Heart, Home, and Family

Nutella Hot Chocolate

2011-12-29T22:10:00.000-06:00

I've seen this recipe all over and finally had to give it a try. If I'm craving sweet and can't get to my favorite local coffee shop for a sheer Chai, this is my new best friend at home.

1c milk (I didn't use skim, I went all out!)
2T Nutella
Cinnamon
Whipped topping

Warm the milk in a saucepan on med-low heat. Add in the Nutella, whisking continually until milk is desired heat (but don't scald!) and Nutella is dissolved. Whisk in a nice dash of cinnamon. Pour into mug and top with whipped topping. Toasty warm with a good book on a chilly evening!

Homemade Laundry Detergent

2011-12-17T18:16:00.001-06:00

In the past month four of my sons have been very busy getting dirty, son #5 was born at home, and my husband was undertaking a lot of holiday baking at the bakery...all serious tests of a laundry detergent, and this one passed the test. Why make detergent? I've found deals on detergent through Costco and elsewhere yet I've been curious about making my own detergent since I saw a kit in the Lehman's Catalog, heard about the Duggar's recipe, and heard a few friends had tried it. I'm not a chemist or expert by any means, but I was inspired by plenty of families have been making their own detergent easily, affordably, and with great results.

I found a blog post at Being Creative on how she made her own detergent and had such successful results, I gave it a try with a few modifications. She used Fels-Naptha laundry soap, which is effective at cleaning but known to be chemically-harsh, so I substituted plain castile soap. Reading other homemade detergent "recipes" online showed a lot of families using plain castile, so I picked up a few bars of Kirk's Castile, which is very gentle, pure, and affordable. I also used just half of what she used for the oxyclean. I've had issues some years ago with tiny holes appearing in my clothes when I used oxygen cleaner, although I haven't known anyone else with this problem, so I just chose to use a smaller amount. I used half the box of baking soda rather than a full box as she recommended because baking soda can cause color fading if used too much. I also added some orange essential oil, about 1T, for a fresh scent. But it already smelled fresh and maybe the baking soda just absorbed the scent. So here is what we used:

1 box Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda 55oz
1 box 20 Mule Team Borax 76oz
1/2 box Arm & Hammer Baking Soda 4lb (I about used 2lbs)
1/2 canister of oxygen cleaner (like OxiClean, Sun, or generic) 3.5lb (I used about 1.75lb)
3 bars Kirk's Castile Soap 4oz each
1T orange essential oil (optional)
Grater
5 gallon bucket (for mixing)
Storage bin with tight fitting lid

First we grated the bars of soap. Each of my older boys grated a little bit, but I finished up I wouldn't let a smaller child do this because the grater is really sharp. My boys were very careful but as a rule this should be an adult only activity. Most people use the larger grate so the soap curls into pieces the the size of shredded cheese, but I used the fine grate so it was almost like a powder and would dissolve better in water.

Finely grated soap

Grating the soap

Next I poured my ingredients into a clean and dry 5 gallon bucket we already had around the house. Borax is not healthy to breathe, from what I understand, so go in a well-ventilated area or cover your mouth and nose and keep children clear. I mixed really well with a long handled wooden spoon. It filled the bucket about a 1/4 to a 1/3 full.

Then I poured the mix into a Sterlite container with a snap on lid. I believe the container is 7.5 qts in size and the detergent mix filled it to the top. (I scooped out some to give to a friend) I took a 2T size scoop from an old detergent box, or put in the scoop from the oxyclean. The Being Creative blog author made a much prettier container from what looks like an Anchor Hocking glass jar, but I just needed something basic and functional.

That's it! It took about a half hour to make. I found everything at Walmart in the laundry aisle, except for the castile soap bars which I found at my local co-op for $1.99 each, and I already had the essential oil. I paid about $16 for everything. If my container holds 7.5 qts and I use 1T per load (and if my math is correct!) that equals 480 loads of laundry, about $0.03 per load! Not too shabby!

