Simple Soaps

This is a soap I got at the winter farmers market a few weeks ago. The brand is Simple Soaps and they are from a local lady who uses her own goats' milk in the soaps. I know goats milk soap is pretty popular, so I was curious to try some. They have a variety of scents to choose from, both based on essential oils and others using synthetic fragrances. The essential oil fragrances are very well constructed and very nice, not something all EO enthusiasts are able to pull off. Some people like synthetic fragrances, others avoid them, but you have to admit, they often smell a lot better. I think it just takes a keener scent sense to make an appealing EO blend.

At first I used this just as a hand soap, but lately I've been using it in the shower since I've been running low on my own soaps. It smells very nice, mine is a blend of peppermint, basil, and ??? I would say it is a bit too drying for me to continue to use on my skin, probably only because I'm so sensitive to fragrances. So I think I will return it next to the sink... It will last longer there anyway.

I visited the website for Simple Soaps today and it looks like they just opened a shop in Dover MN. I think that might be worth a visit once the roads shape up. For now, you can order them online, they even do custom batches of 15 bars or more... How nice would that be for wedding or birthday gifts? Check them out atsimplegostsoaps.com

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General update and new recipes

I have quite a few blog post backed up and in need of editing, but for now I think I will just add a general update. As you can probably tell, I've been doing a lot of cooking lately... I'm tryin my best to get recipes up for those that read this thing too. I jsut made a great roasted root veggie dish today that I hope everyone tries, it was very, very good. (You know when Equah starts stalking the bowl and snitching pieces like they were candy that I've done something right!)

I also read a blog called Another Year Without Groceries which has a great cheese making challenge I am really interested in trying. Starting this month, several bloggers are trying their hand at making different cheeses... They start easy and increase in difficulty as new challenges are posted. I think I should at least try the first one... It sounds like such a good way to learn a new skill. Even if I just do a few, it should be fun. So expect more posts regarding that. You can read about the challenge here. I've been so busy lately that I will have to scrounge up the time somewhere to try this!

One project I got done recently was my rag bins. I don't know how people got away from this, but it was common practice as I was growing up to rip up worn-out clothing and pile them somewhere. They were the paper towels of old... you wipe up a mess with them, pile the dirty ones together and every so often wash a load of rags to reuse. In a pinch, you could throw them away as well. I don't have any dreams of giving up paper towels, but I guess a rag bin just makes sense to me.  They are less wastefull than paper towels, more hygenic than kitchen towels, and cheaper than both.

My compost bin froze shut. Yep, boo to that. I tried right? And I was doing pretty good, it smelt like dirt in there, not rotten food. I guess I will have to wait until next spring; and no chance of free fertilizer for the garden. Next time it is warm out I will try unfreeze it. Besides being a hippy right of passage, it allowed use to go down to a small trash bing and save some money. I guess composting apeals to me because the way I see it, we are supposed to litter the ground with food waste. That's how nature is meant to work. Now to avoid being unsightly and to also reap rich imputs for gardening, composting is better than just throwing food out the back window :).

Soap updates! The deer soap is done, and it makes for decent hand soap, but not so much for face and body. There is a slight smell of the fat still... perhaps not enough lye? I am on my last bar of castile soap, but I don't think that's too bad since the small batch I made in September has lasted me until now. I really need some more, since this is the stuff responsible for saving my skin. I may try out a hot-process method (because then you don't need to let to soap age) to make some more, if only I found the time. In the mean time I can try use the deer soap. My intention was never to use this as face and body ("toilet") soap though... since it is full of saturated fats it is perfect for laundry soap, but not ideal for skin. About 2 more weeks and my "super fat" shea soap will be ready! I am excited to use this, I may even end up prefering it to my castile soap if it comes out as intended. My shampoo soap is still going strong. I've only used 1 out of 4 bars (they were pretty large) since September. Well, actually, I'm not even done with the first bar. I really like it, but I do need to follow with conditioner still. I'm actually thinking my shea soap may be a good shampoo/conditioner bar. I will at least give it a try.

I didn't get too much done this weekend; Equah and I went to Welch Villiage and went skiing- had a blast! We're doing our best to build a healthier lifestyle, it was great to get out and do something that is both fun and positive. Felt good to get soem fresh air and I slept like a babe last night!

