Emergency bean dip and hummus recipe

I mean should you ever have a need for emergency bean dip...this turned out nicely.  (No photos but it is tasty)

• in a food processor you will throw in say about 1/2 an onion, 1/2c salsa, 2 spoons of sour cream, a can of beans (3 cups, any kind, drained).  That is all estimates...easy to tweek to your specifications.  

Or, you could easy throw together some hummus.

• 1 can chickpeas (3 cups-ish, drained), 1-2 garlic cloves, 1/4+ olive oil, 2T lemon juice, 1-2 t cumin.  All this in the food processor (sometimes I splash in some H2O if the consistency needs to be creamier).

I make double hummus recipe and it is gone almost before I get the lid off the cuisinart. Just saying.

Finally! Pizza dough recipe

Well.  Here is the pizza dough recipe that I have teased about posting...but somehow have slacked about doing.  I am posting this this morning so that EVERYONE can make Friday Night Pizza Night TONIGHT!  Its all the rage.

Izaak uses 1 cookie sheet and 1 pampered chef stone. So, halve the recipe to make only one.

Traditional pizza dough
3 teaspoons yeast
1 1/2 cup warm water
4 1/2 c flour (I like all Red Mill Whole Wheat pastry flour.  Izaak prefers 50/50 with white flour)
2 teaspoons salt
pinch of suga'
2 tables olive oil
*Yeast + 1/2 cup water in bowl.  stir to dissolve.   (set aside a few minutes)
*flour+salt+sugar.  Then add yeast mixture+olive oil+water (up to 1 cup but less if needed for right texture) once all combined...
*knead dough on lightly floured counter top until smooth and elastic (3 min?) Transfer to large bowl, spread a bit of oil on top of the dough- cover with cloth or plastic wrap to rise for 1 hour.  It should double.

Then roll it, pat it, spread your toppings, express your unique palette of tasty combinations...bake @425-450 until done 12-15 min.  I should think.

Optional enriched dough
same as above EXCEPT instead of 4 1/2 cup flour use:
4 cups flour
1/2 cup soy flour
3 Tables ground sesame seeds

Ideas about cleaning your house and using essential oils.

NOTE: this is not a how you should clean post.  Or, at least don't read it that way.  It is a this is how I make cleaners post.  xo kq.
 
Did you read this? A few of my loyal band of merry readers emailed me about making my own cleaners.  So this post is a) to share how to clean a house with green/eco/frugal/non toxic/friendly and generally happy cleaners that you make.  and b) offer proof that it cleans very well.

This works especially well if you are cheap frugal and/or have sensitive skin or respiratory allergies.   

what to clean with.
basically, vinegar, lemon juice, baking soda, dish soap (phosphate free), optional essential oils.

Why vinegar?  it is acetic acid, a strong acid with a ph of 2ish.  Bleach is used because it is a strong base with a ph of 12 ish.  Extreme acids and extreme bases are good cleaners because bugs and people like neutral environments (ph of 7).  Not that I am saying to use bleach for everyday cleaning...but I digress...

Basic spray cleaner: 32 oz spray bottle.  1/2 to 1 cup vinegar, 1 squirt (1-2 teaspoons dish soap), blend of essential oils (total 20-30 drops.  less if peppermint or tea tree because they are strong!).  fill rest of bottle with wash water and shake to mix up.  This can clean just about anything. 

To scrub (grout, toilet bowls, burnt pan bottoms): baking soda and good scrubbing tool (tile brush, old toothbrush, toilet brush, scour pad). 

clean microwave: 1 cup-ish of lemon juice in a bowl + water to fill up.  cook in microwave as long as you would a cup of tea (3-5 minutes). Open door wipe down. Lemon juice evaporates to deodorize, the citric acid disinfects, and the humidity softens any crusty stuff.   I usually put my dish sponge in the bowl with the lemon and water to cook it (yummy).  I feel like it disinfects sponges.  And feeling like something has been cleaned counts, right?   

essential oils.
I order mine from New Directions.  Make sure to use Essential oils and not aromatic oils.  Body Shop also carries them.  What are they?  Read wiki.  I like Worwood's book Complete book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy I got that book a couple of years ago and it has been really handy. 
In the winter I like to use clove (smells Christmasy), otherwise a good household scent is peppermint and lavender (1part peppermint to 2-3 parts lavender).  The best disinfectant is tea tree.  Diaper pail or bottom of trash can getting stinky?  A few drops of tea tree on a piece of TP, thrown, should take care of the smell and diinfect the cause of the smell too.
A good combo for sick person clean up and to disinfect when a virus is going around is tea tree + eucalyptus.  A palm size of vasoline+ 1 drop eucalyptus is a nice chest rub for a stuff nosed child that can't sleep well (a la vicks vapor rub)
Citronella smells like lemon pine sol cleaner and it is a natural bug repellent.  About 30 drops of citronella in the mop water smells really nice and it helps in the spring time if ants are fighting to move in.   The ideas run on and on to the power of ten.  

