Fabric Softener

Last summer I knocked the fabric softener dispenser off the wringer in my washer. I was astonished to find a waxy muck resembling the wax ring from a toilet. I soaked the dispenser in Industrial strength paint thinner for two days and kept shaking out all this black waxy gunk...needless to say, it was disgusting.

I did some checking into it to find there are all sorts of health issues associated with commercial fabric softeners so I decided to make my own. I use a 22 oz bottle of Suave Conditioner (fragrance of your choice), Vinegar and water. First, I pour out all the conditioner into a large bowl then I refill the bottle twice with vinegar stirring each into the conditioner slowly to incorporate. I found if you just dump it all in the bottle and shake you have problems with foam that never seems to go away. Then I add two bottles full of water to the mix and either pour it all into an old fabric softener container (as you see in the photo) or I pour it into the used vinegar bottle. I use the same capful from my fabric softener container or about 1/4 c per load.

Here are the costs

22.5 oz Suave about $1.97

1 gal white vinegar about $2.00 (makes about 2 1/2 batches)

water (minimal to free)

This does about 120 loads. Making the cost about $.02/load.

Note: During the winter, I have more static than normal (even with my old store purchased fabric softener) so I roll up a little ball of aluminum foil and throw it in the dryer and it seems to do the trick.

Blue Cheese Compound Butter Ribeye

Well, you can't really see it today as it looks like we will have rain all day but the swan's neck has not yet broken. No garden planting today. Which is ok, I feel like I have alot to do still before I am ready for that.

Last night we had some wonderful Blue Cheese infused ribeye steak.

Blue Cheese infused Ribeye

4 1" thick Ribeye steaks

2 Sticks Butter room temperature

16 oz blue cheese

2 cloves garlic minced

2 T olive oil

Combine butter, blue cheese and garlic in food processor until just mixed. Roll mixture into log in plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cut slice in side of steaks to form a pouch. Slice off 1/4 inch slices of compound butter and stuff into pouch. Season meat with freshly ground salt and pepper.

Heat olive oil in skillet. Brown each steak over medium high heat until a crust forms.

Transfer Steaks to baking dish and top each with another pat of the compound butter

Bake in 400 degree oven for another 8 - 10 minutes to finish.

Cesar Salad

1 head Romaine lettuce chopped

1/2 pkg cherry tomatoes

2 leftover Easter eggs

2 T sliced Parmesan

1/4 sliced red onion

Mix and toss....use whatever dressing everyone likes or Cesar

Angel Hair Pasta

8 oz angel hair pasta (cooked according to package directions)

2 T butter

1 clove garlic (minced)

1 can condensed milk

1T cream cheese (optional)

1/4 C grated Parmesan

2t basil

1 t parsley

Heat garlic and butter over medium heat until garlic is translucent but not brown. Stir in cream cheese until well incorporated, add condensed milk until just before boiling. Add Parmesan, basil and parsley. Add cooked noodles toss ingredients together...a perfect alternative to baked or mashed potatoes

more mulching photos

Mulch Border

As you can see, the Swan’s neck has not broken (again it did once). So I won’t be planting my garden yet.





Okay, today I am mulching around the front border in front of the house. Well, what is supposed to be the "front" of the house, not that we use it much. As you can see, we have cut the two rose bushes back to nearly nothing. According to the previous owner, she was told they would be much smaller. They kept getting bigger and have totally ruined the screens on River's windows not to mention the fact that if we had to use the windows as an emergency escape, jumping in to two rose bushes is not the most appealing.

So I decided today that I would go ahead and dig them up as a part of my mulching project. I got one dug up but the other will have to wait until Kerry gets home. I will see if he can get the bobcat andf use a chain to pull it up. If not, I will give it a go myself tomorrow but he is much better on the machine than I am.

Here are the steps for my border mulching:

1. Use old newspaper as ground cover. As you can see I keep a spare trash can in the garage all winter and save all my old newspapers. I throw out all the shiny ads as they don't compost well. Then I use the newspapers for many different things such as liners in the fridge, food for the wormies and mulching...I digress, back to mulching. I have to mention that River picked up the top paper this morning and said "I found Obabma". I looked in and sure enough there was a photo of him smack dab on the top.....She amazes me.

2. Remove any debris from the area and lay the papers down. You can make them as thick or thin as you choose, just remember they go pretty quickly if you make them thicker. I picked up the stepping stones and then replaced them on the paper before mulching.

3. Add mulch. I had my husband go out to the dump where they mulch up old pallets. He got a yard of mulch for $20...pretty cheap but I think he will have to grab me another load as I am running low. I sprinkled the mulch over the pavers and newspaper and spread it out. You can still see the newspaper in some spots but I will give it a couple of days to settle and let the rain wash it down some then I will add some more mulch.

Easter 2009

We had a great Easter dinner yesterday. Thanks to everyone for the company and all the help. Here are the recipes for anyone who wants them.

Glazed Ham

10-12 Lb Ham

6 Liters of Ginger Ale

1 Jar (12 oz) Orange Marmalade

1/4 c Brown Sugar

2-3 T Dijon Mustard

1 t Ground Cloves

1 t Ginger

Place Ham in large pot, pour in Ginger Ale (enough to cover ham). Cover, heat to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer 3-4 hours.

For Glaze:In small bowl, combine remaining ingredients and set aside.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Remove ham from pot and place in shallow baking dish. Pour/brush glaze over ham. Place in oven and continue glazing every 10 mins for about 30 mins or until glaze is nice and shiny.

Creamed Spinach

1-2 lb Spinach (either remove stems or get baby spinach)

2 C heavy cream

1/4 red onion sliced small

1 clove garlic sliced

Place spinach in large pot, season with a bit of salt and pepper. Put in sliced onion and garlic.

Cover pot and heat over medium heat until spinach is wilted. Drain well.

Put cream in heavy bottomed pan and heat over medium low heat until reduced by half. Add drained spinach and serve.

Roasted Tomatoes

1 pkg Cherry Tomatoes

2-3 Cloves Garlic sliced

Olive Oil

Balsamic Vinegar

425 Degree oven

Place tomatoes in shallow baking dish. Make sure they are in a single layer. Sprinkle sliced garlic over the top. Drizzle with Olive oil. Season with freshly ground salt and pepper. Cook in 425 Degree oven for about 20 minutes. When cooked, drizzle with a bit of Balsamic Vinegar.