Blue Sky Ranch Introduces... Farmhouse Soaps
Posted by Julia Smith on
After years of extolling the virtues of lard, I've not been able to convert as many of you as I would have liked or expected. So over the holidays, I decided to start experimenting to see what else I could do with it. I'm still working on the candles but I'm very happy to report that my first batch of soap seems to have been a great success! It isn't fancy. I haven't used a lot of exotic, imported ingredients & essential oils but I'm happy with the result and feel good about using overwhelmingly local ingredients.
I made 5 batches using primarily ingredients grown or foraged right here in the beautiful Nicola Valley. The lard is obviously from our pasture and woodland-raised heritage breed pigs. Even the water is from our artisan well. The result is a really nice, mild, moisturizing soap you can feel really good about using. The 5 varieties I made are:
Cowboy Coffee: Kicking Horse Coffee grounds, cocoa and oatmeal
Lemon Buzz: Nicola Valley Honey, oatmeal and lemongrass
Meadow Flowers: rose, borage & hawthorn flowers
Herb Garden: lavender & rosemary
Ponderosa Pine: ground ponderosa pine needles
I had a lot of fun making my first batches of soap. It is a perfect winter activity. I was able to render the lard on the wood stove and make the soap in between catching and drying off piglets downstairs in the barn. I can't wait to start a new batch! Let me know if you have any special requests. You can get all 5 varieties for only $20. A great addition to your next pork order!
