Vegan Castille Soap - Carrot and Basil, Lemon Balm, and Anise soaps

The carrot soap was made using all of the runty and wiry carrots growing in
tight in amongst the nice thick long carrots in our raised beds in the side yard.

I used only vegetation we grew ourselves, all organic, nothing was wasted.

I scrubbed these itty bitty carrots and boiled them in a bit of water and then pureed them smooth, using about 16 oz of vegetable matter. I then blended in 43.5 oz of olive oil.

In a large glass or ceramic bowl I added 12 oz of cold water very slowly to 6 oz lye, stirring gently with a silicone spatula until the temperature droped down between 110-115*. I slowly added it to the oil and vegetable blend. Using a stick mixer, I blended until trace appeared as a béchamel sauce consistency. 

It was then poured into a glass 8x17 pan (a ceramic, wax paper lined wood, or silicon mold would work as well). This was placed in an oven set to 170* for 2 to 3 hours. It then rested overnight. The next day it was un-mold, rinsed, cut,  and the slices cured on parchment for 2 to 3 weeks in a cool dark location.

After curing, they were wrapped in fresh parchment paper and stored in a plastic bag.

The soap shown below was mostly basil and lemon balm that I had soaking in the olive oil for a month in the cupboard. I added fresh anise seed during the blending process. It smells mostly of lemon balm.

Basil, Lemon Balm, and Anise made using
the herbs grown in our garden this summer.

Basil, Lemon Balm, and Anise soap

How Farms Are Born

This past Monday was a hot, clear, bright day; just ripe for taking an adventure. My dear friend Chimene and her husband purchased land in Chautauqua County last year, not far from the lake. Chautauqua, in Iroquois, means 'where the fish jump' and the lake's large striped perch show how aptly it was named.

Part of the land is being prepared for a store. The building is being framed and the roadway cleared and leveled and soon she will have it open for business, with soaps to items made from alpaca wool, to preserves and produce and more.

This bit of land has all sorts of charm to it. From it's rustic shed to....

...it's far reaching tree line, barn frame, and bee hives, to it's...

...friendly blue house that sits squat across the top of the slope.

Swaths of bushy chamomile peer sunnily out of raised beds.

Juicy cabbages line up neat and orderly.

I had never seen these squash before. Similar to the patty pan, the Yugoslavian Finger Fruit Squash's disk shape has finger-like protrusions and has a rather nondescript summer squash flavor, though there is some mention that it can have a coconut flavor when picked young.

Here is Chimene, plucking up the largest one off the vines. Apparently they grow very large quite quickly.

Speaking of patty pan, here is a small one just budding under it's floral crown. These have been my favorite since childhood.

Plump tomatillos droop under the brilliant sun. These fruits are the base ingredient in Salsa Verde, a scrumptious pale green sauce used as a garnish on many Mexican dishes.

The land is edged with wild herbs like echinacea and blackberries and raspberries. It really is quite the loveliest bit of land I have seen in a long time.

Day 18 - Leftovers, Washing Dishes, and Allowing for Daydreaming

The view from our kitchen window is interesting in that it looks into the grassy yard of the boxing club that abuts our property. In the winter the water freezes in large waterfall sculptures down the far corner and the mysterious mounds of snow hide the large training tires and the sometimes abandoned bmx knock offs. In the summer the young boys goad each other to pick up the training hammer and take a swing at the tire, mimicking the young men who are in real training. As I bake and cook the steam fills the window and escapes and the boys lift their faces smelling the air in unison. My litter of pups, who grumble they still have to run the block five more times before they can go home to dinner....

Leftovers are our favorites. After sitting in their spices and herbs, meats and vegetables settle and mature and the taste is even more sweetly anticipated than the first night they were served. But then soon they are finished off, some quicker than others, leaving stacks of dishes waiting their turn to steam the window...