Saffire Blue

LOTION BAR WITH SHEALOE

·         28% Beeswax

·         20% oil of choice

·         30% Shealoe butter

·         20% Cocoa Butter or Mango Butter

·         1% Vitamin E

·         1% fragrance or essential oil

Weigh the beeswax, oil of choice, and Cocoa Butter into a heatproof container (like a Pyrex jug) and place into a double boiler. Heat the ingredients until melted. Test the temperature – if it’s below 55˚C, add your Shea butter, Vitamin E, and fragrance oil, mix well, and pour into your container or mould. You can put the lotion bars in the fridge or freezer to set more quickly. When it’s solid, remove from the mould.

Shealoe butter feels less greasy on our skin than Shea Butter would alone, and because it contains refined Shea Butter, you won’t find those nasty grains in your products if you do melt and solidify something like a lotion bar or cream.

Shea Butter will normally have a shelf life of two years thanks to all those wonderful unsaturated fatty acids, but the inclusion of the Aloe Juice means it has a shelf life closer to 1 year to 18 months. It’s recommended to use it at 10% to get all that Shealoe goodness, but you can use it as low as 5% and as high as 100% in your products.

MAKING SCRUBS WITH SHEALOE BUTTER

Making scrubs with Shealoe is also super easy, and they’ll rinse off easily but leave behind a light moisturized feeling. The hard part is choosing the type and amount of exfoliant you want to use.  Let’s take a look at the base recipe, then figure out which exfoliants we want to include. There are so many options, but I’ll take a look at using sugar and jojoba beads.

BASE RECIPE FOR SHEALOE SCRUB

·         88% Shealoe butter

·         10% oil of choice

·         1% fragrance or essential oil

·         1% Vitamin E

Weigh your ingredients into a container and whip until you reach the consistency you like. Now we’ll add the exfoliants.

Jojoba spheres are a great addition to a scrub! They offer fine exfoliation and won’t scratch your skin, so they’re a great addition for sensitive skin or facial scrubs. The melting point is 68˚C to 72˚C, so you’ll want to add them to your scrub when the temperature dips down below 60˚C.

Since I like my exfoliation to be scrubby, I’m going to include 30% jojoba beads by weight to this product after I’ve whipped it.  I’ve chosen blue here to make a real impact colour wise, but you can choose any colour you like. After whipping, add 30% jojoba beads, and whip a little further until it’s incorporated well. I like to use my piping bag and 1M tip to make it look cute!

SHEALOE BODY SCRUB WITH JOJOBA BEADS

·         88% Shealoe Butter

·         10% oil of choice

·         1% fragrance or essential oil

·         1% Vitamin E

·         30% jojoba beads

Weigh all the ingredients except the jojoba beads into a container and whip until you get a consistency you like - about a minute. Add the jojoba beads by weight and whip until incorporated. Pipe or scoop into a jar and rejoice!

If you want to add sugar or salt to this base recipe, I recommend starting at about 50% and working your way up to about 80%, depending upon your taste in scrubbiness level. In my recipes, I always use about 75% because I like a lot of exfoliation!

SHIMMERING SHEALOE BUTTER SCRUB WITH SUGAR

·         87% Shealoe Butter

·         10% oil of choice

·         2% fragrance oil

·         1% Vitamin E

·         50% to 80% by weight sugar or salt

Weigh all the ingredients - except the exfoliant - into a container and whip until it reaches the consistency you like - about a minute. Add the sugar and whip until it is stiff and incorporated; this should take no more than a minute. Add your colourant (if desired) and whip again for a few seconds until the colour is consistent. You might notice I’ve increased the fragrance oil amount. Because we’re almost doubling the ingredients in this recipe, I wanted to include more fragrance so I can actually smell it!

In this recipe, I added 75% sugar to the whipped base, then I added 3/16 tsp of pink mica (you could use powdered chocolate colourants, but please ensure they are oil soluble) to make it look like cupcake frosting! I fragranced it with Wedding Cake - my favourite fragrance ever! - and piped it into the jar with my piping bag and 1M tip. You might be able to see a few blue jojoba spheres in the mix. I included those to look like sprinkles as I’m a huge fan of cupcakes! This would be absolutely adorable packaged in layers of colour to look like ice cream!

