Laundry Detergent

This week we ran out of laundry detergent. It’s not that big of a deal to run out of detergent. You just put it on your list, right? Well not exactly. Not when you make your own. It has been over a year since I made my first batch of laundry detergent. I kept using that batch. A year passed and I was still using that same batch. I think it cost me about $6.00 to make it. It just kept lasting and lasting. Finally last week I emptied the bucket into my dispenser bottle. On my shopping list I wrote the ingredients for the next batch.

One bar of Fels Naptha, you can use other but this is what I use.

One box of Borax laundry booster

One box of Washing Soda

The recipe is taped to the inside door of one of my laundry room cabinets.

Tuesday Chloe and I set about to make another batch. I’m sharing it with you so that you too can save a lot of money on an ordinary job like washing clothes. I’m completely satisfied with how clean my clothes are. I sometimes use vinegar or additional Washing Soda to brighten up the whites.

This is what you need.

You will also need a five gallon pail.

Grate the bar of Fels-Naptha soap into a large saucepan.

Add four cups of water.

Melt the soap in the water on medium heat stirring constantly.

Fill the bucket half full with hot tap water.

I can not carry a five gallon pail full of water

so I carry the water to the pail in a juice jug.

Fill the pail half way with hot water.

I bought a pail at Rural King for $5.

I also had to pay $5. for the lid.

Measure one cup of Borax and

one cup of Washing Soda

Two cups of powder total.

Pour the melted soap into the pail.

Pour the powder into the pail.

Stir it really well to dissolve the powder.

Fill it up the rest of the way with hot water.

Put the lid on and let it sit for at least 24 hours.

Now you can take 1/4 cup per load as I do.

Or 1/2 cup per load as I do for really big dirty loads.

Or 1 - 2 cups per load like my daughter does.

Hers doesn't last as long as mine but she is saving a ton of money using this detergent.

Mine lasted a long time.  I don't know about HE washers.  I don't have one.

If I had one I might give it a try and see if it works out.

If you have a HE washer and have tried this detergent in it,

I would love to know how it worked out.

I love that I can save plastic and money and be more independent.

A Confession and an Encouragement.

I had planned on posting about the cold weather and how challenging it was for me but decided not to since everything I tried to write about it was coming out grumpy.  I like to post the positive the good and the amazing and encouraging stuff only.  So I became silent on my page because only complaining language was coming out.  I was getting ill from the stress of the week and really discouraged.  Then I remembered a couple of lines from the Bible:  In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thess 5:18.  I started to repeat this over and over and soon I became really happy again and stronger in my body and mind.  I had thought that I was going to get sick but I didn't.  I just changed my thoughts.  I'm grateful for so many things in this cold spell.  I have a home heated by wood which is amazing and that is thanks to my good man.  I have warm clothing and I have the chickens and ducks whom I get to care for.  I'm strong and healthy and still quite young.  I could go on and on and so now I choose to pray for those less fortunate and having real struggles in this cold instead of grumbling about my lot which is actually very good.  Thanks for listening.  Hopefully my experience will help someone else.  But mostly I want to say that it's ok to use the Bible verses in this way.  They are like dry wood on the fire, they burn brightly and warm us all the way through.

Picnic Pie

This Christmas I wanted to do something very English to celebrate my heritage.  I used to make sausage pie when the kids were young but haven't made it for a long time because I couldn't find the same sausage in this country.  It was exciting because I could use our own homemade sausage from pastured pork.  I studied different recipes and asked around on Facebook and came up with the following recipe:  You don't have to make it this shape.  I used to make it in a pie shape with only a bottom crust. But a two crust pie in a deep pan would work great too.  Chill it for a take anywhere savory treat.  Or serve hot with a side of veggies.  You could also cut this recipe in half for a smaller version.

Here are some pictures of the process.

I served this picnic pie cold on Christmas Eve.  It was a hit.  At least it was
with me.  Mark liked it too.  The two of us ate that all the next week.  I will
definitely make this again.  I hope you try it and enjoy it.

Here is a recipe for the pastry I make.  Just double it for a two crust pie.

Joanna's Green Bean Casserole

Thanksgiving is a time for food and tradition.  One tradition among many is the 'Green Bean Casserole'.
It hasn't been a tradition so much for me as I was only introduced to it in the last decade.  My first introduction however was at a Thanksgiving dinner at my in-laws.  Everyone seemed to love it and one or another always made it or brought it.  I think I made it once.  My memory of the process includes a bag of green beans, onion, cream of mushroom soup and a can of French fried onions.  As I progressed into our 'unprocessed, non-additive', real food lifestyle, 'Green Bean Casserole' kind of fell to the wayside until Joanna came for Thanksgiving this year.  Joanna is our daughter, number four of our grown up children, and she loves to cook real food, from scratch.  Well, she wanted 'Green Bean Casserole'. " I suppose you can make it real." was my reply.  We haven't done this before but now would be an excellent time to try and also to learn a new thing together with my daughter.  I jumped at the opportunity.

