All Purpose Cleaner

We are finally out of the store bought stuff and I’ve been meaning to try this for ages. I mixed up a batch and cleaned my bathroom. It feels a little different – not as slick, and it seems to be a little less sticky so picking up hair is a little bit tougher but overall I think I love it. I was a little worried it would smell vinegary but it’s not at all. Compared to the harsh chemical stuff the smell is wonderful – so fresh and clean!

All-Purpose Cleaner: Mix 1/2 cup vinegar and 2 teaspoons borax (or you can use 1/4 cup baking soda) into 1/2 gallon (2 liters) water. Transfer to spray bottle. Store in cool dark place.

Baking Bread – Italian Herb Bread

There is nothing like the delicious aroma of fresh baked bread. No way fresh baked bread could be an easy process, right?

People have been baking bread for thousands of years – It can’t be that much of a mystery!  I decided that I need to learn this ancient and mysterious artform. I have made a fair amount of loaves in the past year with a varying level of success. I definitely have learned that I shouldn’t be intimidated by a little bit of yeast, water and flour.

My latest bread version came from s’kat on my favorite recipe site, recipezaar.com. This bread was fairly easy to make and it turned out delicious!

Italian Herb Bread

makes 2 loaves

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon dry yeast
• 2 cups water
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon sea salt
• 2 tablespoons fresh basil
• 2 tablespoons fresh oregano
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 cup freshly grated pecorino romano cheese
• 6 cups all-purpose flour

Directions:

1. Mix yeast, warm water and sugar together in a large bowl. Set aside for five minutes, or until mixture becomes foamy.

2. Stir in olive oil, salt, herbs, garlic powder, onion powder, cheese and 3 cups flour into the yeast mixture.

3. Gradually mix in next three cups of flour. (Dough will be stiff). Knead for 5 to 10 minutes, or until it is smooth and elastic.

4. Place in an oiled bowl, turning to cover sides with oil. Cover with a damp linen towel, or plastic wrap. Let rise for 1 hour, or until dough has doubled.

5. Punch down to release all the air. Shape into two loaves. Place loaves on a greased cookie sheet, or into two 9×5 inch, greased pans.

6. Allow to rise for 1/2 hour again, until doubled in a warm place.

7. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

8. Remove loaves from pans and let cool on wire racks for at least 15 minutes, before slicing.

Homemade Dish Soap

In another attempt to reduce the amount of plastic bottles I bring into the house I am on a mission to make my own dish soap. A quick internet search brought a couple of easy solutions:

Liquid Castille Soap

• 2 cups liquid castille soap
• a few drops of essential oil
• 1/2 cup water

Combine all the above ingredients in a reused plastic bottle or glass jar and shake to combine. Shake well before using.

My review: I like liquid castille soap. It is sold in bulk at my local health food store, Down to Earth, and it’s easy on the hands. I actually found that it didn’t need the 1/2 cup of water, even without I think the consistency is too watery. I tried peppermint essential oil because that’s all I had in the house. Peppermint dish soap didn’t really do it for me so I’m thinking I’ll try it with orange or lemon. It definately gets things clean but we seem to go through it really fast because it’s so watery.

Pros: Easy to get, easy to make, gets things clean, good for sensitive skin.

Cons: too watery, went through a lot quickly so not the most economical.

Solid Soap Shavings

You can also use your leftover bits of bar soap to make a liquid soap that’s suitable for dishwashing.  Chop the soap bits up into very small pieces, or grate it into thin strips first.

• 2 cups of soap shavings
• 2-3 cups of hot water
• 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice

Place shavings in a small bucket or bowl. Cover with hot water and let it sit for several hours or overnight to soften. When ready, stir and mash the soap shavings until smooth. Add more hot water to dilute to preferred consistency. Stir in lemon or vinegar (helps to cut grease). Pour into squeeze bottles or other containers. Shake well before use.

My review:  I had a bunch of bar soap that someone gave us when they moved (Dial and Safeguard). I hate wasting things like that but this stuff is too harsh on my skin to use in the shower so I was happy to find a good use for it. This turned out kinda wierd. First, After soaking overnight the whole thing hardened up into a large bowl shaped bar of soap! I added more hot water and mashed it mixed it and tried my hardest to get it to a smooth consistency. Eventually I dumped it into my spaghetti strainer to get out the lumps! This did the trick. I mixed in the vinegar, all good. The thing is, the actual end result is this crazy, gluey, globby consistency – kinda like nice smelling slime. It works great though, just a wierd consistency. I somehow managed to make a whole 2 liter bottles worth of it (maybe four bars of soap was overkill) so I’ll be using it for a while!

Hello world!

A friend was over for dinner the other night. I was going on about my cost cutting, preservative eradicating, reduce, reuse, recycle attitude towards life. She, an avid blogger, suggested I start my own blog about all my little domestic ideas, my recipe inventions and whatever else I could think of. I’ve never been much of a writer but I do like to share the strange things I come up with so I figured, why not? My blogging to date consists entirely of work related posting so this one is for my actual life!

I will start by introducing myself… I was born and raised in California, I spent a couple years attending college in San Francisco then moved all the way to Sydney, Australia to complete my University degree. After that I spent a year skipping around Asia, Greece, and Turkey, and back to Australia, then I finally landed on this rock called Oahu in Hawaii. I built a Hawaii Wedding Photography business, I Do Believe Photography, met a man who owns a scuba diving company, Kaimana Divers, got married, got settled, and have been here for nearly 6 years now.

I don’t believe in soup from a can, I am attempting to eliminate plastic from my life, I am learning to garden via a painstaking process of trial and error and I am extremely aware of the beauty of Hawaii so I don’t want to mess it up! A failed attempt to make my own Homemade Ketchup and the subsequent teasing from family and friends that my attempt brought on is a good metaphor for who I am and what I am all about.  This blog will be about my domestic misadventures as I attempt to reduce my impact on this planet and reduce Hawaii’s impact on my wallet!