Fresholi | Melting Pot Café

Morning all.

My friends told me about the fun to be had on this site so here I am!

I'm a soapmaker and I make my own skin care products.  I also try to live healthy by making my own butter/bread and cooking meals from scratch.

Thank you for letting me join

Shirley

Hello Shirley, welcome.

How long have you been making soap? There are all levels of experience here.

AK mentioned your blog yesterday and I was intrigued by your butter making; until I moved to Wales I hadn't come across the habit of leaving the cream until it was "on the turn". Mum generally made butter every other day and never left the cream longer than the third day.

Hi Shirley & welcome!  I read your blog the other day courtesy of Afrokelt.  Glad you've joined us & I hope you have fun - we're a bit batty to say the least.
Jo

Hello and welcome Shirley :)
I enjoy cooking good food and bake my own bread too (when I'm not making soap).  I haven't tried making my own butter but I'd like to give it a go.
I hope you enjoy it here, everyone here is so helpful and nice!

Hi Shirley  (:hug:) It is lovely to see you here. Your blog is very interesting. Do you know when you will be on tele?  ;D

Hi Elaine

I didnt know it was a tradional Welsh way of buttermaking until I read your message.

I got the idea of waiting until the cream was turning from rivercottage I think.  I loved this because I would often see cream on the reduced section but never really know what to do with it.  I would buy it and freeze it for cooking but wanted new ideas so this worked perfectly for me.

I cant remember how long I've been soapmaking.  Probably about seven years or more.  I'm more into soaps that cleanse and moisturise my skin though rather than adding colourings/fragrance etc.  Although I once made a soap from one of my aloe vera plants and it went pink!

I tend to stick with a few ingredients as a base.  I always use coconut, shea and coco butters.   Then its in with the luxury oils such as jojoba.  I enjoy moneysaving but soap is a bit of a luxury and I dont mind spending more on ingredients to get a really good soap.

JoJo My husband has always called me weird so I think i'll fit in!  He says i'm like a mrs wicker basket.  Mind you he stopped laughing when Channel 5 called about the interview.  

Paloma it seems like we have a lot in common.  You must try the buttermaking, I really think its one item thats dead easy and tastes so much better than shop bought.  Its got a real creamyness to it.

Errrrr I think its tonight gulp!!!

When I last spoke to the editor she said they were getting my clips ready and they would be shown tonight if all goes well. 

Its on Channel 5 at 7.30pm.  Its called 'it pays to watch'  Its a show about Martin Lewis, the moneysaving guru.  They show you ways to cut costs and claim back fees etc.  I feel really flattered that he thought I was interesting enough to be on his show.  Let me know what you think wont you?

PS where do you know me from? I'm intrigued!

Hi Shirley and welcome to the mad house will have to look out for you on tv tonight,

see this forum has lots of soon to be famous people.

and if any one wants to send me some fresh homemade bread you are more than welcome to

Hi Shirley and welcome. I am new to soap making and have come on in leaps and bounds since discovering this forum. Everyone is so helpful and willing to share their knowledge.
I also make my own bread tho it's in the breadmaker, I don't suppose it counts but I prefer it any day to the supermarket stuff.
Mai you are welcome to a loaf anytime! Just give me the nod. Postmen are not squirrels are they so it should get there in one piece. ;D

Shirley I will look out for you tonight. My there are some up and coming women on here. I am raising my glass (well cup of tea then) to the power of the female mind.  

Take care

Hi Shirley

Welcome!

I know you from another forum too  ;) I've sent you a PM.

Suzette

Hello Shirley  :hi:,

I'm just popping on to say a big HELLO from me.  I think you are fairly local to me in L, is that right? (I read on your blog  :)).  I will be back again later but didn't want you to think I was being rude.

Indeed, we do have a lot of fun on here (Non-Cosmeholic) but there is such a wonderful fusion of different experiences here regarding hand crafted products, I for one have learned so very much. 

Doh!  I wanted to see that programe tonight but I have a client at 7pm, so I think I will miss it  :(  No doubt I'll get the lowdown though from those that do see it (please  ;D). 

Thanks for joining us and helping to further enrich this lovely community of lovely people  :)

Thanks for all the lovely comments peeps, I'm having a great time reading up what everyone does!

Jane I often make my bread in the machine.  Its a good way of getting up to delicious warm bread for breakfast.  Otherwise I'd be up at 4am getting it ready.  I make it by hand on the weekend because I like the shape of hand baked and also I make a lot of bread cakes (balms to you non yorkshire folk)

Helen I live in Ashby de la Zouch.  Its a nice place as we have a golf course and nature reserve behind us and the national forest starts across the road!

Thanks again guys

Hey, you are just up the road from me Shirley  :hap3:

No, really?  brilliant, I shall pm you!

How exciting! I'll try and watch it, funnily enough I only found out today that the MSE (Money saving expert)  had a television program!

I know you from another forum a while ago, different username. (i've pm'ed you) ;D

MSE is brilliant, i'm always in the old style forum!

I've just emailed the cameraman to see if I can get a copy of my clips so I can put them on my blog.  Hopefully he can do this.

My mother has rang everyone she knows to tell them and my brother who fixes boilers in peoples houses has told all his customers!!

