sandy - spartasoap - outworldarts @ blogger

new blog!

2009-02-03T20:13:00.003-05:00

I have moved my blog here:

http://www.outworldarts.com/blog

I like blogger, but I just wanted "my own space". :)

Miles Davis John Coltrane

2009-01-19T20:03:00.000-05:00

salty dog

2009-01-16T16:16:00.000-05:00

Procol Harum - A Salty Dog - TV 1969

Chianti

2009-01-14T07:08:00.002-05:00

chianti
Originally uploaded by spartasoap

It's finally bottled! This is very good, too, nice and dry.
Now we have no wine fermenting. We need to buy
more grape juice when it's available.

Lego Jounal/Notebook

2009-01-14T06:52:00.005-05:00

I made this for my nephew who is a fan of Lego Bionicles. The front and back covers are 5" x 5" Lego base plates. His name is written in caution blocks. The closure is a string with a round 1 x 1 Lego block on each end. It's not a super secure closure, but he'll like it this way. The paper is just a variety of white printer, cream resume, construction, graph and vellum with one page from the packing materials from when I ordered the base plate.

USPS Priority Mail Flat Rate Shipping Price Increase

2009-01-13T10:51:00.008-05:00

New flat rate prices effective January 18, 2009: Priority Mail Flat Rate Envelopes and Boxes
Envelope	$4.95
Small box (new size)	$4.95
Regular box	$10.35
Large box	$13.95
Large box (APO/FPO)	$11.95

malbec bottle with grapes

2009-01-13T08:24:00.004-05:00

malbec with a little grape charm
Originally uploaded by spartasoap

Silly of me, but I wanted to dress up the wine bottles with these teensy grapes.

Our malbec is excellent wine - a bit of plum, dry as it should be, clear (could be a little clearer, though), no harsh alcohol, no sharp yeasty taste and no "headache after one glass". It's the first we've made (but under my brother's tutelage) and it really is very good.

slate for men

2009-01-07T08:05:00.002-05:00

slate for men
Originally uploaded by sandy . spartasoap

This soap contains australian black clay and has a masculine essential oil blend including bay bum with accents of orange & rosewood and a hint of spicy clove.

sages herbal

2009-01-05T16:40:00.002-05:00

sages herbal
Originally uploaded by sandy . spartasoap

Sages herbal is scented with spanish sage, clary sage and petitgrain essential oils and colored with sage & comfrey.

rose clay soap

2009-01-05T10:49:00.003-05:00

rose clay soap
Originally uploaded by sandy . spartasoap

Scented with coriander, geranium, petitgrain and the just a hint of neroli essential oils, the rose and white clay make this a good shaving soap.

cedar mint

2009-01-04T20:09:00.003-05:00

cedar mint
Originally uploaded by sandy . spartasoap

Cedarwood, eucalyptus & peppermint essential oils in a soap with blue and canadian glacial clays, great for shaving.

vetiver basil

2009-01-04T19:51:00.003-05:00

Vetiver and basil essential oils colored with parsley and indigo, I love this scent, the basil sweetens the vetiver and the vetiver tones down the sweetness of the basil.

vetiver basil
Originally uploaded by sandy . spartasoap

wild, man

2008-12-31T00:23:00.002-05:00

spartasoap @ artfire

2008-12-20T11:24:00.006-05:00

I just signed up on Artfire, my store is here: spartasoap.artfire.com/

Store not available

I think I'm going to like there. :)

teddy ornament from ages ago

2008-12-10T08:08:00.000-05:00

The Natural Beauty Workshop & Caravan

2008-12-03T10:14:00.006-05:00

Caravan soap was featured in the The Natural Beauty Workshop.
Thanks Emmy!
Sandy

croissant (very long post)

2008-11-13T07:31:00.006-05:00

I like to have my own breads for holiday dinners. This year it's going to be croissants. I know what you're thinking: that it this is a daunting task. It really isn't that bad. If you have experience with hand mixed and kneaded bread, it's not so difficult. Croissants are kind of like math, "they" tell you how difficult it is and if you aren't careful, you'll be intimidated before you even try.

