The Paleo Mama

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Oxtail Soup

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Oxtail Soup
Today I am so excited to welcome Ashley from Crowe About Farm on The Paleo Mama blog! Ashley and her husband raise grass-fed beef and pastured chickens, turkeys, ducks and eggs.  She is also taming her first milk cow. You are going to love this delicious recipe for Oxtail Soup! 
 
Wait…don’t leave!  I promise you this will be good.  Three years ago I would have promptly clicked the “x” the second I saw the title of this post…but, my friends, my life is forever changed due to one pot of soup.
 

Do you know that cattle have boney tails?  It’s true.  Do you also know that those boney tails contain delicious, marbley chunks of meat that can be used to create one killer pot of soup?  Also true!

Lucky for me I have a husband who pushes me to be the best version of myself, culinarily speaking, otherwise my palate would’ve never have had the pleasure of experiencing this tasty soup.  
 
You see, we are beyond organic farmers who raise most of our own food.  We become friends with the animals that bless us, and others, with nourishment.  Out of respect for those animals, we don’t waste one. single. thing.  
 
When I brought the first beef we raised home from the butcher, I stuck all of the “weird parts” in the back of the freezer.  I didn’t know what to do with them, and I was secretly hoping my husband would forget they were in there.  
 
That didn’t happen.  
 
Instead, and fortunately for me, he would pick one “weird part” to cook each Sunday.  Over the past 3 years, we have been experiencing some of the best, most nourishing meals of our lives…all from cuts that most people would never try.  
 
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That first Sunday, I reluctantly tasted the tail…and it was out of this world!  I couldn’t wait for the next steer to make it home from the butcher.  I needed another oxtail STAT!
 
Now, don’t worry.  If you don’t have packages of tail residing in your freezer, you can easily substitute a roast or any other tough cut of meat.  It will still be mighty tasty!  
 
BUT…if you ever have the chance to get your hands on an oxtail, or any organ meat for matter, grab it, get yourself to the nearest kitchen and get cookin’!

Oxtail Soup

You Will Need:
  • 3-4 lbs. Oxtail (Beef Tail) or Roast
  • 1 Medium Onion
  • 8 Carrots
  • 6 Stalks of Celery
  • 4 Cups Diced Potatoes (I used Yukon Gold & Red, but you can use any kind including Sweet Potatoes)
  • 2 Bay Leaves
  • 4 Sprigs of Parsely
  • 2 Tbs. Butter
  • 4 Tbs. Ghee, Coconut Oil or Tallow-melted
  • 8-10 Cups Beef Broth (see my recipe)
  • 12 Oz. Dark Beer
  • Salt & Pepper
Cooking Instructions:
 
Step 1: Dice the onion.  In a large pot, sauté the onion in 2 Tbs. of butter until translucent.  Meanwhile, place the oxtail in a bowl and cover with melted oil (or ghee/tallow), salt and pepper.  Mix well with your hands.
 
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Step 2: Heat a skillet over high heat, add the oxtail and sear all sides (about 2 minutes per side).
 
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Step 3: Add the seared oxtail to the pot.  Add about a half of a cup of beef broth to the skillet and deglaze, scraping up all of those brown bits.  Add to the pot and cover the oxtail with about 8 cups of beef broth and beer.  Add bay leaves and parsley to the pot.
 
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Step 4: Simmer on low for about 6 hours until the meat falls off the bones.  Add more beef broth as necessary as it cooks down.
 
Step 5: When the meat is falling off the bones, remove the oxtail from the pot, pick off the meat and shred.  
 
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Wanna see what the bones look like?
 
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Step 6: Add the meat, carrots, and celery to the pot and simmer for 10 minutes.  Add the potatoes and simmer until potatoes are fork tender.
 
Step 7: Season with salt and pepper and ENJOY! CLICK HERE to print this recipe.
 
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Will you be taking the “taste the tail challenge?”  I double dog dare you ;)!!  And if tasting the tail isn’t adventurous enough for you, I will be sharing my toddler approved tongue recipe on my blog very soon.    
 
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
 
headshotAshley Crowe is a wife, mama, farmer and blogger at Crowe About Farm.  She and her husband raise grass-fed beef and pastured chickens, turkeys, ducks and eggs.  She is also taming her first milk cow.  
 
