October 28, 2007
Mmmm… soap cakes
Lately I’ve been on a soap-making binge. My goal is to have enough made by Christmas so that I can give it as gifts. I’m well on my way. My first three batches are curing right now (they have to cure for a month before they are no longer caustic and are safe to use).
I was a little intimidated by the process of soap making, and nervous about working with lye. But it’s really not as scary as it sounds. I take some basic safety precautions like wearing goggles and rubber gloves, locking our cats in the bathroom until the entire process and cleanup is complete, and keeping vinegar on hand to neutralize any spills or splashes. I recommend mixing the soap outside, or in a garage or unfinished basement just to minimize damage in case of a spill.
The soap I’ve made is pretty ugly rustic looking. I’m experimenting with different molds and cutting techniques to make the next batches prettier. I’m wrapping these batches in freezer paper to cover up their rustic-ness and preserve their fragrances. The recipes I’ve used are below. If you’re interested in more detailed instructions, there are a plethora of recipes and resources online.
Spice cake soap (large bar)
585g olive oil
156g palm oil
156g coconut oil
28.3g beeswax
255-297g water
127.5g lye
1/2 ounce Arabian Spice fragrance oil
1 ounce powdered ginger root
Honey soap (back left)
17g canola oil
467.5g palm oil
127.5g coconut oil
238g olive oil
2 ounces beeswax
1 ounce honey
120.47g lye
323g water
Chamomile soap (front)
233.34g palm oil
267g coconut oil
350g olive oil
118.2g lye
316.7g strong, cold chamomile tea
July 12, 2007
Mango Salsa
I just canned my first batch of salsa this year. I found a great recipe for mango salsa and I found nearly all of the ingredients at my local farmers market. It’s really more like a chutney than salsa, and very vinegar-y, but yummy.
January 16, 2007
Recipe: Pulled pork
Rating: * * * * *
Slightly modified version of recipe found in this post at Coconut & Lime.
3 lb boneless pork shoulder roast (trim off excess fat)
1 cup Sriracha chili sauce
1 cup tomato puree
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/8 cup spicy mustard
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon liquid smoke
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons black pepper
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons barbecue dry rub
1/2 onion, finely chopped
2-6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoon vegetable oil
Directions:
Rub barbecue spice rub on the pork. Marinate in the fridge for 2-12 hours. In a large skillet add the vegetable oil and brown the roast well on all sides. Place roast in slow cooker. In the same skillet and oil, saute onions until soft, about 10 minutes. Add garlic, cook 1-2 minutes until aromatic. Add all remaining ingredients to the skillet and bring to a boil. Pour over meat. Cook on low in the slow cooker 10-12 hours. When done, meat should shred easily with a fork. Remove roast from slow cooker. Shred with a fork. Return to slow cooker, stirring to coat with sauce. Serve on rolls.
January 10, 2007
Recipe: Margarita cupcakes
Rating: * *
I checked out the book Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World from my local library last week. I’m not a vegan (or even vegetarian) but the recipe for margarita cupcakes motivated me to give dairy-free baking a try. How could anything with tequila in it not be good?
The cupcakes came out of the oven all fluffy-looking and with domed tops. Some time during the cooling process they started to implode on themselves, domed tops falling until they were actually concave and the sides of the cupcakes pulling away from the pans. Ack!
I let the cupcakes cool completely (and shrink to almost half their fresh-out-of-the-oven size) before trying one. The flavor was excellent but the texture was off… very dense and wet. I mixed up the frosting, which was fabulous, and frosted the cakes. (Note: I did make the frosting using butter as I could not find non-hydrogenated margarine at the store. Next time I will use more powdered sugar to get a fluffier, less runny frosting.) The frosting disguised the concave-ness of the cupcakes, for which I am glad. The cupcakes did taste better the next day; it took a while for the full flavor to develop, which was alluded to in the recipe.
I put the cupcakes in a covered pyrex dish and left them out at room temperature. After 2 days some mysterious, sticky goo developed on the bottom of the dish. Where did it come from? What is it?!
Although tasty enough, the cupcakes fell short of my expectations. That could be very well be due to my own shortcomings as a baker… in the last 2 weeks I botched a coffee cake, peanut butter cupcakes and pancakes. However, I’m determined to bake a margarita cupcake that doesn’t implode or excrete sticky goo. Any recipe suggestions?
January 3, 2007
Recipe: blueberry banana bread
In keeping with my goal of cooking more (ok, so this is baking, but it still takes more effort than baking frozen pizza), here’s a recipe for blueberry banana bread that I tried this week.
Rating: * * * * *
2 C all-purpose flour
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1/2 C shortening
1 C sugar
2 eggs
2 t vanilla extract
2 bananas, mashed
1 C blueberries
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
- Combine flour, baking soda and salt
- Cream shortening and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla, mix well. Beat in bananas. Gradually add the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined. Fold in blueberries.
- Pour into 2 greased loaf pans.
- Bake 45-50 minutes.
- Cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove and place on wire racks until completely cooled.