I use a recipe without milk. I don't like working with milk in breads. It's silly of me, I know. This recipe is from The Italian Baker by Carol Field. (I know, it's not french).

Note: Be sure to use unsalted butter. Salted butter will change the consistency and make the whole thing greasy instead of rich.

Savory Croissant Dough
Croissant Salato Dough

Makes 3 pounds (1350 grams) of dough

3¾ tsp active dry yeast or 1½ small cakes fresh yeast
1 tsp malt syrup (or honey)
1½ cups warm water
4 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
2¾ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup less 2 tbsp (bread flour
2½ tsp salt (it's better if you use a little less, 1½ - 2 tsp)

Stir the yeast and malt (or honey) into the water in a large mixing bowl; let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes. Beat in the butter. Mix the flours and salt and stir into the yeast mixture, 1 cup at a time until the mixture comes together. Knead on a lightly floured surface until smooth, firm and velvety, 2 to 3 minutes (may take a little longer). Do not over knead or the dough will be too elastic.

First Rise. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, 1 to 1½ hours

Chilling. Punch the dough down on a lightly floured surface, flatten to a 1-inch thick circle without kneading it. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until the dough is absolutely cold throughout - at least 4 hours or overnight.

Butter Block

4 sticks unsalted butter
½ cup unbleached all-purpose flour

Place the butter on a work surface. Holding a rolling pin by one handle, beat the butter until malleable and creamy (i like this much better than using the mixer). Sprinkle the flour on the work surface. Scrape the softened butter from the work surface with a dough scraper and, using the scraper, cut the butter into the flour. Working quickly, smear the butter and flour together with the dough scraper and the heal of your hand until smooth. (Note: You don't want the butter to get warm.) Scrape the mixture together into a smooth block about ½ thick. It should still be cold, but if it isn't, refrigerate, wrapped in plastic wrap, 15 to 20 minutes.

Enclosing the Butter Block. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and place on a lightly floured surface. Sprinkle the dough lightly with flour and roll into a 20 x 12-inch rectangle, so that one short side is nearest you. Break off small (½ inch) pieces from the butter block and dot them over two-thirds of the dough rectangle nearest you, leaving a 1-inch border around the edges. Fold as if you were folding a business letter" fold the unbuttered third over the middle and fold the remaining third over the top. Pinch the edges together so the butter doesn't fall out. Shape the folded dough with your fingers to even the edges and keep the rectangular shape. Tap the surface of the dough lightly with the rolling pin to evenly distribute the butter.

First Set of Turns. Turn the dough 90° so that the top flap faces your right (like a book). Lightly flour the work surface and the dough. Roll the dough into a 20 x 12-inch rectangle, lifting the dough and lightly dusting the work surface with the flour to prevent it from sticking. The dough should slide freely on the surface and you can brush off any excess flour later. Fold again as if you were folding a business letter; pinch edges to seal and tap the entire surface lightly with the rolling pin. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Second Set of Turns. Lightly flour the work surface and the dough. Place the dough on the surface with the top flap facing your right. Lightly tap the surface of the dough evenly with the rolling pin. Roll into a 20 x 12-inch rectangle, rolling first for length, then width. You may need to pull the dough gently with your fingers to get the right width. Adjust the corners carefully to keep the dough even. Fold the short edges to meet in the middle and then fold in half flipping one piece over the other (as if closing a book). Brush off the excess flour and turn the dough 90° so that the top flap faces your right. Lightly tape the surface of the dough evenly with the rolling pin. You may need to refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes before the next turn if the dough is too elastic, is feisty and fights back. Roll again into a 20 x 12-inch rectangle and fold like a business letter (thirds) and brush off the excess flour. Pinch the edges to seal and lightly tap the surface of the dough evenly with the rolling pin. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 3 hours or overnight.

Freezing. The dough may be frozen for up to 10 days after the final turn or after shaping. Wrap the dough airtight in aluminum foil or tightly cover the shaped dough on baking sheets with the foil. Thaw in refrigerator for 24 hours.

