite, and very very simple, biscuit recipes.  I have it written down on a scrap of paper headed 'K'aldy Grannie's chocolate biscuits' and I can clearly remember the first time she made them - I was about 12 I think.  K'aldy Grannie lived in Kircaldy when I was little and I used to refer to talk about visiting Grannie in K'aldy and, since I am her eldest grandchild, the name has stuck ever since. My other grannie was Grandad's Grannie as she belonged with grandad (my other grandad sadly died long before I was born).

For K'aldy Grannie's chocolate biscuits you will need::

175g butter

100g caster sugar

200g plain flour

25g cocoa

1 pinch salt

about 75g chocolate to decorate

Cream the butter and sugar until nice and soft.  Then sift in the flour, cocoa and salt.  Blend in the flour mix and work until you have a smooth dough.

Roll the dough into two sausage shapes and cool in the fridge for at least an half an hour.

Cut into around 20 rounds (and try not to eat too much dough at the same time - very tricky, it is incredibly yummy.........or maybe it isn't and I'm just weird!) and lay out onto a large lined or greased baking tray.

Cook at 160 degrees for about 20 minutes.  Remove from the oven and leave to cool on the baking tray.

Melt your chocolate - I take the easy route and do it in the microwave.  Give the chocolate a good stir and spread onto the biscuits.

This time I added some sprinkles on top for extra prettiness.  And I need to thank my niece for her help - with the baking and with cleaning the chocolate bowl....I did suggest to her that a spoon would be a good idea but she preferred to dive in with her fingers!

This next recipe is also very simple but definitely wouldn't win any prizes for sophistication.  However it is tasty and, in my experience, always works.

For Banana Chocolate Chunk Cake* you will need::

2 large very ripe bananas**
1/2 tsp vanilla
175g butter
225g granulated sugar
275g self raising flour
1/2 tsp bicarb of soda
3 eggs - beaten
100g chocolate - chopped

Peel and mash ( I use a potato masher, but a fork would work too) the bananas with the vanilla.

Gently heat the butter and sugar in a saucepan until melted.  Remove from the heat and allow to cool a little. Sift in the flour and bicarb of soda.  Beat in the eggs and mashed banana.  Stir in the chocolate chunks.

Pour the mixture into two 8 inch lined sandwich tins and cook at 170 degrees for around 35 minutes.  Cool on wire racks.

Sandwich together with cream and sliced banana - and eat, it doesn't keep all that well.  It makes a yummy pudding.

* Sorry for the lack of photos, I did make it on Saturday as a pudding for lunch with friends but completely forgot to take any pictures.
** I freeze bananas (in a plastic bag or box, after removing the skins) when they get over-ripe and then just take out the appropriate number a couple of hours before baking.

On a completely different note I was delighted to find a copy of All That Katy Did in a local charity shop recently.  I have been thinking that Islay would probably like the What Katy Did books in a little while so it was great to find them all in one.  And I picked up a couple more too that I think the boys will like.  Islay isn't really reading by herself yet (although she loves being read to and looking at books) but the boys are voracious readers and I'm always on the look-out for new books for them.

I hope January has been good to you all.  See you in February!

Making winter - lip salve and throat lozenges

Mrs Thrifty Household and Silverpebble are holding their Making Winter December week just now and I wanted to join in again.

I've been thinking about what winter means for me.  As I've said before I quite like winter time but I do really dislike dry cold hands and lips and the dreaded sore throats and sniffles that tend to come with the colder months.

So I thought I'd have a go at making some solutions.  I remembered seeing a tutorial on Soulemama for peppermint lip balm - you'll find it in the tutorial section.  

I tracked down all the ingredients::

:: beeswax (I had a little already but needed a bit more) -from Honeyshop

:: honey - I was disorganised and didn't but local honey - which annoys me now

:: coconut oil - from our local whole food shop

:: peppermint essential oil - from our local herbalist (a wonderful place, I love it in there!)

:: containers - from mini food (an etsy seller)

:: labels - from rikyandnina (another etsy seller)

Then I just launched straight into it.  I had intended to make this a family activity with Islay and the boys, if they were interested, but was running short of time (and thought it would be more likely to work, especially first time if I did it without them!).

The tutorial is very straightforward.  Melting beeswax smells delicious, really warm and soothing.  The only part I found a little tricky was cooling the mixture down to the right consistency to get it into my little containers - it very quickly got too thick.....but putting the bowl back over the pan of hot water softened it again so it was easy to fix.

