Soap Sunday – Lavender Lemon (video)

 I keep getting later and later with my posts. (Oops!) It’s still not a habit for me to write blog posts regularly, but I’ll try to do better. 

This week’s soap is Lavender-Lemon. It smells amazing, and has lemon yellow soap curls embedded in a clear purple olive oil base. I’m really liking the way it looks, and am already thinking of new colour/scent combos to try!

For fun, I made a video of (most of) the steps involved in making it for all of you who are curious. The steps I left out aren’t because they’re secret….its just because I’m forgetful. 😉

Enjoy! 

Soap Sunday – Bubble Gum + Trucks!

Wow, I’ve been slacking lately.  Not only is it actually Monday when I’m posting this…but I also realized I forgot to post my soap for last Sunday too!

Regardless of my lackadaisical blog posting style, I think this is the longest I’ve kept a new year’s resolution going.  Probably because it’s fun.  I mean, honestly – how fun are: “call your mother more”, “lose XX lbs by June”, or “stop picking your nose in traffic”. (I threw that last one in just to see if you’re reading…I don’t do that.  *shifty face*)

I think that’s the key to long-lasting resolutions.  Make them fun.  I’m already dreaming up ideas for next week’s soap!! (I see a lavender/lemon bar in my future)

Here are weeks six & seven of my “make a new soap each week for an entire year” resolution.  I hope you like them.  As always, you can buy through my group on Facebook, or if you’re local, the Cloverbelt Local Food Co-op.

First up:  Vintage Pickup Trucks

And this week’s new soap:  “Bubble Gum”!  I love how this one came out….

Tasty Tuesday (ok, Thursday) – Lasagna Soup

Here in Canada, winter can last FOREVER. Case in point, I’m pretty sure my local(ish) groundhog “conveniently” died before she could predict how much longer winter would last because she knew the answer, and just couldn’t bear to tell us.

Anyway – at my workplace, we have come up with a way to beat the winter blues.  We call it the “weekly winter warm-up”. (someone loves alliteration.  ok, yeah -that was me)

Each week one member of the group cooks a hot lunch for all the participants.  We all eat together, and not only is it awesome to have a homemade hot lunch once a week, it’s also really nice to have some down-time with my coworkers.

I find that sharing a meal can really boost morale, and increase bonds. Others must feel the same, because we have a really good turn out every week.  The best part:  you only have to cook once, but you get to enjoy a LOT of meals all through the winter. 🙂

It’s my turn to cook tomorrow, and I’ve been drooling over this recipe I found on Pinterest, so I decided to adapt it to make it my own.

It’s seriously delicious.  And easy too.

Here’s what you need (serves at least 10, so cut back if you need to):

• 2 tsp. olive oil
• 1/2 lb Italian sausage (use hot if you like that)
• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 tsp. dried basil leaves
• 1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 tsp. dried chili pepper flakes
• 1 small can of tomato paste
• 2  28-oz. cans of diced tomatoes
• 2 bay leaves
• 10 cups chicken stock
• 1 1/2 cups fresh spinach, chopped
• Box of fusilli or farfalle (little bows) pasta

Topping

• 8 oz. container of ricotta or cottage cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
• salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a deep enough pot for your soup – at medium heat. Add onions, sausage, and ground beef – making sure to break up the sausage a bit (I remove the skins to make this easier – or just use ground sausage meat), cooking until meat is browned. Drain the grease if there is a lot.  There was for me.

Add garlic, oregano, basil and your pepper flakes, cooking for another few minutes.  Add tomato paste and stir that into your meat mixture.  Cook a few minutes, stirring.

Pour diced tomatoes (and all of the liquid), the bay leaves, and the chicken stock into your pot. Stir together, and bring just to a boil.  Throw in your chopped spinach if you’re using that.  I thought it needed some green, so I did.  Reduce heat, cover your pot and simmer for 30 (or more) minutes.

I chose to cook my noodles separately, in another pot.  If cooked right in your soup, you run the risk of having mushy overcooked noodles – especially if there are any leftovers.

Cook noodles according to package directions, until al dente.

When the soup is ready, remove the bay leaves.  Add the noodles to each bowl before ladling the soup over them. Top with a dollop of ricotta or cottage cheese, a sprinkling of parmesan, and some fresh basil.

Season to taste with salt and pepper, and proceed to eat every last bite/drop.

Make it Monday – Sharpie Mugs **UPDATE**

It’s been about 6 months since I made my Sharpie mugs and I thought you all might appreciate an update about how they’ve held up.

If you read the original post, you’ll know that I was careful to prep the surface of my mug before painting, and used super expensive oil-based Sharpie markers because Pinterest told me those would make the designs last forever.  Damn it, Pinterest.  I trusted you.

I NEVER washed them in the dishwasher (I can’t help but wonder if this one did take a trip through the dishwasher when I wasn’t looking though), yet somehow despite my best efforts and intentions, the ink has begun to chip off.  Womp womp.

 

Above Left: Before all of my hopes and dreams were dashed.  Above Right:  After almost 6 months of quite heavy use. (my husband loves it) As you can see, a lot of the ink still remains – this is not bad if you made the mug for yourself, for your own use.  You could always touch it up and go on happily for another few months.  I wouldn’t recommend selling them though.

Back to the drawing board, I guess….

Soap Sunday – Rainforest Bars + A VIDEO!

Well, it’s week 5 of my new year’s resolution, and so far I’m still going strong!  Yay!

This week, I used one of my favourite techniques – there isn’t really a name for it, so I lovingly refer to it as “Dump Soap”.  Not an appealing name, perhaps….but definitely fitting, given the way I make it.

See, one of the best things about soapmaking (in my opinion), is that you can always use your scraps.  Nothing goes to waste.

With dump soap, I chop up pieces from other loaves, practice bars, or soap that just didn’t work out the first time for whatever reason (soapmaking can be tricky!), and throw it all into a brand new loaf of soap, which always results in a really unique and interesting bar.

For this one, I used bits of a small loaf that I made when I was practicing swirling techniques!

I’m calling it “Rainforest”, and I kind of love it.  Too bad I sold them all, and I’ll never be able to duplicate it.   Oh well.  🙂

These soaps are made with a triple butter (mango, shea, and cocoa butter) base, and are chock-full of all these really cool swirly, ombre green pieces.

The scent is a custom blend with tropical florals, crisp juicy fruits, and bright greens. It is light, clean, and fresh.

Also – as a reward to myself for completing one whole month of my resolution, I’ve put together a quick little video re-cap, looking back at the new soaps I made in January.  Here it is: