Using Wooden Soap Molds

Since the last recipe you gave me turned out so well, here I am hoping that you may have some tips and ideas for breaking in some new wood molds. So, do you have any wisdom to share about these virgin molds? They are not pine, harder than pine, but not heavy. I am excited, and I want to use just the right recipe for the first time.

I know how you feel about having new molds. I never did use my wooden molds (small bars and large) I was given, which had slats to pull out, like a puzzle. I didn't know how, but that's what finally inspired me to find out exactly how to make soap.

I would smear them down with petroleum jelly on the insides, then lay very long strips of garbage bags across the bars, both ways, tucking down very well with a knitting needle, to make the removal of soap (sometimes soft) easier. Then I would make my first batch plain white (Tony's No-Fail), for rebatching or whatever, so you can trouble-shoot without wreaking your bars on the first use.

Shucky 8-) +

3 Ointments

The following ointments were three of my most popular ointments when I ran Nelsie's Cupboard.

I have been making Calendula Ointment for myself for many years. After my first pregnancy over 30 years ago I started to develop spider veins. I had found some calendula ointment at Thompson's in Toronto, and the spider veins went away in three months. Meanwhile, I had two friends, Elaine and Bonnie, whose legs were in very bad shape with varicose veins from problem pregnancies, and both were slated for surgery. One had the surgery, but the other started using the ointment herself, and put off the surgery. A year later, the one with the surgery had lumpy scarred legs, and the other had smooth calves with a few blue vein endings showing here and there. These, however, were not noticeable at all under stockings within another year.

Calendula Ointment (For varicose and spider veins)

Over very low heat, simmer for 30 minutes:

1 c. shortening/lard/lanolin
1 c. dried organic calendula blossoms (I pulverize mine first)

Strain into a clean, wide-mouthed jar, cover with lid (but do not tighten), and let sit until cold and set. Use up to three times a day on unsightly veins. You should see a difference in about three months, but this can be amazing.

***
I made this one up for myself when, having fibromyalgia, my wrists and forearms started aching, and gave some to a friend slated for surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome. It decreased her pain within three weeks, when her father started using it on his arthritic joints. A family tug-of-war ensued, they both liked it so much.

Ointment For Sore Joints/Carpal Tunnel

Over very low heat, simmer for 30 minutes (do not pulverize the buds, but crush them):

1 c. shortening/lard
1/2 c. balm of Gilead (poplar buds)
1/2 c. St. John's wort
3 drops lavender essential oil

Strain into a clean, wide-mouthed jar, into which you have place the essential oil. Cover with lid (but do not tighten), and let sit until cold and set. Use up to three times a day on sore joints and tendons. This makes a rather smelly ointment, if you skip the essential oil.

***
This one was a favourite in Quebec, where everyone seems to have large families. The comfrey speeds healing, and the chickweed soothes, but the children especially love its scent.

Nelsie's 3-C Ointment

Over very low heat, simmer for 30 minutes:

1 c. shortening/lard/lanolin
1/3 c. calendula blossoms
1/3 c. chickweed
1/3 c. comfrey
3 drops lemon balm essential oil
1 drop lavender essential oil

Strain into a clean, wide-mouthed jar, into which you have place the essential oil. Cover with lid (but do not tighten), and let sit until cold and set. Use up to three times a day on skin abrasions and itchies.

***
Comfrey speeds internal healing so much that in the old books, we were advised not to use a poultice or ointment until the wound had been absolutely cleansed of any foreign matter, or it would be healed into the wound. I had used comfrey on kids for years, but once they run off and play, boo-boos are quickly forgotten and I never thought much about it except that it worked. I then saw evidence of the miraculous speed with which it heals.

Monsieur Raymond, 69, had to have surgery for a hernia, and I drove him to the hospital and later, assisted him back home. I had brought some comfrey, and made a poultice of flannel dipped into the infusion and wrung out (1 tsp. of the dried herb in 1 cup of boiling water, infused for 10 minutes, then strained) and placed on his abdomen, now swollen, around the bandaging. It was not applied to the wound area itself. He took off the poultice after a short while, complaining it was too painful. The swelling had gone down, and there was a vivid blush on his abdomen. He then fell into a deep sleep, and was feeling much better by the time I left him and his employer. A couple of days later he told me he hadn't used the poultice, he didn't need it. I saw him a week later, when I was in town again and he was running about doing errands. I chastised him for not resting, as had his physician, but he proudly showed me his abdomen. One would have thought the surgery had been performed months ago, as the healing appeared complete.

I had previously used the 3-C ointment on his employer's broken foot, which she was walking on again within a month. She was an elderly infirm lady who could hardly walk without assistance before she had broken her foot, and seemed no worse for wear!

When Camping In Quebec...

If you are going camping in Quebec, there's something you should know first. To the average Quebecois, this means parking your sweet buns in a trailer park while the kids run free. That being said, most trailer parks there are very nice, clean, and family oriented. If you want a Christian campground with a lovely pool, artificial lake, and cheap prices, check out Camping El Shaddai north of Montreal, south of Drummondville, just off the highway in St-Germain. They also have tent camping.

Now to the crux of the matter. Most Francophones don't speak English as well as we might think. I phoned up a tourist line to find out where I could do tent camping. In nature.

"Natural cam-ping?" she asked.

"Yes, with trees. Someplace I can take my dog."

"Your dog?" She sounded shocked. "But you cannot take a dog to de natural cam-ping!"

"Why is that?" I asked, perplexed. The Quebecois are often perplexing.

"Dey won' let you!"

