Green Living : Make Your Own Baby Food

We're in the throes of introducing little Toby to all sorts of new fruits and veges at the moment (he is such a guts too - would literally eat anything and everything we offer him!) so making baby food is at the forefront of my brain these days.

Making your own baby food is really simple, and I find that if I do it all on a Sunday (my cooking/baking day) then it's hardly stressful at all. Like most things, if you do it in bulk, the benefits are outweighed by the slightest bit of extra work. Plus it's a lot cheaper than buying baby food all the time, and I know exactly what's in it. (Better still when I can get local and/or organic fruit and veges to use, but that doesn't happen all the time. Or most the time.)

Some good combos, as approved by Toby are:

- pear and apple
- pumpkin, sweet potato and corn
- carrot and corn
- pumpkin, potato, zucchini 
- (rice or pasts can be added to any of these as bub develops)

1. Peel and chop your chosen fruit/veges. The pieces should be around 2cm each.

2. Put in a saucepan with a little water - around 1-2cm.

3. Bring to boil then reduce heat, cover and simmer until the fruit or veges are tender.

4. Use a blender or a stick mixer to blend up the food for young babies, and a fork to mash it up once your little one can handle slightly chunkier food.

5. I freeze Toby's food in plastic containers and pull it out as needed. 

When you're travelling or get caught short, there's now a few good, organic baby food options at the supermarket.

Raffertys garden is a good one, but I'd go for their organic products, as last time I looked I realized there's no mention of their regular products being GMO free. So best avoided I'd say!

Cheap-As Tuesday: Chicken and Mushroom Casserole

This is what Sparky and I like to call, "A bogan special," meaning it's a bit low-rent but a lot delicious, so who cares. Plus, I've been called worse than a bogan over the years!

It's easy, comforting, tasty and Isy eats it, so it floats my boat - especially this time of the year!

You'll need:


nob of butter
1 onion, sliced
1kg chicken thigh, trimmed
a few good handfuls of button mushrooms, sliced
2 tins of cream of asparagus soup
brown rice, to serve

1. In an ovenproof pan (we use a cast-iron one and they are the best things ever) heat your butter on a high heat and add the onion. Cook until soft.
2. Add your chicken, trying to get some of each fillet on the base of the pan. You want to brown it well, to seal the flavour in. It doesn't matter if some sticks to the base of the pan - that's where the flavour comes from.
3. Add your mushrooms and soup. Combine and bring to the boil.
4. Pop the lid on and put the pan into a moderate oven (180C). Cook for 45min-1 hour. 

We have ours with brown rice (and some steamed veges are a good idea too - the plate is fairly beige without them!)

Easy-peasy!

Cheap-As Tuesday: Curried Sausages

via caravan handmade

A daggy oldie, but a goodie in my book. Curried sausages find their way to our plates at least once a month during the cooler season.

You'll need:


8+ thin sausages (this is enough for Sparky and I plus leftovers)
1-2 onions, sliced
1+ cup frozen veges (peas, carrot, corn works well)
1 tbsp butter
plain flour
milk
curry powder
salt + pepper
steamed basmati/brown rice to serve

1. Pop your sausages into a saucepan of cold water, bring to the boil until cooked through (10 minutes or so).

2. Remove from saucepan, but keep the cooking water aside for later. Slice sausages into 1-2cm lengths, removing sausage casing if you want.

3. Heat butter in a hot frying pan then cook the onion till soft. Add approx 2 dessertspoons of flour and mix through the onion mixture, then add your curry powder to taste (we use at least one heaped teaspoon, which gives a nice spiciness). Combine well and add approx 1/2 cup cooking water, stirring well to remove any lumps. Add more as needed to create a thick sauce.