Ashley thinks producing food is a beautiful process and that it is important we have a connection with our food.  She is passionate about sharing her connection with her animals from pasture to plate. Hop on over to Ashey’s Facebook page, Blog, Pinterest page, or Twitter and follow her for more recipes and homesteading goodies! 
 
 
 
 
 
Oxtail Soup The Paleo Mama

You Can Grow Blueberries No Matter Where You Live

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You Can Grow Blueberries

Today I’m welcoming Sally from Garden Valley Homestead as she shares her knowledge on how to grow blueberries ANYWHERE! 

Ever have one of those moments when you think, “I wish I knew that sooner!”. That’s what I thought when I learned you can grow blueberries just about anywhere in the United States. I was under the impression that blueberries only grow in cold climates of the northeastern United States. 

Not so! 

Know Your Chill Hours

Well, yes, it’s true they grow well—very well, in the northeastern United States. But, guess what? They grow very well in a lot of other states, too! You simply need to know your average number of chill hours for your area and choose a blueberry bush accordingly. 

What’s A Chill Hour and Where Can I Find One?

A “chill hour” is any hour where the temperature is under 45 degrees Fahrenheit. (If you’re growing any kind of fruit tree, it’s good to know your chill hours.)

If you’re a weather geek and own a fancy weather station, you can track it yourself. (I mean that in a nice way. Gardeners are usually interested in the weather. We kinda have to be….) Or, do what I do: contact your local agriculture extension department. They keep track of that sort of information for you.

Chill Hour Cheat Sheet

  • If you live in Zones 5-9, your average number of chill hours is 500
  • If you live in Zones 4-7, your average number of chill hours is 1000+

Why is this important? Blueberries need a specific number of cold hours each winter to regulate their growth. If a blueberry bush doesn’t experience enough cold in the winter, the flower buds might not open at all in spring, or they might open unevenly.

Your best bet to ensure your successful blueberry growing experience is to call your local agriculture extension office or Master Gardener’s program to ask for the average number of chill hours. They might publish the information on their web site. Look and see. 

Match Your Blueberry Plant to Your Chill Hours

Now that you have a firm grip on the chill hours for your area, choose blueberry plants that thrives in that environment. Most likely, you’ll choose a Northern Highbush or a Southern Highbush. I recommend buying bare root plants from a reliable grower. I order bare root plants and trees from Peaceful Valley Nursery 

  • If your chill hours average 800-1,000, choose a Northern Highbush.
  • If you chill  hours average 150-700, choose a Southern Highbush.

Rabbiteye variety is native to the southern United States. Chill hours needed for this type of blueberry bush are 350-700. 

However, Northern Highbush and Southern Highbush are the two most common varieties. Blueberries from these plants varieties are those you most often find in stores.

Pick Two or Three Varieties for Cross-Pollination

Blueberry plants need to be cross-pollinated with other blueberry plants of a different variety. So when you’re choosing your Northern or Southern Highbush plants, pick two or three different kinds to ensure they will bear fruit. Also, study the plants to learn whether they are early-, mid-, or late-bearing plants. Pick a variety to extend your growing and harvesting season. 

Now you know how many chill hours you have in your garden and which plants thrive in your environment. Next, you need to prepare your soil.

Blueberry Bushes Like Acidic Soil

Blueberry bushes of all kinds are acid-loving plants. They like a pH level of 4.0-5.0. If you don’t live in the arid West, your soil pH is probably near the 4.0-5.0 range already. But, if you live in the West, your soil is probably alkaline and you need to amend it to bring down the pH level. 

Use a simple soil testing kit like this one  to discover the pH level of your soil. You should be able find soil testing kits at your local garden center.

Growing blueberries in containers makes it easy to maintain soil pH. Bonus: You don’t have to dig a hole! I grow just about everything in SmartPots.  

Blueberry bushes like this soil recipe:

  • 1 part organic potting soil for nutrients
  • 1 part peat moss or coco peat for moisture
  • ½ lb. Acidic mix per cubic foot of soil.

Plant Your Bare Root Plant in Containers or Directly Into The Ground

  • If you’re using a container, choose one the allows for 20 inches of root depth. I plant blueberries in 30 gallon SmartPots. 
  • Fill your pot with soil and amendments. Use the recipe above, if you like.
  • Plant your blueberry bush to the same depth it was planted when you received it.
  • Mulch well (3 inches deep) with straw, shredded leaves, pine needles, wood chips or well-aged sawdust from wood NOT treated with a preservative. 
  • Water well. Blueberries need one-to-two inches of water each week.