but does it clean as well as my blue/pine scented/foamy/$4 non-reusable bottle? or silly hippy Kristen thinks this works because...? 
Lots of reading and research backs me up.  Using the stuff above is effective for cleaning and sanitizing.  Need something more solid?  I took a microbiology course at Boise State a couple of years ago (has it been that long already?)  For a lab project, I brought home supplies.  Swabbed, smeared, cultured etc.  ta da. The petri dish does not lie.  I have a fantastically clean house (um. well.  when we've actually cleaned it is clean. Of course an excellent cleaning product unused is very ineffectual. whoops.)

and finally get some equipment
Paper towels are flimsy.  How can you really get remnants of bread dough off the counter tops once it is dried down on there like cement?  No.  you need lots of rags, a grout brush, scour pads and elbow grease.  Lots of elbow grease. Leila (her again?) posted about cleaning.  It's good if you want to read a long post about rags.  but I guess if you've read this far you are a sucker for long boring posts.   

Thoughts on housekeeping

Housekeeping is a funny thing to do.  Especially with a 3 year old whirling dervish that loves to help with chores.  Sometimes I wonder if I shouldn’t just hold off a couple of years and give it a go then.

popcorn is never a tidy snack.

I really like the articles by Leila that talk about a reasonably clean house. Hum.  That phrase reasonably clean has rung through my head since I first read it.  A perfectly clean house is not practical.  More so, I think, because our house is negative 600 square feet big. 

Thought I would randomly pepper this post with pictures of some projects that Izaak & Elliot have worked on - a castle

There is no space that is child-toy free.  I do not have a dedicated playroom to help manage her things.  I do not have a formal living room to keep perfectly clean as a refuge from all the living that we do.  In cleaning and tidying the house, Elliot follows behind me playing duplos and getting out markers and…before you know it I need to start all over again.  

A dog chasing its own tail. 

A perfectly clean house (with little ones, and small spaces) is not attainable.  So, I like the idea of a reasonably clean house.   I have a dear aunt who said to me once that clean doesn’t have a  smell.  Yah, that stuck with me too.  Clean doesn’t smell like expensive scented candles, plug-ins, or chemical pine.  Clean is just fresh air.

Elliot can do awesome things with glitter glue and wiggly eyes, right?

As an aside, I have for over three years now, made all my own cleaners.  I got this book from the library about the time that Elliot was born.  Changed my pine-sol-bleaching-409 housekeeping to a something else entirely.  (And thankfully, because this was before we were fully aware of her skin issues...she, as it turns out, is super chemical sensitive)  That all to say that sometimes there are whiffs of tea tree, clove, or mint in the air.  All from essential oils . (not just perfumes.  Eo's have antibacterial properties, ya'know.)

Why I am talking about all this now?  Well, I was pondering how much calmer I am when my house was clean and tidy...and how being reasonably clean might just mean different things to everyone else.   That to me, it feels nice and calm with a little tidying and vacuuming.  I am also and perhaps foremost a fan of a place for everything, and everything in its place.  That if I had one housekeeping rule that would be it.  No matter how messy life gets, there is always the possibility that everything can be put away somewhere.  (And, if company is expected, it can be put away very quickly.)

So. Ramble ramble ramble.  Happy pre-thanksgiving

Artisan Bread. yum yum

Yummy new library book may end up on my kitchen shelf permanently. Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day is genius and easy. My old bread recipe (along with kneading, rising, proofing) is so last week.  I have been making beautiful bread and the bakery perfect crusty outside.  My old bread recipe was fine, but labor intensive and was good sandwich bread...however, this new stuff is just begging for garlic butter. 

Here is a photo of my 1st recipe test run. (and a pic of the book cover to compare)...

and 10 minutes later. (Izaak, EL and I are shameless fans of warm carb smothered in melty butter)

And a link to the new recipe. But you should really just check out the book.

Cookies, cookies and other notes

We made cookies today. Thought I'd share the recipe 'cause it is consistently good. It is hard to find egg-free cookies that taste wonderful. Probably hate 9 out of every 10 we make. Thanks to Vegan Planet.

• 2c flour



• 1/2 t baking soda



• 1/2 t salt



• 1c packed brown sugar



• 1/4 c maple syrup



• 1/2 c corn oil



• 2 T ground flax w/6 T water



• 1 t vanilla



• 2 cups total of choc chips/coconut/nuts + whatever

Bake at 350 for 12-15 min.

And these cookies are made out of felt. I made them for Elliot's tea set and little kitchen. No recipes :) but a link to a website with lots of felt play food ideas...

And other notes:

• If March is in like a lion out like a lamb, why did it hail and snow on the 1st day of April?



