I love homemade STUFF!! I like that I can use fresh, basic ingredients with no preservatives, dyes, and other chemicals. I just feel like it's a purer form of living and eating.....but what about CLEANING?
Did you know that with a few of the same basic ingredients that you cook with, you can clean with too? Did you know that you probably have these ingredients in your pantry and hopefully in your food storage? And did you know that they are WAAAAAAAAAAY safer and cheaper than commercial cleaners?
I held a class at my house on how to make your own cleaning products. They are CLEAN (better than commercial products at getting the job done), they are GREEN (non-toxic, environmentally safe, chemical-free) and LEAN (on your wallet that is!!...costing pennies compared to commercial brands). So with a little extra time and a little elbow grease, you can have an endless supply of cleaners using ingredients you already have!
FIRST....I need to give credit where credit is due! Here are a few books I researched that I really liked....I just got them at my local library for FREE!! Check them out and see what you think:
Naturally Clean (The Seventh Generation Guide to Safe & Healthy, Non-Toxic Cleaning) by Jeffrey Hollender
This is a great lesson in Chemistry, a resource list of toxic chemicals in everyday products, and which "green" products are truly green out there.....you'd be surprised by all the faulty advertising! There are a few basic recipes to make your own as well.
Clean House, Clean Planet (Clean Your House for Pennies a Day, the Safe, Non-toxic Way) by Karen Logan
I thought this one was a little out-dated as she still uses a lot of commercial soap products in her recipes. However, she does give great chemistry lessons...on the toxic and nontoxic side of things, and has some great recipes.
The Complete Guide to Eco-Friendly House Cleaning by Anne B. Kocsis
I really liked this book.....she focuses on all of the above mentioned, but also gives several different recipes for the same thing so that you can pick and choose what works for you, or if you are out of an ingredient you can easily substitute another. She also goes thru each room of the house and tells you how to clean and with which recipe to use!! Great resource!!!
I also searched a few websites:
www.savvybrown.com
www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com
www.simplemom.net
I also enjoy reading Natural Home Magazine.
Now....a few things you should know before getting started making the big transition to Homemade Cleaning Products!!!
1. NO Bubbles: commercial products have tons of petroleum based chemicals which make our cleaning products foam and bubble.....because for some reason we think foam and bubbles = clean! However, these products are toxic and really many times make matters worse (ie: carpet cleaners actually attract more dirt!) When you make your own cleaning products, DO NOT expect foaming, bubbles, suds, etc. becasue there will not be any!!
2. NO Fragrances: commercial products contain chemical additives to mask the scents of the cleaning chemicals. Often these fragrances are made from synthetics and not from actual plant materials. Unless you add FOOD GRADE Essential Oils to your homemade cleaners, DO NOT expect them to smell!
3. NO Color: commercial products often are brightly colored for asthetic value only. These dyes are, you guessed it, add even MORE chemicals to an already toxic mixture and they do not contribute at all to the cleaning power of the product. With basic homemade recipes, DO NOT expect colors....they will be clear or white!!
Getting Started
I hope you'll bare with me as I give you a little lesson in chemistry!! :) I just want you to know why you are using these ingredients and what they do chemically and therefore why they clean so well!
Much of cleaning has to do with the pH scale of acidic and alkaline substances. The scale is neutral at 7, acidic as the numbers lower to 0 and alkaline as the numbers increase to 14. Depending on where on this scale the dirt you are trying to clean is, deteremines what kind of "soap" you are going to clean with.
Soaps tend to be alkaline, while chemical cleaners can be very acidic. The goal is to battle with the opposite pH as the grime you are trying to eliminate....and "neutralize" or bring it as close to that nuetral 7 on the pH scale. For example, greasy, oily dishes are acidic so you would attack it with an alkaline substance thus cancelling each other out.....and ending up with clean dishes! Water spots on a window are alkaline so you would use an acidic cleaner to clear them away.
Make sense?.....so.....keep this in mind as I describe....
The Basic Ingredients
**White Distilled Vinegar: is ACIDIC, helps repel grease and grime, prevent mold and mildew, disolves soap film and mineral deposits and even freshens the air. (Logan, 52). It's a great disinfectant...... I LOVE VINEGAR!!!! It is AWESOME as a cleaner and I use it on everything!!!
"If you had to get rid of every household-cleaning product you owned and could only use one eco-friendly substance to clean with, VINEGAR would be the one to choose!" (Kocsis, 153).
This is because Vinegar is acidic a most dirt we encounter falls in the alkaline side of the pH scale.
