Goat Soap

In wandering my new neighborhood to see what surprises it holds I made it down to the Farmer's Market last weekend. The Dallas Farmer's Market is very large and can be quite confusing because up until recently there were stands set up in the sheds that basically provided produce and products imported from the same far off lands as the local Wal-Mart. Luckily for those of us that are interested in buying locally made products, produce & meat they have changed things around a bit this year. Now all the local farmers are located in one shed and if one or more of their products is locally grown or made by them they have a sign up that says " I grew this _________. So no more guessing as to whether they actually grew those tomatoes or stopped by the local Wal-Mart on the way to the Farmer's Market bought them on sale and then marked them up, nice trick. There was not a lot of local produce available at this time of year, it being very late summer and all, but we did find some locally grown cucumbers, tomatoes and okra, all which tasted amazing compared to the local grocery fare. I also came across a nice lady sitting behind a stand full of soap. I seem to always be fussing about soap as I have kind of sensitive skin that is prone to becoming itchy and red if exposed to any unkind detergents. This lady is one of the owner's of French Cross Ranch in Hubbard, Texas. They raise three breeds of dairy goats: Tottenburg goats, the oldest registered breed of any animal in the world, LaMancha goats, which is an ear less or gopher goat (scary!) and French Alpine goats that originated in the Alps. From these dairy goats they make goat's milk soap. No weird additives from China, just soap the way people used to make it. I was intrigued since I am particularly fond of warm spice scents and she had some cinnamon oatmeal soap for sale. So I bought a few bars and started using it this week. Amazingly enough it is the most wonderful soap I have ever used. No dry skin or itchiness, no weird chemically produced fragrance, no worries that it was made from Chinese battery acid. It made me feel good to buy a locally made product directly from the producer. She got a fair price for her work, I could ask all the questions I wanted about it and it kept my money in the local area; what a concept. So anyway, if you live in these parts go see her at the Farmer's Market or give the Ranch a call (903) 641-2003, I am sure she would be glad to take your order or send you an order form.