Easter Dinner

Wow. Didn't realize it was so long since I posted.

Dinner tomorrow will be a celebration of 1 year since Sarah and Eric found the farm they now own and are working furiously to restore.


Brunch will be first with Hot Cross Buns that I'll make tonight and bake in the morning.

The dinner menu, simple but yummy:


Crown Roast of Lamb

Simple Two Potato Gratin

vegetable?

Coconut Southern Comfort Layer Cake

Wine: an Australian Shiraz blend called Torbreck


Some changes: the lamb recipe calls for searing the ribs and then roasting, but I'm marinating them and then tying them into a crown to roast. I like the way it looks. The vegetable will depend upon what Sarah brings from the green market.
No southern comfort in the cake. I love coconut and the photo of the cake, but wouldn't buy a bottle of southern comfort just for the frosting. Other reviewers on Epicurious left it out, too.

Happy Holidays to all!

black soap follow up

What do you think?
I tried a little scrap. I don't think it makes black lather. More testing will say for sure.
I also think it might need to be a bit 'blacker' Didn't want to overdo it with the charcoal in the first attempt.

for Sarah

Sarah's been wanting black soap forever. I wasn't sure how to do it...or if I even I wanted to.

But when I realized that activated charcoal would color the soap, I ordered some and made the test batch today. Used a blend of rosemary and eucalyptus to fragrance it. I want it to be an herbal facial soap. The charcoal is supposed to be good for clearing complexion. But what will it do to a white facecloth?? We'll see when we test it!

My favorite things

As the year draws to a close, we're finally getting a breather. Today we're off for a week. Up to Rochester to see my family. A cousins get together that occurs each year on New Year's Day. Then on to Parry Sound, Ontario to see Pentti's 94 year old mom. It's a family time and a respite from the soapmaking world.

I've been making soap, lots of it for the past 2 weeks, stocking up for the new year ahead. As I worked, I was thinking about some of my favorite soapmaking things!

My soapmaking bucket (the white one...with no handle) Every time I pour soap from the orange bucket, the handle flips over and I end up pouring soap all over the handle!


My extra long rubber scraper/mixer, a gift from my friends at Chivas Goat Milk Skin Care
Just like my other heat resistant red handled scraper...but longer! No more getting lost in the bucket!

My nitrile, chemical-resistant gloves from a company called Certified Lye. (the blue ones) I love these and they last forever.

Unlike the grocery store gloves (ie. the yellow ones) that get holes or slits in them. ( I've been through so many pairs) or the disposable gloves (not a fan of anything disposable)


Just a reminder that sometimes its the little things that make us the happiest!

So, Happy New Year! Hoping for the best for all of you in the year ahead.

We're back...

rested and relaxed and almost caught up on orders. Just one more to go and we'll be done.

So if you ordered while we were away...it's comin' to ya!

Wish I was caught up on soap making...

Creekside is on Vacation

We're out of town for a few days. If you want to place an order you can do so on the website and we'll begin shipping again on Nov. 14.

Orders will be filled in the order received.

Thanks for your patience!

Susan and Pentti

I've had a little help

Jessica was just here for 3 weeks from Atlanta to visit and to help me in the soap workshop.

She lined soap molds, packaged candles, wrapped soap, kept track of inventory. She also decided that my work space needed some organization.

She's a great organizer. (read that: what's this?? when was the last time you used it??)

And, she didn't like the way we've been storing our soap wrapping paper.

We've always cut the big sheets into strips that fit the paper cutter.

Then we store those strips in a cardboard box with dividers until we're ready to cut bar size pieces on the cutter. It's worked for me for the last 6 years or so.

I guess it was a little messy and I was always flipping through to see how much paper was left of each king. Jess had Pentti make extra shelves for the books shelf....and voila!

And there's the paper cutter right on top! How convenient.

Boy, could I use a full time assistant like Jess!