Stoneview

Mad scientist

Yesterday I had several recipes to try out in the lab err kitchen. I'd ordered some lanolin from Snowdrift Farms and some of the recipes were geared to use it. I made my own wool wash with lanolin, lavender essential oil and Castille soap.  I tried a homemade shampoo with Castille soap and a bit of almond oil for conditioning. The main attraction though was a hand cream recipe using lanolin and almond oil as the main ingredients. It's definitely a bit of magic when you add a tiny bit of borax and it turns from clear to foamy white. I had to pour it out quickly as it really does set up fast. It's a wee bit tacky and it takes 5 or 10 minutes to really absorb but my hands feel nice and smooth. I think it would be wonderful for spinning or knitting with something really snaggy. It does smell like witch hazel when you first put it on but that dissipates in moments. Fun stuff!

Lemon Fresh

I may be turning into a menace with that P-touch label maker. I love that I can keep my recipe where it's most useful and won't get lost. I made some lemon scrub for the kitchen this week that is supposed to be ace for getting onion and garlic odors off your hands. I haven't had cause to use it yet so the jury is still out. If you try it let me know what you think!

 

  I also made a new lunch bag for Jason out of some of that oilcloth I ordered a few weeks ago. Sewing doesn't hurt my hands so long as there isn't much pinning or use of small scissors. Daniel pronounced it too girly but Jason doesn't seem to mind. I tried out some invisi velcro just to see if I liked it and the handle is cotton webbing. This is nice and roomy and could possibly even fit lunch for 2.

High Praise Indeed

On yesterday's todo list was making a new batch of body butter to fill a special request. I'm not quite done tinkering with the recipe but it's been a great success so far and has been very helpful for my extremely dry skin. I also wanted to try out some new recipes I'd found for a lavender scented foot butter and some cuticle cream scented with Egyptian geranium (sort of a floral scent). The new recipes seem great so far but I need to find some bitsy containers to subdivide my batch.

Jason pretty much always claims to like whatever I have cooked and if there's ever been something he didn't like he wouldn't admit it. Last night's dinner, however, was a big hit. He said it could be served in a restaurant which is something I've heard on only a few occasions. I used this recipe to make my pumpernickel bread which turned out well though it really could have risen a bit longer.

Salmon Nicoise

salmon filets
arugula
1 preserved lemon
pitted nicoise olives
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1 1/2 tablespoons minced shallot
juice of a lemon
1 tablespoon good quality olive oil
salt and black pepper to taste

Season the salmon with salt and pepper and pan fry until just cooked through. Chop the preserved lemon discarding any seeds and stir together with olives, onions, shallot, lemon juice, olive oil and seasonings. Serve salmon atop arugula drizzled with the olive mixture.