#(if it has any citrus in it-most herbal teas do-then the milk will separate and slightly curdle. and he never remembers this.)

[ltlemon]

chanting at the coffee my dad just handed me going please dont have honey in it please dont have honey in it

[lionsongfr]

Greenskeeper Fest Foods

It is rare in the Viridian Labyrinth to have feasts or even cooked food. Food is rarely in excess, and a common saying around the flight is “take only what the forest gives”. Many clans are nomadic, so most food found is eaten that day and rarely stored. Some more primal clans view agriculture as an insult to the Gladekeeper, that to farm is to mock The Mother’s ability to provide. As to cooked foods- in a tropical rainforest keeping a fire light can be a troublesome thing, and for those who live in trees fire can be a dangerous thing.

Thus, feasts and cooked food are rare in the Labyrinth, but if you do want to try the cooking the best time is spring- especially during Greenskeeper Gathering. The land is filled with abundance, flowers filling the forest and life overflowing. These are pivotal times for the Labyrinth, battles are held off and clans come together to socialize and eat together. 

Below is a list of some potential food items for your Greenskeeper Festival:

Foods 

Grilled and Roast Meats- while Fire Flight maybe king of the grill, Nature has many a hungry Wildclaw to feed. Any bird or beast or fish caught will be skewered and placed upon the grill. The first round of meats is the appetizers such as whole roasted Lovebirds, grilled Tadhop legs rubbed with chili peppers, or skewers of Firebelly Scorpions in a garlic sauce.  For main dishes, Spotted Goat and Barkback Boar is sectioned and served in a variety of cuts and doneness. 

Banana Leaf Baked Hippocampus- Hippocampus baked in a Banana leaf with a coconut curry sauce. There is great debate whether it is more fishy or equine in taste.

Pit-Roasted Pygmy Hippo- covered in Banana leaves and buried in the ground with coals to slowly roast for day, it is said this meal could feed an Imperial… or a pack of hungry mirrors.

Clownfish Ceviche- clownfish marinated in lime and orange along with onions and chilis, often served along with fried Plantain chips for dipping.

Cheesy Wild Rice Mix- steamed in Bladed Flatleafs, this dish contains beans, Bark Boar bacon, grilled Grove Ferns, and Goat milk mozzarella. 

Clay Pot Amphithere Stew- Amphithere can be difficult to eat whole due to the many bones, so in this dish it is cut from the bone and stewed with tomatoes, onions, lime juice, and coriander. Fish such as Gilded Tetras or Bamboo shrimp are often added to the dish. Typically served with a porridge made of manioc or cassava.

Blooming Greenpod Salad- when slowed cooked over a fire these plants bloom from their pods. The leaves are then often mixed with Paradise Seeds and Sage Shell mushrooms in an herbal sauce made from Jungle Raincatch plants.

Jungle Bark Tamales- the Jungle Pith bark is tasty, the pith itself not so much. Thus, the pith is removed from the bark ground up and made into a dough with sweet or savory fillings. The dough is then wrapped with the bark and mixture is steamed together. The bark and dough can be eaten together or separately.

Slow Stone Soup-soup made from a Travelling Garden in its own shell, typically contains hard-boiled Zalis eggs, tomatoes, Wild Onion, and bell pepper

Steamed Rolly Polly- in the jungle Rolly Pollys can grow to massive sizes and can be steamed or roasted like a lobster. Much to the delight of the dinner, after steaming the shell can simply be tapped to open and reveal the white flesh within. Typically served with a citrus sauce.

Red-Blue Banana Custard- made from a Red Banana which has a dark blue fruit, typically served in bamboo cups and topped with a red sauce made from Redblood Sapper.

Minty Jadevine Sorbet- a gift from Frostbite Dryads, a dessert that is cool in two different ways.

 Drinks

Barkskin Tea- leaves traded by from the Barskin Watcher make for a strong green tea.

Chilled Edamame Smoothie- with a little sugarcane syrup and fruit added this treat will get any hatchie to drink their veggies. 

Jungle Juice- a mix of liquors and fruit from every clan in an area, sweet and sure to give you a hangover the next day.

Manticore’s Tail- a cocktail made of sugar cane liquor and lime juice with chili salt on the rim.

[josephkitchen0]

Combining the Best Essential Oils for Soap Making

If you make soap, you probably do it for one of two reasons. First, it allows artistic creativity while making something useful. And second, it allows control over all the ingredients.

Many soap makers begin the art because they want to eliminate chemicals, allergens, toxins, perfumes, and detergents from their households. They want a more natural product, but they also want it to smell good. And you don’t get much more natural than essential oils. Some people even learn  how to make essential oils at home.

But finding the best essential oils for soap making isn’t that easy. Each soap making technique throws different factors at you.

