Funky Soup!

After returning from a long weekend, family reunion trip several states away, I realized just how much "stuff" was nearing the end of it's life in our refrigerator and on our counter! Yikes! So, I decided to make soup. Let me start by saying I have never really made soup in my life...not without strict adherence to a recipe anyway. Well, today's soup was a complete "winger" and quite surprisingly, it turned out to be a winner, too!

I was going to name the soup Coconut Curried Swiss Sweet Potato Chard Soup with Quinoa, but then decided Funky Soup was easier to say (and remember!). :)

Here's what I did to make Funky Soup:

Got out a huge stock pot. Put a healthy dose of coconut oil in the bottom.

Meanwhile, washed and chopped celery and carrots. I did roughly a whole celery plant (stalks) and about 6 carrots. I was lazy and threw them into my Blendtec on the "Food Processor--Chop" cycle. It turned out just like I wanted. Added this to the stock pot.

Added fresh garlic. I used 2 large cloves and mashed them with my Pampered Chef garlic press.

Turned the heat on the stove and stirred the veggies around. If you have fresh onion, you can add some in this step, too. I only had dried onions (from Just Tomatoes....YUM!), so I added them towards the end of this step so they wouldn't stick to the bottom of the pot and burn.

After the mix started smelling really good (and BEFORE it started burning...), I added in 8 oz. of organic vegetable broth (purchased from Amazon in tetra paks). Stirred.

Added a bunch of whole tomatoes to the Blendtec and pureed. Added about half of the puree to the stockpot. Stirred.

Added a can of organic coconut milk to the tomatoes in the Blendtec. Pureed. Added to the stockpot. Stirred.

Added about a cup of quinoa to the stockpot. Stirred.

Washed, cut into circles, skinned, and quartered two large sweet potatoes. Put the chunks into the stock pot. Stirred.

Added some hefty dashes of curry powder, cumin, and sea salt.

Later added some cinnamon and nutmeg, and some more sea salt.

Over time, added additional water to the pot. Probably in the neighborhood of 6-8 cups.

When the sweet potato chunks started to soften, added in some Swiss Chard (with stems removed). Prior to adding, ran the greens through the Blendtec on chop mode. Stirred.

Waited until greens were wilted. Ate a bowlful...and another...and another. :)

Maybe I was just really hungry. Or maybe I just created a kitchen masterpiece. I guess we'll see when DH gets home whether this Funky Soup winger is really a winner or not. :)

Seasoned raw cauliflower = POPCORN!

Well, sort of anyway. :)

So, I stumbled upon this video by The Renegade Health Show awhile back in my hunt for raw foods and decided to try the recipe for seasoned cauliflower that was supposedly a good substitute for popcorn.

It is super simple to make. You cut up a head of cauliflower and put it in a ziplock bag. Then add nutritional yeast, cayenne pepper (optional), and salt to taste. Work the seasonings into the cauliflower by grabbing and squeezing the bag. Once it's well worked in, you can simply eat the cauliflower or dehydrate it (to make it more like actual popcorn).

The first time I tried it, DH and I both really enjoyed it. So much in fact, that we ate it all before we even thought about attempting to dehydrate it.

Well, cauliflower was on sale at Harris Teeter this week, so I grabbed a head specifically for this purpose and the desire to make it hit me today at lunch! So, I whipped up a batch. I ate a large handful (or two or three) of the seasoned cauliflower with my lunch, but there was lots left over since DH is at work and not at home to help me polish it off, so I threw the rest into the dehydrator. Assuming I can stay out of it for a few more hours (I've already broken into it once), I'll get to try the dehydrated version.

Does it taste like popcorn? Well, maybe not so much. I mean, if you handed it to me and said, "Here, this tastes like popcorn! Try it!" I'd probably say, "Well, it's good but it doesn't really taste like popcorn," but if you handed it to me and said, "Try this! It's really good!" I'd probably try it and say, "Yeah, it is. It kind of reminds me of popcorn." Subtle difference, but it's there nonetheless.

Anyways, this is definitely a fun snack or side dish to have, and it is pretty much guilt-free! And if you like cauliflower already like I do, this is certain to be a snack you'll love!

A couple of things on my radar...

I'm terrible about finding things I want to try but not having time at the moment to devote to them, and then forgetting about them entirely...

So...

Here are a few things I've come across that I definitely DON'T want to forget!

Heavenly Homemakers' Creamy Mac and Cheese

Heavenly Homemakers' Homemade Soft Pretzels

Heavenly Homemakers' Honey Whole Wheat Bagels

VegWeb.com's Black Bean and Quinoa Salad

MadeInTheRedBarn's Etsy Shop: Towel House Dispenser for "un-paper" towels

Ok, that's it for now! Maybe I can finally close some browser tabs now and actually get something done! :)

Frothy Hot Coconut Cacao for a Rainy Day!

I just so happened to stumble upon The Nourishing Gourmet's blog post for Rich, Dark Hot Cocoa (Dairy and Refined Sugar Free) today while the kids were napping. One look out my windows at the dreary sky was all it took to convince me I *needed* to make some and FAST!

