Friday, August 6, 2010
Monday, August 2, 2010
Orange Vinegar
Image via WikipediaWhat I am doing is making an orange vinegar with it. I put the peels from an orange into the bucket, and have covered it with vinegar. I add new peels every time i peel and re cover the bucket with the sealed lid.
I can use this vinegar in a variety of ways. I can use it for an interesting kick to my recipes that require vinegar. I can use half vinegar and half water in a spray bottle as an effective surface cleaner. I can use an even more diluted vinegar mix as an acid rinse for my hair (dandruff fighting) and as a soap scum remover for the bath.
Cost? About 60 cents for the vinegar.
Replaces or enhances: Gourmet Balsamic Vinegar, Dandruff Shampoo, Hard Surface Cleaner, Fabric Softener, Water softener.
Reduces Plastic Packaging, and gas wasted on distribution of other products :)
Homemade Soda Pop
Image via WikipediaYummy, and High Fructose Corn Syrup freeeeeee!
Ingredients:
1. 2 parts Sugar ( I use 2 cups of raw sugar)
2. 1 part Water (I use 1 cup)
3. Club Soda
4. Flavoring (I use sassafras concentrate for the root beer replacing the water with it or a couple tbsps of vanilla extract for cream soda. You can find other flavorings at the store or you can use ginger in the syrup, the possibilities are endless)
Time:
5 minutes
Difficulty:
Easy
Serving Size:
2 liters if you use 1 cup water and 2 cups of sugar
Preparation:
1. Clean your prep area! FFS what, were you born in a barn? Don't answer that. Do you have a funnel? A container to keep your syrup in? Do you have a pan? A measuring thingy?A spoon? Do you have flavoring? Good, let's go.
Instructions:
1. Put your water into the pan and boil it.
2. Add flavoring
3. Put your sugar in and boil one minute longer
4. Take off heat and let cool for a few minutes
5. Pour into a clean container and store in the fridge (you can keep it there for a week or two, remember no preservatives means it has a shelf life)
6. Use 4 Tbsp per 8 ounces of club soda
7. voila! Homemade soda!
Cinnamon Rolls
Pour into the Breadmachine or in a large freaking bowl
Add
1 tbsp of sugar
Then sprinkle
2 tbsp of yeast over the top
Let this sit for about 5 minutes
When it starts to get all foamy and smelling slightly (this is called a bloom)
Add:
½ cup of oil (I use coconut)
2 eggs
½ cup sugar
1-1/2 cups warm milk (I use reconstituted powdered)
and 3 cups of flour (I use half whole wheat and half All purpose)
Turn on the bread machine or mixer and let work for about a minute (or use a spoon mixing 50 time clockwise and 50 times counter clock wise)
It should be stringy at this point. That means you have started to activate the gluten.
Add another 3 to 4 cups of flour and mix until the dough forms a good ball, coming away from the sides of the bowl. (It's okay to add a bit more)
Now if you are kneading by hand you want to turn it out on a lightly floured surface and let 'rest' for about 10 minutes. Then start kneading for 5-10 minutes. The more you knead, the better the crumb. If it is still in the bread machine, don't worry about it. Let it rise for at least an hour in a warm place (I leave mine in the bread machine) until it doubles. Then punch it down. Wait until it doubles again and then divide it in half (don't punch it down) Let it rest for about 10 minutes.
I put half of it in a bowl in my fridge for refridgerator rolls, but for cinnamon rolls:
Put half of the dough on a non stick jelly roll pan. Put saran wrap over the dough and then roll it flat. You can stick it in the dough in the fridge if you want at this point to make it easier to roll.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Now mix up the spread for the inside
1 cup sugar, packed
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup softened Margarine
Spread it evenly over the rolled out dough. At this point I keep my fingers buttered to make it easier to roll up the dough. Starting from the wide side of the pan roll up the dough. Going slowly and smoothly, roll it all up until it is on the other side. Now you can cut it into 12-16 rolls either with a sharp knife or some kitchen string (tying each piece off) Put the individual rolls on a baking pan.
Put the baking pan in the oven for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown
While it is baking- mix up the icing:
2 cups of powdered sugar (in halves)
tsp of vanilla extract
1 cup of "I can't believe you bought this at ALDI" butter spread or softened butter stuff
4 tbsp of softened cream cheese.
