Onion and Pumpkin and Syrup, Oh My!

I had a fun day today, so I thought I'd share.

I have had this plantar wart on the bottom of my left foot for years. I've bought the over the counter crap. Doesn't work. It shrinks the wart, makes it ugly, makes it easy to slough off the top few layers...but it also creates a thick layer of skin that gets used to the chemicals, and forms a thick, protective barrier over the root of the wart. Great!

I went to the doctor in November to have it frozen off. The first appointment hurt like heck because they had to rip the skin off the top (that thick, protective layer of skin), and freeze the root of the wart with nitrogen. AND IT DIDN'T EVEN WORK! Stupid doctors. (No offense to any doctors that read this post...I've learned that there are things to go to the doctor for, and things to call my friends for...this is one thing I'm not ever going to waste money on doctors for again.) They told me I'd have to just keep coming in every couple weeks (at $25 a pop) until it was gone. I went back in one more time, but my insurance got messed up after the new year and I couldn't go back.

Not only did that damn wart grow to ridiculous proportions in the 2 month span since the last time I went in, it also SPAWNED! I ended up with about 20 little baby warts hanging around the Big Mama.

I have a friend who is an herbalist (*waves to Tamara!*). Quite some time ago, she told me about this gentle, Earth-friendly remedy for warts. I never tried it. I have to be honest...I'm lazy. I put that harsh chemical crap on my foot once a day for years...it was easy. I was getting into bed, and I'd just smear it on, and hop into bed. It provided a handy excuse for not getting out of bed when I forgot something...resulting in many, many trips to the bathroom, living room, and kitchen for Jason after he was all snuggled in for the night. *blush**bat eyelashes*

Now, it's not that this Earth-friendly remedy was really all that difficult or time consuming. I just couldn't figure out how to work it in. Let me explain. (It's so super simple, I can't even believe I put it off this long).

You take 2-3 onions and 2-3 lemons. Cut the onion in half, and remove just enough of the center of the onion to make a bowl (make sure the bottom is intact so it doesn't leak). Then, take a lemon, cut it in half, and squeeze the juice into the center of the onion. Put the onion on some tin foil in a muffin pan (just to keep it upright). Gather the tin foil over the top to seal in the juice. Cook on 350 for a couple hours until the onion is translucent. This is what comes out of the oven:
You just take a qtip and rub the juice on your wart whenever you think about it. Repeat every day until your onions and lemons are used up. Oh, and drink some anti-viral tea a couple times a day while you're doing this treatment (which reminds me, I'm going to go make myself a cup of licorice tea right now before I finish). Tamara says that for about 2 weeks after the treatment, you'll wonder if it worked...and then the wart will just slowly disappear. I'll let you know how it works out (I'm on day 4...I think...).

The thing I worried about (silly in retrospect) was how to do my job, and how to deal with other daily obligations if I'm supposed to be hanging around smearing stuff on my foot all day. I'd have to not wear socks or shoes, and I'd have to transport this smelly onion to work and back every day. I never have a four day weekend (and this wart has gotten so out of hand that I need a six day treatment, so I most certainly never get THAT many days off in a row). But it's easy actually. First of all, my hours were cut back at work, so I only work 3 days a week, and two of my work days are fairly short. I decided to skip the two short days (just using the onion while I'm home), and for just one day (Thursday), I'll bring it to work. It's staff meeting day anyway...nobody is going to smell it, except maybe one student. No sweat! And if I wear my crocs, I'll be able to slip my shoe on quickly if needed. Why did I put this off again?

Ok, now to something a bit yummier. I made pumpkin bread today! Now, I mentioned a long time ago that I like to make jars of stuff to give people ever year. The pumpkin bread was from one of those jars. I love the leftovers as much as I love the gifts! They always come in handy, and give me lots of new recipes to use. Sometimes, I'll make up extra jars during the year so that I'll have quick, easy recipes on hand. Here's a picture of the first jars I ever put together:
This one was green and yellow split pea soup. Super easy, super cheap, and makes a HUGE pot of soup. Anyway, I've had these jars of pumpkin bread in the cupboard for awhile, and the only time I ever make it is around Harvest time, if I'm asigned cakes and ale for a ritual...which...well...hasn't happened in a long while, beings that I'm very super duper extra solitary right now. Which means, I haven't made pumpkin bread in ages. I've had the jar sitting on the counter for a week, so I FINALLY went for it today! Here's the recipe:

Quick Pumpkin Bread

2 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. packed light brown sugar
1/2 c. raisins
1/2 c. chopped pecans or walnuts
1 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

1. Layer ingredients attractively in any order in 1-quart food storage jar with tight-fitting lid. Pack ingredients down slightly before adding another layer.
2. If gifting (or if desired), cover top of jar with fabric, attach recipe tag with raffia or ribbon.

Recipe Tag:
1/3 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1 c. canned pumpkin (I save and freeze my leftover Samhain pumpkin ever year, just for this recipe)
1 jar Quick Pumpkin Bread Mix

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray (I didn't have any...used olive oil, worked fine).
2. Beat butter in large bowl with electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in pumpkin until well blended. Add contents of jar; stir just until blended. Pour into prepared pan.
3. Bake 50-55 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean (mine took 65 minutes, but I had too much liquid in my bread...it came out fine, though). Cool in pan on wire rack 15 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely on wire rack. Makes 1 loaf.

And here is the finished product:
Aaaaaand, last but not least (and not the least of what I did today), I made vanilla syrup! My mother in law gave me these bottles of syrup that I've been using in my coffee. I knew that once they were gone, I was going to miss them terribly. My coffee has been so yummy lately! So, I looked up how to make syrup. I'm not a big sugar fan, though, so we have no sugar in our house. I wondered if I could make it with splenda? I have heard bad things about splenda, but we have tons of it, so why not use it up, eh? So, I made the syrup just like I would with sugar...twice as much splenda as water, in a pan. The splenda completely dissolved in the water without even heating it. But it seemed rather thin, and had a funky after taste. So I decided to try adding some vegetable glycerine, which is very sweet. It didn't make it any thicker, but it helped with the after taste. I used my homemade vanilla extract (2 tsp), boiled the syrup for a couple minutes to burn off the alcohol, and it is FABULOUS! Sooo much better than the storebought stuff! Here's the finished product:
Cheap, easy, SUPER yummy, and easy to store in the bottles I already had. I like that. :-)

Have a great day, all!