4. Add your sausages to the pan, mixing well. Then add approx 1/2 cup milk, combining well.

5. Let this simmer for a few minutes, adding more water/milk as needed. Once the sauce has thickened slightly, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

6. Add your veges, simmer for five minutes more, season to taste and serve with rice.

* This recipe is one I've made up myself, with bits taken from other recipes and experimentation. Sorry I can't be more accurate with the measurements and time. It's fairly hard to muck up though, and you can adjust as you go.

Cheap-As Tuesday: Tuna and Vege Pie

My Meat-Free Monday resources are slowly drying up, and I'm needing to find some more quick, cheap and easy meat-free options. In the meantime though, I though I'd start posting some of my favourite thrifty meals, as this is where I come into my own. Sorry, Margaret Fulton, but I can feed my family for less than that tenner in your hand!

 

Tonight's dinner is actually a "kids" dinner, but Sparky and I dig it too, so it's win-win!

You'll need:

2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed

large tin tuna, flaked and drained

1+ cup of grated cheese

1 onion, finely diced 

1+ cups frozen veges (I use peas, carrots and corn)

OR tin corn kernels, drained

1 egg, lightly beaten

1. Combine tuna, onion, veges and cheese in a bowl.

2. Put one sheet of pastry in the bottom of a greased baking dish, and fill with the tuna mix.

3. Season if you'd like, then place the second sheet of pastry over the top, pinching/tucking it into the side of the dish, to get a fairly good seal.

4. Brush the pastry with the beaten egg and put into a preheated oven (200C) for around 25 minutes or until the pastry is golden and flaky and the filling is bubbling away.

We have ours with steamed veges, but it would be yummo with homemade chips, baked sweet potato or salad too.

Coconutty Shuku Shuku

 

I was looking for a little sweet treat the other day, and sadly, there was nothing to be found. So I dug through my cookbooks and found this super simple little number in frankie's Sweet Treats.

If you have five minutes (plus 20 for baking) and want a little something-something that's sweet but not too bad for you, then give these little gems a go: Coconutty Shuku Shuku!

You'll need:

1 cup desiccated cocnut

1/4 cup caster sugar

3 egg yolks

self-raising flour (for rolling)

icing sugar (for rolling)

1. Mix the coconut, caster sugar and egg yolks together until they form a firm, sticky dough.

2. Using your hands, roll teaspoonfuls of the mixture into little balls, roll through the flour and pop on a lined baking tray.

3. Put the tray into a preheated oven (175C) and bake for around 15-20 minutes, until slightly golden and firm.

4. Allow to cool and then roll through the icing sugar.

5. Eat about 8 with your morning coffee!

They taste a little bit like macaroons and I think I love them.

Meat-Free Monday: Roast Veges, Couscous + Feta

Another Meat-Free Monday meal that I love. It's super easy, so deliciously tasty and helps you use up whatever veges you have left rolling around in the crisper.

I guess you could replace the couscous with brown rice or quinoa (I know both are better for you) but on a cold, rainy night like tonight, the hearty, buttery goodness of couscous rocks my socks.

You'll need:

a packet of couscous
olive oil
butter
sweet potato
pumpkin
carrot
zucchini
eggplant
(*in terms of veges, I always use sweet potato, but everything else is fluid - whatever you have on hand or whatever your favourites are. beetroot would probably be awesome too)
kalamata olives
feta cheese
rocket/mint/parsley

1. Cut up your veges into 1-2cm chunks and put onto a large baking tray. Drizzle generously with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and put into preheated oven (200C) for around 40 minutes. Toss after about 20 minutes.

2. Prepare your couscous as per packet instructions.

3. Pour couscous into large bowl, add the veges, olives, feta and rocket. Combine with a little lemon juice if desired.

We serve it hot, but it is really yummy as cold leftover too. This is a beautiful, comforting meal in itself, but you could add lentils or chickpeas too.

Pikelets and Playdough

One. Of. Those. Weeks.

Today I managed to drag myself through the morning before the kids had their sleeps using a combination of sheer will, deep breathing, pikelets and playdough. I'm here now, writing, so I can tell you I made it through.

