I asked for... She gave me 3...

...household recipes! No elven hair here, Master Dwarf.

In my home-maker-dom I've occasionally gotten a bee in my bonnet to try making things from scratch, and here are some examples that have stuck.  I've been using homemade laundry detergent, wipes and foaming hand soap for several months now, so these "recipes" have withstood the test of reliability and convenience over time.   

In working with these products, I've noticed a pattern:  in most "home made" product recipes I've worked with, there is at least 1 step that's a complete pain in the butt.  No surprise that over the last century a market for store bought products has emerged.

However, the following recipes have resulted in much less expensive products for our household, with truly minimal annoyance in the long run.

And now I can walk into my local co-op, with my re-usable bags and ironic glasses, head held high and safe in the knowledge I belong. "What, bulk bins of grains? I brought my own canisters, yo"

Without further adieu...

1) Laundry Detergent

...ahh, homemade laundry detergent, the frustration of many of my co-makers.  Several people I know have tried many recipes with mixed results, but overall lacking in results of consistently clean clothes that aren't heavily worn out by the soap or the process is often too inconvenient (liquid detergent).

This simple powder mix has worked well for me: 

Ingredients: Borax, Washing Soda, 1 Bar of Soap

Some people use Ivory, most recipes say to use anything.

I used Fels Naptha last time, and it cleaned well, but seemed a little rough on the clothes.

This time I'm using Dr. Bronner's Lavender Castile Soap.

Pour 1 cup Borax.

Add to container, in this case an ice cream bucket

 (although the end product is not even a quarter of the bucket)

Mash the lumpses, Precious.

Add 1 cup washing soda to bucket.

Now for the annoying part: grate the bar of soap.

This time I'm using the small side of a box grater, took about 5 minutes.

Last time I used a microplane, and it was well over half-an-hour, 

and I couldn't use my arm for the rest of the day!

These shavings are large-ish.

Some people use a food processor to make fine powder, 

but I find if I swirl it around in the washing machine water with my hand for a minute, 

it does just fine.

Combine all ingredients.

Whew, complex stuff--I know.

Now here's the secret:

Start your water on WARM;

Add 2 Tbsp and swirl around with hand.

Powder dissolves in less than a minute.

Switch water back to COLD (if you're a COLD user), and, voila!

This will not suds up, but we don't need no stinking suds,

cloudy water is what we want!

But don't get nervous, your clothes will be clean.

...Unless they're insanely dirty, or your favorite shirt is stained.

I have regular detergent that I use when warranted, 

and I have a regular pre-treater for stains'

but our regular laundry needs are met.

And, for the record, most of Brett's and my shirts and pants have 

visible stains or marks on them each time I do laundry,

 so its not like we're washing mostly-clean clothes over here!

Verdict: Lavender Castile soap is a winner!

But don't be fooled by tricksy-lavender-scented-anything-ever out there,

apparently true lavender smells like an evergreen forest/mountain,

but really its very faint in the clothes and has a subtle freshness to them.

I'll admit I still buy the baby-scented detergent for the kids' sheets.

Ok, for my sheets, too.

Man, I love the smell of lullabies!

Recipe:

1 cup Borax

1 cup Washing Soda

1 bar of soap, grated.

1-2 Tbsp per large load of laundry. 

I use 2 Tbsp for a full washer (extra large load) on my plain-jane washer.

*Start load with WARM water, add detergent and swish around until dissolved.

Then switch to COLD.

And, the much-anticipated math: 

I got nervous doing the calculations, hoping I wasn't actually spending just as much or more than regular detergent after using my fancy soap, but I'm happy with the results.

1 Recipe detergent = 31 load (2 Tbsp/extra large) 

1 Recipe $7.04 =$0.22/load

Based on Amazon pricing, where I buy these things:

Borax $13.99/76 oz

Washing Soda $8.69/55 oz

Castile Soap $4.33/bar

Before this I was using All Free and Clear 2x all the time:

All Free and Clear 150 oz = $30

I used 4oz/load = $1.60/load

Homemade detergent: $0.22/load

My preferred store brand: $1.60/load 

Heck yeah!

2) Baby Wipes

This recipe rocks.

And we blow through wipes in this house quickly.

This is adapted from a recipe found here.

I found 2 cups water was plenty, and I cut the oil and soap by half.

Those amounts seem to work well and don't feel too soapy.

Two (3 qt) containers

These are hard to find these days--apparently Tupperware has discontinued them,

and I can only find square ones, with lids that latch on all 4 sides

Not convenient when one hand is containing the baby and/or body fluids and you only have 1 hand free!

