Chickens in the Road Page 28
Teaspoons don’t come in small, medium, and large. They come in quarter, half, and full.
I looked up some other cake recipes, checking out the baking powder and baking soda measurements. This wasn’t all that helpful since every cake recipe I looked at called for something different. I wanted the cake to rise, of course, but I didn’t want to go overboard. I also thought the spices were a bit much if she really meant a “scant” teaspoon. Maybe to Mrs. Randolph, a small teaspoon was a quarter teaspoon? I went with the measurements in my ingredients list above. If you want it spicier, go for it. I could be wrong! If I’m wrong, it’s Mrs. Randolph’s fault.
Combine the buttermilk and baking soda. Add flour/spice mixture and buttermilk/soda mixture alternatively, mixing well. Mrs. Randolph didn’t say to beat this, but I did.
Fold in the strawberry jam, mixing well, then fold in the egg whites. This makes a huge bowl of cake batter. Mrs. Randolph didn’t suggest a baking pan size, but I ended up going with a large tube pan (greased). She didn’t tell me at what temperature to bake it, either, so I used 350°F.
Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, which took an hour and a half for me. (Put aluminum foil over the top after about 40 to 45 minutes so it doesn’t overbrown.) Of course, if you’re baking this in round cake layers or in a 13 x 9-inch pan, your baking time will vary. If you bake it in round cake layers, I think it will take three pans!
Mrs. Randolph suggested a caramel icing, but, of course, didn’t provide a recipe.
Crafts
Hot Process Soap
Soap Recipes
Chocolate Cream Facial Mask
Beeswax Moisturizing Cream
Beeswax Lip Balm
Container Candles
Hand-Dipped Tapers
Candle Jars with Pressed Wildflowers
Homemade Laundry Detergent
Simple Homemade Cleaners
Ruffled Crochet Dishcloth
Homemade Flower Food
Apple Spice Simmering Potpourri
Winter Citrus Potpourri Mix
HOT PROCESS SOAP
To make hot process soap just like Great-Grandma but without the iron kettle:
1. Weigh each fat/oil in your recipe. Place fats/oils in a Crock-Pot on low. Heat until completely melted. Turn the Crock-Pot off.
2. Put on your goggles and gloves. Weigh the lye and the water. Always add lye to water, not the other way around. Mixing the lye and water is best done outside in the fresh air. Slowly pour the lye into the water. Stir with a slotted spoon and hang back so you don’t inhale the fumes. The mixture will appear cloudy at first, then quickly clear.
3. Still wearing goggles and gloves, take the mixture back inside and slowly pour it into the melted fats/oils in the Crock-Pot. Stir briefly with a spoon, then begin mixing with a stick blender. Use the stick blender on and off so you don’t burn out your tool. (Run the stick blender for a few minutes, then turn it off and hand-stir with the stick blender, and so on.) Most recipes take 5 to 10 minutes to trace.
4. When your mixture traces, it will be sort of like a soft pudding where you can draw a line in the mixture and see the “trace” you left behind.
5. Set your Crock-Pot to low, and put on the lid to start the cooking process. The soap will gradually take on a waxy appearance. The edges will appear dryer than the middle as they push up the sides of the Crock-Pot. Stir occasionally—this keeps the soap mixture cooking evenly. As it nears finishing, it will look like waxy mashed potatoes. You should continue to wear goggles and gloves when stirring the soap until it tests noncaustic (see below). The cook time of soap recipes will vary with the fats/oils involved. Most recipes will cook in about an hour.
6. Test soap with a pH strip. Finished soap should test between 7 and 10. You can also test soap using 1 percent phenolphthalein solution. (This is my preferred method.) To use the solution, remove a very small bit of soap (a half teaspoon is plenty) from the pot to a nonreactive surface. Add one drop of the solution to the soap. If the soap turns pink, it’s not done. (Throw away the test sample—don’t return it to your pot. Be careful not to touch the solution or get it on your skin or eyes. You can use a paper towel to wipe away the sample and dispose of it.) If the soap remains clear when the solution is dropped on it, it’s finished. (You can purchase 1 percent phenolphthalein solution online—put the words in a search engine to find places where it is available.)
