Home At Last! with Patty Gironda

With a few days off to relax and play I've lined up a few projects that I have wanted to work on for awhile. My first project is a batch of milk and honey bar soap with lavender. A smooth, silky experience for my favorite winter activity! Luxurious hot baths in my favorite tall pedestal soaking tub! The lavender flowers are a healing natural scrub for face and hands and the honey provides a delicate, soft scent to the creamy texture of the soap!  Preferring lavender flowers over scented carrier oils I appreciate the more delicate scent of lavender than the addition of lavender-scented oil.   The pretty white bar on the bottom is a Milk & Honey  Bar with super emolient properties and a delicate scent.  Sitting on top is a Peppermint Vanilla Face Bar.  Hyper-sensitive to overly scented bath goodies I'm really pleased how these bars came out.  More about the luxurious feel than the heavy scent I made all of this w...

  I love the reactions that lavender and pink peppercorns evoke out of the general public.  I have used both to flavor and adorn foods.  I often pare lavender with my honey creme sauce to add a soft, floral scent for the nose before the silkiness of the honey touches the tonque.  It's a very sensual paring that creates a sense of well-being. (Lavender is often used to infuse baths; creating a sense of calm.) The pick peppercorn, not of the pepper plant, is best used as a pretty garnish for dishes that might need a little color. . .like a period at the end of the sentence. My favorite use of them is for a dish of pork medallions with a simple cream sauce.  It's a light dish and only requires a few of the pretty little buds.