Make your own Dishwasher Detergent

This truly all natural dishwashing detergent is super easy to make, cheap and it works!

Three ingredients stand between you and a Green Clean:

                                      1) Borax

                                      2) Super Washing Soda

                                      3) White Vinegar

What you do:
Borax + Super Washing Soda = 1:1 ratio

Find a suitable storage container, and mix equal parts of Borax and Super Washing Soda. Be sure to pour them in simultaneously or at least mix the powder well so as to blend or homogenize the mixture, so to speak. When your dishwasher is full, reach for your handy dandy container and scoop 1 tablespoon of the powder detergent into the Pre-wash spot and 1 tablespoon of detergent into the Main Wash spot. 

Pour the white vinegar into your Rinse Aid spot. I have found this step is curcial in procuring a good clean, don't skip the vinegar rinse!

I purchased all three items at Wal Mart, they should be readily available at your local grocer as well.

Disclaimer: My dishwasher is OLD. It doesn't clean, it sanitizes. Let me translate that for you; I have to completely rinse all of my dishes before placing them in my dishwasher. If you have a new-fangled dishwasher and you leave yesterday's oatmeal and lasagna glued onto your plates, I am interested in what the results might be. If someone tries it, I would love the feedback!

Hats off to Chipotle

Garrett and I recently enjoyed some adult time as we went to see the movie Contagion, but the best part of my night wasn't the movie. Although the movie was extremely entertaining, and pleasantly clean; meaning minimal language, no crude humor, no nudity or sex scenes, no bloody violence, and so the Hollywood list goes on...it wasn't Contagion that I wanted to give a standing ovation. (And I have done that in the past at Lord of the Rings, the Twin Towers. I cheered aloud when Eowyn took off her helmet, her long hair fell, and she said "I'm no man" and cut off Sauron's head!!! Best Movie Moment EVER. Ok, I am definitely sidetracked here...sorry.) It was Chipotle's short film 'Back to the Start' which promotes supporting local farmers by eating locally grown food. It is brilliant, brilliant I tell you! In 2:20 it shows the story of why it is so important to eat real food, and the negative affects big box production food companies have on society, humans and animals. Well done, Chipotle, well done.

Easy Cocoa Cookies

I happened to be out of eggs when I got the whim to make cookies, so I searched for egg-free recipe ideas and created these cookies. These cookies are very soft and chewy. They actually stay soft for several days, which is lovely. For a cookie that can be made with pantry staples, they are awesome. They also happen to be vegan, so for all the vegan-ites out there - enjoy!

In large bowl, combine the following;
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cocoa
1/2 cup chocolate chips

In medium bowl, mix together;
1/2 cup canola oil
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon molasses


Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. The dough will be very dry looking, just keep working the ingredients together with a wooden spoon until they come together. Resist the temptation to add more water. Using your hands, form the cookies into small balls to be baked.

Bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes, rotating the cookie sheet at 4 minutes. Set your timer and stay near by, you do not want to over bake these cookies. Makes 2 dozen.

Next time, I am going to add 1/3 cup peanut butter in with the wet ingredients. I will omit the cocoa and decrease sugar to 2/3 cup.

 The big heart cookie was for Papa, 'cause we love him! 

(it baked 12 minutes FYI)

 Bodhi helped make the cookies.....

 and he helped eat the cookies! 

Delicious! 

{Vegan} Zucchini & Prune Muffins

Oh, come on now. Don't turn your nose up just yet. These muffins were seriously delicious - the whole family loved 'em. You really need to give them a try. Original inspiration found here, but like always I "Lish-i-fied" it.

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup white flour
2 tsps baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp ginger - (this added great flavor, don't skip it!)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup plain applesauce
1/4 cup coconut oil   (or canola)
1/4 cup almond milk (feel free to use soy or rice)
1/2 cup sucanat (you can use sugar, but I loved the taste of sucanat in these muffins)
1 cup grated zucchini
3/4 cup finely chopped prunes

2) Mix all dry ingredients (except sucanat) in a large bowl

3) Whisk together applesauce, oil, milk, and sucanat; mix well, then add zucchini

4)Mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients, mix gently until combined, lastly - fold in prunes 

Bake @ 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes; or until toothpick in center comes out clean

I am confident that any of the following dried fruits would work well: dates, apricots, prunes, currants, and as far as fresh fruit goes, I am thinking pears would be delicious! You want something with a little sweet, and a little tang. There are no rules, that is the true joy of cooking & creating.

