Olive oil soap

 

COLD METHOD SOAP! YOU DO NOT HEAT THE OIL!!!!!!

You will need :

• 12 oz of Lye (not Drano)
• 3 cups milk (you can use any kind of milk.. but it needs to be really, really cold) or ice water.
• 6 cups olive oil ( or other oil)
• 1/3 ro 1/2 oz essential oil
• molds (you can use glass 9×13 pan, or any size glass pan, this makes nice bars, small plastic bowls are great too… filled half way, also the bottom of 12 oz soda bottles make pretty flowers)

Put lye in a plastic, enamel or stainless steel container(5 gallon buckets work well for this).  Add the cold milk, stir with a wooden spoon untill well blended.  Be very careful with the lye and consider doing this step outside. Let stand at least one hour.

Bring back inside, pour in your oil and mix with a wooden spoon or stainless steel whisk until it starts to thicken to pudding consistency(15-30 min).  You can use a   submersible blender, this will speed up the process.. ( I don’t have one yet… I do just use a wooden spoon)

Add essential oil, mix in. Then  pour into plastic molds.  If you are using tube molds.. take the soap out of the molds within 12-24 hours.. and then cut. Also cut /score all your soap as soon as it thickens up good. You don’t want to wait until it is too hard to  cut.. it won’t cut well.  Once scored, set aside for one month. 

Great soap!

Oatmeal chocolate chews

• 1 1/2 cups of raw sugar( you can use white sugar)
• 1 cup butter softened
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 large egg
• 2 2/3 cups oats
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup of cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt

Heat overn to 350 degrees. Beat egg, sugar, butter, and milk in a large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed or mix with spoon. Stir in remaining ingredients.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls about 2 inches part onto ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 10-12 min. or until almost no indentation remains when touched in center. Cool 1 to 2 min. remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.

Enjoy!!

**Note to make gluten free.. use the gluten free flour mix.  To make dairy free.. use coconut milk instead of regular milk.

Basic gluten free flour

• 4 cups brown rice flour
• 1 1/3 cup potato stratch (not potato flour)
• 2/3 cup tapioca flour (also known as tapioca startch)

Spoon each ingredient into the measuring cups. Put ingredients in a zipper bag..shake well.  Now you are ready to use your flour.   Store in the freezer.

Easy fudge

• 1 can of sweetened condensed milk(14 oz)
• 1 bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips(12 oz(about 2 cups))
• 1 tsp vanilla

Grease bottom and sides of a square pan(8×8).  Heat milk and chocolate chips in a 2 quart sauce pan over low heat. Stirring constantly, until chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth; remove from heat.  Quickly stir in vanilla. Speak in pan. Refrigerate about 1 hour 30 minutes or until firm. cut 1 inch squares.  

Enjoy!

**Note: to make dairy free..use Enjoy life chocolate chips and coconut milk.

Toffee

• 1 cup of raw sugar(you can use white sugar, would be same amount)
• 1 cup of butter
• 1/4 cup of water
• 1/2 cup of chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup of pecans(opt. if you don’t use them. You can use another 1/2 cup of chocolate chips)

In a 2 quart saucepan on medium heat cook the first three ingredients.  Stirring consistently until mixture reaches 300 degrees on candy thermometer. Be careful not to let it burn.

As soon as it reaches 300 degrees, pour toffee onto an ungreased large cookie sheet.  You might need to spread mixture out to about 1/4 in. thick.  Sprinkle with chocolate chips right away. Let them melt for 1 minute, then spread and top with nuts.

Let set for 1 hour or until chocolate is set.  Store in an airtight container.

** Note: if you don’t have a cookie sheet .. layer two towels on the counter and lay parchment paper over the top of it, the whole length of the towels.  You can pour the toffee out on this.

Enjoy!

Elderberry tincture

You will need:

• 1 clean quart jar
• 1 cup of dried elderberries
• 1 cup of hot water
• about 20 oz or so of vegetable glycerin
• towel
• crock pot
• hot water
• plastic lid

Take your quart jar, place  1 cup of elderberries in the bottom of the jar, then take and pour 1 cup of hot boiling water over it.. and let it sit for a couple of minutes.. then fill the jar the rest of the way up with  vegetable glycerin , about 1/2-1 inch from top of jar.. and cap. Next place jar in a crock pot that has been lined with a dish towel and then set jar on the towel in the crock pot and pour hot water around it.. put crock pot on warm or low setting..  place the lid on if you can.. and keep your jar of “goodies” in the crock pot for three days. Stirring regular..  (you want to keep the mixture hot in the jar without boiling it..) keep the crock pot filled with water around the jar.. the whole time. After three days.. strain the ” glycerin mixture” you can use a stainless steel strainer , cheese clothe or nut milk bag.. if you use cloth you can squeeze the all the goodness out of it.  Now you have your own elderberry tincture.. place in dark jar.. label and store in a cool , dry.

They are coming for your children by Natty Bumppo

Growing up has always been a hard thing to do. And there is so much more than what Ginger & the Snaps immortalized for us in song. Despite how hard we try to protect our children allowing them to keep their innocence (which Mrs. Bumppo and I have done very well) taken as a whole each generation appears to be faced with some of the more sinister facts of life faster and faster. This corrupts their minds and steals the innocence of childhood and this is being done at an horrific rate in today’s society.

To read the rest of this article : John Galts website Shennandoah

Making Colloidal Silver

Chamomile Shampoo

Chamomile Shampoo -

•  1 handful of fresh or dried chamomile flowers
•  1 3/4 cup of boiling water
• 3 Tablespoons of pure soap flakes or save leftover soap pieces
• 1 tablespoon of glycerin ( I also added 3 drops of neem oil
•  10 drops or more of lavendar essential oil
• 5 drops of  Eucalyptus essential oil

You will also need 2 heat proof bowls, a sieve, a wooden soppn and a cleans 14 oz bottle with tight fitting cover.

1. Place the flowers in a bowl and coer with the boiling water. Let stand for 15 minutes, then strain into the other bowl.

2. Clean the first bowl. Combine the saop and hot infusion in it. Let stand until the soap softens -a few minutes. Beat in the glycerin, until blended well.

3. Pour the mixture into the bottle. Keep in a cool dark place.

This is a shampoo that I love and use for my own hair.

Mrs. Bumppo

Ketchup

Ketchup

19 c tomato pulp
1/2c sea salt
2 onions pureed
1/4c ketchup mixture(1tbsp cinnamon, 1tbs cloves, 1tbsp allspice, 1 tbsp papirka, 1tbsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp Red pepper) 5 1/2c sugar(raw)
5c aaple Cider vinegar

Wash tomatoes thoroughly, peel and quarter. Cook 15 minutes or until soft. Strain. Bring tomato puree to boil. Cook slowly until reduced to 3/4 bluk. Stir frequently. Add sugar, salt and vinegar. Add ketchup mixture and onion, then continue cooking to desired thickness. Pour the boiling hot ketchup into clean, sterile jars, and steal immediately. Makes 12 pints. Process as you would like.