September Giveaway Time!

For this month's giveaway, I thought I would do my all-natural laundry detergent. 

I've been especially thankful for the money it saves me lately.  It seems that I am washing more clothes lately than ever before.  Take Girl 2 Wednesday -- she wore one outfit to school, a second one to tumbling class, and was about the change into a 3rd before an evening jog with daddy when I convinced her that she could just jog in her leotard (and shorts, of course).  Or, take Little Boy who is exceptionally excited about his new-to-him tennis shoes and wants to wear them all the time.  We take our shoes off when in the house.  He's got super-sweaty feet, so he doesn't want to put wet socks back on everytime he's ready to go back outside.  All this means that he may go through 4 pairs of socks a day.  (I know I could fight him on this, but I'm just so excited that he's mostly putting the socks and tennis shoes on by himself.)

The basic recipe for the laundry detergent uses these basic ingredients.  You could easily whip some up for yourself.

What makes my mix special, though, is that I don't use Ivory or some other ready-made soap.  Instead, I use soap shavings from my very own Coconut Laundry Soap.  This substitution to the regular recipe makes the laundry soap 100% all-natural and fragrance-free.

Whoever wins this month's drawing will receive a sour-cream-sized tub of laundry detergent.  At 2 Tbs. per load, it ought to last awhile!

So, how do you win?

I need some great CrockPot recipes for fall!  Fall means extra-curricular activities are back in full swing for our brood, and some of our weeknights are downright crazy around here.

Tuesday:  5:00-7:00 (including travel time) soccer practice for John and Girl 2

6:15-7:00 Hip Hop class for Girl 1

Wednesday:  3:30-6:15 dance team, jazz, tap, and tumbling for Girl 1

5:45-6:15 tumbling for Girl 2

Thursday:  5:00-7:00 soccer practice for John and Girl 2

5:30-6:30 ballet for Girl 1

What in the world will we do when Little Boy starts having evening activities, too?

Anyway, all this means that sometimes I am shuttling kids around during the time I would otherwise be prepping dinner and/or that we eat in shifts.  CrockPot meals solve both problems. They make it possible for me to be out of the kitchen in the hour before dinnertime and keep the meal warm for those who have to eat dinner at the later shift. 

And, yes, those of you who know me, I am saddened by the fact that we don't get to sit down together for dinner everynight anymore.  I guess we're entering a new season; at least we still get to have breakfast together.  Not having dinner together, though, means that important business, like our vote on what we're going to be for Halloween, has to be tabled until we can all be together.  (Yes, it's a very democratic process and a very big decision that we don't take lightly around here. :)

So, submit a CrockPot recipe or link to a recipe that you've tried out, and you'll be entered in the drawing for the laundry soap.

Please respond by Monday to be entered in the drawing.  Thanks!

Spinach and Goat Cheese Frittata

I love to find recipes that are not only delicious but also make use of some of the foods that we're producing right here in our backyard.  With goat cheese and eggs on the ingredient list, this Frittata turned out to be one of those recipes!

It's very similar to the Spinach Quiche that we love, but uses lots less cheese, more eggs, and is crustless.

Ingredients:

1 Tbs. olive oil

1/2 medium onion, thinly sliced

Kosher salt and black pepper

5 ounces baby spinach

10 large eggs, beaten

4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled

 (If you don't have goat cheese stockpiled in your freezer, you could probably sub in Monterrey Jack or Gouda and yield similar results.)

Directions:

Heat oven to 400 degrees.  Heat oil in a medium ovenproof nonstick skillet (do those really exist?  We didn't have one, so I went with a well-oiled cast iron skillet) over medium-high heat.  Add the onion and 1/2 tsp. each of salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally until golden brown.

Add the spinach and cook, tossing, until wilted.  Add the eggs and sprinkle with the goat cheese.  Give it a quick stir to be sure everything is mixed in.  Cook until the mixture begins to set around the edges, then transfer the skillet to the oven and bake until set, 10-20 minutes.

Voila!  A yummy frittata that all 5 of us actually ate (yep, even the pickiest one of us -- I'm not naming names)!

We paired it with a loaf of whole wheat country bread (why is it that the kids enjoy the bread so much more if they get to break off a hunk rather than eat a slice?) and a basic salad.

