New website: Lean Green Island Girl

I have some exciting news!

After blogging on and off on three sites for the past five years, I have finally found a way to bring them all together! I am so excited to announce the creation of Lean Green Island Girl - A site dedicated inspiring you to join me on my journey towards a healthier, happier and more sustainable life.

It's bittersweet giving up Uncomplicated Recipes but change is good and I am still busy in the kitchen and will continue posting recipes on the new site!

If you’ve been with me since I started blogging, thank you! I hope you enjoy the new blog as much as you have enjoyed this one! If you’ve just found me, check out the new blog and I hope you come back to visit many times!

Risotto Con Fagioli & Seafood

Four years ago I bought an Ultimate Italian magazine filled with delicious recipes. Today after not using it in quite some time, I pulled it out and tackled the Risotto con Fagioli recipe, modifying it slightly by adding some seafood.

Ingredients:
1 tbsp butter
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 cups water
1 cube chicken bouillon
1/3 can white kidney beans
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp dried parsley

Modifications from original recipe:
1 tbsp butter
1/2 package Trader Joe's seafood blend

Directions:
Chop vegetables and rinse and drain kidney beans.

In a pan melt 1/2 tbsp butter.
Add seafood blend and stir.
As seafood heats, the pan will fill with liquid.
Remove this liquid and place it in a small saucepan.
Continue cooking seafood blend.
Once no more liquid is being produced, remove liquid, add remaining 1/2 tbsp of butter and cook for a few minutes.

In the small saucepan with the seafood's liquid add the 2 cups of water and chicken bouillon.(You can also use chicken broth if you prefer).
Heat over medium heat. Once dissolved, turn off heat and set aside.

In a medium saucepan heat 1 tbsp butter over medium eat.
Add onion, cook for a few minutes until tender.
Add rice and cook for about 4 minutes or until rice starts to brown.
Gradually add 1/2 cup of water and stir.
Continue to stir until liquid is observed.
Continue adding broth 1/4 cup at a time, stirring constantly.
Rice will cook in 20-25 min and be tender but slightly firm.

Stir in beans, tomato and parsley. Heat through.
Season with black pepper to taste.

Beet Juice

I keep hearing about the power of beets. They are supposed to be full of antioxidants. They're a good source of fiber and iron and they are also a great source of nitrates, which have shown to improve mechanical efficiency (as in you produce more power burning the same amount of energy).

Personally I don't really like beets, but according to various sources beets are a triathlete's (aka me) best friend.

Well beets, meet my other best friend: Mr. Vitamix. Let's see if together, you can turn me into a beet lover.




Recipe:
1/2 beet (peeled & chopped)
1/4 ginger (peeled & chopped)
1/2 - 1 cup frozen berries
1 cup lemonade

Put in Vitamix. Turn on variable 1, bring to 10, then switch to high and blend until smooth.

If you want it thinner, add water or lemonade. If you hate having texture, adding more liquid should help and you can also blend longer or strain. If you want it sweeter add some honey.

Beets typically have that root taste, but the berries and ginger mellow it out. The ginger gives it a nice kick, so be ready for it!
Beets still won't be my number one vegetable choice, but this juice is actually quite delicious and if it makes me healthier I'm all for it!

English Muffins

As we prepare for our move down to Virginia next month, we've slowly started packing boxes. Besides finding great memories in scrapbooks and picture albums, I also took some time to look through the endless number of cookbooks I own. It actually reminded me of a challenge I gave myself a while back: cook as many recipes from my cookbooks as possible.

I was doing so well with this challenge at first, but to be quite honest Pinterest derailed me. Are you surprised? Pinterest has so many wonderful recipes, with such beautiful pictures, it's easy to forget about all those cookbooks! But I challenged myself and while I love trying Pinterest recipes, I also want to make good use of all those cookbooks.

This morning I found just the way to do that! I had just whipped up a homemade batch of peanut butter to discover we had absolutely no bread products at home. Luckily, I had just flipped through my Best of Food Network book last night and remembered spotting an English muffin recipe. English muffins for breakfast? Perfect!

The muffins didn't look like Thomas', but they were easy to make and very tasty. I will definitely be making them again! They also gave me a good excuse to use these metal rings I had purchased ages ago and never really used. You can probably make the muffins without them, but the rings help give them a nice round shape.


Ingredients:
1/2 cup powdered milk
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp + 1 tsp melted butter (The original recipe calls for 1 tbsp of shortening, which we didn't have at home)
1 cup hot water
1 envelope or 2 1/4 tsp dry active yeast
1/8 tsp sugar
1/3 cup warm water
1/2 cup wheat flour
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt

Supplies Needed:
electric griddle or griddle pan for on the stove
butter or cooking spray
metal rings (like the kind you use to make pancakes or eggs)

Directions:
Combine powdered milk, sugar, butter and hot water. Stir until dissolved, then let cool.
In a separate bowl combine sugar, warm water and yeast. Stir gently and let proof for 5-10 minutes. You'll know the yeast is active when it starts to foam.
Add this yeast mixture to the milk mixture and stir.
Slowly sift in the flour, stirring the mixture with a wooden spoon.
Beat thoroughly, then cover with a towel and let rise for 30 min.

