Hot days and popsicles

Even as an adult, summer days still equal popsicles.  As a kid, I would make them out of juice or Kool-Aid.  The idea remains but the recipes have changed.  Here is a recipe I made and hopefully they will cool you off as well.

4 Black tea bags

2 Green Tea

Handful of mint

*1 stalk of lemongrass

1 cup Granulated sugar

3 cups Water

* You can substitute the lemongrass for the juice of 1/2 a lemon.  I have it growing in my garden, so that is why I'm using it.  

Enjoy!!!

Yogurt!

Making the buttermilk and has made me wanting to try other things. Since I like to add yogurt to my smoothies, I thought I would give making yogurt a shot. It’s so easy and I wanted to share it with you!

I take about 4 cups of milk and heat it just to the point of boiling and then sit it on the counter to cool for just a couple minutes. Then I add the whey of a plain, store bought yogurt. (the clear liquid that separates from the solids is the whey) I give it a good mix, and put it in a container with a lid. 

Next I cover it and set it out on the back porch for 5 hours. I live in a very hot climate, which is perfect for yogurt making. 5 hours later…YOGURT! If you don't live as close to the sun as I do, wrap it in towels and keep it indoors.  It’s not as thick as store bought, but I put it in cheese cloth, let the whey drain (which I save for the next batch), and I have a new batch of yogurt, made by me and so much cheaper than store bought.

Make your own laundry detergent

Recently I was asked how I make my own laundry detergent, so I thought I would share the recipe with you.

4  Cups - hot tap water
1  Fels-Naptha soap bar (or any laundry bar soap)
1 Cup - Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda*
½ Cup Borax

Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir until soap dissolves and is melted.

Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.  

I saved old laundry detergent containers to refill with my batch.  Just whisk the mixture before adding, since it keeps gelling.

You can add your own essential oils for a lovely scent, however I don't bother.

Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons.

Top Load Machine- 1/2 C per load

Front Load Machines- ¼ Cup per load 

*Arm & Hammer "Super Washing Soda" - You can find it in some stores such as Ace Hardware or purchase it online. Baking Soda will not work, nor will Arm & Hammer Detergent - It must be sodium carbonate!!

Money saving hair rinse

So, I heard about this no-poo shampoo movement.  tee-hee.  Just hit me as funny.  Sorry.  Anyway, I decided to try it.  Anything that is green and cheap, I'm up for.  And it's easy to make.  I made the "shampoo" over the weekend.  I tried it.  All day I kept walking around the house going, "this is just not good, I'm not liking this at all."  It's not that it didn't clean.  I think it did.  My scalp felt refreshed.  It didn't get itchy like it does if I don't wash it.  But it did stay wet for hours.  Odd.  What I didn't like, was the feel of my hair.  Sticky.  And unbelievably difficult to brush without conditioner.  My hair is curly, and to brush without conditioner is like wrestling King Kong.  The brush will not win.  So I gave it the weekend off.

Today I made the rinse.  I did the one with lemon juice, not vinegar.  This cannot possibly work.  But I tried it anyway.  Wash with the "shampoo", then condition with the rinse.  I left it in while I was showering and then rinsed out the rinse.  Towel around hair.  Went to brush.  AHHH!  It worked!  Yes, I'm telling you it worked.  My brush managed with great ease to slide it's way through my curls and wait for it, it was not sticky.  Girls, I'm telling you you've got to try this.  Why are we spending money on store bought, when we could save and spend it on something fabulous.  Like shoes! Or yarn! Or chickens!  You get my drift.  But it did work.  Really.  Another thing I liked about it, with just the shampoo, no shine.  Looked dull, like I sprinkled powder on my head.  In a way I did, there's baking soda in the recipe.  Now, today, I used the rinse, the shine is there. Happy, happy.

I've heard it can take up to two weeks for your hair to adjust.  But I'm doing just fine.  I'm going to use my regular shampoo on the weekends, when I'm seeing people or I'm in a rush, but  I think I've found a new friend.  Let me know if your interested in the recipes.  So easy.

Recipe for Dishwashing Detergent

Laundry detergent is one of my favorite things to make.  It's easy and I always have a 5 gallon batch of it in the garage just waiting for me.  I love it because:
1.  I know what's in it
2.  No more heavy jugs to carry from the grocery store
3.  It saves me tons of money

Recently I found that two of the ingredients I use in my laundry detergent can also be used in making dishwasher detergent.  Another heavy jug crossed off my list!!!  This one is even easier to make.  I just made a batch.  I'll give you the recipe, and you can tell me how you like it.