Bonus: I had an epiphany.

Pikelets are delicious. Milo is also delicious. Bringing pikelets and Milo together = delicious squared. (Recipe below).

Ugly? Yes. Tasty? Also yes.

Isy loves cooking at the moment, and I'm using the whole measuring, pouring, mixing routine to help her learn her 1-10, colours and basic cooking ingredients. Negative: our oven is broken so it's really only pikelets on the baking menu right now. Tasty bummer.

You'll need:


1 1/4 cups SR flour
2 tbsp caster sugar
3/4 cup milk
1-2 tbsp Milo
60g melted butter, cooled
1 egg
extra melted butter for greasing

1. Combine flour and sugar in a bowl.

2. Whisk milk, butter, egg and Milo together until well combined. Add to the dry ingredients and whisk until smooth.

3. Brush some melted butter onto a non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Place tablespoonfuls of the mixture into the pan and cook until bubbles form. Then flip and cook for another minute or so.

4. Serve with jam, cream, butter or just by themselves, warm from the pan. 

Really truly delicious.

My playdough recipe can be found here.

Meat-free Monday: Hearty Vegetable Soup

The weather here last week was ridiculously cold. Like middle-of-winter cold. And this easy-peasy vege soup came in great handy. Added bonus: you can replace/add extra any veges you like. It's a good way to use up leftover veges that may be rattling around in the crisper.

This quantity made enough for 2 meals for Sparky, Isy and myself, plus a little leftover for my lunch.

You'll need:


1 tbsp butter
1 carrot, chopped
1 potato, chopped
green beans, chopped
* in last week's version, I used potato, sweet potato, zucchini, squash, peas and carrot*
1 onion, finely sliced
400g can crushed tomatoes
2 tbsp plain flour
2 tbsp tomato paste
3 cups vege stock
thyme
2 tsp sugar
300g can butter beans, rinsed and drained

1. Heat butter in large pan, add onion, stirring starting to soften. Add veges and undrained tomatoes. Cook, stirring until onion is soft.

2. Stir in blended flour and tomato paste, then add stock, thyme and sugar.

3. Stir over heat until soup boils and begins to thicken, then simmer uncovered until veges are tender. Stir through butter beans.

That's it! And another bonus, like most soups and stews, this one tasted even better the next night. (I love leftovers!)

For other Meat-Free Monday meals, click here.

Hey There, Distraction. Thanks for kicking my arse.

I whipped into my studio/storeroom just after the kids went to sleep, with all intentions of posting a quick, easy chocolate-chip cookie recipe to help use up your extra Easter eggs (cause if you're anything like us, they're still coming out the wazoo and any pleasure gained from eating them has been replaced with a bloated self-loathing. No? Oh, it's just me then. Carry on.) But I got sucked down the internet rabbit-hole and found myself reading my old jewellery business blog, Trove.

I honestly haven't given it too much thought since we closed the business down last year (a move I in no way regret. The timing was just bad for us to have such a big, involved business.) but reading over the journey Sparky and I (and Isy for some of it) have taken did make me feel...funny. I remember so many late nights, so many books scrawled with plans and calculations and figures and collections and sketches and logos, so many big big dreams. I don't think I realised until just now just how close we were to making those dreams a reality.

But that's the only bad thing about dreams becoming reality: the reality part.

The long, long hours, the crappy pay, the time spent away from the kids and Sparky, the hundreds of hours of stress and guilt.

Life is a constant see-saw balancing act, where you need to give and take to keep the overall balance there. Sometimes you tip one way, other times you lean in the opposite direction. Sometimes you even feel stable and balanced.

For us, Trove pushed the balance too far in one direction and made it really difficult to tip back. So, when I read about the excitement and promise that was in our business, I need to remind myself that this quest for a simple(r) life means there's plenty of time for everything, just not at the same time.

*And here ends today's diary entry.