Uncover your mix, beat in 1/2 tsp salt.
Lightly grease the griddle with butter or cooking spray. I used a griddle on the stove, but recommend an electric griddle where you can control the temperature, which should be 300 degrees.

Place metal rings on the griddle and fill with about 2 tablespoon of the mix. Spread it out as much as you can. The mixture will be very sticky and you'll be tempted to overfill the rings to cover every inch. Don't! The dough will rise and you'll get gigantic English muffins.

Cover the griddle with a big pot lid or a cookie sheet. Cook for about 5 min or until golden brown, then turn the muffins over and cook for another 5 min.

Since I only had 2 metal rings, I removed the muffins from the rings after flipping them over, so I could start the next batch. It's easiest to do this with a small knife.
If you're using a griddle on the stove, make sure to check your heat so you don't burn the bottoms.

Voila! You've got English muffins!

The recipe makes about 8-10 English muffins depending on how thick you make them.

They're best warm, fresh off the griddle and can be served with peanut butter, jelly, strawberry butter (recipe coming soon), eggs (think EggMcMuffin) and however you usually eat English muffins.

Arrowroot Toothpaste

I have been using my homemade toothpaste and loving it, but a few months ago a friend of mine suggested finding an alternative to coconut oil. He didn't think it was necessarily bad, but wondered if there was something different I could use both because he wasn't convinced he wanted to brush his teeth with an oil and because of the cost of coconut oil.

After some searching I discovered this Sage Mint Toothpaste Recipe. The recipe called for arrowroot powder and orris root powder, two ingredients I had never heard of. After some more Internet searching I learned that arrowroot powder is a thickening agent, kind of like corn starch, and orris root is a fixative. Feeling that I didn't need both of these ingredients, I decided to only purchase arrowroot. I was also unhappy with the Sage Mint Toothpaste recipe, because while mint is great for your breath and sage is great for your gums, it didn't really have a cleaning agent. My previous recipe used baking soda, which is known both as a teeth whitener and cleaner.

With that information in mind, I created the following recipe. While I liked the coconut oil recipe and also used just baking soda, sage and mint, I think the arrowroot cuts the salty taste of the baking soda which makes this one my favorite so far.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup arrowroot powder
1/4 cup baking soda
1 tbsp sage
peppermint oil
1/4 cup water

Directions:
Mix arrowroot, baking soda and sage. Then add peppermint oil drop by drop. I added 20 drops because I like my toothpaste strong, but I recommend starting with 10 and adding more until you find a balance you like.

If you have a large family or will be using the toothpaste frequently, mix in the water while stirring. The mixture will become a paste, which should be stored in an airtight container.

While the recipe calls for 1/4 cup of water, mix the water in slowly and stop when the toothpaste has reached a consistency that you like. If you put too much water, it will separate as it sits, but it can easily be stirred back together. [You can also omit the water and just leave the mixture in powder form and just dip your clean, wet toothbrush into it before brushing].

That's it! Just stick your clean toothpaste in whenever you need some or have a spoon or scoop next to the bottle that you can use to apply the toothpaste to your toothbrush.

If you're like me and live in a small family and don't need as much toothpaste, you can take 1/4 cup of the mixture you've just created and mix it with 1-2 tablespoons of water (depending on how thick you want the paste). Store the remaining 1/4 cup of powder in a container and mix with 2 tablespoon of water whenever you need more toothpaste.

If you're like my husband and you're not yet convinced about using homemade toothpaste, check back in a month. I have a dentist appointment at the end of April and will let you know what he has to say about my teeth and my new brushing regimen!

Update April 2012: The Dentist Visit
I just had my dentist appointment and it was the quickest, most painless visit ever! 
Of course the hygienist did tell me I should floss more often, but that is because in an effort to really compare my home made toothpaste to the store-bought kind, I chose not to change anything else, which included my less-than-perfect flossing routine. Nonetheless, she actually told me my teeth and gums look great and the dentist said the same thing! My husband's still sticking to Tom's, but I love this toothpaste! 

Homemade Cleaning Products

There are really only 3 ingredients you need to clean your entire house: white vinegar, castile soap and baking soda. Add to that list borax, citric acid and vegetable glycerin and you've got all the ingredients you need to make the 4 recipes below, and my homemade dishwasher detergent and dishwashing liquid.

Many of the recipes I found online use essential oils. These products are mostly added for their scent. If you're like me and you don't want to buy a lot of new products, you can use products you already have at home such as lemon juice, orange peels (and dried lavender).

Counter Cleaner:
Ingredients:
1 cup water
1 cup vinegar
2 tsp citrus castile soap
3 tbsp lemon juice

To reduce the smell of vinegar, I actually ended up using a 1/2 cup vinegar and a 1/2 cup citrus infused vodka (Taken from Soap Making Essentials, although they just use plain vodka). The infused vodka is made by placing orange slices into vodka and letting it sit in a cool dark place for ~ 2 weeks (if you sterilize your container before using it, you can actually drink it -although I'm not sure how long you should let it stand, some places say 3 days, some say a few weeks- or you can make extracts).

Next time I make this, I'll probably just infuse the vinegar (and keep the vodka for drinking!) and I want to try to use thyme infused water next time as thyme is supposed to disinfect (see Tipnut and Livestrong).

