Foodie Friday: Sam's Pineapple Sauce

Welcome to Foodie Friday, dear reader. I know I said I would share cookie recipes with you this month; however, after planning my Christmas Day dinner, I could not resist sharing a lovely addition to any ham dinner. Before being introduced to this recipe, I always considered a ham dinner to be kind of "meh." Ham was okay, but it was not my favorite. I enjoy a good ham; however, in my fifty years of life, I have eaten my fair share of grisly hams at holiday dinners.

I prefer spiral-cut hams. However, finding a small butcher who offers this cut is difficult. It will be The Bibbed Wonder, The Bean, GramBarb, and me at Christmas dinner this year. We have a small ham from one of The Bibbed Wonder's pasture-raised piggies, and I decided this would suffice for our Christmas dinner needs. On Christmas day, I refuse to spend the day in the kitchen toiling over a big fancy meal. We enjoy our Christmas feast on Christmas Eve. After dinner, we play games; everyone opens one gift, dons our Christmas pajamas, and waits for the big guy to arrive.

On Christmas day, I make homemade mac and cheese in the crockpot, bake a small ham with pineapple sauce as an accompaniment, create a simple green bean side dish, and enjoy Christmas cookies for dessert. We spend the day in our pajamas, reading, watching movies, playing games, and napping. It's low-key and enjoyable. We take the time to enjoy each other's company and relax. This is a small and welcome break from the daily grind.

The pineapple sauce side dish was shared by my sister many years ago when times were better, and our family was intact. My sister is a fantastic cook and unafraid to try new recipes. The results are often delicious, and many of her recipes have become part of the fabric of my holiday meals. Although relationships evolve or sadly dissolve, food is one connection we never lose.

Today, I will share Sam's Pineapple Sauce, a sweet and tangy accompaniment to ham. Honestly, I can eat this alone with a spoon; it is that good. Eric and Jordan do not like pineapple, but GramBarb and I enjoy this dish, so I make it every time I bake a ham. It's sweet, tangy, refreshing, and delicious. I hope you enjoy it.

Sam's Pineapple Sauce

Ingredients:

1 can crushed pineapple: well-drained

2 tsp. vanilla (I like Sweet Home Vanilla's small batch vanilla extract)

2 eggs; well beaten

1 cup sugar

¼ cup water

2 tsp. cornstarch dissolved in water

4 tbls. butter cut into small pieces and set aside

2 tbls. cinnamon

Directions:

Mix all ingredients except for the butter and cinnamon in a large bowl.

Pour into a well-greased casserole dish.

Top the pineapple mixture with the butter pieces.

Sprinkle the top with cinnamon. I eyeball it, but it's about two tablespoons.

Cover and bake at 350 degrees for one hour. Serve warm.

This sweet, tangy side dish makes even a "meh" ham taste delicious. I hope you and your family enjoy it. Stay safe smart, enjoy good food and good memories on this beautiful sunny day, and keep washing your hands.

Gift Giving Volume II

With Christmas fast approaching, I thought I would share one more installation of gift-giving options in my blog today. I am thrilled to share that my Christmas shopping is done. D-U-N, as my bib overall-wearing goober, likes to joke. This is the first year I feel prepared for the holiday and confident I successfully provided good gifts to everyone on my list. I am sure there will be a few last-minute gifts, but I have a studio filled with products and a small cache of gift-creating supplies.

Last week, I focused on adult gifts with a strong theme of hostess gifts or gifts for teachers/colleagues/neighbors. This week, I would like to focus on little ones and teens. Teens are a challenge. Just a few years ago, I could buy The Bean anything, and she was thrilled. She wore all the clothes I bought her without issue. She enjoyed the toys and other gifts I chose. Sadly, those days are behind me. The Bean is now an official teenager with official teenager attitudes and opinions…sigh.

I am sad that she knows almost all of the gifts under the tree this year because she picked them out herself. Rather than toys, she has asked for gift cards and money. She even went so far as to create a digital gift list complete with links to click on to aid my shopping. My goodness, how the world has changed. I used to take the JC Penny’s catalog and circle the items I wanted. Very few companies even offer catalog shopping anymore. I don’t think Jordan has seen a Christmas catalog in real life. However, I digress.