Continue on for a delicious choc-chip cookie recipe, that allows you to use up your extra Easter eggs...

You'll need: 


125g butter
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup SR flour
3/4 cup plain flour
1/2 cup rolled oats (I often use muesli if I'm out of oats)
1 cup choc bits or chopped up Easter eggs
a handful of sultanas

1. Melt butter and peanut butter over medium heat. Once combined, transfer to a large bowl and cool for five minutes.

2. Add brown sugar and egg, mix well. Add flours, oats, chocolate and sultanas. Mix well to combine.

3. Roll tablespoons of mixture into balls, place on baking paper lined trays and flatten slightly with a fork.

4. Cook in preheated oven (180C) for 10-12 minutes or until golden. (By around 12 minutes they tend to go quite hard and crunchy. 10 or 11 minutes leaves them chewy.)

Delish, and calorie free when consumed for breakfast. (Not that I ate two.)

Meat-Free Monday: Tuna Pasta

I've done it again. Fish in Meat Free Mondays. I am living on the edge, I know. Tut, tut.

Facetiousness aside, this Jamie Oliver inspired meal is one of the best, easiest, tastiest pastas going round. Trust me, it'll find its way into your repertoire in no time!

You'll need:


large tin of tuna in olive oil
onion, chopped
garlic, crushed
chilli flakes (optional)
cinnamon
basil - stems chopped and leaves torn roughly
bottle of passata (or Dolmio Classic Tomato Pasta Sauce - it's really tasty, no preservatives, additives etc)
fusilli or similar pasta
salt and pepper

1. Cook the garlic, onion and chilli for a few minutes in some olive oil. Add the basil stems and about 1/2 tsp of cinnamon. Cook for another couple of minutes.

2. Roughly drain the tuna and flake it with a fork. Add to the pan, along with the passata or pasta sauce. Simmer for 20 minutes or so.

3. Cook your pasta, drain and add to the pan. Combine with the sauce, season and throw through some basil leaves.

4. Top with more basil, pepper and parmesan.

Cue mouth watering.

Meat-Free Monday: Pumpkin and Sweet Potato Soup

image from jiffy cat

So the weather has turned autumny and Sparky and I have turned to soups and stews and casseroles in a big way. The meat-free challenge is really on now, because there's something super satisfying about a big, hearty beef casserole when the weather's a bit miserable.

This soup is one of my favourites. I'm actually not a big pumpkin soup fan, but the sweet potato and cumin in this one make it really tasty. Plus, as always, it's easy peasy.

You'll need:


1 kg butternut pumpkin, peeled and chopped
300g sweet potato, peeled and chopped
1 onion, chopped
30g butter
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp brown sugar
3 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup cream
salt and pepper
chives and cream to serve

1. Heat butter in large pan. Add onion, pumpkin and sweet potato. Cover and cook on low for around 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Add spices and sugar and cook for about 5 minutes more.

3. Add stock and bring to the boil, then reduce heat and cover. Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4. Using a stick mixer, puree the soup in the pot (alternatively, blend in batches using a blender, then return to the pot). Season to taste and add the cream. Reheat gently without boiling.

5. Top with extra cream and chives.

Gift Challenge: Easter Success!

So Easter has come and gone, and the long, long, long weekend has too (Sparky unfortunately had to work, so it wasn't so long here, but we made the most of it nonetheless) and I'm happy to report that I didn't stumble at the first gift challenge hurdle. I ended up gifting everyone with homemade presents this year!

I just made up little parcels for each of the families and included homemade chocolates in different colours/flavours, as well as some homemade Easter biscuits - some were Easter eggs with marshmallow in the centre, others were chocolate-dipped and others had 100s and 1000s sprinkled on top. By all accounts (mine included - I had to sample the merchandise first) they were pretty tasty!

