DIY Laundry Detergent

So, I know this isn't food, but I'd like to branch out to include other crafty home projects.  This is one I started a while ago.  I'd thought about making laundry soap for a while, but never took the steps to do so until one of my friends from work told me how easy it was and how well it worked (thanks, Kerry)!

the ingredients

You will need:
1 bar of Ivory soap, grated (I used the fine grate on my box grater)
1 cup of Borax
1 cup of washing soda (the only place I found washing soda was Fred Meyer, so look there)

this is me stirring fast

Directions:
Grate the bar of soap with your grater.  In a large bowl, combine all ingredients.  Stir to combine.  Put in a container with a lid (a 24 oz container or larger should work best).

the finished product, in its natural environment

And there you have it!  I suppose you could add a few drops of an essential oil if you wanted it to smell scent-y, but I prefer unscented laundry soap.  The soap itself smells like Ivory, but I've found that after washing and drying, the laundry doesn't have much of a smell at all (other than the smell of clean!).  Try it, it's easy and cheap considering how many jars of the stuff you can make after the initial purchase of the ingredients.

Oh, and I almost forgot, you only need to use about a tablespoon of detergent per load.

Corn Chowder

Corn Chowder

1/2 C diced bacon

4 medium potatoes chopped

1/2 medium onion, chopped

2 C water

2 1/2 - 3 C corn (creamed or frozen - I used a combo)

2 t salt

pepper to taste

2 C half-and-half

shredded cheddar cheese, for garnish

Saute bacon until crisp; add onion and potato and cook for a few minutes, until onions are translucent.  Add water, corn, and salt.  Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 20 minutes.  Add the half-and-half, stir.  Serve with cheese to garnish.  If you want it to look even prettier, reserve a little bacon and chop up some green onions or chives to garnish as well.

A New Year's resolution and some olive oil granola

So I have been very, very bad at posting all fall.  As in, no posts.  Well, guess what my New Year's resolution is?  You guessed it, to post more!  I know it's the same resolution I made last year, but I'm going to go for it again.  If all goes to plan, I will post consistently every Monday.

So, with that said, I found a fantastic granola recipe that I love.  I found it at the kitchn, where they reviewed it over a year ago.  It was originally published in the New York Times.  The link is http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/recipe-review/watch-out-dangerously-addictive-olive-oil-granola-recipe-review-092132  If you follow this link, it will lead you to the original recipe.

This granola uses pistachios, raw pumpkin seeds, maple syrup, and cinnamon and cardamom.  I was going to include dried blueberries, but decided at the last minute to leave them out.  I'm glad I did.  This granola is fantastic, free of dried fruit.

The resulting granola was full of delicious chunks, caramelized, nutty, and cardamom-y.

I made a few modifications from the recipe, due to what I had on hand.  It calls for raw pistachios, but I only had roasted/salted.  They worked fine.  I also didn't have any dried apricots, and thus included no dried fruit.  I had dark brown sugar instead of light brown sugar, but I think that just lended itself to the caramelized finish at the end.  Finally, I lined my baking sheet with parchment, which made transferring the granola to a jar that much easier.

I took this granola to work this morning for a co-worker's birthday.  I also brought some ricotta and fresh blueberries to serve with it.  Yum!  I will be making this one again for sure!