1 cup borax
1 cup washing soda (not baking soda)
1/2 cup citric acid (amazon.com sells this the cheapest, but you can also purchase it at wine making shops)
1/2 cup kosher salt

Mix it all together and keep in a can under your sink.  Make sure you label it.
Use 1 tbsp.  for each load of dishes.

For a rinse agent, pour white vinegar into your "rinse aid" compartment.  Please leave me a comment to let me know how much you love this recipe.

Another use for Vodka

I love to make anything that you might normally take for granted and pick up at the local supermarket.  and this is one of them.  This just has to be the easiest project I've ever found.  Homemade vanilla.  Do you wanna make it?  Go get yourself a bottle of vodka.  A bottle around 750ml.  The cheaper the better.  You don't need the fancy, expensive stuff for this project.  Then get yourself some vanilla pods.  They are long, brown, and skinny like green beans.  And the smell is, well, ahhhhhh.  So yummy.  So look around, because the fresher the better.  I have found them at  Whole Foods, vitamin shops, health food stores, and the oddest, a pharmacy.  Don't ask.  I didn't.  And they had the freshest ones.  If they are fresh, they will be soft, and maybe a little sticky, but if not, stiff and dry.  You only a couple.  Maybe three if you have small ones.  But if you bought a package with more than you need, you can wrap them up and freeze them.  Now take your vanilla pods and cut them down the center and scrap out the center.  DON'T THROW THIS AWAY! These are tiny little seeds.  Scoop them up and drop them into your vodka bottle along with the vanilla pods. Shake the bottle well.  Label the bottle with the date, and what it is (you don't want your husband accidentally turning this into a martini).  And put it in a dark spot at the back of your pantry.  Shake it occasionally.  Come back in nine months to a year.  By then it will have changed color, and smell divine.  Use it in any recipe that calls for vanilla.  And when you get about halfway through the bottle, start the whole process all over.  What do you think?

One potato, two potato

What to plant?  How about a potato?  What?  Yes, a potato.  It' so easy.  You probably have all you need in your house right now.  Seeds?  Nope.  A potato.  This isn't rocket science folks.  You can do this.  I can do this.  

Have you ever left a potato in your pantry and suddenly it has white shoots all over it?  They are called eyes and it means your potato has sprouted.  You can't eat the shoots, their poisonous, but you can plant them.  And it doesn't matter if your using a little garden patch, or some type of large planter.  Remember your growing potatoes, and they are going to need room to grow under the soil so a small pot will not do.  Leave your potato intact and plant with your eyes facing upward.  Cover completely with your soil.  And walk away.  In 90-100 days, your plant will start to die.  Pull it out. Underneath should be a bounty of freshly grown potatoes.   Now what to do with them?

How about a lovely Irish recipe?

Colcannon

Slice up about a cup of cabbage.  The thinner the better.  Sauté with butter.  Trust me.
In a separate pot, boil your peeled potatoes and make mashed potatoes with cream, butter, and a dash of salt and pepper, add in your cabbage and shred in some ham.  Mix together and YUM!

Sweet tea!

Have you been looking for the perfect sweetener for your cup of tea?  I know this sounds off track, but I promise it's related.  Try Stevia.  No, I don't mean the powdery substance that comes in a box at your local supermarket.  I'm talking about the plant.  

I purchased this tiny little $3 plant, the size of a soda can, at a home improvement store about three years.  It comes up every year.  Although it dies in the winter, it pops back up in the spring as a kind of bush.  It's more like stalks, but it's usually the first to show it's face in the spring.  I noticed that if I just pop it into a hot cup of coffee, I don't notice it as well.  But once cooled, wow is that sweet.  The taste is a little unusual, but it's sweeter than sugar and zero calories.  ZERO!  Think of it.  No calories and you don't have to go to the store for it. 

 I like to make sweet tea with it.  I take mint from the garden (be careful growing mint, it can dominate your garden) one bag of regular tea (or not) and a handful of stevia leaves.  Put them all in a mixing bowl, pour hot water over and let it steep.  I wait about 10 minutes, but you can wait longer if your busy.  Strain it, and put it in the fridge to cool.  When your ready, pour over ice and AHHH!  No cal.  I even take some of the tea and make ice cubes with it, so it's not being watered down while I'm searching for the remote.  (It always rolls under the couch!)  Try it.  Let me know what you think.