Soap Everywhere

My dining room is being overrun with soap. It's a beautiful sight. I experimented a little and mixed up a batch of rosemary soap that smells divine. You can smell it when you come in the house. I hope it turns out. I made up the recipe and checked it with an online lye calculator based on my limited knowledge of oils. If it turns out to be a good batch, I will gladly post the recipe.

I have decided that soapmaking is much like cooking. The only difference is the goggles and not being able to lick your fingers. I figured I would like soapmaking as I love to cook, especially dessert. Cooking is definitely immediate gratification of a job well done. Soapmaking is a trial in patience and perseverance.
At left are my trial bars of rosemary soap. I love rosemary and have it growing in my yard. I steeped some in the water for the recipe and strained it. It turned a brownish green color when I added the lye. I actually thought it was a pretty, natural looking color. When I poured it in the mold (shoe box lined with parchment) I noticed it had taken on a more greenish color because of the olive oil. I added some rosemary essential oil and some finely ground dried rosemary. It looks quite sophisticated with the flecks. When I checked on it this morning it had turned a pretty cream color. I do hope this batch is good. Guess it is all part of the experimentation.

In celebration of my soapmaking fun, I'm going to post my TNT Tomato Sauce Recipe. It is what we had for dinner tonight. It is the result of some experimenting and no two batches are the same. I don't measure anything, just dump it in the pot.

TNT Tomato Sauce
2 cans 14.5 oz fire roasted tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
1 tsp. garlic
1 tsp. Italian Seasoning
1/4-1/3 C dry red wine
2 tbsp. brown sugar
pinch red cayenne pepper
olive oil

1. In saucepan, saute garlic in olive oil (about a tablespoon oil).
2. Pour tomatoes into a food processor and whirl a couple times. More if you like smoother, less if you like chunky. I use my mini-chop-chop and do one can at a time.
3. Add tomatoes, paste, wine, brown sugar, cayenne and Italian Seasoning to saucepan.
4. Stir together and let simmer for 10 min. uncovered, stirring occasionally.