2009 July | Prudent and Practical

July 17, 2009

Don’t Throw Those Bananas Away!

Filed under: food — Tags: food, gardening, natural — K @ 8:08 PM

Most people know that you use very ripe to slightly over ripe bananas to make banana bread. D and I usually don’t finish the last banana or two in time and we were composting them because I didn’t want banana bread. I hated being wasteful so I started to save the bananas. You’ll see in the photo below that I peel the bananas and squish them into a container. I then set this container in the freezer and add more bananas when they start going down hill.

And what about those peels? I’ve been composting mine, but if you have roses, banana peels are like the elixir of life for them. Yes, if you’ve seen Seven Pounds, he’s right. Bananas have many nutrients that roses like including calcium, magnesium, sulfur, phosphates, and sodium. If you’ve kept a banana too long, you see how fast they get mushy and start decomposing. When buried next to roses, this fast decomposition means that the “fertilizer” is more quickly available to start working its magic.

I had to try one to make sure it tasted ok

So… I did finally make banana bread. There are so many different recipes online nowadays! I used a traditional recipe out of a cookbook. I pulled out my banana container, drained off the juice, and scooped out what I needed. (I still have 1/2 jar left after making three batches!)

What you need:

1-3/4 cups sifted flour (I ran out of white at the end and used some whole wheat flour – worked fine)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup shortening (I also ran out of this, so I used butter – again, it worked fine)
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs, well beaten
1 cup mashed banana

What to do:

Mix flour, soda, cream of tartar, and salt
Cream shortening, then add sugar, then add eggs
Mash ripe bananas (2-4 bananas yield 1 cup)
Add flour, then bananas to the shortening mixture
Mix well
Pour into greased loaf pan and bake in 350 degree F oven for 1 hour or until done. I experimented with muffins – 1 batch makes 12 regular sized muffins, but you only bake them for 30 minutes.

Optional Mix-Ins:

Peanut butter
Reese’s Pieces – a Twitter buddy told me this makes it taste like a peanut butter banana sandwich, mmm!
Nuts – I added a couple handfuls of walnuts to my batches
Chocolate chips
Chopped cherries

Yield: 1 loaf or 12 muffins

Although I’m not fond of nuts, I put them in the bread because D likes them. I can’t wait to try adding Reese’s Pieces to the bread. I ended up making 2 loaves and 12 muffins, so I’m pretty set for a while! This recipe produces a nicely textured, moist bread and I enjoyed it!

So I listed a few mix-ins above. What are your favorites? What unique ingredients have you added to banana bread and was it good?

My "freezer container" still has enough for another couple batches... that's a lot of bread!

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July 16, 2009

Say Goodbye to Commercial Shampoo

Filed under: DIY — Tags: crafts, DIY, health, natural — K @ 2:16 AM

I’ve been meaning to make my own soap for a while. In late June I finally tried it out. I used the Crock Pot Shampoo Bar Recipe from Skin Care Naturals. Following is the recipe and instructions in my words. Later today I will show photos of the final product, how much it actually cost, and my opinion!

Before you get started:

2 plastic bowls and plastic spoon to stir
Small bowls (for measuring the individual oils)
A large bowl or pitcher (to pour all the oils into to verify the weight)
A stainless steel pot (for melting the oils and later mixing in the lye)
2 thermometers (one for checking the temperatures of the lye and oils)
Weigh all ingredients!
Do not use aluminum – lye eats right through it!
If you get lye on you, rinse the spot with vinegar. If the burn is anything but very mild, seek a doctor.

Ingredients

3 oz Canola Oil
12 oz Castor Oil
14 oz Coconut Oil
2 oz Hempseed Oil
2 oz Jojoba Oil
11 oz Olive Oil
16 oz liquid (can be a mix of water, tea, and lemon)
6 oz lye
.8 oz eo (I used lavender, rosemary, and tea tree)*

Lye
1. Measure 8 ounces water in a big bowl. Go outside. Sprinkle in the lye and stir. Be careful – it gets very hot (around 200 degrees F) and smelly.
2. While this is cooling outside, I went back inside to mix the other 8 ounces of liquid.
3. In a glass measuring cup, I squeezed the juice of one lemon (2 tbsp-1/4 cup), then poured in apple cider vinegar to equal 1/3 cup liquid. I then added enough peppermint tea to equal 8 oz of liquid to be added after the oils have cooked together.

