Black Eyed Susans, Egg Yolk Soap, and Pavlova

This week we have finally been able to enjoy a few classic Vermont summer days.  They've been few and far between this summer with our months of heavy rain and flooding and then extreme heat and humidity.  Maggie and I took a walk through the back pasture and gathered a bouquet of my favorite summer wildflowers,  Black Eyed Susans and Queen Anne's Lace.  So simple, and so beautiful!

We've been overrun with eggs this week.  I guess the hens have been enjoying these warm days and cool evenings as much as we have.  

So, what's a girl to do with a surplus of eggs?  Well, around here, it means two things:  egg yolk soap and Pavlova.

Our Egg Yolk and Honey Farm Soap was one of our first soap recipes.  I've tweaked it quite a few times and now have a formula I'm crazy about:  rich egg yolks from our hens, a little honey from our bees, a little beeswax, a little lanolin, some organic oils and butters, divine essential oils, a few flower buds, and a whole lot of love!

Here are the egg yolks waiting to be incorporated into the melted oils.  Aren't they beautiful?  Those bright orange yolks are the result of happy chickens allowed to freely wander and peck in grasses and pasture.

Here I'm straining the yolks into the soap bucket of melted oils, beeswax, lanolin and honey.

I found it difficult to mix the soap and take photos, so next time I will have an assistant, but here's a shot of the soap after it has been fully mixed and has reached trace.  It is ready to be poured into molds.

Here it is poured into a mold, topped with dried calendula blossoms and lavender buds.  Now it is ready to be covered and allowed to finish saponifying.  The saponification process generates a good amount of heat.  

About 24 hours later, the soap has cooled down and has turned firm and opaque.  Here are a few slices of the freshly sliced soap.  I've found that this soap always has a greenish center when it is first cut.  I think it is the combination of egg yolks and the lavender, though my lavender oatmeal soap looks this way when it is first cut, too, so perhaps it is just the lavender. The odd color goes away within the next 24 hours, and then the soap takes on its beautiful butter yellow color.

The soap is now on racks curing.  It should be fully cured in 4-6 weeks.

So that took care of those extra egg yolks. What about all those whites?  It's Pavlova time!

If you aren't familiar with Pavlova, it is a sweet, fluffy meringue generally topped with whipped cream and fresh fruit.  Many years ago when my husband was in graduate school, we became close friends with a couple from Australia.  Apparently Aussie's take great pride in their "Pavy"and claim it to be one of their national desserts, and Belinda's was the best.  Crisp on the outside, fluffy and moist on the inside.  She generally served hers topped with a tin of passion fruit, whipped cream, and some raspberries.  Yum.  It has become a family favorite, and it's always a happy day around here when there's a pavy in the oven.  Save this recipe for a day when the humidity is low.

Binny's Pavlova

8 egg whites at room temperature

2 cups superfine white granulated sugar (see note below)

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 teaspoons white vinegar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

fresh heavy cream, for whipping

fresh berries or seasonal fruit (cut into bite sized pieces, if necessary)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees (F).

In a stand mixer, whip the egg whites until foamy.  Continue beating at high speed and slowly add the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, allowing a few seconds in between additions.  Periodically stop the mixer, and scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl with a clean, grease-free spoon.   Once all of the sugar has been incorporated, continue beating until the mixture is glossy and quite firm.  I use a kitchenaid and find that it usually takes me about 20-25 minutes to slowly add the sugar and get the whites properly beaten. 

After the whites are beaten, drizzle the vanilla extract and vinegar over the top.  On slow speed, mix until combined.  Using a small sifter, shake the cornstarch over the top, and again, gently combine on low speed.

Mound the beaten whites onto a (very) clean cookie sheet, in a rough circular shape, leveling the mixture slightly with the back of your spoon or spatula--about 8-9"in diameter and 3-4" tall.

Place on the bottom rack in the hot oven, close the door, and immediately lower the oven temperature to 250 degrees.  Bake 1 hour and 30 minutes.  

The Pavlova should feel dry to the touch when done and have a crispy crust.  Allow to cool, then slice into wedges and enjoy with fruit and whipped cream.

Note:  I buy superfine granulated white sugar at my local market.  Regular white sugar works ok, too, if you don't have it.  Or, if you are so inclined, you can briefly process the sugar in your food processor or blender.  The superfine sugar seems to yield a finer texture in the pavlova.

Enjoy these summer days!

Jackson the Rooster Holds Off Fisher Cat

Jackson

It was a wild weekend around here.