Gather your ingredients, nuke the butter and cream cheese if you forgot to put them out to soften earlier. Medium sized bowl and a fork (which is what I used) or whisk thingymabob.
Put 1 cup of powdered sugar in the bowl.Add the butter and vanilla. Mix constantly. When it is all incorporated, add the cream cheese. When that is all mixed in add the last bit of sugar a bit at a time until you reach the consistency you want. I like it thick so I add the whole cup of powdered sugar.
At this point the rolls should be done. Take them out and put the icing on them immediately.
Try to let them cool and then gobble them up!
Mockie's Blueberry Cordial- First attempt Shared Tuesday, September 29, 2009 at 9:49am
1 Qt Mason Jar
2 cups of blueberries
1 cup of sugar
650 ml of Everclear or Vodka (The Everclear is going to be MUCH stronger than the vodka. You have been warned)
Honey
Patience.
In a wide mouth 1 quart mason jar I layered sugar and blueberries.
I stuck these in the microwave on 30 power for 1.5 minutes, screwing the cap on shaking every 30 seconds.
After that I poured the Everclear until it reached the lip of the jar. I sealed and now I am putting it away for two weeks. At that point I will do a taste test and add a tbsp of honey for complexity, and bottle it. If it doesn't taste ready, I will continue this until 2 months is up.
Here is the yummy concoction already showing it's pretty blue color!
And in it's resting place next to the honey that will be added later.
2 cups of blueberries
1 cup of sugar
650 ml of Everclear or Vodka (The Everclear is going to be MUCH stronger than the vodka. You have been warned)
Honey
Patience.
In a wide mouth 1 quart mason jar I layered sugar and blueberries.
I stuck these in the microwave on 30 power for 1.5 minutes, screwing the cap on shaking every 30 seconds.
After that I poured the Everclear until it reached the lip of the jar. I sealed and now I am putting it away for two weeks. At that point I will do a taste test and add a tbsp of honey for complexity, and bottle it. If it doesn't taste ready, I will continue this until 2 months is up.
Here is the yummy concoction already showing it's pretty blue color!
Blueberry Cordial
And in it's resting place next to the honey that will be added later.
yummy!
E's Planet Kakeo
It is a rainbow planet and it's name is Kakeo. It has it's own moon, and atmosphere and people and houses. It has parks. You can land on it. It has lava deep in the ground that is called magma. It has volcanoes and geysers and water. It is bigger than Jupiter. It has animals and trees and bushes, and bridges and rocks. He says it is a lower planet with rainbow colors.He says there are two suns, because the Planet Kakeo does not have a dark side.
My clever imaginative boy. :)
Presents for the our household Originally Shared Friday, January 15, 2010 at 11:56pm
Image via WikipediaThis is too much for us. Our 3 young children are so overwhelmed by toys that they do not take care of what they have. And it isn't just the children. M2 and I are so overwhelmed by all that gimme gimmes that we have too much stuff as well.
Some tips on buying for the kids:
Is it plastic?
If it is, then please pass it over. We don't want to increase our children's carbon footprint by plastic toys that they will forget about the minute it hits the floor.
Does it make electronic noise?
If it does, then please pass it over. We like for our children to engage in imagination play.
Is it a doll?
Then I ask, is it one that V will treasure for the rest of her life? She has many dolls already, and doesn't need any more. She has Barbies, and babies, and my little Pony figurines. She has so many that she can't keep track of them all.
Is it a car?
Then I ask, is one that will never be found again on this earth? E doesn't need any more hot wheels. Edoesn't need any more remote control cars. Again, we are trying to cut out plastic from our lives.
Check where the item was made.
Was it made in China? Then chances are there are unacceptable levels of lead and other bad things floating on it. It was more than likely made for slave wages and is not doing any thing more for the earth.
What do the kids need?
The kids need organic fabric clothes. Well, and even then "need" is a very strong word. But if you want to give them a gift, the gift of warm clothes or cool clothes is always appreciated.
If you would like to give us gifts in the form of donations to charitable organizations, that would be appreciated too! http://thirstrelief.org/ http://www.newlifeevangeli
I am not trying to be some picky ninny here. I am trying to get a handle on this consumerism that is basically stealing time from us. We have to spend so much time picking up things, that we don't have time to spend enjoying each other's company.
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