Laundry Soap Day

Many people make their own laundry soap these days and I have joined their ranks.  Using the recipe from the Dugger's website -- which you can find here:  http://duggarfamily.com/content/duggar_recipes/30455/homemade_liquid_laundry_soap_front_or_top_load_machine_best_value  

I decided to give it a go.  It will be much more cost effective, I will know exactly what is in it, and it will be a very long lasting supply!  

When I first read about this and heard rave reviews from others, I was skeptical and worried the ingredients would be hard to locate.  Not so, I found all my ingredients in our local wal-mart at inexpensive prices.

 The recipe calls for a 5 gallon bucket with lid.  You can usually ask at the bakery department of any grocery store and they will be willing to give you a few of these.  When they are empty they just get thrown out and the few times I have asked I was able to get one.  I was pressed for time, so this bucket I actually bought for $4.88 and it is a good sturdy bucket and the lid snaps tightly on.

 I found the ingredients I needed right next to the laundry soap. The Borax was $3.38 and the Arm & Hammer Washing Soda $3.24.  Those 2 will last me quite a while and will make many batches of laundry detergent!

  The fels-naptha is a thick and rich soap that was a little sticky to grate but just took a few minutes. It was only $.97 a bar!

 I added my grated soap to the hot water, stirring constantly until it was melted

 I have a set of wooden spoons that I use in my various soap making and mark clearly that they only for that purpose. 

Finally I added my soap mixture to the hot water already in my bucket, put in my washing soda and Borax, added the additional water that was called for and gave it all a good stir.  Now I will leave it to sit overnight and tomorrow show an updated picture along with some of the little extras I plan to add to personalize my laundry soap and give a little more detail on just how to use this now that it is made!.  

Super Bowl Sunday

Sadly, my team (Denver) did NOT make it to the Super Bowl this year but I am still happy to go along with the food and festivities that are part of this day.  We were destined for a football party with friends until my husband turned up ill so we are sticking close to home for our super bowl celebration this year.  I have been working on snacks for our own game watching and to send along with my daughter to hers.  

 Ahhh, the football shaped cheese ball in a field of crackers.  I just chose my favorite recipe, covered it with finely chopped  pecans and molded it until I was satisfied that it somewhat resembled a football.  The lacing is swiss cheese cut into strips...I sort of pasted it on with a dab of cream cheese.

 I have had this little football crockpot for more years than I can count and it has been to many a party!  

 This year it has little sausages in barbecue sauce and is simmering as I type.

 Tried something new this year...some little treats made out of chocolate crispie cereal (no marshmallows involved) and the recipe can be found here:  http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/bakers-one-bowl-chocolatey-52879.aspx?pf=true  I had originally planned to dye some coconut green so the footballs would look like they were sitting in a field of grass.  Lately I seem to be constantly running to the store for one thing and another, so when I discovered I was out of coconut, I improvised.  The m & m's will be gobbled by a mob of hungry teens and they do look quite festive!  I have a hard time just leavings things plain...always think they need a little something colorful...lol.

You can see the shape a little better with these unadorned footballs.  I quick and easy recipe that I will add to my favorites for next football season!  The lacing is made with white icing and you could easily add a team letter and colour as well.

Say Good Morning with Donuts!

I recently acquired a huge deep fryer and am enjoying experimenting with all the things I can use it for.  This morning I had the idea to make donuts for my crew.  I went to my most frequently used cookbook these days...the internet...and found what is advertised as the secret doughnut recipe.   http://www.secretdonutrecipe.com/Site/Secret_Donut_Recipe.html

I am pleased with the result and topped them with vanilla, chocolate, maple icings and powdered sugar.

I substituted the milk in the recipe with soy milk and they still came out great!

Snow Comes to the Midwest...Finally!

Other than a small sprinkle of snow in early December, we have had very warm springlike weather and frankly, gotten a bit spoiled by it.  Last week  I noticed that there were buds on my trees as if spring was in progress.  Today we woke up to a winter storm that is providing us with some beautiful snow and treacherous roads.  It was a sad sight to see the little frozen buds this morning and makes me wonder what our spring will be like when it actually does arrive.

 Poppy is thrilled with this development and has been busy rooting in the snow...not sure what she thinks she is going to find, but she is determined to find whatever may lurk under the abundant white stuff.

It is a definite drawback to have short little legs so I have been busy shoveling a path to the backyard.

The Plague

Unfortunately there is a nasty virus that seems to be sweeping through our house.  Sore throat, achy, feverish symptoms that everyone is complaining of...everyone but me and I am praying it stays that way.  Right now I have an herbal chest rub in the crockpot that I will finish in time for bed tonight and hopefully it will help people get some sleep and relief from congestion.  It is menthol crystals and eucalyptus simmered in olive oil and when it is ready I will add in some beeswax to firm it up and put in tins.

 not looking too appealing right now, but it will be very effective!

 Decided to cook up some candied ginger too.  Time consuming but worth the time and effort.  Ginger is anti-microbial and a warming herb...soothing and incredibly tasty in so many ways!  Saved out some of the broth to make a tea later this evening!

Here is what the finished product looks like...mmmm!

While packing it into a jar I realized just how much sugar is left over.  I put that in the smaller jar to use for tea!   Fabulous!

Herbal Medicine Kit

This week I had the opportunity to spend time with two of my favorite girls sharing some of the herbal remedies I have been learning about recently!  
We spent a few hours each morning adding elements to our herbal medicine kits for winter.
On Monday we made herb infused oils with St John’s Wort, Calendula and Comfrey that we put in olive oil  on low heat in the crock pot for a few hours.  The girls also made  a jar of the same herbs and oil to take home and keep for 6 weeks until it is ready.  That way they learned  both the "folk" method and the quick method using heat.

On Tuesday we used the oil to make a healing salve. We added lavender essential oil for a wonderful scent to a useful medicine!

 I had calendula in almond oil already made that we  used to make some lip balm -- you can never have too much of that in the winter! This project begins with beeswax...which came in a huge slab and it was quite a challenge to chisel off just the  right amount.

The beeswax was melted in a double boiler, then we added our oil.  After removing from heat, the girls put in some bergamot (orange) essential oil.  It smelled wonderful and made some amazing lip balm!

I was able to order chapstick tubes in bulk from a vendor on ebay that worked out perfectly.

 Today we tackled two projects...elderberry syrup  and horehound candy.  We were really please with the way everything came out!  Elderberry syrup is wonderful for the immune system and because it has warming herbs in it like ginger, cinnamon and cloves, it is also really soothing when you have a cold.  I take a teaspoon a day and it is very tasty too!

 The horehound candy had to be boiled much like any hard candy.  We poured it into the pan and actually set it on the picnic table to cool.  The weather was pleasant today -- temperatures in the 40's and no wind...which is highly unusual  at this time of year...so we took full advantage.  Our candy hardened quickly and I used a pizza cutter to get some lines into it.  We then broke it apart by hand.  and e ended up with a good amount.  I filled some altoids tins and small containers I had so that I can carry a bit in my purse and send some to work with my husband..

The girls were also to take a bag home with them to share with the rest of the family.  It has been a productive week!  Thanks for coming to hang out gals!

Soap Cutting

Cut my first  batch of soap and ended up with 17 bars.  

They are each about 1 1/2 inches thick.

Now that they have passed inspection I will set them aside to cure for a few weeks.