I waited until my 2yo DS woke up so he could share the warm drink with me, then I gathered up my ingredients. Using TNG's post as a guide, here's how I made our Frothy Hot Coconut Cacao:

Step #1 -- Empty one can of organic coconut milk into the Blendtec blender jar. I used Roland brand, bought when on sale at Amazon.com. I used the full fat version.

Step #2 -- Add roughly 1/4 cup of organic raw cacao powder. I used the Navitas Naturals brand, from Amazon.com.

Step #3 -- Add roughly 2 cups of water. I used tap water. (Note to self: need to research water filters)

Step #4 -- Add honey (or other sweetener) to taste. I added 3 big squeezes from a honey bear jar of local raw honey my mom brought me back from a recent trip to Florida.

Step #5 -- Blend.

At first, I tried blending on level 1, then up'd it to level 5. It mixed fine but just wasn't warming the drink up the way I had hoped. Then I switched the setting to "Soup" and after one cycle it was nice and warm. If you wanted warmer, you could always do one more cycle, but for us, it was perfect. You could also warm this up in a pot on the stove if you wanted.

The best part about the drink was that it developed a nice froth on top that lasted all the way through to the last sip of...ahem...TWO mugfuls! The froth made the drink feel very "upscale coffee shop." :)

Overall, I'm super pleased with how it turned out. It was perfect because it warmed us up on a rainy day, and the coconut definitely felt springy! Mmmm... This definitely hit the spot!

Homemade Dishwasher and Laundry Detergent

I have been wanting to try my hand at homemade dishwasher detergent and also laundry soap for awhile now. I finally got the chance to whip up a batch of each this weekend. Since I've not done this before, I didn't want to make a huge amount of either just in case the particular recipe didn't work for us. My plan is to try these recipes out first, and then if we like them to buy the ingredients in bulk and make a large amount to have on hand.

A few months ago, I did attempt a liquid dishwasher soap recipe that was just okay. We recently moved and I'm not in love with our new dishwasher even when we use commercial detergents like Cascade, so there is probably nothing wrong with the recipe at all, it just doesn't always work that great for us, especially if there is food dried on the dishes. Regardless, I wanted to try a powdered recipe this time.

Thanks to a post on Diaperswappers, here's the recipe I made.

Homemade Dishwasher Soap (powder)
*1/2 cup Borax
*1/2 cup Washing Soda
*1/4 cup coarse salt
*1/4 cup food grade citric acid

Use 1 tablespoon per load. Use white vinegar as the rinse aid.

A few notes:
*I found Borax and Washing Soda at Ace hardware. They come in a box about the size and shape of a cereal box. They were with the laundry products. If this recipe works, I will attempt to find where I can buy these in bulk to save even more money.

*My food grade citric acid came from a wholesale Frontier coop order. I've also read you can find it at Whole Foods, beer brewing shops, and other speciality food shops. I've also read you can use packages of lemon Kool-Aid as a substitute if you can't find citric acid.

*I add the white vinegar in the dispenser where I would normally put the Jet Dry.

*If you use 1 tablespoon per load, this amount will wash 24 loads of dishes.

We've only tried it once or twice and so far so good, but I'll definitely post later when I have a better grasp of how it's working for us. I'll also work on figuring out how much this cost but it is definitely really cheap! I'm crossing my fingers that this works!

Now, on to the laundry soap. I have to admit I am a die-hard Tide user. I love the way it works and I love the way it smells, so switching to homemade is going to be difficult to do. The reasons I want to switch though are to save money, cut down on chemicals in my home, and do what's best for the environment.

Here is the recipe for the laundry soap that I tried for my front loader:

Homemade Laundry Soap (powder)
*1 cup grated soap
*1 cup borax
*1 cup washing soda

Use 1/2 to 1 tablespoon per load for a front-loading washing machine.

A few notes:
*For bar soap, I read you could use fels naptha, Kirk's castile, or really just about anything. I used a Dr. Bronner's Peppermint Castile bar because that's what I had on hand (purchased from Trader Joe's).

*I found the Borax and Washing Soda at Ace Hardware. They come in boxes similar in size to cereal boxes and I found them in the laundry/households section.

*I grated the soap by slicing it into strips with a knife and then putting it into my Blendtec blender. I read that it wasn't recommended to do in a blender, but it worked fine for me. I ran it through one cycle of "grind grains." Just beware it doesn't get too hot if you do try a blender because the heat will melt the soap and make it clump together again, thus defeating the purpose! You can also hand-grate the soap or use a food processor.

*This is a powder recipe. I also read about how you could make a liquid version using these same ingredients but adding water and melting the soap. From what I read, the liquid version was actually recommended for front loaders and the powdered for top loaders, but I'm giving the powdered a try first because it will take up so much less space and be less work to make (and I'm all about LESS work!). From what I've read, some people say you have to dissolve the powder recipe in hot water before adding it to your wash if you're not washing with hot water, but since I've only used it once or twice, I really can't comment on that just yet.

