Project 2

Dr. Bronners Magic soap

I have been a ardent user of Dr. B's magic soap for 30 + years.  I always called it the original hippy soap.  It is, now a days, quite expensive.  The cheapest I have found is $9.99/quart at TJ's.  I heard a tip though, and I thought I would try it.  Take a bar of Dr. B's hard soap bar, put it in purified water and let it set or steep for several days.  The soap will brake down and you will have liquid Dr. B's...

Here's the project.  I bought a bar of Dr. B's peppermint bar soap, put it into a plastic container with 5 cups of water.  After 1 week, i drained out the soap into a recycled Dr. B's 1 quart container.  I still had at least 1/2 the bar left.  So I put in another 5 cups of water and let it steep.  That was a least 1 week ago.  Meanwhile, I have been using the soap as usual in the bath and as body soap.  It is lighter but works just as well.  I don't get the same bubbles so far.  By the way, the bar of soap only cost $3.95 at TJ's.  Happy bathing!!!

"He started his business making products by hand in his home. The product labels are crowded with statements of Bronner's philosophy, which he called "All-One-God-Faith" and the "Moral ABC". Many of Bronner's references came from Jewish and Christian sources, such as the Shema and the Beatitudes; others from poets such as Rudyard Kipling. They became famous for their idiosyncratic style, including hyphens to join long strings of words and the liberal use of exclamation marks. In 1947, while promoting his "Moral ABC" at the University of Chicago, Bronner was arrested and committed to a mental hospital in Elgin, Illinois, from which he escaped after shock treatments." from Wikipedia

Good morning world,

Day off Breakfast
Shiitake mushroom omelette with homemade chicken sausage, roasted eggplant, zucchini and sweet onion.

Did I mention that I love my day-off breakfasts?  Get up, have a coffee or tea, then put together a fabulous breakfast.  I like savory breakfast, with veggies, some kind of egg and salsa or chutney.

I have a few projects in the works i thought I would put in the blog today.  More as a process of accountability on my part so I complete them.  They are experiments, I have never tried them before.

Project 1.  making Limoncello
I have 2 quart-size glass jars with 80 proof vodka (I think it should be 100 proof).  I put in each jar 8-10 Meyer lemons I buy at Pikes Market.  I one jar, I peeled the lemons with a potato peeler in long strips and the second, I used a zester or microplane.  The test will be, which one has the strongest lemon flavor.  They have been steeping for almost a month.  I will wait until next week, and then make the simple syrup and combine...I will keep you posted on the results.  Please see below for information about this refreshing after dinner drink.

Limoncello (Italian pronunciation: [limonˈtʃɛllo]) is an Italian lemon liqueur mainly produced in Southern Italy, especially in the region around the Gulf of Naples, the Sorrentine Peninsula and the coast of Amalfi and islands of Procida,Ischia and Capri.^[1] It is also produced in Sicily, Sardinia, Menton in France, and the Maltese island of Gozo. Though there is debate about the exact origin of the drink, it is at least one hundred years old.^[2][3]

Traditionally, it is made from the zest of Femminello St. Teresa lemons, that are also known as Sorrento lemons.^[3][4] Lemon zest, or peels without the pith, are steeped in grain alcohol until the oil is released. The resulting yellow liquid is then mixed with simple syrup. Clarity and viscosity are affected by factors like the relative temperatures of the two liquids. Most lemons, including the more-common Eureka lemon, will produce satisfactory limoncello.

Limoncello Bottles view from top

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