As a note, please don’t use iron oxides or ultramarine colours in your scrubs as they can give off a not-so-nice odour when mixed with water or other liquids.

It’s turkey time once again - Yay!

This is my all-time favourite way to prepare our Thanksgiving turkey. The turkey will go into the brine mixture on Saturday.  While it looks complicated it really isn’t.  The family all lend a helping hand while catching up on our busy lives.

For the brine:

2-1/2 gallons water
2-1/2 cups kosher salt
1 cup maple syrup (the real stuff)
24 bay leaves
24 cloves garlic, peeled
1/3 cup whole black peppercorns
2 small bunches fresh flat-leaf parsley (about 4 oz.)
1 small bunch fresh sage (about 1 oz.)
6 medium sprigs fresh rosemary
Zest and juice of 4 large lemons (remove the zest in long strips with a vegetable peeler)

For the turkey:

14- to 16-lb. natural turkey (preferably fresh)
1 recipe Three-Herb Butter, softened (Recipe Below)
2 Tbs. kosher salt
2 Tbs. freshly ground black pepper
2 oz. (4 Tbs.) unsalted butter, melted

For the gravy:

2-1/2 oz. (5 Tbs.) unsalted butter
2-1/2 oz. (1/2 cup) all-purpose flour
4 cups Three-Herb Turkey Broth or low-salt chicken broth - (Recipe Below)
1-1/2 cups Pinot Noir
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Two days ahead, prepare the brine:

Put all of the brine ingredients in a 5-gallon stockpot with a lid. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, cool to room temperature, cover the pot, and refrigerate the brine until cold, preferably overnight.

One day ahead: brine the turkey:

If already loose, trim the tail from the turkey. Otherwise, leave it attached. Remove and discard the giblets. Keep the neck and tail in the refrigerator. Rinse the turkey and put it in the pot with the brine. Refrigerate for 8 to 24 hours before roasting the turkey.

Prepare and roast the turkey:

Position a rack in the bottom of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F. Remove the turkey from the brine and discard the brine. Rinse the turkey well, pat it dry, and set it in a large flameproof roasting pan. Gently slide your hand between the breast meat and skin to separate the skin so you can apply the herb butter. Slice the herb butter into 1/4-inch-thick rounds and distribute them evenly between the skin and breast meat, completely covering the breast. Maneuver a few pieces between the skin and legs, too. Next, with your hands on the outside of the turkey, massage the butter under the skin to distribute it evenly and break up the round pieces so the turkey won’t look polka-dotted when it’s done.

Sprinkle 1 Tbs. of the salt and 1 Tbs. of the pepper in the cavity of the turkey. Tie the legs together. Fold the wings back and tuck the tips under the neck area. Flip the turkey onto its breast, pat the back dry, and brush with some of the melted butter. Sprinkle with some of the remaining salt and pepper. Flip the turkey over, pat dry again, brush all over with the remaining butter, and sprinkle with the remaining salt and pepper. Put the reserved neck and tail in the pan with the turkey. Cover the pan very tightly with foil and put in the oven, legs pointing to the back of the oven, if possible (the legs can handle the higher heat in the back better than the breast can). Roast undisturbed for 2 hours and then uncover carefully (watch out for escaping steam). Continue to roast, basting every 15 minutes with the drippings that have collected in the pan, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of both thighs reads 170° to 175°F and the juices run clear when the thermometer is removed, 45 minutes to 1 hour more for a 15-lb. turkey.

Remove the turkey from the oven. With a wad of paper towels in each hand, move the turkey to a serving platter, cover with foil to keep warm, and set aside. Discard the neck and tail; reserve the drippings in the roasting pan. Let the turkey rest for 30 minutes while you make the gravy and heat the side dishes.

Make the gravy:

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until foaming. Add the flour and quickly whisk it into the butter until it’s completely incorporated. Cook, whisking constantly, until the roux smells toasty and darkens slightly to a light caramel color (see image below), about 2 minutes. Watch carefully, as you don’t want it to get too dark. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Pour the reserved turkey drippings into a clear, heatproof container, preferably a fat separator cup. (Don’t rinse the roasting pan.) Let sit until the fat rises to the top, and then pour out 1 cup of the juices (or remove and discard the fat with a ladle and measure 1 cup of the juices). Combine the juices with the turkey or chicken broth.

