Rick Steves Christmas Fundraiser Brings More than 430 000 to Bread for the World

Image from OpenClipArt

1,659 

That figure represents the number of supporters of Rick Steves who answered his challenge to help raise funds for Bread for the World during the Christmas season in 2015. The travel writer matched donations dollar for dollar.  People who donated $100 received a gift from Steves: his European Christmas gift package or his Complete Collection 2000-2016 DVD Box Set (all 100 of my travel shows)."

Steves and ex-Sen. Tom Harkin at Bread 40th anniversary (2014)

In a Thank You letter to supporters, Steves said:

"Together, you contributed $218,000. And with my match, collectively, we raised over $430,000 to help power BFTWs work in explaining to Congress the needs of our nations poor, homeless, and hungry people.

 "We all want to get our fiscal house in order. And BFTW has been very effective in its advocacy work encouraging our government not to balance the budget by cutting vital services to our nations most needy." 

Thanks so much for making this a very expensive Christmas for me. Giving like this, in partnership with caring travelers like you, makes my work even more gratifying than it already is. Happy holidays and Merry Christmas to all.

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The Need for Aquaculture

Aquaculture is probably the fastest growing food producing sector in the world. During the past three decades, aquaculture has expanded, diversified, intensified and made technological advances. The potential of this industry to enhance local food security, alleviate poverty and improve rural livelihoods has been well recognized

The present level of aquaculture production was driven out of necessity. Just as Agriculture became imperative to the existence of mankind, so now has Aquaculture become the only sustainable method of producing high quality seafood. One needs only to review commercial fishery statistics to see that the worlds demand for fish and seafood has exceeded the levels that hunting and gathering wild fisheries can support. Recent data suggests that aquaculture now accounts for over 50% of the entire worldwide seafood supply. It is estimated that at least an additional 40 million tonnes of aquatic food will be required by 2030 to maintain the current per capita consumption.

Read more at this page

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Prayers and Reflections for the Second Sunday in Lent

Todays Readings
Genesis 15: 1-12, 17-18, Psalm 27, Philippians 3:17-4:1, Luke 13:31-35 or Luke 9:28-43

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Dear Member of Congress Please Prioritize Support for Maternal Child Health Programs

Photo: Twin Cities Bread team

Year after year, the leadership team in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area has put together great Offering of Letters workshops, maintained a website focused on the years letter-writing campaign and provided resources for churches in the area to organize their letter-writing Sundays (or weekends).

Here is the example that the Bread leaders in the Twin cities put together for the 2016 Offering of Letters, entitled "Survive and Thrive," which urges Congress to prioritize support for maternal and child health programs, emphasizing nutrition.

STEP 3 
Sincerely
Your Name
Address

STEP 4
Address your letter to Congress
U.S. House of Representatives, Washingon, D.C. 20515
 U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C. 20510

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Veggie Diets For Salmon

Things are progressing in finding solutions to developing more environmentally friendly feeds for use in Aquaculture. Feeds with more vegetable based ingredients, leading to further reductions in fish meal and fish oil requirements.

Just found this interesting story by Megan Ogilvie, Special to The Star.

(April 14, 2006) - A browse through the seafood section of your local grocery store may soon reveal a new dinner choice: vegetarian salmon.

A team of Canadian scientists have found that farm-raised salmon can be fed a diet high in vegetable oil without suffering any ill effects. This is good news for fish farmers since it will cost less to feed their stocks. But the consumer may reap the biggest benefit because the fish will have lower levels of contaminants.

The results, presented last week at the Society for Experimental Biology Annual Meeting in Canterbury, England, were met with excitement by people in the aquaculture industry, says Colin Brauner, one of the lead authors of the study and a professor of zoology at the University of British Columbia.

"There is some concern that farmed fish have high levels of some contaminants," says Brauner.

Farm-raised salmon are currently fed pellets made primarily of fishmeal and oil derived from processing wild marine fish such as anchovies, which can be tainted with contaminants, including PCBs and dioxins.

Scientists are eager to find out whether farm-raised fish will thrive on alternative diets that are lower in fishmeal and fish oil and higher in vegetable oils, says Brauner.

