Tag: honey

Friday Frolics #7 – Comfy Crockpot Rice Pudding

Friday Frolics #7 – Comfy Crockpot Rice Pudding

One of the downsides of living with chronic illness/pain is some days, it’s too much to do much of anything, even sit at a keyboard. Yesterday (Friday) was one of those days. I managed to get the one sentence and photo up for the Photography 101 assignment and run one errand, then crashed for the rest of the day.

In recompense, today I am sharing with you one of my all-time favorite comfort food recipes: Comfy Crockpot Rice Pudding. It’s a bit different from what most of us think of as Grandma’s Rice Pudding because, first of all, it’s made overnight in a crockpot and, secondly, it’s made with brown rice, not white. OK, before everyone groans at once, you won’t even know it when you dive into this scrumptious delight the morning after, I promise. Let’s get started:

COMFY CROCKPOT RICE PUDDING

Ingredients

1-1/2 Cups Brown Basmati Rice

3-1/2 Cups Water (or soy or almond milk)

A drizzle of olive oil (trust me)

1-1/2 to 2 Teaspoon Cinnamon (to taste)

1/2 Teaspoon Cardamom or Mace (if you can’t find Cardamom)

1/2 Teaspoon Nutmeg

1/2 Cup Raisins

2-1/2 Cups Milk, Heavy Cream, Almond or Cashew Milk

Honey for drizzling

Garnishes (if desired): toasted coconut, almond slivers, chopped walnuts, pecans or cashews

 Instructions

Place rice and water (or milk) in crock pot insert, cover, and cook on low overnight (about 8 hours).

In the morning, about 15 minutes before serving, stir in ½ cup milk of choice and cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, and raisins. There will be a bit of crunchiness around the edges – scrape it off and stir it into the mix.

Divide pudding into four servings, pour ½ cup milk of choice over each serving, garnish as desired and drizzle with honey for sweetening.

Enjoy to your heart’s delight. See you next Friday.

 

Friday Frolics #6 – Cleopatra Face Masque

Friday Frolics #6 – Cleopatra Face Masque

Winter be gone! I, for one, am fed up with the torture my skin is going through with the blasts of cold air outside and the dry air inside. My heart goes out to the people who live in parts of the world where the weather is harsher than where I live. People assume New Mexico doesn’t experience four seasons; they’re wrong. We have all four seasons – many times in the same week!

Believe me, this is hard on the skin and it doesn’t get any easier the older one gets. So, I thought now was a good time to share what I like to call my Cleopatra Face Masque. I feel like a queen afterwards because my skin feels so smooth and silky and the fragrance is divine – after all, it contains frankincense and lavender! Don’t worry, you can pick these up at your local health food store and a little goes a long way. By the way, this is not just for the ladies out there – the gentlemen in the crowd will benefit from this treatment and enjoy the fragrance as well. This might even be a good couples’ activity, if you think about it.

The masque is also a scrub for exfoliation and can be used on your face, hands, pretty much anywhere you have skin that needs softening. Additionally, honey, lavender and frankincense are all naturally antiseptic / antibacterial agents so this is a very ‘clean’ concoction for your skin. The recipe I share here is for a portion size I use on my face and hands so if you need more for larger expanses, just adjust the ingredients in relative proportions and you’ll be fine. If you are sensitive to fragrances on your skin, you can leave the frankincense and lavender out of the masque itself. Put a couple drops of each in some water warming on the stove while you sit with the masque on to experience the aromatherapy benefits they impart.

CLEOPATRA FACE MASQUE

Ingredients

1 Tbsp Baking Soda
1 Tbsp Honey (raw is best)
2 drops Frankincense Essential Oil*
2 drops Lavender Essential Oil*

Instructions

Mix Baking Soda and Honey together into a paste adding more Honey if needed to make it creamy enough to apply to the skin. Add in the Essential Oils and mix well. *To be sure you get the right formulation, when you purchase the Essential Oils, tell the salesperson at the store you will be putting them in a masque to apply to the skin, not using them in candles.

Massage the masque onto the skin (avoid eyes and lips) and relax for 10 minutes. Personally, I like to kick back in my recliner with lovely music playing and cucumber slices on my eyes. Oh yes! I go for the entire spa treatment when it’s my turn, people!

Apply warm, moist cloth over the masque to loosen, then wipe it off. Splash face with lukewarm water to remove any remnants and pat dry with a clean towel. The skin will be rosy, slightly tingly, and refreshed. Because the essential oils are so relaxing, this is an excellent treatment to do at bedtime after a stressful day.

If you have any of the masque left over, you can store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Since honey doesn’t spoil, it will keep indefinitely as long as it isn’t exposed to the air to become granulated.

Enjoy your pampering session and your weekend – until next time…