Ask the Expert - Bath Salts Tutorial

Today is Day 1 of our Ask the Expert Series.  Please welcome Stephanie Sharer of Alchemy Lifestyle and Wellness.  Stephanie will be providing a bath salts tutorial for us today.  I know Stephanie would welcome any questions you may have, please ask away in the comments section below.

Simple Bath Salts Tutorial

Difficulty:  EASY | Time:  20-30 minutes | Yield:  16 oz.

Nothing says 'relaxation' quite like a soothing soak in a warm tub.  Adding a therapeutic bath salt mixture just puts the icing on the cake.  Bath salts are a great way to help detoxify the body, drain the lymphatic system and improve circulation and overall well being.  They are also a great way to reduce stress and experience the benefits of aromatherapy.

For this recipe, you will need:

1 cup Epsom Salt

1 cup Dead Sea Salt

1/2 cup Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Jojoba Oil

Colorant of choice (optional, can be purchased from soap making section of craft store)

1 tsp essential oil or fragrance oil of choice**

Most of the ingredients can be found in your local grocery store or health food store.  Food coloring makes a great colorant substitution for those who don't have micas, iron oxides or lab colors on hand.

**For a true aramotherapy experience, be sure to use ONLY essential oils.  "Fragrance" oils may smell nice, but they are synthetically made.  Only true essential oils have therapeutic benefits.

STEP 1

Pour Epsom, Dead Sea salts and Baking Soda into a large mixing bowl.  

Mix together to break up any clumps.

 STEP 2

Drizzle 1/2 tsp jojoba oil and 1 tsp Essential Oil blend over salt mixture and blend thoroughly.

 STEP 3

Add desired amount of  color and blend well.  (You can have some fun here by 

splitting your mixture first and coloring half of it to create a neat layered effect!)

 STEP 4

Package and label your salts.  They are ready to use!

 Recommended usage:  Simply scoop about 4 TBS into warm bath water.  Soak for 15-20 minutes and pat dry.  The addition of the Jojoba oil will keep your skin from drying out.

Now you know how to make an awesome luxurious bath treat that is great for personal use or for gift giving!

Below are a few of my favorite essential oil blends for the bath.

Calming Blend

3 drops Lavender

2 drops Jasmine

2 drops Palmarosa

1 drop Geranium

Detoxifying Blend

3 drops Grapefruit

2 drops Lavender

2 drops Sweet Fennel

2 drops Rosemary

2 drops Cypress

2 drops Geranium

1 drop Lemon

1 drop Juniper Berry

Earthly Delight Blend

2 drops Bergamot

2 drops Lavender

2 drops Geranium

1 drop Rose

1 drop Patchouli

1 drop Vetiver

Feel free to adjust the number of drops to suit your recipe and preference.  I have listed them all in "single" dose proportions.  For the above recipes, you would need the equivalent of 100 drops to scent your batch.

CAUTION:  Essential Oils contain therapeutic constituents that may not be appropriate for all users.  Please do your research before making your choices of which oils to use.

There are so many great resources available both in print and on the internet for how to make natural bath products and aromatherapy blends in the comfort of your kitchen.  Check out a few of my favorites.

Aromaweb - www.aromaweb.com  (fantastic info about all aspects of aromatherapy including essential oil safety and blend ideas.)

NAHA - www.naha.org (for general aromatherapy resources, courses, aromatherapist directory)

Amazon.com - www.amazon.com (for books on aromatherapy and product making)

Stephanie Sharer is the owner of Alchemy Lifestyle & Wellness - a holistic personal care business.  She is a mom of one, a wife, a daughter and a holistic practitioner with professional accreditation with the NAHA (National Association of Holistic Aromatherapy) and the AIA (Alliance of International Aromatherapists as well as being a member of The Artisan Group.  She has studied and practiced clinical aromatherapy and natural skin care for more than 13 years and has put her passion for both to use on her Etsy shop site:  www.alchemylifestyle.etsy.com

Thanks so much Stephanie for this fantastic tutorial.  I can't wait to try it myself.  Stay tuned for our next Expert - Party themes with Shannon of Sweet Stella's.

Christine
www.christine-company.com

Not a baker, but I make a mean Galette

You all know that I am not a baker.  Besides my super-easy cupcakes and an occasional secret family recipe for the-most-delicious-pound-cake-you've-ever-put-in-your-mouth, I don't do much baking.
So when we were invited to dinner with some great friends, what do I say?  What other than "I'll bring dessert!"

Um, what was I thinking?  Not only do I have 457,000 10 orders from my Etsy shop, I DON'T BAKE!!!!!

I scour the kitchen to see what's available.  Pears from Nana's house...check.  Brown sugar...check.  Cinnamon...check.  Butter...check.   Pie crust?  Nope!  So I send Mr. Company to the store to buy one of those refrigerated pies crusts that you roll out, fill and bake.

I remembered reading an article in Real Simple Magazine a while back about 3 ingredient dishes.  One of those was a Plum Galette.  Galette is a general term used in the French cuisine to designate various types of flat, round or freeform crusty cakes.  It can be sweet or savory.  One of the most famous galletes is the King Cake which is eaten on the Day of the Epiphany.  Or for us Southern folks...during Mardi Gras!

