Make Everyday Earth Day

Earth Day 2006

My first job as a kid was going door to door collecting donations for PennPIRG and their reduce reuse recycle campaign. I was 17, and at the end of that summer I went off to college. Its funny how you are so often formed by the experiences of your late teens. I'm still a vegetarian because a reading of Anne Lappe's, Diet for a Small Planet. I just never learned to cook meat.

So,  I'm a life long greenie, but Earth Day often goes by unnoticed.

Wordless Wednesday: Design

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Laundry

from my local Wegmans

I've been making my own laundry soap. Some combination of sensitive skin and noses in my family means we are very picky about laundry soap. But I never really added it up, as it turns out: $9.36 = FOUR MONTHS of laundry for four with cloth diapers. Click here to visit Kelly's Closet for more about cloth diapers and diaper care.

Our old liquid cost $8-$11 for about 3 weeks worth and DIY means no plastic containers to throw out.
Win

(from my friend Cynthia)

2c washing soda
2c borax
1/3 - 1/2  grated bar of soap (I use Fels-Naptha)

Mix together and use 1 tablespoon per load (yep, that's all 1 tablespoon)

Here's the recipe for liquid in the past but I prefer the powdered just because the prep is easier:

1/2 - 1  grated bar of fels naptha soao

2 cups borax

2 cups washing soda

3.5 gallons of water

Melt grated soap in a pot with about half a gallon of water.....stir until dissolved. Pour into a 5 gallon bucket (or recycle a cat little bucket with lid)

Add borax and washing soda and stir until dissolved. Add the other 3 gallons of water and stir. Once it cools it will look like a white lumpy gel.

Use 1/4 cup per regular load and up to 1/2 cup for extra large loads. It's safe in all washing machines.

One batch costs roughly $3.20 to make and lasts about 6-7 months.
••••••

I understand that you can add a few drops of essential oils if you feel like having a fragrance.

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Best Banana Bread Ever

Best Banana Bread

Adapted from here: http://www.thefreshloaf.com/recipes/betterbananabread

Makes 1 huge loaf or 3 small loaves

Preheat the oven to 350.

In one bowl, combine:

6 tablespoons butter, melted
2 eggs
2 or 3 very ripe bananas
1 cup vanilla or plain yogurt
2/3 cup sugar

Use a potato masher, fork, or spoon to squish the banana and mix the ingredients together. It is alright for there to be small (1 centimeter) chunks of banana in the batter, but you want most of the banana to be reduced to mush.

In another bowl, combine:

1 1/2 cup all-purpose unbleached flour (better yet put 2Tbl of each of the following: soy flour, powdered milk and wheat germ, into the bottom of the cup measure and then fill with flour, your picky eater need never know)
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Combine the wet and dry ingredients and mix until the ingredients are blended together.

If you like, stir in additional ingredients here, such as chopped walnuts or pecans, dried cherries or apricots, or chocolate chips. A handful (about a half a cup) is about right. Walnuts AND chocolate chips are my new favorite.

Pour the dough into greased baking pans and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Small loaves take around 30 minutes, a normal-sized loaf takes around 50 minutes.

Remove from the oven. This bread is great warm, but it is excellent cold too.

After they have cooled for 5 or 10 minutes the loaves can be removed from the pan to cool. Once they are cool they can be individually wrapped and frozen.

I'll post a picture if there's any left!

Kisha Lynn Patterson-Tanski

Sent from my iPhone

so much fun

I had too much fun with these!

thank heavens this is our rental unit!

More demo

where'd he go

greg in ceiling at our rental. Renovation will hopefully be done by october.