Set the roasting pan on top of the stove over two burners on medium heat. Add the Pinot Noir and simmer, scraping the pan with a wooden spoon to release any stuck-on bits, until the wine has reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Add the broth mixture and simmer to meld the flavors, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the roux a little at a time until you have reached your desired thickness (you may not want to use it all). Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Strain through a fine sieve and transfer to a serving vessel.

Make Ahead Tips

The brine should be prepared 2 days before the Thanksgiving dinner. The turkey should be brined the day before. The roux may be prepared on Thanksgiving day and left at room temperature; whisk to recombine before using.


Three Herb Butter

1/2 lb. (1 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup finely chopped shallots (about 3 oz.)
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (from about 1 oz. parsley sprigs)
1/4 cup chopped fresh thyme leaves (from about 3/4 oz. thyme sprigs)
1/4 cup chopped fresh sage leaves (from about 1/2 oz. sage sprigs)

———————————

In a 10-inch skillet, melt 1 Tbs. of the butter over medium heat until it begins to foam. Add the shallots and cook until soft and fragrant, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes. Add the wine and boil until it’s completely evaporated 5 to 8 minutes. Stir in the parsley, thyme, and sage and cook until fragrant, 2 minutes more. Transfer to a medium bowl and refrigerate. When well chilled, put the remaining butter in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the herb mixture and beat on medium speed until blended, about 1 minute.

On a large piece of plastic wrap, shape the herb butter into a log. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate.

Make Ahead Tips

The butter can be made up to 1 week ahead and refrigerated or up to 2 months ahead and frozen. If frozen, take the butter out of the freezer and store in the refrigerator a day before you plan to use it.


Three Herb Turkey Broth

1-1/2 to 2 lb. turkey parts, such as backs, wings, or legs
1 large onion (about 12 oz.), coarsely chopped
4 large stalks celery (about 9 oz.), coarsely chopped
2 small carrots (about 4 oz.), coarsely chopped
2 cups dry white wine
6 cups low-salt chicken broth
Half a small bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley (about 1 oz.)
Half a small bunch fresh sage (about 1/2 oz.)
Half a small bunch fresh thyme (about 1/3 oz.)
3 bay leaves
1 Tbs. whole black peppercorns

———————————

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F. Put the turkey parts in a small roasting pan (approximately 9x13 inches) along with the onion, celery, and carrots and roast until the meat is well browned, 1 to 1-1/4 hours. Transfer the turkey parts and vegetables to a 4-qt. saucepan.

Add the wine to the roasting pan and scrape any browned bits with a wooden spoon to release them into the wine. Pour the wine into the saucepan and add the chicken broth, herbs, bay leaves, and peppercorns. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, reduce the heat to medium low or low, and simmer gently until the meat is falling off the bone, 30 to 40 minutes, skimming occasionally to remove the fat and foam that rise to the top. Strain the broth through a fine sieve, cover, and refrigerate until ready to use. Remove any solidified fat before using.

Make Ahead Tips
The turkey broth can be made up to 4 days ahead and refrigerated or up to 2 months ahead and frozen.

Congratulations to Karen G.  She has won a $50 Gift Certificate for her product/customer reviews!

Compass Rose Soaps

Creepy Finger Soap

Psycho Soap

by Guest Blogger - Susan Barclay-Nichols

Shealoe butter (INCI Aloe barbadensis leaf juice (and) butryrospermum parkii (shea butter) fruit) is two great things in one! With a melting point of 50˚C, it will melt on your skin on contact, offering great moisturizing and skin softening, as well increasing skin’s barrier repair properties and cell regeneration while decreasing redness, irritation, and trans-epidermal water loss.

Shea butter contains about 35% to 45% Stearic Acid and about 40% to 55% Oleic Acid, both of which are great softening and moisturizing fatty acids. It contains 210 ppm to 325 ppm Tocopherols (Vitamin E), which are great anti-oxidants that not only retard the rancidity of oils but soften and moisturize your skin. It contains phytosterols like cinnamic acid esters, which can reduce superficial skin irritation and redness, and Allantoin, which is an approved barrier ingredient that can temporarily prevent and protect chafed, chapped, cracked, or windburned skin by speeding up the natural processes of the skin and increasing its water content. It acts an occlusive to keep the water in and prevent the elements from destroying our skin!

