Last week I thought I’d try some homemade sugar scrubs. I recently had one from LUSH that left my skin so soft, but I’m also incredibly lazy and I didn’t feel like a trip to the store. I used only what I had available at home. Sugar, coconut oil, essential oils. And after I used them I was really happy with the results! My skin was soft for days after using them. Seriously, days. So I’d thought I’d share them here.

Feel free to adjust the ingredient amounts to your own liking. I like body scrubs that are drier and crumbling compared to a smooth more lotion-style of scrub. So if you like a more creamy scrub use less sugar in these recipes.

Lavender Body Scrub

Ingredients
- Granulated sugar
- Lavender essential oil
- Coconut oil (room temperature)
- Dried Lavender (optional)

Directions
Mix 1 part coconut oil with 3 parts sugar.
I used 1/4 cup coconut oil with 3/4 cup sugar.
Add a few drops of essential oil (between 2~5.)
Add the dried lavender (optional.)
Mix, mix, mix, until everything is blended.
Place the scrub into a glass jar (preferred.)

Rose Body Scrub

Ingredients
- Granulated sugar
- Rose essential oil
- Coconut oil (room temperature)
- Rose petals (optional)

Directions
Mix 1 part coconut oil with 3 parts sugar.
Adjust for preferred scrub consistency.
Add a few drops of essential oil (between 2~5.)
Cut the rose petals with kitchen scissors and add (optional.)
Mix, mix, mix, until everything is blended.
Place the scrub into a glass jar (preferred.)

I found the coconut oil very moisturizing but it also leaves a thick film on the skin I had to rinse off with body wash afterwards. So I tested out grapeseed oil as an alternative to the coconut oil. Grapeseed is often used in facial moisturizing packs. CAUDALIE is a popular beauty brand that uses grape seed oils for their products. It’s virtually orderless like coconut oil. I used the same measurements (1 part oil to 3 parts sugar) for this ginger scrub.

Ginger Body Scrub

Ingredients
- Granulated sugar
- Ginger essential oil
- Grapeseed oil

Directions
Mix 1 part grapeseed oil with 3 parts sugar. (I used 1 Tbsp oil.)
Adjust for preferred scrub consistency.
Add a few drops of essential oil (between 2~5.)
Mix, mix, mix, until everything is blended.
Place the scrub into a glass jar (preferred.)

I actually think epsom salt would be a good substitute for the sugar and provide an added benefit when used in a bath. I usually have epsom salt on hand but I had run out. I recently bought some more and will try this with the epsom salt instead. I read brown sugar can also be used (but brown sugar costs more I think.) I have a lot of essential oils already because of my aromatherapy humidifier. Some of these oils like the rose ones are very pricey! But others, like eucalyptus and peppermint, are much more affordable and can be found at Whole Foods type of groceries or online.

You could also just use coconut oil + sugar and still have a great skin softening body scrub!

The rose petals were from some roses I had that week and the lavender is actually from a bunch of dried lavender I bought a l’occitane a few months ago.

Please comment any questions even if you think it’s an obvious answer because I know what it feels like to suck at cooking.

Beef Sukiyaki

Ingredients
Serves 2~4 people

Sukiyaki Sauce

1/3 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons sake
5 tablespoons sugar
3/4 cup water

Hot Pot Items

~14oz thinly sliced beef or pork
1 head of napa cabbage (cut into 2″ wide sections)
1 bunch of green onion (sliced diagonally into 1″ pieces)
1 bunch enoki mushrooms (cut from root)
6 small shiitake mushrooms (stems removed)
1 block grilled firm tofu sliced
1 pack yam noodles (shirataki)
1 tablespoon grape seed oil

1~2 cups cooked rice

Directions

Sauce
Mix ingredients into a small pot. Stir well over high heat. Bring to a boil and immediately remove the pot from heat. You just want to burn off the alcohol from the sake. Set aside.

Hot Pot
Par boil noodles first. Place noodles in a pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil on high heat. Remove from heat and strain immediately. Set aside in cool water.

Add grape seed oil to pot over med-high heat. Slice or cube tofu and grill about 3 minutes per side. Set tofu aside when done.

Add green onions to pot and grill on med-high heat for ~1 minute. Then add ~1/2 of the meat. Add about 1/4 cup of the sukiyaki sauce and sauté the meat and onions until brown. Lower heat.

Add all other ingredients (to fit) into pot. Best to place the noodles away from any meat to prevent the meat from becoming tough.

Add remaining sukiyaki sauce, cover and cook over medium heat until ingredients are tender. Usually about 5 minutes.

Ready to eat!

Tips

- I always double the sauce amount for a second boil of remaining ingredients.

- Ready-made sukiyaki sauce exists. This recipe tastes exact to a brand I use sometimes but is cheaper.

