Hearthbeats: Recipes from a Kitchen Witch
Hearthkeeper April 1st, 2010
Homemade Hand Cream
It’s planting season, and your hands are chapped and sore from exposure to soil and sun. Contact with the soil is inevitable, no matter how careful you are , but washing your hands soaps away the skin’s natural protective oils, making it to dry out.
The following recipes contain ingredients that soften and smooth, such as beeswax and lanolin. The first recipe uses fresh herbs while the second uses essential oils. You may wait till you have grown them or purchase the oils from the store and make more before Fall harvest time.
To test for possible allergic reactions, place a small amount of the ingredient in question on the inside of your elbow and cover it with an adhesive bandage. After twenty-four hours, check for redness, swelling, or itching.
Herbal
Makes 2 cups
To add fragrance, try a few drops of rose, jasmine, or lotus essential oil.
Men may prefer the scent of sandalwood or mint.
• 1 cup fresh rosemary leaves
• 1 1/2 cups fresh comfrey leaves
• 3/4 cup fresh lavender or patchouli leaves
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 16 ounces anhydrous lanolin
• Aloe Vera gel, optional
1. With a mortar and pestle, bruise the herbs with a small amount of olive oil. In a nonreactive saucepan over low heat, melt the lanolin with the remaining olive oil. Remove the pan from the heat. Let the mixture cool for 5 to 10 minutes, then stir in the herbs and Aloe Vera gel.
2. Strain the mixture through cheesecloth and pour it immediately into heat-resistant jars. Thick colored glass jars protect the mixture from light and make attractive gifts. Store in the refrigerator.
Herbal
Makes 1 1/8 cups
Here’s a scented skin cream that even children will like.
• 1 ounce vitamin E oil
• 4 ounces sweet almond oil
• 1 ounce beeswax
• 1 ounce jojoba oil
• 1 ounce coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon oil of calendula
• 1/8 teaspoon oil of chamomile
• 1/8 teaspoon oil of rose geranium
1. Combine the vitamin E and sweet almond oils in a nonreactive saucepan. Heat over low heat (do not boil). Gradually add the beeswax, stirring constantly. Add the jojoba oil, a little at a time, and stir until well blended. Slowly stir in the coconut oil.
2. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Add the calendula, chamomile, and rose geranium oils, stirring the mixture until it is smooth.
3. When the mixture has cooled, pour it into colored glass jars and seal them tightly. Keep refrigerated.
By Jelaine Foreman, Essential Creations, Inc., Rayne, Louisiana
~Indian Summer Perfume~
- 1 drop lavender oil
- 3 drops grapefruit oil
- 3 drops rose oil
- 3 drops rosewood oil
- 2 drops sandalwood oil
- 2 drops nutmeg oil
- 3 drops vanilla oil
** Be sure to use good quality essential oils to ensure purity!
For an oil based perfume-Add oils to 1/8 oz. Of Jojoba oil!
For a lighter alcohol based fragrance-add oils to 1/2 oz. Of ethyl
Alcohol.
Shake well before each use and store in a dark bottle in a cool dry
Spot.
Dandelion Shampoo
3 TB baby shampoo
2 C. purified water.
1/2c fresh dandelions
1/2tb cherry bark
1/2tb spearmint leaves
2 tsp olive oil
3 drops grapefruit EO
Put dandelion heads in a 20 oz canning jar. Boil water and pour over flower heads. Cover jar with lid and allow steeping for 15 minutes. Add cherry bark and spearmint to jar. Cover and allow steeping for an additional 10 min. Strain, using funnel, pour shampoo & dandelion liquid into a pretty container. Add olive oil and EO. Shake gently to combine for each use.
Shampooing tips:
-only a small amount of shampoo is needed
-use fingertips to create a lather and massage your scalp and rinse hair thoroughly and completely between washings
-wash with warm water and rinse with cool water for shiny hair then apply favorite conditioner, wrap head in towel, and let sit 10 min before rinsing
-comb hair starting at ends to prevent breakage
Spring Scents
The following recipes can be used in any diffuser. Simply blend these oils together and add to the wax or pads of your favorite method. Remember too, that if you like any of these – just blend them and add them to your cleaning bucket!
Warm Woodsy Floral
Cedarwood – 6 drops
Lavender – 4 drops
Mandarin – 3 drops
Sweet Floral
Ylang-ylang – 6 drops
Grapefruit – 3 drops
Mandarin – 3 drops
Spring Forest
Pine Needle – 4 drops
Hyssop – 3 drops
Eucalyptus – 3 drops
Cypress – 2 drops
Juniper – 1 drop
Spring Equinox
Mandarin – 10 drops
Frankincense – 6 drops
Patchouli – 2 drops
And here are some incense
Relaxation Incense
1 pt Rosemary
1 pt Lavender
½ pt Thyme
Love Incense
2 parts Dragon’s Blood
1 part Orris
1/2 part Cinnamon
1/2 part Rose petals
a few drops Musk oil
a few drops Patchouli oil
SACRED SPACE
To clear and make pure an area
4 Tablespoons cedar chips
1 Tablespoons Thyme
1 Tablespoons Sage
2 Teaspoons rosemary
1 Teaspoons Cinnamon
1 Pinch. Salt
1 Pinch tobacco
SOLSTICE CITRUS INCENSE
1 Tablespoon dry orange peel
1 Tablespoon dry grapefruit peel
1 Tablespoon dry lemon peel
1 Tablespoon dry tangerine peel
1 Teaspoon orange extract
1 Teaspoon lemon extract
An last but not least..( and I could have filled page after page with the recipes I have)
KITCHEN WITCHEN
House blessing Incense
2 Tablespoon dry lemon peel
1 Tablespoon. Rosemary
1 Teaspoon cinnamon
1 Teaspoon anise seed
1 Teaspoon Nutmeg
1 teaspoon allspice
1 Pinch. Salt
Until next month
Merry Cooking and Blessed Eating
The Hearthkeeper
PS. If there is anything you would like to see here.. please email me at thehearthkeeper@gmail.com
Blessed be…
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