The oils

1. Pour all oils (except hemp) in a jug on a scale to make sure that the weight is correct. It should equal 42 ounces.

2. Melt all oils except hemp and e.o. in the pot. (Hold back the hemp until after the soap is cooked).
3. Mix in the 8 ounces of lemon/vinegar/tea from above.

Mixing
Measure the temperatures of both the lye water and the oils.

When both have reached 110 (+/- 10) degrees F, mix the lye water with the oils. Stir until mixed. Add hemp and essential oils. Stir (or use an immersion blender) until trace.

[Trace is when the the soap solidifies just enough to hold it's shape slightly meaning that the lye water and oils have mixed completely. To test for trace, dip your spoon into the soap and let it dribble back into the pot. If the dribble leaves a mound before disappearing back into the soap, you've reached trace. (I was tired and forgot to get a photo, but will remember to take one the next time I make soap.)]

I used 4″ pvc that you can find in the plumbing department as a mold. I put plastic wrap on the bottom and secured with a rubber band, then lined it with wax paper. Slop the soap into the mold. You’re supposed to insulate with towels around the soap molds to make sure the soap cools very slowly – I didn’t.

24-48 hours afterward, I popped the soap out of the molds and cut into slices. I placed the slices on a cooling rack for good circulation. Every evening i flip them over. I’ve been trying out the soap for about the past week (after 3 weeks of curing).

Subscribe to this blog and get be the first to see what the soap looks like, costs, and my review!

If you need more information please visit the following resources:

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July 14, 2009

DIY Laundry Supplies Part 1: Detergent

Filed under: Headline — Tags: cleaning, DIY, home, saving money — K @ 8:45 PM

I frequently look for homemade household cleaning products and recently came across one for homemade laundry detergent. It looked like a more eco friendly idea, fun, cheap, and practical at the same time so I decided to give it a try.

You’ll need to gather these supplies before you get started:

1 bar of soap (whatever you have around: Fals Neptha, etc. I used Lever 2000 because DH bought a lifetime supply last summer)
1 box of washing soda (look for it in the laundry detergent aisle at your local grocer – it’s a bright yellow Arm & Hammer box and will contain enough for six batches)
1 box of borax (this isn’t necessary, but it’s easy to find so why not boost the cleaning power?)
A 4-5 gallon bucket (preferably with a lid if you want to store it in the bucket)
3 gallons of tap water
A big spoon to stir the mixture with
A measuring cup
A knife
A 2+ quart pot (for melting the soap)

Instructions:

Part 1: Pour approximately 4 cups of water into a pot. Place on stove and heat on high until almost boiling. While the water is heating, use your knife to SHAVE the bar of soap into the heating water. (SHAVE – do not cut chunks of soap into the water – I learned this the hard way that small chunks do NOT melt!) Keep the mixture just below a boil. Keep stirring until the soap is dissolved.
Part 2: Pour three gallons of hot water into your 4+ gallon bucket. I used a spare one gallon milk jug. Mix the hot soapy water slurry into the 4+ gallon bucket. Stir to mix well. Add one cup of washing soda and stir that in well. Add one-half cup of borax and stir in well. Leave overnight to gel up.
Part 3: In the morning check on your mix… it’ll be kind of like soft gelatin. My mix was white since that was the color of the soap bar I used. Dump one cup in the washing machine and wash your clothes!

picture 126 300x225 photo DIY Laundry Supplies Part 1: Detergent

Here, you can see its gelatinous texture

So, I plop one cup into the washing machine with warm water – no suds…hm. At this point I’m glad I tried the recipe with towels instead of clothes. Later, after I hear the washing machine stop, I run down to see the results. The towels look fine. I had tossed in a very dirty towel – one with stains that Era hasn’t been able to get out – and the mix actually lightened the stains, but not the towels itself. I like the smell – it reminds me of fresh hotel linens.