I referred to www.100daysofrealfood.com for a real food recipe and this is what I learned.  Green Bean Casserole can be broken down into 3 recipes.  I used lard instead of butter.  Butter usually makes things soft and lard makes things crispy.  So we went with lard. Pastured pork lard.  Old fashioned, no additives.

Joanna loved this so much that when she went home, after Thanksgiving, she made a Thanksgiving dinner of her own complete with Green Bean Casserole.

She's actually cooking sausage for the stuffing, but this is Joanna cooking on my stove.

Cream of Mushroom Soup:  make ahead, like the day before.

French Fried Onions: best to make last minute

Putting it all together.  Green Bean Casserole

The Advent of Christmas - Dec 8, 2013 Peace

The 2nd Sunday of Advent we will light the second candle, the candle of Peace.
taken from: http://www.msgr.ca/msgr-2/ADVENTwreath_03.htm

The 2nd Sunday of Advent: Peace

Youth - Last Sunday, we lit the first candle in our Advent wreath, the candle of hope. Let us light it again, remembering that the light of hope shines for us in the darkness. (Youth and adult light the first candle.)

Adult - Peace is one of God's gifts to us. John the Baptist was a prophet calling the people of Israel to repent, to find peace with God. John also declared that it is in our actions of love and justice that God's peace is shown. May we by our actions help to prepare the way for the coming of Peace.

Youth - We light this second candle to remind us that Jesus is the Prince of Peace. His light helps us find ways to share God's peace with others. (Adult and youth light the second candle.)

Adult - The prayer of St. Francis asks God to help us be peacemakers. Let us say it together:

Everyone - Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is sadness, joy; and where there is darkness, light. Grant that we may not seek so much to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive, in pardoning that we are pardoned, and in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen!

After the reading and lighting of the candles we sing these two verses together.
Taken from: http://www.msgr.ca/msgr-2/ADVENTwreath_01.htm

The Advent Candles
Tune: Away in a Manger

On the First Sunday of Advent

A candle is burning, a flame warm and bright;
A candle of Hope in December's dark night.
While angels sing blessings from heav'n's starry sky
Our hearts we prepare now, for Jesus is nigh.

On the Second Sunday of Advent.., add

A candle is burning, a candle of Peace;
A candle to signal that conflict must cease.
For Jesus is coming to show us the way;
A message of Peace humbly laid in the hay.

The Advent of Christmas - Dec 1st, 2013 HOPE

A few years ago our family began a new tradition in our home.  The Advent Candles.  We found information about Advent on the internet and each year we add to it and make it more meaningful to us.  This has brought us closer together and given us the Spirit of Christmas that we would like to entertain.  In this series of posts I will share with you what we do and take some pictures as well.  I learned some of this from a website http://www.msgr.ca/msgr-2/ADVENTwreath_01.htm it is a beautiful page.
On the first Sunday in December, we light the candle of Hope.  We read these words (http://www.msgr.ca/msgr-2/ADVENTwreath_02.htm) aloud and sing the first verse of a song.

The 1st Sunday of Advent: Hope
Youth - Today is the first Sunday in the season of Advent. Advent means "coming," and in this season we prepare for the coming of Christ.  One of the ways we can celebrate Advent is by making an Advent wreath and lighting its candles to remind us of the gifts Christ brings to the world.

Adult - The Advent wreath includes many symbols. The wreath is in the shape of a circle, without beginning or ending. This reminds us that there is no beginning and no ending to God. God's love and care for us never ends. The evergreen branches are a sign of ever new life. The candles tell us of the light which came into the world with Jesus Christ. The traditional colors of the Advent candles, three violet and one rose, are penitential colors, reminding us that we need God's help to be the people we are meant to be. The white candle which we light on Christmas Eve signifies the coming of Christ.

Youth - Today we light the first candle, the candle of hope.
(Youth and adult together light the first candle.)

Adult - The people of Israel heard God's promises through the prophets. The prophet Isaiah spoke words of hope to Israel. He spoke of the coming of God's realm of Shalom when all nations will walk in God's light. We too hope and pray for a world of peace and harmony.

Youth - Hope is like a light shining in a dark place. With the lighting of this candle, we celebrate the hope of Israel, and the hope that we have in Jesus Christ.

Everyone - We continue to hope in God's promise that Christ will come again to fill our lives and the life of the world with love and joy and peace. Thank you, God, for the light of hope. As we 
prepare for Christ's coming, help us to share our hope with others.

We sing this verse to the tune of: Away in a Manger
http://www.msgr.ca/msgr-2/ADVENTwreath_01.htm

The Advent Candles

Tune: Away in a Manger

On the First Sunday of Advent

A candle is burning, a flame warm and bright;

A candle of Hope in December's dark night.

While angels sing blessings from heav'n's starry sky

Our hearts we prepare now, for Jesus is nigh.

 

 

 

 

Buckwheat Pumpkin Pancakes

Chloe and I love to play around with recipes and ingredients.  This is a favorite for taking with us on short trips where we may get hungry.  We just love these little cakes.