  

I already posted on my chocolate making, and the recipe for the biscuits was super easy. It was actually the first time I'd made cookie-cutter biscuits before so the dough-rolling part was new to me, but simple all the same. Here's the recipe if you're keen to try it some time:

You'll need:


125g butter, cubed
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 egg
1/4 tsp vanilla essence
1 cup plain flour
1 cup SR flour

1. Preheat oven to 160C and line two trays with baking paper.

2. Cream the butter and sugar. Then add the egg and vanilla, beating well. Fold in the combined flours, forming a soft dough. (Mine was quite crumbly at this stage, but when I kneaded it together it stuck well).

3. Turn the dough out onto a sheet of baking paper, kneading/rolling it together to get a good dough consistency. Cover with another sheet of baking paper and roll out to around 5mm thick.

4. Cut out shapes using cookie cutters and pop onto your prepared baking trays.

5. Bake in batches for around 10-15 minutes or until golden.

To make the marshmallow filling you need:


bag of marshmallows, halved (although this depends on the size of your biscuits, larger ones probably would need a whole marshmallow)

1. Pop a few biscuits on a plate and top with a marshmallow. Microwave for 10 seconds and then sandwich with another biscuit. Easy, sticky and tasty!

Meat-Free Monday: The Controversial Edition - Salmon Fritters

source: Food

Now, there seem to be two ways of thinking on this. Some people are vegetarian and eat fish, others believe that fish falls under the meat category and think true vegetarians do not eat seafood. Me? I eat meat and really have no opinion either way, but unless people ask me not to, I may occasionally include a fish dish in my Meat-Free Mondays, simply because I have so many good ones and they are cheap and easy (which is the whole point of these recipes anyway).

These salmon fritters are packed full of vegie goodnes, but please don't tell Isla because they are hands-down her favourite thing to eat. I make them for her probably once a fortnight, and Sparky and I eat them too. Usually will salad or steamed vegies.

You need:


a 400g tin pink salmon - drained, flaked, bones removed
a large carrot
a couple of potatoes
a zucchini
an onion
an egg
plain flour
vege oil

1. Pop the salmon into a large bowl. Grate up the carrot, zucchini, onion and potatoes and add to the bowl.

2. Combine with the egg and a couple of tablespoons of plain flour. Season and mix well.

3. Take spoonfuls of the mixture and roll into balls.

4. Heat a centimetre or two of vege oil in a frypan and pop the salmon fritters in in batches. Shallow-fry for a few minutes, then flip and cook through on the other side. Drain on paper towel.

Seriously tasty and so yummy on a sandwich the next day too. Hopefully this didn't offend anyone!!

Meat-Free Monday: Spinach, Rice and Feta Pie

Image: Cheap, Healthy, Good.

Hearty, easy and yummy. Tick, tick and tick. Especially good if you have leftover rice from the night before.

You'll need:

2 tsp butter
1 onion, chopped
2 tsp plain flour
pinch salt
pinch pepper
1.5 cups milk
2 cups cooked rice (basmati or brown are both fine)
1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 egg whites, lightly beaten
package frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
olive oil
parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 200C

2. Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Cook onion for a few minutes.

3. Add flour, salt and pepper. Gradullay add the milk, stirring with a whisk until blended.

4. Simmer the mixture for a minute or until slightly thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in rice, spinach, feta, egg and egg whites. Combine well.

5. Pour mixture into greased pie dish and sprinkle with grated parmesan.

6. Cook for about 30-35 minutes.

This gives Sparky, Isy and myself enough for dinner plus lunch or dinner the next day, so it's super good value too. We usually have it with salad or some steamed veges. Enjoy!!!

Meat-Free Monday (on a Tuesday): Corn and Avocado Salad

Ahoy and apologies for  the lateness of this post! The end of Daylight Savings has wreaked havoc (!!!) with the kids and the last couple of days have been...interesting.

Sleep deprivation aside, this recipe is, strictly speaking, a salad that's a perfect complement to homemade chicken nuggets or pan-fried fish, but Sparky and I regularly have it with just some crusty sourdough for a healthy, quick dinner. Particularly good for a weekend.

