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So...
It turns out that one of my Soap Troubles - that I was getting "curds" under a layer of oil rather than "trace" - is actually me being halfway to Hot Processed Soap without knowing it.

Okay.

And hot process soap, if I do it right, means a curing time of two weeks or less, rather than six weeks to three months.

So my current question is: If I bake my current two batches of soap on low heat for half an hour... will they (a) finish doing their thing, or (b) melt and turn into a complete mess that I then have to re-mould?


Soap-makers? What do you think?


TTFN,
Amazon.

I have discovered that, just as a pound of beeswax makes about 30 (maybe more) tea-lights, it will also make about 10 votive (-esque, they're shorter than a standard votive) candles. (I got ten of the little, steel ketchup-holders from the grocery store and used them as votive molds. They're wide enough at the base to be used as a tea-light holder after the candle's been used up, which doesn't hurt, either.

I figure that I can sell them for about $4 each (standard-size beeswax votives typically go for about $5 around here), and still turn a decent profit off of them (per candle, I mean). Which is good to know.

I also made soap. The plan was to do this after having made the candles, because I could use whatever beeswax remained in the pot as part of the soap recipe (thus making it at least slightly easier to clean. In theory).

And I did. (I didn't quite get *all* the wax off, though, which is slightly suck-tastic, but I can work with it).

See, ages and ages ago, back when there was still snow on the ground, I bought a set of 12 silicone mini-cupcake forms with the intent of using them to make both (a) beeswax tea-lights, and (b) miniature/sample soaps.

I think I'm more likely to use them for soaps, really, since I very much like to keep my candles in some kind of a foil/metal liner (I would LOVE to get my hands on a package of foil candy-cup liners as they hold roughly the same amount of wax as a tea-light liner. The only problem is that, most likely, they're a much thinner foil and they might not stand up to the weight of the liquid wax in them. (Possibly I could do 12 at a time and use my silicone liners as back-up until they harden? Thoughts?) That said, if I'm going to custom-order something, I may as well custom-order actual tea-light foils and be done with it.

ANYWAY. That's what's on my mind in that regard.

I did make tiny soaps today, with the plan being to put together four Pretty Little Bags (ideally gold or copper coloured -- will have to check dollarama) with three different soaps in each one (Unscented[1], sweet orange[2], and gingerbread[3]). They are currently sitting, in tupperwares, on my (glass) coffee table. Hopefully they are Doing Their Thing without having to be wrapped, further, in a blanket. they look really, really cute, to be honest (even if I am saying so myself). And, bonus, they're all a slightly different shade of beige. Not massively different, but enough to (hopefully) tell them apart once they're out of their colour-coded silicone forms).



Further to this, I've boiled (30 minutes) then baked (3 hours at 250F) about 2Kg of butternut squash and sweet potatoes[4] and then mashed the hell out of them, adding:

1 large log of soft goat cheese (1.5 to 2 C?)
1/3 C plain 3% yoghurt
1/4 C butter
2 tbsp black pepper
1.5 tbsp dried rubbed sage
1 tbsp garlic-salt


ZOMG they are DELICIOUS!!! (I had a taste, and shared a little bit with Lola the Parrot, who found them quite agreeable, by the looks of things -- she is a cheese fiend, and has enjoyed sweet potatoes in the past).



Lastly: I have taken out the compost, got a new jug of milk (the old jug of milk went off, like clockwork, today. So we are going to mix it with pear cider vinegar and have delicious, delicious fluffy pancakes for breakfast tomorrow morning. (I think this will involve getting a container of vanilla yoghurt, along with a new box of compost bags AND a tri-light bulb (ye gods) chez the grocery store on the way back from Ami_B's pierogie party). It will be the yummiest. :-D


Tomorrow is going to be food-tastic, FYI. I've got a pork roast, plus spiffy sparkling cider, plus (as of this evening) a number of Glorious Pierogies to choose from (which will be fried up with mushrooms and garlic and, maybe, a little bit of broccoli),PLUS I will be (finally) making apple pie[5]. With an almond-crumb crust. It will be delicious. At least that is the Plan. :-)
(Plus, hey, if I keep myself busy in the kitchen, I won't be badgering my girl, who is definitely going to be needing some rest tomorrow! ;-)


Anyway. I'm out of here in pretty short order. :-)


TTFN,
Amazon. :-)


[1] Saponified: Beeswax, soy wax, coconut oil, and sunflower oil.

[2] Same mix as the Unscented, but with added vanilla and sweet orange essential oil.

[3] Same mix as the Unscented, but with added vanilla and essential oils of ginger and cloves.

[4] Which can be grown in Ontario! Who knew? :-D <*plots future dream-gardens*>

[5] Apples courtesy of Ghost's parents' apple trees. :-D

So I have found another soap recipe.

This one looks astonishingly easy (as far as soap goes).

I know I can't go messing about with the soap recipe before I've even tried this once, but I still have some questions:

Main one being: How safe is it to dissolve lye crystals in herbal tea?

I mean, I'm guessing hibiscus and other obviously acidic fruit teas are right out.

But what about something like chai? Would that cause a horrible chemical reaction that would make the lye overflow in my sink and etch the metal? Or is it alkali enough that it would be safe to mix a really caustic chemical into in order to scent the soap?


Also: 48oz oil + 36 oz lye solution needs 2 tbsp ESSENTIAL oil to scent it? Or does that sound like *way* too much?


Your input is appreciated. :-)


ALSO: On a completely unrelated note (thanks, Twitter): Jesus Should Be in a Hammer Flick.