Make It Fast, Cook It Slow (39 page)

GLYCERIN SOAP

makes
12
bars

The Ingredients

The Directions

Use a 6-quart slow cooker. Do
not
put the soap mold into your stoneware and add glycerin cubes, and turn it on. The mold will melt. And you will be annoyed when your husband says something along the lines of “I thought that might happen.”

What you should do instead is put an oven-safe dish (or two) into your stoneware and add the separated blocks. Cover and cook on high for about 1 hour, or until the glycerin is all liquidy. Using oven mitts (trust me), carefully pour liquid glycerin into each mold. Add fragrance and color. A bit of fragrance goes a long way, but you do need quite a few drops of color. Stir with a skewer. Let soap cure for about 1 hour before removing from the form. If you wait until it’s fully cool, it pops out of the mold
much
more easily than if you try to rush it (trust me again on this one). Repeat steps until you run out of glycerin.

The Verdict

We really enjoyed making this soap. The kids had fun picking out colors, and liked using their creations. I pushed a foam sticker (minus the backing) into the soap while it was setting for some extra oomph. Something to note: Glycerin soap sweats. It surprised me, but evidently this is normal. Wrap your homemade soap in cellophane bags, not tissue paper, for gift-giving.

PLAY DOUGH

makes enough for
4
children to play

The Ingredients

The Directions

Use a 6-quart slow cooker. Plug in your cooker and turn it to low to warm up slowly. Put dry ingredients into the stoneware, stirring to distribute evenly. Add the hot water and oil. Cover and cook on high for 30 minutes. Stir well. Cover again and heat on high another 30 minutes. Repeat the process until the dough begins to form a ball when you stir it. It took about 2 hours in my slow cooker.

Remove the stoneware from the heating element, and stir some more. Dump the dough onto a smooth surface and knead carefully—it’s going to be hot. If your dough is overly sticky, add a bit of cornstarch; if it’s overly dry, add a touch more hot water. Each time you make play dough, the water required will be a bit different, depending on the humidity in the air.

Once entirely cooled, separate the dough into manageable lumps and push a hole into the center for a few drops of food coloring—let the kids squish the dough around to distribute the desired color. Their hands will be a bit tinted for a few hours…Store in a plastic ziplock bag, or tightly sealed plastic container. If sealed properly, the dough will last 3 to 4 months.

The Verdict

Before I had children of my own, I ran preschool centers, and made lots of play dough. This is a fun activity where children can help without the worry of being burned by standing near a hot stove. You can add texture by throwing in a bit of cornmeal or playground sand, add drops of essential oil for scent, or even add a packet of sugar-free Kool-Aid for a bright color and strong kid-approved smell.

RECYCLED CANDLES

The Ingredients

The Directions

Use a 6-quart slow cooker. Freeze jars with trapped candle wax. Use a knife to pop the wax out of the jar/glass container. If your container is tapered, you’ll need to chop the wax up with the knife before it can fall out. Cut away the old wick and discard. Chop the wax into small pieces, about ½-inch square or thereabouts. Wash the containers well in soapy water and dry completely. Fill each glass with the chopped wax. Nestle the containers into your stoneware. I got 6 to fit nicely in a 6-quart oval. Cover and cook on high for 2 hours, checking every 30 minutes. When the wax has completely melted, add the color and scent. Food coloring doesn’t work—I tried it. Mix with a wooden skewer, and lower in wicks.

Unplug the slow cooker. Let the candles sit in the cooling cooker for about 4 hours, or until they have set enough to move. Do not use for 12 hours. Light and enjoy.

The Verdict

I love candles, especially inexpensive ones scented with food: vanilla, cookie dough, pumpkin pie, apple-cinnamon, coffee, and gingerbread. I am the happiest after lighting a yummy-scented candle. Because of this love, I end up with quite a few candles that don’t light anymore, but the jar/glass container still has trapped wax. I am thrilled that I can recycle the trapped wax and make new candles with help from the slow cooker. Nine to ten “old” candles will yield three “new” ones.

SALT DOUGH CREATIONS

The Ingredients

The Directions

Use a 6-quart slow cooker. Stir the salt, flour, water, and oil together in a big bowl. Mix the dough with a handheld or stand mixer until it reaches a ball. If needed, add 1 tablespoon more water while mixing. The dough will be sticky, but will hold shape when molded. Make a desired shape. We chose to make ornaments with play dough cookie cutters. Use a chopstick to make a hole in the center of the ornaments—you need to have a good amount of dough surrounding the hole so it doesn’t crumble when hung. Line the bottom of your stoneware with parchment paper. Place the dough creations onto the paper. Cover and cook on high for 2 to 3 hours, flipping once. Your creations are done when they are hard to the touch and have browned slightly. I did overcook a few, but after a coat of paint you can’t tell. After they have cooled completely, paint. Seal with varnish or Mod Podge.

The Verdict

These were a lot of fun for us. My three-year-old kept eating the dough, which was a little weird, but we were all in a good mood and made memories. I like salt dough a lot, and have used it to make hand- and footprints. I liked using the slow cooker because we ended up with NO casualties—none of the pieces cracked, and the slow cooking meant I could fuss with the pieces and move them around with spatulas to ensure an even bake.

SHRINKY DINKS

creates one afternoon of fun

The Ingredients

The Directions

Plug in slow cooker(s) (I ended up plugging in three because we made so many) on the counter to preheat on high while coloring and cutting the Shrinky Dinks. The plastic can be sharp; an adult should do the cutting. Put the cut and colored plastic shape into the slow cooker. If the stoneware is fully hot, it will begin to shrink right in front of you—it will curl, fold up a bit, and create either jubilance or tears. But then it flattens and is fine, and tears will turn to glee. Remove the little piece of shrunken plastic with a spoon or spatula. If it hasn’t fully shrunk, the piece will stick a bit to the bottom of the stoneware. This alarmed me, and I pushed it around a bit with a spoon, but I don’t think that was necessary. They seem to unstick on their own when the shrinking process is complete—the largest piece took about 10 minutes. If the slow cooker isn’t fully heated, it will take longer.

The Verdict

I can’t remember the last time the girls and I had so much fun working together on a project. This craft is a great age-equalizer—both my almost-four and almost-seven-year-old could work side-by-side without competition, and I was happy to color a few, too.

This book is a group effort. I would not have been able to do it without all of the help, support, and recipes sent in daily by thousands of readers around the world. Thank you. Thank you for your interest, dedication, and help.

Thank you to the following people who helped bring
Make It Fast, Cook It Slow
to life:

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