Going with the theme of relics from my childhood, I have decided to give nostalgic gifts to the few small children in my life. This year, the theme is The Grinch. A few little cuties will receive Grinch-themed pajamas, a Grinch coloring book, and a new box of crayons. Of course, The Mean One and Maximus soaps and Grinch-themed hot chocolate bombs. All are presented in Grinch-themed decorative boxes. We do love The Grinch in the Smay household.

I have more teens in my life than little ones. The Bean likes cozy gift ideas this year. She has requested things like cozy lounge ware, books, paper tabs to keep notes on the books she reads, mugs, tea, and aroma therapy candles. I can relate to these gift ideas and enjoy shopping for them. There are two small, individually owned bookstores in Indiana, PA. The long-standing Book Nook on Philly Street and the new Paper Garden are at 655 Church Street in Indiana. I was thrilled to cross off all the books on my gift list by supporting these two local small businesses. I purchased the most delicious-smelling candles from my friend Amanda Vos, who owns Sweet Home Vanilla. The teas in my gift boxes are from Broken Locust, owned by my friends Pat and Sherry. I got the cutest little wooden hand-carved page holders from The Paper Garden and purchased handmade mugs from a cute little boutique on Philly Street. Paired with cozy loungewear and a soft blanket, I think the teens in my life will be ready to snuggle in with a good book during a snow day.  

A spa-themed box is always a welcome gift if you have someone between thirteen and twenty-five. Fill a basket with soaps, moisturizer, bath gloves, body scrubs, candles, fluffy robes, and slippers presented with a bow, and you have a lovely, personalized gift any young woman would enjoy receiving. Our most popular scents for the younger crowd are Merry Berry, Cashmere Sweater, Nice, Pear, and Toasted Marshmallow. Create a color scheme that coordinates with the soaps, and it’s a beautiful presentation.

This year, I am also gifting gift cards. I took a small glass canister I purchased from Walmart for $5.97, filled it with paper shreds, placed soap, moisturizer, small bags of candy, and a gift card in the center. It’s a lovely presentation and makes more of a statement than simply handing off a gift card in an envelope. You could do themes such as coffee, lavender, almond, or a seasonal soap. Color coordinate everything, tie a bow on top of the canister, and you have a perfect gift.

I hope my ideas inspire you and make your gift-giving a wee bit easier. On this sunny December day, stay safe, be smart, hurry; the big day is fast approaching, and keep washing your hands.

Volume II: Frequently Asked Questions

Answering questions about our products is one of my favorite things to talk about. I can talk soap and goats for hours. If you have met me in person, I may have bored you with talk of the girls, the babies, the billy goats, soap, scents, inspiration, and the soap-making process. I’m a soap nerd. Now, I know not everyone enjoys in-depth conversations about the above topics. Today, I thought I would carry on with the theme of the frequently asked question I began last week.

One would be surprised how often people inquire about how to use our soaps or if our soaps are safe to use on the face, body, undercarriage, and children. The short answer is our soaps are safe to use and are meant to be used on all parts of the body…even the pink parts…insert a wink. The more in-depth answer is our soaps are mild and gentle, have a low PH, and are filled with skin conditioning oils to help nourish the skin, ease dryness, and cleanse you without any residue. However, one must remember that each body is different and reacts differently to scents and ingredients. I always recommend a spot test, especially if one has sensitive skin. I have shared before that I do not have sensitive skin, but lemongrass essential oil is not my friend. I love the scent, but my skin feels like it is on fire when I come into contact with it. Use common sense and err on the side of caution in all cases. If your skin reacts by turning red or you experience an uncomfortable burning sensation, don’t power through and hope for the best. Just because a product is natural does not mean you can’t react to it. Always, always use common sense.

Another frequently asked question is how do we come up with our scents? The answer to this question is I love this part of soap making; I love blending oils and creating new, original scents. This is where my passion lies. I would love to attend perfumery school and have put that on my future to-do list. However, until then, I will research, study, and read all I can about blending scents.

I am inspired by our farm, nature, and the surrounding flora. Along the back wood line, a huge patch of honeysuckle blooms every spring. This was the inspiration for our honeysuckle soap. Along that same path is a large bed of lilies of the valley. This is one of my favorite spots on the farm during the spring season. Our pear-scented soap was inspired by the lone pear tree that stands in the middle of our field. The lilac soap was inspired by the thirty-year-old lilac bush by the barn. The Bean’s toasted marshmallow soap was inspired by the time spent around the campfire roasting marshmallows with her dad. The woodsman soap was inspired by long walks in the woods after a rainfall. I could go on and on. However, most of our scents have a personal meaning and are frequently inspired by our surroundings.

