92. DIY Organic Hand Cleaner for Oil-stains and paints (that’s actually good for your hands)

January 5, 2014September 1, 2015 / Apple Hill Cottage / 7 Comments

I had an amazing brainstorm discovery yesterday — and really? These things don’t happen to me that often, folks! I got so excited, I have to share this with you.

Sanding is hard on hands

Since we have been redoing the cottage, my hands have not been lovely. They never were, but now they are worse. Stains under fingernails, oil paint that won’t come off, dry skin from various kinds of dirt and toxins. And now it’s winter!

Off and on for the past two years, I have been experimenting with DIY lotions and creams. I’ve made Lovely Lavender Lotion from Healing Heart Oils; Grapefruit Body Butter from One Good Thing by Jillee; Homemade Lavender Deodorant from Full of Graces; and Olive Oil Cleansing Lotion from Wellness Mama. I recently got really brave and made up my own recipe for Body Bomb from a ratio recipe. All these links are tried and make great stuff from easily available, edible foods and oils, and if you are at all inclined, I encourage you to check them out and make your own. Nothing like being able to eat your hand cream!

Yesterday I was using oil stain on the fireplace mantle that I am ~~messing around with~~ sanding, staining, priming and painting. I’m a tactile kind of person, and I hate wearing gloves. So at the end of the staining session, my hands and fingernails were stained a lovely red mahogany. A good name for a new nail polish?

This is a before picture of the fireplace mantle — It is currently dis-mantled and sitting on sawhorses in the living room. Look for another post about it soon — when it is finished.

I was looking disgustedly at my hands, thinking:

1. I’m glad tomorrow isn’t Sunday; and

2. Hmm. It’s time to make dinner and I’m going to make meatballs with these hands?

I washed my hands with kitchen soap and water, but I knew it wouldn’t be enough. They were still sticky with stain. Mr. H.C. always has wipes I can use, but the jar specifically says “Not intended for personal cleansing.” Hmmm.

As I was stewing about the stain on my hands, the phrase “Oil cleans oil” flashed through my brain. I practically ran into the bathroom to get my jar of newly made Olive Oil Facial Cleanser. I put a good dollop on my hands and rubbed them all over, and the red mahogany stain magically and wonderfully disappeared. Not only did it clean my hands, it made them feel wonderfully soft. After all, this is a facial cleanser!

So I hurried to find a jar that would hold the little cleanser pads that you can buy at drug stores for very cheap. I put half in the jar, and poured in half the oil; then filled the jar and poured in the rest of the oil mixture. Now I have handy little cleansing pads for either my face OR my paint-and-stain-covered hands.

And I finally found a good use for my Vintage Burma-Shave jar that we found in the glass dump on our property last summer!

And I finally found a good use for my Vintage Burma-Shave jar that we found in the Apple Hill Glass Dump last summer!

Here is the oh-so-simple way to make it:

Extra Virgin Olive Oil (or expeller-pressed Sweet Almond Oil)
Castor Oil (you can find this in most drug stores)
Essential oil of your choice — I used peppermint; lemon or grapefruit would be nice too.
Cleanser pads
Wide mouth jar with tight fitting lid

Mix the oils together and add a few drops of essential oil until you like the smell. If you are using peppermint, don’t overdo it; it is a facial cleanser as well, and peppermint isn’t always good in the eyes!

Here is the important idea: the castor oil is the astringent, so you don’t want to leave it out entirely, but depending on your skin type or the season of year, you can add more or less to the Olive oil. The mix to start with is one part Castor Oil to four parts Olive Oil. (If you would like to know the specific idea and ratios behind the Oil Cleansing Method, go to theOilCleansingMethod.com for an in-depth discussion and also options for differing oils and ratios to use in your mix.) Wellness Mama also has a very good article on it, and it is where I found my original recipe.

And just because I didn’t want to give you false information, I also tried this again today on my oil-paint-stained hands. (Mr. H.C. said to tell you all that this was stinky, sticky oil-based primer that gave us both watery eyes).

Before

After 5 minutes with my little oil-saturated cleansing pad.

After — Just 5 minutes with my little oil-saturated cleansing pad.

