Adventures In Country Living: Homemade Soap

I decided to make soap. From scratch. And it sounded like a really good idea. A fun, simple activity that shouldn't be too hard to screw up. I watched a video on making soap that seemed easy enough. After watching it a few more times, I was confident. If they could do it, I could do it. Simple as that, right?

The first thing I had to do was order the lye from a soap making company. It came in really intimidating containers with hazard warnings all over it. I knew it was caustic which meant it would burn if I got it on my skin. Not intimidating in the slightest *cough*. Insert cheesy Christmas apron and bright blue rubber gloves. I was certain I could handle this without a trip to the ER.

So once I got all the rest of my various oils, fragrances, and other necessities like molds, spoons, pot, etc., I was ready to go. I timed my soap making adventure to take place during the kids' naps so no harm would befall them, and once they were snoozing away, I set up all the supplies outside so I wouldn't breathe the fumes.

I was ready to go.

All my ingredients were carefully weighed (not measured) and all that was left to do was snap on my rubber gloves and face the dreaded container of lye. After a mini pep talk and a few heart palpitations, I opened the lid and poured it into the bowl. Add the lye to the water only, not the other way around. I kept repeating this to myself as I went through the motions. Immediately, as expected, the pot steamed as the lye heated up the water in a cloud of funky smelling solution. And of course I think I got some on my rubber gloves.

Why is it that once you get in a position where you can't touch anything, every surface on your body starts itching? I sort of wiggled and tried to psych myself out of the crazies as I stirred the mixture, thankful for my rubber gloves. I don't know if it actually happened or if it was just a result of being over neurotic, but I was certain that a drop of lye got on my skin. In a moment of sheer panic, I poured white vinegar on it (as the video instructed) and hurried inside to rinse it all off. My husband, who was sort of poking around, seemed slightly worried for my health and sanity. Once I assured him that I was a highly trained professional and the incident required no medical attention, he seemed only more worried. He may have hovered after this point.

Back outside, I added the rest of the ingredients, coconut and olive oil, to name a few. This is a good point to mention that the video highly recommended using an immersion blender. Well I didn't have an immersion blender and thinking that I would just do it the "old fashioned way", figured it wouldn't really matter. If our ancestors could do it without an immersion blender, so could I. Stirring with a wooden spoon would just take longer. That's OK, I thought, I've got plenty of time.

Fast forward an hour and a half. I'm still standing there with my stupid snowman apron, stupid blue gloves and stupid wooden spoon...waiting for the famous "tracing" to occur--the point when the mixture has thickened properly. It was here that I learned that talking to a pot of soap and begging it to trace will not actually make it happen. Eventually my soap sort of traced (shhh, don't tell) and I decided to call it good enough. I dumped in pumpkin pie spice, yummy fall fragrances and some oats for exfoliation, stirred it together, and poured the mixture into my well-greased mold to set. After that, I cut it and left it to cure for several weeks.

Of course since tracing didn't actually occur, my mixture was still quite warm and down the road, when we used the first bar, I realized the oats had sort of cooked. Lovely. Just the effect I was going for. So now, I have a lifetimes supply of apple and oatmeal scented soap that is rather homely. But honestly, it works quite well. So if you know me, don't be surprised when you get a bar at Christmas. And when you discover my mushy oat mistake, please just smile and pretend like you didn't read this.

Apple Recipes

As fall has come upon us, I realized that I truly have a pathetic stash of apple recipes. Any applelicious treats that have blown my socks off were always made by other people. Pie. Cobblers. Crisps. Apple cake. Now, to vamp up my stash of tried and trues, it would be easy enough to google a few or buy a cookbook, but there's nothing like those really good recipes--yummy family delicacies or those home tested favorites.

It's just that time of year to bust out the apple peeler, pull out the cinnamon and spices and dress up these tart and tasty fruits. Homemade crusts call my name and although I think melting a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top is criminal, it should certainly be on hand for those who disagree. (I know I'm weird. You can throw your apple corer at me. I won't hold it against you)

So jump on in and share your favorite recipe and I'll give you mine (as lonely as it is) and I have to admit that this isn't even my recipe. My sister-in-law gave it to me and I have to also confess that she makes it ten times better than I do. I don't know how she does it. They grow their own apples. They're really small and crisp and the crumble topping is buttery and golden and tender all at the same time. OK, now I'm just plain hungry!

