Cleaning up those candy canes

Candy canes. I'm not sure how they come into my home, as I don't purposely buy them. Yet every year, they enter my home, one by one, ultimately gracing my tree.

I admit they usually go into the trash. I don't eat candy canes as a rule. But this year, things are different. I was inspired by a recipe I'd found for peppermint sugar scrub for the bath and attempted to make it myself.

I ended up making a "poor man's version." No essential oils, no vitamin E. Instead I pounded a package of candy canes into tiny crumbs. (A great activity for a 3 year old with energy to burn and a metal measuring cup, by the way.) Then I mixed it with a cup of sugar.

Rather than add the oil at the time, I'm storing the base as-is until needed, then measure out about 1/3 cup of the mix and adding a small amount of olive oil to make a paste. This way, I don't have to worry about even stickier messes if the kids find it, or if the olive oil goes rancid in case I forget about the mix.

Anyway, I tried it, and it smelled and worked great.