Gent- thank you for my first hearty giggle of the day! lol
Carolyn- I think you had too much coffee or not enough.
I do believe you meant to say "Tallow and Lard" instead of "Tallow and Palm".
Welcome Debs!
As far as base recipes go, much will depend on your skin-type and other factors, such as the type of water with which you wash (hard or soft), or if you like lots of bubbly lather, or if you prefer a more creamy-type lather, etc... In other words, what works for one does not always work for another.
For example- the recipe you tried in class looks horrible to Carolyn, but it actually looks perfectly fine to me. One of my main formulas has 50% olive oil and 28% coconut in it and it works wonderfully with my skin.
Can you tell us what kinds of qualities you like to have in soap or if your skin tends to be more dry rather than oily, and/or vice versa? That will help us to be able to help steer you in the right direction.
As far as replacements for palm go, as the others have said, lard and/or tallow are your best replacements. Other more expensive replacements are butters such as shea butter, cocoa butter, mango butter, kokum butter, etc...
IrishLass