easy recipe - Natural soaps and skincare

Posted on December 15, 2018December 16, 2018 by Tiffany Burns — 14 Comments

DIY coconut sugar scrub feels like you’re on vacation

Three ingredient DIY coconut sugar scrub

What was the first thing I did on vacation? Made this DIY coconut sugar scrub! My all-natural, homemade scrub for face and body uses only three ingredients to keep your skin soft and exfoliated.

Every December my dad, husband, kids and I fly to the Florida Keys. We love the swimming, restaurants, dive bars (this one’s kid friendly), and surprisingly rich history of Key West. Did you know the tiny island has three Civil War era forts? But, sun, fun, salt water, chlorine, a/c and long walks on sandy beaches can dry out your skin. Especially, delicate New Englander skin that has been protected under layers of clothing for three months.

Benefits of a sugar scrub

Sugar scrubs are all-natural and work better than just constantly slathering yourself in store-bought lotions. They can be used in the shower to help lock in all-day moisture. It depends on your skin and climate, but for some people, a sugar scrub in the shower replaces the need for face cream and body lotion. It could be an all-in-one.

My DIY coconut sugar scrub is vacation-themed and uses three simple ingredients you can pick up at the corner drugstore, small market or grocery on the first day of vacation. I did! Since coconut oil is solid at room temperature, you can easily pack these ingredients in a carry-on or pre-make the DIY coconut sugar scrub before you travel.

Most of us have used body lotions without reading the ingredient list. Well, even if we stopped to read the ingredients, would we understand them? I am an avid reader of skin care ingredients, and I am always encountering some chemical or preservative that’s new to me. DIY body scrubs are made with simple ingredients you can pronounce…and probably already have on hand.

Is coconut oil safe?

Great question. If you have never used coconut oil in your skin care routine or are unsure if you have an allergy to it, test a patch of skin before you slather yourself in coconut oil.

For the vast majority of people, coconut oil is safe and wonderful for your skin. However, there are some people who develop a skin allergy to coconut oil. I know several of them personally, which is why I wrote this other post to encourage people to be mindful even when using natural ingredients in their skin care routine. Test before you slather.

Is coconut oil safer than a lotion that’s full of chemicals? I think so. There’s always one person in a group who says something to the effect of “chemicals are delicious” or “I prefer the chemicals.” But, most of the people who spend time at natural lifestyle blogs are not ‘that person’.

DIY coconut sugar scrub recipe

Ingredients:
60% granulated cane sugar
40% unrefined, organic coconut oil
(optional) squeeze of real lime juice

Why am I showing the recipe as a 60:40 ratio of sugar to coconut oil? If you are on vacation, you might not be able to measure exactly. I want to emphasize that it’s more sugar than coconut oil. That’s key to any sugar scrub. It’s usually a lot less oil than people imagine.

Unrefined coconut oil is less processed, which is why I recommend it. With less processing, more of the original properties of the coconut meal are retained, including a bit more of the sweet scent of coconut.

The acid in the citrus adds a little extra exfoliating, helping to clear away old, dead skin cells and bring out fresh cells underneath. If you have sensitive skin, you may want to skip the lime. As always, test your skin’s response before you rub your whole face with the scrub.

Need some ingredients? Want them delivered conveniently to your house while you are out living your life? Consider using my affiliate links for even more convenience. When you click on these links, you support this blog at no additional cost to you:

Safe storage

If you are going to keep a sugar scrub in your shower, please use a plastic container. I know glass is more eco-friendly, but reusing plastic containers is a smart way to store your sugar scrubs in the shower. Glass is dangerous in a tiled bathroom. Broken glass in a shower – with all those tiny, invisible shards – is a nightmare. Be careful.

Any other warnings?

Hummm, I’m guess I’m a cautious person. Just looking out for you.

Let’s review:

1) Test coconut oil on your skin first
2) Use plastic, not glass for safer storage
3) Be careful, the shower floor could get slippery

On that last point, in our old house, my shower floor used to get slippery all the time when I used homemade sugar scrubs. For some reason, my shower floor doesn’t get slippery in our current home. Maybe it’s different tile surfaces?

Either way, be careful to check and see of your shower floor gets slippery from the oil in the sugar scrub. If it does, just put a little soap in your hand and rub it over the floor to clean it a bit after you use the scrub. Warn anyone who might go into the shower after you that the floor could be a bit slippery.

Enjoy your soft skin

In a few quick steps, you’ve made an all-natural DIY coconut sugar scrub that should make an instant difference in your skin.

With daily use, your skin should be softer and better moisturized. And, your wallet should be healthier too. No need to spend any additional money on expensive, store-bought lotions!