Shaping & Baking

1 pound Croissant Dough (above)
1 egg, beaten
1 tbsp water

Cutting. Place the cold dough on a lightly floured surface and dust the top with flour. Roll the dough int a 28 x 11-inch rectangle. Trim to a 28 x 10-inch rectangle with a sharp knife, then cut the rectangle lengthwise in half. The croissants will be formed from the triangles cut from the 2 pastry strips, now each 28 x 5-inches. Cover the strip of dough that you are not working with. Place 1 strip on the work surface so that the long edge is facing you. Measure each strip into 14 triangles by marking off every 4 inches at the top and base. Beginning at the lower left-hand corner, cut across diagonally to the first mark on the top. Cut straight back to the first mark on the bottom. Keep cutting triangles by cutting diagonally from bottom to top and straight down from top t bottom, connecting at the marks. Repeat with the second strip of dough.

Shaping. Position a triangle so that the base is nearest you. Stretch the base to 5 inches and gently stretch the height to 9 inches. Holding the top with one hand, tightly roll up the triangle from the base with the other hand. Put firm but gently pressure on the sides, not the center, of the roll. Mix the egg and water in a small bowl and brush the tops wit the egg wash. Repeat with the remaining triangles. Place 1 ½ inches apart on buttered or parchment-lined baking sheets. Either leave straight or shape into a crescent.

Rising. Cover loosely with a towel and let rise until doubled. 1 to 2 hours.

Baking. Heat the oven to 425° F. Bake on a rack in the upper third of the oven 6 minutes. Reduce the heat to 375° F and bake until dark golden. 12 to 14 minutes longer. (Take care to watch as they continue to cook a little after removal from the oven.) Cool completely on racks.

These are very good with a 'melt in your mouth' consistency.

edit to add: these puff up nicely, i forgot to take a picture of the baked croissants

Veterans Day

2008-11-11T11:40:00.008-05:00

"stop trying to control everything and just let go" fight club

2008-11-05T11:16:00.004-05:00

great scene

seasonal soap

2008-11-02T07:57:00.008-05:00

Sparta Soap seasonal soap is available @ etsy:

Clockwise from top left:
Pumpkin Pie Spice - Our Pumpkin Pie Spice soap contains pumpkin. The scent is from essential oils and is very close to that of a baked pumpkin pie.
Poinsettia - I call this soap 'Poinsettia', but its fragrance is very similar to carnation. I've added black pepper essential oil to tone down the sweetness. This is a sudsy soap as always. The colors are derived naturally from botanicals.
Sugarplum - This spiced soap has just a hint of sweet which is why we call it 'Sugarplum'. :) The predominant scent is of Allspice. As always, Sparta Soap is sudsy and non-drying!
Anisette - Our Anisette soap is scented with Anise essential oil with black Australian clay for color. Anise essential oil has a softer fragrance than star anise.

incredible 16 legged spider

2008-10-30T13:02:00.003-05:00

incredible 16 legged spider
Originally uploaded by sandy . spartasoap

Halloween fun!

This is on my neighbor's house - I don't know why it has 16 legs, but it makes me smile.

i am easily amused

2008-10-23T07:35:00.005-05:00

bad hair day
Originally uploaded by sandy . spartasoap

I found this mask and my husband put it over top of our lamp post. I laugh every time I see it. I hope the trick or treaters get as big a kick out of it next week as I am now, :)

wheat straw, yellow gold wheat, wheat straw & bamboo handmade paper

2008-10-16T19:12:00.004-05:00

wheat straw, yellow gold wheat, wheat straw & bamboo
Originally uploaded by sandy . spartasoap

these have a wonderful texture
from etsy seller lot10paper

bunny & morning glory

2008-09-25T21:48:00.002-05:00

bunny & morning glory
Originally uploaded by sandy . spartasoap

pickled cherry peppers

2008-09-21T07:04:00.004-05:00

The first batch of these is a little softer than I'd like. Next year I'll use a little more salt and a water bath canner instead of the pressure canner.
I like these for their simplicity. They only contain a 1:1 ration of vinegar & water, cherry peppers, salt, a bay leaf, mustard seed and a clove of garlic.