Internet Free Year

Danny and I have been cable and internet free for about a year now.  We still check our email and whatnot when we're out and about.  Most places have free Wi-Fi now and it's been kinda nice not having the extra distraction at home.  We've been housesitting for the last few days and we have internet and cable access here.  I'm a little unsure what to do with it all.

When we first went internet free a year ago, I was lost without it and could barely figure out how to make dinner every night with out being able to look up recipes to make.  But over the past year, I've been pushing myself to write this cookbook of mine that I've been working on and it's forced me to become more inventive and creative and off the cuff.  I've been creating and I've been learning to taste food as I go and I've learned how to judge taste by smell.  When you take the time to train your senses, you can tell when there's too much salt or it needs more garlic.  I'm still leaning but I'm really impressed with how with less distractions, I've been able to gain such a skill. 
Now, understand there have been tense moments when dinners have been almost inedible but for the most part it's been a really great experience.  Now, all of this cooking at home has come about because I've been learning about different food triggers and sensitivities for ADHD and Auto-Immune conditions. 

It's been a long road and I feel like I'm finally gaining some footing.  Now, it's practically a full-time job cooking everything from scratch all the time for everything and sometimes, I cheat but I'm doing a lot better now than I used to.  It's gotten easier with practice and I've found that most days I can still make dinner in under 30 minutes and there are tons of make-ahead tricks that totally help. I've also adopted some more Italian cooking mentalities which is really all about letting quality foods shine as they are without much technique so to say. 

I feel like I still have some ways to go yet but I'm in a much better place this year than I was last year about being sans internet.  If going internet free is something you've at all thought about, I highly recommend it.  Though I may have to get it back soon so that I can upload my cookbook when I'm finally done with my edits.  :-/

Homemade and Well Made Dish Detergent!

Hey Blog-o-sphere...

I've been drumming up this post for a while now and here it goes.  I've been trying to make things at home instead of buying them in the store and seeing what works better (or tastes better) and figuring out what is worth the effort.  There are some great books out there about this.  The Homemade Pantry is the next on my book-list.  One thing that I've been struggling to make at home has been dish-washing detergent.  I found one recipe for a liquid dish-washing detergent that was better than all the powders that I found but it was still a little lacking.  The soap separated between uses, I still needed to scrub sticky stuff before running a load, it had issues.  So, I did some thinking and I found a way to make it better.
Most of the green cleaners that you buy in the store say that they use "all natural enzymes" to clean stuff usually coconut or citrus.  And I thought hey, I found a tutorial to make that from Clean Eats at the Zoo on Pinterest.  The recipe that I had on hand called for 1/2 cup of distilled vinegar and I figured that 1/2 cup of orange enzyme infused vinegar would would even better.  I was right!! WooHoo! And I'm still only using stuff that I have at home on a regular basis (that's very important to this process for me).
Now I had it cleaning better but it was still separating and I thought hmm what about those coconut enzymes, I have coconut milk around maybe that will help it clean and the fat in it should act as an emulsifier.  Score two for me! It worked.  So here's my recipe:

1 1/2 cups of water

1/2 cup citrus enzyme vinegar

2 Tbsp LemonShine (or fresh lemon juice)

2 Tbsp Kosher Salt

2 Tbsp coconut milk (unsweetened)

1 Tbsp washing soda 

1/4 cup castile soap

12 drops essential oils (optional)

Heat the water and vinegar mixture to boiling. 

Reduce heat to simmering and add salt, washing soda, coconut milk, & lemon shine one ingredient at a time to prevent boiling over.  There will be a chemical reaction so, be careful!

Stir together until all of those ingredients are dissolved completely.

Pour hot liquid into blender.  Leave top ajar but covering the top.  

Turn blender on while still covering top.  Once the liquid stops bubbling to the top, pour in the castile soap.  

Pour into container of your choice and let cool before using.  

As you can see the liquid will still separate a little during the cooling process but shake it up once it's cool and it'll stay together pretty well. (This picture is of a double batch.)  And best of all.  It really cleans the dishes!  I use approx. 1 Tbsp liquid in the pre-wash and 1 Tbsp in the wash in my dish washer but I have an older model portable machine.  Newer machines might not need as much soap.  

And as for the cost of it, it's way less than store bought soap.  I haven't broken down the cost per ingredient because the only thing I don't keep around is the LemonShine and the washing soda. I bought them specifically to start making dish detergent.  For a bottle the size I made today, it probably cost me less than a dollar and it'll last me 2-3 weeks at one load of dishes per day.  

Happy dishes!!

UPDATE: I've found that some stickier messes (mostly peanut butter in my house) don't always come off with this detergent but one teaspoon each of baking soda and kosher salt in the pre-rinse have solved that problem.  

and She's back!

The Palm Tree Family has internet again!! WooHoo! oh Yay, it makes me feel so much more connected.  I can check email and facebook and pinterest all from the comfort of home.  So helpful!  Now I'm on a mission to use said internet to save us some money and make our lives a little healthier.  So far I've found tutorials on how to make deodorant, shampoo, body wash, dishwasher detergent, and dishwasher rinse aid.  I've found stuff for lotion and laundry detergent but I'm a little wary on those topics.  I've such finicky skin that I'm not sure what to put in a lotion that would keep my skin from gong nutso.  And we have shared laundry in our building and I don't want to be taking up other people's space with my stuff if I don't have to.


I have a few resolutions for 2012:
1. Get my driver's license (I've been working on it for what seems like FOREVER and something always seems to get in my way).
2. Get the baby to sleep through the night.
3. Get the baby to sleep in her crib (not co-sleeper) for more than 15 minutes at a time.
4. Make 5 diaper bags to sell.
5. Finish 3 house projects before adding more to the list.
6. Plan and send out Christmas Cards (for the first time in our 5 years of marriage).
7. Start teaching Joey to cook.
8. Make more space in the apartment.
9. Start making regular blog posts. 
10. Start savings accounts for both girls. 

I have plans for the following year.  My hubs and I have plans for the following year.  We have plans for the girls.  We are in a good place, we're looking forward and making plans.  We're doing more than just reacting to our circumstances.  I am hopeful for the coming year.