Good Enough.

Good enough!  I love this.  My friend posted it on her Face Book wall and I thought I would share it with you.  Simply be yourself, that is good enough. 

I have one more farmers market.  Tomorrow morning from 9:00-12:30 at Ft. Andross in Brunswick.  Come on down and see me for last minute soap gifts, stock up your own supply or purchase a gift certificate.

Lace & Ice

What a great idea!   Found over on Resurrection Fern blog, these Lace & Ice hanging discs are just beautiful! What a fun, easy, inexpensive and beautiful idea for any cold weather climate.  

 Now...where are my lace doily's?

Here is the direct link to the blog post so you can learn to make your own.

http://resurrectionfern.typepad.com/resurrection_fern/2008/12/lace-and-ice-.html

Eggnog From Scratch

Have you ever had "real" eggnog?  Not from the carton, but the real stuff made up fresh?  I made Martha's recipe several years ago and it is totally worth it.  Soo good, soo rich and soo creamy.  Served up in a punch bowl with fresh nutmeg and lots of booze (3 different kinds) my friends (and I) adored it!  I went to a neighborhood Christmas party on Sunday night and my neighbor Cliff brought along his family Eggnog all made up and spiked nice and strong. Complete with clouds of cream and egg whites floating on top...soo amazing!  His recipe sounded very similar to Martha's.  I have posted it for you below as well as the link to Martha's website.  Enjoy!

(Martha served it recently at her Holiday party with 200 guest invited! 
Here is a picture of her Eggnog from her recent blog post).

From Martha's site:  This eggnog's rich, cloud like texture is produced by separating the eggs and beating the whites before adding them to the milk mixture. The eggnog base can be made one day in advance; just beat in the stiff egg whites and whipped cream just before serving.

http://www.marthastewart.com/334357/eggnog

Ingredients


12 eggs, separated

1 1/2 cups superfine sugar

1 quart whole milk

1 1/2 quarts heavy cream

3 cups bourbon

1/2 cup dark rum

2 cups cognac

Freshly grated nutmeg

Directions

1.In a very large bowl, beat egg yolks until thick and pale yellow. Gradually add sugar to yolks. With a wire whisk, beat in milk and 1 quart cream. Add bourbon, rum, and cognac, stirring constantly.

2.Just before serving, beat egg whites until stiff. Fold into mixture. Whip remaining 1/2 quart heavy cream until stiff, and fold in. Sprinkle with nutmeg.

Holiday Soaps Still Available!

Whew!  What can I say about the Holiday Season....busy?  Yes.  Jam packed?  Yes.  Did I have enough soaps?  Well...that is why I am here today.  I have run out of my brand new this year soap,  Naughty & Nice and just about out of Cinnamon & Oats.  I still have Christmas In Maine, Peppermint Twist and Gingersnap.   Shipping orders is still possible for most of New England....but beyond that, there are no guarantees.   If you are local, I am happy to met you for a soap delivery, I have even delivered straight to front doors. 

Making up more Bath Bombs, Tub Tea, Dryer Sachets and Laundry Detergent today to make sure there is plenty in stock for the Farmers Market on Saturday.   The market will be open on Christmas Eve day 9-12:30 at Ft. Andross Maine St. Brunswick.  I am happy to set aside any special items for you to ensure that they are available for you when you come to the market.  Just contact me!  cascobaysoap@aol.com

Special Yuletide Market Sunday 12/18/11

Special Holiday Market at L.L.Bean on Sunday 12/18 from 12:00-4:00.  I will be there, along with a great group of vendors, selling our fantastic baked goods, cheeses, seasonal veggies, jewelry, artwork, hand knit and sewn items, wood turned bowls, tops & rolling pins, Alpaca yarns, bird cookies and soo much more!!  There will be seasonal music too. 

Come on down and see me, get lots of Holiday shopping checked off your list, soap makes a GREAT gift!  I have lots of Soap Bars and special holiday packaging...I am also bringing along my Sea Shell and Sea Urchin soaps.  Hope to see you!!

Featured on an Esty Treasury!

So happy to find that I (or rather my soap) was part of a treasury on Etsy!  My Pink Grapefruit Sea Urchins are right there on the bottom right!

