Ingredients:
1/3 bar Fels-Naptha, 5.5 oz bar
1/2 cup washing soda
1/2 cup borax powder
1 tsp essential oil (optional)
2 one gallon jugs with screw lid (vinegar or window washing fluids)
Grate soap and put in large saucepan with 6 cups of water over medium heat. Heat the mixture until the soap melts. Add the washing soda, borax and essential oils (if desired), stirring constantly until all has dissolved. Let it sit for 5 minutes over heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and let sit for another 5 minutes.
Using a funnel put half the mixture in each gallon jug (mark the fluid level with a permanent marker for next time). Fill each jug with hot water and shake well. Continue to fill the jug to the top with hot water. Shake again, then put aside for 24 hours. This gels up and looks like egg whites.
Use about 1/2 to 2/3 cup per load. It will not sud up like most detergents (that's an added ingredient) but the clothes do clean up and smell wonderfully. You can also add 1/2 cup of white vinegar to soften the clothes.
Variations:
- grate the soap, add the soda & borax and use as a dry soap powder.
- for a gentler soap, exchange Fels-Naptha with Castile soap, or even with Ivory soap.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Apple Pound Cake
1 1/2 cups canola oil
2 cups cane sugar
3 eggs
3 cups whole wheat flower
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp vanilla extract
3-5 large apples, cut into small pieces
1 cup nuts, like walnuts or pecans (optional)
Combine oil, sugar and eggs and beat until smooth, about 3 minutes.
Add flour, salt, soda and vanilla and beat until smooth.
Gently fold in apples and pecans. If the batter is too stiff use the kitchenaid with a dough hook, otherwise the apple pieces will be mushed.
Bake in greased bunt pan at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 25 minutes.
Remove cake from pan, turn it upside down and let cool.
You can substitute the apple with pear very nicely.
Prepare sauce.
1 stick vegetable butter
2 tsp goat or soy milk
1/2 cup light brown sugar
Cook all ingredients for about 15 minutes or when the sugar is dissolved. Pour on cake.
Excerpt from Cooks.com
2 cups cane sugar
3 eggs
3 cups whole wheat flower
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp vanilla extract
3-5 large apples, cut into small pieces
1 cup nuts, like walnuts or pecans (optional)
Combine oil, sugar and eggs and beat until smooth, about 3 minutes.
Add flour, salt, soda and vanilla and beat until smooth.
Gently fold in apples and pecans. If the batter is too stiff use the kitchenaid with a dough hook, otherwise the apple pieces will be mushed.
Bake in greased bunt pan at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 25 minutes.
Remove cake from pan, turn it upside down and let cool.
You can substitute the apple with pear very nicely.
Prepare sauce.
1 stick vegetable butter
2 tsp goat or soy milk
1/2 cup light brown sugar
Cook all ingredients for about 15 minutes or when the sugar is dissolved. Pour on cake.
Excerpt from Cooks.com
Perennial Trading?
we have:
purple lilacs
white lilacs
heritage rhubarb
chives (purple flowers)
chocolate mint
spearmint
forsythia
everbearing & junebearing strawberries (mix)
curly willow
orange daylily
and some odds & ends...
interested? let me know your trade :-)
purple lilacs
white lilacs
heritage rhubarb
chives (purple flowers)
chocolate mint
spearmint
forsythia
everbearing & junebearing strawberries (mix)
curly willow
orange daylily
and some odds & ends...
interested? let me know your trade :-)
Duck versus Goose
We had quite a racket going on near the entrance to the chicken run, lots of honking and whistling and quacking with feathers flying everywhere... I assumed it was one of those little testosterone spats, again - which is was - between Muscovy male Moe and buff goose male Kristopher. What I did not realize was who had won!
Since they did not let go of each other I went up and grabbed Moe (he's smaller by far) but his toe nail was hooked into Kristophers skin. I unhooked that and plunked Moe into the leanto part of the run and put the little sliding door in to keep them separated. Kris seemed rather demure, no hissing at me, with a "nothing happened here, nothing to see" air around him. I did not think about it too much, as long as Emily was still on the nest, brooding (she's in the run, hence the localized testosterone).
Guess my surprise the next evening when Moe was smack dab in the middle of the run door and the two geese did not dare get any closer! MOE HAD WON! My god, I do have wimpy geese :-) I did select this particular breed cause they are a lot less aggressive and I guess that's correct!
They're even nicer to Simon now - I do not immediately have to herd and lock them in their pen. Before, when Simon would go out in the yard Kristopher would immediately run for him, but now they keep their distance - a sort of "I don't see you, I don't have to do anything" unless Simon gets too close.
I do now remove Moe from the main run each night and put him in the lean-to, which is fine and one of the Muscovy girls is brooding there anyway. He seems to know the new routine and after I clipped his nails (lesson learned: only clip the points, the rest IS alive) he does not want to be picked up and I only have to herd him once or twice and he'll go in there himself. He might be ugly but he is a smart boy :-)
Since they did not let go of each other I went up and grabbed Moe (he's smaller by far) but his toe nail was hooked into Kristophers skin. I unhooked that and plunked Moe into the leanto part of the run and put the little sliding door in to keep them separated. Kris seemed rather demure, no hissing at me, with a "nothing happened here, nothing to see" air around him. I did not think about it too much, as long as Emily was still on the nest, brooding (she's in the run, hence the localized testosterone).