Sometimes, we are asked why our products are so expensive. I have found that those who ask this question often have no genuine interest in our products, natural products, or an appreciation for said products. However, allow me to explain. I choose only to use natural, food-grade ingredients. I could skimp on oils like I could use olive pomace, which is a by-product created by leftovers from the pressing of olives. However, I choose to use food-grade olive oil for its rich emollient and skin-loving properties. I could use palm oil, which is cheaper than coconut oil, but palm oil destroys rainforest habitat for wild creatures such as orangutans and is terrible for the environment. I could use cheap dyes rather than natural micas, but God knows what is in the cheap dyes. I could also use cheap fragrances or synthetic oils filled with petroleum and by-products. However, you won’t seek me out if you want cheap soap. You will go to any store with the word dollar in its name or to a big box store.

In my opinion, there is enough “garbage” out there being pushed by big corporations. These companies fill your head with falsehoods by claiming they have natural ingredients in them. The reality is they may have those ingredients in them, but the amount used is miniscule and has no real benefits. The FDA requires that a company list all ingredients by usage rate in order from greatest to least. If you read our ingredient label, you will see goat’s milk is the first ingredient. All our products begin with our fresh, raw goat’s milk from “the girls” we love and consider family. I don’t use powdered milk bought from the store. Our milk comes right from our goats here on our farm.

When one tallies the cost of maintaining and feeding the girls, the cost of natural and often organic ingredients, the time it takes to create the products, the packaging, and our time, it seems like a bargain. However, some will never see, understand, or appreciate that. I simply smile and wait for those individuals to move along. If you are on this page, reading this blog, you are my people. I love ya!

The last frequently asked question I will share with you is, can we stop by the farm and shop/pick up? I always feel like I’m being mean when I say no to this question. Please allow me to explain. Yes, you may live in the area, over the hill, or down the road. However, we do not have a retail space. If you come to the studio, you are in the middle of where we create our products. This is a problem with many layers. First, it is a hygiene issue. I am not saying you are dirty. However, whenever someone enters the studio, they bring a wide array of contaminants, from pet hair to dirt to body hair…you see where I am going with this. When we enter our studio, we don gloves, roll lint rollers over our clothes, and wear shoes that have not seen the outside world. The Bibbed Wonder has boots he only wears in the studio. I have Crocs that are my “soap-making Crocs.” Hygiene is imperative. We are discussing the use of lab coats/jumpsuits. Our hair (if we have it) is pulled back, and we wash our hands constantly.

Also, when making our products, we must have a sterilized environment. This means wiping down tables, utensils, pots, bowls, and molds with a disinfecting agent. It is simply human nature to touch things, lean against things, or, heaven forbid, sneeze or cough. If that happens, we must disinfect all over again, and it is a timely process.

Lastly, it is a safety issue. Soap making uses lye, which is a caustic material. Everyone who helps us has experienced the unpleasant sensation of a chemical burn. Fortunately, there have been no severe accidents. It is a few drops splashed when pouring, stirring, or rinsing pots. However, the potential for real danger is there. Having random people walking around where we make soap is a safety concern and an insurance issue. Soap making also requires our full attention for the above-stated reasons. We cannot stop what we are doing mid-process to wait on people. We have a small window of time to pour, blend, swirl, and decorate our soaps before they harden. It is not feasible to have people stopping in at their convenience to shop to save $8 on shipping. Perhaps someday, we will have a retail space, but until then, our full line of products are online or can be found locally at Back to Nature, 119 Trading Post, Lone Oak Farm, and Smicksburg Furniture. If you stop by the farm randomly, don’t be offended when you are turned away. Chances are you won’t make it out of your car before one of us meets you in the driveway. We mean no offense, but we must follow safety protocol. I’m sure you can understand.

Now, dear reader, I must don my soap-making Crocs, pull back my hair, disinfect the work table, wash my hands, and get to making almond soap. You all are loving the weekly special, and we appreciate you and your support. On this lovely December day, stay safe, be smart, thank you for your interest in what we do and how we do it, and keep washing our hands.