**Baking Soda: is ALKALINE, absorbs odors and acts as a mild abrasive, de-greasing agent, stain remover, laundry supplement, insect repellant and metal polisher. It neutralizes acids to stabelize pH levels. "If you were to add only 1 other non-toxic substance to your cleaning arsenal, it should be baking soda" (Kocsis, 154).
**Water: is NEUTRAL, so why would you need it for cleaning? It's the universal solvent, the most basic cleaner of all!! Don't underestimate its power, especially when it's steaming hot, it can dissolve tough stains and built up grime as well as sterilize. Using purified water is best because tap water (especially hard water) has minerals in it that can inhibit cleaning.
The Other Ingredients
Lemon Juice: acidic, acting much like Vinegar.
Salt: alkaline, acting much like Baking Soda, good disinfectant
Washing Soda: known as Soda Ash or sodium carbonate, used as a water softener for laundry
Borax: strong alkaline...antifungal properties.
Citric Acid: found naturally in many fruits, but especially citrus (oranges, lemons, limes)....basically it's a powdered form of lemon juice
Hydrogen Peroxide: whitening agent
Olive Oil: for wood, leather, and cleaning plants
Club Soda: for glass
Essentail Oils: FOOD GRADE ORGANIC are best!!...for fragrance mostly!
Now that you know the basics, check my next posts for RECIPES!!!.....and have fun Cleaning!!
Showing posts with label Ideas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ideas. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Friday, February 10, 2012
Finding Your Inner Little Red Hen
"Who Will Grind the Wheat?"
"Who Will Bake this Wheat into Bread?"
"Not I," said the Dog.
"Not I," said the Cat.
"Not I," said the Mouse.
"Then I Will," said the Little Red Hen....and she DID!
I LOVE the story of the Little Red Hen!! She has lofty goals and she has the determination to see them through. No matter what is going on around her, no matter who is too lazy to help her, she keeps plodding her course to the finish line.
Not only that, her goal is AWESOME: Making Fresh Bread!! Now, what could be better than that, I ask you?!
Are you like me, making grand plans, but never seeing them through? That is why YOU & I must channel our Inner-most Little Red Hen!!!...and what could be a better way to start than by doing exactly what she did...GRIND WHEAT & BAKE BREAD!
We got started this month in our Food Storage/Prep Class by bringing our wheat together and using different grinders to make flour. We used a simple hand grinder and a few different electric grinders. Here are the ones we tried:
1. Back to Basics, Manual Wheat Grinder
Pros: fairly easy to use and set up, fairly quiet, good for emergencies because it doesn't require electricity, small, lightweight, portable, easy to store, fairly easy to clean, INEXPENSIVE
Cons: requires muscle power, takes time....about 10 minutes to make 1 cup of Flour, has to be screwed onto a table edge and sometimes this makes it unstable as you grind, holds only about 1 cup of wheat at a time in the hopper, can be tricky turning the knob for setting the grinder from coarse to fine grinding.
2. The Kitchen Mill by Blend-Tec, Electric Wheat Grinder
Pros: large flour collection compartment, size and shape make it fairly easy to store, not complicated, few parts make it easy to clean, flour collection compartment can hold about 10 cups of flour, strong motor, AFFORDABLE appliance (around $200), can grind all sorts of grains with ease, simple setting dial for coarse/fine grinding.
Cons: VERY LOUD, has a small spongey filter that is fragile and needs to be carefully cleaned and stored, somewhat heavy....the motor sits ontop of the collection container making it top heavy/somewhat unstable, holds only 1 to 2 cups of wheat in hopper at a time.
3. The Grain Mill/Whisper Mill, Electric Wheat Grinder
Pros: QUIET in comparison to others, large hopper to hold wheat, large collection containers
Cons: multiple pieces, some what difficult to clean, sometimes blows flour out of collection tubes/containers
4. Wheat Grinder attachment for The Kitchen Aid Mixer, Electric Wheat Grinder
Pros: quick and easy to attach and use, one-piece construction, easy to clean, easy to store, simple setting dial for coarse/fine grinding, all metal construction making it strong and durable, fairly QUIET
Cons: MUST HAVE the Kitchen Aid Mixer in order to use, EXPENSIVE considering it is only an attachment to an already expensive machine, holds only about 1 cup of wheat at a time in the hopper, since the attachment is connected to the top of the machine the flour has a long way to fall and doesn't have a collection container, a tall collection container is needed to catch flour without making a mess
Next we used our Wheat Flour to make BREAD, Pizza Dough, and a Bread Tortilla. Here are the recipes:
Simply Perfect Setpoint Bread
**We made this BY HAND and also in the Kitchen Aid Mixer using a Dough Hook attachment. Bosch mixers with a dough hook attachment will also be able to handle this recipe.**
SMALL BATCH
You will need 5 cups of Whole Wheat to grind into flour for this recipe.
