homemaker attempt #1

After making the decision to stay home, I've done some research on making...well...homemade things.  One of my first attempts was to make our own detergent.  I've been using it now for a few weeks and you couldn't smell the difference, could you? (sarcasm included) It's actually worked wonderfully.  I used to teach science so you'd think I was REALLY good at reading recipes and following them to a T.  I would make a big deal about how lab procedures were like recipes and you wouldn't want to eat something made by someone who didn't follow the directions. (Here's where I insert that we NEVER eat during a lab unless it's a food lab and you've been given the go-ahead.)  Well so far it's been okay for me as the recipes aren't too in depth.  I used TipNut's recipe #4 (notice it's the easiest of them all) for my detergent.  All I needed to do was mix 1 cup of washing soda, 1 cup of borax, and two cups of grated soap.  I chose to use Fels Naptha. (Believe it or not you can find it at HyVee and Price Chopper! Nature's Pantry doesn't carry it!!) The Fels is quite odorific for about a week -- enough to knock you off your feet if you're not careful.  But it doesn't transfer to your clothes when you wash them.

I've also been making my son's baby food using this website and a book a friend lent to me, "So Easy Baby Food" (would I have it any other way?).  My most recent attempt at a healthy meal was green beans from our garden.  I'm including a picture of Q for you to see how he felt about it :) So far I've made avocado (by far the easiest), sweet potato, squash, banana and mango. The magic bullet has been an amazing tool in getting the food "Q ready."

Last night I started the process for making almond milk.  With a quick skim (get it? like "skim" milk) of the recipe, I figured it'd be easy to make.  I soaked the almonds through the night and this morning did the blending and straining through cheese cloth. (Okay another aside, but have you noticed how much cheese cloth looks like gauze?  Are they the same thing or just cousins?)  The soaking and blending were really easy, but it took me forever to strain the mix to "milk" it. I probably would've benefited from a wider mouthed pitcher.  I used the recipe from Instructables.  I will tell you that the time taken vs. amount produced almost makes me feel guilty for drinking it!  Of course I am a newbie to this and am sure I've managed to miss something.  If you find a recipe that yields more than what I did, let me know!!

I've also had several people ask me lately about the cloth diapers we're using for our son.  I will post more about that later!  I have found some neat websites on making your own "almost all-in-one" nappies.  I have yet to try them though :)