Home-made laundry detergent, Take 2

I have a (not so great) top loader washing machine. After trying several home-made detergents, I find this one works best for me.


In a large pickle jar, mix:


2 cups Washing Soda

2 cups Borax

1 cup Baking Soda

1 bar of soap, grated.

A few drops essential oil, if preferred.


Voila! You have detergent! You can try different soap. I find with my top loader the Ivory soap tends to leave soapy residue. I use Fels Naptha laundry soap. It is not "all natural"...may try Dr. Bronner's soap next time.


Add about 1/2 cup to your washer while the water runs in so it can dissolve.


Experiment! This is a great project for kids to make :). Once you start using your own detergent, you won't want to go back. I also notice that the laundry does not get that musty smell if I forget it in the washer :)....

The Wannabe Farmers - Taking down the Lawn, a few feet at a time.

A day in pictures.

Spring Fever - It's just a tease......

A few weeks ago I was in my back yard, pruning my tree, in a tank top and shorts. I was sweating in the sun. Two days later I was freezing my butt off.

Every time the first warm sun hits me, I get that itch. I want to dig, I want to plant. Then the freeze gets me down.

This time, instead of throwing myself into planting beautiful baby plants that freeze to death, I built new planter boxes to hold my new "Lasagne Garden". I live in an area with stubborn clay soil (perfect for cobb ovens.....if you need some), and hard pan that is only about 2 ft down. Stinks for planting & growing. I read an article about farmers in the dessert using this planting method, so here I go.

If you Google "Lasagne Gardening", you will get several variations. Basically, you building a compost pile and planting in it. You alternate layers of green & brown material: grass, compost, leaves, straw, etc....

I laid down newspaper to kill the weeds, covered it with compost, bone meal, blood meal, alfalfa straw, straw...repeat. I am letting this settle a bit, then repeating again...and planting directly into it in a few weeks when my sprouts are ready.

When life gives you lemons

Not too long ago,while visiting a friend, I admired her blossoming lemon tree. "We never use those lemons."

WHAT?

Of course, I offered to take them off her hands once they are ripe. Now they are.

What's a girl to do with all these fabulous, UNSPRAYED, lemons? Lemon everything, that's what!

Now that I have the fabulous LuLu in my life, I can dry lemons in my oven. My mom immediately thought we should Morocan Lemons, though neither of us Gringas really have any clue how to make them. After googling such, I saw that it was not complicated, but rather that I needed to find the authentic way to make them. Thankfully, my favorite library is always to the rescue.

You quite simply wash the lemons, cut them quarter-wise down the middle without slicing all the way through, cover them with salt, smash them into a Mason jar, cover with lemon juice or brine, close....and wait. Four to six weeks, that is.

Once the skins have softened, you take the lemons, scoop out the meat, rinse off the salt, and enjoy the PEELS in your mediteranean dishes (that will follow once my peels are done). Now you see why you want to use organic or unsprayed lemons, eh? Check some notes below.....






P.S. After I had to remove & restack the lemons several times, here are some notes from this gringa who now knows how to brine her lemons:

1. cut the hard ends off the lemons on both sides
2. If you have cuts on your hands because you are ever so clumsy with knives, shears, etc...let someone else salt and stuff the lemons for you. You guessed it...we could have dubbed this "Moroccan torture"...lemons & salt in cuts, just fabulous.
3. Sort you lemons by size, makes space stuffing procedure much more efficient.
4. The recipes say you need about 1tblsp of salt for every lemon, and about two extra lemons for juice. No way. I needed a bunch of extra lemons for juice. I had a butt load of them, so it did not matter. I made one glass with lemon juice, one with brine. The brine one will take longer. Will report back with results...in four to six weeks, that is.

And as a completely unrelated tidbit, check out what I found at the thrift store today:





I am so giddy about that, as I plan on making lots of wine! But that, my beautifuls, is a whole 'nother post!

"Simply" delicious bread in pinch!

I make my own bread, and I am spoiled. I hate running out of bread unprepared, as a trip to the bakery always ends with frustration at the high price & mediocre taste of the bread.

I discovered this great little recipe online, tweeked it a bit, and want to share. About 70 minutes from start to in your mouth (if you like it hot!! :)...).

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Bread

2 cups of rolled oats (not quick oats, just natural cut oats)
2 cups of whole wheat flour
2 cups of milk (I use kefir, because I have a lot :)..)
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 tblsp honey
2 tblsp apple sauce (recipe calls for oil, I use apple sauce)

Preheat oven to 350. Grind oatmeal in mixer so it has a fine consistancy. Mix all ingredients, put in a greased rectangle bread loaf pan, bake for 1 hour.

Voila!!

Kids love it :). Tastes great with cream cheese, jam, honey....mmmm.....

Let's paint the town red.....

It's a new year, and one of the highest ranking resolutions seems to be "Get Fit". I am right up there with them :).

Let me introduce you to my newest friend: Beet Kvass.

Beet Kvass has to be one of the most auspicious foods I know. Beautiful, red, yummy, super healthy. A staple in many countries, they know what is good for them.

It's easy to make, drink a cup in the morning & evening.

Cut up 2 large or 3 medium organic beets. Place into a 2 quart jar. Add 1/4 cup of whey, fill with water. Close tightly. Keep on counter for 2 days. Then transfer to the fridge, then sip a cup in the morning & evening.

When your jar is almost empty, refill with water and whey, and start over. Discard beets after the second soak.

Enjoy, and happy 2011!!

Hatcho? Hugs? Huckleberries!

In March, I went on a wonderful 3 day vacation with my girls. On the way, we stopped at the Seed Bank in Petaluma. What a fabulous place! I was tempted to buy everything, just to be reminded that I just about kill everything exotic.

So, I picked a pack of huckleberry seeds, and some Gypsy tomatoes.

My huckles grew...I was so excited! I finally got them in the ground. Now, I am not sure where huckleberries normally grow, but I have never seen them here. I bet my huckles wished they never knew me in the summer...105 degrees and melting.

They survived the summer (which was milder than usually, but we had some scorchers), the sporadic watering, the aphid infestation (ew), and Rex. As the huckles ripened, I picked them and put them in the freezer.

Today I went to pick more. The freeze last night really damaged the leaves. So picked a basket and a half of huckles, and said farewell until the spring. I hope my two bushes (which are well over 6 ft, before I cut them back) survive.

In celebration of many celebrations happening this weekend, I will make huckle muffins!

Recipe: http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,184,155160-235204,00.html

Have a Happy ThinkFULL day!
Much love,
Heike