The season of thankfulness is upon us! Wait a second; that doesn't exactly sound right. Those of you who live with a thankfulness mentality year-round know the benefits of constant gratitude, how it's good for the heart and soul. But it is true that in the USA, Thanksgiving Day is a holiday that stirs up extra thanks for the blessings surrounding us. In that appreciative spirit, I want to share two dōTERRA® recipes with you that are tailored to the season: one from the kitchen, and one from the craft table that you'll actually want to throw into the fireplace when you're done. Read on to see what I mean!
If typical cranberry sauces have you bored, whip up this Sweet & Spicy Cranberry Sauce using Wild Orange oil. You'll need:
• 10-ounce bag fresh or frozen cranberries
• 1 jalapeño, diced
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/3 cup honey or white sugar
• 3 drops Wild Orange essential oil
Combine ingredients, excluding Wild Orange essential oil, in a saucepan. Bring to boil, then lower temperature to simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and let cool. Add Wild Orange essential oil. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Your spicy cranberry sauce will be easy to grab from the refrigerator on your way to wherever the Thanksgiving festivities lead. This recipe is, of course, only the beginning of how to incorporate your oils into Thanksgiving dinner. Use them in your turkey, roll recipe, sides, and pies to bring something really special to the table.
From the kitchen to the craft table, next up is the super clever and colorful Autumn Pinecone Fire-starter. You'll need:
• Soy wax or beeswax
• Wild Orange essential oil
• Pinecones
• String for dipping into wax
• Cinnamon Bark essential oil
• Colored crayons (optional)
• Clove essential oil
• Salt (optional)
Tip: depending on the salt you use, the flames of the starters will burn a certain color. Epsom salts should produce a white flame, table salt a yellow flame, and salt substitute a violet flame. Use this info to plan your color show, once the fire-starters are set ablaze! One more note before we start: after you dip your pinecone into the wax, leave 1 inch of wax-covered string to serve as a wick for easier lighting.
Cut string long enough to use for dipping the pinecone into the wax, then tie it to the pinecone, near the top. In a double boiler or metal bowl resting in a pot of water, melt 2-3 crayons along with enough wax to coat your pinecone. Add essential oil. (The more drops you add, of course, the stronger the scent will be.) Holding by the strings, dip pinecones and set them on wax paper to dry. Keep dipping and drying to create thick layers of wax on each of the pinecones. If desired, to achieve that color effect mentioned earlier, coat with salt immediately after the last wax coat.
Place a dōTERRA wax-dipped pinecone into the fireplace, sit back with friends and family, and let the extra thankful times roll. Happy Thanksgiving!