Microwave Soap
By Kiki Clark
Okay, this is so easy I hesitate to even call it a
"craft." It's just a thing you do when you have a spare minute, like
dusting the top of the TV or putting your shoes away. You know that
famous spoon-bending guy - Uri Geller? Well it turns out he can't
actually bend silverware with his mind, but he can make this soap
just by thinking about it. After he's bought the supplies, of
course.
Here's where Uri probably shops. Create
for Less. To use the brand
I used, click on Craft Type, Soapmaking, then Yaley, the
manufacturer of Soapsations soap. If you look at other brands,
you'll see that Soap Expressions has natural additives like flower
petals and ground almonds. There's nothing to keep you from mixing
and matching. Note that most blocks of soap come in one and
five-pound sizes. I'd go with the five. One pound is only a couple
of bars. Wrap your unused soap in cling wrap and it'll last for
years. Don't freeze it.
When I first made soap, I bought two things. The
soap and a shaped mold to pour it into - an investment of maybe ten
bucks. Later I bought some glitter, but I didn't trust the
soapmaker's colors (I have very sensitive skin), so I bought a
dollar's worth of food coloring and it works fine.
Here's the bare minimum of what you'll need.
1) A brick o' soap.
2) A microwave-safe, glass container. A two-cup
measuring pitcher is perfect.
3) Something to stir with (I use a glass swizzle
stick because I can leave it in during microwaving. Also, it doesn't
accumulate a lot of soap. The more surfaces you have to coat, the
less soap is free to pour into the mold. That's also why I use a
small cup.
4) A big, sharp knife and a cutting board to cut
pieces off your block o' soap. Frankly, it's easier to cut than
cheddar.
5) Some kind of flexible mold.
If you've made candles or candies before, those plastic molds should
work fine. Probably a plastic container for leftovers would do the
job, although it wouldn't be very decorative and might be faintly
colored with tomato sauce.
6) And lastly, a microwave. Yes, you can use a
double boiler if you don't have a microwave, but you've got a
computer, for crying out loud! Get with the program!
The soap comes with instructions, but just so you
know how it goes before you spend the money, here's the process.
1) Cut quarter-inch slices off the soap. Chop these
into smaller bits and dump them in the cup. Microwave the soap for
45 seconds or so. Pour it into the mold.
That's it! I didn't even need a second step! Haha!
November is a great time of year to do this because you can put your
soap outside to cool; it's ready to pop out in about 15 minutes.
Plus... were you already thinking these would be perfect for holiday
gifts? You're so smart.
I could be done with this column, but here are some
tips, because I like you.
1) Take your melted soap out when it starts to get
little bubbles at the edge. Stir any remaining solid bits until they
melt. If you accidentally let the soap boil, just let it cool a
little before pouring, so it doesn't melt that thin plastic mold.
2) If you use glitter,
get extra fine glitter, preferably made for the purpose. Add it
after you've poured the soap in and stir slightly to mix. If you put
it in with the soap while you're melting it (i.e. when the soap is
at its most liquid), all the glitter might sink to the bottom of the
mold and coat the face of your soap. I don't think it's quite as
pretty that way. And try not to move the mold while the soap is
cooling. That will also make the glitter settle.
3) You can get a cool tie-dye effect if you pour the
soap into the mold, then do a scatter pattern of about four drops of
food color. On the sun soap in the photo, I did a drop of red on one
side, a drop of red on the other, and then did the same thing with
two drops of yellow color, offset from where I'd dropped the red.
(It looks cooler in real life.) Don't stir and don't move the mold.
Just let the color disperse. If it mixes completely, your soap was
too warm. The trick is to drop it in sometime before the soap forms
a skin on the backside.
4) You can cut up leftover colored or clear soap and
drop the chunks into a just-poured soap of a contrasting color. Use
your swizzle stick to press the chunks to the bottom for the best
effect.
5) When you're switching soap colors, you don't have
to wash out your glass pitcher. Let the skin of soap cool a little
and then peel it out. You can save the skin and re-melt it when you
do that color again, or you can tell the kids it's a fruit roll-up
and watch them foam at the mouth.