If you’re planting straight into the ground:

  • Work up a planting area approximately 2-1/2 feet in diameter and one foot deep. 
  • Remove 1/3 to 1/2 of the soil. Add the soil recipe above.
  • Plant your blueberry bush to the same depth it was previously planted.
  • Water and mulch.
  • Don’t fertilize until spring.

Caring for Your Blueberry Bushes’ During It’s First Year in Your Garden

Blueberry bushes are moisture sensitive. They like their soil to stay moist, but not soaking wet. Your plant’s leave will tell you if the water content is too much of too little.

Things To Do:

  1. When your plant’s flowers begin to bud in the late winter or early spring, pinch off the flowers to encourage a strong root system. Sorry. You have to wait for the second or third season to begin harvesting your beautifully nutritious berries. Blueberry blossoms
  2. Prune away any damaged, blotchy and dead branches, twigs, or side shoots.
  3. Fertilize your plant(s) in the early and late spring with an acid fertilizer like this one, and again in the fall. But, use half as much fertilizer in the fall.
  4. Freshen up the mulch.
  5. When the berries start to “show color”, protect them from birds with netting. I like to create PVC arches over the plants and secure them so the nets don’t blow away and birds can’t sneak inside the nets. Pinwheels stuck inside the beds next to the bushes seem to work to scare birds away. You can buy pinwheels from the Dollar Store then “plant” them with blueberries.
  6. If deer cross through your property, you already know to keep your blueberry bushes behind deer fencing.

If you follow these steps, you should enjoy a delicious harvest of berries to eat fresh or preserve any number of ways. Hint: Flash freezing washed berries on trays is EASY and maintains the most nutritional value. Plus, you’ll have a stash of fresh berries available well beyond the growing season.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: 

Profile Pic_RoundSally Olson is a homesteader, writer, wife, homeschool mom, and an idealist. She blogs to encourage others to pursue their homestead-DIY-healthy living dreams. All her posts are gluten-free at Garden Valley Homestead. Sally, her husband of 25 years, two sons, horses, Labradors, and hens are blessed to call the Sierra-Nevada Foothills home. You can find her on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter! 

You Can Grow Blueberries | The Paleo Mama

How to Homestead on a Rental Property

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Homestead on a Rental Property

Laura Coppelman Photography took all these pictures for us! Aren’t they amazing?! 

It’s been nearly 1.5 years since we ditched the city to start a farm! Many people don’t realize that we don’t actually own our home. We are renting and have been able to successfully tap into our farming dreams while we live here and save up to purchase our dream farm!

So far, we have had meat rabbits, meat chickens, egg layer chickens, and goats. In the next month we are getting Katahdin sheep! Oh, and we have a Great Pyrenees who is our “livestock guardian dog” and keeps on eye on all these animals for us.

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We live on 3 acres in our rental home. It has 2 acres that are fenced, a HUGE chicken coop, and a 3 stall barn! We just fenced a small paddock area that we are planning on keeping a future breeder buck for 5 Alpine does. We found this place on Craiglist and pay $1,250 a month for it!

So, my friends, as you can see, you can pursue your homesteading and farming dreams on a rental property! In fact, I highly, recommend it as I think it’s a great way to get your feet wet and get a better understanding on what actually goes into homesteading….cause, guess what, it ain’t aways that pretty! 

 How to Homestead on a Rental Property

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Search Craigslist, Zillow, and Trulia 

First step is finding a place that is going to let you do this. We spent hours upon hours searching these websites. We had a criteria that we searched and used keywords like “farm, barn, chicken coop, acres, etc“. We, also, made sure that we that we only searched homes that had over 1 acre. We wanted something with 5-10 acres but we settled on 3 acres. It’s enough to really get started! 

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Check Local Animal Laws and Ordinances

Please, oh please, make sure you don’t move somewhere and hope to purchase livestock and then realize that you can’t have it in that area! Check, and then double check, that livestock, chickens, and goats are allowed at that address. Drive around the home and check out homes and neighbors. Do you see chickens? How about a pig? Even better! 

Call the Home Owner and Tell Them Your Ambitions

This is super important. We disclosed immediately that we were wanting to have a small farm on the property. In our case, this was no issue since our rental property was previously used as a small farm. In the Craigslist ad that we found for our rental property, there were pictures of the red barn, the chicken coop, and the fenced pasture. So, I figured, they were okay with us using it the same way. 