I've been using this detergent for a month and been completely thrilled with the results; I consider those five sons, a husband that works in a bakery and our most recent home birth (plus the resulting newborn!) all great tests of a detergent to get clothes clean! As other bloggers with similar ingredients said, the detergent does not suds, so that took some getting used to. All of my ingredients were unscented, besides the essential oil, so the detergent is completely scent free. Our laundry smells clean, soft, and fresh!

Powdered detergent seemed to me less messy to make and use, and other bloggers reported that it worked much better than liquid versions they had tried, but I did consider making homemade liquid detergent. I haven't tried it, but here is one I considered:

Why Not Sew Quilts: How to Make Homemade Laundry Detergent

I haven't used this detergent on cloth diapers, however. I believe the castile soap, although completely gentle, may cause build-up and repellency issues over time, but I'm not sure. I found a few blogging mom's that have made homemade detergent for cloth diapers without the castile soap. I might try their recipes in the future, but in the meantime I'm still using Charlie's Soap for cloth diapers. Here they are if you'd like to try them:

The Eco-Friendly Family: Cloth Diaper Detergent

Elisa Loves: Homemade Cloth Diaper Detergent

Green Queen McKeen: Make Your Own Cloth Diaper Detergent

Oma's Baby Sweater and Bonnet

2011-12-16T22:12:00.000-06:00

My Oma (grandma in German) has been crocheting these little sweater sets for babies since she was nine years old and growing up in WWII Europe.

She does not use patterns, she designs in her mind and works her patterns from memory. I am working to write down the patterns she has been knitting and crocheting over the past 60-70 years and want to offer them to everyone as her wish to continue her legacy.

If you would like to help with pattern testing for the rough draft of this pattern, please join our Ravelry group.

Kufi Knitting Pattern

2011-12-16T16:00:00.000-06:00

Originally posted on my old blog in 2008:

Tired of gauge swatches? Want to knit a hat with your choice of yarn weight and needle size? Try this top-down, no gauge kufi hat knitting pattern. You can knit a traditional hat that covers the ears, or a kufi-style (above the ears). Because you knit from the top down you can try-on and adjust as you go! Experiment with stitch styles and borders, too. This pattern can be made for any head size from baby to adult.

I used Berroco Jasper merino wool, color: Verde Lavras 3833, and size 6 dp and circular needles. You can choose your own yarn and needle size with this pattern.

Download the free pattern at Ravelry.com

Kitchen Dish Towel Topper Knitting Pattern

2011-12-16T15:40:00.000-06:00

I had seen a lot of crochet versions for towel toppers, but it was hard to find a knitting pattern so I made this pattern while knitting a dishtowel, dishcloth, and potholder set for a friend. This isn’t socks or sweaters, so toss the thought of the dreaded gauge swatch. Want to use a different yarn or needle size? Go for it. I used garter stitch because it gave a funky texture to this bright and festive yarn. You could use stockinette stitch, or whatever works for you, just have fun with this quick and easy project, make a gift for someone in an afternoon. Includes a very simple dishcloth pattern, too.

Supplies:
Peaches & Creme (or other cotton worsted) 2 oz ball. (I used Fiesta Ombre)
Pair of US Size 8 needles (5.0mm)
Large yarn needle
Dish towel

Download the free pattern from Ravelry.com

The potholder pattern is crocheted.

Leftovers Potholders Crochet Pattern

2011-12-16T15:34:00.000-06:00

Left with some unused yarn after completing a knit or crochet project? Pull out that multitude of hastily wound yarn balls and deflated skeins to whip up this recipe for quick, easy, and useful hot pads. Mix, blend, and clash your assorted leftover yarn for a deliciously simple design. Another raveler on Ravelry.com said her grandmother made something similar to this and called them Magic Squares.

