Something different... home-made candle

It's been a while, and I've been storing recipes and blog items in my head or on my PC but not having found time to put virtual pen to paper.

For Christmas 2013, I decided to make candles and beauty products for the female contingent in my gifting circle. The idea came about because one of my friends only buys organic produce (including beauty products) and for another I thought about buying her a "candle making" set, but then realised she probably didn't have the time or would enjoy the activity as much as me. So, buying the ingredients myself and creating my own product was much better idea!

All of the base ingredients for the candle, body lotion and lipbalm were virtually the same, but required adjustments to the quantities (you don't rub candles on your skin, do you?). The consistency for the lip-balm took a few attempts (re-melting, adding more oil, leaving to cool and testing) but I got there.

I chose to use soy as my wax (with beeswax, for one) because it's environmentally friendly and produces a clear burn. Apparently it's carbon neutral, so you can't complain that your candle habit is adding to your carbon footprint! I chose to make a beeswax candle in my old honey jar because beeswax is another clear burning wax which produces a slight honey and pollen scent when burning. Beeswax should also burn brightly without a drip.

Candle

You will need (all of which I purchased from suppliers on eBay)

• Soy candle wax
• Waxed wick and wick holders (if you purchase unwaxed wick, you will need to melt some soy wax and place the wick in the melted wax for a couple of hours to soak and for the wax to soak into the wick)
• Wick bar (I drilled a small hole into an old ice-cream stick - you basically need something long enough to go across the width of the container 
• Containers (you can use old tea-cups, pretty tins, glasses, old jam jars - anything is a vessel). I used lidded metal tins for the fragrant candles and an old honey jar for my beeswax candle
• Essential oil of choice (I used cinnamon bark essential oil)
• Optional: beeswax, candle wax dye
• A bain-marie (well, a pot of boiling water with an oven-proof dish over it in which to mix the wax - I used a metal mixing bowl over a saucepan)

Method:

1. Heat the water in the bain-marie until boiling.

2. Add the wax to the oven-proof dish and place onto the saucepan. The amount you need depends upon the size of your container. As a rough guide, I used 1.5 times the amount of the size of the container (using the container as a scoop). The amount used can be 100% soy wax, or a mixture of beeswax and soy at your preferred ratio. You want the wax to melt completely but not boil.

3. As the wax is melting, add any dye you want at this point and stir until the colour is evenly distributed. Without wanting to state the obvious, the more dye you add, the more intense the colour of the candle.

4. While the wax is melting, knot at one end and feed a piece of the wick through a wick holder and cut to about 2 inches (5 cm) above the height of the container.

5. Take the wax off boil and add a few drops (no more than 5) of the essential oil to the mixture and stir.

6. Drop a small amount of wax into the container and use it to set the wick holder to the base of the container. Thread the top part of the wick through a wick bar to keep the wick in place in the centre of the container (the candle will burn best if the wick is centred). You may want to tape the wick to the wick bar to stop it moving when you're pouring the wax.

7. Pour the wax into the container, keeping the wick upright through the centre (as much as possible). The wax should not be higher than about 1/2 inch (1cm) from the top of the container, which accounts for the melting wax when you burn the candle.

8. Leave the candle to cool, preferably overnight. As it solidifies, it may shrink in volume slightly. If you have any left over wax, you may want to re-heat and top it up. [Note: you can make multi-coloured candles in this way, by building up layers of different coloured wax, leaving the wax to cool between layers, much like you would a jelly].


9. Once cooled, trim the wick to about 1/2 inch (1 cm) from the top of the candle.

10. Hey presto! Homemade candle!

For notes on the use of oils and essential oils, see my page here

Sorbets and Ice-Cream

I don't have an ice-cream maker,  when I read a magazine which feature recipes for gorgeous sounding ice-creams and sorbets I'm always disappointed that the instructions require an ice-cream maker.

