Making Goat Milk Soap - Part 1

   One thing we do with our fresh goat's milk is make soap. Goat Milk Soap is wonderful for your skin and I'll never use anything else. I make a few different kinds of soap. Plain, Oatmeal, and a couple of essential oil bars...Lavender and Lemongrass-Eucalyptus. All with fresh milk from our Nubians and other natural ingredients.

I first started experimenting with soap making about four years ago when I purchased my first dairy goats which were miniature Toggenburgs, Britta, Rita and Friedrick. I type "experimenting" with a smile on my face and a chuckle because those first few attempts at soap making flopped majorly. My first batch exploded over night while setting. I woke up and went to see if it hardened in my cardboard box mold and it looked like a cake that had been baked with way too much baking powder. It was puffed up in a big mound with a big crack right down the middle. That was flop #1. My second batch didn't explode praise God. I thought I had it right. Everything went well during the soap making process, it hardened in the mold, I went to cut it into bars and it crumbled into little pieces as I cut it. Flop # 2. After my first two failed attempts I was pretty discouraged. I called the lady who I bought my Toggs from (who was a soap maker) and asked her if she had any idea why my soap flopped. She offered to teach me to make soap and invited me over. So, she taught me to make soap. She made it look so easy. I came home and started making soap. I haven't flopped a batch since! I've made a few adjustments to  the recipe to make my soap my own. Today, I'm going to share it with you.

There are hundreds of recipes and soap making procedures out there. The best thing you can do when you find a recipe that you'd like to try is find a lye calculator online and check to make sure your fats, liquids and lye all balance out. This is why my first batches didn't go well. Either I had too much lye, too much water, not enough fats, or all of the above! After you find a good recipe try it out several times then you can start tweaking it to make your own.

My soap recipe

2 cups water
3 cups goat milk
9 cups lard
2 1/2 cups coconut oil
1/2 cup shea butter
1 1/4 cup food grade lye (beads)
essential oils, oatmeal or any natural additive of your choice

To start, I measure out all of my fats/oils/butters and put them in a large pot to melt over the stove. I melt them on medium/low heat. You want to melt them somewhat slowly so they don't get too hot. There are many soap makers who use a thermometer and bring the fats to a certain temperature. I don't. I use the finger test. If it's warm to touch and melted through it's good. That's probably not the best way to do it or the best advice but that's how I do it.

 

 

Next I mix my lye, water, and milk in a separate bowl. (I use a large electric mixer to mix my soap so my lye and liquids are mixed in the stainless mixer bowl. You can also use a big bowl or pot and a hand held electric mixer.) Lye is hot and produces strong fumes. This should be done in a well ventilated area. Gloves and goggles are a good idea. (As you can see in the pictures...I'm not using them. I recommend that you do. ) Because the lye gets VERY hot I freeze my 2 cups of water as well as my milk. The iced water cools down the lye quite a bit. If the water/ice is completely frozen I will just add cold milk, not frozen. Usually I freeze my water about halfway then use frozen milk. Most importantly is that when you add the milk to the lye and water mixture it's only warm and not hot. If it's hot it will burn the milk and make your soap a dark, ugly brown. This is why you mix the lye and water/ice first. You should mix this quickly so you don't get crispy chunks of lye. These are hard to melt. Again...be careful when handling the lye after it has been mixed with your liquids. It can burn your skin and eyes.

 

 

 

Next I add my milk (or frozen milk) to the lye and water mixture and stir it well.

 

 

 

After the lye, water, and milk is well blended I add my melted fats to the mixture. You want your fats and lye mixture to be close to the same temperature. This is where a thermometer would come in handy. Again...I do the finger test. Not the best, but it's my way.

 

 

 

I turn the mixer on a low speed and let it run for about 15 minutes. Using a spoon occasionally to scrape the thickening soap away from the sides of the bowl. After about 15 minutes of running I turn off the mixer and let it rest for about 15 minutes then turn it back on. I do this until the soap comes to a trace. Meaning the soap is well blended, cooled and is the consistency is like a thick pudding. How long it takes to come to a trace depends on the weather. In my experience, nice dry sunny days are much better for soap making.

 

 

 

While the soap is mixing and resting I start cleaning up a bit and I get my molds ready. I have two molds that were purchased online and my dad made two more for me out of wood. This way I can make two batches at a time or make a batch every day. To keep the soap from sticking in the molds I have tried lining them with several things. Plastic wrap, foil paper (bad idea), freezer paper, and fabric. I find fabric to be the easiest to work with. I use a large linen kitchen towel which will fit down into both molds. I don't worry about the folds and wrinkles of the fabric. That just adds some extra homemade character.

 

 

After the soap has come to a trace it's time to add any essential oils or other natural additives you'd like in your soap. You can also just leave it plain which is one of my favorites.  If you plan to add essential oils I use anywhere between one and two ounces of EOs depending on which I use and how strong they are. This time I decided to split the batch. I poured half of the soap mixture into one mold to make plain soap and I added oatmeal to the other half. For half a batch I got about 1/2 cup of oatmeal and blended it for a few seconds to make it somewhat powdery. Then I added it to the soap mixture and turned the mixer on low while using the spoon to help pull the mixture away from the sides of the bowl and toward the center. You want this to get well blended.