- If you can’t buy sake there are other sauce recipes out there. Many using mirin. I’d suggest Googling them.

- I remove the pot after cooking everything for a few minutes. I set it on top a trivet in the middle of the table. The food continues to cook a little after being removed from the heat. Later I place it back onto the stove, add in more sauce and ingredients, and bring to a boil on high and bring it back to the table.

- Man if you got a tabletop electric or gas stove you’re set!

- I brown about 1/4 of the meat in the beginning but also add more meat when adding the other ingredients as well so I can have some meat well done & some just medium-rare.

- You can use white cabbage it just takes longer to cook, remains a bit tougher.

- Raw egg is often served with sukiyaki. I don’t really like eggs.

- The beef or pork might have “sukiyaki” or “shabu shabu” labeled on it but either way it has to be very thin! You might be able to request marbled sirloin cuts of beef to be sliced thinly at the butcher’s counter. Also go vegetarian, it’s just as good.

- Some sukiyaki beef packs come with the beef suet which you can use to grease the pot instead of grape seed or cooking oil.

Stove Top BBQ Ribs

Ingredients
Serves 2 people

- slab of pork ribs or beef short ribs (~2 lbs)
- 20oz bottle of ketchup
- 1 cup water
- 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
- 2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons liquid smoke (optional)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 lemon squeezed
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1/2 onion sliced

Directions

Place sliced onions into pot and cook over medium-high until they begin to soften. Add all other ingredients and stir well. Cook over medium-high heat 5 minutes. Add ribs, bring sauce to a boil, lower heat to a simmer (low) and cover 90 minutes to 2 hours stirring about every 20 minutes to prevent the sauce from burning on the bottom. When the meat begins to fall off the bones, or internal temperature reaches 145F~160F remove from heat and ready to serve.

Tips

I season this to taste each time I make it. Sometimes I add more brown sugar or more water. I’ve also added white pepper powder for spice and honey for a sweeter taste. It’s pretty foolproof. You could actually just use a whole bottle of bottled BBQ sauce if you’d like!

There’s an alfredo pasta dish I make weekly now that requires heavy whipping cream so basically I always have heavy whipping cream available now so I figured I could just make whipped cream since I had none on hand.

Remember I’m lazy and completely new at cooking. So I half-assed this recipe and it still turned out great. I feel like whipped cream is more simple than it’s made out to be. So many recipes act as if you need a $300 standing mixer and a lot of time but honestly I made mine within maybe 3 minutes using a hand whisk and small metal pot. Now I want to make it all the time with different flavors!

Whipped Cream

Ingredients

1 metal hand whisk
1 metal cooking pot
½ cup heavy whipping cream (cold)
1 Tbsp of sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

*½ cup makes about 1 cup of whipped cream.

Directions

Mix everything into the cooking pot or a bowl. Mix with the whisk using quick but long folding motions. I tilt the pan a bit to the side so that I’m whipping in a oval shape rather than circular stirring motion.

Keep at it until the liquid thickens and creates peaks. You can see how “stiff the peaks” are by pulling the whisk up out of the mixture and seeing how the cream falls. Keep mixing until you have the consistency you want. You can keep it smooth and creamy or whip it until it’s fluffy and thick like Cool Whip.

You can chill the bowl and whisk a few minutes beforehand which helps create fluffier cream faster. Using a metal bowl, adding sugar in during mixing, and using an electric mixer are all steps that ensure a better outcome, however, having to do everything “just so” is such a cooking turn off for me especially if it’s not true. You can half ass it and still come up with a quick delicious addition for desserts or fruits.

I also made a Lavender Tea Latte flavor of cream using one of this instant latte mixes from Maxim. Turned out fantastic!

For a more in-depth recipe this whipped cream recipe from Martha Stewart is great.

Easy Vegetable Soup [serves 8]

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef (or turkey)
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup sliced celery
1/4 cup uncooked rice
2 (~16oz) cans stewed tomato
1 cup sliced carrots
1 can mexicorn
1 (~15oz) can kidney beans
1 cup frozen green beans
1 clove garlic minced
1 tablespoon parsley flakes
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon basil flakes
1/8 teaspoon pepper
6 beef bouillon cubes
3 1/2 cups of water

Directions

Cook ground beef, onion, and garlic in a dutch over or heavy pot on stove top until browned. Drain fat.

Add remaining ingredients except green beans. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 40 minutes.

Add green beans and continue simmering 10 more minutes or until beans are tender.

Tips!

I like to use ground turkey which means there’s no fat to drain after browning the meat.

For the minced garlic I use garlic paste. They list on the back how much will equal 1 clove.

You can use any rice! I’ve only ever had short grain brown rice and it turns out great. I’ve even added extra because I love rice.