7. Once the soap tests finished, you can get rid of the goggles and gloves and touch the soap all you want. It’s soap!
8. Quickly mix in any additives or colorant, adding fragrance last, then scoop the soap into a mold. Bang the mold down a few times to settle the soap. Wait about 12 hours for the soap to harden enough to cut.
I often use the same base recipe with different additives, colorants, and fragrance. Once you’ve found a recipe that you like, there’s no need to recalculate it when changing the additional elements as long as you do not change the fats and oils. Be sure to run any recipe through a soap calculator if changing the fats or oils.
As a rule of thumb, when including dry additives, a maximum of ½ cup dry additives in a 2-pound batch is recommended. (More may make your soap crumbly.) If using a nondry additive like honey, add 2 tablespoons per 2-pound batch.
Coloring: I prefer liquid soap colorant. I find dry pigments are more difficult to blend evenly. Be sure you’re using soap colorant (not food dye or candle dye, for example). Soap colorant can be purchased from soap-making suppliers. Use as many drops as it takes to reach your desired effect. You can also color soap naturally in a variety of organic ways, and keep in mind that some additives (such as ground cinnamon) will color your soap.
Fragrance: Use no more than 1 ounce fragrance oil or essential oil per 2 pounds of soap. (More may make your soap oily.)
Molds: Molds can be anything! When making hot process soap, by the time you put the soap in the mold(s), it’s soap. You may line the mold (I use freezer paper) to protect the mold (for example, a wood mold) from the oils in the soap and to make the soap come out easily.
To make round soaps, I use Pringles cans. Just tear the can away when hardened and cut the soap. In this case, you don’t have to line the mold. Be sure to wipe out crumbs thoroughly before using as a mold. Quart cardboard cartons can also be used without lining.
Molds must be chosen much more carefully for cold process method soap where the mixture is not yet saponified and the still-caustic soap may react with various materials (including the interior of Pringles cans). These suggestions are for hot process method soap only.
SOAP RECIPES
All my recipes make gentle soaps with light lather and soft conditioning. They’re “grocery store” soaps, meaning most of the ingredients can be found in any large grocery store. Each recipe makes a 2-pound batch.
To make the soap, follow the instructions for making hot process soap in a Crock-Pot, mixing in the additives and fragrance oil at the end before scooping into your mold(s).
APPLE-OATMEAL SOAP
Soap:
Crisco, 9.6 ounces or 272.155 grams
Olive oil, 9.6 ounces or 272.155 grams
Lard, 6.4 ounces or 181.437 grams
Coconut oil (76-degree melt point), 6.4 ounces or 181.437 grams
Distilled water, 12.16 ounces or 344.73 grams
Lye, 4.463 ounces or 126.524 grams
Additives and fragrance:
¼ cup rolled oats, ground
¼ cup sugar
1 tablespoon ground dried apple peels
1 ounce apple fragrance oil
LAVENDER-BASIL SOAP
Soap:
Crisco, 6.4 ounces or 181.437 grams
Coconut oil (76-degree melt point), 6.4 ounces or 181.437 grams
Olive oil, 6.4 ounces or 181.437 grams
Lard, 12.8 ounces or 362.874 grams
Water, 12.16 ounces or 344.73 grams
Lye, 4.483 ounces or 127.077 grams
Additives and fragrance:
1 t
ablespoon finely crushed dried basil
1 ounce lavender essential oil
WILD MINT AND HONEY SOAP
Soap:
Lard, 22.4 ounces or 635.029 grams
Olive oil, 9.6 ounces or 272.155 grams
Distilled water, 12.16 ounces or 344.73 grams
lye, 4.24 ounces or 120.195 grams
Additives and fragrance:
½ cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon finely crushed wild mint*
1 ounce spearmint fragrance oil or peppermint essential oil
* If you don’t have wild mint, you can use any kind of cultivated mint.