-----------

Floor Cleaner:
1/2 cup vinegar
2 cups lavender infused water

I used to clean with just vinegar and water, but since that has a really strong smell I've started adding lavender. You can use a few drop of lavender oil or just boil water and add fresh lavender to create lavender infused water.

-----------

Bathroom Cleaner:
I used the same ingredients as the floor cleaner to wipe the counters (You can also use the Counter Cleaner, I just prefer citrus in the kitchen and lavender in the bathroom). Then when I clean the sink and bathtub, I just sprinkle some baking soda, then scrub with the vinegar/water/lavender.


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Toilet Bowl Cleaner:
1/4 cup vinegar
2 tbsp baking soda (or borax).

Make sure you mix the ingredients right before you pour them into the toilet and be aware that baking soda and vinegar foam when mixed. Clean with a toilet brush and flush. For hard stains, use more baking soda.

Homemade Dishwashing Liquid

There are a lot of recipes available for homemade dishwasher soap, but I also wanted to make homemade dishwashing liquid. After much searching, I finally found a recipe that works. We're on our second batch and have made a few modification, but it seems to be working well. We are still getting used to the fact that it doesn't foam. I actually added an extra tablespoon of castile soap to the recipe (the original recipe can be found at Towards Sustainability) to add some foam and give the dishwashing liquid some extra power.

 Ingredients:

2 cups warm water

4 tbsp citrus castile soap (Dr. Bronner's)

2 tsp vegetable glycerin

2 tbs vinegar

1 tbs lemon juice

Directions:

Mix the ingredients together (preferably in the order listed), so they dissolve into the water.

Castile soap is a great all-purpose cleaner, vinegar kills germs and bacteria, vegetable glycerin helps break down oils, lemon juice is also a grease cutter and a stain remover.

Homemade Chamomile Moisturizer

Pin ItAfter reading about an olive oil whip made with beeswax in my favorite book, Making It-Radical Home Ec for a Post-consumer World, I purchased some beeswax. RootSimple actually has Making It's recipe on her blog and while it sounds great and is a simple 3 ingredient recipe, I wanted something more for my face cream, so I decided to explore my options. Many of the recipes contained ingredients that I didn't have at home such as vitamin E oil, rose extract, witch hazel, almond oil and more. While I'm sure each of those ingredients has its benefits, I wanted something I could make with ingredients I already had at home.

After visiting dozens of sites, I finally decided to create my own recipe based on A Sonoma Garden and Fimby's recipes that actually closely resembles Making It's Silky Cream recipe (I'm telling you, this book is awesome for DIY projects!) While my goal was to make a face moisturizer, you can definitely use this cream all over your body.

Equipment:

Scale and/or 1/4 cup measuring cup

Small glass bowl
Spoon

Whisk

Medium pot (I recommend using an old pot, because you probably won't want to use it for cooking anymore after it has had beeswax in it) and a larger pot so that you can create an double-boiler

Canning jar (or other container with lid. I recommend glass)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (3oz) olive oil 

1/4 cup (1.5 oz coconut oil)

0.75 oz organic beeswax (~2 tablespoons)

3/4 cup water

1 chamomile teabag 

1/4 cup aloe vera juice

(Essential oil, if you want to add a scent)

*Note: You can make it with just 1 cup of water and leave out the chamomile and aloe vera juice. I added chamomile because it has a nice smell and soothing and moisturizing properties which are exactly what I wanted out of this cream. Aloe vera is also supposed to have great properties including reducing acne and blemishes, hydrating skin

Directions:
First sterilize all of your equipment to reduce bacteria growth. Following Fimby's advice, I did this by placing all of the equipment in a big bowl and covering them with boiling water. I then rinsed a big baking dish out with boiling water and placed the equipment in it to dry.

Next put some water in the large pot and bring to a slow boil. Boil some more water and use 3/4 cup to make chamomile tea.

While the water is heating, measure out your oils and beeswax and place them in the medium pot.

Place the medium pot in the large pot (make sure there is enough water so that the medium pot is sitting in it, but not enough for it to boil over into the medium pot).

Stir the ingredients until it has all melted.

Remove from heat. Be careful the oils will be very hot!

If you are going to add essential oils, add them now.
Immediately add 1/4 cup aloe vera gel to the 3/4 cup of chamomile tea (this will cool the mixture down. You want it to be lukewarm).
Add the mixture to the oils while whisking. You want to mix the ingredients before the mixture cools otherwise your cream will separate (you are creating an oil and water emulsion). Continue whisking until all the ingredients are fully incorporated. It should look creamy.

Pour the mixture into the canning jar. If there is any excess water at the top, pour or wipe it off to decrease the chance of mold. Try to get air bubbles out of the jar as that will help the lotion keep longer. Close the jar once the lotion has cooled. 

That's it! You've made moisturizer!

It's a pretty thick cream, so a little goes a long way. If you don't plan on using it immediately, refrigerate it (it'll keep for 6 months). If not, you can leave it out for 4 to 6 weeks according to Making It. (I'm leaving mine out and will post an update on how the consistency held up over the next few weeks, how long I used this batch and if I have any problems with mold or spoilage).

