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Essence of Mabel Autumn 2006
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I finally found the ever important "Honey-O-Bit" Recipe I created and I hope you try it. Easy to make, good for you, and a treat you cannot stay away from. I would have to say the same for the pumpkin smoothie recipe below! I am drinking one now as I write...
Mabel's New Pumpkin Smoothie
Recipe Pumpkin is really great for you. This recipe is awesome and you can even add a splash of hooch if you desire. I used the Magic Bullet for this one, so I could drink right out of the cup when done blending. Because everyone has their own mixers and various size in batch needs, here are the ingredient break downs. 50% Vanilla or Butter Pecan Ice Cream 30% Libby's Pumpkin Pie Mix (from a can) 20% Milk or Skim Milk 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon Garnish with whip cream if preferred. I am a light weight, so I may add some Butterscotch Snapps or off brand liquor to mine.
Honey-O-Bit Recipe
I had some much fun making and eating this! It was fast, easy, and
for the most part healthy. If you can master this, you can also make
"nutritional bars" and add your own nutrients before it starts to
cool. I noticed I could just make honey stir spoons for coffee or
tea if I wanted to just dip the spoons! The spoon you see, cooled to
a solid mass.
Loving the Magic Bullet The great "toy" of this month has been my ordering the "Magic Bullet" after being taunted and teased by my friends who have them. First thing I made? Jasmine Rice Powder. Just to see if it could handle hard tasks in seconds. It did. Plus, rice powder is becoming a "buzz" word in the cosmetics community. I can see it could handle ice and make some great sorbets in no time. Next I made hummus. Like in two whole minutes. One drained can of chick peas, some good olive oil, garlic, lemon and I had it going on. As an after thought, I could have added sun dried tomatoes, roasted peppers, green olives, what have you. It comes with a cook book with just a slew of "healthy fast foods" you can make with it. In fact I finally got to use a ton of canned beans that had been sitting around, and made a lot of spice mixes ahead of time. Clean up is a breeze. It is called "stick it in the dishwasher." From a Product Developer stand point, I can grind dry rose petals, oatmeal and other clays to make face masks or bath milks. I dare say I could make "lotion in the bullet" but I have not tried that yet. The trick is to try to get them on e-Bay. I got 4 from two different vendors. I bid the last five seconds and got them for $22.95 each and shipping was not bad at all. When I went to the official site, they wanted some $48.00 just for shipping and e-Bay looked like a real option. Glad it was for this neat product. The vendors seem "new" and get booted after you buy, because the bullet company keeps on them. But I did get all of my purchases. Pay Pal would ensure that anyway. Now I will watch their infomercial more, (when I am doing the insomniac thing,) for other ideas. A lot of neat accessories came with it. The down side? My kids have a good clue what they are getting for X-Mas. I think the Magic Bullet can qualify for its own chat room. My friends teens "barter" over their bullets when moving dorm rooms. Recipes I am getting in are at the bottom of this page. It may end up being its own novel. So, my Christmas list is the Bullet, a little trampoline (everyone reports works wonders) and maybe, finally, an i-pod to help work out.
The Magic Bullet Versus Sensio's Rocket
When I get back from an autumn trip--I will be punching out bath and body recipes, as well as food recipes based around this versatile utility. Which ever one you buy, it really does replace several kitchen tools. See article in this issue (below) for Rocket/Magic Bullet ideas. Click here for the last Magic Bullet article. Yes, we will also be talking about Going Green in more ways than one. Speaking of that--let's start with those bulky aerosol spray fresheners and the new gadgets you stick in the wall. They are such junk, not effective and are so expensive compared to going natural. Natural does not mean expensive. Not in this case anyway. Click here for fast air freshener methods.