Apple Crisp

4-5 medium apples (or 8 small), peeled and sliced
1/4 cup sugar
sprinkle of cinnamon
sprinkle of nutmeg
*cut apples into pie dish and sprinkle with sugar and spices

Crumble Topping:

3/4 cup Quick Oats
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup butter or margarine softened
*mash together with a fork until thoroughly mixed and "crumbly" :)
Sprinkle over apples and lightly pat down

Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes or until top is golden brown

Pumpkins and Crows

Its that time of year when cobwebs creep up in front yards and felt spiders the size of preschoolers cling to the sides of trees. Grocery stores are bursting at the scenes with bagged candy and costume advertisements make people blush.

I'm not really that into Halloween--I mean the bats and ghosts side of things-- but don't get me wrong, I love this time of year. There's something in the air that makes October just plain fun. Its a time when its perfectly OK to nibble on handfuls of candy corn and blast the Phantom of the Opera from the CD player. (side note--who would have thought you could Jazzercise to the Phantom? Our instructor put together a spooky set for us and I had no idea what the motions were so when in doubt, keep bouncing--and hope no one notices you. And...try not to fall down the stairs. I have a bad habit of standing in front of the stairwell. I've had visions of myself sashaying my way to a rather abrupt demise.)

What was I talking about? Oh yeah, pumpkins and crows. So I love pumpkins on my front porch. I've also developed a little fascination for crows this fall. Not in a scary way, more like the Nanny McPhee kind of way. You know. Cute. But not creepy. I don't know what it is about October--fall is just my favorite time of year. It makes me happy. There's something about living in Southern California that makes one appreciate cold weather. The other day it was pouring and my one and three-year olds were playing on the front porch, soaking wet, happy as tadpoles after a drought. And me? I was sitting in the doorway--trying not to get wet--reading a book. I know, we're weird about rain.

I've already made my first pumpkin pie cake of the season, every morning there's a fire in our wood burning stove and more often than is good for the 'ol waistline, there's a pot of homemade popcorn crackling away on the stove top. (We don't have a microwave but even if we did, it would still be the best way to do it.) We like ours in olive oil with a drizzle of butter and salt. And if we're going all out, homemade cherry cokes with grenadine and maraschinos. Yum! Its the way my dad did. Its the way his dad did it. If it ain't broken...

Yay for October :D

Adventures in Country Living: Shuckin' Corn

We tried to grow corn last year. But after about $40 dollars worth of city water, a million weeds pulled, and all our hopes and dreams riding on the possibility of those golden kernels ready for harvest, my husband and I plucked two, pitiful cobs from the garden that went straight into the compost. Sigh. And since Costco sells organic corn for $4.99 a bag, we decided to go the modern route this year.

But, a friend of mine had an incredibly successful crop and with baby number five on the way, she felt a little overwhelmed by the crates of fresh picked corn on her back porch, so in a moment of near insanity, a few of us girls volunteered to join her in a corn shucking day. The kids loved it. While we tugged off the husks, filling a Red Rider wagon (my husband just reminded me that was a gun not a wagon. I suppose they are more commonly known as Radio Flyers. oops :D) to the brim, one lucky boy got to haul it away. Where it went each trip, I have no idea, but that's the nature of four-year-olds and we'll take whatever help we can get :) Even the littlest kids joined in and with the mommies seated in white rocking chairs, surrounded by homemade cinnamon rolls and hot coffee, the work was rather pleasurable--and the sleeping cat--no that's not a country calendar your looking at.

You know its organic corn--straight off the stalks--no chemicals involved, when the kids are huddled around the glass jar of corn worms, begging to be the one to dump it into the chicken coop. Now, for a former city girl, this would have normally made me squirm, but since I have been inducted into the world of country living--dirt under my fingernails, camo in my closet and all--this did not bother me as much as I expected. Although I must admit, I am deathly afraid of bugs. Rattlesnake...who cares? Crouching tiger...walk in the park. But pair me against a mosquito eater, and I'm pale as a ghost, screaming my head off--arms flailing. My husband thinks its funny.

So while my friends were not afraid to simply pluck the worms from the corn, I, in my citified way, gently tapped the corn cob against the jar. Plunk. Worm removed. No touching required. (I guess some things never change.)

Many hands make quick work and in no time, we hauled the corn into the kitchen and after slicing it off the cobs, blanched it and packed the ready-to-freeze corn into gallon bags. Its amazing how time flies when there's work to be done. We said our goodbyes and while still finding corn kernels stuck to the oddest places, I tucked my tired toddlers (with dirt caked to their Carhartt overalls) into the car and it was back down the dusty road, headed for home. Another day. Another project.

Happy Homesteading! And Happy Harvest!