 

Now I pour the oatmeal soap mixture into the other mold and set them aside to harden for a couple of days before cutting them into bars.

 

 

Check back in a few days and I'll show how I cut the bars and set them out to cure.

 

 

  

 



Cannin' Carrots

   We're finally starting to get carrots from our garden. Carrots are one thing we've always had a hard time growing. I'm so excited to finally produce some good carrots! They are so much better than what you can get from the grocery store. Fresh is always the best!

With the carrots that we've pulled so far and the few pounds of organic carrots I had purchased and stored in the fridge, we had quite a few. I decided to can some and put them up for future pots of soup and other dishes. My mom and sister came over and we peeled, sliced, and canned away. Many hands make light work. We were done in no time. We ended up putting up a dozen jars and had a good time doing it.

 

 

 

 



  

Honey Buns

 

   We do quite a bit of baking around here. Usually I try to make Monday our baking day. This is when we make bread, sweets and snacks for the week. But, I still find myself baking here and there throughout the week. I have a recipe that makes burger buns that can also be used for cinnamon rolls which are really good. I decided to make a few small changes and try to make honey buns with it. Yum! I hope you give this simple recipe a try. If you do, let me know what you think!

 

Hamburger Bun/Cinnamon Roll/ Honey Bun Recipe

• 4 to 5 cups of Flour

• 2 tablespoons of Yeast
• 1 cup of Milk
• 3/4 cup of Water
• 1/2 cup of Oil
• 3 tablespoons of Honey
• 1 teaspoon of Salt

 

Mix 2 cups of flour with 2 tablespoons of yeast. Heat the water, oil, milk, honey, and salt until very warm but not hot. Pour into flour mixture and beat well. Start adding the rest of the flour until dough is soft. Knead briefly then let rest for 10 minutes. For Hamburger buns roll out to 1/2 inch thickness on well floured surface. Cut out buns with large mason jar ring and let rise for half an hour on greased baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes. For cinnamon rolls, roll dough out flat and brush on brown sugar/melted butter mixture which is 1 stick of butter and 1 cup of brown sugar. (For honey buns I used 1/2 cup of raw sugar and 1/2 a stick of butter.)  Sprinkle with cinnamon, roll dough to make a long "log" and slice. Place on a cookie sheet. Let rise for half an hour then bake at 400 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes. For cinnamon rolls top with a powdered sugar glaze or cream cheese icing. Sprinkle with chopped pecans. For honey buns drizzle generously with honey and dust with powdered sugar. Enjoy!

Kneading dough is a great stress reliever for a housewife. Much better than choking your husband.

Using a string to slice your rolls/buns works very well and doesn't flatten your rolls/buns like a knife can. Just wrap the string around, cross the string, and pull.

The finished product. Yum! 

 Kind words are like honey-sweet to the soul and healing for the body. 
Proverbs 16:24


 

The Wisdom of Grandmas

   Grandma always said not to plant your garden until after Easter. Here we are the week before Easter and this evening I get word that we are under a freeze warning. This past week we transplanted most of our plants from the greenhouse planters to the garden.  If Gandma was here I'd be getting a big "I told you so" right about now. After supper we rushed out and covered the plants with hay and put a sheet over my herb bed. Hopefully we don't get a lot of wind. So, from now on we'll follow Grandma's advice...no planting until after Easter.

 

 

With the aged is wisdom, and with length of days comes understanding. But only with God are perfect wisdom and might; He alone has true counsel and understanding.            Job 12:12-13

 

 



Apron Evangelism

   I came across this neat little article on a website a while back. I enjoyed it and it really stuck with me. I'm an apron wearer myself and so are my girls, but this article really opened up the idea of wearing aprons in a whole new way. I copied the post here for you all to enjoy and to encourage all the other homemakers out there. It has encouraged and motivated me. We do have an incredible responsibility and we shouldn't take our job as homemakers lightly. It is something to be proud of! Blessings and happy homemaking! 