And, how many dishes did I have to clean once the Fritatta was gone?   -- one!

Now, THAT I like!

Most Spoiled Goat in the Tri-County Area

Meet the most spoiled goat in the tri-county area.

Who me?

Yes, Razz, I'm talking about you.

Last week, I posted a request on Facebook for a baby wipes warmer. Cousin Karen came to the rescue!  Yesterday, she (and adorable Ren) delivered the warmer, and for that Razz and I would like to say Thank You! 

Problem:

Lately, I've been the one on duty for 5:30am milking.  Also, lately, it's been getting cooler, especially in the early mornings.  Once Razz jumps up on the milking stand, the first thing I do is use a baby wipe to wipe her teats and udder clean before starting to milk.  Now, I imagine that being woken up at 5:30am to have your teats yanked on everyday is unpleasant enough.  But, last week, when it turned cool, I touched her teat with that wipe, and she literally jumped!  Poor thing! 

She's providing us with our milk, yogurt, ice cream, coffee creamer, cheese, soap, and lotion.  It seems that, in thanks for what she does for us, the least we could do is make her milking experience as comfortable as possible.

Solution:

Now, my hands and her teats will be much more comfortable during those early morning milkings!

By the way, here are all the gals this morning.  To say that they are enjoying the cooler weather would be an understatement.  They just loll about grazing then plop down in a big goat pile like this one and bask in the warming sun.

They really do the weirdest things with those legs.  Doesn't look that comfortable to me, but then I'm not a goat.

Buying Bulk

Sunday evening, I made my once-every-two-months trip to Cherokee Village to pick up my Country Life Natural Foods order.  In cooperation with a bunch of folks from that area, I order lots of organic pantry items through them.  Included in this month's order was a bottle of dried parsley so big that, as John said, Little Boy may be graduating from high school before we make it to the bottom of it!  As you can see, Girl 1 was astounded by its size.  (I love this photo!  You can really see her crazy-teeth situation.  I'm telling you, it's getting hard to feed these girls -- they hardly have any teeth right now!  She's got water bottle in hand because we were on our way out the door for a family run at the track :)

 

I absolutely love their flours, and we've really been going through it quickly around here, so this time I decided to go ahead and buy the big bag (I put a measuring cup in the photo for size comparison).  Luckily, we've got a big enough pantry to house all this stuff.

It's too bad bulk flour doesn't come in fabric bags anymore.  It would've been fun to try to make use of the flour sacks. 

If you're interested in checking out this company, visit their website at www.clnf.org.  If you'd like to get in on our next co-op order, contact me and I'll get you a catalog. 

Canning Club

A month or so ago, my friend Jessica had read about a local canning club in the newspaper, had done some research to find out what it was all about and how to get involved, and asked me if I'd like to join her for the next meeting.  Umm, YES! 

So, last Thursday, I paid my $10 membership fee and am now a legitimate member of the local canning club!

We basically walked in the door, paid our dues, and were ushered toward the table where tomatoes were being peeled using a Fry Daddy and a bowlful of ice water.  It was apparently salsa-making-night!  I love the concept of learning by doing, so this was right up my alley. 

I also loved having ready answers to my canning questions.   For example:

Q:  Can I use my pressure canner for processing salsa? 
A:  Yes, but it's unnecessary and may result in an overcooked, goopy product.

Q:  Can I substitute the Habanero peppers from my garden for the jalapenos called for in the recipe?
A:  Yes, but be sure to keep the volume the same.  For example, if I use fewer Habaneros because they're hotter, I need to sub in some milder peppers to keep the volume ratios the same.

Q:  Can I food process rather than just roughly chop the tomatoes so that I can achieve a consistency more like the salsa at my favorite Mexican restaurant?
A:  Yes, so long as I use the correct amounts of the ingredients, the way you slice, dice, or puree them shouldn't affect the success of the finished product.

The older ladies seemed to assume that Jessica and I were completely inexperienced canners, and we basically just let that go.  I don't know about her, but I'd rather let them treat me like a novice than think I'm so experienced that they skip over some of the canning wisdom they might otherwise bestow.