OK people...this thing is so easy...even I can do it!

Fruit Galette

• First, roll out your pie crust.  I used my trusty pizza stone instead of a baking sheet.
• Slice whatever fruit you like into thin slices.
• Layer the fruit around the center of the pie crust leaving a 2 inch border around the edge.
• Sprinkle some brown sugar and cinnamon on top.
• Cut 2 T of unsalted buttter into tiny bits and arrange on top.

• Fold your crust up around the edges.

• Brush the crust with water and sprinkle Turbinado Sugar (Sugar in the Raw) on the edges
• Bake at 375 deg. until the crust is brown and the juices are bubbly. (approx. 30-40 minutes)

• EAT!

My galette got rave reviews.  And it was so easy and delicious that we made another one the very next day!  Try it - you'll love it!

Christine
www.etsy.com/shop/christineandcompany

Snack Attack!

 Remember I told you a while back that I'm not much of a baker...it's still true.  We've got a Birthday Party at our house today, so I'm going with the Perfect Cupcake.  I also wanted to do a little something extra, so when I went to a Birthday Party last weekend ('tis the season) I was on the lookout for something cute for our little June Bug's Backyard Beach Bash!  Enter these adorable (and yummy) chocolate covered pretzel snaps with M&M's.

 
It's the easiest thing ever so I thought I'd share with you:

Supplies:

One bag Snyder Butter Snap Pretzels
One bag Wilton Candy Melts in white
One Bag M&M's


Preheat your oven to 200 degrees.  While the oven is heating, lay the pretzels out on a baking sheet. Top each one with a candy wafer.  Pop in the oven for approx. 3 minutes, just long enough to make the candy wafer soft, but not melt through the pretzel. 

Remove from oven and press an M&M into the center of each softened candy wafer.  Move to a cooling rack.  Repeat! 

 

This one's my favorite - doesn't it look like a little fried egg on toast!?

Store these little babies in an airtight container until your party.  Make them ahead and they'll keep for several days.

So, now my wheels are turning.  Did you know that the Wilton Candy Melts come in different colors?  I'm thinking pink or blue for a baby shower, green for Christmas, pink for Valentine's Day.  And you know M&M's come in seasonal colors as well.  If you want a specific color combo, you can order M&M's in bulk in the colors of your choice.  How about football season?  Team colors anyone?  Here's another...white candy melts with Reece's Pieces for Halloween or Thanksgiving.  The possibilities are endless.  What are YOUR ideas?  Comment and have fun!

Happy Birthday June Bug!

Christine
www.etsy.com/shop/christineandcompany

How to make the PERFECT cupcake! Seriously....

Ok...so, I'm not really a baker.  But it's that time of year...last day of preschool was yesterday and I volunteered to make cupcakes.  What was I thinking?  Actually, unless I don't have 457,000 things going on at precisely the same time, I'm really not happy.  Did I mention that we rent our beach condo and I had a 2 hour window to get out there and clean after our renters left in the morning and the others arrived after lunch?  Oh yeah, I had to pick up Happy Meals for the kids at school during that window too!  I know, I'm crazy!  But I love it!  I always wanted to be THAT mom...you know the one.  The mom that volunteers in the classroom, bakes the cupcakes from scratch, sews the kids clothes all while having perfectly manicured nails and wonderfully coiffed hair.   Whatever!
So, since I'm not THAT mom...I needed some easy cupcakes without copping out and buying them at Publix.  These are really the easiest cupcakes EVER!

First, gather your supplies:
Cake Mix of your choice (I told you I'm not THAT mom!)
Cupcake liners (did I mention that I love Jo-Anns?)
Eggs, Oil, Water, Sugar, Cream of Tartar, Vanilla Extract
Sprinkles

Follow the directions on the box, sort of.  Instead of heating your oven to 300 degrees, heat it to 400.  I use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to dole out the batter...perfectly measured little cakes.  You could also use an ice cream scoop that holds approximately 1/4 cup.  Fill your cupcake liners.  I only had enough batter for 22 cupcakes...but that's OK.  I only needed 12 to take to school and I get to eat the rest myself!  MR. Company will probably help too.
Here comes the best part.  When you have your liners filled, pop them in the oven for 5 minutes.  Then lower the temperature to 325 and bake the cupcakes for approx 5-8 more minutes.  They are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Here's the scoop:  when you start baking at a high temperature, the outside gets done quickly and then as the inside cooks more slowly, there's only one way for the batter to go - UP!    What you get is a perfectly domed cupcake ready for frosting!

Next, the frosting.  My 2 year old can't eat traditional frosting...makes him sick every time. So I decided to make a 7 minute frosting.  Don't let the name fool you...it really takes about 20 minutes, but it is SO yummy.  Tastes like Marshmallow Fluff.  Here are the directions:  7 minute Frosting.  You can flavor it with any extracts...lemon, coconut, almond.  YUM, YUM, YUM!!!!
My cupcakes turned out really cute (if I do say so myself) and I imagine I'll be doing this again soon...my baby's turning one this month. UGH.