    "One day not too long ago I was struggling with the boys over some minor details which come up when a lot of people live in a small shack in the woods. Details like the value of picking one’s dirty clothes up off of the living room floor when company has been spotted driving up the mountain. The boys were unusually stubborn that particular day. Rather than fight with them over their household responsibilities I picked up the dirty clothes myself and crammed them into the washing machine. I ran some soapy water in the sink to get a start on the dishes before the company arrived. Now usually I am not one to hold a grudge over small disagreements like laundry on the living room floor. This one settled in my brain though, and I felt compelled to mull over it for several days. It was the outright insubordination which offended me the most. After I figured that out I went of solutions. About the same time I was in the process of Spring Cleaning. I was having a great deal of trouble motivating myself to wash the walls in the kitchen and mop the back porch where the cats live (blessedly with a doggie door so they don’t need litter boxes). Well, the more I worried about these twin dilemmas the more I felt the need to discuss them with the queen of solutions, my momma Darthulia. As I suspected she had the perfect solution. Darthulia told me I needed a uniform or costume which would reassure myself and others of my intention and status in the home. She claimed it would remind me of my duties, inspire me to greater levels of cleanliness (which as a hillbilly I sorely need), and reaffirm my authority in the home. Darthulia then went on to describe the homemaker’s uniform to me in detail. “Imagine the modern archetype of the housewife.” She began. “Think Donna Reed, or Beaver Cleaver’s mom. They wore full skirts, and stockings, and heels when they vacuumed. But you knew they were doing housework because they had their aprons on. A string of beads graced the necks of their classic shirtwaist dresses, and a lacy bibbed apron proclaimed their role as matriarch in charge of household management.” I only have a fleeting memory of Donna Reed. I sort of wish she came on television regularly so I could take notes but she doesn’t in my area so I am stuck looking for other heroines-of-the-home to model myself after. Most of what momma said made sense to me though. That very day, I put on a full skirt, stockings, sensibly low high heeled shoes, and a string of pearly white beads. Then I sat down at my sewing machine and ran up a couple of bibbed aprons, decorated with lace and ribbons. I made up the pattern as I went along using a small rectangle for the first bib and a heart shape for the second bib. Then I stitched lace around the edges of the bib and attached it to a simple tie with a full apron skirt gathered to the waist. I made them short waisted so they would fit my maternal figure a bit better, and voila, I was set. I put the first apron on, a creamy white or ecru, and looked in the mirror to admire my handiwork. I expected to see myself staring back at me, probably looking a little silly in this frilly piece of confection designed to protect my clothing. Boy howdy, was I in for a surprise. In the mirror I saw a vision of the homemaker I have always strived to become staring back at me. Her cheery face glistened in the sunshine. Her hair tied up neatly in bun looked authoritative, and compassionate all at the same time. The apron covered several figure flaws and accentuated the fertile curves of the woman I saw in the mirror. This woman had purpose. She had status. She had clout. I stood there, contemplating the wonder of the homemaker that shone through my image in the mirror. “This is who I want to be” I told myself. “This is the Keeper of the home, with a capital ‘K’. ” I wear my aprons every day now. I have made more, in different colors and configurations so as to be pleasing to my senses. I have come to believe they are a like lacy bits of lingerie, only worn on the outside, and a quite a bit more respectable. When I put on my aprons the children mind me better, wandering visitors immediately know my role as a stay at home mom. Door to door religious missionaries assume I am a virtuous woman and cheerfully move on to the next house. Fred thinks I look cute as a button, and neighbor children hug me more often. I like my aprons. They have changed my life, raising my standards, inspiring me to greater feats of home making skill, and making me more effective as a parent. Whoever thought that a dollars worth of fabric and lace could effect so many changes on one woman and one family? Since my success with aprons I have become a true believer. I am now called to spread the word among my fellow housewives. Join the crusade by sharing your love of aprons with friends, family and internet buddies around the world. Together we will change the face of the House Wife, the world over.
Blessings,
Maggie"

Pasture chickens...the new coop

   We're raising another batch of pasture chickens and Joe had an idea for a new portable chicken coop using PVC pipe. I think it's going to work well. It's light weight and easy to slide across the ground from one place to another. It's a 10x15 with 5x10 being covered. It can easily house 50 birds and we plan to move them daily. It didn't take long to put together. Only a few hours. We will be adding some roofing to the sides of the covered area to provide more shade. We noticed some sun shining through the side in the evening. The chicks seem to enjoy their new home.

Getting started.



Just about finished.

Wire is on and putting the last screw in the roofing material.

Complete!

 

 

 

 

 

Happy chickens make healthy meals!





 



 

Home, home on the range....

    After spending a great week with our family at the Houston Livestock Show we are finally home. Even if you are having a much needed time away from home, there's nothing like pulling in your drive after all that time away.

    For a while now I have been having a problem with looking over the fence at greener pastures. Dreaming of all we could do with a little more land. Not being satisfied. All though I feel that there is nothing wrong with wanting to move forward and making your dreams a reality, I'm finding that you can let these things consume you. Then you become somewhat ungrateful for the things God has blessed you with. This being said I feel like God has slapped me on the hand recently and I've been learning a lesson in contentment. We may not have acres and acres of land but we can do much with the little bit we have. We can live out our dreams right here on a smaller scale. And if the Lord decides to bless us with more down the road....wonderful. If not, I'm thankful for what we have and am determined to be successful right here. We will bloom where we're planted. In Matthew we're told that if we're faithful with little we'll be entrusted with much. That "much" isn't necessarily a lot of land or our dream home/farm but may be all the many things this little 3 acres provides for us. Produce, meat, eggs, milk...much. And even more than that...happiness. I love to sit and watch my children run through the yard and climb our many shade trees. I enjoy sitting out on my front porch on a nice day and listen to the millions of birds who have made a home on our peaceful little homestead. We have much love and happiness right here and for that I am forever grateful.

"If I ever go looking for my heart's desire again, I won't look any further than my own backyard."   - Dorothy