If your mixture separates once it's cooled (which mine did), scoop it back into the double boiler, gently warm, then blend again. Because I'm hand-whisking the risk of separation is increased. I actually continued having separation problems, so I placed the actual jar in the hot pot of water and when it was warm, I sealed the jar shook it to blend and then opened it, let it cool down some more. I then placed it in the fridge for a little while. This seemed to help reduce the separation...I'll keep you updated.

If you have a handheld mixer or blender you are willing to get dirty, you can use it, but remember that clean-up can be pretty messy. Speaking of clean-up...I recommend trying to get as much of the cream off of your equipment then cleaning it with hot, almost boiling, water. I put a big pot to boil, then using gloves and my homemade dishwashing liquid, I washed all of the items in the big pot with an old sponge. After you're done scoop any solid pieces out of the pot and throw them in the trash. Then pour the water down the drain and follow with a baking soda/vinegar mixture to avoid clogging.

DIY Tooth Powder & Toothpaste

About two months ago I started using a baking soda tooth powder instead of store bought toothpaste. I found the recipe in my new favorite DIY book, Making It- Radical Home Ec for a Post-consumer World.  I'm going to admit that the taste of baking soda takes some getting used to and it's not for everyone.

That said, it is definitely for me. I switched back to toothpaste for a few days to do a comparison and I can definitely tell you that my breath is fresher and stays fresher longer when I use the homemade tooth powder. In general I also feel like my teeth are cleaner, although I would have to follow-up with the dentist to verify that one. (Last time I switched from to Tom's my dentist definitely noticed a difference in my teeth, so I wonder if he'll notice a difference now).

Ingredients:
1/4 cup baking soda
1 tablespoon powdered sage
Peppermint oil

You can make the recipe without sage.
I used sage because it is good for the gums.


Directions:
Mix the baking powder with the sage powder in a small container. Add drops of peppermint oil. I used approximately 25-30, but I like mine fairly strong. I recommend starting with about 10-15 drops and seeing how it smells and tastes. Once you are ready to use it, just dip you wet toothbrush into the bowl and brush as usual.

As Coyne & Knutzen recommend in Making It, it's best to mix the powder in small batches, because essential oil fades over time.

Making the tooth powder into toothpaste:
As I explored ways to make the tooth powder into a toothpaste, I discovered SimpleMom's homemade toothpaste recipe. The basics recipe is listed below or you can just use 1-2 tablespoon of the tooth powder and mix it with 1 tablespoon of coconut oil. I have found that the toothpaste tastes saltier than the tooth powder, so you may want to add a few more drops of peppermint oil.


Ingredients:
2-3 tablespoons baking soda
2 tablespoons coconut oil
Peppermint oil

Directions:
Mix the ingredients with a fork until it becomes smooth paste. To use, just dip you toothbrush in or use a teaspoon to put some on your toothbrush. Brush as usual.


I was skeptical about using coconut oil, but multiple websites state that coconut oil helps stop tooth decay and keeps your gums healthy. One thing to note is that coconut oil has a melting point of 76 degrees so the thickness of your toothpaste will depend on your bathroom's temperature. Since your using coconut oil, SimpleMom also recommends cleaning your sink with hot water to avoid oil build-up.

Homemade Dishwasher Detergent

About a year ago we stopped purchasing dishwasher detergent, opting instead for an cheap and easy to make home made version (modified from Love to Know Organic).

Ingredients:
1 cup baking soda
1 cup Borax
1/4 cup salt
1/4 cup citric acid (use more if you have very hard water)
(white vinegar)


Directions:
Mix all the ingredients (except the vinegar) together in a bowl. Decide how you are going to store the mixture. We currently have ours in a used baking soda box. You can also store it in a Ziploc bag or a jar with a lid. If you store it like we do where it's open to air, make sure to stir it a few times a day after you've mixed it, to avoid clumping. Or you can break it apart with a fork if it starts to clump.
Use approximately 2-3 tablespoons per load (this depends on your dishwasher, so experiment a little).

We haven't been doing this, but Flitterbugs recommends that you add some white vinegar to the rinse aid compartment to avoid the cloudy look you might get on your glasses and plastic. I'll be trying this the next time we use our dishwasher.

If you're not convinced that it's cheaper than buying detergent, check out diyNatural's cost analysis where they compare the cost of the home made detergent to some store-bought detergents.

If you're not convinced it will work, check out Stacy Makes Cents who had 3 of her friends test the recipe. (Note that she didn't use citric acid in her recipe, which you can totally do, but Citric Acid is a plant-based surfactant that helps remove film).

Roasted Turkey & Gravy

Last year I was excited about participating in the preparation of Thanksgiving dinner, but I told my husband I would absolutely NOT cook a turkey that was larger than 15 pounds. As luck would have it however our host received a 20 pound turkey as a gift and when no one else volunteered to cook it, I decided to step up. As soon as he delivered the turkey, I turned to my husband and said "what was I thinking?"

23 pound turkey after 45 min 

With a little bit of help from SimplyRecipes, my mom and WebMD, the turkey turned out wonderful. I even decided to cook the turkey again this year, twice!

Next week, I will tackle another 20 pound bird, and this week I am tackling an enormous 23 pound turkey for our 100-mile Thanksgiving dinner. So much for never cooking a turkey that is larger than 15 pounds!