My only problem with the mix is the washing soda – the nearest store that carries it is 1 1/2 hours away. I purchased two boxes while on a business trip – Jewel Osco in the Chicago area carries it for about $3. You can purchase the washing soda on Arm & Hammer’s website, which will set you back about $10 just for one box by the time you pay shipping

The math has already been done…

Three gallons will clean about 48 loads of laundry. If you do this six times, you’ll have used six bars of soap ($0.99 each), one box of washing soda ($2.49 at our store), and about half a box of borax ($2.49 at our store, so $1.25) and make 288 loads of laundry. This comes up to a cost of right around three cents a gallon, or a savings of $70.

Thanks to Trent over at the Simple Dollar for this great idea!

Stay tuned for homemade fabric softener and homemade dryer sheets.

Comments (2)

July 10, 2009

Fresh Blueberry Pie

Filed under: food — Tags: food — K @ 8:28 PM

One of the most enjoyable things about summer is the abundance of fresh, local foods. Berries are starting to get ripe for the pickin’ at your local farmer’s market, which is where I found mine! I haven’t posted a recipe in a while, so how about getting back on track with a recipe for easy blueberry pie!

I make my own pastry because it’s cheap, fresh, and easily done with the KitchenAid mixer. If you don’t mind the plethora of preservatives and un-pronounceable words on the back of the ready-made pastry box, go on ahead and spend your dough (no pun intended…).

So for the pastry, you’ll need:

2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shortening
2 tablespoons butter, well chilled
5-6 tablespoons cold water

And here’s how you make it:

Mix together flour and salt
Cut shortening and butter into pieces and add to flour mixture
Cut in or stir with mixer until particles are the size of peas
Keep stirring and add water 1 tablespoon at a time until all particles are moistened and dough begins to hold together
Divide dough in half. Pat each half into a smooth ball and flatten slightly
Wrap each in plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator for 15 minutes (I’ve also frozen the dough at this point too)
Roll one pastry out to 1/8″ thickness, fold into quarters and ease into pie plate.

And for the blueberry filling you’ll need:

Pastry for 2-crust pie (check!)
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
4 cups blueberries
Dash salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter

And to finish the recipe off, you need to:

Mix the sugar and flour. Spread about 1/4 cup on pastry (in pie plate, from above)
Fill with blueberries
Sprinkle the rest of sugar, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon over berries
Dot with butter
Place top crust on pie, finish edges, and cut slits.
Bake at 425 degrees F for 40 minutes

See? Easy as pie! The pie is very liquidy until it cools. If you can’t wait, it will fall apart on you, but of course it still tastes delicious! And if you’re really in the self-indulging mood, you could top off a slightly warm slice with some vanilla ice cream. Mmmm….

Comments (16)

July 7, 2009

Free Organic Baby Layette Giveaway

Filed under: saving money — Tags: free, natural — K @ 1:52 PM

Jessica over at Eco Child’s Play has just listed a a new GIVEAWAY!!! If you’re interested, you can click here to go sign up!

Organically Grown is giving away a unisex mini wardrobe to one lucky reader!

All of the products from Organically Grown are made with organic cottons. From their website:

According to the Organic Exchange, an estimated 170 million pounds of pesticides, and 25% of the world’s insecticides are used in the production of conventional, non-organic cotton. 7 out of 10 of these pesticides are on the EPA’s “known” list of “likely” or “probable” carcinogens. These chemicals result in work-force illnesses, water contamination, and the devastation of farmland. All of the problems are eliminated though organic farming practices. Organically Grown is proud to be a part of the solution.

Organically Grown is going to give one lucky reader three bibs (pictured above $18 value), an adorable Giraffe Three piece Set ($28 value) and a World of Friends Blanket ($28 value).

Here’s the link so you can go sign up!

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