You need:

2 avocadoes
2-3 corn cobs
2 tomoatoes
a tin of red kidney beans
lemon
olive oil
salt and pepper
coriander

1. Pop the corn into a saucepan, just cover with water and pop it on the stove. Once boiling, let it cook for around 8 minutes, or til tender.

2. Chop up your avocado and tomatoes and add to a bowl.

3. Drain and rinse kidney beans and pop into bowl.

4. Once the corn is cooked and cool enough to handle, slice off the corn and add to the bowl.

5. Add a squirt of lemon juice and a drizzle of olive oil, plus some salt and pepper. Give it a mix and then add a good handful of coriander (or maybe do this after serving, if your kids are eating it too and are not keen on the flavour of coriander).

6. Eat it as is or add to some crunchy sourdough toast.

Deceptively tasty for such a simple meal. And also really super satisfying. It may be 7:43am right now, but I'd totally eat a huge bowl of this.

Meat-free Monday, on a Tuesday: Zucchini Pasta

source

This is one of mine and Sparky's all-time favourite easy vege meals. We would eat this at least once a fortnight because it's simple, quick, tasty and relatively cheap.

You'll need:


3-5 anchovies (optional, but highly recommended. you don't have chunks of anchovy floating around, it just gives a beautiful saltiness to the sauce)
1-2 red chillis or chilli flakes (optional)
olive oil
garlic
kalamata olives
capers
3-4 good sized zucchinis, grated
pasta (fusilli is good for this but any short pasta is a-ok)
parmesan
salt and pepper

1. Heat olive oil in a pan and add the garlic, chilli and anchovies. Break the anchovies up with a wooden spoon.

2. Once the anchovies have broken down (a minute or two) add a couple of tablespoons of capers and a couple of good handfuls of olives. Cook for a couple of minutes.

3. Add some extra olive oil, salt and pepper. Add your grated zucchini to the hot pan and saute for a couple of minutes.

4. Drain your pasta and toss into the zucchini sauce. Stir to coat.

5. Serve with some extra olive oil, salt, pepper and a good bit of parmesan.

Seriously, so so good.

Meat-free Monday: Quesadillas are good for a Friday. Written on a Tuesday.

My own (read: bastardised) version of Sally's delicious vege quesadillas. So awesomely awesome for a Friday night spent drinking porter and watching Arrested Development. Rock and/or roll.

1. Grate up your vegies of choice. Or whatever remains in the fridge at the time of cooking. We used squash, zucchini, corn, carrot and sweet potato. 


*Awesome side-note: leave the skin on your carrot, sweet potatoes etc. Much of the fibre and goodness in these vegies is in the skin. And you can't taste any difference. (Wash them first of course.)

2. Olive oil and garlic in a pan. Let them do their thing for a second.

3. Throw in your vegies and give them a good ten minutes. Stir occasionally.

4. Add half a can of refried beans (I know! Really though.) A full can is pretty salty so we cut down on account of the little one. Give it another few minutes.


5. Take a tortilla (we use wholegrain - you feel virtuous while eating, it's great) and spread some of the vegie mix over half of it. Sprinkle with grated cheese and fold in half. Repeat for as many as you need.

6. Heat some oil in a frypan. Pop the tortillas in the pan one or two at a time. Fry on one side for 2-3 minutes and flip to the other side. Cook for another minute or two.

7. Serve with guacamole and sour cream.

Delish.

** Quick guacamole: 1-2 avocadoes mashed up, 1-2 tomatoes diced up, a squeeze of lemon juice and some salt and pepper. Mix together. Deliciousness in a bowl. We have it on toast regularly.

We would have this at least once every three weeks. Its cheap because you can use up your left over vegies and it's healthy. Win-win.