We keep chickens on our farm, and along with the hens we always keep a few roosters hanging around.  A good rooster can really help with flock management, sounding the alarm when something is amiss, keeping peace in the hen-house, and keeping tabs on the hens.  Plus, I find them entertaining and really enjoy listing to a good crow.

Our last batch of hen chicks turned out instead to be a big batch of roosters, so at the moment we have more roosters than we really need.  I keep saying that I need to reduce the number, but I haven't done anything about it quite yet... and this past weekend I was really happy to have all those guys around, especially Jackson.

Jackson is my favorite rooster.  He's a five year old Americauna, really easy going, and full of charm.  He's got this  s l o w  dramatic strut that just cracks us up!  He leans way back and with big, wide sweeping movements brings each leg way up in the air and then down to take a step forward.  The hens love him,  too-- I'm sure because he is so gentle and full of personality.

On Saturday, in the middle of the afternoon, as my husband was driving into the driveway, he could see Jackson and another one of our older roosters puffed up and making a fuss.  He thought maybe they were having a little manly tussle, but as he walked closer and could hear their tone he knew something was definitely wrong.   A fisher cat, a nasty creature known to decimate a flock of chickens in a matter of minutes, had entered their yard and attacked a hen. Amazingly, the two roosters had worked together and placed themselves between the injured hen and the fisher, and were blocking the fisher from moving towards the rest of the flock!  A third rooster, a fairly young bird, had the hens gathered in an area away from the excitement, and was standing guard in front of them.  (The fourth one, who is a pain in the you-know-what had run to hide inside the hen house. Coward. He'll be on the list to go.)  Once my husband got close enough to tend to the problem, the two roosters backed away and joined the hens.

We were just so impressed that those two roosters were able to hold off a fisher cat.  Jackson was a little scratched up from his encounter, but has recovered.  Unfortunately, we ended up loosing the injured hen, but if it hadn't been for those brave roosters, the outcome could have been MUCH worse.

And that is why I keep roosters on our farm.  :)

If you've never seen a fisher cat, here's a photo.

Chasworth Farm Soaps Featured on Healthy Living Market's Blog

We were delighted to be featured in Healthy Living Market's blog on July 18th.  You can check out their post here.

Our soaps are located on one of the display units in the center of the body care department along with other local products.

New Eucalyptus + Spearmint Soap

Freshly made soap, ready to place on the curing racks.

This summer we introduced a limited edition Eucalyptus + Spearmint soap, and we were so wowed by the response that we decided to add it to our regular Artisan line.   

I wanted to up the game a little though, and wanted to make sure I was using the very best variety of eucalyptus I could find for this application, so I bought and tested a bunch grown in different places around the world.  I settled on Eucalyptus Blue Mallee from Australia.  The scent is amazing! Crisp, camphorous without being too medicinal, woody.... Ahh.  :)  Blended with my favorite spearmint--a first cutting spring mint grown and distilled in the Pacific Northwest, the final scent of the soap is really invigorating.  

I also wanted to jazz up the soap's design by adding some layers and brightening the colors.  The dark dotted line between around the white layer is finely crushed dried spearmint leaves.  I love the way it accentuates the layers!

I hope you like the new version!  The soaps are curing and will be available in early August.

Advanced Soap Maker Certification

I just learned that I earned my Advanced Soap Maker certification through the Handcrafted Soap and Cosmetics Guild (HSCG), and I'm really excited!

The HSCG is an international trade organization for companies that manufacture handcrafted soap and cosmetics. The certification program ensures quality in the handcrafted products members of the HSCG manufacture.  The Advanced Certification process includes passing a written exam, and creating a soap (along with supporting calculations and documentation) for analysis.

I've been a member of the Guild for several years, and as my company has grown, I've felt that obtaining certification was becoming more and more important to provide a certain level of assurance to my customers and prospective customers that my products are well made and safe to use.  After all, there's a lot of science behind those creamy, delicious bubbles and soothing creams!  :)

Join Us at the First Spruce Peak Market of the Season!

We are busy wrapping soaps, packing pots, and gathering eggs in preparation for the first Spruce Peak Farmer's Market of the season this Friday,  11:00 AM - 3:00 PM.  The weather forecast is encouraging and I'm looking forward to my drive through the Notch to Spruce Peak.  Come join us! It should be a great day to visit Stowe and shop for seasonal produce and local wares.  If you want to make a day of it, the resort is hosting an evening BBQ with fireworks at dusk.