recipe

Orange + Tea Tree Soap

posted by Sarah | offbeat + inspired on June 18, 2013 | 1 Comment

I have a hard time staying focused on one hobby at a time. I love dabbling in about 10 projects at once. I currently have soap curing, pallets in the garage waiting to become furniture, spray paint on hand for finishing my deck upcycle, and random ingredients (like Himalayan pink salt) in my pantry waiting to be featured in recipes I have yet to create.

That may make me sound a lot more productive than I actually am. While I have the supplies to make all those ideas come to fruition, I have a bad habit of getting something 75% done and then taking months (if not years) to complete it.

Soap making has been the perfect hobby for someone like me who lacks creative tunnel vision. Once I got the hang of it, I found that it didn’t take much time to make one batch, and when finished, I could leave my supplies alone until I got the next recipe idea. Supplies don’t take up much room, I can finish other projects while the soap cures, and I can formulate recipes based on what inspires me in the moment.

My latest inspiration was orange and tea tree oil. The combination of those two essential oils creates a revitalizing scent that’s perfect for summer, and tea tree oil has antiseptic and acne treating qualities to help keep your skin clean and refreshed.

Do you dabble in lots of different hobbies simultaneously, or do you prefer to focus on one or two things at a time?

Orange + Tea Tree Soap
Makes about 16 4 ounce bars of soap

For the full cold process soap making instructions, check out Tiffany’s beginner’s soap making tutorial.

Base Oils
21.25 oz. olive oil (48.30%)
15.5 oz. coconut oil (35.23%)
4.25 oz. sunflower oil (9.66%)
3 oz. walnut oil (6.82%)

Lye Solution
11.75 oz. water
6.25 oz. lye

Essential Oils
2 oz. orange essential oil
.5 oz. tea tree essential oil

Follow Tiffany’s soap making instructions here. As always, remember to let your soaps cure for 4-6 weeks before using or gifting.

Vanilla Rhubarb Frozen Yogurt

posted by Tiffany | offbeat + inspired on June 13, 2013 | No Comments

Vanilla Rhubarb Frozen Yogurt - offbeat + inspired

Ice cream making is something that’s been sort of an unattainable goal for me. A bit lofty. Possible… yet, somehow… not. The culprit behind this defeatist attitude is probably the time I tried to make ice cream for some dinner guests (the day they were coming over).

I simmered the vanilla in the cream and sugar, I separated out the egg yolks, beat them into a frenzy, slowly added a tiny bit of hot cream to the eggs and whisked furiously to prevent the eggs from cooking. I thought I had done everything right, until I added the egg yolk/cream mixture to the rest of the hot cream (again, slowly with furious whisking) — and there they were. Bits of cooked egg having a big old pool party in the middle of my beautiful vanilla ice cream base.

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Caramel Iced Latte

posted by Sarah | offbeat + inspired on May 24, 2013 | 4 Comments

It’s no secret that I’m a coffee addict. I’m also a “refreshing summer beverage” addict. So what do you get when you combine “coffee” with “refreshing summer beverage”? This perfect Caramel Iced Latte.

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Clean Eating at Payne’s | Granola With Fruit + Recipe

posted by Tiffany | offbeat + inspired on May 22, 2013 | 6 Comments

Last weekend, we road-tripped up to Indiana for my youngest sister’s official exit from Taylor University. Four long years and now she’s done! GO LITTLE SIS GO! While there’s a soft spot in ALL of our hearts for Taylor’s little section of IN, both of my Taylor-grad sisters have expressed over the years how little there was to do in or near town. Both also expressed a deep love for the glorious exception that was Payne’s Restaurant + Cafe (aka Payne’s Coffee + Custard).

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Orange-Cinnamon Iced Tea

posted by Sarah | offbeat + inspired on May 17, 2013 | 3 Comments

I’ve been planning a big patio furniture upcycle reveal. I was hoping to have part one of that project completed to share with you this week but, well…I opted to relax with a glass of iced tea instead. It’s been about 80 degrees and sunny all week in the Chicago area and the summery weather has just been begging me to enjoy it while drinking a cold beverage.

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Cranberry-Citrus Mocktail with Mint

posted by Sarah | offbeat + inspired on May 9, 2013 | 1 Comment

At my house, we typically have a pretty boring beverage selection. If you came over on an average day, you’d have your choice of either coffee or water. Maybe if you’re really lucky, we’ll have a gallon of milk on hand. We’ve had people over for a big homemade dinner only to realize that when I offered them drinks, their exciting options were water or…ummm…water.

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Clean Eating | Mango-Banana Breakfast Smoothies

posted by Sarah | offbeat + inspired on May 5, 2013 | 9 Comments

When Tiffany introduced the “Clean Eating” series a few weeks ago, I was inspired and excited to adjust my own diet. I’ve not exactly been demonstrating the greatest eating habits lately. Despite my best efforts back in January to make doable New Year’s resolutions involving exercising and healthful eating, those resolutions lasted about as long as the bag of chips (that used to be) in my pantry.

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Clean Eating | Gluten Free Lemon Almond Butter Cookies + Easy Homemade Almond Butter

posted by Tiffany | offbeat + inspired on May 4, 2013 | 10 Comments

What I love about cookies: they’re dense, a delightful combination of crumbly and chewy, the perfect balance of sweet and savory, buttery without being too rich, and a convenient dessert in that there’s typically no gooey or sticky mess involved. What I don’t love about cookies: it’s easy to spend an unreasonable amount of your daily calories on them, which is because they’re usually stuffed with not quite necessary (and not quite healthy) ingredients like dairy butter, white flour, double doses of sugar, and a lot of eggs. You’re probably thinking “Unnecessary?! That’s where all the flavor comes from!!” And you’re right — but the recipe I’m sharing today will prove that it’s possible to get all that flavor with only a fraction of the “unnecessary” ingredients, and the result is a buttery, crumbly, chewy, sweet and savory cookie packed with flavor, loaded with healthy ingredients — and they’re only 66 calories each!

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Cappuccino Biscotti

posted by Sarah | offbeat + inspired on April 26, 2013 | 5 Comments

It’s no secret that I love coffee. From my morning brew to nearly every other coffee-related recipe or project, I’m obsessed. Coffee soaps, coffee cupcakes, coffee decor – there’s something about this delicious beverage (probably caffeine) that I just can’t get enough of.

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Clean Eating | Quinoa Pilaf + Balsamic Roasted Kabocha Squash

posted by Tiffany | offbeat + inspired on April 4, 2013 | 17 Comments

I think it’s fairly common to make healthy eating resolutions in January, and then watch in horror as they go down the drain when Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day and Easter hit. Those don’t seem like big eating holidays, which is why we all figure we’re out of the dog house post-New Years — but then the boxes of chocolate, fancy dinner dates, Irish soda bread, corned beef, Easter ham and everything buttery, sugary, salty and fried makes itself absolutely necessary… again.

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