Beauty Tips: Homemade Body Mist

Orange Tower by Leo Druker

OK, I have something ridiculous to admit. We're barely past the first week of autumn and already my mind is turning to winter. And not in a good way. I really, really, hate winter. I get depressed and crotchety and generally miserable in the cold, grey weather with its silly short days.


I'm already dreading it. And it's basically still summer. Ridic.

One of the fine things about the cold weather though is the amazing oranges. I do love oranges. The smell, the taste, the zing. Even the bits that get caught in my teeth. In fact, when I was pregnant with Isla and couldn't stand any synthetic fragrances at all, the only thing I wanted to smell and to smell like was oranges. Strange, yes.

I do wish I had come across this easy-peasy recipe for a homemade body mist back then:

Add approximately 10 drops of orange essential oil (any essential oil of your choosing is fine though - lavender would be beautiful too) to a sterilised spray bottle.

(To sterilise, simply immerse in boiling water for a few minutes)

Top up the bottle with distilled water.

Shake, and use it as a subtle fragrance or invigorating body spray whenever needed.

Nice one. This should lift my sunshine levels come July.  But in the meantime, time to enjoy the heat.

Play Time! Playdough Recipe

I mentioned last week that we'd been getting crafty and creative here at Lavender HQ, and one of our current faves is playdough. It's super easy to whip up a batch yourself and keep it in the fridge, so I thought I'd post the recipe. There are variations, but this is the method I use with no drama:

You need:

   3 cups plain flour
   1 cup salt
   2 tbsp oil
   approx 1.5 cups water
   a few drops of food colouring

Method:

   1. Mix dry ingredients together
   2. Combine water and food colouring
   3. Add sufficient water until dough is pliable but not sticky

Super duper easy, it makes more than enough for four kidlets to play with and you can store it in a plastic bag in the fridge for at least a couple of weeks.

Also, for something fun, you can cut shapes out of the dough using cookie cutters and bake them slowly in a mild-moderate oven. Fun times ahoy!!

Top Ten Vinegar Uses - Cleaning

Vinegar Street by Mykal Shaw

Vinegar (white distilled vinegar - available by the bottle at the supermarket) is pretty cool. I use it in all my green cleaning recipes and clean my bathroom most weeks with nothing more than vinegar, water and elbow grease.

There's about 50,000 recipes that use vinegar, but it can be used on its own for so many different things. Try one of these next time the need arises:

1. Clean the microwave by mixing 1/2 cup vinegar and 1/2 cup water in a microwave-safe bowl. Bring it to a rolling boil inside the microwave and let it sit for a few minutes. The steam will soften any baked-on food and the vinegar gets rid of smells. Wipe clean with a damp cloth.

2. For stained/smelly plastic food containers, wipe them with a cloth dampened with white distilled vinegar.

3. Discourage ants by spraying straight vinegar outside doorways and windows.

4. To remove a sticky label or price tag, cover with a cloth soaked in vinegar. Leave overnight and the label should easily come away.

5. Clean grout by letting full-strength vinegar sit on it for a few minutes and scrubbing with an old toothbrush.

6. Kill germs around the bathroom with a spray of full-strength vinegar. Rinse and wipe clean with a damp cloth.

7. Remove wallpaper by using a paint roller to wet the surface very thoroughly with a solution of one part vinegar to one part hot water. Or spray on until saturated.

8. Clean hardened paint brushes by simmering them in a saucepan of vinegar. Soak first for an hour or so before bringing it to a simmer. Drain and rinse clean.

9. Clean vinyl baby books or board books by wiping with vinegar. Wipe clean with a damp cloth.

10. Clean scissors that have become sticky (eg. after cutting tape) with a cloth dipped in undiluted vinegar.


There's obviously many more uses in the laundry, garden and medicine cabinet, and I'll get around to those another time. But truly, vinegar, castile soap, borax and baking soda make up the vast, vast majority of all my cleaning solutions. Sparkly McGee!