It has been awhile eh??

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah.  I know.  Now that I'm back to work our family has finally settled back into the crazy-predictably-unpredictable life routine of work, school, horses, jujitsu and, well, life.

So we ran out of laundry soap the other day (isn't this how this entire thing got started?).  I had been reading some of the Duggar (duggarfamily.com) posts and recipes and saw their version of liquid laundry soap.  It's slightly different than the one we have been using since last summer (AKA - less ingredients = cheaper) so I figured I would give it a try.

I pulled out my gear and gave it a whirl and so far so good.  It's easier to make than mine (only by a step but still) and took less time - BONUS.  Basically - in their recipe, you don't add the washing soda and borax to the boiling water (dissolve it in hot tap water) and as soon as the soap is melted, you add it to the bucket of water, stir and let sit.

After the "let sit" phase, I mixed it up with my handy-dandy hand-blender and made a conscious decision NOT to continue with their version of the recipe.  The consistency of the soap was slightly thinner than mine and I didn't want watery soap (which I would have gotten if I added the next 5 gallons of water that they do).

 Currently I have 5 gallons of soap which is still more than my recipe and I've done a few loads and I really like it.  PLUS, so far at least, it doesn't appear to separate the the old stuff.

for comparison....

Original version = $0.02/load (makes 96 loads at 1/2 cup each)
The new version  = $0.007/load (makes 332 loads at 1/2 cup each)

INSERT NOTE......I have had a draft blog regarding updates to my cost comparisons that I have still yet to post.....In October, I was down in the US and was able to pick up Fels Naptha soap for $1.39 - I grabbed 4 bars!!.  I am NOT paying $7 or more to get that stuff shipped to Canada!!

Liquid Laundry Detergent - Version 2

Ingredients and Tools

1 bar fels naptha soap, grated

1/2 cup borax

1 cup washing soda

Directions

Grate the bar of soap

Bring 4 cups of water to a boil on the stove and add the grated soap.  Simmer and stir until all soap pieces are melted

fill the 5 gallon bucket to the half-way point with hot tap water (approx 30-40 cups of water)

add the borax and washing soda, stir until dissolved

pour the soap mixture into the bucket of hot tap water, stir to mix

fill the bucket with hot tap water.

cover and let sit overnight to cool and gel

mix thoroughly.

Yield

5 gallons

Cost Breakdown

Fels Naptha Bar Soap ($1.39/bar) = $1.39

Borax ($4.99/2kg) = $0.25/1/2 cup

Washing Soda ($7.29/3kg) = $0.58/1 cup

Total - $2.22 per batch

= $0.44 per gallon

= 332 loads at 1/2 cup per load

= $0.007 per load!  <-------ARE YOU FRICKIN KIDDING ME!!!! That's amazing!!!!

·

YUMMY!!

Holy heck. Just proof that some things I make are incredible. At work yesterday - ready for snack time - pulled out some goat cheese with green tomato chutney and had it with wheat thins - sweet potato crackers

Bloody amazing.

Yum!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! and.....Pumpkin overload

Hubby had to work today so we are had Thanksgiving Dinner with family yesterday.  My brother and sister-in-law flew in from out west a few days ago to see family and we had a wonderful thanksgiving feast.  Of course, 3 special people were not able to join us - My sister in law spend dinner with her family and My step father and my brother-in-law are currently out of the country for work.  

Darren and Kev went to help out a friend close up his parent's cottage and do some work around the property that needed to be done.  This friend lost his baby girl a few weeks ago so Darren and a bunch of work buddies are heading up to get everything done for them.  I wanted to go but given I'm still forbidden to do manual labour of any sort because of my back injury, I stayed home with Miss Em. 

After  a restless night, Em was up bright and early at 6:30am despite trying to get her to nap for just a little bit longer -- it wasn't going to happen.

By 7:30 we were starting the prep for making pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving Dinner.  

We made the crust from scratch, put it in the fridge to cool and set a bit and we started on the pumpkin pie filling.  Since I didn't have any left over from last year in the freezer (we lost everything in our freezer in July when we went away and the freezer door was left open 1/2 an inch.  Yep - quite the mess). I had to use <gasp> canned.