Download the free pattern on Ravelry.com

Lemon Chicken Tagine

2011-12-12T13:37:00.000-06:00

Originally posted on my old blog 22 Dec 2009

Tagine is the name of a traditional Moroccan pottery cooking dish. The term may refer to the actual piece of pottery, to a tagine-specific recipe, and/or to this style of cooking. I hope to blog more about this unique, healthy, natural, quick, and delicious way of cooking in the future.This recipe is for Lemon Chicken made in a tagine pot. If you don’t have a tagine, I’d think you you could use a stoneware cake pan, or even a cast iron skillet, but I haven’t tried it this way. Some Moroccan women I know like to take a modern approach and use a pressure-cooker with great results.If I am at home in the convenience of my kitchen, I place my tagine pot on the stove top burner on med-low heat. I also use a simmer pad, a must-have invention! Never exceed a temp of med-low for the sake of the pottery. If we are camping in the Northern woods of Minnesota, we dig a small hole in the ground, fill it with hot coals, ring with stones, and place the tagine pot on top of the coals:Here’s our version of a basic, traditional recipe. Have fun modifying it with your own spices, meats, and veggies! Volumes, weights, and quantities are very loose, this is tagine, not science class! FRESH herbs and ingredients make a HUGE difference in flavor!

Lemon Chicken Tagine

Olive Oil

3 onions, chopped

3-4 cloves garlic, chopped

2-4 split chicken breasts (We use free-range halal chicken raised on Amish farms), cut in chunks (you can use whole chicken pieces, legs, whatever you’d like. We’ve placed a whole chicken on)

3-5 carrots, cut in various size pieces (or just break them with your hands, or leave whole!)

1/4 c parsley, chopped

1/4 c cilantro, chopped

1/4 c basil, chopped

2 t paprika

1 t fresh crushed ginger root

1 t coriander, ground

1 t cumin, ground

a pinch of saffron (if desired, or cheat and use turmeric to make the yellow color)

1/2 c – 1 c water or broth

10-20 olives, any Middle-Eastern or Mediterranean variety, even better with the pits!

3-5 lemons, wedged or sliced

Place your tagine pot on med-low heat stovetop or over red-hot coal pit. Pour in a few tablespoons of olive oil, the onions, garlic. Saute. Add clean, skinned chicken. Place carrots on top. You can leave the carrots in full length, uncut, or split lengthwise, and assemble them teepee style over the chicken. Or just place carrot pieces on top of chicken. Top with all of the herbs and spices, sprinkled evenly over. Pour 1/2 c of the water or broth over the top. Add olives and lemons. Cover. Just let it cook. No need to stir or lift the lid.

After about a 1/2 hour, check the liquid level. If the bottom of the food is getting dry, add more water or broth. Cover and continue to cook until chicken is completely done. Cooking time can be 45 min to an hour. Serve!

Want to eat it Middle Eastern style? Wash your hands. Just set the tagine pot in the middle of the table or floor cloth. Give your everyone in your family some pieces of naan or pita bread. Everyone uses ripped pieces of the bread as a utensil to scoop into the pot and eat. Use your right-hand only and no reaching across the pot dragging your sleeve through!Here is the tagine we made while camping over the coals pictured above. We added fresh sweet peas from the garden. Sadly, we forgot lemons for the trip, so we improvised with by pouring on a bit of fruit juice!

Originally posted 22 Dec 2009, comments from my old blog:

Plain Foolish says:
6 March, 2011 at 6:59 pm
I love making tagines! When a friend of mine moved into a new home, I made a giant batch of chicken tagine with lemon, olives, and greens (organic, of course). But I have to admit that my tagine is not nearly so nice as yours – yep, I have one of those with the metal bottom. *sigh*

Sarah Schatz - menu planners for limited diets says:
6 August, 2009 at 12:48 am
I don’t think I have ever eaten that well or beautifully during a camping trip! That is such an inspiration! I love making tagine recipes but I am afraid I don’t have a tagine to make them in! But I would love to do this, over an open fire while camping.
thanks so much,
sarah

Heart, Home, and Family
5 August, 2009 at 4:33 pm
Thanks, everyone! This is a new blog for me, after taking a break off the blogosphere for a few years. It’s great to find like-minded family cooking blogs right away!
Wardeh, I recommend http://www.tagines.com they come Morocco and unlike lots of the modern (even metal!) made ones online, they sell unglazed authentic ones. I’d stay away from anything glazed because it *might* include lead. My husband is in Morocco a lot, but it seems impossible to pack these to get home safely. So we ordered this one:
http://www.tagines.com/pd_mellali_tagine.cfm and it’s exactly like the ones in Marrakech!