"I take my dog in Ontario, all the time."

"I don' know. You can try," she said hautily, "but I don' know where you will go."

After hanging up the phone, I told my friends, who burst out laughing. There is
camping sauvage, which is camping in nature, and there is camping au naturel, which is camping in the nude. She thought I wanted to camp in the nude, and take my dog. Which raises an image of me that left me red with embarrassment, my friends in tears, and my dog wouldn't talk to me for a week.

What? You t'ink I make da big joke?

Try for the sauvage, but if you are so inclined, there are many, many nude campgrounds in Quebec, from the middle-class to the ritzy. Evidently, there are areas within specifically for gays and people who want to make love outdoors unabashedly. And rules of conduct so that neither headonists nor uptight nudists will be offended. All you have to do is pay at the gate, take 'em all off, and carry a little towel with you wither thou goest, for sitting.

And no, I never did.

Chicken For Dinner!

Secret Spice Mix for Chicken

2 T. onion salt*
3 T. brown sugar,packed
2 T. chicken bouillon powder
2 T. garlic salt*
1 t. ginger
1 t. marjoram
1 T. oregano
1 T. paprika
3 T. parsley flakes
1 t. pepper1 T. sage
1 T. rosemary
1-1/2 t. thyme

* You can substitute granulated garlic and dried onion for these, using 1 T. of each, and adding 2 T. salt to the mix.

Place all ingredients in blender and pulse. Store in an airtight container.
Makes about 3/4 cup. To use, add 2 T. of this mix to a cup of flour,
and dredge chicken in flour/spice mixture before frying. Or, if you want less fat, place chicken in a baking pan, lightly spray with cooking spray, and bake at 350 degrees for one hour.

Low Fat 'Fried' Chicken

chicken pieces, skinned
1 c. yogurt
1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. bread crumbs
1 T. spice mix (above)
cooking spray

Mix flour, breadcrumbs, and spice mix well. Dredge chicken in yogurt, then in dry mix. Place on sprayed baking pan, and lightly spray. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour.

Meatballs

I had a request for meatballs, so thought I would post what I came up with.

Wendy's Meatballs

3 lbs. lean beef
1 pkg. onion soup
2 eggs
1 slice bread, soaked and squeezed out
pepper to taste

Form and fry in a little oil (I add garlic), then heat through with 1 tin mushroom soup.

Simple Sauce For Buffet Meatballs

1/2 c. chili sauce
1-1/2 c. grape or crabapple jelly

This is good for plain meat balls made with nothing but the ground beef and a little salt and pepper. Don't forget the toothpicks!

Polynesian Meatballs

2 lbs. ground beef
3 T. soy sauce
1 T. brown sugar
1 t. parsley flakes
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. onion powder
1 large tin water chestnuts, drained and finely chopped

Mix well into small balls and bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes, and serve with...

Apricot Sauce

1 c. apricot jam
3 T. apple cider vinegar
1/4 t. paprika

Heat together and stir until smooth.

Whoops! Out of ground round? This will work with chicken, chops, and steak. Just barbeque or grill the meats after marinating them in this a few hours.

Korean Marinade - 3-4 lbs. meat

2/3 c. soy sauce
3 T. water
2 T. honey
3 T. sugar
1 T. sesame seeds, roasted and ground
2 T. sesame seed oil (dark)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 whole green onion, chopped

Glass Soap (Brown Sugar Transparent Soap)

Brown Sugar Transparent Soap

1 c. Distilled water
2 oz. Lye
4 oz. Vodka
2 oz. Brown sugar
4 oz. Glycerine
10 oz. Shortening
6 oz. Coconut oil

1-1/2 c. Vodka
7 drops Bergamot EO

Dissolve lye in water.

Dissolve sugar in vodka. When completely dissolved, add glycerin and stir until well mixed. Add this mixture to the lye/water and cool to 90 degrees.

Meanwhile, melt fats and oils and cool to 95 degrees. Add lye mixture to fats and stir until trace. Pour into molds and insulate. After 2 or 3 days unmold and begin to cure it. The soap, at this stage, will probably be opaque, creamy off-white, and very soft.

One week after unmolding the soap, grate or crumble the bars into a pan and add about 1-1/2 cups of vodka to melt it. As it melts, it turns a beautiful clear brown color. Don't stir too much, and if you see any little opaque soap bits, remove them with a spoon. Heat it almost to a boil (the alcohol will burn off), repour it into the mold, let set 2 days. Unmold and let cure another 2 weeks.

Shucky's Thai Noodle Salad

Get the rice vermacelli sold in better grocery stores, or an Asian market.
Plunge 8 oz. quickly in boiling water, turn off the heat, and let them sit for 10 minutes before rinsing them in very cold water.

Cut into 1/8-inch rounds (and then into1/8-inch strips, if you like) and add to noodles:
3 medium radishes
1 carrot
2 stalks of celery
1/2 bell pepper
2 medium scallions, trimmed and sliced thin on bias
sliced chicken breast or tofu

Toss with the following dressing (this makes enough for two salads) made from:

4 T. good vegetable oil
4 T. crunchy peanut butter
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons mirin (rice wine)
2 T. good vinegar (rice, wine, or apple cider)
2 T. sugar
2 t. dark sesame oil
1 t. hot sauce

Chill before serving, then garnish with 1/4 c. toasted sesame seeds.

Shucky 8-) +

If You Like Symphonic Soundtracks...

Surf over to http://www.cin3ma.tv/permanent_waves/ and give this site a listen. Keyser has great taste, always aims to please. One of my faves is the love theme from Spartacus.