Hi Shirley
Welcome to this lovely board, I would have said hello earlier but my broadband went out for several hours which meant I couldn't work (shame  ;)) so I went out shopping instead!
Have Sky+ the programme & will watch later, looking forward to it.
Best wishes
Karen

hi Shirley

also meant to add a welcome....no idea how I missed your original post...which meant that I missed the show too! :clueless:

will definitely catch up next week

Hi Shirley, good to see you here FINALLY!!   ;D
You'll fit right in!!

Thanks again for the welcome guys.

Afrokelt you took your time coming over to say hi.  I've been skyping you for three days, I thought you had ran away!  :rasp:

Sorry chic...have been off skype...i know i said it'd be just a day but ...
I was in the shop when i was texting u this am...me thinks an idiot's guide to growing tomotoes might be cool ;)

How fantastic would that be!!!!!   :yipee:

See, Shirl, Iam not alone!Plus it'd be great to grow something other than nettles and aloe vera!!
 

Hiya, hoping this is ok to post. Wondered if this might be of some use to you.  This chain of supermarkets are selling growing kits as of Sunday 20th January

http://www.aldi.co.uk/uk/html/offers/2867_4872.htm

The kits are for:

Chilli Pepper Cayenne, Tomato Moneymaker and Pepper Californian Wonder

How lovely! ta Nessa, wonder if mi can grow them indoors? ;)

I'm not sure how interesting my tomoto growing would be to people as I grow hydroponically (without soil)  I could show pics of my plants though when the juicy toms are ready for eating!

I have an indoor hydroponic set up with a little growing light so at the moment I have fresh lettuce that I can pick for a lovely salad.  Not many can say that in January!

Shouldn't be a problem Zoe providing you have plenty of natural light - most tomatoes are grown in greenhouses. There are specific outdoor varieties and dahn sarff people also grow chilli and capsicum outdoors (bringing in for winter).

Trouble with the NW is more rain, therefore more cloud and less sun than over the other side.

(if you are growing tomatoes don't let the leaves touch white or pale garments - they'll go yellowy in the wash!!)

Hi Zoe, you can grow them indoors on your windowsill with plenty of light (like Elaine J says), i am nurturing okra and pepper plants at the mo   :)

If you are going to grown them indoors though I would choose a minature variety.  Money maker grow to six foot easily during their first year so could be a problem.

If you have any outside space at all its easy to get an outdoor variety and put it in a grow bag. 

I grew toms in my hanging basket last year, the taste was great and they made a great fun feature, all the little cherry toms hanging down!

Ooh Ta EJ and Nessa....would love to have a go, but like Elaine says, the cloud cover is pretty dominant around here...even in "summer" time....I do have a lot of sunlight in mi kitchen window when it breaks through cloudage

oooh I'd love some okra too!!
Checked hydroponics...sounds complicated...i really want fresh tomotoes though...
so those moneymakers would not suit for inside...hanging baskets sound good and hopefully easier? (yep that's important as I am soooo far from green fingered!)
so which variety can i plant just outside my kitchen door? it's a raised bed/patch. and doesn't get a lot of sun...i do have space for a hanging basket outside my front door...

Shirley, this is very interesting, you don't grow them with soil?  How is that done? (keep it simple for me  :clueless:)

Helen, hydroponics is the growing of plants (with or without grow lights) where you add liquid nutrients (usually found in soil) to the plants at a measured rate.

I grow my toms/cucumbers/peppers etc in perlite (which is a white medium that supports the plants roots)  I water them with nutrient solution as I would water with plain water.

The idea behind it is that as all the nutrients are readily available to the plant, it doesnt have to grow a big root system and can put its energy into growing upwards and developing its fruit.  The plants do seem to grow faster and I was eating tomatoes a good few weeks before my dad who grows his in soil.

I dont use a lighting system in my greenhouse as sunlight is available, however it is easy to set up a grow room in a basement/cellar and give the plant all it needs to grow happily and healthily.  I'll try popping a pic of my lettuce on here somewhere or my blog.  Its only a little system but there is no way I could grow lettuce outdoors at this time of year.  I get enough lettuce to keep my family supplied over winter.

I've just bought another aerogarden system to grow some herbs in as I love cooking with herbs and they cost a fortune in the supermarket.

Sorry I'm a gadget freak, I could go on for hours!

Hi Shirley,

Welcome  ;D

Nikki

Afrokelt I replied to you but its gone, so either I pm'd you or I pm'd someone else lol!

I grow tomatoes every year, I already have my seeds for this year, I'm a seedaholic.  I grow all sorts in grow bags, this year I'm adding the hanging basket variety, want to see if I can grow them on the corner of my south facing house, the only problem could be if it gets extra windy, the toms could end up next door!

Go for it, its very rewarding growing food.

Karen

that pm went AWOL!!
Shirl you make the hydroponic sound so easy...but even the word is scary...
i'll be hunting for the seeds this week....also grow bags...
It does get a bit windy here...especially this time of year but i'll have to chance that i guess...the hanging basket will actually be in front  which is sun facing .

Well I dont know what happened then because I typed it out and it just went!  Thats the trouble with trying to do five things at once!

Just remember to buy the hanging basket variety!  I didnt even bother putting in nice flowers to disguise it... its a tomato, who cares what it looks like!  My mother was tutting at me until she saw it bulging with sweet little toms.  I let it grow on its own so it wasnt fighting for root space and it seemed to work.

I'll phone you one day in the week anyway, just in case this pm gets lost lol!

was talking to DP and he has agreed to do me a little green house IF I will use it ;D Happy days...
Lookign forward to your call...will also be back on skype this week...at least that's the plan:-)