However, don’t assume from looking at the pictures, that farming is permitted. Make sure you ask about it! 

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Start with Just a Few New Animals

We have 3 acres so we haven’t been able to do everything that we want to do. However, we are BUSY so this rental home has been perfect and kept us from making some stupid decisions….um, yes I almost purchased a Jersey cow. I can’t believe I nearly cheated on my dairy goats! 

If you have more than 5 acres, then you, pretty much, have the land for any livestock, however, I recommend that you start slow. 

For us, that mean with chickens and goats. We purchased our first chickens from a hatchery. We, quickly, thought that 15 chickens weren’t enough so we added 10 more. Chickens are such good pets! This year, we will be incubating more! Chickens, are so entertaining and addicting! 

Next we got dairy goats (read my 1st experience milking them) and then start our journey into breeding meat rabbits. All of these animals take up smaller amounts of space and don’t tear up the property. As much as I LONG with all my heart for adding pigs — I just don’t know how our landlord would like that idea. They do tear up the grass and land, plus they require better fencing then what we have. Pigs are escape artists! 

 Make Temporary Improvements to the Homestead

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Consider making any fencing you do easily removable. Thankfully, our rental home already had a really good fence, but we put in a small paddock using chain link that we will remove when we move out. 

We use pallets for EVERYTHING! They are free from our local furniture store and you can do so much with them. 

Conclusion

See — you can homestead on a land that you don’t own!  You might enjoy it more than owning your own home and farm…it’s nice to, simply, pick up the phone and call the landlord when we have any issues! We aren’t spending money on home repairs or home improvements…we are saving that money and putting it towards the purchase of our dream farm! We, also, refuse to get into debt again after paying off more than $50,000 of debt in just under a year, so everything we do is with cash! 

We are so happy that made me this decision! I know you will be too! 

 

Chickens: Discover Why They Are Great As Pets!

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Flock of poultry

by Jordan at Coops and Cages

Jordan Walker is an avid fan of healthy living and claims that he can get a bit overboard with the things that he eats, preferring these to be organic. He is a writer who loves sharing about animals and health at Coops And Cages and in blogs like this one. In this article, he will be telling you some of the benefits of raising chickens.

McDonald’s and Kentucky will probably won’t get tired of telling you how chickens are great every single day. And why not when these are great for sales? Kids love them, moms adore them, and dads like them spicy-hot with their beers- yes, chicken will always be considered an all-time favorite. Why? They are tasty and versatile. Have you ever seen a supermarket that does not sell chicken meat in their frozen goods section? Or a country that does not have their own delicacy with chicken as their main ingredient? How about you? Do you like chickens? Have you considered raising them on your own as your pets?

Top 7 Benefits of Raising Chickens

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Raising chickens can have varied benefits, some of which are listed below:

 

