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

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

Soap Challenge--Dandelion Swirl

This Great Cakes challenge started off, well, challenging for me.  I had internet problems (a lack of it) and something went rather tragic in my attempt to cobble together a recipe without access to my online lye calculator crutch or a good saponification chart.  Obviously, I need to work on this skill, since my first batch of soap is still not firm enough to cut.  I've seen firmer marshmallow cream.  I'm estimating that I'll be able to cut it in a week or two or maybe three. The top came out pretty, though, didn't it? Sigh.  I wonder what the inside looks like. On to batch number 2.  I went for a winter/snowy theme this time, scented with BB's Fresh Snow fragrance. I made a small 6-bar batch.  I kept noticing that my divider (a dollar store cutting mat) didn't stay in the center but kept migrating toward the edge with every pour.  I was concerned that it would ruin the design, but it held well enough. I know this challenge was all abo...
29 comments
Read more