*For a fabric softener, I've been using white vinegar in the pull-out dispenser just like I would commercial fabric softener.

*You can read more about homemade laundry soap at the Duggars site: Favorite Family Recipes. Since they wash clothes for like 20 people, I'm sure they know what they're talking about!!!

I've used the laundry soap along with the white vinegar 3-4 times so far. No issues noted yet, but I'm sure it will take a few weeks/months before I can make a good call on how the recipe is performing over time.

If this one doesn't work out, I'll definitely check out this TipNut site for another recipe to try!

So, that's that for now. If these work out, I will definitely be back to post photos, tips/tricks, a cost breakdown, where to buy the ingredients (in bulk), how best to store, and more! In the meantime, I've found a laundry recipe that is supposed to work for cloth diapers, so I am going to whip that up and see how that goes!

Have you tried any homemade cleaners? Feel free to share your recipes! I'm always looking for something new to try! :)

HappyGreenBee: Organic Baby/Toddler/Kids Clothes SALE!!!

Thanks to a deal post from The Thrifty Mama about two weeks ago, I learned about a great clearance sale on baby, toddler and kids ORGANIC clothing at HappyGreenBee! I immediately headed on over to check it out and was amazed at how much ORGANIC clothing was in their clearance store! I loaded up on dresses, pants, shirts, kimono tops, tights, skirts, a swimsuit, a blanket, and even several organic dolls for my DD. Everything was priced between $2-$8 with most things I bought being $4-$5! And every bit of it was ORGANIC!


Well, my order arrived last week and I have to say I am impressed with the quality of the clothing. I really like how HappyGreenBee used red-head safety pins to attach their size and information tags (made from recycled materials I might add) to the clothing instead of the normal plastic tags most other companies use. The clothing itself seems to be well made and it looks nice. The material has a nice texture to it and the colors are vibrant! Some of the patterns are a little "loud" for my tastes (which I suspected when I purchased), but they'll make great play and sleep clothes if nothing else. And my favorite thing of all is that I was able to buy clothes for my DD that matched the clothing the organic dolls are wearing! TOO CUTE!!


I am seriously thinking about placing another order for larger sizes of some items just to stock up while it's so cheap! Especially since shipping is FREE for orders over $35! This is really a great deal for ORGANIC clothing and I'm so happy I ordered! I will definitely check back on this site often.

Creamy Dreamy Almond Butter!

Ok, so on my 4th try, I think I've finally done it -- I've made creamy, dreamy, drool-worthy almond butter! And to think I nearly gave up entirely!

One of the reasons for us buying the Blendtec blender (which is THE best blender in the whole wide world) was so that we could make our own nut butters. However, that didn't go exactly according to plan.

Try #1 Failure: Used 1 cup of almonds straight from the bulk bins at Whole Foods. Obviously this wasn't a large enough amount for my big 3 quart blender jar and so it just didn't work.

Try #2 Failure: Used 3 cups of almonds straight from the bulk bins at Whole Foods. I blended one cycle at level 1, then several cycles at level 5, scraping down the sides each time. This turned out okay, but wasn't creamy and was difficult to spread. I think I should have blended for a longer time.

Try #3 Failure: Used 3 cups of almonds from the bulk bins at Whole Foods, soaked for 24 hours, then dehydrated for about 12 hours. I blended the almonds one cycle at speed 1, then multiple cycles at speed 5, scraping down the sides each time. After 40 minutes of blending, I had nothing that resembled almond butter. The contents of my blender jar were steaming (so much for RAW almond butter!) and I was super frustrated. I added some coconut oil, and eventually some water, and what I ended up with was some sort of watery tasting almond paste (think toothpaste) and it was disgusting! What a waste of perfectly good almonds! :( I think the real problem here was that my almonds were not completely dried before I tried to make the almond butter, or perhaps it was the type of almonds I used.

Try #4 Success: Used 3 cups of organic unpasteurized carmel almonds purchased from Anderson Almonds (an almond farmer in California), soaked for 24 hours and then dehydrated for 24 hours. I blended the almonds one cycle at speed 1, then several cycles at speed 5. There was very little scraping to be done and I didn't time it, but I bet it was done within 10 minutes. I didn't have to add anything to the almonds as they blended. (Ignore the little piggies in this photo!)

When it was done, I literally POURED it (with a little help from my handy dandy scraper) into the jar to put into the refrigerator! Amazing!



While I did remember to grab at least a few cell phone shots of the finished product, I didn't get any photos of the process, so I really found this post to be helpful in showing the stages the almonds go through when making nut butter. The beautiful photos give you a good idea of what to expect. I obviously used my blender and the photos here are from a food processor, but the results are similar. The only stage I didn't see while blending my almond butter was the one where a ball develops; for me it went straight from crumbly to the oils beginning to release.

So now I have creamy, dreamy almond butter and fresh baked bread in the house! Guess you don't have to guess what I'm about to go have for a snack! :)