6 to 7 cups Whole Wheat Flour (I like to do 3 cups Wheat Flour, 3 cups White Flour)
1 rounded Tblsp. Dry Yeast
1/4 cup Vital Wheat Gluten (optional)
250 mg Vitamin C (optional)....this can be found at Health Food Stores, but ask at your local grocery store too. Vitamin C helps keep the bread from crumbling.
2 c. very Warm Water
3 Tbsp. Vegetable Oil
3 Tbsp. Honey or Sugar
2 tsp. Salt (scant teaspoons)
You may use all wheat flour or varied portions of different flours. You may also add seeds, wheat germ or flax seed meal to the recipe for more graininess!
Tools
Mixer with a dough hook attachment
2 loaf pans (8x4x3)
Add 3 cups flour, yeast, vitamin C and Gluten to mixing bowl and mix.
Add water and mix for 1 minute. For lighter bread turn off mixer, cover bowl, and let dough sponge for 10 minutes. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!!! Add oil, honey or sugar, and salt. Turn on mixer and quickly add remaining flour, 1 cup at a time until dough forms a soft ball and cleans the sides of the bowl. Amount of flour needed may vary.
Knead 7 to 10 minutes, until smooth and elastic.
Quick rise method: Preheat oven to 150, lightly oil hands, divide dough into equal parts, shape into loaves and place in greased loaf pans. Turn oven off. Place bread in oven with space between pans. Let rise until double in size, about 20 to 30 minutes. DO NOT MOVE THE PANS!!!....leave bread in oven....then...
Turn oven on to 350 degrees and bake for 30 to 35 min.
Can also let rise on counter, covered, until doubled and bake the same as above.
Turn out immediately from pans to cool. For soft crust, mist lightly with water while still hot or butter tops.
Makes 2 loaves.
Leslie's Pizza Dough
For 1 Pie:
1 cup Warm Water
1 pkg. Yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
1 tsp. Salt
1 Tbsp. Oil
1/2 tsp. Sugar
3-3&1/2 cups Flour
Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add oil, salt, sugar, and 1 cup flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in remaining flour slowly until ball forms. Knead on lightly floured surface 5 to 10 minutes adding additional flour if needed. Grease bowl and let rise about 1 hour until double. Punch down dough and roll out on greased cookie sheet or pizza stone. Top with sauce, cheese and favorite toppings. Bake at 450 F for 20-25 mins.
Bread Tortillas
Mix Together:
5 c. Flour (Whole Wheat or White or...try mixtures like half wheat/half white)
1 & 1/2 tsp. Salt
4 tsp. Baking Powder
Add:
3/4 c. Vegetable Oil
1 & 1/2 c. Lukewarm Water
Mix until it forms a ball. Cut into 16 pieces, forming each into separate balls. Roll out until thin using lots of flour on the rolling surface. Cook in a HOT frying pan...NO OIL IN PAN!!!
Cook them lightly for a soft tortilla or leave them in a little longer for a crispy, crunchy snack!
***When we made these we actually made about 26 small balls and rolled them out thin.***
Optional: You can also fry these in a pan of oil if you'd like more of a "tostada" result. You can even make a desert out of these by sprinkling with Cinnamon-Sugar, Powdered Sugar, or Honey after frying. We even spread Nutella on them for a yummy treat....you can fill them with fruit and cream as well for a make-shift crepe!
"Who Will Bake this Wheat into Bread?"
"Not I," said the Dog.
"Not I," said the Cat.
"Not I," said the Mouse.
"Then I Will," said the Little Red Hen....and she DID!
I LOVE the story of the Little Red Hen!! She has lofty goals and she has the determination to see them through. No matter what is going on around her, no matter who is too lazy to help her, she keeps plodding her course to the finish line.
Not only that, her goal is AWESOME: Making Fresh Bread!! Now, what could be better than that, I ask you?!
Are you like me, making grand plans, but never seeing them through? That is why YOU & I must channel our Inner-most Little Red Hen!!!...and what could be a better way to start than by doing exactly what she did...GRIND WHEAT & BAKE BREAD!