Just kidding - in all fairness, canned pure pumpkin is just fine.  However - since I'm trying to watch what my family eats and am attempting to feed them more locally grown, fresh, organic food and produce, I question what nutrition is lost in the commercial canning process.  I already know the taste isn't as good as fresh but since canning pumpkin puree at home is not safe, sometimes canned is the only option.

Yes.  You did read that correctly.  Home canning, using any method (boiling water or pressure canner) of pumpkin puree is not safe.  I have done a lot of research on this topic and other than canning pumpkin cubes (which still can be questionable) it cannot safely be done....so I won't do it.

Freezing pumpkin puree is perfectly fine.  So I do that.  

After we got the pumpkin pies made (Em 'decorated' the crust edges - she's awesome!) and into the oven, I cut the 6 pie pumpkins I picked up saturday in half and scooped out the seeds.  

Pumpkins ready to go into the oven.

Pumpkin pies out of the oven and starting to cool - she did a great job on the crusts eh??

Back to the pie pumpkins....

I baked them at 350 for 1 hour and took them out to cool for about another hour (just until they were cool enough to handle).  

When they were cool, I scooped out the meat and put it in the food processor.  Once pureed, I took the pumpkin out and put it in a food strainer to strain out the water.

Once that was done, I filled ziploc bags (already labeled with name/date/amount).  Then into the freezer they went.

Next time I want to make pumpkin anything...pancakes, bread, pie, cookies, cheesecake, scones, cake...I just need to take out a bag and let it thaw in the fridge.

Pumpkin Puree

Ingredients

·      6 pie pumpkins, halved with the seeds removed

Directions

1.     Bake halved pumpkins in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour.
      Remove pumpkins and let cool
      Scoop out pumpkin meat and blend in food processor
      Drain water out of puree
      Place in ziplock bags, labeled with amount and date.
      Freeze.

Yield

·     12 cups

Cost

·      Pie Pumpkins - 6 for $10

·      Total - $0.83 per 250ml.

Stain, stain go away - come on back another, wait - Never??

I don't get how Martha Stewart does it. Or did it before she was famous (and had servants to do her work).

How the hell do you get rid of an old SET IN STAIN!

I've read the tips, I've tried the tips.  The tips don't work half the time.

I have kids (and a husband) therefore I have stains on clothes.....and as such, many are thrown out when i have given up trying to get the stain out.

So....along comes my friend Mr. Google and we look for a homemade product that just might work.

I found a recipe, tried it, and O. M. G.  It works.  The photos don't acutally do the product as much justice as it deserves....but it works.  My husband has this beautiful stark white Canada hat I purchased for him during the 2010 winter olympics.  Why I decided white would be a good colour for my gets everything covered in stains husband, I will never know.

His hat was gross.  The sweat-dirt stains were all over it and I banished the hat to a spot where he couldn't FIND it so that I wouldn't be embarrassed if he tried to wear it out in public.  I had already tried throwing it in the wash to no avail.

So.  I pulled it out (hey honey I "found" your hat LOL!!).

Spray on the homemade stain remover.  Wait 10 minutes.  Rinse off.

Holy white hat.

The photos below are from the first time I did it.  I should have taken more after I went through the process a second time and actually scrubbed the hat.....but I can't find the hat anymore.  Pretty sure that hubby has hidden it so I can't get my hands on it again.  haha.  It's amazing - it looks brand new.

Since the hat, I have used it on nearly every set it and fresh stain that comes up.  It's been great.  New stains come out perfectly and as for the old set in ones...well....I took a pile of 20 pairs of kids underwear (my daughter had 'bathroom issues') that I was about to pitch.  I sprayed each and every one, threw them in the wash and crossed my fingers.  Out of 20, I  completely saved 8 pairs.  Not a hint of any stain left anymore.  The remaining 12 were better but not completely stain free.  And these stains were old, set and had many bleach/commercial stain removers applied with no success.  I've also recently used it on a cat barf stain in the basement.  Took it out completely in less than 2 minutes.

The commercial stuff I had been using was either the Clorox 2 Laundry Stain Remover ($3.47 for 650ml) or OxyClean Gel Stick Pre-Treater ($3.99 for 6.5 oz)

Here is how I did it and what it cost.

