Simple Safe Household Cleaner

Having children has made me reevaluate many of the things I do around the house. When it comes to cleaning my house I only want to use products that are safe and non-toxic. I don't want my kids or even myself around all the harsh and toxic chemicals that are in conventional cleaning products. I have been pleasantly surprised by how simple and easy it can be to make many cleansers myself. White vinegar is one of my favorite all purpose household products. Recently I discovered the idea of soaking leftover citrus peels in it and using that as an all purpose cleaner. It works great in the kitchen or the bathroom. It cleans up my greasy stove nicely and is great on my cabinets, mirrors, etc. I have made it with orange, lime or lemon peels, and they have all turned out great. They each add a pleasing scent to the vinegar plus they have great antibacterial properties and help cut grease. The last batch I made with lemon peels and added a few sprigs of fresh rosemary. I think you could make several combinations of citrus and herbs depending on what you wanted. Many herbs have their own antibacterial properties and with a little research you could decide which ones you wanted to use. The process to create this cleaner is so simple!

What you will need: glass jar, any size you want distilled white vinegar citrus peels of your choice a few branches of fresh herbs if desired spray bottle strainer and funnel

Method: Simply place leftover citrus peels in the jar. Gently press down and cover with vinegar. Screw on a lid and let sit for about 3 weeks. Strain vinegar into an empty spray bottle. Use full strength on surfaces such as greasy stovetops or dilute with half water for cleaning mirrors.

Here are a few herbs you might like to add:
Thyme - has antibiotic and disinfectant properties
Sage - effective on germs and also has many anti-fungal properties
Rosemary - anti-microbial properties
Lavender – disinfectant, antiseptic, natural antibiotic properties
Peppermint - antibacterial properties
Cinnamon Sticks - anti-fungal and anti-microbial

Lemon peels and fresh rosemary in white vinegar

After sitting for 3 weeks simply strain into a spray bottle

The finished product!

Baking Gingerbread

 Baking cookies and treats is always a special activity to enjoy this time of year. The other day the boys and I made some fun gingerbread cutout cookies. We have all sorts of fun cookie cutters; including a snowman, snowflakes, a train, and even a hummingbird. I made a small batch of dough because while baking with little children is fun, it can also be quite a challenge- and a mess! I certainly didn't want to spend all day or have it take so long that everybody got grouchy. It was just right. We had enough dough to cut out a couple of each shape and we ran out just as the little fellows started getting tired of it. When the cookies were baked we set them aside to cool (and to take a break). Later in the evening we all sat down and painted them with powdered sugar icing. When I was younger and didn't have children I would have wanted them all to be artistic and perfect. Needless to say I gave that ideal up a long time ago, which is a good thing because now I can do things like this for fun and not worry about it.  David had lots of fun spreading the paint on his cookies, Matthew had one to munch on, I made mine as artistic as possible, and we even got Andrew to paint a few!

Two Happy Little Boys

A Train!

David Ready to Paint Cookies

Cookie Icing

David; Proud of his cookie!

The Gingerbread; All Done

Winter Morning Breakfast

Peppermint Chocolate Chip Scones

We have been putting a new roof on our house the last few days. There are multiple reasons we needed to do it before winter; including the fact that moisture was getting in through some areas and that we are building an addition on the back of the house and wanted to tie the roof into that. So it has been a little bit of a rush against time to get it all done before the weather turns nasty. This morning I was up early helping Andrew blow insulation into the attic space so he could get the blower back to Spokane in time to not have to pay another day of rental fees. It was very cold and crisp out this morning. There was a thin covering of snow on the ground and thick crystals of frost on everything.
I decided that fresh baked scones and a steaming cup of coffee would be the perfect breakfast treat after working outside on a cold winter morning. Scones are so quick and easy to whip up and I love making them in different flavors to suit my mood. This time I made peppermint chocolate chip scones. It seemed very wintery and festive. They turned out delicious and were just the thing along with a cup of coffee to warm us up.