The truth is, it looks more intimidating than it actually is. 

The Brine:

Various people recommend that you do not brine a turkey that is larger than 15 pounds, because it is hard to find a container that will hold a turkey of that size. Last year however our host forgot to thaw the turkey, so I had to find a way to thaw a 20 pound turkey in 24 hours. The solution: submerse the turkey in a brine. In addition to speeding up the thawing process, a brine also helps the turkey stay moist.

20 pound turkey in a brine

Ingredients:

3-5 gallons of cold water

1 1/2-2 1/2 cups of sea salt

1 tablespoons rosemary

1 tablespoon thyme

1 tablespoon sage

1-2 bay leaves

4 oranges 

A large cooler

*Note that for the 100-mile dinner I omitted the bay leaves and oranges, because those cannot be found within 100-miles of Connecticut. Salt & pepper are exceptions to the 100-mile rule.

Directions:

Remove the giblets (neck, heart, liver, gizzard) and save for the gravy.
Place the turkey in the cooler. Cut the oranges in half. Juice them into the cooler, then add the halves. Add the herbs to  cooler. Add water until the turkey is submersed (3-5 gallons depending on the size of the turkey) Add salt, adjusting the quantity based on the amount of water added. I like to use a 1:2 ratio (1 cup of salt for every 2 gallons of water), which is less than a typical brine (which use a 1:1 ratio). Stir the mixture. If the turkey is frozen it should sit in the brine for 24 hours, otherwise 8-12 hours should be enough. If you're going to thaw your turkey before placing it in the brine (which is probably the easiest thing to do), use the rule 4-5 hours for every pound. 

Roasting the Turkey:

Remove the turkey from the brine approximately 2 hours before you plan on cooking it. 

Pat the turkey dry with paper towels.

The 20 pound turkey
ready for the oven!

Ingredients:

2 carrots, chopped into big pieces

2 celery stalks (tops and bottoms)

1 bunch of parsley

2-3 sprigs of rosemary

2-3 sprigs of thyme

1 lemon

1 onion, quartered

Salt & pepper

2-3 tablespoons melted butter

String

*Note for the 100-mile dinner, I omitted the lemon and onion.

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Place the turkey breast side up.

Rub the cavity of the turkey with (the juice of 1 lemon) and 1 teaspoon of salt.

Stuff the cavity with the carrots, celery, parsley (and onion). You can also add 1 quartered orange.

Cap the cavity with foil. Close the turkey using string. Make sure to tie the legs together, close to the body.

Rub the turkey with melted butter.

Turn the turkey over into the roasting pan (it is now breast side down).

Photos courtesy of
SimplyRecipes.com

Stuff the neck with parsley and cap. I find the best way to cap the neck is by covering the neck with the skin and closing it with 2-3 toothpicks.

Wrap a piece of string across the body and tie, so that the wings stay close to the body.

Rub this side of the turkey with butter.

Place the sprigs of thyme and rosemary into the roasting pan.

Place the turkey in the oven. Notice that you will be cooking the turkey breast side down. Cooking it this way will help the breast stay nice and moist.

SimplyRecipes recommends cooking the turkey 15 minutes for every pound. Note that if you brine the turkey, it will cook faster.

For a 15 pound turkey SimplyRecipes suggests:

30 min at 400 degrees F.

2 hours at 350 degrees F.

Time to check the turkey!

1-1 1/2 hours at 225 degrees F.

For a 20 pound turkey I cooked it as follows:

30 min at 400 degrees F.

2 1/2 hours at 350 degrees F.

1 1/2-2 hours at 225 degrees F.

For a 23 pound turkey I did:

45 min at 400 degrees F. 

3 hours at 350 degrees F.

1 1/4-1 3/4 hours at 225 degrees F.

Start taking the temperature of the turkey about 1 hour before the turkey is supposed to be done (basically whenever you drop the temperature to 225). Take the temperature in the thickest part of the breast and thigh. You want the leg (dark meat) to be at 170 degrees F and the breast (white meat) to be at 160 degrees F. (You actually want 175 and 165 degrees, but the temperature will continue to rise, especially f you are going to broil the turkey breast for a few minutes). If you don't have a thermometer, spear the breast. The juices should be clear, not pink.

When you get the right temperature, remove the turkey from the oven. If you want to brown the breast, carefully flip the turkey over and cook under the broiler or at 500 degrees F for 5-10 minutes. Don't overcook it! Let the turkey rest at least 20 minutes before serving (this is when you will finish the gravy).

The Gravy:

In an attempt to use the entire turkey, I wanted to find a use for the turkey giblets. I found this gravy recipe, which turned out delicious!

Ingredients:

1 turkey giblets -heart, liver, neck and gizzard-

1 tablespoon of sage

1 stalk of celery, chopped

4 tablespoons of flour

Salt & Pepper
2-4 teaspoons of maple syrup
Roasting Pan Drippings

Directions:

Place the giblets, celery sage and salt & pepper in a saucepan.
Cover with water and bring to a boil.