Laundry Stain Remover

Ingredients

·      1 cup dawn dishwashing liquid

·      2 cups Hydrogen peroxide

Directions

1.     mix toget

Yield

·     750ml

Cost

·      Dawn dishwashing liquid ($2.49/750ml) = $0.83/1 cup

·      Hydrogen Peroxide ($1.97/1 L) = $0.985/2 cups

·      Total - $1.81

It's only FALL!!!

We got hit with an unexpected frost the other night.  It was supposed to go down to around 5 degrees but for some reason or another, Mother Nature decided that was too warm.

At 6:45 I got in the car to head to work. My lovely husband had left my window open a crack so the outside and inside of my car windows were covered in a thin layer of ice.  The not-going-away-with-the-defroster ice. I had the pleasure of having to scrape (YES SCRAPE!!) off ice in SEPTEMBER!  Seriously?  What.  The.....oh nevermind.

Needless to say, my tomatoes were done with the idea of growing and after the frost, they looked pretty sad.  When I got home from work I massacared picked the remaining green tomatoes off the plants and thought to myself what on earth am I going to do with these?

Low and behold I did a quick search and found what seemed to be a good recipe for green tomato chutney.  As per "me" I decided to try it but wanted to tweak it a little bit.  Boy am I glad I did!.  This recipe turned out really well and it is a bit weet, but tangy with a bit of spice as well.  Tastes like Christmas!

Green Tomato Chutney

makes 7 cups

12 cups chopped green tomatoes

2 1/2 cups chopped onion

2 cups white vinegar

3 cups brown sugar

4 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon cloves (use a teaball or spice bag to keep them from overpowering your chutney)

4 cinnamon sticks

6 star anise pieces

1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes (use more for a spicier chutney)

1 cup dried cranberries (or raisins if you don’t like cranberries)

2 teaspoon sea salt (if using regular table salt, use 1 teaspoon)

Combine tomatoes, onion, vinegar and sugar in a large non-reactive pot over medium heat. 

Add the ginger, cloves, cinnamon sticks, star anise and red chili flakes. (I put the cloves and star anise in a tea ball so I didn't have to pick them out individually at the end)

Cook over low heat for approx 1.5 to 2 hours, stirring frequently to prevent scorching.

About half way through cooking, add cranberries.  

Add salt at the very end of cooking (to taste).

When it has reduced by more than half, and become deep golden brownish in colour, turn off heat.

Remove cinnamon sticks and star anise/cloves tea ball. Fill jars, wipe rims, apply lids and screw on rings.

Process in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes.

Eat on turkey sandwiches, or with a bit of goat cheese.  YUMMY!

Updating the 13 year old birdhouse - a la 5 year old.

13 years ago, when Darren and I moved into a quaint little house in Nova Scotia, his mother gave us a beautiful birdhouse for the yard. It has proudly stood outside in our backyard no matter where we lived. It's a beautiful structure and I've never come across another one I've liked nearly a much.

5 years ago it started to show major signs of wear and weather. The finials were being eaten away by rain, the bird perches were mostly gone and the roofs had begun to crack and break.

When we moved here last year the birdhouse went into the shed. I had intended on fixing it up but didn't know where to start and didn't have time.

I have time now.

A week ago I found the finials on eBay for $1.00 each. They arrived yesterday. Em asked what they were so we pulled out the birdhouse and I showed her where it was broken and we had to fix it.

I hadn't intended to fix it up right then and there but she suggested we do it and honestly, one look in her beautiful hazel eyes and I couldn't say no.

Out came the wood glue and we fixed the roof. The one remaining finial was unceremoniously discarded and the dust/bird poop/dead grass and such was cleaned off the rest of the structure.

Paint. Crap. I have no idea where the paint is!!!. Emily helped me search through our crazy mess craft boxes and we found a few suitable (to a 5 year old) paints that were still usable (and pitched the crappy hard-as-a-rock 10 year old paint).

I gave her complete control of the colours. A dangerous suggestion but she carefully held the bottles of paint to the roof, sides and finials and decides that purple / green and ivory would be the best.

Once the wood glue was dry we started painting. She did an amazing job and the end result looks great.

A few coats of outdoor sealer and this house will be back outside for the birds.

Thanks for the help Emily - today was fun.

It's not all about the cleaning

It's also about the food.

Jam, Jelly, Pickles, Peppers, Tomatoes.....

I'm a bit of a f-r-e-a-k.

