New Year~New Soaps!

Welcome 2014.  I have changed the way I do things around here and it is working very well!
Time to share with others, what is working for me.

Soap!
Homemade, clean and cost efficient soap!
Here are three recipes for housekeeping I am implementing and have been for some months now.  All the recipes I am passing on to you, were harvested from the Pinterest site or given to me by friends. 

LIQUID LAUNDRY SOAP

5.5 oz of grated laundry soap.  I use a bar of Zote or Fels Naptha, grated with my food processor, using the fine blade.
4 cups water
1 cup Arm & Hammer Washing Soda
1/2 cup Borax
a 5 gallon bucket with lid
An empty container to hold the weeks worth of laundry soap

I use a scale to measure the 5.5 oz. of grated soap accurately.
Pour the 4 cups water into a saucepan, heat to hot, not boiling and sprinkle the grated soap into water, stirring until all melted and dissolved.
When dissolved pour into the 5 gallon bucket and add hot tap water to fill to the 5 gallon line.  Add the Borax and Washing Soda and stir well.  My husband cut me a nice big paddle out of wood to use just for this stirring process.  Otherwise use a long yardstick or other long object so as not to burn your arm with the hot water while stirring.
Set the cover on the bucket lightly and allow to sit in place and cool.  Mixture should solidify to a gel consistency, and will need to be stirred again.  At this point I fill my liquid laundry bottle, to 3/4 with the soap.  Scooping out the gel with a measuring cup and pouring into the empty liquid laundry soap bottle.  Fill  the remainder of the bottle to the top with hot water, cap tightly and shake.
I store this bottle nearer to my washer.  I shake the bottle well before using.  It only takes 3 cap fulls to wash a heavy load!  Less soap for lesser load.


LIQUID HAND & BODY SOAP

1/2 gallon distilled water
1 bar Dr. Bonner Soap,  or Kirks Original Coco Castile Soap
(May substitute other bar soap but it must contain glycerin in the ingredients list, or purchase glycerin separately to add a spoonful to glycerin free soap.)
3 or 4 clean empty soap dispensers

Measure out 1/2 or the gallon of distilled water into a large saucepan.  Heat water to just hot, not boiling. Grate the bar of soap and add to the water.  Stirring until dissolved.  Allow to cool on counter or stovetop. Cover.  Overnight or after many hours, this will set up and become a gel.  Stir and pour through a funnel into your empty soap dispensers.   You may want to add essential oil, about 10 to 12 drops to the pan of cooled gel and stir, before pouring into the dispensers.
* This works for dishes, hair, bath anything.  If it looks like it's gelling up at anytime, just shake bottle good before using.


HOMEMADE SPRAY CLEANER

12 oz. Dawn Dish Soap ( I like the clean and clear Dawn)
12 oz. white distilled vinegar
10 drops essential oil (optional)

Measure all ingredients and pour into a large spray bottle.  Use for kitchen sinks, counters, bathroom tubs, sinks toilets, works well on stoves, too!  Spray and wipe, wipe again with rinsed cloth if needed, the surface should dry to a shine.  It won't smell vinegary, either.  Not so that it bothers you, anyway.

Cucuzza!!! Gagootza!!!

What an amazing sturdy squash/gourd plant the Cucuzza is!  

How do I love thee, let me count the ways to eat thee!

First, it must be cooked in  Red Gravy. 

Instructions on how to prepare Cucuzza below.

Next, I love it added to soup, a Mexican Vegetable Beef soup!  Recipe on my next post!

The best quality about the Cucuzza is the size, you get so much in one squash! 

 Next best quality is it's sturdiness. 

 When cooked, the squash really holds up, becomes translucent and tender, but doesn't dissolve into mush like, yellow squash or zucchini might do.

 

 

Cucuzza can be as long as a yard stick~

 

Cucuzza in Red Gravy

 

Peel the dark outer skin off first.  I use a veggie peeler, as used for cucumbers and carrots, etc...

Cut in half lengthwise, then into 1 to 2 inch slices.  The seeds should be tender, almost invisible and not need to be scooped out.  If they are large and tough, then defiantly scoop them out.

 

I recommend you cook your favorite recipe for tomato sauce, as you would for a Daube and sauce, or spaghetti sauce, and add the Cucuzza last, cooking until translucent and tender.

 

 Lastly, I don't think I needed to tell you this, but the Cucuzza is Italian!!!

 

 

 



No luck, Jelling...

Now this is a first.  My jelly didn't jell.  Cranberry Hot Pepper Jelly.  I made it again, followed the instructions on the guide sheet for the pectin powder (first time I used liquid pectin), but it is not jelled.  Jelled the way I think of jelled.  It is too liquid-y to use on cheese crackers.  One counselor online suggested to leave it set for at least 2 weeks, undisturbed.  I will do this.  I hate to loose such a tasty treat. 

Just wanted to share...

