Firewood and Morels

Well hello all.

I do hope everyone had a pleasant Mother's Day weekend.

While some women might want diamonds and pearls,

my sweet hubby brought home something a bit more practical.

Precious stones don't really burn as well.

This is out behind the shop where I usually wouldn't show anybody.

We are afraid they are going to shut the forests down early

due to the drought so decided to get wood in the spring this year.

Hubby found a fortunate surprise while heading towards the wood.

Morels!

He loves them sautéed in butter.

I received a bit of a bonus as well.

This is actually a tamarack,

which is wonderful to burn and the pitch is just as 

beneficial in making my soap as pine.

If you missed that, you can find it right here. 

I only got about 1/3 cup, but enough to infuse oil for 1-2 batches.
We had all the wood split and stacked by about 7:30pm.

Mr. LB said that he thinks he likes getting wood in the spring
if he can get morels as well.
He was so excited,
he went back up yesterday after work and found a few more.

That's the same bowl as above!
He was just getting ready to clean these up
so never mind the bits of grass and such.
This morning he said he might head back up after work again today.
I asked if he was going to be able to eat them all.
"Oh, yea."
He did take a few to share with a couple of co-workers so
he's not completely stingy.

If you usually wait until fall to get your firewood and you like morels,
spring wood-cutting might be something to consider.

Until next time,
Nimble Fingers and Even Stitches

Pine Resin Soap

Some time back,

I shared that I was infusing oil with pine resin.

It is a natural antiseptic

and smells absolutely wonderful.

You can see how it came about right here.

To my embarrassment, 

I forgot to share the results

once the oil was infused.

I have made a couple batches of soap

and a small batch of lotion bars.

It makes a great soap;

however, there were a few differences.

When I went to use the stick blender,

it thickened really quickly.

Also, it is darker than usual

which doesn't really matter to us.

It's usually a soft white color.

Mr. LB was having reactions to store bought soap~

even the ones for sensitive skin.

He has had no reactions and loves the smell of this.

If you have the opportunity to get some pine sap,

I would strongly suggest it.

The sap in a thrift store pan
that I don't ever plan on using
for kitchen purposes.


I heated it over a low heat
so it could be poured into
a glass jar and mixed
with olive oil.





I filled each jar about
1/4 full then poured olive oil
in to fill the jar.
I actually left it for about
2-3 months before using it
for the soap.
For the first batch,
I used all infused oil.
The second batch,
I used half infused and 
half regular olive oil.
It turned out equally well
with no other changes made to the recipe.

I treasure this oil and will be on the look out for more any time
we go get firewood from now on.

Until next time,
Nimble Fingers and Even Stitches

It was Sap/Pitch for Salve

If you happened to wonder by

a week or so ago,

I posted this picture to see if you could tell what it was.

The prior weekend, we went and got a load of firewood.

We found a red fir which burns well.

The kicker was that it was full of pitch.

I saved it and later heated it.

As it heats, it becomes more liquid.

And more transparent.

It will be infused into olive oil for salves and balms.

Pine (& fir, tamarack etc.) pitch has natural antiseptic properties.

So after 3-6 weeks,

I will pour the oil off and use it.

The ratio is 1 part pitch to 2-3 parts olive oil. 

The pitch pretty much ruins whatever you put it in

so I bought a very cheap pan from the thrift shop, a clean stick

for stirring, and am using jars that I had for recycle.

Also, when I was working with it and had it heating,

I had a brown bag on the counter.

I still managed to drip a few drops on the stove

then the olive oil ran down the side of the container.

The pitch need to harden to remove it more efficiently,

and the oil cleans up with warm water,

so it was one or the other.

This is a first attempt for me.

I am thinking as the pitch cools, it will solidify

and settle to the bottom.

I will have to keep you posted.

The other perk is that heating it indoors made the house

smell absolutely wonderful:)

Until next time,

Nimble Fingers and Even Stitches