The Canadian research may help answer that question. The study found that up to 75 per cent of the dietary fat in a farm-raised salmons diet can come from canola oil — the other 25 per cent comes from fishmeal or fish oil — without the fish suffering any negative health effects. The seven-month feeding trial on more than 7,000 spring Chinook salmon investigated four different diets, with the canola oil diet providing optimal results.

See the entire article at: This Link

This is the type of research that we need more of. Good research in nutrition and feed formulation can go a long way into finding methods to reduce costs and increase safety.

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Dorothy Day A Model for All Catholics

From National Catholic Reporter

During his address to the US Congress on Sept. 24, Pope Francis cited Dorothy Day as a model for all Catholics. Who was this remarkable woman, who brought community to so many in need?  

Dorothy Day asks us: Isn’t this love the sacred center we seek in prayer, celebrate in the Eucharist, try to express in community outreach to those in need? If we are hospitable, will we not make everyone feel welcome, especially the stranger and even our enemies? If we have differences, can we not simply talk to one another? Don’t we all hunger for respect within the community and for meaningful, purposeful lives? If we expose our common vulnerabilities and shared sufferings, will we not, as occasion arises, practice the corporal works of mercy for one another? If we start small, do what we can where we are, will not the circle of our concern expand gracefully and naturally?

Read full article by Patrick Marrin in Celebration Publications

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Tis the Season for Corned Beast!

Just a friendly reminder to our readers--if youre going to corn some beast for St. Pattys Day, nows the time to get er started!

Were doing it a little differently this year than in the past.  In part, we dont have leftover whey from making cheese.  And in part, we read this article explaining how a dry rub can give better flavor penetration than a brine.  We generally followed the recipe given here, scaled to our 800 gram venison roast from his 2250 gram, and replacing the pink salt with additional regular salt and citric acid.  Of course, the meat released a bit of venison juice just on thawing, so it isnt a true dry rub, but itll be a less watery brine than in years past.

We also put it in a bag this year, instead of a bowl. (Well ok, its in a bowl, too, but the bowl is only secondary containment.)

Dont forget to get it started!  If you dont make corned beast for St. Pattys Day, a leprechaun will come and hide marshmallows all over your house.

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Fourth Annual New Mexico Food and Farms Day Scheduled for Wednesday February 3 in Santa Fe

The New Mexico Food and Agriculture Policy Council invites you to the Fourth Annual New Mexico Food and Farms Day at the State Capital.  The event is held in conjunction with  New Mexico School Nutrition Day, Cooking With Kids Day and the New Mexico Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Day at the Legislature.

"New Mexico has a vibrant food and farming culture that is significant to our rural economy and provides employment opportunities on farm; in direct, wholesale, and retail opportunities; in food processing, distribution, value-added businesses," said Pam Roy, coordinator of the NMFAC and Farm to Table.

"As a broad based group of partners and participants, were highlighting the Farm to School movement in New Mexico and the many schools that buy fresh fruits and vegetables from local farmers, school food service who care about providing meals with New Mexico grown produce, and most important, students who learn to incorporate fresh produce in their diets and enjoy experiential learning through programs like Cooking with Kids, Kids Cook, school gardens and more," added Roy. "Our children have the opportunity to enjoy New Mexico grown fresh fruits and vegetables in school meals and snack programs."

The day will include:
8:00 - 9:00am
Education Through Advocacy, room 324 at the State Capital - Participants will get a brief overview of the New Mexico legislative process before launching into a morning of fast paced activities. By Invite Only

8:30 - 11:00am
In the East Wing of the Capital (next to the Rotunda), organizations and agencies will share information and educate the public about their programs and their relationship to each other and the goals and purpose of the Day and beyond.

9:00 - 9:45am
Celebrate the 1st Annual Farm to School Award Ceremony and Press Conference. At the Rotunda, this special awards ceremony will recognize key individuals and their organizations for their work in creating educational programs in schools for children to learn about the world of food and gardening; food service and food entrepreneurs who have, through innovation and policy, changed the rules to be able to partner with local farmers to buy the freshest local produce for school meals; and, farmers who have been on the front lines for change by building partnerships with schools to purchase locally grown produce and paving the path for others. This will be the first on many occasions to honor leaders, risk takers, innovators, and believers.