I thought it was interesting how eclectic the mix of people seemed to be.  I mean, we were all there, after all, with a common goal -- canning.  Yet, I heard a few ladies discussing how to be sure your jar "presented well" for judging at the local fair. . .   and yet another lady who seemed to be there for Doomsday Preppers training asking whether it would be possible to can salsa without electricity.   There were grandmas in their quilted aprons and business women still in their heels.  There was even a middle-aged man who seemed to be of no relation to any woman there and who made his salsa extra spicy by adding additional peppers straight to his jar.  I absolutely loved getting to be apart of this mix.

Because none of the ingredients were from a backyard garden, the canned jars of salsa came out to $2.75 apiece.  This seemed crazy high to me, but, then, I've never canned a product that I bought at the grocery store.  I paid my $2.75, poured my salsa into a hot jar, wiped my rim clean, added my seal and ring and initials in black sharpie, and watched it all go into the hot water bath.  My seal buckled during processing (which is something that has never happened to me at home.  I heard someone remark that that's what we get for not using Ball lids.  I've always used Ball lids, so maybe they truly are superior ;)  Anyway, the instructors weren't sure whether or not it would "ping," indicating that the seal was good, so they sent me home with an extra jar, too, just in case. 

Later that evening, as I lay in bed reading, I shot up in alarm as I heard the "ping" in the kitchen.  Then, realizing what it was, I smiled to myself.  It seems I got a 2-for-1 deal on my salsa -- it sealed, after all. 

Jessica, thanks so much for doing the legwork on this and for inviting me to be a part!  I'm already looking forward to next time!

For anyone local who's interested in joining up, we'll be doing something with local pears at our next monthly meeting, October 11.  Come join us!

I Scream, You Scream,

We all scream for . . . Hummus!

Hummus is pretty much a staple around here, and now that I've figured out how to make it using dried chickpeas rather than canned, it's pretty cheap for us to make and a very healthy snacking option (for our recipe, click here).  We do have trouble around here finding Tahini paste, a key ingredient, though.  Kroger used to carry it, but since their latest rearrange, I haven't been able to find it in there.  I ran into a former student/Walmart stocker and after chatting him up about his new baby (yes, this makes me feel old), I asked him if they carry Tahini paste.  I believe his response was "Ta-Huh?"  You know, it's used to make hummus, I told him.  "To make what?"   Uggghhh.

Anyway, this hummus had been in the fridge just a little too long, so I decided to see whether the backyard crew would like it as much as the indoor crew does.  Chickens and canine were both fans.  The chickens really made a mess of it, pecking and flinging it everywhere!

Does anyone local buy Tahini paste?  If so, where are you able to find it?

Thanks!

Greywater Solutions

First off, let's define greywater for those of you who may be unfamiliar with the term.

"Greywater is wastewater generated from domestic activities such as laundry, dishwashing, and bathing, which can be recycled on-site for uses such as landscape irrigation and constructed wetlands. Greywater differs from water from the toilets which is designated sewage or blackwater to indicate it contains human waste."

Thank you, Wikipedia.  Green and sustainable houses can make great use of greywater, but these systems are typically much easier to install as a house is being built.  Adding the plumbing necessary for greywater systems that take full advantage of shower, laundry, and dishwashing water is difficult once the house is already established. 

There are, though, some other ways to make use of greywater.  One of those ways is with the AQUS.  This very cool system is affordable at just $200 and supposedly easy to install.  The system hides under your sink and reroutes the water that goes down the sink to the toilet.  Once the water reaches the toilet and is flushed, it leaves the house through your existing plumbing system.  This is a great option for those who'd like to make better use of greywater but aren't planning a new build anytime soon.

We've got the AQUS on a wishlist but haven't yet tried it out ourselves.  We are, however, taking advantage of greywater in one of the easiest ways possible. 

See the grey bucket? 

I realize that this solution isn't for everyone.  Not everyone could tolerate a bucket on the floor, but it really doesn't bother me and just sits right next to the trash and recycling cans.  Anytime I have extra water involved with dishwashing or the kids didn't drink all their water at dinner, etc., I just pour the water into the bucket.  When the time comes, I then tote the bucket outside and use it to water all my potted plants on the front and back porches.  Blossom, our inside cat, is a fan, too.  She thinks it's her very own giant water bowl. :)