I am of the mind that the process of learning how to cook should always begin with learning how to shop.

If you know how to select the highest-quality, freshest ingredients you can afford, and if you can organize your life so there’s time to stock your fridge and pantry with those, you’ve really won half the battle.

First in terms of cooking motivation — we all know the magical inspirational powers of vibrant produce — but also in terms of results: the exact same recipe and skills will yield an incomparably tastier dish if you’re working with the good stuff. (And in truth, the good stuff barely needs your intervention to shine.)

This is why I was thrilled when I received a copy of the just-released Bi-Rite Market’s Eat Good Food book, co-written by Sam Mogannam, who runs the popular independent grocery store near Dolores Park in San Francisco, and food writer Dabney Gough.

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I recently had the opportunity to meet the lovely Stephanie — the no less lovely Aran introduced us — and I am therefore a new reader of her blog, “where practical meets pretty.” She wrote about gratitude lists in a recent post, and the first comment underneath that post was by Mary, who talked about her weekly round-up of Three Beautiful Things.

I loved the idea, as I am definitely one to find gratitude and joy in small things. In a flash I decided it would be wonderful to start a (weekly-ish) Three Very Good Things series, in which I’d share three delicious things made, tasted, and/or experienced during the week.

Here’s my inaugural Very Good Trio. Feel free to chime in with your own in the comments section, or on your own blog if you’d like to adopt the idea too!

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Today’s recipe is for something you’ll make in your kitchen with ingredients you would normally use for cooking, but that you shouldn’t actually eat. (Or you could, but you’d be missing the point.)

Today’s recipe is for a natural deodorant. I realize personal hygiene isn’t an altogether food-friendly subject, but making your own cosmetics is not so different from making your own dinner, and I am so enthused by this one I thought I’d share.

I’ve long been weary of store-bought deodorants, and although it is easier than ever to find aluminum- and paraben-free deodorants, the list of ingredients remains disconcertingly long, and many of the “natural” deodorants I’ve tried over the years simply don’t work very well.

It is easy, it is cheap, and most important of all, it works!

So when I stumbled upon this formula on Maggie’s blog (while searching for a sewing tutorial, of all things), I was instantly drawn to the idea: you simply mix coconut oil with baking soda and some kind of starch (such as arrowroot powder or cornstarch) to get a creamy lotion that will harden in the fridge (coconut oil solidifies gradually below 24.5°C / 76°F) and form a deodorant “stone” that you can rub on like an ordinary deodorant.

It is easy, it is cheap, and most important of all, it works. Coconut oil is a bit of a Swiss knife product, used in cooking but also to nourish the skin and hair, and for medicinal purposes: the lauric acid it contains is deemed to have antibacterial qualities, which explains its role here.

If you’re worried about the coconut smell, don’t be: although the deodorant itself does smell of coconut, the smell is very faint (and localized!) once you have it on, so it won’t interfere with your usual perfume. It is also relatively trace-free — though you do have to be careful when you put on your shirt, as with most deodorants — and doesn’t leave marks on clothes at the end of the day.

The only downside is that the deodorant stone needs to be kept in the fridge if you want it to keep its rub-on texture, which means that 1- you have to remember to get it from the kitchen before you shower, and 2- it’s not very travel-friendly. However, you could also apply it like a lotion — a little messier, but no less efficient.

UPDATE: I am now using this travel-friendly deodorant formula.

So, are you ready to give this a try? And do you have any other homemade cosmetics recipes you want to share?

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Photography by J. Annie Wang.

This is part of a series on French idiomatic expressions that relate to food. Browse the list of idioms featured so far.

This week’s expression is, “Se vendre comme des petits pains.”

Literally translated as, “selling like small breads,” it means selling like hotcakes, i.e. selling quickly, effortlessly, and in large numbers. It is very commonly used.

Example: “Les exemplaires signés par l’artiste se sont vendus comme des petits pains.” “The copies signed by the artist sold like hotcakes.”

Listen to the idiom and example read aloud:

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