10:00 - 12 noon
The New Mexico Legislature will honor New Mexico Food ad Farms Day, New Mexico School Nutrition Day, and Cooking with Kids Day in both the House and Senate Chambers. Policymakers will highlight the importance of these events and most importantly will recognize individuals and organizations for their efforts in building an important aspect of food, farming, and health initiatives in New Mexico.

12:30 - 3:00pm
Round Table celebration, discussion, and next steps by all of the groups and individuals involved. We ask ourselves what we learned, how it builds relationships and coordination, and what we commit to doing moving forward. Our discussion includes providing lunch. Venue TBD (more information forthcoming)

The organizations joining in the celebration include: New Mexico Food and Agriculture Policy Council, Farm to Table, New Mexico School Nutrition Association, Siete Del Norte, Cooking with Kids, Mid Rio Grande Council of Governments, New Mexico Cooperative Extension Service, New Mexico Dietetics Association, New Mexico Farmers Marketing Association, Santa Fe Food Policy Council, FoodCorps, Community Outreach Patient Empowerment (COPE - a Navajo Nation Coalition and youth group NCHO), Dine Food Sovereignty Alliance, and more.

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Reflections for the Jubilee Year of Mercy

On Dec. 8, 2015, Pope Francis launched the Jubilee Year of Mercy, an effort to focus the mission of the church and of the faithful on mercy and forgiveness rather than on judgment. This is a call for both individuals and for the institution. Here are a couple of quotes on mercy, including one from Pope Francis.

Photo via Norbertine Community of Santa Maria de la Vid

Mercy is not a virtue that you choose to put on one day. Mercy has to be your deepest way of seeing, a generosity of spirit that draws from your identity, your deepest dignity, which is love. It is basically a worldview of abundance, wherein I do not have to withhold, protect, or hoard myself.   -Rev. Richard Rohr OFM

The mystery of divine mercy is revealed in the history of the covenant between God and his people Israel. God shows himself ever rich in mercy, ever ready to treat his people with deep tenderness and compassion, especially at those tragic moments when infidelity ruptures the bond of the covenant, which then needs to be ratified more firmly in justice and truth. Here is a true love story, in which God plays the role of the betrayed father and husband, while Israel plays the unfaithful child and bride. These domestic images – as in the case of Hosea (cf. Hos 1-2) – show to what extent God wishes to bind himself to his people.  -Pope Francis (from message for Lent, 2016)

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Hurray for Volunteers!

I had this post ready to go and then decided to hold off because of the Memorial Day holiday.  Memorial Day is a special day when we should pay our respects to those who whether they were drafted or volunteered, they gave their lives in service to our country.  It seemed a little disrespectful on Memorial Day to equate a self-seeded plant with a service person.  So I really mean no disrespect when I say with enthusiasm HURRAY FOR VOLUNTEERS!

I call plants that self-seed and sprout "volunteers" as do many gardeners.  These sprouts are plants just doing what nature intended.  The seeds fall or are blown then land and sprout.  If you have plants that freely self-seed you should consider these volunteers a blessing.  You didnt have to buy the seed or plant the seed, it just volunteered to grow for you.  I count them as blessings for the most part.

Of course, volunteers rarely volunteer to grow exactly where we want them to be.  I see no harm in requesting that the volunteers relocate; and in my garden they participate in the VRP (volunteer relocation program).  When I spot a volunteer, I usually dig it up and put it in a small pot until I can decide its permanent location.  When it is either a plant that will grow very large (like an Everglades tomato) or a plant that will stay very small (like a torenia) I skip this step because I usually know where my large and small spaces are located in the garden.

All Volunteer Basket

So when you are weeding, pay attention to what you are pulling up.  For example, this pretty hanging basket has a sunny yellow purslane in it right now.  This entire basket self seeded from last rainy season.  During the dry season, it was full of zinnias.  But, the zinnias all have died back and the purslane started to sprout. I recognized the sprouting plants and I just let it go.

I was weeding the gravel area under where the pot hangs and spotted this.