Guess my surprise the next evening when Moe was smack dab in the middle of the run door and the two geese did not dare get any closer! MOE HAD WON! My god, I do have wimpy geese :-) I did select this particular breed cause they are a lot less aggressive and I guess that's correct!
They're even nicer to Simon now - I do not immediately have to herd and lock them in their pen. Before, when Simon would go out in the yard Kristopher would immediately run for him, but now they keep their distance - a sort of "I don't see you, I don't have to do anything" unless Simon gets too close.
I do now remove Moe from the main run each night and put him in the lean-to, which is fine and one of the Muscovy girls is brooding there anyway. He seems to know the new routine and after I clipped his nails (lesson learned: only clip the points, the rest IS alive) he does not want to be picked up and I only have to herd him once or twice and he'll go in there himself. He might be ugly but he is a smart boy :-)
What goats want...
I thought it informative to write down a short list of things Jamie likes to eat. Anyone seen the mower episode of Shaun the Sheep?! Seems like we're growing one of those :-)
The first couple weeks all he wanted was milk. That's good, that comes nicely contained in bottles.
Week three he started to nibble. Like Simon did when teething, putting everything in his mouth to taste and feel texture - also no harm done... sort off - Rolf did not appreciate the texture exploration of the unfinished wood train table corners!
Week four he started to eat paper. Paper bags, newspapers, magazines - anything that rips nicely will do. He graduated to our woodstove wood, munching on the bark and the punk wood bits (seem to me like woody marshmallow bits) - then on to stove ashes. No idea why ashes, maybe he had bad indigestion or something... he's not eating the goat bix I got, though.
Week five he started to eat string, shoelaces, rope - like spagetti, and I've got to pull it back out in case his tummy gets into trouble! But no hay, won't touch the stuff. He will eat the leaves of my Japanese dwarf maple! And we found him in the middle of the bonfire pit - after our bonfire adventure - munching ashes and coal.
He's getting a little heavy to lift in and out of the goat enclosure in the sunroom, and he's starting to enjoy being with the other goat boys, so in a week or so he'll stay with them overnight. He still gets a bottle at 10pm, when that's done with he can move out. yay!
Oh, he knows the sound of the microwave equals milk! He gets real agitated when I nuke milk for Simon's naptime, searching everywhere for his bottles, he heard the peep so there should be milk around somewhere!
The first couple weeks all he wanted was milk. That's good, that comes nicely contained in bottles.
Week three he started to nibble. Like Simon did when teething, putting everything in his mouth to taste and feel texture - also no harm done... sort off - Rolf did not appreciate the texture exploration of the unfinished wood train table corners!
Week four he started to eat paper. Paper bags, newspapers, magazines - anything that rips nicely will do. He graduated to our woodstove wood, munching on the bark and the punk wood bits (seem to me like woody marshmallow bits) - then on to stove ashes. No idea why ashes, maybe he had bad indigestion or something... he's not eating the goat bix I got, though.
Week five he started to eat string, shoelaces, rope - like spagetti, and I've got to pull it back out in case his tummy gets into trouble! But no hay, won't touch the stuff. He will eat the leaves of my Japanese dwarf maple! And we found him in the middle of the bonfire pit - after our bonfire adventure - munching ashes and coal.
He's getting a little heavy to lift in and out of the goat enclosure in the sunroom, and he's starting to enjoy being with the other goat boys, so in a week or so he'll stay with them overnight. He still gets a bottle at 10pm, when that's done with he can move out. yay!
Oh, he knows the sound of the microwave equals milk! He gets real agitated when I nuke milk for Simon's naptime, searching everywhere for his bottles, he heard the peep so there should be milk around somewhere!
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
it sure is Spring...
We have so many different colors violets growing on our back field, I love to keep an eye out and see if I can find another one! We even might have wild dog's tooth violets (Erythronium denscanis?), though they sure look different from the violets I'm familiar with... When paging through a bulb catalog I found their picture and recognized them from the many little flowers growing at the edge of our woods and field. Neat, huh :-)
Wacky Chicken Nest Box Contest
first ever Wacky Chicken Nest Box Contest !!!
looking for functional, original, unusual or just plain wacky... as long as the girls can use it :-)
should be portable to be displayed during event hours
first annual Backyard Poultry Day
at the Ithaca Farmers Market
Sunday May 2nd from 10 am to 3 pm.
Judged by our Market specialist Karma Gloss of Kingbird Farm
First Prize a Chicken Backyard Hutch valued at $79.99 from Critter-Cages.com, other prizes include VermX 100% natural herbal parasite control from Verm-X USA and unbelievably delicious Happy Hen Treats premium treats for Chicken!
for a submission form and more info please contact Susan@VerbergPhoto.com. Entries should be dropped off between 10-11am, the winners will be announced at noon
GOOD LUCK!
looking for functional, original, unusual or just plain wacky... as long as the girls can use it :-)
should be portable to be displayed during event hours
first annual Backyard Poultry Day
at the Ithaca Farmers Market
Sunday May 2nd from 10 am to 3 pm.
Judged by our Market specialist Karma Gloss of Kingbird Farm
First Prize a Chicken Backyard Hutch valued at $79.99 from Critter-Cages.com, other prizes include VermX 100% natural herbal parasite control from Verm-X USA and unbelievably delicious Happy Hen Treats premium treats for Chicken!
for a submission form and more info please contact Susan@VerbergPhoto.com. Entries should be dropped off between 10-11am, the winners will be announced at noon
GOOD LUCK!
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