Simmer covered for 2-3 hours (while the turkey cooks).
Strain liquid into bowl. Let cool slightly, then add about 1/2 to the blender (this is what I do because hot liquids then to pop the blender lid if there is too much of it).
Chop the liver and gizzard and add to the blender.
Remove the meat from the neck and add to the blender.
Puree until liquefied. At this point you can do 2 things. You can either pour the blender contents into the bowl and stir or you can slowly add the remaining liquid to the blender. Add flour and stir until incorporated.

Once the turkey is out of the roasting pan, pour off the fat.
Whisk the brown bits and bits of meat stuck to the pan. Remove any skin that stuck to the pan.
Pour contents of the blender into the pan. Whisk.
If it is too thick, add some water.
Season to taste with salt & pepper.
Add 2-4 teaspoons of maple syrup to taste.
Place in the oven at 450 degrees for 15 minutes.
Remove, stir and serve with the turkey.

**When you are finished with your turkey, save the carcass and bones for stock which can be used to make Turkey Soup

Alternative Shampoo

I never would have thought I would be replacing shampoo with a simple baking soda mixture, but here I am doing it thanks to Coyne & Knutzen's Making It: Radical Home Ec for a Post-Consumer World.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 cup water
Spray Bottle

Directions:
Mix the water and baking soda in the spray bottle.
Never use more than the 1:1 ratio. Less baking soda is actually better, because baking soda is apparently a  strong buildup remover. Note that it is too strong for daily use and should only be used when your hair needs a deep cleaning. For other days Coyne & Knutzen have 3 other recipes, but personally I only shampoo ever 2-3 washes, especially now that I am using less product, so this works just fine for me.
Add the mixture to your hair and work it through. I love giving myself a scalp massage and really getting all that buildup out. Rinse and follow with the Hair Rinse.

Face Wash

Last week I started exploring home made face products. I started with a baking soda exfoliator and explored some options for a face wash. I tried honey & milk and yogurt & oatmeal and think they work great, but I think the easiest option is the Jojoba and Castor oil mixture, which I found at Dula Notes and ReadyMade and is known as the Oil Cleansing Method (OCM).

Ingredients:
Jojoba Oil
Castor Oil
Reusable Container
Wash cloth (I use Aveda's Shammy Cloth)

Making the Mixture:
For dry skin use 75% jojoba oil and 25% Castor oil.
If you're skin is oily use 75% Castor, 25% jojoba.
If it's normal use 50% of each.


I mixed 2 tablespoons of Castor oil with 6 tablespoons of Jojoba oil, then topped the bottle off with another tablespoon of Castor oil since my face is normal to dry, so I figured 30/70 would be a good ratio.

Directions:
Pour a nickel sized amount in your hand and massage onto your dry face.
Massage for a few minutes. You don't have to remove your make up before doing this because it works as a make up remover as well!
Wet your wash cloth under hot water (it should be hot, but not so hot that you burn yourself).
Lay the cloth on your face and press down. Repeat as often as you like, rinsing the wash cloth each time.
Rinse the washcloth and gently wipe excess oil off your face.
Splash your face with cold water.
Pat dry with a towel.

Homemade Nutella

This has been on my to-do list for a while now, so when I found an easy recipe in Jennifer Reese's Make the Bread, Buy the Butter I had to try it. I modified it slightly

Ingredients:

2 cups of hazelnuts (~9 oz)

3/4 cup cocoa powder

1 cup confectioner's sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup vegetable oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. 

Place the hazelnuts on a cookie sheet and toast for 10 minutes. Remove and let cool.
Once they cool, you should be able to rub the skins right off. Or you can place them on a damp dish towel and rub them until the skins loosen. You should be able to remove about 90-95% of the skins, don't worry about the rest.

Grind the hazelnuts in a food processor until they are pourable (probably 5-8 minutes). Stop and scrape the sides a few times.

Add the remaining ingredients, adding the oil last.

Grind until you've got the consistency of Nutella, stopping a few times to scrap the sides.

Unlike Nutella, you do have to refrigerate the home made version, but I typically leave a small container out (you can leave it out a day or 2) so that it remains spreadable and I just refill it every few days.

Face Exfoliator

Another easy-recipe from Coyne & Knutzen's Making It - Radical Home Ec for a Post-Consumer World: Baking Soda Facial Exfoliator

Ingredients:
Baking Soda
Water

Directions:
Put a nickel-size amount of baking soda in your hand.
Add enough water to make a paste.
Use your fingertips to work the paste into your face and neck. Don't scrub vigorously.
Rinse, pat dry and apply a moisturizer.

It's so simple, yet it works great! I found an alternate recipe where you use honey instead of water, which I'll be trying next time.

But the search continues for a daily option.....

While baking soda is a gentle exfoliator and I definitely plan on using it a few times a week, I've been searching around for a daily home made face wash. I want it to be affordable, easy to make and I want the ingredients to be items I typically have at home.

A few of the choices I'm considering:

• Honey and milk  - 2 teaspoon honey, 2 tablespoons of milk
• Yogurt and oatmeal (and honey) - 1/4 cup oatmeal with enough yogurt to form a paste
• Oatmeal and milk - 2 teaspoon of oatmeal with enough milk to dampen the oatmeal
• Jojoba & Castor oil - This is the only recipe where I'd have to purchase the items, but it's also the only recipe that will keep indefinitely, which makes it an attractive option...