 

visit the link here:  http://www.etsy.com/treasury/MTU1MjF8MTI3MjIxNjkyMA/sneaky-treasury-challenge-112811-2

Pink Peppercorn Hot Chocolate

Oh yum!   Pink Peppercorn Hot Chocolate....sweet and chocolaty with some zing!  I love sipping some sweet, hot chocolate during the cold winters here on the Coast of Maine.  I have posted a recipe of my tried and true favorite here on the blog before ( http://cascobaysoap.blogspot.com/2009/02/hot-chocolate.html ) but this time I am adding some pink peppercorns that I bought from my local Maine vendors, Gryffon Ridge Spice Merchants at the farmers market.  I found this fun twist on the recipe on one of my favorite food blogs, Kayotic Kitchen.

My report?  Delightful!  I loved the heat that the pink peppercorns added, the addition cinnamon was wonderful! Give it a try.

Here is the blog post: http://www.kayotic.nl/blog/pink-peppercorn-hot-chocolate  over at Kayotic Kitchen.

Bath Bomb Production

A peek inside my Bath Bomb Production!

Here you see half spheres of Lavender, Winter White, Mango, Lemon and Oatmeal & Honey.  YUM!  These will be packaged up into full spheres and the customer then can use a whole sphere or a half.  I include two different fragrances together in a package.  So for example, you can use the whole sphere and take a Mango and Lemon bath or use just half and enjoy a Mango or just a Lemon bath, it's up to you!

Lavender Bath Bombs have a bit of real lavender buds sprinkled on the top, Oatmeal & Honey Bath Bombs have a sprinkle of real oats and Winter White has a bit of sparkly glitter!   I will have these with me at the market on Saturday.

From Scratch Club

A found this new blog, the From Scratch Club.  Sharing all sorts of stories, great recipes, tips and tricks that are all food related.    Today I was browsing and found recipes for Homemade Irish Cream, Tomato Basil Jam and Infused Olive Oils that all sound wonderful!

Here is a bit about them:

"We are a small group of women, living within the Capital Region of NYS (Albany, Troy, Schenectady, Saratoga Springs) striving for a sustained connection to the whole food we, our loved ones, and our communities consume. We meet twice a month for food swaps, and maybe even a food-related adventure, field trip, cheese making party or potluck. Once a month we participate in community outreach at various local farmers markets in our area. The rest of the month we are here on the blog, sharing stories, recipes, DIY projects, homesteading tutorials, kitchen tips & tricks and food policy news in hopes of inspiring everyday people to jump back into the kitchen as a daily way of life regardless of income, space & time. Welcome"!

Also over on their blog they are offering a Free E-book, From Scratch Holidays, full of homemade, from scratch ideas for Holiday gifts.  Fun recipes for homemade Pasta, Limoncello, Cinnamon Buns, Cranberry Mustard and more!   They also have a ton of great recipes on their blog for even more homemade gifts, Fudge, Cookies, Teas, even flavored Coffee Creamer!

Link to their E-book:  http://fromscratchclub.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/from-scratch-holidays-medium-format.pdf

Fresh Soaps

I thought I would share a few shots of some of my recent soaps:

Sweet Blueberry and Creamy Vanilla mingle in Blueberry Cream...

Mellow, Woodsy Maine Pine....

Sweet Citrus and Earthy Lemongrass...

Sweet & Toasty Oatmeal, Honey & Milk

Holiday Soap Packaging

Holiday packaging is available!

(Holiday packaged soap, only $5.00 )

For just $1.00 more you can purchase a Casco Bay Soap Co. soap all wrapped up and ready for gift giving.   Soaps are tucked into a clear cellophane bags, tied with a fun and festive polka dot bow and have a co-ordinating gift tag.  Soap makes a great gift!   This Holiday season, don't forget your hairdresser, co-workers, teachers, bus driver, mail man....

Find soap all wrapped and ready for grab-and-go gifts at the Brunswick Winter Market on Saturdays at Ft. Andross with me or on Sunday in South Portland with the Craftin' Scot. 

Quercus Design

One of my new favorite local Maine artist!  Jenn of Quercus Design is artist, photographer and beech comber here in Maine.  Creating simply arranged and beautiful art out of found beach items.  She sells locally and here is the link to her Etsy shop:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/QuercusDesign?ref=ss_profile

Link to her blog:  http://quercusdesign.blogspot.com/