Before we get into choosing the right oils, I’ll first answer a question that almost every new soap maker asks: Can you use citrus juice, rose water, etc. to fragrance soap? Yes and no. Yes, you can use it for soap. But no, the fragrance won’t remain in the finished product. It’s not strong enough. Essential oils, and the less-natural fragrance oils, are highly concentrated and able to withstand the process.

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The Best Essential Oils for Soap Making: Melt and Pour

Though melt and pour soap is by far not my favorite, and it’s certainly not natural, it has one huge advantage: It’s safe to craft around children. If your kids are old enough to understand certain precautions, such as using towels to handle hot dishes, they can create soaps as well.

A downside of using essential oils for melt and pour: some oils are not skin-safe and cause contact dermatitis. When diluted in soap, this usually isn’t a problem, but dropping undiluted EO on skin, and allowing it to stay there, can cause rashes, burns, and photosensitivity. Research which oils may cause skin reactions before using them for soap.

With so many essential oils available, be sure you research which is safe for skin.

An upside of using EOs in melt and pour soap: because the soap isn’t alkaline and doesn’t require high temperatures, almost every fragrance will stick. It will last awhile.

Citrus and coconut fragrances are notorious for fading within goat milk soap recipes and other cold process soap because the pH of the soap reacts with these oils. But that’s not a worry with melt and pour.

For a refreshing and energizing melt and pour soap, try lemon, mixed with lemongrass and ginger. Or create a three-citrus combination of grapefruit, lemon, and orange, adding a cedarwood base note to bring the airiness down to earth.

Try pure lavender essential oil in melt and pour soap, without worry of fading. Or mix lavender and eucalyptus.

The Best Essential Oils for Soap Making: Cold Process

Here’s where things get tricky. Cold process soap making can kill a fresh fragrance, and the fragrance itself can complicate soap making.

Fruity and spicy oils can cause seizing, which is when the soap quickly thickens and solidifies just after you add the scent. Some herbals also cause the problem. Using oils which are solid at warmer temperatures, such as in coconut oil soap recipes, can intensify the problem. To avoid seizing, I do two things: First, I avoid the fragrances that can cause it, such as clove oil. But if I want that spicy smell, I will separate a little unscented soap batter and set it aside. Then, if the rest of the batter seizes after I add fragrance, I quickly glop it into molds then pour the liquidy, unscented batter around it to fill in any pockets or gaps. This creates a single, solid bar that can be cut after it completely solidifies and cools.

Many citrus oils are notorious for being fleeting in cold process soap.

Perhaps the most tragic loss is that of a scent you had your hopes on. But there are some tricks to making fragrance last:

Identify which scents won’t withstand the pH and heat. Citrus are the main culprits. If you truly want lemon soap, made with pure lemon essential oil, try melt and pour for the best results.

Use alternatives, such as lemongrass or lemon verbena essential oils instead of lemon.

Increase the amount of oil, using a fragrance calculator to identify how much to use. Some oils, such as 10x orange, are already more concentrated.

Add kaolin clay to your soap recipe. This gives essential oil something to adhere to while creating a nicer lather and soothing skin.

Anchor scents with deeper “base” notes. This means blending the lighter fragrances with something that has better retention, such as lavender with rosewood or grapefruit with ylang ylang.

Store finished soap in a cool, dry environment that is away from direct sunlight. I like to stack it (with a little space between bars), with paper separating layers, in a cardboard box. Then I place the box in a bedroom closet, not a bathroom or kitchen cupboard.

If you want a relaxing, therapeutic fragrance combination, but want to extend the scent’s life in cold process soap, try mixing lavender oil with chamomile and patchouli or oakmoss.

For a refreshing, fruity-woodsy scent with excellent staying power, combine 10x orange oil, juniper, and Peru balsam.

Or make a therapeutic breathe-easy spa bar with eucalyptus, rosemary, and cedarwood.

  Top, Middle, and Base Notes

When crafting fragrance combinations for either melt and pour or cold process soaps, you can improve the scent’s staying power by pairing top notes with an earthy base “anchor.” Top notes are the first fragrances noted by the nose, usually the light, citrusy, floral tones. The nose then identifies middle notes, which are a bit deeper, spicier, or woodsy. Base notes tend to be very earthy, such as patchouli, sandalwood, and myrrh. Pure orange oil may not “stick” long in cold process soap, but combining a 10x orange oil with patchouli and a little cardamom creates a spicy, citrusy combination, which will last a long time.

Existing recipes may call for “three parts lime EO, one part pine, two parts ginger.” This means, if you’re using a few drops, use three drops lime, one of drop pine, two drops ginger. Or three ounces lime, one ounce of pine, etc.

To create the best recipes, it can take trial and error to discover how much of each creates the scent you desire. Recipes are found online but you may want more of one oil and less of another. It’s ok to experiment as long as you avoid oils which cause unpleasant reactions and you use a fragrance calculator to determine how much to add to soap.