Shea butter melts at body temperature and our skin quickly absorbs it. Aloe Vera contains a ton of wonderful phytosterols, polyphenols, and polysaccharides that help to moisturize our skin. Polysaccharides create a light barrier on your skin to decrease trans-epidermal water loss and the phytosterols work to reduce inflammation, redness, and itching as well as a decrease in transepidermal water loss.The flavones behave as anti-oxidants, and the choline increases our skin humidity up to 40% within 30 minutes of application.

By combining the two we get an oil soluble butter packed with anti-oxidants, phytosterols, Vitamin E, and wonderful fatty acids that will work to reduce transepidermal water loss, increase the humidity of our skin, increase softening and moisturizing, reduce inflammation, redness, and itching, and behave as an occlusive ingredient to keep the weather from chapping or burning our skin. It’s a fantastic way to get all the healing and soothing qualities of Aloe Vera into an anhydrous product, like a lotion bar, whipped butter, lip balm, or oil based sugar scrub!

This butter is very soft and it’s recommended you don’t melt it much as the aloe and shea parts might separate under the kind of heat we use to heat and hold our lotions (about 70˚C). I use it in my creations either cold or add it when I’ve taken my creation – say, a body lotion or lotion bar - out of the double boiler and have done a little mixing first. If you’re making a lotion bar with Shealoe, remember that it is very soft and use it with another butter like cocoa, mango or shea so the bar will keep its shape. When you’re making whipped butters with it, you don’t need to melt it at all – just get your mixer ready to make a fluffy creation!

The kids bought me a new gadget for my birthday last week.  I had checked it out a couple months ago at our local Costco and was intrigued.  I hate bringing my computer into the kitchen when cooking (I have a very tiny kitchen—that’s another story!) and the My Demy sounded perfect. I constantly scour the web for various recipes and print them off.  Needless to say the printed recipes do not make it to the next kitchen escapade and I then go through the process of finding the recipe and printing it of again.  The My Demy sounded perfect.

It was frustrating loading it to my computer (I actually lost all the pre-loaded recipes) but a quick e-mail to Heath in Customer Service remedied that.  Bottom line……I LOVE IT!  You can add recipes directly from supported sites with a click of the mouse or copy and paste in a few simple steps. 

My computer looks funny with all my different devices plugged into it.  iPhone, Kobo and now the My Demy.  Oh well, I have room for 1 more!!! 

Just tested it and found out I can add my soap recipes.  <swoon>

our Guest Blogger, Susan Barclay-Nichols.  Welcome Susan!  If you have not heard of Susan yet you should check out her blog.  You will be glad you did!

Stay tuned…..over the next few days, I will post some information and recipes on Shealoe that Susan has written.

August Winners!

• Lori B
• Carlos G.

Thank you for submitting your product/customer reviews!

During this (winter like) Labour Day weekend it dawned on me that summer vacation is coming to an end. I look around and can’t help but notice that the leaves are beginning to change colour.  As I reach for a sweater, the thought of a warm beverage from Starbucks enters my mind.   This craving leads me to my vehicle where I begin a trek to the local caffeine haven.  As I enter my personal sanctuary (I love me some Tazo Chai!) my eyes gaze upon the menu board where I notice the fall menu has made it’s way back into my life.  [ENTER BIG SMILE HERE!]  As I contemplate between my regular liquid cocaine and the “I’m-so-good-I-Dance- On- Your-Tongue” Pumpkin Spice Latte I am reminded of the delicious autumn fragrance I have a hard time keeping on the shelf at Saffire Blue Inc. Pumpkin Patch, both in which bring a warm reminiscent feeling of Thanksgiving.

I was sitting by the fire and looked at my youngest and thought wow it’s her last year of high school. I remember years ago when I would wait until my kids were off to school to begin my seasonal soap making, due to the chance of the kids creating havoc.   Since soap making while camping is out of the question I grabbed my computer and did the next best thing!  Look at Soap Porn (this word should be in the dictionary)!  Enjoy! (best while sipping your favourite Starbucks beverage of course)

Sorry it has taken me so long to post the winner of the $50 gift certificate (Hmm…August is almost done which means another winner - so get your comments in!)

Congratulations’ to Cindy H.  - She is our 1st monthly winner!