Jenny @ Nourished Kitchen says:
5 August, 2009 at 3:10 pm
Mmmmm. Chicken Tagine with plenty of olives and lemon is one of my all-time favorite comfort foods. That and svah (sp ?), the dish of noodles sugar and raisins.

Marg@Prairie Sunrise says:
5 August, 2009 at 12:59 pm
That looks so good! I love those one-dish meals. Thanks for sharing about the tagine, it’s very interesting.

Chicken Broth or Stock

2011-12-12T13:25:00.000-06:00

Originally posted to my old blog 20 Jan 2010

Many recipes call for a can of broth or for bouillon cubes. To save money and avoid unhealthy additives, like MSG, preservatives, and excessive sodium, I prefer to make my own broth. It is a very easy process and isn’t a fussy thing to make as it can just simmer on the back of the stove while you are doing other tasks in the kitchen. The main ingredient is chicken. Technically if you want true broth you’d only use chicken meat, it has a lighter flavor. For stock, you can use chicken bones, meat, trimmings, etc. and it has a heavier flavor. I use them interchangeably as my recipes aren’t that picky. I keep a gallon size ziplock freezer bag in the kitchen freezer. Anytime we have leftover chicken bones or meat trimmings, I toss it in the freezer bag. This is a good way to get another use out of leftover food that you may otherwise throw away after a meal. Because it’s in the freezer, you have no rush to make the broth after dinner. It can keep for a day you have time. Once the bag is about half full, I’m ready to make chicken stock.

How I Make Chicken Broth or Stock:

I dump the contents of the frozen chicken bag into my 6 1/2 quart pot, adding enough water to easily cover all of the chicken. Add half an onion, some carrots, celery, and green onion. The vegetables do not need to be well-chopped at all, 1-2″ pieces are fine. You really don’t even need to add vegetables. I do just to add extra flavor and nutrition. I also add a minced clove of garlic and a few whole cloves.

Bring to a boil on high heat, then cover, turn down to low and let it simmer for at least a few hours. I let it sit simmering on the back of the stove for most of the day. Strain the broth to remove everything but liquid and let it cool. Skim the fat off the top of the cooled liquid.

I usually reuse the remaining chicken and veggies left after straining, right away to make a second batch. The two batches gives me about 1 gallon of broth.

Then I freeze it in labeled and dated 8oz size freezer containers or in smaller freezer bags. Next time I make chicken soup or have a recipe that calls for chicken broth, I just pull out of the freezer, defrost, and add it to the recipe! If you are substituting for bouillon cubes, be sure to adjust the liquid in the recipe as needed.

Tofu Pad Thai

2011-12-12T12:25:00.001-06:00

Post from my old blog, originally posted 25 Aug 2009

This is one of my favorite all-time dinners to order from a Thai restaurant. I wanted to learn to make it at home, and after a few tries and suggestions from friends, I found a combination of ingredients that tops my list! You can use meat instead of tofu, if you prefer. Start mild and adjust spicy-ness to your preference. My kids eat this happily, but they are used to spicier food. I’d say the way the recipe is written, it is about med. spicy. I serve it with Indian Rice Pudding for dessert as it has a soothing, cooling effect. Use fresh, organic ingredients for a big difference in flavor. All these ingredients can be found at most organic food coops or Asian grocery stores. I’d like to try substituting honey for the raw sugar sometime.

Tofu Pad Thai

6 oz dried rice noodles

1/2 c rice vinegar

1/2 c soy sauce
splash of fish sauce

1/2 c raw sugar, sucanat, or brown sugar (reserve 1 t.)

