Skip to main content

Farmer's market soap--pumpkin kale

Last spring, I had the idea of creating a soap that represented some of the variety in my town's farmer's market.  The more I looked around, the more overwhelming the possible combinations--herbs, vegetables, dairy, fruits, even fats.  I could come up with a new combination every week as I looked around.  Maybe it was because my choices kept changing that I never settled on a set of ingredients and just did it.




Dehydrated ground pumpkin--it makes a wonderful addition to angel food cake

I recently narrowed down some of the abundance into my first version.  It may be March, but with the snow of the last two days (and still falling as I write), fresh vegetables are just a dream of the future.  So I used honey, dehydrated pumpkin and egg--all from the market--and dried kale.  (I used my own kale in this batch, not because it wasn't available in abundance at the market last summer, but I really couldn't justify buying anyone else's with a dozen fruitful plants of my own.)


Another decision dilemma--how to scent it? With an FO?  A vegetable-type fragrance, like cucumber, lettuce, or tomato leaf?  A grassy one? A clean ozone type?  Or maybe an EO? herbal? citrusy?  This time I used an essential oil blend of basil, rosemary, and litsea.

Layers of kale-speckled soap separated by layers of pumpkin-speckled soap

Layers separated by vanilla bean powder pencil lines

A slice of soap, representing the agriculturally rich region of the American Midwest.  I expect this to be a regular market offering this coming season, made in ever-changing versions to reflect the seasonality of ingredients.
Labels:

Comments

  1. PamMarch 5, 2014 at 9:55 AM

    Amy I love this ancient looking soap! How does the fragrance work with it?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Amy@10th Ave.March 5, 2014 at 5:46 PM

      Ancient--that's a good description! I was really happy with how it turned out; it reminded me of a stone. I hope the colors hold. I really liked my test blend, but accidentally added more basil than I planned to the batch. It's nice but not as nice as I hoped. Basil EO is SO strong!

      By the way, I did add an update to the Ann Bramson book review post. Thanks again for the reminder. :)

      Delete
  2. Diva Prirodna KozmetikaMarch 5, 2014 at 7:10 PM

    So, you say kale? Hmm,interesting and looks really good with all those speckles.
    I like the pencil line, it makes more contrast between the layers!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Amy@10th Ave.March 6, 2014 at 4:35 PM

      I've never used kale as a colorant before; I hope it lasts. Thanks! I love all the texture in this bar.

      Delete
  3. AnonymousMarch 5, 2014 at 7:29 PM

    Wow! This is a very unique and nutritious soap! I love the way you made it to represent the bounty of the Midwest. You're blessed to have all those wonderful agricultural choices. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Amy@10th Ave.March 6, 2014 at 4:36 PM

    Yes, we are blessed. :) Really, it's difficult to choose from everything available in the summer. I think I'll have to just make many different batches to fit it all in!

    ReplyDelete
  5. LatherBeSoapingMarch 8, 2014 at 9:43 AM

    Oh, wow, that is a cool soap, Amy! It should be a great seller at the market. And it's so cool that you used ingredients from the market and your own home-grown produce! It's great that you can make soaps for the market while supporting fellow market vendors. The essential oil blend sounds wonderful, too.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My plans for 2019...

...also known as A Loose Idea of How I Imagine the Year Will Go. (Because who actually has things go as predicted? Not this girl.) I started selling at the Monroe farmer's market way back in 2012. That first year I was at the market every Wednesday afternoon. By the next year I was going both days a week--Wednesday and Saturday--and continued to be a "full-time" vendor for several years. In 2018, I decided to slow down. I had to, actually, because I had so many "life" things that needed my attention as well as a number of family commitments that fell during market hours. For someone that once rarely missed a day in a 50+ market season, vending even once a month became hard to fit in. After a lot of recent thought, I've decided not to stretch myself as far as I've done these last few years. I know for sure I won't be vending at any of the indoor market dates through April. But beyond that, all my markets and show dates for 2019 are to be dete...
Post a Comment
Read more

Soaping with Madder

I know that any color added to soap can morph into a surprise, but there is an added element of unknown when using botanicals to color my soap.  Some people jump out of planes or ski off mountains, but this is how I live on the edge these days.  Hmm.  If I weren't having so much fun, I'd be embarrassed. I recently had my first go with madder.  So....whatsa madder?  It's a root--the root of the madder. Ahem. (I love puns...) I infused 8 oz. of olive oil with 2 t. madder root powder for almost a week.  This amount worked out to be 20% of the oils in my batch. I wanted something in the way of embeds to add visual interest.   I dearly love my soap balls but I don't want to over do a good thing.  I've recently done square-shaped embeds, so this time I cut a bar of white soap into slices. I panicked a little that it wouldn't get dark enough--it was kind of a dusty peach--so I added 1/4 t. dried powder right before pouring. Madder powd...
21 comments
Read more

Loofah--from vine to soap

If you've followed my blog for a long time, you've already seen a post on one of my favorite things to grow--loofah, but I think it's time for another one.  People are often surprised when they learn that loofahs are grown.  No, a loofah isn't a sea sponge, but the mature "skeleton" of a zucchini-like plant.  Everyone knows they are good for the bath but they also make great natural pan scrubbers in the kitchen.  They are so popular that I have to remember to tuck away any that I want to keep myself. I raise three or four plants every year.  Like a zucchini or a cucumber, it likes to spread out with little regard to another plant's personal space.  Here is last year's crop. Early in the summer, the loofahs remained neatly on the trellis: But then they wandered over to the basil: Cozied among the tomatillos: And hung out with the butternut squash: Harvest time was a regular treasure hunt.  But I ended up with about 20 loofahs fr...
17 comments
Read more