Using a Fragrance Calculator

Many soap making suppliers include fragrance calculators on their websites. Why use a fragrance calculator? For soap making with blended fragrance oils, the calculator helps determine how much oil to use, per pound of soap, if you want a light fragrance versus a deep, lasting scent. When using even the best essential oils for soap making, the calculator serves a second purpose: it indicates the maximum volume allowed safely. It takes into account the potential for phototoxicity or sensitizing skin, and gives you a maximum threshold, while allowing you to input all other factors and fragrance combinations.

Fragrance calculators also account for the fact that different essential oils have different fragrance strengths, so while a little myrrh oil easily fragrances soap, the same amount of neroli may not.

Of course, if you ask any longtime soap maker for their opinions on the best essential oils for soap making, you will get an assertive answer … that will differ between soap makers. Anyone selling essential oils may also give you different answers. But answering which EO is best for you is something only you can do.

What do you feel are the best essential oils for soap making? Do you have any scent combinations to share? We would love to hear about it.

Identifying Top, Middle, and Base Notes

(Some of these aren’t exclusive. For instance, lemongrass can be the middle note when combined with a top note of pure lemon essential oil.)

Top Notes Middle Notes Base Notes Basil Bay Peru Balsam Bergamot Black Pepper Cassia Cinnamon Cardamom Cedarwood Clary Sage Chamomile Cinnamon Eucalyptus Cypress Clove Grapefruit Fennel Frankincense Lemon Geranium Ginger Lemongrass Hyssop Jasmine Lime Juniper Myrrh Mandarin Lavender Neroli Neroli Majoram Oakmoss Verbena Melissa Patchouli Orange Myrtle Rose Peppermint Nutmeg Rosewood Sage Palma Rosa Sandalwood Spearmint Pine Valerian Tangerin Rosemary Vanilla Tea Tree Spinenard Vetiver Thyme Yarrow Ylang Ylang

Combining the Best Essential Oils for Soap Making was originally posted by All About Chickens

[josephkitchen0]

Combining the Best Essential Oils for Soap Making

If you make soap, you probably do it for one of two reasons. First, it allows artistic creativity while making something useful. And second, it allows control over all the ingredients.

Many soap makers begin the art because they want to eliminate chemicals, allergens, toxins, perfumes, and detergents from their households. They want a more natural product, but they also want it to smell good. And you don’t get much more natural than essential oils. Some people even learn  how to make essential oils at home.

But finding the best essential oils for soap making isn’t that easy. Each soap making technique throws different factors at you.

Before we get into choosing the right oils, I’ll first answer a question that almost every new soap maker asks: Can you use citrus juice, rose water, etc. to fragrance soap? Yes and no. Yes, you can use it for soap. But no, the fragrance won’t remain in the finished product. It’s not strong enough. Essential oils, and the less-natural fragrance oils, are highly concentrated and able to withstand the process.

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Even old pros say they got dozens of tips for their flocks by reading this guide. YES! I want this Free Guide »

The Best Essential Oils for Soap Making: Melt and Pour

Though melt and pour soap is by far not my favorite, and it’s certainly not natural, it has one huge advantage: It’s safe to craft around children. If your kids are old enough to understand certain precautions, such as using towels to handle hot dishes, they can create soaps as well.

A downside of using essential oils for melt and pour: some oils are not skin-safe and cause contact dermatitis. When diluted in soap, this usually isn’t a problem, but dropping undiluted EO on skin, and allowing it to stay there, can cause rashes, burns, and photosensitivity. Research which oils may cause skin reactions before using them for soap.

With so many essential oils available, be sure you research which is safe for skin.

An upside of using EOs in melt and pour soap: because the soap isn’t alkaline and doesn’t require high temperatures, almost every fragrance will stick. It will last awhile.

Citrus and coconut fragrances are notorious for fading within goat milk soap recipes and other cold process soap because the pH of the soap reacts with these oils. But that’s not a worry with melt and pour.

For a refreshing and energizing melt and pour soap, try lemon, mixed with lemongrass and ginger. Or create a three-citrus combination of grapefruit, lemon, and orange, adding a cedarwood base note to bring the airiness down to earth.

Try pure lavender essential oil in melt and pour soap, without worry of fading. Or mix lavender and eucalyptus.

The Best Essential Oils for Soap Making: Cold Process

Here’s where things get tricky. Cold process soap making can kill a fresh fragrance, and the fragrance itself can complicate soap making.

