Writing, Baking, and Soap

The writing hasn't begun again since getting back home from teaching the Kyphi class last week. I did go through the roughly 43,000 words for a quick edit yesterday, but didn't feel even the slightest inkling to begin work on it again. The inkling is coming back, though, so writing might happen later today or tomorrow. One of the subjects in the book is cookery with natural perfumery ingredients, and I've already got quite a stockpile of delicious recipes to add -- one that is literally fermenting as I write this is a sweet little sparkling wine made with fresh organic blackberries and lavender syrup (homemade, of course). The bottles for this beautiful rose colored confection are on their way and once they arrive, I will bottle them, label them, then pop them into the fridge until the holidays when they will be shared, chilled and sparkling and darkly herbal. I made a peach and rose pan tart as well with preserved peaches and a titch of organic rose otto. People hereabouts are wary of my baked goods because I do use so many aromatics that it's hard to slip one past them, but this one I did easily. I could smell and taste the rosy goodness, but no one else had a clue as they inhaled the sweet, fruity and delectable dessert.

I finally got to begin the soap making season with a strange little addition to the library -- a lovely elemi, cedar wood, ginger root, choya loban, angelica root and orange oil concoction that screams elemi (balance) with tendrils of creamy, woody Himalayan cedar and sparkling bitter notes of ginger root throughout. I wanted to add some punch to the usually drab colors so I played around with some turmeric powder, dragon's blood resin powder, and some deliciously fragrant and powdery sweet patchouli powder -- the effect isn't quite as swirly pretty as more fluid colorants and in spots it looks a bit gloppy. I like it. I've always been one to appreciate pretty-ugly in all things. Not quite sure what's on the soap making agenda next as I have a tendency to free style these things, but they all promise to be special, unusual, and made with purpose. The ingredients in this newest soap are extra virgin olive oil, organic virgin coconut oil, organic fair trade palm oil, and organic hemp seed oil scented with ginger root, Himalayan cedar wood, elemi, choya loban, angelica root oil colored with turmeric powder, patchouli powder, and fine dragon's blood powder.