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Quick Photo: My Vodka Infusions – Bloody Mary and Dry Martini Blends

I am making some vodka infusions! These two are specifically for two cocktails beloved in my home. I love a good spicy bloody mary, and my husband loves dry, dirty vodka martinis.

 

The Bloody Mary Infusion: Smoked Chipotle Peppers, Cilantro (from my garden), Limes, a Jalepeno Pepper, Capers, Roasted Red Peppers, Garlic, Marinated Mushrooms and cocktail onions. I will remove the hot peppers when the heat is right for my taste. The vodka will continue to get more heat if they are left in, which can take away from the smokiness and interest from the other ingredients. I may also add more cilantro, lime and a bay leaf after about 48 hours.

The Martini Infusion: Cocktail Onions, Capers, Garlic and Pimento-stuffed Green Olives. This one is a little bit more straight-forward.

Both of these infusions will be strained, filtered and bottled after infusion. Have you ever infused vodka? I would love your tips, ideas, comments and other feedback!

Coming Soon: MDB Presents SPOILED COWGIRL!

Spoiled Cowgirl products will be sold in their own shop for those customers seeking products with a Western Flair! Sometimes humorous, always luxurious! Click here to follow Spoiled Cowgirl on facebook!

Make A Martini Steak – Craftfoxes

Make A Martini Steak – My Recipe How-To on Craftfoxes.

For those of you who enjoy grilling…try my unusual recipe for Martini Steaks over at the website CraftFoxes.com!

Make a Martini Steak!

M Design Boutique — Wedding/Event Favor Soy Travel Candles

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M Design Boutique — Beeswax Candles

Have you seen M Design Boutique — Beeswax Candles?

Making Bacon Into Soap

I made bacon into soap, and I documented the process with photos just for you!

Using the Cold Process, I turned a beloved everyday food into bars of Maple Bacon Soap!

The first steps are so basic, I am only mentioning them in passing. Cook the bacon. Drain the fat into a can or jar. Eat the bacon. Simple and basic, right? The fun part (after eating the bacon, of course) starts here! This is my photo documentary of how I made Maple Bacon Soap. Be sure to follow the M Design Boutique facebook page to find out when it goes up for sale!

***Please do not try this at home until you have a full education about making cold process soap, which is DANGEROUS if you’re not doing it right. This is NOT A TUTORIAL. This is intended to entertain bacon-lovers or anyone else who couldn’t resist clicking in to see how bacon can be made into real usable soap!***

1. First I cleaned the bacon grease by boiling it with water and then chilling it to allow the fat to rise and water and bacon particles to fall to the bottom of the pan. This is the cleaned fat chilled on top of the water.

2. After draining the water off of the fat and allowing it to dry, I broke up and weighed the bacon fat.

3. After adding Bacon Fat, I topped out to the necessary weight of fats by adding Olive Oil.

4. I thoroughly blended the Bacon Fat and Olive Oil.

5. In preparation for mixing and pouring, I prepared the Mold by lining it with parchment paper. The fragrance oils are ready at my work station.

6. In the microwave in 20 second blasts, I heated the fats until the bacon fat liquified and mixed thoroughly into the liquid olive oil.

7. While preparing the fats and the rest of the work station, my caustic solution (Lye and Distilled water) has cooled to the proper temperature. The Fats and Lye are ready to blend, and I am about to make soap!

8. Next step is mixing the Lye solution into the Fats. I start by stirring and then by emulsifying with a stick blender, as shown in the photo.

9. Stirring the Lye Into the Fats.

10. Emulsifying the Lye and Fat Mixture. This is necessary to kick-start the chemical reaction that turns Lye and Fat into Soap! This chemical reaction is called "saponification".

11. ....and more emulsifying....

12. Emulsified! This is just prior to "trace" which is the stage where the mixture has reached the "almost ready to pour" thickness...like a heavy batter. Time to pour in the fragrance.

13. Mixing in the fragrance.

14. When the drips of the mixture sit on top like this, it is called "Trace" and the soap is ready to pour into the mold.

15. Pouring the mixture into the mold.

16. The soap is in the mold!

17. One last peek before covering the mold to allow the chemical reaction to happen. Now the chemical reaction will heat up the loaf and "saponification" will happen, which is what makes this lovely concoction into soap!

18. Now we wait!

19. It is several hours later and the soap is cooking. This means the chemical reaction worked! The soap is soft and warm to the touch....even the wood mold is warm. Okay. Back to waiting. Overnight and till the next afternoon, in fact. This is a 24 hour exercise in patience. And if you know me, you know that is not my strong suit.

20. Time to unwrap and un-mold the loaf of soap! It has a smoky, buttery fragrance. This is definitely bacon soap! The maple fragrance is light and buttery on top of the smoky and rich smell of the bacon. The fragrance may evolve as the soap cures. If that happens, I hope the maple becomes slightly stronger and the smokiness becomes more subdued.

21. Time to cut the loaf into bars of soap! I chose a straight cutter instead of the crinkle cutter that I often use. This is a masculine soap and I will be including it in my "Mountain Man Essentials Kit" (I will link it from here when it is ready), so I want a nice basic rustic looking bar of soap.

22. The finished bar of Bacon Soap. This will cure for a minimum of three weeks before it is ready to use. I will add updates about fragrance as the soap cures. If you have any questions about my process or products, be sure to comment or click around and see what else I make. I hope you've enjoyed seeing how I transformed the beloved food bacon into soap!