Leslie's Garden Handmade Soap |
Belize Bar | ||
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Belize Bar - Lemongrass Soap
Lemongrass (Cymbopogen citratus) is a grass in the same family as citronella. Most folks recognize its lemony scent and flavor from experiencing those delicious spicy hot Thai soups. It also makes a delicious tea. At holiday time I like to mix dried lemongrass, dried lemon verbena and the dried scarlet flowers of bergamot mint for a colorful holiday tea for gift-giving. Because lemongrass is in the citronella family, it is also thought to be a natural insect repellent. Lemongrass is fun to grow in the garden. I like to go to an Asian market in very late winter and purchase a "clump" of lemongrass from the vegetable department. I then root it in a glass of water. Once spring has come and the last frost is a memory, I plant my rooted clump. This method gives me a much larger clump of grass then when I start with the small plants that are sold in plant nurseries in the spring. In my Maryland climate I have to treat lemongrass as an annual or dig it up and bring it inside for the winter months. It is easy to dry and maintains a decent flavor. I experienced my first Lemongrass while living near Stan Creek in Belize or British Honduras, as it was called then. We wildcrafted our lemongrass as well as a huge hoof-shaped leaf that smelled like sassafras and that I've long since forgotten its name. Every evening we sat on Billy and Taffy's veranda sipping our tea made from the lemony herb while we listened to the sounds of the subtropical bush as evening slipped into night. Naturally I named my lemongrass soap Belize Bar in memory of those times. Its refreshing scent has always made it my top selling bar. It contains saponified olive, coconut and palm oils, shea butter, castor oil and essential oil of lemongrass. It is a silky, smooth, superfatted 4 oz bar with lots of creamy lather for your bathing pleasure. |
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