We got started this month in our Food Storage/Prep Class by bringing our wheat together and using different grinders to make flour. We used a simple hand grinder and a few different electric grinders. Here are the ones we tried:
1. Back to Basics, Manual Wheat Grinder
Pros: fairly easy to use and set up, fairly quiet, good for emergencies because it doesn't require electricity, small, lightweight, portable, easy to store, fairly easy to clean, INEXPENSIVE
Cons: requires muscle power, takes time....about 10 minutes to make 1 cup of Flour, has to be screwed onto a table edge and sometimes this makes it unstable as you grind, holds only about 1 cup of wheat at a time in the hopper, can be tricky turning the knob for setting the grinder from coarse to fine grinding.
2. The Kitchen Mill by Blend-Tec, Electric Wheat Grinder
Pros: large flour collection compartment, size and shape make it fairly easy to store, not complicated, few parts make it easy to clean, flour collection compartment can hold about 10 cups of flour, strong motor, AFFORDABLE appliance (around $200), can grind all sorts of grains with ease, simple setting dial for coarse/fine grinding.
Cons: VERY LOUD, has a small spongey filter that is fragile and needs to be carefully cleaned and stored, somewhat heavy....the motor sits ontop of the collection container making it top heavy/somewhat unstable, holds only 1 to 2 cups of wheat in hopper at a time.
3. The Grain Mill/Whisper Mill, Electric Wheat Grinder
Pros: QUIET in comparison to others, large hopper to hold wheat, large collection containers
Cons: multiple pieces, some what difficult to clean, sometimes blows flour out of collection tubes/containers
4. Wheat Grinder attachment for The Kitchen Aid Mixer, Electric Wheat Grinder
Pros: quick and easy to attach and use, one-piece construction, easy to clean, easy to store, simple setting dial for coarse/fine grinding, all metal construction making it strong and durable, fairly QUIET
Cons: MUST HAVE the Kitchen Aid Mixer in order to use, EXPENSIVE considering it is only an attachment to an already expensive machine, holds only about 1 cup of wheat at a time in the hopper, since the attachment is connected to the top of the machine the flour has a long way to fall and doesn't have a collection container, a tall collection container is needed to catch flour without making a mess
Next we used our Wheat Flour to make BREAD, Pizza Dough, and a Bread Tortilla. Here are the recipes:
Simply Perfect Setpoint Bread
**We made this BY HAND and also in the Kitchen Aid Mixer using a Dough Hook attachment. Bosch mixers with a dough hook attachment will also be able to handle this recipe.**
SMALL BATCH
You will need 5 cups of Whole Wheat to grind into flour for this recipe.
6 to 7 cups Whole Wheat Flour (I like to do 3 cups Wheat Flour, 3 cups White Flour)
1 rounded Tblsp. Dry Yeast
1/4 cup Vital Wheat Gluten (optional)
250 mg Vitamin C (optional)....this can be found at Health Food Stores, but ask at your local grocery store too. Vitamin C helps keep the bread from crumbling.
2 c. very Warm Water
3 Tbsp. Vegetable Oil
3 Tbsp. Honey or Sugar
2 tsp. Salt (scant teaspoons)
You may use all wheat flour or varied portions of different flours. You may also add seeds, wheat germ or flax seed meal to the recipe for more graininess!
Tools
Mixer with a dough hook attachment
2 loaf pans (8x4x3)
Add 3 cups flour, yeast, vitamin C and Gluten to mixing bowl and mix.
Add water and mix for 1 minute. For lighter bread turn off mixer, cover bowl, and let dough sponge for 10 minutes. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!!! Add oil, honey or sugar, and salt. Turn on mixer and quickly add remaining flour, 1 cup at a time until dough forms a soft ball and cleans the sides of the bowl. Amount of flour needed may vary.
Knead 7 to 10 minutes, until smooth and elastic.
Quick rise method: Preheat oven to 150, lightly oil hands, divide dough into equal parts, shape into loaves and place in greased loaf pans. Turn oven off. Place bread in oven with space between pans. Let rise until double in size, about 20 to 30 minutes. DO NOT MOVE THE PANS!!!....leave bread in oven....then...
Turn oven on to 350 degrees and bake for 30 to 35 min.
Can also let rise on counter, covered, until doubled and bake the same as above.
Turn out immediately from pans to cool. For soft crust, mist lightly with water while still hot or butter tops.
Makes 2 loaves.
Leslie's Pizza Dough
For 1 Pie:
1 cup Warm Water
1 pkg. Yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
1 tsp. Salt
1 Tbsp. Oil
1/2 tsp. Sugar
3-3&1/2 cups Flour
Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add oil, salt, sugar, and 1 cup flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in remaining flour slowly until ball forms. Knead on lightly floured surface 5 to 10 minutes adding additional flour if needed. Grease bowl and let rise about 1 hour until double. Punch down dough and roll out on greased cookie sheet or pizza stone. Top with sauce, cheese and favorite toppings. Bake at 450 F for 20-25 mins.
