Homemade Laundry Detergent

As a little experiment, I made this last year and started using it on the first of January.  We have gone OVER one year now and we still haven't even used HALF of what I made!  Keep in mind...there are 3 of us, so if there are 6320937 people in your family, you might use it a teensy bit faster. ;-)

This recipe is all over the internet and I couln't possibly tell you where it originated or I would try to give someone some credit here:

Powdered Laundry Detergent of the Homemade Persuasion:

1 Box of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
1 Box of Borax
1 Box of Pure Baking Soda
2 bars of Fels-Naptha
1 container of Oxy-Clean
Essential oils (optional for fragrance)

1. Grate the bars of soap.
2. Dump the entire boxes of everything together in a giant bowl with the grated soap.
3.  Mix it up. :D
4.  Divide among two 1-gallon containers.  I used 2 of THESE.  If you use two 1-gallon containers, you're not stuck lugging around 2 gallons of soap all year. ;-)

 

 

 

When doing your laundry with this soap, you literally only use about 1-1.5 Tablespoons per load. 

 

I put the soap in first, close the lid, let HOT water in for a few seconds to start soaking the soap (I'm not even sure if this is totally necessary), then put in the clothes, close the lid again and run it on whatever temp I want the clothes washed in.

 

My GF says that her black shirts fade a little too quickly, but I haven't noticed. 

 

Want a STAIN REMOVER?!

 

My daughter spilled curry soup on a brand new pair of WHITE denim shorts. She cried the whole way home.  As soon as she got home, I went to work...  I rinsed out what I could with cold water, sprinkled this soap on top, rubbed it in, then let it sit overnight.  The next day, I sprayed Resolve (yes, I cheated, but I'm convinced my soap was the best place to start) on the stains a few times, then proceded to machine wash them. 

 

The stain didn't come out after the first wash, but that was the only time I ever treated the stain.  It was barely visible, but it was still there...over the next couple of washes, it came completely out.  CURRY soup, you guys.

Afraid you will miss PASTA?!

Here's the thing...everyone says they love pasta.  Pasta is just an almost tasteless vehicle for the sauce though!  When you eat pasta, you feel like a lot of things...mostly like a nap...and REALLLY full.  Did you eat a salad as an appetizer?  No?  Then chances are, you're not going to be getting a serving of veggies with dinner.

In our house, we knock out two birds with one stone...figuratively speaking. :)  We started off mostly using spaghetti squash in the place of pasta.  It's excellent...if you cook it right!  Once you get the hang of it, you realize that it's actually super good all by itself.  The Widget actually loves it with a little grass fed butter and salt as an after-school snack!

Add some pesto, crumbled bacon, and leftover chicken and you've got a family favorite! Srsly...the girls ask for that one constantly.

Edited to add: Thanks to my friend Autumn, it was brought to my attention that not everyone may know what spaghetti squash IS or how to cook it!!  Here's what I had to say:

A spaghetti squash is just an oblong yellow squash and it's always called a spaghetti squash, so people usually know what you're talking about. If you have a "produce place" near you...one that sells mostly produce, that's the easiest place to start. They also have them at Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, and most grocery stores this time of year since it's a winter squash.

This is my favorite method of cooking it:

1. Poke it a few times with a knife (the skin is hard), then stick the whole thing in a 400 degree oven for about 45 minutes. Check it by poking at it with your knife and pull it out when it pierces the skin.
 
2. Wear an oven mit and cut the stem end off, then cut it in half. It's still HOT, so take your time.

3. Scoop out the seeds and slimy stuff, then wait a while for it to cool before using a fork to separate the strands and scoop it into a bowl.

This sounds way harder than it is, lol. If you're not a fan of it the first time, don't give up...it may take you a few times before you decide how "done" you like it...if you like it a little crispier, then cook it less time, if you like it mushier, then cook it more. I leave it on the crispy side, then saute it in the pan with whatever sauce I'm putting on it until it's the texture that I like. :D

Cabbage!  ..............Wait!  Come back!  I'm serious!  Listen...buy a giant cabbage, cut it in half, then thinly slice half, and put the other one away for a later date (trust me, you'll want to make this again). 

Heat a pan on "screamin' hot"(HIGH), but a dollop of coconut oil in the pan and toss in the cabbage.  Season with salt, pepper, and whatever spices compliment what you're going to put on top...my favorites are Ras al Hanout, tandoori, and garam masala.

Let it get a little charred before stirring it up...trust.  Don't let it get mushy...leave it a little crispy. Here's a pic of one of my lunches...the cabbage with caramelized onions and a yummy chicken thigh.

NEXT:  Put stuff on it.  I could seriously do this daily.  I think I even mentioned it in another post here: My wannabe homesteader post.

Paleo seems so easy now...

I feel like it has been an eternity now since we've made the full commitment to become a Paleo household!  I have forgotten all of the uncertainty that comes with giving up your absolute favorite foods....before you realize that you don't have to!!

Look!  Cookies!

There is much controversy in the Paleo community about many things...is this ingredient Paleo? Do I have to start wearing weird shoes to be accepted into your cult?  Do I have to start doing Crossfit...it's so scary?!! 