Pumpkin Spice Latte Syrup

I wanted a good recipe for the famous Pumpkin Spice Syrup used in the yummy holiday season lattes found at most coffee stops.
I found one on Pinterest, which originated with Annie's Eats.  I really like the ingredients, but found I wanted a spicier syrup, so I doubled the spices called for.  I posted my revised recipe here today for:
Pumpkin Spice Latte Syrup

1-1/2 cup water

1-1/2 cup sugar

4 cinnamon sticks or 1/2 tsp. cinnamon powder

2 tsp. grated nutmeg

1 tsp. ginger

1 tsp. cloves

6 Tbsp. pumpkin puree

Heat water and sugar in small saucepan, stirring as sugar dissolves.  Whisk in the pumpkin, spices and add the cinnamon sticks.

Heat this mixture on med. low for 5 to 10 minutes, do not allow to come to a boil.

Cool and strain through sieve or cheesecloth into container.  There will be some spice sediment in the liquid, that's ok.  Using a funnel, pour mixture into a bottle and store in the refrigerator.

Add 3 tablespoons to cup of coffee, or more or less as desired.

Fig Tree Named ~Hope

 

A bowl of freshly picked figs for breakfast!

An unknown fig variety. I have named ~Hope!

 Transplanted and thriving, determined to make it!  Just like my husband and I!
 

 

The fig tree my fruit came from was one which I dug out of the ground in a lady's yard.  With her permission of course! I had asked her for a shoot, but she said I could have the off-shoot growing next to her main tree. The tree was small, but the tap  roots were deep and so hard to extricate.  I brought the fig tree home and planted  it in my yard two summers ago, but  I was not sure it would make it.  The tree lost most of it's leaves at first, my husband thought it was done and said we should discard it, but with attention to watering, the little thing rallied round.  I am so glad! It has started bearing fruit and the figs are very tasty.  Since the birds agree, and I have had to cover the fig with netting, because I just don't want to share the fruit with the birds! 

 



Jambalaya ya ya

 

Jambalaya

Assemble all the ingredients ahead of time,

 and you have an easy meal ready in 25 minutes!

 

 

Ingredients

1 lb. Good Cajun sausage, sliced and browned in skillet

1 to 2 lbs. Raw, cleaned, de-veined shrimp

 2 c. cooked chicken diced
2 c. uncooked rice
4 c. chicken stock (have it hot and set aside)
3 T oil
½ onion,
2 stalks celery,
 ½ green pepper,
 3 cloves garlic…all chopped up

1/2  Roma tomato, chopped is optional

2 bay leaves, salt, pepper and cayenne to taste.

 

 

Use very large skillet, with a good fitting cover. Into the skillet pour oil and rice,
 (you see I am using Tony C's Yellow Rice, I like the yellow color of the finished dish!  Reminds me of Paella)
stir constantly over medium heat until the rice turns golden.

Immediately add the chopped onion, celery, garlic, green pepper, bay leaves, seasonings, omit salt if you use a pre-seasoned rice. Pour the hot chicken stock over all.

 

Immediatly pour the stock over all and stir.

 

 

 

Add the raw peeled, deveined, rinsed shrimp,
stir again and cover the pan.



 

Turn down heat to low, allow to steam cook with cover in place for  20 minutes. 

 

No peeking under the lid!!!

 Here is the finished Jambalaya, nicely plumped rice, all stock absorbed.  It's ready to serve!

 

YaYa~Yum!

Buttermilk Drop Donuts, like McKenzies Bakery~ Recipe & Review

I know there is a risk when trying an Internet recipe.   
I don't need to waste precious ingredients, so it's a good practice to find reader reviews before I try any recipes out in my kitchen.

  Here is my reader review and revision for the  improvised McKenzie Buttermilk Drop donuts recipe.

 I am visiting my daughter in Washington and wanted to make fresh buttermilk donut drops for breakfast, so I located a recipe for McKenzies Bakery Buttermilk Drops on the net. 

 McKenzies Bakery was a New Orleans favorite and the Buttermilk Drops were unbelievably delish!  The bakery is now closed, so if I want  Drops, I have to make them! 

 I adapted a recipe I found online a bit and found it to be satisfactory.
 I recommend you use a  cooking thermometer to keep the oil temp. at 350 degrees. 

They are really good!

If you want lattes or iced coffee, Torani's White Chocolate Flavor is a real good flavor addition! 

Buttermilk Drop Donuts

1 cup flour

4 tsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

Pinch of salt

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

Whisk these dry ingredients together in a bowl.

Add the following to the dry ingredients and stir until moistened throughout batter.

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 tbsp. melted butter

1 egg

1/2 cup buttermilk

Drop by spoonfull into 350 oil.  Cook until golden.  Remove and drain on papertowels.  Glaze with powder sugar glaze or dust with cinnamon sugar.  I enjoy these just plain, too!