6) Remove your finished soap when there's no heat on
the bottom of the mold. Push it out gently, so as not to break the
plastic. If you still have trouble getting your soap out, put the
whole thing in the freezer for a few minutes. But it will usually
pop out easily. Actually, the sun mold I used didn't want to let go
of the small design on the top. I had to press on it and then put a
knife down the gap and pry it out. It didn't leave a mark.
7) If you store your clear glycerin soap base for a
long time, it will yellow slightly. This doesn't affect the
performance at all. Just take it into account when you're mixing
colorants in.
To find your own information on the net, search
under "melt and pour soap." For a lot of fun lessons (and possibly
better prices on supplies than the first link), go to Soap Teacher's Web site.
The following link has an excellent soap-making FAQ,
except that she pooh-poohs food coloring, and I haven't had a bit of
trouble with it. http://www.soapnuts.com/wofmp.html
This whole column has been about transparent
glycerin soap, which lends itself to fun, multi-colored designs. I
think the next time I buy melt-and-pour soap, I'm going to get the
white, coconut-soap
version, shell out for a Milky Way rabbit mold,
and make really classy
soaps.
So that's your introduction to microwave soap.
Perhaps the best thing about this craft is that all your equipment
washes clean with water. Really clean.
Next Month: Teabag-folded Christmas cards - who knew?
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Korean Food for Dummies
Contributed by Jennifer Smith
(www.ilacampbell.com)
Ever tried making dishes from your favorite Asian
restaurant and discover just how labor-intensive they are? Well, I’m
the queen of lazy cooking, and I’ve spent nine years living in
Korea, so I’m going to give you two of the simplest – yet very tasty
– recipes I’ve discovered over here!
Scalded Spinach – So much better than the
stuff Popeye ate!
This is great as a vegetable side dish any time –
but especially in the summer, as it does not have to be served warm.
Fill a large pot ¾ full of water and bring to a
boil. Clean and trim approximately 1 lb. of fresh spinach leaves.
Scald the leaves by dropping them into the boiling water and leaving
for approximately 30 seconds – stirring once to make sure all of
leaf is wet. Remove from the water with a slotted spoon or colander.
Drain any excess water. Leave standing in a shallow bowl to cool.
Add to the spinach (preferably before it has
completely cooled) 1 teaspoon of salt, 2 teaspoons sesame oil, 1
large clove (crushed), minced garlic and 1-2 teaspoons sesame seed.
Mix into the spinach leaves thoroughly by hand. Serve.
Oh, and the water you boiled it in is full of iron.
Great as a base for vegetable soups!
Korean Pancakes – Not for breakfast!
These are great for after-dinner eating, especially
with drinks. Also good for lunch on cold days.
Sauce:
1-2 spring onions, finely chopped
¼ teaspoon chili powder
1 large clove garlic, minced
¼ teaspoon sesame oil
½ teaspoon sesame seed
6-10 teaspoons soy sauce
(all amounts approximate – experiment for the best flavor to you)
Pancake:
2 cups flour
2 eggs
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoon salt
Water
1 bundle spring onions (approximately 3 inches in diameter), cut in
2- to 3-inch lengths
Mix ingredients for sauce and set aside.
Mix flour, salt, pepper and eggs together in large
mixing bowl. Add water until you have runny pancake consistency.
Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil on a griddle or frying pan
until both pan and oil are hot. Arrange a handful of spring onion
lengths thinly in center of pan, keeping lengths parallel. Pour
pancake mix over onions, letting batter seep through and around the
onions. (If you have trouble with arranging the onions, it won’t
hurt to just mix them into the batter and pour altogether – it just
makes it slightly harder to cut afterward.) Cook until the onions
are thoroughly browned, then flip. Add more oil if needed. Cook
opposite side until browned. Remove from heat.
Cut into pieces with knife or scissors (easiest).
Dip into sauce. Delicious!
If you like seafood, this recipe is excellent with
small shrimp, mussels, or chopped squid thrown into the mix. If you
want to try it REALLY Korean style, substitute kimchi for onions.
Eat in good health!
To read
last month's Stuff to Make article, click
here
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