  1. Access to fresh meat. Yes, you can buy fresh meat at the frozen section when grocery shopping. But what if you live a bit far away from the city proper? Although you can store chicken meat in the fridge for quite some time, its quality could not compare to that of fresh meat. Having your own chickens at home means that you could just grab an adult one any time you feel like eating roasted or fried chicken. Plus since you are cooking it, you can choose the ingredients that are added into your dish, possibly lessening the risk of unhealthy extenders.
  2. Eggs within your reach. You know how experts would describe eggs? These are now dubbed superfoods because they offer a varied array of nutrients. In the past, eggs received a nasty reputation because of the controversy on its cholesterol content. However, recent studies show that this claim was unfounded and that it is okay to eat eggs on a daily basis. But have you noticed how free-range chicken eggs are more expensive? By growing your own chickens at home, you can have these pricey eggs for free.
  3. You could become healthier in the process. If you choose to grow chickens and raise these with the use of organic practices, you are given access to meat and eggs that have higher nutritional content. Aside from these, organic produce are considered safer for your body because of the reduced use of medicines such as antibiotics or growth hormones. For one, animals that are given antibiotic could develop antibiotic-resistant strains in the process. If you happen to get sick because of these strains, you won’t get well by using antibiotics as a cure.
  4. Free pest control service. Chickens like to eat vegetables, fruits, and well, fresh protein. Do you know why they like to peck on the ground when you haven’t given them any food? It’s actually a hobby with a delectable benefit for pet chickens. Pecking on the ground could give them yummy bugs or pests, great as protein sources. Who needs to spend extra money on pest control service if you can have chickens to do this for you, and on a daily basis at thattoo?
  5. They are great for your garden. If you can have organic meat and eggs when you raise chickens at home, guess what the other hobby that would meld well with it? Vegetable farming! Organic farming requires the use of organic fertilizer. Chicken poop should do the trick. Not so excited about tilling the soil. Put the chickens in a chicken tractor and place this on the soil where you plan to place your plants. Okay, they won’t be able to dig ten inches deep, but they will more than be able to prep it up which will make it easier for you to till it later.
  6. Provides you with entertainment. Not all chickens are the stereotyped “chicken” than runs away easily. They can have different typesof personalities, depending on breed. Now, if a puppy could entertain you with their silliness, although chickens aren’t aware of it, they could be considered funny most times too. And if you get the right breed, you could even get to hold them, acting as your real buddy when you are in need of a friendly company.
  7. Can be used to educate your children. It helps to tell your kids the importance of being responsible. But words are easily forgotten when these are not put into practice. When you have chickens at home, you can use these to teach your kids to actually learn how to be responsible. Make cleaning the coop, collecting the eggs, and feeding the chickens as their chores. If you have excess eggs, you may even be able to teach them a thing or two about putting up their own business. Why not teach them how to sell these in your neighborhood so that they are given actual experience on marketing and finance?

Other Things to Consider

Raising chickens sounds like a great deal after reading the benefits, right? But wait! Read this too before you decide. Although raising chickens will give you the benefits mentioned above, it may not be for you. First, you need to ask yourself these questions:

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  • Do you travel a lot? Chickens will need to be fed on a daily basis. If you aren’t home to take care of them, you should at least have someone else to babysit them while you’re gone.
  • Are you afraid of blood? Unless it’s a silkie chicken, it’s pointless raising chickens if you do not have the guts to butcher them for dinner. That’s why you’re raising them anyway- so that you can have chicken for dinner.
  • Is your wallet ready for it? For starters, you will need to spend money on a flock of chickens. But on top of this, you will also be spending on their housing needs.
  • Does your city allow it? You need to check if your city is okay with you raising chickens in your backyard since not all are amenable with this arrangement.

So are chickens right for you? If you answered positively on the questions asked above, then go ahead and start raising them.

Author: Jordan Walker

Jordan is the lead content curator for Coops And Cages as well as a couple of other pet related blogs. His passion for animals is only matched by his love for ‘attempting’ to play the guitar. If you would like to catch him, you can via Google+ or Twitter: @CoopsAndCages

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A Beginner’s Kit to Making DIY Beauty Recipes

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A-Beginners-Kit

I’ve been making my own home and beauty recipes for years now. It took me awhile to accumulate everything I needed to have on hand for making my own homemade products. So, I wanted to share with you all a beginner’s kit to making DIY recipes and everything that you need to get started.

I’ve sourced ingredients and supplies all over the place and have found that most of the items you can find on Amazon for cheap. I HIGHLY recommend you join Amazon Prime to get the free 2-day shipping. It costs about $75 for the year to do Amazon Prime, however, you quickly get that back!

So, if I had to narrow down to the most needed, this is what I would recommend you buy….

Beginner’s Basic Kit to Making DIY Beauty Recipes:

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1) Coconut Oil 

This tops the list and you will need it in many recipes! Whether you are making soap, toothpaste, all purpose salve, pain rubs, or sleepytime cream for this kids, coconut oil is a necessity. Now, you don’t need the high quality coconut oil that you cook with. I find that a great expeller-pressed works best! I buy mine from Tropical Traditions and wait for a sale combined with free shipping! Go sign up for their newsletter to get notified when there is a sale and a free shipping code! If you prefer to stick with Amazon, then I recommend this coconut oil. If you have a Sam’s or Costco near you, then you can find coconut oil at a great price!

2) Almond Oil

Having almond oil on hand to use as a carrier oil to making rollerball recipes with essential oils or a homemade anti-aging face serum is much needed! Almond oil has many benefits for the skin and hair and it makes a great makeup remover! CLICK HERE to buy.

