Holly Blues (36 page)

Spray molds with cooking spray or grease with petroleum jelly. Grate castile soap into an enamel saucepan. Add water and essential oils and heat slowly, stirring. When the soap has melted and the mixture has the texture of whipped cream, add rosemary leaves. Quickly fill each mold, then rap the mold sharply on a hard surface to eliminate air bubbles. Allow to harden overnight in the molds. Turn soaps onto a wire rack and air-dry for a few days before wrapping. If any seem rough-edged, wet your hands and smooth the surfaces; dry thoroughly.

• Other fragrant floral possibilities: violet oil and violet petals; lilac oil and lilac florets; orange oil and calendula petals; lemon oil and dried chopped lemongrass and coarsely grated lemon zest; lavender oil and lavender buds with chopped rosemary leaves. Be creative!

• To make a gentle scrubbing soap, add 1 tablespoon chopped dried luffa, or ½ cup cornmeal or oatmeal (not flakes). Increase liquid slightly, if necessary.

Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl. Transfer to small lidded jars or plastic bags. Add a label with these instructions:

An easy-for-kids-to-make artificial pomander starts with foam balls, oakmoss, a spice potpourri (made of whole allspice, cinnamon chips, sandalwood slivers, star anise, cloves), cinnamon oil, and white glue. Place the oakmoss on a plate. Cover the ball with glue, and roll it in the oakmoss until completely covered. Let dry, then glue pieces of spice potpourri onto the ball, starting with the largest pieces and filling in with the smaller ones. Dust with powdered cloves and dot with a few drops of cinnamon oil. Hang with a ribbon loop.

To make the real thing, you will need a small apple or orange, about a cup of whole cloves, and about 6 tablespoons of spice mixture (2 tablespoons each of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg) for each pomander you want to make. Poke holes in the fruit with a skewer or similar tool, so that when whole cloves are pushed into the holes, the tops are nearly touching. (You might want to try a few to see what distance you should leave between the holes.) When the fruit is completely covered with cloves, put it into a small plastic bag with 2 tablespoons of the spice mixture and shake gently, being careful not to dislodge any cloves. If there’s an excess of spices, leave them in the bag. You have several alternatives for drying. 1) Put the pomander in your gas oven with the pilot light on; 2) use your electric oven turned to its lowest setting; 3) use your food dehydrator, set at 105-115 degrees. Dry overnight. For the next two or three days, repeat the spice treatment, returning the pomander to the heat source until the pomander is dry. (You will need less spice for subsequent treatments; make more as needed.) You may also wrap the pomander in toilet paper and put it in a dark, dry cupboard; it will dry in two to three weeks. Hang with ribbon or raffia.