The lip salve really seems to work too so I think I'd mark it down as a success.  I'll be using it as part of teacher presents and so on.  One thing I'd do differently another time is to reduce the amount of peppermint oil.  Its a little too strong I think.  I also wonder if there's another essential oil that would be nice to add, or maybe even a mixture?

I also wanted to try making throat lozenges.  The recipe came from Soulemama again in her latest book The Rythm of Family (it is actually a contribution from Amy Karol - Angry Chicken).  This time I needed to track down::

:: slippery elm powder - from the local herbalist

:: honey -still supermarket stuff I'm afraid

:: mint tea - I had some as I drink it occasionally anyway

The end result isn't very beautiful and since none of us has a sore throat (tempting fate to say that I suspect!) I have no idea if they help.  But I guess they will and they were fun to make.  The recipe suggests rolling the dough out thinly and then cutting little rounds with a small bottle top.  I kept clogging the top with the dough and was getting into a right old mess.  So I just cut little bits off and rolled them into approximate balls - not so pretty but it worked!

Katie (12 weeks)

There was another couple of ingredients to manage that made life easier too...Katie sleeping and my nephew happily occupied with garage and cars!

Katie (13 weeks)

Happy nephew

Winter walking

I'm actually a pretty big fan of winter, especially when it is crispy cold and sunny or, even better, snowy.  But not everyone feels that way  - Emma at Silverpebble and MrsThriftyhousehold are trying to banish the winter blues by holding a Making Winter week at the beginning of each winter month.  Mrs Thrifthousehold is cajoling Emma into having fun this winter.....today there's a post about how to make pinecone firelighters which I'm definitely planning to try (I've admired them in shops but not been able to bring myself to spend all that money on a few pinecones)

I thought I'd join in with what makes winter work for us. 
And one of the best things, I think, for blowing away winter cobwebs is a walk on the beach.

Beaches don't get muddy unlike pretty much everywhere else (unless of course its a perfect snowy or frosty winter day).  Having said that the kids don't tend to come back dry and I'd never take them to the beach in good clothes.........but that's perhaps just my children, they aren't really to be trusted to stay clean and dry anywhere (which is, mostly, fine by me and really what I think they should be like - altho' it would be nice to be able to rest the washing machine every now and then).

This is Gullane beach last Sunday.  It was a really overcast with a heavy, threatening sky which, surprisingly, held off the whole time we were out.

I guess its not much good if you don't live near a beach.  We're really lucky here in East Lothian, we have loads of wonderful beaches within 10 miles of our house (and we have woods and hills nearby too - its pretty good living here if you like being out).

Sea buckthorn really brightens up the coastline.  The orange berries stand out against the silvery muted leaves.  They are edible but aren't a favourite with the birds so tend to be around most of the winter unless there's a long hard spell.

 The dogs like it too!

Knitting is such a classic wintry activity.  Its not really my forte but I am getting better gradually and am persevering and managing to teach myself.  I've been using this book to help me with stitches and techniques and it certainly explains things in a way that I can understand (and has some lovely patterns too).  I love yarn - when I find some with a texture I like I find it very hard to resist.  At the moment (started last winter, I have to confess) I'm working on a little cardigan for Katie - and had better hurry up before she gets too big for it.  especially since I'm really not sure what size it will be - gauge etc is a bit beyond me.  Its from this book which has some really simple patterns.  The hat on the front cover sold it to me - isn't it fabby?.....I have persuaded my mum to make one for Islay for her Christmas!  I'm using wool bought from Raystitch  - it is Louisa Harding Thistle, a very soft merino/alpaca mix which seems just perfect for baby skin.

I'm dreadful about getting sidetracked and starting new things if (or really 'when' as its always happening) I see something that I like.  So, not surprisingly, I have some more gorgeous yarn on the go.  This is a Rowan wool/cotton mix which I found in a charity shop.  I'm not much of a bargain hunter - lack the patience sadly - but do occasionally strike it lucky.  So, instead of sensibly focusing only on knitting, I'm trying to learn to crochet too.  I found the perfect tutorial requiring only one stitch.  Its the Kelly scarf from One Flew Over.  If I'm lucky I may be wearing it next winter!  Ideally I would have liked to make one or two more as Christmas presents but, really, there's no way that's realistically going to happen.

What fits the 'Making Winter' category for you?  There's some lovely pictures in the Making Winter flickr group pool.