Homemade Dishwasher Detergent: Part One

So... those dishes that needed to be washed.

Dishwasher Detergent 1.0
Baking Soda plus dash of pickling salt (or just salt, I have lots of unused pickling salt)

That is it. Shrug. It is supposed to work and we have a sani-rinse and high temp scrub options on our uber-dishwasher to combat my germ-phobia.

AND just to make things more exciting I put vinegar in the rinse thingy. It kills germs and makes things sparkly, just hopefully no volcano like eruptions.

Spending Freeze

How long do you think you could continue to feed and run your household without buying anything? My deep freeze is fairly well stocked and so is my dry goods pantry, so at first I thought six months, with a little ingenuity, no problem.

Then I realized we would most likely get scurvy, and my husband would REALLY have to be on-board with the plan.

So I am going to try it for a week, starting today. And just so you know we ran out of dishwasher detergent 4 days ago.

This first week will be:
1) Seeing if I can stand NOT going to the store.
2) If those crazy make-it-yourself cleaning products really work.
3) Finding motivation to work on all those unfinished projects, seemingly unrelated but with some now extra free time relevant.

And after this confidence building test run, I will begin looking into what else I could incorporate into our garden for Fall/Winter fruit (they whole scurvy thing) and consumable variety.

GF Bread to try

From Karina's Kitchen:

1 cup sorghum flour
1 cup potato starch
1/2 cup millet flour
2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1/ 1/4 teaspoons fine sea salt
1 tablespoon instant dry yeast- or rapid yeast

You'll need sesame seeds for the top (or hemp seeds); set aside for later.

Pour the liquid ingredients into the bread machine pan:

1 1/4 to 1 1/3 cup warm water (at 110 to 115 degrees F)
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons honey- or raw agave nectar to keep it vegan
1/2 teaspoon mild rice or white wine cider vinegar (or lemon juice)
Ener-G Egg Replacer for 1 egg whisked with warm water

Set your bread machine program for 1.5 loaf medium crust. rapid rise cycle - it should be closer to a muffin batter than bread dough, soft but not too wet. Adjust dry to wet ratio with a tablespoon of flour or warm liquid, as needed.

I thought the sides were a tad soft so I placed the naked loaf directly into the oven- on the center rack- and turned on the temp to 350 degrees. I baked it for another 12 to 15 minutes, keeping an eye on it. When I tapped the bread it sounded hollow. Done.

Mason Jar Blender

So I was lamenting that my blender was dirty and in the dishwasher, because I can't clean it any other way without slicing my fingers, same with the food processor. When I decided to look into the Magic Bullet, again. And, again, it was just too expensive and too plastic to work for me. But those interchangeable cups as sooo appealing. So I continued to search and began to find cheaper versions of the same thing, and then some lovely mason jar blender offered at Target.... Glass interchangeable cups, that I could have as many as I want or needed.... but it was MORE expensive than the Magic Bullet. So I started searching for mason jar blenders.

They exist. And have existed for 50 plus years. You have one.

It is all some lie and vast conspiracy to remove from the owner manuals that you can use a mason jar to chop nuts with your blender, or to blend smaller batches of stuff, OR as a REPLACEMENT for your broken blender top!!!!

So I am going to use my new Mason Jar Blender, for free, and enjoy it immensely.

Lemonaise?

So I have been looking for a good and natural mayonnaise... one without icky things like sodium benzoate, corn syrup, or other weirdness. And I wasn't that thrilled at the prospect of making something like this myself, ending up with large quantites of a quickly perishing but seldom used condiment.

Thus Lemonaise with Basil & Tarragon. From the store, yummy and all natural. It is some weird brand that I might not be able to readily get at home but will be looking for: The Ojai Cook. And I have to say a dollop of this and a couple of cups of diced chicken make for a fantastic chicken salad. And I usually like stuff in my chicken salad, but seriously just these 2 indgredient are all that is needed. But I will probably add grapes next time. I just like grapes in my chicken salad, it is VERY good, you should try it.

Coconut and Raspberry Biscuits

This decadent treat is not part of our new diet. But nonetheless tasty, and quickly dispersed to our friends ;)

Coconut and Raspberry Biscuits
(does not make 24)

For the base:
8 T butter substitute
1/3 c sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 t vanilla extract
2/3 c brown rice flour
1/2 c tapioca flour
1 t baking powder
1 t xanthan gum
1/4 c milk alternative

Cream butter and sugar. Gradually add egg. Beat well.
Sift dry ingredients, stir into creamed mixture alternating with milk to moisten. This will have a dough like consistency. Spread into a 9 x 11 greased dish.

Filling:
3 oz raspberry jelly
1 c raspberries

Spread over base.

Topping:
7 T butter
3/4 c sugar
2 eggs beaten
3 c shredded or dessicated coconut
1/2 c brown rice flour

Cream butter and sugar, add eggs, beat well. Add coconut and rice flour alternately. Will be very moist. Dollop over top and then spread evenly. Bake 30-40 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean. Cut into 24 squares and then cool to remove. But best eaten hot and cut into VERY large squares.