Farmers Market December 17

I was looking back through my blog and realized I had stopped short on one the original focuses of my blog.... To post all the local niceties Minnesota snd the surrounding region has to offer. I miss writing about my day at the farmers market... Plus writing helps to keep track of who I bought from, who I would go back to, as well as give me ideas of farms or stands to visit.

Also, I would like to blog more often, so that the blog is more of a diary than a collection of reviews and "How Tos." I plan on still including those, but the truth is, if you want to be more self sufficient and a concious consumer, you give up a lot of the convenience of just running out and buying something you need when you need it. So, there is a rhythm to things. I think writing in more of a diary formate may convey that rhythm a bit better.

But I digress...

I have to say, I haven't been to a Rochester farmers market in a while 1) because I assumed wrongly there would be much there 2) because it isn't every weekend and I was falling victim to poor planning and 3) I didn't know where it was.

I'm glad I went, the picture above shows a small fraction of the vendors. I used the token exchange system for my card because I forgot cash. I definitely wasn't prepared. I didn't go in with a list and honestly the fridge was pretty much stocked up. This is never a good idea at a farmers market. You end up circling the place about 12 times (though it's way more fun that wandering around the grocery store) and always end up getting fun, but not practical things. And that's just what happened to me today, but I couldn't be more pleased :). Life doesn't always have to be organized to yield desired results.

Early on I saw one stand that sells milk (including chocolate) and they had eggnog today. While I'm not the biggest fan, this stuff was way way better than the grocery store stuff. But it was spendy, $6 a gallon and with a $3 bottle return fee (you get this back when you return the bottle). So I passed at first. I went back later and they were out. You snooze you lose at the farmers market! But the lady did direct me to their small on-farm store, and so I may try sneak out there for a bottle today. Bonus: it is cheaper on the farm. And anyway, I would like to do more "farm trips," they are fun, and they help you learn more about producers and keep the products they make more salient in your mind.


So there is the haul I ended up with. And I forgot eggs... Eggs of all things! Oh well. Above you see a bag of honey crisp apples (yay!!!!), carrots (really really good... If grocery food tasted like this we'd all eat our veggies), 1 lbs whole wheat flour, canned tomatoes in an awesome square jar, a bag of popcorn, and a handmade soap. I will make another post about the soap soon.

I went in wanting the apples and carrots. The popcorn and flour were more impulse buys, but are significant because I am trying to expand the scope of what I buy locally. I think I may try making some bread with the flour, even if that requires adding non-local flour to it to meet recipe requirements. The popcorn should be a healthy snack and I found a way to pop it in a brown paper bag on Pinterest. I bought the soap, because obviously I love handmade soaps and it's fun to see what other people are doing, this one is made with goats milk the woman milks herself, nice!

The pop corn came in red or white bags. Apparently the white corns have less shell when you pop them, but I had to go for a mixed bag ... Too pretty to pass up. It fit perfectly in the mason jar below.


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Location:5th St NE,Rochester,United States

Making shampoo soap

So my olive oil/Castile soap still has a week to cure, but I figured it was high time to start another batch. Not sure of my logic... Since I really could benefit from some more coconut laundry soap... But I went ahead and bought oils for shampoo soap. Logic need not apply when it comes to my little science lab.




Above you see the majority of the equipment for making soap, plus the ingredients uses today. Really, all you need for soap is olive oil (or another fat), water and lye. Once the process is complete, none of these will exist in your soap... Just pure, simple soap. But the fats used do influence how the soap performs and depending on it's intended use, you want to very them accordingly.

So basic equipment: blender, digital scale, instant read thermometer, double boiler, Pyrex measuring cup. Plus gloves, goggles and protective clothing.




Measure the oils. Heat to 90-110 degrees.




Measure the water into Heat proof glass measuring cup. Measure lye separately. Outside: slowly add lye to water. Water will become hot and cloudy. Let settle until clear.

Next part goes fast so no photos... Add oil to blender, then lye. Cover blender with top and towel for extra protection. Blend until soap can hold memory "trace" I reached.




No fancy molds yet, I use cartons for small batches.



Once soap sets, usually the next day, cut as desired. Soap is too harsh to use at this point. Let it cure 4-6 weeks.


This is my Castile soap that has cured 4 weeks. Very simple- just olive oil, lye, and water.

So far the recipes I've used are a from a wonderful book titled "making it: radical home ec for a post consumer economy" they also run a great homesteading blog title Root Simple.


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