CHOCOLATE CREAM FACIAL MASK
This facial mask is deliciously moisturizing and well worth it. It’s a fun and easy beauty trick to create—right out of your cupboard.
Cocoa powder is for the antioxidants along with honey for nourishment, cream cheese for moisturizing, and oatmeal for conditioning.
⅓ cup cocoa powder
3 tablespoons cream cheese
¼ cup honey
3 teaspoons oatmeal
Combine all the ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend till smooth. It makes a dark, rich concoction that looks like you could frost it on a cake. Transfer to a container.
Use a small spoon or mini Popsicle stick to dip into the container and spread it all over your face with your fingers. Let sit for about 15 to 20 minutes, then rinse. Store in the refrigerator. It will keep several weeks.
BEESWAX MOISTURIZING CREAM
Beeswax is produced by honeybee “worker” bees. They secrete it from glands on the underside of their abdomens, then chew it up and mold it into the cells of the combs. That’s why they call them worker bees. It’s a big job for the beekeepers, too, who collect it from the hives and melt it down into cakes. (At least they don’t have to chew it.) For every 100 pounds of honey harvested, a beekeeper will get only 1 to 2 pounds of beeswax. It’s not easily come by, but maybe that’s also why beeswax is so very, very wonderful.
For these recipes, you can use a small spoon or mini Popsicle stick as an applicator to avoid contamination of the contents of your container.
The following measurements are by volume, except for the beeswax, which is by weight (weighed before melting).
4 ounces sweet almond oil
1 ounce beeswax
2 ounces water
8–10 drops essential oil (optional)
8–10 drops vitamin E
Melt the almond oil and beeswax. Remove from the heat and stir in the water. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Stir as it cools—before it becomes too cool to pour, transfer to a container (or divide between smaller containers).
You can also make a super-easy petroleum jelly–type moisturizer by combining ½ cup baby oil per ounce beeswax. After you melt the beeswax, remove from the heat and stir in the baby oil. (You can add a few drops of essential oil, too, if you want more scent. I really like beeswax just how it smells naturally.)
BEESWAX LIP BALM
The measurements in this recipe are also listed by volume, except for the beeswax, which is by weight (weighed before melting).
1 teaspoon grated beeswax
2 teaspoons coconut oil
½ teaspoon lanolin
Liquid from one vitamin E capsule
2 drops lemon or orange essential oil (optional)
1 teaspoon honey
Melt the beeswax, coconut oil, lanolin, and vitamin E in a microwave-safe bowl. If you don’t want to use the microwave, you can also place the ingredients in a little custard cup inside a pot of water on the stove; heat gently to melt. Remove from the heat and stir in the essential oil and honey. Transfer to a small container. (This even tastes good.)
CONTAINER CANDLES
Homemade candles are so much less expensive than store-bought candles. What you need to get started:
Candle wax
A double boiler
Thermometer
Wicks
Fragrance oil (optional)
Candle dye (optional)
Containers
You can make container candles out of various types of wax, such as soy, gel, paraffin, or specially prepared container wax. I prefer “one-pour” container wax. (One-pour means the wax is formulated to form a smooth top with one pour, eliminating the need to top off to fill holes formed when regular wax settles as it cools. Candle wax is available from large craft stores or candle-making suppliers, which are easy to find online.)
Start by preparing your containers—you can use anything that will withstand heat. I have plenty of glass canning jars with lids to seal and retain scent for the candles I won’t use right away. You can buy prewaxed wire wicks, which makes wicking easy. Put a dab of glue or cool wax on the bottom and it will make the wick stick to the bottom of your jar nicely so you don’t have to worry about it moving around when you’re pouring the wax.
Pour water inside the base of a double boiler, add the wax pot, and heat the wax to the degree directed for your specific wax (for container wax, 180 degrees).
When the wax reaches its pouring temperature, add candle dye, which comes in liquid or solid form. (The dye package will direct how much to use for its specific formulation.) If you’re using solid dye, cut it up finely before adding it so that it will melt faster.
