Besan Laddu Recipe

NPR included my Besan Laddu recipe on their program, "From Chompsgiving to Chew Year's". They were looking for holiday recipes and selected my recipe! If you use my recipe, please use a little more butter if needed. They didn't include that little tip. Enjoy! Jyotsna

Holiday: Home Made Salt Scrubs

When I graduated from massage therapy school, I felt I had accomplished something very good. Therefore I wanted to be "good" to myself. I recall walking into the gift shop next door that had many spa essentials. I bought this very expensive jar of salt scrub which had the essential oil lavender mixed in. Lavender has a way of transporting the mind, and the skin. It is a very healing essential oil. My grandmother had lavender flowers tucked into her pillows, which always relaxed me before going to sleep while visiting. So, I brought home that expensive bottle of lavender bath salts and tried it out in the shower. I was amazed how new my skin felt after using it. When I began to think about gifts that would transport the mind and body, my thoughts went straight to lavender salt scrub. I like that the word indicates a verb, which is busy doing the work. For a lot of women, we deal with dead skin cells building up on our skin, and it prevents the skin from breathing and being healthy. So, here is a simple "tested on me" recipe for bath scrubs, which is inexpensive and can be put in a jar you have washed out. Print some labels of your own homemade variety, or use canning labels to write in your own script.

SALT SCRUB 1 cup of sea salt 1 cup of olive oil (or other carrier oil like almond oil) 20 - 30 drops of essential lavender oil Using a clean jar of any type (but you can use a canning jar), pour the sea salt into the jar. Next pour 1/2 of the salt into the jar, and allow for the oil to absorb the salt. When it has, pour the other 1/2 of the salt. Give this a little time, maybe a few minutes. Finally, begin to add your essential oil. I let the oil drop into a tablespoon and that way I knew I wasn't using too much. Mix everything very well. Tighten a lid on the jar and decorate with a beautiful ribbon and a hand made tag or sticker. Otherwise, you can use canning labels.

A nice touch with this gift is to include a fancy spoon and a hand made wash cloth. Alternatively, you can substitute sugar for the sea salt, and this is a very nice scrub too! Jyotsna

Home Made Playdough!

We had a heavy frost this morning and it is quite chilly. It's been the perfect time to stay indoors and work on holiday gifts. This year is a full on holiday without buying gifts. I'm making everything. We celebrate Christmas with my parents and brother and his kids. Usually my sister-in-law's sister comes with her family for the family dinner. I wanted to make sure I bring something for her children and not knowing their preferences, so I settled on the home made playdough recipe. This is a great recipe and the playdough is SO soft! After making it (which was very easy) I used standard food coloring (no sugar in the colors!) to bring on the fun. I got the recipe from the blog, Chef in Training. Hope you enjoy this awesome playdough. Jyotsna