Lip Balm Candle

I actually did this while I was home over Christmas break, but I'm just now getting around to posting it. I saw this recipe for homemade lip balm on a blog and decided I wanted to try to make it with my mom. A nice mother/daughter project.

The recipe calls for natural grated beeswax, which I suppose looks something like this:



Well, my mother and I, being who we are -- we picked up the first thing that seemed vaguely similar. We got beeswax beads, which look like this:


This apparently matters.


The rest of the recipe we followed correctly. Here I am melting the beeswax and the coconut oil.



Our talents are so profound that it took two of us to complete this step. Several times, the water almost boiled over into the oil in the wax.

So then we added our essential oil -- Eucalyptus, the cheapest essential oil we could find, because, again -- me and my mom. Then we poured it into a small glass jar thing (a repurposed jar -- no need to buy what you already have!)

It was clear before we poured it that this was going to be the worst lip balm ever. It was basically like vigorously rubbing your lips with a candle. Not so effective. So we made a candle instead! Two candles actually, even though I only have a picture of one of them. For one, we just stuck a birthday candle in it. The second one, which is pictured, we put cooking twine in it. The cooking twine one actually burns better. I didn't get lip balm, but I did get a little candle, so that's good enough for me!

The end.

[Edit: Here are both candles burning.]

Christmas Dinner - Pt. 1

"Do as I say, or I will cut you."

"I have crazy eyes. I wouldn't mess with me."

There was a great and bloody battle, and only one was left standing.

No, no. Of course I'm kidding. That's just pomegranate juice, sillies. However, let this very short tale be a lesson for you. Pomegranates are messy. Don't wear nice clothes if you use them.

OK, onto the recipe: Spinach Pomegranate Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 (10 ounce) bag baby spinach leaves, rinsed and drained
• 1/4 red onion, sliced very thin
• 1/2 cup walnut pieces
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta
• 1/4 cup alfalfa sprouts (optional)
• 1 pomegranate
• balsamic vinegar
• honey
• salt & pepper
• olive oil

Directions:

1. Cut your pomegranate in half. Inside, it will look like this:

It's good to separate the seeds in a sink or bowl of water. The white pith will float to the top & you can scoop it all away. If you use a bowl, you can dump the seeds in a strainer. Scooping them out of the sink was easy as well.

A pretty bowl of pomegranate seeds.

2. Mix the last 4 ingredients to taste to make a vinaigrette.

3. Assemble the salad, sprinkle the pomegranate seeds on top & sprinkle with the dressing.

Voila!

Spanish Fried Eggs

I'm certain these are bad for your heart, even if the oil is olive oil. But, a friend made them for me, and they are most tasty.

ingredients

extra virgin olive oil, preferably Spanish
1 egg per person
coarse sea salt, preferably Maldon
toasted bread (optional, but highly encouraged)

method

Pour enough oil in non-stick pan to come to a depth of about 1⁄4-inch. Turn flame to medium-high and heat until nearly smoking. Break the egg into the pan without breaking the yolk (or, if you're the cautious type, break it into a saucer or teacup first, and then slip it into the pan). Quickly turn the heat down to medium-low and cook for no more than a minute, all the while using a metal spoon to baste the top of the egg with the hot oil from the pan. The white will puff up and get a bit crunchy and golden on the sides and the yolk will remain gloriously runny. Use a slotted spoon to lift the egg out of the pan and shake off any excess oil. Plop your egg onto your plate or toast, sprinkle with salt (and freshly ground pepper if you like), and imagine yourself at an outside terrazza somewhere in Spain on a warm sunny day.

Christmas Snowflake

Our blog is clearly dead, but I won't let that stop me. I made this giant snowflake and thought I'd share it. It's really easy to make -- here are the instructions.

Mama's Internet Cooking

My mommy is visiting me this week, and we have plans to make lots of food. We didn't feel like going to the grocery store on Sunday, so my mom poked around my fairly bare fridge and looked on the interwebs for some appropriate recipes. Dinner was simple, but quite delicious. The carrots were really good -- my mom was skeptical that they would be, but she was converted once we started eating.

Chicken recipe from Reluctant Gourmet:

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 1-1/2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
• 1-1/2 tablespoons of olive oil (or vegetable oil)
• Salt and ground pepper
• 3 shallots, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup of dry white wine
• 1 cup of homemade chicken stock
• 3/4 cup heavy cream

Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper on both sides.

Pre-heat your saute pan (frying pan) until drops of water quickly evaporate. This means the pan is at least 212° F.

Heat butter and oil in a heavy bottomed pan over high heat until butter stops foaming and just starts to turn a light brown.

Sauté the breasts until they are lightly browned on one side, approx. 3 minutes.

Turn breasts over and sauté for another 3 minutes, again until lightly browned. (At this point the meat should be firm to the touch.)

Transfer the chicken breasts to a plate, cover with aluminum foil, and keep warm in the oven or toaster oven set at low.

Remove the pan from the head source, and add half of the wine to deglaze the pan, stirring to dissolve the flavorful brown particles stuck to the pan.

Return pan to the stove and add the shallots and cook until translucent, about 2 minutes.

Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, making sure the garlic doesn’t burn. (It makes the dish bitter if it does)

Add the remaining wine and reduce (boil) until only a trace of wine is left in the pan.

Add the chicken stock and reduce to half the original amount, approx. 6-7 minutes.

Add the cream, and again reduce until the sauce is thick enough to coat a spoon.

Spoon sauce over cutlets and serve.

Carrots from We Heart Food:

**Note: Oregano was used in lieu of marjoram

Sauteed Carrots with Lemon and Marjoram
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 bunch carrots, cut diagonally into 1/2-inch slices
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp dried marjoram
2 tbsp lemon juice

In a medium nonstick frying pan, heat 1/2 the oil over moderately low heat. Add the garlic, carrots, sugar, 1/2 the salt, the pepper, and the dried marjoram. Cook, covered, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Uncover the pan. Raise the heat to moderate and cook, stirring frequently, until the carrots are very tender and beginning to brown, about 8 minutes longer. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the remaining oil and the lemon juice.