Fast Air Freshener Methods...continued from Letter from the Editor
The bamboo reed sticks have great merit. If you do not have them, my most effective method is the old Windex bottle. Keep your old Windex bottles and fill half way with water. Add essential oils to preference, shake well and spray as you please. Most of my reader's have Polysorbate 20 on hand. Poly does make oil and water mix. A good shake works just as well. My last bottle, I wanted to keep around. I had guests coming for a week. I used maybe 1/2 an ounce of Poly because I wanted my solution to stay mixed and use for later. I think I used 8 ounces of water to 1/2 ounce essential oil. The Poly is not necessary to do this. I recommend Cinnamon, Pine, Lavender, Lemongrass, or Peppermint. This time of year most people would like an orange/clove mix. I see so much now about "Sell This House" funny--no one mentions to address the scenting of the rooms. I also like to alternate the scent of each room. The kitchen smells awesome just with the herbs. In a pinch you can boil up cinnamon water and that will fill the home with a cozy smell. Just keep your eye on the boil down. I am not crazy about fragrance oils because I am leaning more and more towards purity. And I do not trust the local health food store for essential oils either. To such a point, I will only travel with my own essential oils. I love them for bath so much these days I almost panic to consider being without them. Bath favorite? 10 drops of Rosemary with one drop only of Basil and Fennel. Basil and fennel are way too potent if used too much-but offer so much mind clarity. I also like Siberian Fir Needle if I want to feel in Siberia--or an autumn forest. Very crisp and clean. I use Bulgarian Lavender essential oil as a pillow spray. Straight up. It does not stain my cotton pillow cases. I use the little misters for that.
Holiday Desserts: Cheaters Method
Speaking of pies...
The Pie Lady,
Woodbury, TN
Lisa's Country Clip Art
Lisa is another artist I had the pleasure of meeting last month. She is to illustration what Mabel is to content. I noticed many of my clients who have web sites, do use Lisa's clip art. After being in Lisa's site-she offers so much more than just web support graphics. She has a beautiful collection of scrap booking tools, chore charts, calendar makers and the list goes on. I did buy her "I Want it All Collection" and it was so worth it. I noticed there is so much on the DVD I got not even mentioned in her site. Why? She is like me, working on the next project and forgot to mention the vast attributes of the last project. Lisa is very gifted and depends solely on her web income to keep on drawing her whimsical art. I hope you check out her site! Click here for Lisa.
Pumpkin Recipes In my recent trip to Cherokee, North Carolina, (I will write much more about...) I was able to buy Pumpkin Fudge. Pumpkin fudge is hard to get. The candy maker told me he used 10% pumpkin pie mix from a can, and held it up for me to see. It looked like Libby pumpkin pie filling that already has spices in it. So, pumpkin pie filling at 10% for those reader's who covet their fudge. (I would swirl cream cheese in at 5% if I was making fudge.) Pumpkin is one of the hardest "notes" to secure for flavor and fragrance. Most companies selling the "pumpkin spice" side of it to get around a true pumpkin flavor. In my mind, most recipes are not any good without the real pumpkin. For Pumpkin Ice Cream, I would make my normal ice cream recipe, but add the canned Libby's pumpkin at up to 20% of the recipe. If you have pumpkin laying around, clean it up and stick it in a blender--making your own pumpkin base.
Bullet-Rocket Ideas The first thing I found fascinating with the Magic Bullet-is it can make powder out of rice in seconds. Easy clean up--called just "stick it in the dishwasher." Rice powder is "in" and can be used in replacement of talc and or cornstarch in bath and body recipes. I would use jasmine rice to make my powders. Beyond make good food fast, I can see many things the Rocket/Bullet can do quickly in making bath and body products.
Flu Strategies We already had our fun here at Mabel in early October. We forgot we share keyboards and certain handles. Sept and October should be flu awareness month. A month to keep rubbing alcohol handy in pretty bottles. I use a hand painted vinegar bottle and constantly wipe down door knobs and any areas of mutual touch. More so just after use.
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In our last article I talked about how much I loved
the Magic Bullet and was one of the last of my peers to join the crowd.
The Bullet is so popular in college dorms it is a serious item of
barter. Based on the Bullet article I received a lot of e-mails
regarding a similar item at Wal-Mart. Yep, we got to love
Wal-Mart. Readers said it is about half the price and
works just as great. Those who wrote me said they own both.
It is called The Rocket, made by
I love pumpkin cheesecake, but
tired of making it. This year I eyed a pumpkin pie way before
season and could not help it. Hey, pumpkin is good for you.
I bought two packages of cream cheese, warmed them up with a touch of
stevia and spread that all over the already bought pie. I topped
it with maple syrup and pecans. So, have lots of cream
cheese ready when guest bring over the standard store made pumpkin pie.
Or, store bought apple pie. Reheat the apple pie a bit and top with warm
caramel and walnuts. Allow to cool back down and top the apple
pie.
I had the pleasure of meeting the
founder of this company, Denise Caffey, and found her to be
so creative. We could not get off the phone. I will be
working with Denise in the near future on food and craft products.
Her claim to fame is "Chocolate Gravy" that many gourmet Chef's are now
offering on menu's across the south. Her Chocolate Pie is what
made her famous. I know they will make great holiday gifts for
people with a sweet tooth.