Fruity and spicy oils can cause seizing, which is when the soap quickly thickens and solidifies just after you add the scent. Some herbals also cause the problem. Using oils which are solid at warmer temperatures, such as in coconut oil soap recipes, can intensify the problem. To avoid seizing, I do two things: First, I avoid the fragrances that can cause it, such as clove oil. But if I want that spicy smell, I will separate a little unscented soap batter and set it aside. Then, if the rest of the batter seizes after I add fragrance, I quickly glop it into molds then pour the liquidy, unscented batter around it to fill in any pockets or gaps. This creates a single, solid bar that can be cut after it completely solidifies and cools.

Many citrus oils are notorious for being fleeting in cold process soap.

Perhaps the most tragic loss is that of a scent you had your hopes on. But there are some tricks to making fragrance last:

Identify which scents won’t withstand the pH and heat. Citrus are the main culprits. If you truly want lemon soap, made with pure lemon essential oil, try melt and pour for the best results.

Use alternatives, such as lemongrass or lemon verbena essential oils instead of lemon.

Increase the amount of oil, using a fragrance calculator to identify how much to use. Some oils, such as 10x orange, are already more concentrated.

Add kaolin clay to your soap recipe. This gives essential oil something to adhere to while creating a nicer lather and soothing skin.

Anchor scents with deeper “base” notes. This means blending the lighter fragrances with something that has better retention, such as lavender with rosewood or grapefruit with ylang ylang.

Store finished soap in a cool, dry environment that is away from direct sunlight. I like to stack it (with a little space between bars), with paper separating layers, in a cardboard box. Then I place the box in a bedroom closet, not a bathroom or kitchen cupboard.

If you want a relaxing, therapeutic fragrance combination, but want to extend the scent’s life in cold process soap, try mixing lavender oil with chamomile and patchouli or oakmoss.

For a refreshing, fruity-woodsy scent with excellent staying power, combine 10x orange oil, juniper, and Peru balsam.

Or make a therapeutic breathe-easy spa bar with eucalyptus, rosemary, and cedarwood.

  Top, Middle, and Base Notes

When crafting fragrance combinations for either melt and pour or cold process soaps, you can improve the scent’s staying power by pairing top notes with an earthy base “anchor.” Top notes are the first fragrances noted by the nose, usually the light, citrusy, floral tones. The nose then identifies middle notes, which are a bit deeper, spicier, or woodsy. Base notes tend to be very earthy, such as patchouli, sandalwood, and myrrh. Pure orange oil may not “stick” long in cold process soap, but combining a 10x orange oil with patchouli and a little cardamom creates a spicy, citrusy combination, which will last a long time.

Existing recipes may call for “three parts lime EO, one part pine, two parts ginger.” This means, if you’re using a few drops, use three drops lime, one of drop pine, two drops ginger. Or three ounces lime, one ounce of pine, etc.

To create the best recipes, it can take trial and error to discover how much of each creates the scent you desire. Recipes are found online but you may want more of one oil and less of another. It’s ok to experiment as long as you avoid oils which cause unpleasant reactions and you use a fragrance calculator to determine how much to add to soap.

Using a Fragrance Calculator

Many soap making suppliers include fragrance calculators on their websites. Why use a fragrance calculator? For soap making with blended fragrance oils, the calculator helps determine how much oil to use, per pound of soap, if you want a light fragrance versus a deep, lasting scent. When using even the best essential oils for soap making, the calculator serves a second purpose: it indicates the maximum volume allowed safely. It takes into account the potential for phototoxicity or sensitizing skin, and gives you a maximum threshold, while allowing you to input all other factors and fragrance combinations.

Fragrance calculators also account for the fact that different essential oils have different fragrance strengths, so while a little myrrh oil easily fragrances soap, the same amount of neroli may not.

Of course, if you ask any longtime soap maker for their opinions on the best essential oils for soap making, you will get an assertive answer … that will differ between soap makers. Anyone selling essential oils may also give you different answers. But answering which EO is best for you is something only you can do.

What do you feel are the best essential oils for soap making? Do you have any scent combinations to share? We would love to hear about it.

Identifying Top, Middle, and Base Notes

(Some of these aren’t exclusive. For instance, lemongrass can be the middle note when combined with a top note of pure lemon essential oil.)

Top Notes Middle Notes Base Notes Basil Bay Peru Balsam Bergamot Black Pepper Cassia Cinnamon Cardamom Cedarwood Clary Sage Chamomile Cinnamon Eucalyptus Cypress Clove Grapefruit Fennel Frankincense Lemon Geranium Ginger Lemongrass Hyssop Jasmine Lime Juniper Myrrh Mandarin Lavender Neroli Neroli Majoram Oakmoss Verbena Melissa Patchouli Orange Myrtle Rose Peppermint Nutmeg Rosewood Sage Palma Rosa Sandalwood Spearmint Pine Valerian Tangerin Rosemary Vanilla Tea Tree Spinenard Vetiver Thyme Yarrow Ylang Ylang

Combining the Best Essential Oils for Soap Making was originally posted by All About Chickens