After the dye is mixed in, turn off the heat, let cool slightly, then add the fragrance oil, if using. You can use one scent or a combination to create custom scents. Most fragrance oils recommend 1 ounce of fragrance per pound of wax.
Pour the wax into the containers, being careful to keep your wicks centered. (If not using a one-pour wax, leave room in the jar and reserve wax to top off later after the candle cools.)
Let cool for several hours. Reheat reserved wax to pouring temperature, then top off the candles, if necessary.
Trim the wicks and you’re ready to light up.
For cheap, cheap container candles, recycle old candles. Ask all your friends and family to save their old candles for you that have burned too low to light again. Scrape or melt out the old wax, removing the wicks. Combine leftover wax from multiple candles and melt it down to pour into a new jar with a new wick for a brand-new (free) candle. Best of all, the dye and scent are already included! (You may get some interesting combinations of color and scent. You can add more fragrance oil also, if you wish.)
HAND-DIPPED TAPERS
Hand-dipped tapers are easy to create—though time-intensive. There’s a reason hand-dipped tapers are expensive! Even so, it’s a simple and very satisfying project that can be done cheaply at home, and the sheer charm of hanging paired candles makes them a great gift, too. (Give them in pairs, uncut, and your recipients will hate to burn them!)
To make tapers, you’ll need taper wax and small flat braid wick sized for tapers. Taper wax is a hard wax with a high melting point, which provides a cleaner-burning result. You can find taper wax, sold in blocks, at large craft stores or online candle-making suppliers. Flat braid wick is sold in rolls, also at large craft stores or online. If you like, add scent and dye.
You’ll need some kind of setup to hang your candles between dips. The height you’ll need depends on the height you’re planning to make your tapers. For example, an average spaghetti box propped on quart jars works well for six-inch tapers. Set two quart jars about 10 inches apart on a protected surface. (Use newspaper, aluminum foil, or wax paper.) Place the box of spaghetti (empty or full, doesn’t matter) on top of the jars and hang the tapers over it with the nondipped center across the box. You could also use a paint stir stick, a piece of wood, or anything else you can find that will work.
The candles are dipped in pairs, so after determining the height of your tapers, measure off double that width (for two tapers) then figure the length in between. (Your tapers will hang in pairs from the portion of unwaxed wick left in the middle.) For six-inch tapers, cut lengths of about 18 inches. Six inches of wick for each candle plus 6 inc
hes for the nondipped center between the candles from which the tapers will be hung while drying. Cut the number of lengths you’re intending to use.
To get started, melt the wax in a double boiler at the temperature specified in the packaging instructions for the type of wax you’re using. You need enough wax in the pot to reach the depth required for dipping your tapers, so you’ll need a pretty full pot. Holding the strand of wick doubled over evenly, dip the two wick ends to the height you’ve planned for your tapers. (You can mark the wick using a pen, if you like.) On the first dip for each wick length, hold the dip for a full minute to really soak the wick.
Hang the length of wick to cool, keeping the two tapers separated, and continue on until you’ve done the initial dip for each length you’ve cut. Go back to the first pair and dip again—this time, only for about 3 seconds. Hang to cool and go on to the next. Gradually with each round, the wax starts building up.
Each dip builds the coating surrounding the wick, turning it into a taper. As you dip the candles, blobs of wax will build up on the bottoms of the tapers. You can stop periodically, cut the blob off with a knife, and drop the extra wax back into the pot.
Dip your candles however many times you need to in order to get the result you want. This is the time-intensive part. It takes dozens of dips to build up to the width of a standard-size taper that will fit your average candlestick holder. (Set aside a couple of hours to work on this project.) A standard taper has a 7/8-inch base, but candlestick holders may vary. As you get close to that size, test-fit your taper in your candlestick holders and dip to the perfect size for your use.
As a finishing touch, you can do the last few dips in different colors of wax to add stripes. You can also roll the candles flat (except for the last inch or two) and twist them while they’re still warm for a special effect. Or leave them plain for an authentic, rustic look.