It is also an amazing make-up remover. This wonderful stuff cleans your hands, takes off your makeup, and gently cleans your face — all with the same natural Olive Oil Cleanser. Try it, and let me know what you think.

For my friend

December 23, 2013March 23, 2016 / Apple Hill Cottage / 20 Comments

My friend Nancy died last night after a long fight with cancer. This is for you, Nance.

A blue jay came to sit on my window sill

as my friend was dying.

I thought

Do birds take our spirits to heaven?

And as I ponder this

I see

cardinals everywhere —

five of them dashing, splashing, in and out of the birdbath and the cherry tree.

The birds are full of life and chatter

though the cherries are long past.

Even leaves are gone,

fallen to the cold earth.

A gray rain falls — the first day of winter —

the whole world is crying silently dying,

I shake my fist at God.

Why now?

Why her?

I think of bright spirits and laughter and sunlight and time.

For my friend

Time gone.

and when it comes upon us all, there is never enough time.

This earth

these friends

that love

is all we had

and the future becomes the present unknown and unknowable

to us who are left with tears.

Lord, be merciful to my friend

who is journeying on a cardinal’s wing

a flash of red through a gray sky.

sycamore branches

Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. — Matthew 10: 29-31

47. Caramel Apples for your ♡Sweetie♡

February 8, 2013August 21, 2014 / Apple Hill Cottage / 8 Comments

apple heart We were sitting around a conference table at church a few years ago – about 18 of us – trying to figure out when we could have our next meeting. It’s hard to find a time, an evening, when 18 busy adults can all get together. Someone suggested February 14.

“But that’s Valentine’s Day,” Someone Else said.

Somebody said, “Does anyone really celebrate Valentine’s Day?”

Two hands went up. Mine and my husband’s. I guess we were the Anyones.

Everyone laughed. “Oh, that’s because the two of you haven’t been married very long,” they said.

Really?

It seems to me the longer you’ve been together, the more you should celebrate a holiday devoted to love. So – I’m trying a recipe for my sweetie-with-the-sweet-tooth from this lovely cookbook. (And I think grandchildren will benefit as well…)

The Apple Lover’s Cookbook by Amy Traverso, senior food and home editor of Yankee magazine.

The Apple Lover’s Cookbook by Amy Traverso was given to me as a housewarming present by my friend Beth, who saw this cookbook and decided I ought to have it! Thank you Beth! I have only made one recipe from it so far — the Apple, Cheddar, and Caramelized Onion Pastry Puffs. They were delicious! I’ll give you that recipe later sometime; today we’re concentrating on the Salted Caramel Apples with Cinnamon Graham Cracker Crumbs. (If that isn’t making your mouth water, go make an apple pie instead.)

Before we get started, I will confess – my only foray into making salted caramels was a mixed bag. I followed the recipe exactly, and they tasted delicious; however, the caramel was too thick to be a caramel sauce, but not thick enough to be covered in chocolate, outside of a refrigerator. (But I gave them to my brother-in-law for Christmas anyway…) So, I’m not an expert, here. And I’ll show you my photos, success or failure…I promise.

Gather together:

8 Sweet-tart Organic Apples. (The wax that is on the supermarket variety can keep the caramel from sticking to the apple.) This cookbook is an amazing encyclopedia of apples as well as a cookbook, and she lists 19 apple varieties under sweet-tart, but the main ones you will find (unless you live in or near an orchard) are Granny Smith, Ida Red, Rome, Northern Spy, or Stayman Winesap. Our apples ran out before Christmas, so I’ve got Granny Smiths and Organic Galas from the local grocery store. Right. Galas aren’t on the list; there were no Ida Reds anywhere, so I went with what was there. It is February after all…Put them in the refrigerator for at least an hour before you need to coat them with the caramel. (Also read the note at the bottom of this post…)

Everything is pictured here except the heavy pot – I used my 5 qt. cast iron casserole pot – and the skewers. You’ll see them later.