Look...I have come to the realization that everyone has their own "Paleo".  There is a framework to help you guide your way and the sooner that you can recite what you CAN EAT, then the less emphasis everyone will put on what you CAN'T eat (not that it's any of their damn business).  "High quality and sustainable meats, veggies, eggs, fruit, nuts, healthy fats (NO, for the love of all things sacred, canola oil is not a healthy fat), and natural sweeteners like honey, dates, maple, and coconut sugar."

It's not a DIET.  Yes, people tend to lose a lot of weight when they commit to eating this way, but that's not WHY you should eat this way.  You CANNOT half-ass this or it won't work.  If you think that you can eat strict Paleo all day long and then eat a bowl of cereal for dessert, think again.  If you understand the science behind the way grains affect your body, then you'll understand what I mean.  Read "Wheat Belly".



In my next post, I'm going to give you the tools you need in order to start the transition to a healthier way of life!  Pasta will be the first in the series!  It's so EASY...seriously.

Cinnamon Roll Biscuits and Black Friday

I swear to gravy...if I hear "Black Friday" one more time, I'm going to stab myself in the neck. Srsly.

For those of you that follow me on Facebook, you'll be wondering about how my Cinnamon Roll Biscuits turned out...I think.  Well, they were REALLY good.  I tweaked them to my liking, of course, so I'll be posting the recipe with my personal touch.

Here is the original recipe.

And here is MY recipe:

Ingredients:

3 cups blanched almond flour
1/2 tsp Himalayan sea salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cardamom 
1/4 cup coconut oil/melted grass fed butter or ghee (I used coconut oil)
2 Tbls honey (doesn't need to be raw...you're cooking it!)
2 large room temp eggs (best quality you can get)

For the filling:

1/4-1/2 cup honey (I think...I just squirted it straight from the bottle onto the rolled out dough, and I was muy generoso)
1/2 cup ground pecans/walnuts
1/4 cup coconut sugar
1- 2 Tbls ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp cardamom

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 340 degrees, yes, 340.

In a large bowl, combine the almond flour, salt, cardamom and baking soda.

In a mixer w/paddle attachment (if you have it, otherwise use beaters and a bowl!), beat together the honey and room temp eggs (not the oil/butter yet!).

Add the egg mixture to the almond flour mixture. Mix until decently incorporated, then add the oil/butter. It will be pretty sticky.  You can also let it rest in the fridge for 10 min. This might make it easier to work with, but try the next step before abandoning the dough in the fridge.

Roll the dough out between two sheets of parchment paper, into a giant, thin circle. Take your time and get a good uniform thickness.

Write your name with a squeeze bottle of honey on the dough, then cross it out, then squeeze squiggles over the dough.  A lot...until you think, "That's probably enough."  It's fun, and it tastes good. You can spread the honey around with your hands, if you're OCD, but I didn't and the world didn't stop turning. 

Mix the cinnamon and coconut sugar together in a bowl, then sprinkle it over the dough (use your HANDS, and reserve about 1 Tbs for later), then sprinkle the chopped nuts or whatever else you like in your cinnamon rolls (I like to put an extra shprinkle of Himalayan Pink salt).  Make sure you get everything all the way to the edges and try to keep the filling additions finely chopped so they don't tear through the dough when you start rolling. 

 

Now you're ready to roll it up!  Pick up the edge of the parchment paper and start to roll the edge of the dough away from you using the paper the whole time. Try to start a tight roll from the beginning. Continue rolling until you have a nice uniform log (don't worry if the edges look gnarly. If the roll cracks use the warmth of your hand to press it together and make it smooth again. Be gentle and careful when rolling up the dough. This dough is not as workable as a gluten based flour would be.

With a good bread knife, cut the roll into about 1-1.5" thick slices. Shape them a bit if needed.  Lay the rolls cut side down on to a parchment line cookie sheet. They can be placed apart or connected. Sprinkle the remainder of the coconut sugar/cinnamon mixture on top like this:

Bake 10-15 min.

I suggest staying close to the stove and checking a couple of minutes before the baking time is up. Everyone's oven cooks a bit differently and baking times will vary depending on the size of the rolls. They should be golden with some browning (you can see in this pic that the little edges are barely brown, and they were perfect). The dough toward the center of the roll should be soft but not to doughy. If baked too long they WILL become dry and hard. If cooked just right though, they will be heavenly.

 

When ready, remove from the oven and let cool for about 10 min. If you try to move them before then, they are likely to fall apart.

Makes about 9-10 cinnamon rolls.

Link love.

So, I constantly come across cool websites with a TON of information, recipes, money saving tips, DIY projects, etc.  I don't want to make a habit of just posting a bunch of links, but I thought if I gave you the basics, it might help.

Please keep in mind...NONE of these sites asked to be featured.  I had to reach into my brain and try to remember my favorite sites!  It wasn't easy, people...it's the day before Thanksgiving and I just want to get the hell out of here!