I've nothing against purchasing one, but for me I think it'd be a gimmick purchase that would soon gather dust. So, I set about experimenting with some recipes I'd previously come across, and created 3 gorgeous ice-creams/ice-cream style eats. Two of which are almost entirely fruit and are great for those who are on a diet but want something for a dessert.

The first I discovered when I subscribed to Olive magazine. Or perhaps it was my friend's Good Food Magazine - either way, we got pretty excited about the idea of making ice-cream from a banana! It's so easy, and ready immediately!

Banana "ice-cream" (serves 4)

6 bananas (chopped into 1-2 cm rings, and frozen)
4 tbsp milk (* or a soya/almond/coconut milk, for taste or diet specific)

Take the bananas from the freezer, throw them into a blender/food processor and whiz with the milk. The bananas take on the consistency of soft-scoop ice-cream. You could add a little bit of cinnamon, or some honey, or peanut butter - anything that tastes good with bananas. Serve immediately.

EDIT: I've since realised you can do this with virtually any fruit, and to make it suitable for specific diets or intolerances, try using soy milk or an alternative (I've used Alpro Almond Milk). For a quick tropical ice-cream, I used frozen pineapple and some coconut milk. Adding a splash of rum to the mixture, I created an instant pina colada!

Coffee No-Churn Ice-Cream

This is something which caught my eye on Nigella's Nigelissima, and it seemed pretty easy so I thought it was worth a try. Again, simple ingredients and it didn't take long at all...

284ml condensed milk
300m double cream
2 tbsp espresso powder (I used 2 tbsp of Millicano, sieved, instead)
2 tbsp espresso liqueur (I used a 'single serving' sized Tia Maria)

It couldn't have been simpler - simply whisk all the ingredients together until you get soft peaks, and then fill an airtight tuppaware container. Because of the alcohol it doesn't set completely solid, so you can serve it straight from the freezer.

I liked the texture of the ice-cream, but I personally felt it left a slightly strange lining on my tongue, which I think was from the frozen condensed milk. I can't quite explain it. It wouldn't stop me from making it again though!

However, in my bid to find the best ice-cream that didn't require a blender, I stumbled across a Mary Berry recipe which created the best ice-cream I've ever tasted (except for the delicious ice-cream you find in Tuscan gelaterias!). It's a simple recipe, which created the most perfectly light and creamy ice-cream. My parents and brother didn't believe I'd made it (and were only convinced because I served it from a re-used tuppaware container that didn't always contain ice-cream!).

No churn ice-cream

300 mls double cream
4 eggs, separated
100g caster sugar

Optional extras: fruit puree (made from blending the fruit of your choice in a blender/food processor), 3 tbsps of chopped dark chocolate (or melted chocolate to swirl in),  3 tbsp of raisins soaked in 50ml rum, vanilla extract/vanilla pod, a chopped chunk of stem ginger with some of the syrup... the list is endless!)

Whisk the double cream until soft peaks form. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks (as if you're making meringue). Slowly add the caster sugar to the egg whites, so that the mixture retains its stiff peaks but becomes glossy. Once all of the sugar has been added, dollop in the whipped cream and the eggg yolks (I added one at a time) and whisk the ingredients again until they are all combined. The trick with this recipe was to retain as much air as possible, so you don't want to over-whisk it.

I added a tsp of vanilla essence and some chopped cystallised ginger, as I wanted a vanilla ice-cream but with some sweet ginger chunks to complement the theme of my dinner. Pour the mixture into a container and freeze.

To serve, take the ice-cream from the freezer and leave at room temperature for about 5 minutes, then scoop and enjoy! I'll be experimenting further with this recipe to see how I can adapt it to feature other flavours.

Mango Sorbet

If you're not a fan of ice-cream, or you need something with fewer calories (as is often the desire of women like me who want a pudding, but don't want the guilt!) I strongly suggest getting your hands on some kesar mango pulp.

I'm fortunate enough to live in a multi-ethnic area, so tins of mango pulp and coconut milk are in abundance, which is great given my preference for spicy asian cuisine.