Mexicorn might be a bit difficult to find. There’s only 1 brand here that sells it but it’s in every grocery story. You can use a regular can of corn if you can’t find it.

Stewed tomatoes caution – many brands add seasoning to their stewed tomatoes. I make sure to get a can of unseasoned.

I add 4 cups of water because my pot is a bit wide and you want to cover all the vegetables. When I do this I add 1 extra beef bouillon cube.

I like to add fresh parsley leaves and celery stalk leaves. I don’t alter the recipe to account for these additions.

Feel free to ask me any questions. I didn’t know how to brown meat until my mid-20’s so I won’t judge lol!

pasta + Italian dressing

I use Wish-bone Fat Free Italian Dressing but any Italian seasoning dressing will work. Any pasta brand or shape is fine too. I use whatever I have on hand.

Directions

• Cook pasta as directed. Drain.
• Add roughly 2 Tbsp of Italian dressing for each serving of cooked pasta
• Mix & done!

Basically add as much dressing as you like.
I like the taste to be subtle but, hey, if you love it pour it on!

Next, I add whatever else I happen to have in the kitchen. Usually I at least have parsley flakes and grated cheese for topping. But sometimes I have fresh vegetables and other herbs as well.

Other items I often add

• broccoli
• carrots
• cherry tomatoes
• zucchini
• squash
• basil
• garlic powder
• rosemary
• parsley
• minced garlic
• grated cheese

The vegetables I sometimes steam for a few minutes on the stove top while the pasta cooks. I just chop, add to a pot, fill with some water, cover, and cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes. easy. You could use a microwave as well.

The pasta can be eaten hot or cold. I tend to like it at room temperature but often make enough to chill the rest and enjoy later like taking to work for a lunch.

A few weeks ago I made enough with a heaping side of broccoli for a weekend lunch. Yesterday I had it with yellow squash and some cherry tomatoes I threw in with the steaming squash right before serving so they’d be a bit tender. Turned out great and the squash adds a nice fall vegetables feeling.

So that’s it! I just thought it might be fun to sorta share this :)

Also you could boil the cabbage with the dumplings if you don’t have boiled cabbage ready. I tend to boil whole heads of cabbage at a time so I just add it in at the end.

Let’s get started!

Jenny’s Dashi Soup

Makes 2 bowls worth

What you’ll need!

• Boiled Cabbage
• Shiitake Dashi (1 packet’s worth)
• 2 ~ 3 Frozen Gyoza
• Somen Noodles (about a thumb’s thickness worth)
• Hot Sauce (a few drops to taste)
• Chopped Chives (about 1/2 tablespoon’s worth)
• 2 cups water

Pour 2 cups water into a small saucepan over medium high heat. Let the water heat for about 2 minutes but don’t let it boil just yet! We just want it to warm up before adding the ingredients.

Then add the dashi, uncooked noodles, frozen dumplings, chives, and as much hot sauce as you like. A few drops is enough to add a spicy taste! Stir!

Cook on medium-high heat, uncovered, until the soup comes to a boil. Boil for 2 to 3 minutes! Then remove from heat.

Place a few leaves of the boiled cabbage into a bowl. Add soup with dumplings and noodles to the bowl.

ENJOY!

NOTE:
The items highest in calories are the noodles and dumplings. For less calories use only 1 or 2 gyoza and 1/2 the amount of noodles. For lunch I only use 2 dumplings and 1/2 the amount of noodles shown. The recipe above is roughly 350 calories in all. Feel free to add in other ingredients such as tofu or shiitake mushrooms!

CABBAGE SOUP

• 1 can of diced tomatoes
• 1 head of cabbage
• 3 plus large green onions
• 1 large can of beef broth (no fat)
• 1 pkg. Lipton Soup mix (onion)
• 1 bunch of celery
• 2 lbs. Carrots
• 1 Green Peppers
• 1/2 sliced white onion

Cut veggies in small to medium pieces.
Cover with water. Boil fast for 10 minutes. Reduce to simmer and
continue to cook until veggies are tender.Season with salt, pepper curry, parsley, if desired, or bouillon, hot or Worcestershire sauce.

I actually cut the ingredients by 1/2 to make a smaller pot.

In spending my money news, Karme & I have purchased Cher eco-bags :celebrate: bwahahahaha bag twins, HERRO! Temptation be damned! I spent more than my normal frugal self and I have NO regrets. Despite what Karme says!! hahahaはははははは I’ve only talked about the cher eco-bag over & over & over again. It’ll be a few weeks of waiting now (darn Japanese auctions~ hahah)

Then tonight mike & I had a date~ Very nice steak house. It was so delicious. And then we hit up a liquor store to stock up for July 4th. I have a friend visiting and so it’ll be nice to have some drinks. We tossed everything we had before when we moved because they were nearly gone anyway.