Also, next time, I may grate a bit of orange peel into the wet ingredients before adding in the zucchini.

Happy Baking!

Oh, la la! ~dessert crepes~

Yum.

 Drizzled with chocolate, double Yum.

We really like this recipe for Dessert Crepes found at allrecipes.com.

A few tips about making crepes:
1)This is not a time to skimp, you need real butter, real eggs and real milk or they aren't worth making.
2)Crepes are meant to be extremely thin & delicate. How to cook crepes: pour the batter into the center of your (well greased and hot) frying pan, immediately tilt pan to cover the bottom of the pan with batter so the result is like a very thin, delicate pancake.
3)They are best enjoyed fresh, though you can make them ahead of time & refrigerate if needed. To re-heat, use a frying pan over medium high heat, and warm crepe for 10-15 seconds per side to crispen back up before serving.


We enjoy filling our crepes with fresh berries, homemade whipped cream and chocolate sauce.

Whipped Cream from scratch:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

With hand mixer; beat on high speed for 1-2 minutes, until soft peaks form.
Whip cream doesn't last long, so make it right before you're going to eat it. Make it fresh, it is so easy and the taste is infinitely superior to the canned version. 


Homemade Chocolate sauce:
1/2 cup of your favorite chocolate chips

In a double boiler; over low heat, melt chips slowly whilst stirring constantly. Remove from heat when slightly lumpy and continue stirring until smooth.

If you don't have a double boiler, never fear. You can use a small sauce pan, fill with an inch or so of water, bring to a low boil and place a stainless steel bowl on top. Melt your chips in the stainless steel bowl. You do not want the bowl touching the water, ideally you want a few inches of air space in between your bowl and pot to allow steam to slowly and gently melt your chocolate.

Lunchtime Talk

Each day while we eat lunch (which is done in a very casual manner; standing around in the kitchen or sitting on the floor) I try to guide Bodhi in building a few words with the magnetic letters on the fridge.

These were his choices today:

I had to oblidge him on the word poop. It's just such a fun, yucky word for a little boy to say. So we built the word, and then proceeded to build Jesus. Hopefully, Jesus doesn't mind the poop ;-)

a conglomeration of new! experiences

Life has been busy, yet fulfilling and I've stumbled across some fun things to share!

1)New {gluten free} Wholesome Chocolate Cake

Seriously delicious chocolate cake, made with no flour or butter.
Yep, you heard me right. This bad boy is held together with the incredible garbanzo bean! We visited some dear friends over the weekend, and my girlfriend told me about this cake she had discovered, and naturally; we promptly baked it together. I love cooking with friends.

I am going off of memory here, but I am pretty astute when baking; especially new recipes which have my interest from the start, just as this one did!

Melt on stove top over double boiler:
12 oz semi sweet or dark chips; melt the chips slowly over low heat, stirring frequently. Remove when the chips are mostly melted but slight chunks remain. Continue stirring until smooth, then add 3 tablespoons cocoa.

Puree until smooth in sturdy food processor or blender:
2.5 cups garbanzo beans (you want these fully pulverized, no chunks of bean in your cake!)

Add:
6 eggs, beaten
1.5 cups sugar
1.5 teaspoons baking powder

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Pour into a greased 9X13 pan and bake @ 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes.

This cake was dense, more brownie like than spongy-cake like. It had great flavor, and I could barely taste the garbanzo flavor. I am going to bake this again and add about 4 oz of strong coffee or even better, espresso. I might also leave some of the chips whole to get the additional texture of the whole chip. We did not frost it, but I think frosting would seriously put this cake over the top. It's a hearty cake, and I think it could support a thick frosting, but I am not much of a frosting girl. So I will stick with my espresso addition and be "exceedingly happy" in the words of my dear friend Em.


2)New Red Wine

Evodia Old Vine Grenache 

I recently discovered this new wine, and it is a great value. Economically priced at under $10 a bottle, yet full of flavor; highly complex (to my taste-buds). It is a red wine from Spain made with Grenache grapes.

3)New Tunes

This guy, Mike Tompkins, has amused Garrett and I for some time. He makes his music using only his voice and mouth. All sounds, man made. He only does covers, but most of the time I like his version better than the original artist. See more of Mike's magic here.


4)New Adornments

I was given a beautiful Lisa Leonard Designs necklace for my 30th birthday, and I adore it! If you haven't heard of Lisa's hand stamped artwork, check her out here.