My food processor arrived yesterday, so I’m gearing up to make all sorts of awesome homemade stuff. I was inspired by a friend, who whipped up a jar of homemade cashew butter right in front of my eyes, then handed me the jar to take home. And it’s fantastic. 

Since I’m trying, slowly, to eliminate as many processed foods from my diet as I can, I thought, “Hey, I can totally make my own butters and sauces too.” But I didn’t have the coveted food processor to tackle peanuts, cashews and whatever else I could possibly experiment with. So I searched Craigslist (to no avail) and eBay (success!) — and won an auction for a brand-new KitchenAid food processor with all the fixins, from a woman in Ohio. Based on her feedback and shipping charges, I’m assuming she’s not a Power Seller who makes a living from selling wholesale items on eBay. (Those sellers drive me nuts and I don’t buy from them.)

Because I’ve been anticipating this item for so long, I couldn’t just unpack it and put it away. I had to make something with it last night. Yesterday afternoon, I’d been surfing for some homemade facial cleanser recipes for oily skin – to use on the days I don’t use my tea tree wash — and a user on the Green Home Huddler message board suggested mixing raw almonds and water to cleanse oily skin. I went to the co-op after work to buy some raw almonds and give it a try.

Well, I combined about 2 or 3 small handfuls almonds with a small amount of filtered water, and the mixture seemed watery and wasn’t combining to make a paste. Then I remembered reading that extra virgin olive oil is a good carrier oil for oily skin, so I added just a tiny bit to emulsify the mixture, then put in 5 drops of sweet orange essential oil to add astrigent properties. It took about 10 minutes of blending to get the consistency the way I wanted it, and voila! I had my own homemade orange almond facial cleanser!

I was so pleased with myself that I’d managed to get it right the first time — it stayed on my face like an exfoliating cleanser usually does, rinsed clean off, and left my skin soft and hydrated. I followed it up with my tea tree-jojoba treatment, which I discovered also makes an excellent moisturizer — so no need for an additional moisturizer. Bonus!

When I woke up this  morning, I ran my hand my over my face before getting out of bed, which I do occasionally to see if anything undesirable is brewing, and my skin was smooth and soft. I nearly squealed with delight, but refrained to avoid waking the sleeping dragon next to me.

I repeated the regime this morning — so far today, my skin is still hydrated without being too oily. We’ll see how it feels at the end of the day, but I definitely see promise in my new-found homemade products.

Here’s the recap for my Orange Almond Facial Cleanser:
2 to 3 small handfuls of raw almonds (try to find non-pasteurized, if you can)
1 Tbsp filtered or distilled water
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
5 drops sweet orange essential oil

(Note: The amounts for the almonds, water and olive oil are rough estimates — use as much as you’re comfortable with and enough to get a paste-like consistency.)

Chop the dry almonds in the food processor, while slowly adding the water. Mix until wet, then add the olive oil until it forms a paste. Add the orange oil and blend until it’s the consistency you want, and the almonds are ground finely (don’t leave any chunks or slivers). I blended mine until is was about as thick as hummus. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.