Debbie's Face Scrub

Scrub on the left, cream on the right.

I can't use soap on my face without great irritation and turning beet-red, so I've used this instead for years.  It's a great exfoliator, too.

Ingredients:
2 cups white Kaolin clay*
1 cup oats, ground to a rough flour
1/4 cup apricot kernel meal* (optional, it makes the mix grittier)
2 Tablespoons lavender flower powder*
2 Tablespoons rose petal powder*

Method:
Combine clay, oats, apricot kernel meal (if using), and flower powders, mixing well.
I do this by putting it in a zip-loc bag, closing it and shifting the bag back and forth until it's well combined.
It can be stored in the zip-loc bag, or in any other container you choose, glass or plastic.

*I get these ingredients at Mountain Rose Herbs

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp - Gluten Free

This means summer to me!

Ingredients:

Filling:
1 pound of strawberries, cleaned, hulled and sliced
1 pound of rhubarb, cleaned and sliced in 1/2 inch pieces
1 Tablespoon tapioca flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt

Topping:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup oats ground to flour
1/2 cup oats
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt

Method:

Put the strawberries and rhubarb in a large saucepan and sprinkle with tapioca flour, sugar and salt.
Heat over medium heat until soupy, stirring frequently.
Remove from heat, pour into a greased 9-inch square pan.

To make the topping, grind 1/2 cup oats into flour in a food processor.  Add remaining ingredients and process until the butter is dispersed but the mixture still has butter lumps here and there.
Sprinkle the mixture over the strawberries and rhubarb and evenly distribute it.

Bake at 375* for 25-30 minutes.
Coconut Milk Ice Cream is good with this!

Aussie Bites Remake

My daughter-in-law is half Australian, so when I saw Aussie Bites at Costco, I thought I'd better buy them.  My granddaughter loves them, and goes to the pantry whenever they come to visit.  So, I decided I needed to figure out how to make them myself without some of the yucky stuff that is in the store-bought ones.  Here's my go at it.....

Ingredients

4 cups oats, ground
1 cup shredded coconut
2/3 cup chopped sunflower seeds
1/4 cup chopped flax seeds
1/2 cup chopped raisins
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup honey

1 Tablespoon flax seed ground and then mixed well with 6 Tablespoons water  (I use my Magic Bullet to grind the seeds and then add the water and whirl them up again.  I got mine at Costco.)

Mix all the dry ingredients together.

Mix butter, coconut oil and honey in a small saucepan and melt together. Pour over dry ingredients.

Add flax & water mixture to everything else and mix well.

I use a 2 T measuring cup, dip it into water and then press the oat mixture firmly into the little cup. In order to get it to release, I use a paring or table knife to break the suction and then plop it onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Bake for about 10 minutes in a 350* oven.

Makes about 36

They're really good. :-)