AND ♥ 1 cup Brown sugar ♥1/2 cup Corn syrup ♥1/2 cup Sweetened Condensed Milk ♥1/2 cup Whole Milk ♥1/4 cup Heavy Cream (Yes, this is NOT on Anyone’s diet – it’s caramel for goodness sake!) ♥ 1/4 tsp. Kosher or Sea Salt ♥ 2 Tbsp. Salted Butter ♥ 1 1/2 tsp. Vanilla ♥ 4 whole Cinnamon graham crackers ♥ a heavy bottomed pan ♥ popsicle sticks or smallish, sturdy skewers ♥ parchment paper ♥ a candy thermometer ♥ and the special antique glass candy stirrer (from Clara) that you have sitting around in your kitchen somewhere…

Before you start, break up the cinnamon graham crackers in a baggie and crush them with a rolling pin. Or however you like to crush up graham crackers. I cheaped out and bought the most inexpensive ones I could find – the brand shall remain nameless – but they sure aren’t like the old Honey Maids I loved to eat with milk. The Honey Maid Cinnamon Crisps were $4.99! So I shook some extra cinnamon on the crumbs, because I don’t think it is ever possible to put too much cinnamon in anything. Also cover a baking pan with parchment/waxed paper and put both of these near the stove.

Melt the butter and add the sugar, corn syrup, all the milks and creams, and the salt. Adjust your burner to medium and don’t touch it during the whole process. Really. DON’T touch it. Patience! Stir gently until the mixture starts to boil.

Making caramel

Put the candy thermometer in the pan at this point. Keep your eye on the thermometer and stir gently every minute or so, but this part takes a while – maybe fifteen or twenty minutes. You want to get the temperature up to 238 degrees, or the soft ball stage. Stir it every once in awhile, but don’t lick the spoon! It’s like, boiling? Worse than burning your tongue on coffee or pizza! Instead, get your apples out of the refrigerator, wipe them off with a paper towel if they’re damp, and insert your sticks. I’m using recycled plastic skewers from an edible arrangement. I thought they would be fine, but since I’m writing this from hindsight, I think they may be a little bendy.
Apples ready for caramel

When the temperature gets to the soft ball stage, turn off the heat and stir in the vanilla. I actually let the temperature get up to 240 degrees; I didn’t want any runny caramel! It worked. When the caramel is getting to the right temperature, you can actually see it thickening up and changing texture in the pot. Roll the apple around in the caramel; hold it up, twirl it, make sure the entire apple is covered, and dip it in the cinnamon graham cracker crumbs. I think you could use chopped pecans instead, and it would be yummy. Put the apples on the parchment covered tray, and do another.

The hardest part is getting the whole apple coated – especially the top. You can tip the pan; you can use a spoon; but even so, I could only get 7 apples coated. I probably had enough left for the eighth but just couldn’t get it around the apple. So I did what any normal person would do – I poured out the last of the caramel, sliced up the apple, and ate it as is. Refrigerate the apples for two hours before you do anything else with them.

I wrapped mine in parchment paper and tied dark red bows around them. It was the closest I had to red ribbon. I’m going to add some hearts tomorrow, but for now, I’m done…
Except for this important note: The Granny Smiths I had were straight from Giant Eagle, and the wax on them was thick. In the recipe, Amy Traverso gives a technique for getting the wax off, and I would be remiss if I didn’t give it to you. Boil a pan of water, and using tongs, dip the apples in the water for 30 seconds or so. Then, with a paper towel, dry the apple and rub the wax off. It works! Ms. Traverso says this is not necessary if you have organic apples, so I did not do this technique with the Galas. If you look closely, you can tell the caramel didn’t stick as well to the red apples as it did to the Granny Smiths. My thought is that even store-bought organics have that food-grade wax on them.

If you notice the first apple at the bottom – that was the first one I did. I didn’t get the entire apple coated at the top, so I spooned some on later. That’s the one I ate. It was delicious! The apple was actually a little softer and juicier than normal; the next time I make these, I will use the boiling technique on all the apples.

The texture of this caramel is great. When I poured out the last bit, it hardened up without even being put in the fridge. It would be great to pour into a pan, let it harden, and then maybe melt some chocolate over it? I’ve got leftover ingredients calling out to me. The only thing better than caramel with apples is caramel with chocolate.