Saponification Sunday. Coffe Au Late

Always running behind. Just once would like to run forward for a change.

In the midst of a week filled with deliveries several hundred miles away, regular farm work, organic inspection prep work (every year they check in, how nice is that?!?) and housework that should have been done in 2008, I did squeeze in a couple batches of soap.

I hate "squeezing it in"  I love making soap and I prefer to do it in a pleasurable, unrushed way. So, what to give up? Farm work? Non-negotiable, it pays the bills. Horses? Already have cut that in half. Writing? Also non-negotiable. It will pay the bills in the future.  Grandchildren? Really, REALLY non-negotiable. Cooking? Barely do it now.

Computer time? Yes. I spend time blogging, a necessity for our farm business but Face Book? Could easily cut that by 75%. So instead of an hour a day I am slashing you to 15 minutes. Surfing the net? Definately can cut that. Just because I run across the word megalomaniacal in an article doesn't mean I have to stop, Google it, Use it in a sentence and then blog about it. Does It?  No. It does not. Eating? YES !! I think I'll cut that down by 90%. I have enough fat reserves for at least of year so just eating 10 minutes a day should suffice.

Problem solved. I will stop eating

So back to soap. Made 5 batches on two nights. 3 were uncolored as will use for the felted bars I am making for Kathy Kupferschimds really fantastic Antique Shoppe. She asked for 25 of my felted soaps by Oct 1. Now that I have given up eating, I'm sure I'll make that deadline.

The soap I made for sale to other customers, is my number one bar, Java Wood. Second is Cro-Bar which I will make and blog about next week. Java Wood goes fast because I am surrounded by gardeners who love how the pieces of real coffee grounds gently exfoliate their dirty hands.

Scented with Cinnamon and Cedar Wood and made with 20 oz of very strong coffee, the cooks in our family like it as well because it removes the smell of onions and garlic. The layer of lighter colored soap on top goes over well with the artsy types we know so there you have it , the reasons this soap sells out fast.

It's not a difficult one to make. I use 26 oz of Babassu Oil, 26 Oz of Pomace Olive Oil, 6 oz of Castor and 6 oz of Sweet Almond oil. My lye water is made with 20 oz of very strong Coffee and 9oz of Lye. I let the coffee cool to room temp or it will bubble right out of my mixing pitcher. I add 1 oz Cinnamon Essential Oil and 1/2 oz Cedarwood EO. In a separate jar I mix (very well) 1 Tsp of Titanium Dioxide in 1 oz of  HOT water and set aside.

After mixing in the Lye water, you have to move fast because the EO's really accelerate  trace. Once mized well I pour out 1/3 of the soap mixture and let sit a minute while I throw in 1 tsp of used coffee grounds into the bigger batch of soap. I mix those in well with a spoon and pou very quickly into my loaf mold. The batter is thick so you'll need to bang the mold hard a couple times on the counter to get the air bubbles out.

Then I mix the TD water in with the smaller batch of soap and mix it well with my hand mixer. The extra water keeps that batter from getting too thick but it will get still get thick fast so don't dawdle. No going back to Google to see the history of the word megalomaniacal. Using a spatula to avoid layer breakthrough (almost as bad as tarter buildup) pour the top layer over the bottom layer.

For extra interest I plunged a small egg whisk in and out of the soap a few times to get that whispy look. If you're not into wispy...you can skip that step. In fact this batches "wispy" looked more Blobby. Ah well.  Wispy is never as easy as it looks. Now toss the whole thing in the frig for 12 hours because those particular EO's along with the TD will heat up your soap ultra fast and the top will crack if you leave it at room temp.

After 12 hours take it out of the frig and let sit another 24 before unmolding and cutting. It will be ready to use in 4 weeks, even better if you can wait 8. And if you forget a batch upstairs in the spare room and dig it out 6 months later...it will be fabulous!