1/3 c grapeseed oil

8 cloves garlic (use less if you’re not a fan)

1 T garlic, chopped

5 eggs

3 whole red chilis, dried

2 t chili powder

1 1/2 T sesame seeds

1 package firm tofu (12-14 oz)

1 1/2 c crisp bean sprouts

1 c peanuts, crushed

1 T paprika

1/2 c green onion, sliced into small rings

Juice of 1 lime

2 limes, sliced

Soak noodles in very hot water until soft. While noodles soak, combine rice vinegar, soy sauce, fish sauce, and sugar in a pot on the stovetop just to a light simmer over med-low heat, mixing well. In wok, cast iron pan, or a frying pan, saute the garlic in the grapeseed oil. You can use sunflower, vegetable, or olive oil if you prefer. Grapeseed is just light and heats very quickly.

Saute the garlic

Whisk the eggs and then add them to the garlic and scramble, adding in the chilis, chili powder, and the sesame seeds. (The eggs will be crumbly because of the oil. It will be very spicy at this point so beware of tasting, it will mellow down with more ingredients to be added. Use less chili powder if desired, you can add always more later.) Drain the tofu and slice it into 1/2″-1″ or so squares. Crisp the tofu and the bean sprouts with a little oil and then add to the egg mixture. Drain the rice noodles and add them to the mixture. At this point, your vinegar/soy sauce mixture should be at a nice low simmer.

Add half of the ground peanuts to the vinegar/soy pot and stir for just a minute or still over heat, then remove and pour all over the noodle and egg mixture and toss lightly, adding in the paprika and green onion. Top with the remaining ground peanuts, 1 t of remaining sugar, juice of 1 lime, and lime slices. Makes enough for about 4-5. Serve and enjoy!

Naan, 7 Layer Taco Dip, Easy Pot Pie

2011-12-12T12:00:00.000-06:00

Originally posted on my old blog 25 August 2009:

Here are three recipes we tried this week from Allrecipes.com. They all were delicious!

Seven Layer Taco Dip

This is really a basic and obvious recipe, but it was good, super fast and easy to make. Serve with toasted warm tortilla chips. We used fresh lettuce and tomatoes from our little garden. Usually I buy authentic crisp and thin tortilla chips from a little Mexican bakery down the street that they make right on site. But for this we went for the ordinary thick grocery store tortilla chips because this is a thick and hearty dip! I added a sliced jalapeno from the garden for a bit more kick.

~*~*~

Indian Naan Bread

This recipe was recommended to me by a friend. Her husband is Bengali and this recipe passes as authentically delicious at their house! I made a big batch of this naan yesterday for iftar dinner served with Green Curry Chicken in Coconut Milk. By morning, the entire batch was almost gone! On my friend’s recommendation, I mixed the garlic into warmed ghee instead of kneading it into the dough. I brushed each side of the naan with the garlic butter before flipping. I also let the dough rise, covered, in the fridge overnight since I started it the day prior and ran out of time to get it done. I put my boys on dough ball rolling duty. Next time, I’ll make the dough balls larger the size than recommended.

Children on dough duty, making naan

~*~*~

Easy Vegetable Pot Pie

I was too tired to take a pic of this one, but the link shows a pretty example. In a crunch last week, I was out of time for dinner and was exhausted, crabby, swollen feet, and feeling very pregnant. I found this recipe and thought it was probably too good to be true because it was so simple and quick. Thankfully, we had all the ingredients on hand. I usually make my own pie crusts, but I even had a set of frozen pre-made crusts in the basement freezer. My nine year old put this together. From now on, I’m keeping these ingredients on hand for those last-minute nights! I keep a homemade version of "cream of" soups in the freezer for recipes like this rather than the canned stuff, but our co-op now sells cream of celery soup that can go in our pantry, without high sodium or preservatives.

Easy Blender Hummus

2011-12-12T11:00:00.001-06:00

Originally posted on my old blog 7 July 2009:

Make it in a blender! Quick, easy, healthy, and delicious! Hummus has been enjoyed since ancient days, and is an excellent source of iron, vitamin C and B6, folate, and fiber! Serve with pita bread. I love to make the Tandoori Roti Bread recipe from Manjulaskitchen.com; Manjula’s recipes are fun to make and so tasty!

