Soap Making 101

Yesterday was a LONG day but we learned a lot! Who knew you could take an all day soap making class? Who knew some soap was made with tallow (aka beef fat?, or goat fat, sheep...)

The Finished Product

All soap has to contain lye, a very water soluble, and caustic basic solution. That didn't sound so good to me, but if you like to stay clean you use soap! The folks we learned from make most of their soap outside as the fumes are very dangerous. Bad for you, your children and pets. So we used safety equipment and mixed the lye outdoors, as you will see in the photos. My first question was, then why are we using on our skin? This soap process takes about 6-8 weeks to cure and by then the lye has neutralized. It turns into a mild soap containing natural glycerin. 

Safety first!

Rendering the beef fat - creating Tallow

Making soap the old fashioned way. It's a time honored process that the pioneers used. 

Our second batch is thankfully made without animal byproducts!

In a few months, our website SimplyFaithTX.com will be selling our homemade soaps. I am working on a variety of organic soaps; non-scented, mildly scented, kitchen soaps, soaps for your dog, a gardeners friend, shampoo bar soap, and lovely botanical blends. 

Some processes are easier than others; like the dish or laundry soap (see prior blog posts). Good homemade bar soap is NOT a simple, easy or inexpensive process! I always wondered why it was so high priced at craft fairs, farmers markets, etc. Now I know! 

But, like I said before, I really analyzed my shopping receipts and was determined to GREATLY reduce it. In the coming weeks I will blog on how to make your own yogurt, breads, jellies and jams, dog food, and other fairly simple things we can do ourselves to reduce expenses, and really KNOW what is in our your food. 

Today is a beautiful day in Texas, so I want to go out and work in the garden. I've already started herbs in small pots, they are in the windowsill and the cinnamon basil from Debbie has already sprouted. 

Inside I have started: basil, lemon balm, dill, garlic chives, catnip, sweet basil, spearmint and the cinnamon basil. I also have a few avocado trees started and looking good. Tomatoes are in the greenhouse. Swiss chard, and onions in the ground. I planted a little peach tree that already has blossoms! 

Today I think I will make a spot for the potatoes, and plant the carrots, cucumbers, peppers, beets, lettuce, spinach, kale, broccoli.

I ordered a few fruit trees on-line that should be arriving in a few weeks. A miniature apple tree, another peach tree, thornless black berries and an ARONIA
bush. If you haven't heard of ARONIA before, you should check it out. It is fairly easy to grow and has 3x's the antioxidants of blueberries! 

The garden is calling....