For this sorbet, you need:

850g tin of kesar mango pulp (or 2 large mangoes, peeled, stoned and blitzed in a food processor)
90g caster sugar

The process is simple - blend the mango (or pulp) in a food processor with the caster sugar. Once blended, pour into a container and place in the freezer.

I was keen to add a slight kick to mine, so I added one chopped and de-seeded finger chilli, and about 1 tsp of grated root ginger before I blitzed it in the blender - the pieces of chilli and ginger got much smaller and more dispersed. I then grated in some fresh lime zest.

Once frozen, take out of the freezer and spoon it back into a food processor and blitz again until smooth then replace in the freezer. This avoids any ice-crystals forming in the mix and makes for a smoother, tastier sorbet. Because of the chilli, ginger and lime, it served as the perfect dessert after a curry.

The final product of my mango sorbet and ginger ice-cream:

 

Chai Tea Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Not only do I love chai tea (see previous entry), but I like adding it to anything going!

I recently had my parents to visit, and wanted to make a loaf cake for afternoon tea, but I didn't have enough eggs. Instead I scaled down the portion sizes and made 15 cupcakes instead.

Still delicious, and in handy bite-sized servings!

Chai cupcakes

150g self raising flour 
150g caster sugar
150g margarine or butter (room temperature)
2 eggs
3 tbsp milk
3 tbsp instant chai tea mix (OR 2 tbsp instant tea, 1 tsp ground ginger, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ground cloves, 1/2 tsp ground cardamom, 1/4 tsp nutmeg)

 Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees, add cupcake liners to cupcake tin or moulds.
2. Whisk eggs with caster sugar until creamed.
3. Add flour and  margarine and whisk together.
4. Add the spices and continue mixing, before adding the milk gradually to form a smooth batter.
5. Add a large dollop of batter mix into the cupcake liners (to fill around 2/3 of the cupcake liner).
6. Bake in the oven for around 20 to 25 minutes, until springy to the touch.

They're delicious as they are, but I decided to make a cream cheese frosting (I'm a sucker for that!)

Cream cheese frosting

200g butter (room temperature)
200g mascapone
150g icing sugar

Optional: 1 tbsp honey, 1 tsp grated root ginger, 1/2 tsp cinnamon.

Method:

1. Whisk all the ingredients until evenly blended.
2. Add the optional extras if you want an extra bit of zing.
3. Once the cupcakes have cooled, either pipe or use a palette knife to top the cupcakes.

Voila!

Instant Chai Tea

I absolutely love chai tea, the smell of spice and with some frothy milk, it's like a caffeinated mulled wine (sans alcohol).

Given my slight chai addiction, I thought there had to be a more economical way of getting my delicious fix. After a bit of research, I've come up with an instant chai tea blend which I've decantered into small containers and taken with me on holiday.

You will need:

1 cup/150g skimmed milk powder

1 cup/150g coffee creamer

2.5 cups/450g caster sugar (or vanilla sugar, if available)

1.5 cups/225g instant tea
2 tsp ground ginger

2 tsp ground cinnamon



1 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp ground cardamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp allspice

 



Method 

1. Mix milk powder, creamer, caster sugar and tea together.
2. Add spices and stir until completely combined
3. Store in an air-tight container.

To serve

Stir two heaped teaspoons into some boiling water and serve. I like to stir my chai tea mix into a small amount of warm milk first, for an extra creamy taste.

Enjoy!

The Beginning

I've been thinking about this blog for some time. I wanted to create somewhere that I could document my musings on food, record the recipes I find or try out, or those that I adapt.

I'm not strictly a vegetarian, but I don't really eat much meat (limited mostly to poultry, and some game, and one or two white fish) so I'm probably what can be most accurately described as "fussy".

However, I do enjoy good food, cooked with fresh ingredients. Given my penchant for spicy food, and some Sri Lankan input from my boyfriend, most of my dishes feature some sort of spicy element (even the desserts).

So, I think it's time I got on with my cooking talk!