Fall...

It's a bittersweet time of year. The leaves are becoming yellow, it is getting chilly at night, and it's completely dark when I wake up. It feels like a time to be busy, preparing for the winter to come. Last weekend, I and two friends made soap from scratch -- it is now aging in the cellar, until it is hard enough to use and give as gifts.

Here is the recipe for soap -- make sure to consult a good soap-making reference before attempting, as lye can be very dangerous and reacts with many containers.

Mix 290 g lye and 600 g water together (exothermic reaction!!) in a well-ventilated area, using protective gloves and eyewear. Allow to cool to 110 degrees.

Mix 200 g palm oil, 400 g coconut oil, and 1500 g olive oil together and heat until liquid and clear. Carefully mix in the lye mixture, stirring with a hand-blender until opaque and thickened to the consistency of cake batter. Add any other additives (we used lavender flowers and 2 oz lavender oil for one batch and ground oatmeal and 1 oz tea tree oil for another). Pour into mold (we used shoe boxes lined with plastic wrap). Insulate with several towels/blankets and leave alone for 48 hours.

After saponification is complete, remove blocks of soft soap from molds and cut into bars. Allow to sit with moderate airflow for 6-8 weeks to finish drying.

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From another friend, I learned to can. Last weekend I canned 3-bean salad in single-serving jars to take for lunch on busy days. Yesterday, I canned two types of pickles (bread and butter, and spicy garlic dill) and started a peach-raspberry jam!

Today's tasks include finishing the jam and building a cloche for my poorly-planned late-season garden! (Oh yes, and finishing residency applications...)