Peppermint Chocolate Chip Scones

Makes 8 scones

2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon. salt
2 tablespoons sugar
5 1/2 tablespoons cold butter
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 cup milk
1/2 -1 teaspoon peppermint extract
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Add chopped cold butter and cut in with pastry cutter or hands until mixture resembles course crumbs. Add egg, milk, and peppermint extract. Mix until just combined. Add chocolate chips. Knead until dough forms into a ball. Flatten dough into a circle on a floured cutting board. Cut into eight triangles and place on a cookie sheet. Bake for 12- 15 minutes or until lightly golden. Serve warm with a cup of tea or coffee.

Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

This summer I had an abundant crop of colorful and delicious cherry tomatoes. I picked a whole bucketful the other day to save the last of them from freezing. I wasn't really sure what to do with them all. So after looking for some ideas online I decided to try roasting them. It was quite simple. I cut them in half then tossed them with olive oil, some fresh chopped basil and oregano, and a handful of whole peeled garlic cloves. I spread it all on cookie sheets and roasted them at 450 degrees for about 25 minutes. After they came out of the oven and cooled a bit I put them in jars and covered them with more olive oil. I kept on jar in the fridge and the rest I put in the freezer for future use. They would make a great pasta or pizza topping or for just snacking on.

Colorful Fresh Salsa

I love summertime when all my colorful heirloom tomatoes come ripe. One of my favorite recipes to use them in is this zesty fresh salsa. It is bursting with color and flavor! It is also so easy to make. Recipe for Fresh Colorful Salsa About 2 lbs of various colored heirloom tomatoes 1 small onion 3-4 cloves of garlic 3-4 hot peppers depending on how hot you like it 1/4 tsp ground cumin 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro juice of one lime salt and pepper to taste Chop up tomatoes, peppers, garlic, and onion. Add spices and lime juice. Mix all together refrigerate until ready to use.

Fruit

We have enjoyed the citrus and other fruit we brought home from California so much.

Baking Cookies

David loved making cookies with Grandma. It was so fun to see him rolling out the dough and cutting out cookies.

Sweet Melon

A melon from our garden. I can actually grow melons in our cool spot but they are late and might not ripen. So you won't be seeing any of these at the market, because I just grow a few for fun. This is a French Charentais melon and was very sweet and delicious.

Garden Fresh Tomato Sauce

Yum...

Dried Tomatoes

If I have extra tomatoes to use up I like to dry them. I just slice them up thick and lay them on the dehydrator trays and dry overnight or until they seem done. They are wonderful on pizza, or tossed with pasta, or blended into a creamy salad dressing.

Foccocia Bread

Raspberry Preserves

Dill Pickles

The smell of dill and vinegar fills the house. It is late summer and time to make pickles again. I am slicing cucumbers with the sun streaming in my kitchen window. There is something so pleasant and old fashioned about making and canning dill pickles. I love being in the kitchen turning garden produce into something delicious to store for the winter. I love the beautiful jars filled with pickles cooling on the counter when I am all finished.

Summer Squash Rolls

The fun bread I made this weak was summer squash rolls. It is a great way to use all the zucchini in the garden right now. My mom made these when I was young, it was one of the few ways I liked summer squash. Now I love squashe multiple ways but these are still one of my favorites. The original recipe came from the Whole Foods for the Whole Family cook book but I have changed it a little bit.

3 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 Tbsp. yeast
3 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. dillweed
1/4 cup oil
1 cup grated zucchini or yellow squash
3/4 cup milk
1 egg

In a large bowl combine 1 1/2 flour, yeast, sugar, salt, garlic, onion and dill. In a suacepan heat oil, squash, and milk to 120 degrees. Add to flour mixture. Add egg and stir. Add enough flour to form a soft dough. Knead about five minutes. Let rise until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch down and divide into16 balls. Place in two greased round cake pans. Let rise until nearly double, about 30 minutes. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 - 30 minutes or until golden

Homemade Bread

I have been making bread every Monday. I usually make some whole wheat sandwich bread and then I like to try to make something different. This week I made cinnamon bread. The recipe came from a little book called "In a Copper Kettle" That my Grandma gave me several years ago. It contains recipes from around the world. This bread recipe is from Portugal. It is a delicious bread. It goes fast around here.