3) Beeswax

I recommend you find a local beekeeper and talk to him about buying beeswax in bulk. I get mine for $5lb. However you can find beeswax on Amazon in easy-to-use pellets! Cutting a huge block of beeswax is very difficult so these pellets are easy to measure and use in your DIY recipes! CLICK HERE to buy.

4) Essential Oils 

Essential oils are the most important part of most DIY beauty recipes, so you should make sure you purchase the best brand. This is one item I DO NOT recommend you purchase off Amazon. Many essential oils from Amazon are tampered with and the quality is questionable. Since you are putting these DIY recipes on your body, I recommend you purchase therapeutic-grade essential oils. This is the brand I recommend and have used for over a year with confidence. You can purchase them directly from me through my referral link and I recommend you snag a wholesale starter kit. These kits have the most used oils for a discounted price! CLICK HERE to buy and check out the starter kits.

5) Metal Tins for Storage

I love using 2oz metal tins to make all purpose salve, and homemade deodorant. When you are using essential oils in a recipes, you cannot use plastic. These small metal tins are cheapest on Specialty Bottle but you can find them on Amazon too!

6) Dropper Bottles

If you use liquid stevia then SAVE your bottles! I use these dropper bottles to make hand sanitizer, face serum, and so many more things! You can find them in a 6-pack from Amazon for a great price! CLICK HERE to buy.

7) Dried Herbs

I find that Amazon has the cheapest price on bulk organic dried herbs. I buy a lot of calendula for soap and salve-making so I like THIS brand from Amazon. I, also, use other dried herbs like lavender, comfrey, and rosemary.

8) Glass Spray Bottles 

If you are making my hand sanitizer then you need a glass spray bottle. It fits perfectly into your purse and you can keep one on your countertop for disinfecting purposes. CLICK HERE to buy.

9) Olive Oil 

I try to stick with organic ingredients. This organic olive oil is the best deal I have been able to find. I believe you can find this at Costco too! Sometimes on Tropical Traditions I can find a better deal. I use olive oil to make my goat’s milk soap and homemade healing salve. CLICK HERE to buy organic olive oil.

10) Soap Molds

Silicone molds can be used to make soap or a lotion bars. So if you are ready to dive into soap-making then I love this mold from Amazon! CLICK HERE to buy. However, I prefer the rustic look of cutting your own soap, so I just use an old silicone loaf pan and cut the soap myself. CLICK HERE to buy.

11) Mason Jars of All Sizes

Mason jars are such an important part of making your own recipes and they are dirt cheap! You can find them at Walmart and places like Ace Hardware on sale!

12) Bentonite Clay

I use bentonite clay for making my own toothpaste and deodorant (posting recipe soon!). I also like to use it in a detox bath and to make my own facial mask! So many ways to use this gift from the earth. CLICK HERE to buy.

12) Cacao Butter

I use a lot of this stuff! It’s great to use to help recipes that have a coconut oil base hold. You can find this in my Spiced Chai Lip Balm recipe. CLICK HERE to buy.

That’s it!

Well, those are my top 13 necessities! I hope you enjoy creating your own DIY beauty recipes as much as I do! You can CLICK HERE to take a look at all my DIY recipes using essential oils and CLICK HERE to see 20 DIY Homemade Gifts that you can make for your friends and family!

Once again, I highly recommend you purchase a wholesale essential oil starter kit. You save the most money purchasing this way, AND you get a wholesale membership for purchasing any oils in the future at a huge discount!

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Traditional Goat Milk Soap Recipe

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Goat Milk Soap Recipe .001

Why Goat’s Milk

Goat’s milk is packed with vitamins, minerals natural fats, and protein. It carries a pH of around 6.4 which is very similar to a normal skin pH of 5.6, which makes it great for skin tolerance. You can find vitamins A, B2, B6, B12, and Niacin in goat’s milk and many who cannot tolerate dairy, find that they have no problems with goat’s milk.

Those who have very sensitive skin, find that paying over $5 for a bar of goat’s milk soap is worth it! I’ve had several people come up to me and tell me that my soap was the one of the only bars of soap that they could use without breaking out or having a skin reaction.

Anyone Can Make Soap

Soap is NOT hard to make. What is hard to make is all that fancy soap…which I don’t understand anyways. It’s just you, naked in the shower or bath, rubbing a bar of soap on your body. Why do you need swirls and fun shapes? If you enjoy doing that, then by all means, go for it! But I make soap for my family and most the time the kids end up making holes in the bar and pretending like Spiderman can surf on it.