Suggestions? 

Hair Rinse

Trust me, when I first saw this recipe in Kelly Coyne & Erik Knutzen's Making It- Radical Home Ec for a Post-consumer World, I was extremely skeptical. How could 2 ingredients do the same work that at least 10 ingredients had been doing for the past 29 years?

Nonetheless, I was determined to try it, because 1.it would save us a lot of money and 2.it would reduce the number of chemicals in our home. Not to mention the recent thrill I was experiencing trying to make everything myself.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar
(1 tablespoon of aloe vera juice or gel)
1 cup of water
Spray bottle

Directions:
Mix the vinegar and water in the bottle and shake.
After shampooing (or if you're like me and typically wash your hair 2-3 times per week, but only shampoo once a week, you can add it to your hair when it's still dry), work the rinse through your hair. Use a comb to untangle, then rinse it out. That's it!

You may have to play around with the recipe based on your hair's needs. Coyne & Knutzen and Simple Mom suggest diluting the recipe even more if your hair becomes dry. You can also add herbs to the rinse to give it a nicer smell and add other hair-improving qualities to your rinse. Each herb is has its own properties, for examples rosemary and sage are supposed to stimulate the scalp and leave your hair shiny (they are also supposed to darken hair over time, so if you don't want that, don't use those 2 herbs).

When using herbs, replace the cup of water, with 1 cup of herbal infusion.

Making the Herbal Infusion:

Create your herbal infusion by placing your herbs in a jar and adding boiling water. Close the jar and let sit for at least 4 hours. Strain and use in mixture. You can refrigerate any unused mixture. I'm currently using a rosemary and sage mixture.

The verdict:

So here we are post-first-week-use of the hair rinse and I think I have a new conditioner! My hair was very easy to untangle and more importantly, it feels super soft! I've still got some store-bought products to finish, but as of today, I will not be buying store-bought shampoos or conditioners anymore! 

For me (with curly hair), I think my regimen is going to be to use the Baking Soda Shampoo once a week and the hair rinse whenever I wash my hair.

*Update Jan 22, 2012: After reading at Cleaner Living that aloe vera is a great anti-frizz product, I decided to add some aloe vera to my recipe. I had some pure aloe vera juice at home, so I just used that. I probably wouldn't recommend it for anyone with oily hair, but so far I like the addition, because it makes my hair shiny and less dry. 

Homemade Granola

What can make home made yogurt better? Home made granola of course!

The beauty of home made granola is that you can customize it to your own needs.

Today I made maple nut granola. A wide-variety of modifications are listed below.

Ingredients:

3 cups rolled oats

1/4 cup wheat germ

1 cup almond slivers

1/3 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup melted butter

1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and spread on a cookie sheet.

Bake for 1 hour.  The granola is done baking when it's crunchy.

Remove from the oven, break any big lumps and let cool.

Store in a container, jar or resealable plastic bag.

Modifications:

Besides the main ingredients rolled oats and wheat germ (and you can also add oat bran), you can basically add/remove just about anything.

If you don't have maple syrup, use honey. You can also use agave or a combination.

If you like coconut, you can add 1/2 cup of shredded coconut.

If you like pecans, peanuts, cashews, you can add those too.

You can also add sunflower or pumpkin seeds (toast them for a 5-10 minutes in the oven before adding them to the mix). Or flax or sesame seeds.

You can also add cinnamon, vanilla extract or flavor the granola by adding cranberry juice (~1/4 cup).

If you like fruit (dried cranberries, mango, peach, dates, figs, raisins), you can mix those in after you've taken the granola out of the oven.

Homemade Yogurt

I discovered the joy of making yogurt last year when I was having dinner at some friends' house. As you might have figured out, I am a huge fan of do-it-yourself and home made products, so you can imagine my delight when one of our friend's brought out a jar of home made yogurt. Of course I immediately asked her how she made it and using her recipe and some Internet research, I've been making my own yogurt since.

This is probably by far my favorite home made recipe!
It is so delicious and it is fairly easy to make.

Materials & Ingredients:
1 glass jar with a lid
(I use an old pasta sauce jar that has been thoroughly cleaned with hot water)
Crockpot
Damp towel
Thermometer
4 cups of milk (try not to use ultra-pastuerized or homogenized milk)
1-2 spoons of yogurt (any unflavored yogurt with active cultures will do)

Directions:
Place the yogurt in the clean jar.
Fill the crockpot with water and turn it on.
Heat the milk in a stainless steel saucepan until right before it starts foaming. I prefer to stir it (with a metal spoon) as it heats, because it makes the pan easier to clean, but it's really up to you. Definitely keep an eye on the pan though, because you don't want the milk to boil.
Remove the milk from the heat and let it cool until it reaches about 110 degrees (which is yeast's favorite temperature). You can stir the milk to let it cool faster or even use an ice bath if you prefer (although make sure you don't go below 110 degrees).
Once the milk has reached 110 degrees, add a little of the milk to the jar and stir to mix the yogurt and milk. Then add the remaining milk.
Stir and close the jar.
Take the temperature of the water in the crockpot. If it's close to 110 degrees, turn it off (alternatively if you have a crockpot that has settings, you can probably leave it on low...my crockpot doesn't have settings).
Place the jar in the crockpot and cover with a few towels (insulate the jar).
Let stand for about 8-10 hours (or overnight). During this time, try not to move the jar as this will disturb the yeast.