Bread Tortillas
Mix Together:
5 c. Flour (Whole Wheat or White or...try mixtures like half wheat/half white)
1 & 1/2 tsp. Salt
4 tsp. Baking Powder
Add:
3/4 c. Vegetable Oil
1 & 1/2 c. Lukewarm Water
Mix until it forms a ball. Cut into 16 pieces, forming each into separate balls. Roll out until thin using lots of flour on the rolling surface. Cook in a HOT frying pan...NO OIL IN PAN!!!
Cook them lightly for a soft tortilla or leave them in a little longer for a crispy, crunchy snack!
***When we made these we actually made about 26 small balls and rolled them out thin.***
Optional: You can also fry these in a pan of oil if you'd like more of a "tostada" result. You can even make a desert out of these by sprinkling with Cinnamon-Sugar, Powdered Sugar, or Honey after frying. We even spread Nutella on them for a yummy treat....you can fill them with fruit and cream as well for a make-shift crepe!
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Apple Sauce Ideas
So now that we've made Applesauce and canned it, what do you do with it? Well...you eat it of course!! haha!
Seriously, eating a bowl of Applesauce warm or cold can get a little hum-drum sometimes, so here are some ways to eat it and use it that you may not have thought of before!
Apple Sauce Granola Breakfast/Snack.....top a bowl of applesauce with your favorite granola and serve warm or cold.
Apple Sauce and Gingerbread....gingerbread is actually a cake and topped with homemade applesauce and whipped cream, you'd think you would have died and gone to heaven.....mmmmmmmm!
Apple Sauce and Meat....served over or on the side of meats such as Pork chops or tenderloin, chicken breast, or even beef makes a great combination of sweet and salty!
Apple Sauce Crisp....instead of making an apple crip, use your applesauce, cover it with your struesel topping and bake for 10 minutes at 350 or just until the topping is browned....quick and easy dessert!
Apple Sauce Cake,Bread, Muffins....search online and you will find many recipes! Applesauce makes a great addition to carrot and zuccini type breads and cakes, muffins, even pancakes! You could also use it as a filling in cakes....spreading it thinly between layers of a spice cake for example.
Apple Sauce in Baking....speaking of baking, Applesauce is know to be a great substitue for OIL in baking recipes. Substitute equal amounts of Applesauce for oil and you can greatly reduce the fat in a baking recipe!
Apple Sauce and Sweet Potatoes...whip some Applesauce into your mashed sweet potatoes with a little butter and brown sugar....oh yum! You could even reduce the amount of butter used because the Applesauce will help smooth out the texture.
Apple Sauce and Ice Cream....just pour it over, add some graham crackers or granola and you have a great treat!
Can you think of any more ideas or tips? If so, please feel free to share!!!
Seriously, eating a bowl of Applesauce warm or cold can get a little hum-drum sometimes, so here are some ways to eat it and use it that you may not have thought of before!
Apple Sauce Granola Breakfast/Snack.....top a bowl of applesauce with your favorite granola and serve warm or cold.
Apple Sauce and Gingerbread....gingerbread is actually a cake and topped with homemade applesauce and whipped cream, you'd think you would have died and gone to heaven.....mmmmmmmm!
Apple Sauce and Meat....served over or on the side of meats such as Pork chops or tenderloin, chicken breast, or even beef makes a great combination of sweet and salty!
Apple Sauce Crisp....instead of making an apple crip, use your applesauce, cover it with your struesel topping and bake for 10 minutes at 350 or just until the topping is browned....quick and easy dessert!
Apple Sauce Cake,Bread, Muffins....search online and you will find many recipes! Applesauce makes a great addition to carrot and zuccini type breads and cakes, muffins, even pancakes! You could also use it as a filling in cakes....spreading it thinly between layers of a spice cake for example.
Apple Sauce in Baking....speaking of baking, Applesauce is know to be a great substitue for OIL in baking recipes. Substitute equal amounts of Applesauce for oil and you can greatly reduce the fat in a baking recipe!
Apple Sauce and Sweet Potatoes...whip some Applesauce into your mashed sweet potatoes with a little butter and brown sugar....oh yum! You could even reduce the amount of butter used because the Applesauce will help smooth out the texture.
Apple Sauce and Ice Cream....just pour it over, add some graham crackers or granola and you have a great treat!
Can you think of any more ideas or tips? If so, please feel free to share!!!
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