So I dug it up and put it in a little pot.  You should see it now!  I think I will start another basket if I get a few more volunteers.

Lately, I have been crazy for polka dot plants.  I dont know what it is about the mixture of pink and green on the leaves but it always make me smile just to look at it.  I have polka dot plants growing in both my Florida and North Carolina gardens.  They dont get very large, but sometimes when you look around where they are growing you will see these. 

Volunteer Polka Dot Plants

When I find them, I am digging them up and collecting them until I have enough to start a large pot.  I dont want to put them in the ground because as slow growers they will get choked out by the more vigorous growers.

And speaking of vigorous growers.  My cuban daisies think it is their purpose to take over every inch of soil everywhere in Florida.  I confess that I pull many of these up and toss them as weeds.  However, I do relocate plenty because the butterflies and bees are just crazy for this plant. 

Cuban Daisy

The blooms only last one day, but the plant is a prolific bloomer and the butterflies and bees will wear out a bloom in one day with so many visits.  I dont know if the bloom could stand a second day with so much company.

Cuban Daisy Volunteer & Weed

One year my mother had a volunteer watermelon plant sprout in the crack in the paved area behind her house.  She left it alone and in addition, didnt let anybody park there. We were amazed as the watermelon took over the area, flowered and fruited.  If she had intentionally planted the seed in that crack it would have never sprouted, much less produced.

Transplanted Purslane Volunteers

Volunteer Polka Dot Army

 

 

 

So what are your favorite volunteers and what is the strangest place one has every sprouted?

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Bread for the World Advocacy Outcomes for 2014

Members of Congress rely on their constituents to keep them informed of issues and concerns in their districts. By writing your members of Congress, you’ve made yourself a valuable source of information. Congressional aides figure you represent others, so your voice becomes amplified. Writing letters gives you voice and power. Taking the time to write tells your members of Congress that you’re serious and that they’re accountable to you.  Exerpt from "Why Write to Congress", in Bread for the Worlds Take Action page.

Have you ever wondered what impact those letters to Congress, those meetings with congressional aides, those phone calls to Washington and the district office, those tweets, those letters to the editor are having?

The communications staff at Bread for the World put together these illustrations to show the progress against hunger since 1990 and the outcome of the advocacy efforts of grassroots members and staff during 2014 (illustrated in the five graphics below)

Remember those letters you wrote in 2014 urging Congress to reform food-aid programs? Legislators approved a set of reforms, and as a result, 1.5 million more people around the world have been fed.

These results, of course, did not occur in a vacuum. Bread for the World works in a number of coalitions (like the Modernizing Foreign Asissistance Network), and many other organizations and their members contributed to the outcome of the legislative initiatives.

This year, Bread for the World members (in partnership with other nutrition advocates) urged Congress to reauthorize child nutrition programs in our country, through our Feed Our Children campaign. In New Mexico, members of 18 congregations wrote more than 2,000 letters to Congress around this issue. Stay tuned for legislative updates.

Here are the graphics for the advocacy outcomes for 2014.

Food Aid Reform:

Circle of Protection:

Poverty-Focused Development Assistance

Immigration Reform

New USAID Strategy 

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Bread for the World Member Rick Steves Invites You to Join Him in Helping to End Hunger This Christmas

"...Im one of thousands of Christian Americans who really see Bread for the World not as a charity but as a service. Together, we want to fight hunger, and Bread for the World represents that, and does our work right here in Washington, D.C."  excerpt from Rick Steves address at the Bread for the World national gathering, June 2014

Rick Steves loves Bread for the World. Every Christmas season, he puts together a special appeal to raise funds for our organization. The beloved television travel host and author has an offer for you again this year.

"Heres my challenge to you," Steves says on his Travel Blog. "Make a gift of $100 or more and as a thank you, Ill match your gifts (up to $250,000) and send you my European Christmas gift package or my Complete Collection 2000-2016 DVD Box Set (all 100 of my travel shows)."

This video tells you more about the European Christmas Gift Package


If you make your gift by December 10 (thats next Thursday!),  you’ll get everything in time for Christmas. "I’ll happily pay for the cost of these gifts and postage so that Bread can use 100 percent of your donation for their work," said Steves.