After about 10 hours, you'll have yogurt!
Refrigerate for a few hours then serve with granola, fruit and/or honey and enjoy! It will keep in the fridge for about a week.

The yogurt will not be thick like Greek yogurt.
If that is what you want, you'll have to strain it with a cheese cloth for a few hours. Personally I never have done this as I prefer the yogurt a bit runnier.


Modifications:
*If you use a smaller jar, just modify the amount of milk you use.
*You can use any type of milk you want. My most recent batch consisted of 1 cup of 1% milk and 3 cups of 2% milk. I have also made it with whole milk and a mixture of whole and 1% milk. Just remember not to use homogenized milk.
*If you do not have a crockpot, there are many other ways to incubate the yogurt. In Make the Bread, Buy the Butter, Jennifer Reese suggests turning on the oven until it's hot, then turning it off and placing the jar in the oven. You can also place it in a pot of water on the stove, although I would be careful not to overheat the mixture, because you don't want to kill the yeast. Others have used heating pads and yet others have used coolers with hot water. On a warm sunny day, you can probably just leave it out on your counter or in a warm spot.
*Alternatively, A Year of Slow Cooking has a recipe where you do the entire process in a crockpot.
*I have let the yogurt stand for as little as 8 hours and as long as 12 hours. Different sources have said different things, some saying to not let it stand longer than 15 hours, others like Michael Ruhlman actually say to leave it out 18-24hrs. The longer you leave it, the more tart it will become. I've always left mine an average of 10 hours, so that's what I recommend.

Potato & Turnip Gratin

In an attempt to cook with turnips, I decided to make a modified version of Martha Stewart's Potato & Turnip Gratin. I thought it tasted delicious and my husband agreed as he kept asking for more!

Ingredients:
3 red potatoes
2 large turnips
1 cup of heavy cream
1/2 cup of milk
A few teaspoons thyme (and sage)
Salt & pepper
1/2 cup of shredded cheese (I used a mixture of Old Gouda & Parmesan)


Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Slice the potatoes and the turnips.
Mix the cream, milk, thyme (and sage).
Place the sliced potatoes and turnips alternating and overlapping so that you fill the entire 13x9 baking dish.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper and pour the liquid mixture over the entire dish.
Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes (or until potatoes and turnips can be pierced with a fork).
Remove foil, sprinkle with cheese and bake for another 15 minutes.

Modifications:
* We had red potatoes at home, but you can probably use any type of potato
* You can use 1 1/2 cup of heavy cream or create your own mixture of milk and heavy cream. I do recommend using some heavy cream as it gives the dish a nice creamy flavor
* If you have the time and have access to fresh thyme and sage, I recommend following Martha's recipe to infuse the cream and milk with the herb flavor. To do this, place the cream, milk, thyme (and sage) in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium heat until right before the liquid boils (it will start getting a little foamy at the edges). Remove from the heat and let stand for 30 minutes. Strain the liquid to remove any clumps

Homemade Deep Conditioner

Ingredients:
1/2 avocado (Hass)

1/2 can of coconut milk

1 /4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup honey

You can use the entire avocado and can of coconut milk if you would like. You can refrigerate any unused mixture, but I would recommend removing the mixture from the refrigerate well before you plan on using it otherwise it will be very cold!

Directions:

Mash the avocado and add the coconut milk.
Strain the mixture and pour into a jar or bottle.

Add the olive oil and the honey. Close the jar and shake vigorously.
Once the ingredients are mixed, the mixture is ready to use.

I have been experimenting with different ways of appling the conditioner.
The first time, I added it to my hair when it was still dry and let it sit for ~30 minutes. Then I rinsed it out and used a little bit of Low-poo from DevaCurl. Using shampoo after the deep conditioner seems a bit counter intuitive, but I was scared the mixture would leave my hair too oily. It didn't and my hair was actually really easy to handle and looked great.

The second time, I used shampoo first, then used the mixture on my already wet hair and let it sit for ~10min. Having my hair already wet, made it a little harder to brush the mixture through my hair and my hair feels a bit coarser (see protein sensitivity note below), but it dried very nicely (longer curls).
Next time I'm going to just add the mixture to my hair when it is dry, let is sit and then rinse it out.

Modifications:
I created my recipe based on various Internet searches. Styles 101 lists a different avocado recipe (using mayonnaise), in addition to a range of other recipes. I will probably be experimenting with those recipes as well until I find the perfect conditioner for my dry and curly hair. CurlyNikki also has a long list of recipes.
If you want to experiment, some common ingredients include olive oil, apple cider vinegar, coconut milk, mayonnaise, honey and Castor oil. If you test any recipe combinations, let me know how it turns out!

Choosing Ingredients Based on Hairs Needs:
I've also been reading about protein sensitive hair, which is basically hair that looks and feels dry and brittle as a result of having too much protein applied to it. This is definitely something I will continue looking into, because there are many recipes available that omit protein-rich products.
While I am mostly focusing on dry and curly hair, there are also many recipes available for straight, normal and oily hair.