• 18 weeks midwife appointment today. 20 lbs up. Baby is an active swimmer. Izaak has already felt it once or twice.

Pumpkin Pancakes

Thanks to Grandpa, Elliot asks for pancakes a couple of times a week. This is the best scratch pancake recipe that we have found. They are not too pumpkin-pie like. The pumpkin mostly just adds a nice texture. I would add more of the spices if you wanted to have pumpkin pie pancakes. We have been making double batches- the left overs reheat very well the next morning.

Whisk together
1 1/4 c Flour
2T sugar
2t baking powder
1/2 t ea cinnamon, ginger and salt
1/8 t nutmeg and clove

Separately mix together
1 egg (or 1T ground flax w 3T water)
6T pumpkin puree
2T melted butter
1C milk (soy or almond works)

Fold the wet into the dry. Heat a oiled skillet over medium heat. Use about 1/4 c batter for each pancake and cook 3 minutes a side.

Vegetarian Lasagna in the CrockPot

INGREDIENTS
1 jar(s) (25- to 26-ounce) marinara sauce
1 can(s) (14 1/2-ounce) diced tomatoes
1 package(s) (8- to 9-ounce) oven-ready (no-boil) lasagna noodles
1 container(s) (15-ounce) part-skim ricotta cheese
1 package(s) (8-ounce) shredded Italian cheese blend or shredded mozzarella cheese
1 package(s) (10-ounce) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 cup(s) frozen veggie crumbles*

(I like with extra spinach, and sun dried tomatoes)

DIRECTIONS
In medium bowl, combine marinara sauce and tomatoes with their juice.

Spray 4 1/2- to 6-quart slow-cooker bowl with nonstick cooking spray. Spoon 1 cup tomato-sauce mixture into bowl. Arrange one fourth of noodles over sauce, overlapping noodles and breaking into large pieces to cover as much sauce as possible. Spoon about 3/4 cup sauce over noodles, then top with one third of ricotta (about 1/2 cup), and 1/2 cup shredded cheese. Spread half of spinach over cheese.

Repeat layering 2 more times beginning with noodles, but in middle layer, replace spinach with frozen crumbles. Place remaining noodles over spinach, then top with remaining sauce and shredded cheese.

Cover slow cooker with lid and cook as manufacturer directs on low setting 2 1/2 to 3hours or on high setting 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours or until noodles are very tender.

Japanese way of folding shirts.

hehe.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5AWQ5aBjgE










.

Yummy Snickerdoodles

lil EL doesn't eat eggs, so I am always on the lookout for vegan cookie recipes. This one (thanks to Veganyumyum.com) is super. It passes the non-vegan eaters taste test.

thought i'd pass it on...

go to http://veganyumyum.com/2008/12/snickerdoodles/ for beautiful pics.

Snickerdoodles
Makes about 18 Cookies

1 Cup Sugar
1/2 Cup
Earth Balance
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 Prepared Ener-g Egg-Replacer Egg
1 1/2 Cups Flour
1/4 tsp Cream of Tartar
1/4 tsp Baking Soda

Cinnamon Sugar, for rolling
Cream sugar, Earth Balance, and vanilla
extract together. Prepare the Ener-G Egg by following the package instructions
(1 1/2 tsp powder whisked with 2 Tbs hot water until foamy), and add it to the
Earth Balance and sugar mixture. Whip (or whisk) it all up until it’s light a
fluffy.

Whisk the dry ingredients together. Add 2/3 of the dry
ingredients to the whipped mixture and whip until combined. Add in the remaining
flour and mix by hand. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1
hour.

Preheat oven to 375º F.

When the dough is chilled, line a
cookie sheet with parchment paper. Using a #40 ice cream scoop, make balls of
dough (each ball will be made with 2 Tbs of dough, if you don’t have a #40
scoop). Roll each ball in cinnamon sugar.

Using a fork (or whatever you
want), squish the dough out into cookie shapes.

Bake at 375º F for 10
minutes for chewy cookies, 12 minutes for crunchy. Remove from oven and let sit
for 30 seconds. They’ll be very soft when they come out of the oven, but that’s
just fine! Gently remove cookies from the baking sheet and let cool for a few
minutes on a wire rack before serving.

Food from Scratch

Just passing on things I read and liked.

This includes

• ricotta


• vanilla extract


• yogurt

Link: Ricotta 6 Foods You Didn't Know You Could Make from - iVillage

Links About Food Budgets

This link is to a journal of a California couple who spend 1 month eating on $1/day.
http://onedollardietproject.wordpress.com/2008/09/01/it-starts-today/


While this link is to a photo comparison of grocery budgets and quantities for average families around the world. $1.23 a week, any one?
http://www.everybodygoto.com/2007/10/12/what-people-eat-around-the-world/