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Makeshift Tripod for the Fire Pit

Having newly constructed a fire pit in the yard for a marshmallow roasting workshop, we were confronted not long afterward with an unopened package of brats in the freezer.  Much preferring a brat grilled over an in-ground hardwood fire to even a charcoal-grilled one, we concluded that an open-fire grilling apparatus was needed immediately. "Immediately," in this case, meant, "in less time than it would take to drive to the store and buy a tripod."  Fortunately, with a little whatchagotamology, we were able to piece something together in less time than it even took the fire to burn down to cooking stage.

The main features are three sticks with fork-like features at the top, three short chains, a long chain, and a grate stolen from a regular grill.

The long chain is attached to the three short chains (which were extra parts from the fluorescent light fixtures we used in the aquaponics setup) by a bent nail we pulled from some piece of free Craigslist wood.  The long chain runs up through the top of the forked sticks, and can move up or down to adjust the height of the grate above the fire.

The three short chains are attached to the grate in a similar manner, spaced evenly to make the grill level.  Also, putting the grate upside down helps keep brats and hotdogs from rolling off.  Or at least, you can tell people that if you accidentally put it on upside down.

A screw in one of the legs can be used to fix the location of the chain if, like us, you were in too big a hurry to find sticks with a suitable branch.

Brats cooking safely, lovely company, summer initiated.  Crisis averted.

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Homestead Happiness for March Week 2

We skipped our HAP post last week because there wasnt too much to report on, other than the potato starch experiment.  We mostly did that, played in the snow, and tried to figure out why our bees died (more on that in a few days).  But there were a few snippets of progress this week.  Heres how we entertained ourselves:

We had collected our soil samples back in early February, when the ground was unfrozen and dry from a warm and sunny January.  But we finally got the dirt fully dry and broke up all the chunks.

That meant it was ready to bag it up and send to Massachusetts for nutrient and heavy metal testing!  Hopefully we only have to do the metal testing once, since its expensive.

Saturday was Pi Day.  Were trying to cut down on our sugar consumption, but on a nerdy holiday that celebrates with dessert, we didnt stand a chance.  The recipe was essentially this.

Free composting/mulching materials.  Thanks, Craigslist!

REUBENS!!!!

Ok, the real St. Patricks Day isnt until Tuesday, but Sunday was the start of Irish Food Week here at the Lab.  Plus, we couldnt wait until Tuesday to cook up our corned beast because weve got pesky obligations that last all day, e.g., off-homestead work.

What made you happy this week?  Let us know in the comments section below!

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Advent Wait for the Lord

Wait for the Lord,

whose day is near.

Wait for the Lord:

keep watch, take heart. 

-Jacques Berthier (Taizé) 

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Circo for the Community Rescheduled for March 5

The Circo for the Community fundraiser, originally scheduled for this Saturday, January 23, has been rescheduled for Saturday, March 5.

The performance will benefit the New Mexico Conference of Churches, La Mesa Arts Academy, New Mexico Interfaith Power and Light, and the New Mexico Faith Coalition for Immigrant Justice and the Albuquerque Aerialist Collective. Tickets are $40 and can be purchased on the NMCC site or at the door (you can write a check for any of these organizations). The cost of the ticket includes dinner and a reception.

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Heart Association Reduce Price for Fruits and Vegetables and Save 200 000 Lives

For years, the American Heart Association (AHA) was identified with a campaign to reduce consumption of red meat.  In lieu of eating so many ribeyes or sirloins or fast-food hamburger, the AHA recommended that people obtain their protein from chicken, fish or beans.

The heart association is also recommending greater consumption of fruits and vegetables, which  the group says should be more affordable. At the AHAs Epidemiology meeting meeting in Phoenix this week, experts said a 30-percent reduction in the price of fruits and vegetable could save nearly 200,000 lives over 15 years. That is roughly the population of Des Moines, Iowa.

Heres what a report in National Public Radio said this week:
"Computer models suggest that making that produce more affordable may actually translate into lower death rates from heart disease and stroke. And, the researchers add, lower prices are more effective at saving lives than traditional campaigns designed to encourage consumption of fruits and vegetables, like 5 A Day. 