My heart is with Paleo, so let's start there!:

http://nomnompaleo.com/ (I HIGHLY recommend the "Asian Chicken Thighs"...the name is deceptively low key.  This is literally the best chicken I've ever eaten.)

http://paleoparents.com/ (This site is invaluable for parents!  The recipes even have little hearts next to the things the kids can help with.)

http://urbanposer.blogspot.com/  (Seriously, the baked goods on this site are the BEST consistency out there for grain free cooking.  If you've been doing this for a while, you'll know how valuable that is!)

http://www.theclothesmakethegirl.com/ (Whether you eat Paleo or not, this is some of the best food around. Pho Realz.)

http://stalkerville.net/site/chow/ (Like Allrecipes for Paleo)

http://stalkerville.net/site/dessert/ (The dessert version of Allrecipes)

http://fastpaleo.com/ (Another Allrecipes-esque site.  Between these three, you can find anything you used to love and make it Paleo)

Homestead-y links:

http://newlifeonahomestead.com/ (Huge following on this site and tons of great info.)

http://theelliotthomestead.com/ (She dove head-first into homesteading and journaled the whole thing for us to learn from.)

http://www.littlehouseliving.com/

As far as homestead blogs go, I'm still working on a list.  They have to be informative AND a sense of humor is much appreciated...go easy on the religious stuff too.  Everyone has religious preferences, but they're rarely the same as everyone elses.  Please let me know if you have any suggestions!!

Since there are so many links in this post, I think I'm going to wrap this up.  Maybe I'll do this fairly regularly and have a different theme!  Omg...#grownupproblems  I just totally contradicted the first paragraph of this post by suggesting that I'm going to do this again. *sigh*  Great.  I also just realized there are a lot of !!!'s in this post. 

I'm going to go make the Urban Poser's Cinnamon Rolls and report back to you.  Hopefully I remember to take pictures this time. :D

Oh, P.S.  If you shop on Amazon, but don't use an affiliate link, please use this one: Tara Zen's Link for SHOPPING  Black Friday it up, people...from HOME. :D

Sweet Potato Lasagna and on the Homestead front...

As I sat here eating my Sweet Potato Lasagna with 2 pastured eggs on top...I started daydreaming about having chickens...and what I'm going to do with my trash....and do I want a log home?  I really want to be totally self-sufficient.  I suppose I should buy that chunk of property before I get too ahead of myself...

This lasagna is super duper, btw.  I will share the recipe. :D

Sweet Potato Lasagna
tweaked quite a bit from the original recipe here

Ingredients

• 1 lb hot Italian sausage, casing removed
• 1 large white/yellow onion
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 cups spaghetti sauce (I used the sauce from Well Fed 2)
• 2 Tbs coconut oil
• couple leaves of fresh basil (leave it out if you don’t have it, just freshens up the sauce a bit)
• 2-3 small sweet potatoes

Method

Crank your oven to 400ºF.

In a saute pan, saute the onions & garlic in coconut oil, then brown the sausage.

While that’s going, peel the sweet pots and slice 'em with the slicing thingy on your food processor. If you don't have one, don't fret, just slice them into planks 1/4-1/2 inch thick...just make sure they're a uniform thickness so that they all cook evenly.

Mix the sausage/onion/garlic mixture together with the rest of the ingredients minus your potato planks...this way you only have to layer 2 things instead of 3-4.  Trust me, it all tastes the same.

Using a 9×9ish oven safe, lubed baking dish, start layering the potatoes and the sauce. Repeat until all your ingredients are used up…trying to reserve enough sauce to cover the top of the lasagna.

Bake for 45 minutes. You’re looking for a bubbly pan with a crispy, browned top. Right out of the oven, the lasagna may by liquidy, let it set for a good half hour before cutting into it, as it will solidify.

Serve for dinner with a salad, or for breakfast with a couple of runny eggs and some fruit...dude...seriously tasty.

I wonder if people read the stuff that comes after recipes...

I want a homestead. Is this the first post in a series?

The more I get into the Paleo lifestyle, the more I like the idea of sustainable living.  Shows like American Blackout and Doomsday Preppers...as irritating and ignorant as they can be...also make me want to be less reliant on others for things like...food, water, and power.

I have become absolutely obsessed with buying property, paying it off ASAP, then starting to develop it into a totally self-sufficient homestead.

My head is just SPINNING right now with ideas since I found parcels of land for under $40K.  Beautiful, mountainous, HUGE parcels of land with oodles of potential.

Since I know that people read these blogs for recipes, I'll give you the one that I'm eating for breakfast:

1 head of cabbage
1 large onion
3 pieces of cooked bacon
Salt & Peps
Eggs for serving

1. Dice the onion, caramalize it in the bacon grease, then set it aside.
2. Make the cabbage into thin strips (shred) however you see fit, then saute it in a super hot pan until it has charred bits and is mostly cooked.
3.  Crumble or chop the bacon, then combine it with the onion and cabbage.  Season w/salt and peps, cover with eggs (cooked to your liking), and enjoy!
4.  If you have leftover cabbage mixture, serve whatever protein you want for dinner on top of it...we have a constant supply of this in the fridge and cover it like pasta.