Canning is an art....and given I can't draw stick people, it's an art form that surprisingly suits 'me'.  Unfortunately, other than the token strawberry jam, it seems many people don't really can their food like the old days.  Canning and preserving food is a ritual and is so serene to me.  Spending hours in front of a hot stove on a hot summer day gives me an inner peace that nothing else can (pardon the pun).

I didn't always 'can' food but I've been cooking and baking as long as I can remember.  My grandmother and I would spend hours in her tiny kitchen making jam, spagetti sauce, baking christmas cookies, rolling rum balls and perfecting her cheesecake.  The jam ended up in jars in the freezer (yeah, my grandfather pulled out a jar of jam from 1993 the other day.  He says it was perfect.  There is no way I would even try it.)  It's hard to explain my grandfather when it comes to food - pretty much he will eat anything....no matter how old, how freezer burnt or how unidentifiable it may be.  I love him more than anything....... but that's just weird.  His rules??? Don't ask him to eat peanut butter on anything other than toast.  Bananas will only be bought at $0.29/lb even if he has to drive across the city to get them.  Habitant Pea Soup is fantastic and Kraft dinner will never go bad.  I love that man.

This year I had BIG plans.  My new home has a huge yard and given we live a town over from the closest grocery store I figured this would be the perfect opportunity to beg convince my husband to build me the vegetable garden beds I always wanted.  I wanted 4, he wanted 1, we settled in 3....with the proviso that there was room for a 4th if we need it.

The 4th will be made this fall.

The garden beds were made last fall and filled with compost/earth and they sat until spring.  I spent a fair amount of time during the winter looking up varieties of seeds and deciding what I would put where in each garden.  In february I ordered the seeds and in March they were started indoors.  Rows upon rows of little seedings began to pop up.  It was beautiful.

Then the seedlings died.

Not so beautiful.

Seriously??  Where did I go wrong??

I have no idea - so when the earth was warm enough to work and the danger of frost had passed I made a trip to the local nursery (local meaning 35 minutes away) and picked up some tomatoes, peppers and whatever other starter veggie plants I could find.  After carefully plotting and planting my veggies, I planted the remaining seeds from the packages in rows, marked everything and waited.

My garden turned out beautifully.  The tomatoes were 6 bloody feet tall and although the strawberries didn't produce more than 5 berries all year long, they took over the entire garden.  The onions were sweet, the cucumbers and zucchinis were bountiful.  The ground cherries are amazing and the beets were an epic failure because they were overtaken by the ground cherries.  The carrots were ok but too close together to grow much, the leeks never showed up, the potatoes are not ready yet and the herbs were friggin amazing!!!! I learned many lessons over the course of the first season of these gardens and I know what I will and will not plant next year.  The 4th bed will be built later this month and next year I will have more space and will re-arrange things to maximize efficiency and solve some issues.  I'm already starting to put the gardens to bed for the year and have begun the pick out the new varieties of seeds for next year....I'm looking for more heirloom and organic items for next year as I'm confident now as to what works best in our garden.

Back to canning.

June is the first real opportunity to get down and dirty into canning.  STRAWBERRIES!!!!  Around here, mid-June to mid-July is strawberry season.  The first day the fields were open, we took the kids out and picked 2 4litre baskets of berries.  I wanted more, the kids were tired, the kids won, we left.

I have tried freezer jam, cooked jam with sugar, cooked jam without sugar, cooked jam with no pectin and this is what works best for me.

I usually do one batch of "no pectin" Strawberry jam - it really is amazing....but the kids love the thicker one I make which has the pectin in it.

One note here.....sometimes the fruit in the jam floats.  It's not a big deal.  It doesn't change the taste of it, it just may not look as pretty.  I. Don't. Care. anymore.

Strawberry Jam

Ingredients

·      6 cups strawberries (hulled, washed and crushed)

·      4.5 cups of sugar

    1 package fruit pectin

Directions

1.     Pour strawberries into a large dutch oven.

2.     Bring to a boil.

3.     Add the pectin and bring back to a boil.  Boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly.

4.     Remove from heat.  Stir for 5 minutes to prevent fruit from floating and skim off foam as needed.

5.     Pour into pre-sterilized jars.

6.     Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. 
      Remove from water, let sit undisturbed for 24 hours. 

Yield

·      6 cups