The conclusion is based in part on a tool developed by researchers at Tufts University and in Britain called the U.S. Impact Food Model that included projections of U.S. demographics and cardiovascular death rates to 2030. They then combined the data with current and projected fruit and vegetable intake figures. The model allowed the team to simulate the effects of different policies on eating habits.

"We were able to take a given change of price, and [determine] what that change in price does to consumption levels," lead researcher Jonathan Pearson-Stuttard, an academic clinical fellow at Imperial College in London, told NPR.

Read the full NPR article.

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Thanksgiving Meals for the Homeless Community in Albuquerque

Courtesy of ClipArtSheep  

(Please note: All these sites already have all the volunteers they need. The one location that might need help is La Mesa Presbyterian Church. You can call the church office, 255-8095, and ask: “What can I do to help you out on Thanksgiving Day?)

November 21 (Saturday)  
11:00 am to 3:00 pm -- Chava Trucking Company Thanksgiving Dinner, 409 Clark Road SW (2-1/2 miles south of Rio Bravo off of 2nd Street).

Shuttle service will be provided, beginning at 10:30 am, at St. Martin’s, Good Shepherd Center, Albuquerque Rescue Mission, Project Share, Noon Day, Salvation Army Temple (on Broadway & Lead), and Joy Junction

November 23 (Monday)  

• 6:00-7:00 pm – Pre-Thanksgiving meal at Joy Junction

November 24 (Tuesday)

•  8:00 am to 4:00 pm -- Noon Day is open (showers, laundry and breakfast, but no lunch)
• 11:00 am to 2:00 pm – Albuquerque Rescue Mission’s Thanksgiving meal (no breakfast or dinner that day at ARM)

*****All other sites will have regular schedule*****

November 25 (Wednesday) 

• 8:00 to 11:00 am -- Noon Day is open (showers, laundry and breakfast, but no lunch)
• 11:00 am to 2:00 pm – Joy Junction’s Thanksgiving meal at the Convention Center downtown (you can get free tickets at various shelters for reserved meal times, but no one will be turned away)

*****All other sites will have regular schedule (including HCH)*****

Courtesy of ClipArtSheep

Thanksgiving Day (Thursday).

• There will be a circle of remembrance, a sunrise gathering in honor of Native peoples (6:25 am sunrise) in the parking lot of the Albuquerque Center for Peace & Justice (Harvard & Silver SE)
• 8:30 to 9:30 am – Thanksgiving brunch at Good Shepherd Center (only meal that day at Good Shepherd)
• 9:00 am – holiday meal at St. Martin’s (hours are 7:00 to 11:00 am on Thanksgiving Day)
• 10:00 am to 2:00 pm –Thanksgiving meal at Salvation Army Temple, 501 Broadway SE (& Lead)
• 11:00 am to 2:00 pm – Thanksgiving meal at La Mesa Presbyterian Church, 7401 Copper NE (north of Central, east of Louisiana)
• 2:00 to 4:00 pm – Thanksgiving dinner at Joy Junction
• 5:00 to 6:00 pm – Thanksgiving dinner at Project Share, 1515 Yale SE (south of Kathryn)
• 5:00 to 6:00 pm – regular dinner at Albuquerque Rescue Mission (no breakfast that day, but opens at 12:30 pm)

    **Albuquerque Healthcare for the Homeless (HCH) and Noon Day will be closed****

November 27 (Friday) Homeless services: St. Martin’s hours will be open 7-4 with 10:00 am meal only; all other sites (Noon Day, Healthcare for the Homeless (HCH), Good Shepherd Center, Albuquerque Rescue Mission and others) will have regular schedule.