This is a recipe for basic hummus. If desired, you can use it as a starting point to enhance it with more garlic, roasted red peppers, whatever you wish! Chickpeas are also called, garbanzo beans, just for FYI when digging in your pantry or making a shopping list.

Easy Blender Hummus

1 lb Chickpeas, soaked, cooked, drained (or just get a 15-16oz can of chickpeas, drained)
1/3 c tahini
3 T olive oil
1-2 t garlic, chopped
1/2 t sea salt
Juice from 1 lemon

Dump it all in the blender and blend! Serve with fresh pita bread or refrigerate. Hummus is also really good topped with fresh parsley, pinenuts, and a drizzle of olive oil!

Homemade Pizza

2011-12-12T11:00:00.000-06:00

Originally posted on my old blog 5 July 2009:

Making homemade pizza is easy and healthy. This crust is sweet and delicious, with a rolled edge crust. I make it special using Indian flour, use whatever flour you prefer. Durum atta flour is an ethnic wheat flour from India, whole wheat but with a light, golden, delicious flavor. You can find it at any Indian grocery, or most any ethnic or Middle Eastern grocery store, too. It is very affordable. I store it in the freezer for optimum freshness and longevity.

You can make your pizzas your own way with your choices of toppings, a fun activity to do with the kids. You can make two 12″ crusts from this recipe, or make smaller crusts for everyone to have their personal pizza to “decorate” with toppings. (My youngest once decided to top his pizza with broccoli and cheerios!)

Mixing the dough

Homemade Pizza

4-4.5 c durum atta flour
2 T bread machine yeast (it rises faster)
1 c milk
3/4 c water
1/2 c oil (I use sunflower oil)
4 T honey
1 t salt
Pizza Sauce recipe below or buy a can or jar premade pizza sauce (amount to your choosing)
Shredded mozzarella cheese (amount to your choosing)
Toppings of your choice, if desired.

Preheat oven to 400* F.

Heat milk, water, oil, honey, salt in a saucepan on stovetop, at medium-low heat. Meanwhile, mix together 2 c of the flour with the yeast in a large bowl (I use my KitchenAid). Once the milk mixture is the temp of very warm bath water add it to the flour mixture. Mix for 3 minutes with KitchenAid on “Stir”, or about 100 strokes by hand for each minute by electric mixer. Add remaining flour and use the kneading hook for about 30 seconds or so, just until it is a blended dough (or knead by hand).

Place the bowl with the dough ball on the back of the preheating-stove, the bowl covered with a damp dish towel, for about 10 min. Punch down dough on a floured surface and separate into two balls. Roll each ball out to about a 14″ circle of about 1/2″ thickness. Place each crust on a 12″ pizza pan, or use around or rectangular stoneware pizza stone. Roll in the edges about 1″ to make crust edge. Pierce the middle of the dough a few times with a fork. Place the pans back on the stovetop to rise for about 20-30 minutes.

Dough rising

Adding cheese

Spread pizza sauce on dough. (I just drop a few spoon-fulls onto the dough and then smear it around with the back of the spoon.) You can also use pesto sauce or my favorite, a white sauce, if you prefer rather than traditional red sauce. Top with shredded cheese and your toppings. Bake at 400* F for about 12 minutes, or until golden. The crusts will puff very slightly. I bake them one at a time. You can sprinkle with a bit of oregano before serving. Slice and enjoy! Sorry there isn’t a photo of the finished pizza…it was eaten too fast!

Homemade Pizza Sauce

Sauce to go along with the above recipe, or for your own pizza recipes!

1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
2 t oregano
1.5 t basil
1.5 t garlic, chopped or minced
1 t paprika
1/2 t onion powder
1/2 t sugar or honey

Dump into a blender and blend. All done! Use fresh on your homemade pizza, or increase the recipe to make extra to freeze and save.