Cooking Soap and Washing my Mouth Out with Turkey

Last Sunday, in the wee small hours of the morning, we completed our inaugural batch of hot process soap. Our goal for the week off was to complete three batches and put them up to cure, but you already know that isn't what happened. In the end, I had to sacrifice my gym time, and stay up too late to get it done, but we did!

I then spent the better part of Tuesday being disappointed in myself for skipping the gym. I had already skipped Saturday to rest up a sore right shoulder, then I skipped Sunday to finish the soap. Monday, while moving a box of patio furniture for my mother-in-law I hurt my shoulder again, and after missing three days in a row, I was not functioning mentally. So, another meltdown had, and written about, but no one needs to read that. The conclusion is, I've spent years dissecting, avoiding, and finally accepting what my body needs. Now, I have to give myself the gifts of time and discipline to fulfill that need. It's recommendable to skip weight training if I'm injured or overly sore, but I cannot afford to sacrifice the time voluntarily. It's just too costly and I deserve to treat myself better than that.

Now that the metaphorical "soap bandage" has been ripped off, we've already completed a second batch, and will be making a third tomorrow afternoon. At this rate we'll be hunting for Guinea pigs to take some of this soap off our hands before Memorial Day is over. So far, our first batch was scented with eucalyptus and mint fragrance oil, and our second unscented. Tomorrow, we are making a coffee scented soap, using finely ground coffee beans as an exfoliant.

Yesterday I roasted off very small turkey breast that my mother-in-law brought home from Kroger, because it seemed like the perfect thing to do after spending the afternoon stirring soap in a crock pot. What was I thinking? It was a very nice treat on an otherwise uneventful Wednesday, and at $0.88/lb I wasn't going to complain. I had planned to save the leftovers for today's lunch, but what little was left was already gone before this morning. Apparently I wasn't the only one not complaining... I have another whole breast in the freezer, but I'm waiting for a warmer day to roast it outside on the grill.

Earlier this month, I prepared a huge batch of Marinara and Mushroom sauce. Tomorrow I'll be putting together a lasagna with the leftovers out of the freezer, and some fresh ricotta I just picked up at Nino Salvaggio's - an Italian specialty grocery store in our area. I am already broke for this pay check, which is the only reason I didn't spent half this months take home pay at the olive bar and cheese counter. If I ever figure out how to smuggle an entire wheel of Parmigiano Reggiano into my back pack I'll let you know. Until then, they generally ask you to pay for the stuff.