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Coconut Oil Replacement for Temperate Climates

It seems that a lot of recipes for homemade hygiene products call for coconut oil as a primary ingredient.  And why not?  Coconut oil is touted as having numerous benefits, which may or may not be legit. (Many of the benefits may be topical rather than dietary.)  Were not much into beauty products, but occasionally we discover a need for some type of cosmetic product, such as deodorant for when someone we actually like invites us to an event in the public sphere.  In the past, we have incorporated coconut oil into some of our homemade hygiene items, mainly as a high-melting binder for something like deodorant.  However, weve found two problems with this situation.  First, the coconut oil, although higher-melting than many other oils, sometimes melts in the summer heat.  Second, we have no intention of living in the coconuts natural habitat (coastal areas within ~26° latitude of the equator), which means it would be very difficult to produce our own coconut oil on the homestead.

However, we do (or more precisely, will) have the capability to produce beeswax and vegetable oils (e.g., canola or sunflower oil), which we hypothesized we might be able to combine in certain proportions to produce a mixed-lipid substance with a tunable melting point.  The first thing we had to do was build something to measure the melting points.  Oh boy, a project!

We wanted to use a spare piece of leftover metal from the 90° electrical conduit punch-out elbows we used for the row cover we built last fall, but the Home Depot spec sheet said the pieces were either cast zinc or galvanized steel. We were a little nervous about heating zinc (it turns out it would have been fine for this application anyway), but when we held the pieces, they sure didnt feel dense enough to be zinc or steel (which have densities of 7.2 and 7.8 g/cm³, respectively).  We suspected they might be aluminum, so we converted an empty spice jar into a makeshift graduated cylinder (sort of like a really nerdy MacGyver), then used the old displacement principle to calculate a density of about 2.7 g/cm³--suspiciously close to that of aluminum.  No zinc fume worries, and good thermal conductivity--yay, science! (And Home Depot shoppers be warned...)

Then we built a little contraption out of scrap wood to turn our aluminum piece and our wood burning tool into a melting point apparatus.  She aint purdy, but she sure is sturdy!

We drilled a partial hole in the center of the bottom in which to nest the wood burner, and two holes equidistant from the center: one for a small piece of whatever solid were melting and one for a thermocouple or thermometer.   This setup heats surprisingly quickly, so we had to serve as our own PID controller by plugging in and unplugging the wood burner.  It would be way easier to add a potentiometer between the wood burner and the wall outlet (something like this guy did), if we had one on hand and wanted to precisely control the heating rate.

The next step is to put a small chunk of the wax or wax/oil mixture in the one hole, hold the thermocouple in the other hole, and heat er up!  Keep heating until...

....the wax melts!  We got 142 °F as the melting point for the pure beeswax, which is pretty close to the normal range.  The aluminum plate cools down pretty quickly, so we can record the temperature at which it re-solidifies also, and do multiple melts to get an average.  (Since we know the approximate melting point from the first melt, we can unplug the wood burner sooner in subsequent replicates to approach the melting point more slowly--maybe even as slow as a real melting point apparatus would!)

With the instrument and methodology validated, we can finally pursue our goal of finding a beeswax/oil blend with the melting temperature we want.  We mixed up combinations of 80%, 60%, 40%, and 20% beeswax in canola oil (by volume) as our standards.

Then we made sure they were good and melted in the microwave.  We stirred the melt to mix everything well, then set them outside to freeze.  If the air outside is going to be cold, we might as well make use of it!

The 20-80% beeswax standards all had a pretty high melting point (e.g., the 20% mix melted at 118 °F), so we added a 5% beeswax mix to the curve.  It looked kind of like runny Vaseline, and seemed to cross over to the liquid side around 70 °F.  Thats lower than the melting temperature of coconut oil (which we measured at 79 °F, compared to an internet value of 77 °F), and is probably too soft for making deodorant.  The 20% mix seems like it might be about right.

Heres the data all together.  The point at the far left (pure canola oil) is from here since the air outside wasnt quite cold enough to freeze it (nor was our freezer, for some reason).  Naturally, the curve would look different if other oils were added into the mix, but wed wager that oils with a similar fatty acid profile to canola oil would give similar results.  The line is a fit to the equation shown, which has no physical meaning, as far as we know, but seems to fit the data well.  (Hooray for empiricism!)  Physical chemistry students: you might be able to publish a paper on the theory behind it.

Have you mixed beeswax with other oils for your own homestead hygiene?  Whats your favorite combination?  Let us know in the comments section below!

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