Posted on October 17, 2018December 13, 2018 by Tiffany Burns — 8 Comments

Recipe: farm stand butternut squash and apple soup

Delicious recipe for butternut squash and apple soup

You know eating bright, colorful farm stand food is good for your body. Hot soup is good for your soul, especially as the days grow darker earlier and crisper air arrives. You also need a good use for all of those seasonal apples you just bought at the farm stand. Give my farm stand butternut squash and apple soup recipe a try!

Pick up a butternut squash while you’re there, and you’re most of the way to a delicious, fulfilling soup.

I make this soup every week during late summer and early Fall. The hardest part is slicing the skin off the butternut squash. The most fun part is using a handheld immersion blender to puree the soup. Yes, you could use a food processor or even a standard blender; it is just easiest to use the handheld.

Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

Total time: 1 hour

Need: large pot, long spoon, sharp knife, cutting surface, blender

Ingredients:
1 butternut squash, peeled and seeds removed
1 onion
1 large apple or 2 small apples, peeled
2 small cloves of garlic
2-3 sage leaves
1 bay leaf
12 cups of broth/bouillon
Olive oil
Sea salt to flavor

1) Peel, remove the seeds and chop butternut squash into small pieces about the size of a large blueberry. Chop the peeled onion, too.

2) Use a tall pot if you are going to use your immersion blender later. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Saute butternut squash, onion, garlic, and bay leaf in the olive oil. Mix every few minutes.

I grow and dry my own bay leaves.

3) A little browning is good for flavor. As the veggies start to brown, add enough water to keep them from burning.

4) When the squash is softened and starting to get mushy, add the chopped apple. Saute for a few minutes, mixing so nothing burns. Add a little water to ensure it won’t burn.

5) Add sage and 12 cups of water and bouillon. As a shortcut, forget the water and bouillon, just add prepacked soup broth. Use chicken stock/bouillon if you are not a vegan. Use vegetable stock if you are.

Here’s the bouillon I use (in 50% of my dishes). You can click the picture below to pick up some on Amazon. One link is for chicken bouillon. The other link is for vegan bouillon.
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6) Boil the soup for about 20 minutes, mix occasionally, until the apples are mushy. The soup should cook down to about 75% of the broth you added. Makes the flavor richer.

7) Taste the soup. Add a teaspoon of salt if you need a little flavor boost. Mix. Boil. Taste again.

8) Remove the sage and bay leaf.

9) When the apples are soft and the flavor is good, use your immersion blender to puree the soup smooth. It takes a few minutes. Watch your clothes. It splatters. If you need to use a food processor or standard blender to puree the soup, try to do it in smaller batches so you don’t make a mess. Serve with a little sprig of sage or toasted squash seeds as garnish.

Posted on October 2, 2018November 3, 2018 by Tiffany Burns — 8 Comments

Exclusive, easy farm stand recipe: fresh ground cherry salsa (with substitutes)

Ok, ok, I have already told you it’s hard to find ground cherries. Don’t be discouraged. You can substitute fresh or canned tomatoes or tomatillos for the ground cherries in this easy, quick fresh ground cherry salsa recipe. If you don’t like spicy food, you can use a sweet pepper or no peppers instead of jalapenos.

I hope you don’t see this recipe elsewhere in books or online. As far as I know, this one is really an original, my own masterpiece and a big hit with company!

Spicy Ground Cherry Salsa

Need:
food processor
1 pint ground cherries (substitute: tomatoes, tomatillos)
2-3 jalapenos (substitute: sweet pepper, no peppers at all)
2 small cloves garlic
1 small onion
handful of fresh cilantro
tablespoon sea salt
2 tablespoons ground cumin
Juice squeezed from 1/4 lime

Steps:
1) remove ground cherries from their husks and rinse under cool water

2) remove the seeds from the jalapenos

3) cut the onion in half or in quarters

4) put all of the ingredients into a food processor and grind them into a salsa

5) taste, preferably with a tortilla chip, and add more salt, lime or cumin to your liking

Substitutes:
ground cherries => 1 large or 2 small cans of tomatoes
ground cherries => 1 pint tomatillos, you should cut these and cook them down a bit
jalapenos => nothing, you really don’t need them if you don’t like the heat
jalapenos => 1 sweet pepper

When you or your guests aren’t snacking on it, keep the salsa refrigerated.

The beauty of this recipe is how E-A-S-Y it is. Just throw everything into a food processor and serve. Ground cherry salsa chills well. The flavor gets richer and more delicious the next day. It keeps in the fridge for up to a week.

If you’ve been meaning to pick up a new food processor, here’s an option.

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Removing the ground cherries from the husks takes 5 minutes, but I tend to do that while I’m watching tv. Then I leave the naked ground cherries in a bag in my fridge.

Using canned tomatoes, I’ve made this recipe in a few minutes with guests standing in my kitchen waiting for appetizers. Maybe it took me five minutes, but that would include running to the garden to get jalapenos and cilantro.

Need some other ideas for things to do with leftover herbs?