This is a very basic, traditional recipe that I created. I use lard and I use lye. This is NOT a vegan recipe. I also use the traditional method of cold-process. This process uses a short prep time and a long cure time. It’s the easiest, in my opinion, because you are mostly waiting on the soap to cure and harden. This is the way our ancestors prepared soap and it’s the way I prefer to make my soap. Since I use raw goat’s milk, I prefer to keep the milk unheated to prevent destroying any vitamins and minerals.

Why Lard and Lye

Lard was traditionally used in making soap and has a very long history of in soap-making.  I get my lard from a local farm for a really good price, but you can order pastured lard from here. Lard is the hardening fat in this soap – it’s what makes the bar hard so that it doesn’t turn into a big pile of glob while you are taking a shower.

I, also, like lard because of the aging time. When you make a cold-process soap, you are going to need to let your soap age (or cure) for 3-6 weeks. If you do not use a hardening fat, like lard, then it’s going to take your soap much longer to cure. I find that 3-4 weeks is perfect for this recipe.

Now lye is necessary for the alkali, when combined with the goats milk, loosens and attracts dirt, allowing it to be washed away. After 24 hours, the lye is not even present and by the time the 3-4 weeks is up, there is no trace of lye in the soap.

Supplies Needed:

For anything that touches the lye, you will need separate supplies and those supplies should never be used on anything else. Also, this is going to make an UNSCENTED bar. I have tried using essential oils and it requires way TOO MUCH. Alternatively, if you would like, you can add a few drops of essential oil to your bar of soap when you are washing in the shower.

Ingredients Needed:

You can change your fats and oils if you would like. This is just the recipe that I created and enjoy the most. I have made several other recipes and I really prefer mine as it is very moisturizing, lathers very well, and includes sustainable fats.

Step-By-Step Instructions:

  1. Collect all your supplies and block off your kitchen. I usually do this when my kids are down for a nap because of the lye.
  2. Put parchment paper in your loaf pans to get them ready.
  3. Measure out all the fats and oils (everything but the lye and milk) and put in your tall stainless-steel pot.
  4. Put your stove on LOW and slowly melt the oils and the fats. Put a thermometer in and make sure it never goes above 100 degrees. Once melted, remove from stove.
  5. Take your bag of frozen goats milk and smash it up into smaller pieces. Add it to a large glass bowl.
  6. Slowly sprinkle your lye over the frozen milk and mix with a spatula at the same time. MAKE SURE you are wearing your safety gear!
  7. Mix until the frozen milk is melted. Check the temperature of the mixture with a thermometer and do not let it go over 110 degrees. If it does, no worries, just cool it down by placing the bowl in a larger bowl filled with ice water.
  8. Now check on your oils and make sure they are melted and the temp is not over 100 degrees. If it is, then cool it down by placing it in the bowl of ice water.
  9. You want your oil mixture and your lye mixture to be within 10 degrees of each other.
  10. Now slowly pour your lye mixture into your oil mixture. As you are pouring, put your immersion blender on LOW and start to mix.
  11. When all the lye mixture is added, turn your immersion blender on HIGH and mix until you reach “trace”. Trace is when you can take a spoon or spatula and you can draw a line in your mixture. It usually takes me 2 minutes to reach trace with this recipe…sometimes less.
  12. Once you reach trace, you are going to need to move very fast. Immediately, pour your mixture into your 2 loaf pans or your soap molds. Use your rubber spatula to clean the bowl and smooth out the top of the loaf pan.
  13. Put the pans in a dark spot out of reach of kids. Leave it alone for 24 hours. After around 24 hours, the lye is inactive and you can touch the soap.
  14. After 24 hours, remove your soap from the loaf pans and cut into individual bars.
  15. Place the bars in a dark area and let them cure for 3-4 weeks! I know, it’s torture to wait, but it’s sooooo worth it!
  16. After 3-4 weeks the bars should be ready to go!

 See Picture Tutorial Below…..

Working on reaching trace. 

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After you reach trace, pour into your loaf pans and allow to sit for 24 hours. 

soap1

After 24 hours, cut into individual-sized soap bars and cure for 3-4 weeks. 

soap 2

Waiting 3-4 weeks for the soap to harden! It’s worth the wait! 

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I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as my family does! 

Traditional Goat Milk Soap Recipe .001