86 Mother earth News December 2016/January 2017Country Lore
ice-burned pads. Their paws will
thank you for the relief.
The salve’s shelf life is one
long, hard winter — longer if you
include the optional vitamin E.
Yield: 16 ounces (four 4-ounce
jelly jars).
Ingredients:- 1 cup coconut oil
- 1 cup olive oil
-^1 ⁄ 4 cup unrefined shea butter
-^1 ⁄ 4 cup beeswax pastilles - 12 drops lavender essential oil
- 12 drops frankincense essential oil
- 4 drops black pepper essential oil
-^1 ⁄ 2 tsp vitamin E oil (optional)
(^1) Pour an inch or two of water into the
bottom of a double boiler, or set a glass
measuring bowl into a pot of water so that
the glass bottom is submerged and the top is
exposed. Bring water to a simmer.
(^2) Add coconut oil, olive oil, and shea but-
ter to the glass bowl or the top of the double
boiler to heat.
(^3) After the oils and the shea butter have
integrated, add beeswax pastilles.
(^4) Stir infrequently until the beeswax be-
gins to float to the top, at which point begin
stirring more frequently.
(^5) Set out four 4-ounce jars and add es-
sential oils (and optional vitamin E for in-
creased shelf life) to each jar.
(^6) Pour the melted base salve over the
essential oil, leaving an air gap from 1 to 4
inches at the tops of the jars, and lightly stir.
(^7) Cover with cheesecloth, or some other
breathable material, and cool for eight hours.
Josh Brewer
Marquette, Michigan
Piece of (Suet) Cake
While our wild bird neighbors
aren’t exactly livestock, they bring
such joy and entertainment to
our family as they visit our yard
and provide valuable pest con-
trol for our gardens and orchard
that we try to make sure that
those who don’t migrate won’t
go hungry in winter. Because of
bears, we only feed our wild birds
from December to April, but we
often set food aside for the birds
throughout the year so that we can feed them
all season long.
To save money and cut down on food
waste, we make our own seed and suet cakes
at home. Lots of ingredients can be mixed to-
gether, such as old bread crusts and crumbs,
baking “failures,” mixed birdseed, cracked
corn, peanut butter, even bacon fat and old
cooking grease! Mix everything together in
a large pot over low heat with a melted fat,
such as lard or suet, and then pack it into
recycled tin or plastic containers — but be
careful if it’s still hot! Once cooled, freeze
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Protect tender paws from the biting cold with this simple salve.FOTOLiA/NADiNEHAASEp 83-90 Lore.indd 86 10/13/16 2:22 PM