Radish Pickles

We had lots of extra radishes a while back. So I tried a new recipe for refrigerator radish pickles. They were actually pretty good but quite different.

Baking Bread

Here are a few more pictures of David in his apron. We made bread together and he made a little loaf in his mini pan. He enjoyed it so much an loved his little pan that he then took his pan to bed with him at naptime.

Baking Cookies

David received a box in the mail yesterday. It was filled with goodies from Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Melissa and Uncle Jonathan. There were some fun baking supplies in there including a train apron made by Melissa, Noah's ark cookie cutter, a mini bread pan and a mini rolling pin. He just loves his apron and wants to wear it whenever we are in the kitchen. Yesterday we made some cookies together.He loves making cookies because they are " num num"
Waiting for the cookies to bake.


Making sure they taste good. He decided they did!

Spring Greens

We have been enjoying delicious and resh greens from the garden this past week. I have been enjoying using them is some different recipes. I thought I would share a few with you.




Pasta with Mustard Greens

1 lb small pasta
1 small steak thinly sliced
1 bunch mustard greens
1 bunch green garlic
1 small onion
1 lemon
3 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Cayenne pepper

Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and toss with a little olive oil.
While pasta is cooking heat olive oil in a skillet and sauté steak until browned. Chop mustard greens, green garlic, and onion. Add onions and garlic to pan, sauté. Add mustard greens and continue sautéing until greens are just wilted. Add salt and pepper to taste and a dash of cayenne pepper. Grate the zest from the lemon then squeeze the juice. Combine with other ingredients and toss with pasta, adding more olive oil if needed. Serve and enjoy!

Mizuna and Mustard Green Quiche

1 unbaked pie crust (see recipe below)
Olive oil or butter
1 small onion
1 large handful fresh mizuna
1 large handful fresh mustard greens
1 large green garlic
5 farm fresh eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup grated cheddar or jack cheese
Salt
Pepper
Dash of nutmeg

Sauté onion and green garlic in oil or butter until tender. Add chopped mizuna and mustard greens. Sauté until wilted. Layer vegetables and cheese in pie shell. In a mixing bowl beat eggs and milk until well blended. Add salt and pepper and a dash of nutmeg. Pour into pie shell. Bake at 350 degrees F for 35 minutes or until knife inserted comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes before serving.

Whole Wheat Pie Crust

makes two 10 inch pie crusts

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 ½ sticks butter, cut into small pieces

½ cup cold water

Cut butter into flour using a pastry blender or your fingers, leaving some of the butter in fairly large pieces. Pour in most of the water while stirring with a fork. Add the rest of the water until dough comes together in a clump. Divide dough in two. Roll out on a floured board until about ¼ inch thick. Fold into quarters and transfer to pie pan. Trim edges and pinch with thumb and forefinger to finish.

Spring Green Salad with Tomato Basil Dressing

1 bag salad mix with mustard greens

1 bunch radishes

1-2 small green garlic

1 handful dried tomatoes

1 cup olive oil

½ cup apple cider vinegar

1 clove garlic, crushed

½ tsp. dried basil

Salt

Pepper

Place salad mix in bowl, tearing any large pieces. Chop radishes and garlic greens, sprinkle over the top. Combine all other ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth..Toss with salad or pour over individual servings.

Coffee Shop Cupcakes

I had fun making these cupcakes last weekend. I call them coffee shop cupcakes because they remind me of some I saw in a coffee shop and also because they are mocha favor. They sure were good!