These puppy containers I found in the pet section at Target;

they work but they're not ideal, as you'll see later on,

because the mouth of the container is smaller than the roll of paper towels,

which you'll see is obnoxious.

The key: Select-a-Size paper towels, I use Bounty Super rolls.

The step I hate: cut the roll of paper towels in half.

I hate the feel of sawing paper, I shudder.

Reminds me of lab in college, dissecting stuff.

I hate the friction of cutting through many textures, 

I hate even changing the sheets on my bed with dry hands, ugh, the friction.

And don't use your nice meat knife or slicer, 

use a knife you don't mind getting dull, 

'cause paper can't be good for a blade!

Almost through!

Then I throw it to the ground!

...or set them up to see if I made a remotely clean cut.

Once I bought super-jumbo rolls of Bounty paper towels, thinking it would be awesome, 

but all it meant was I'd heave and scrunch and push and swear, 

unroll 20 pieces and then just barely get it into the container,

it was awful.

Another time I was fighting and fighting to get the roll in there,

then I realized I still had the lid on (open), 

had totally stretched out the rubber seal.

Made me m-m-m-m-m-m-m-m-mad, mad mad.

Took the lid off and it worked like a charm.

Now, measure 2 cups warm water.

Add 1 Tbsp of any household oil and 1 Tbsp of baby wash (I use Liquid Castile soap) 

I've been using Almond Castile soap lately, so it makes it cloudy.

Squirt a few drops of Tea Tree Oil to prevent mold (optional)

Pour slowly and evenly over 1 container of paper towels.

Wait a minute or so, then you should be able to pull out the center cardboard.

Now you have center-pulling wipes, which is the best part.

Repeat for your second container.

We keep 1 container in the bathroom and one at the changing table.

Recipe:
1 roll paper towels--cut in half and place in individual 3qt containers

Liquid per container/half-roll:
2 cups warm water
1 Tbsp oil of your choice
1 Tbsp liquid baby wash or other soap
A few drops Tea Tree Oil

And the math:

Bounty Select-a-Size $14.99/12 rolls  [116 sheets/roll]
Dr. Bronner's Almond Liquid Castile soap  $0.32/oz
Smart Balance oil $0.10/oz

1 roll paper towels = 232 wipes
1 recipe = $1.62
1 wipe = $0.01

We had been using Sam's Club's Member's Mark brand wipes, advertised as $0.02/wipe.

Homemade wipes: $0.01/wipe
My preferred store-brand: $0.02/wipe

I make these wipes every 3-4 weeks, so its not too bad on the inconvenience front.

And finally...

3) Foaming Hand Soap
Victory!
There is nothing inconvenient about this!

You can refill a foaming soap dispenser using Liquid Castile soap.

Ok, I know, I know. Again with the castile soap.

Castile soap is made from olive oil and is supposed to be awesome in general.

I don't know why the craze, but my friends and I were all buying it

and using it in household recipes awhile back,

and now I have this ginormous bottle that I use 1 Tbsp at a time,

so it'll be around for awhile, and my house will smell of almonds.

Fill container with about 1 cup warm water.

Add about 1 Tbsp liquid soap, usually I just eyeball it.

Boom.

Done.

Now mine is always cloudy, because of the almond soap.

A friend of mine uses citrus castile soap, 

and hers is always clear and smells terrific.

The almond soap also tends to separate over time.

We were having dry hand issues, 

but when we started shaking the dispenser before use

we haven't had problems since.

The citrus soap doesn't have this issue, 

so I will be buying that next,

if I ever get through this liter of almond soap!

Recipe

1 cup warm water

1 Tbsp castile soap

Math: 

1 Tbsp Dr. Bronner Castile soap = $0.16

Homemade refill = $0.16

We previously used Method Foaming Hand Wash Refill on Subscribe and Save from Amazon: $1.60/refill

Homemade refill: $0.16

My preferred store brand: $1.60

That's it and that's all.

I will say, there have been a number of household recipes that have failed.

For instance I have yet to find a dishwasher detergent recipe that cleans my dishes more that it fogs them, even with my fancy new dishwasher.  However I have a friend, the same friend, who uses the Citrus Castile soap in her dishwasher detergent, and she does not have cloudy dishes.  

We're thinking its possibly citric acid in the soap, in the same way "they" say to use lemon koolaid powder to your dishwasher for clearer glasses.

Whatevs, whatevs...so until I get through my liter of Almond soap, I'll stick to my Finish Quantum tabs, 

to which I Subscribe and Save on Amazon for $10.20/45 count,
which I'm sure is a horrible deal.  But they are my precious, and I loves them!

So compare the price to your favorite things and weigh the convenience-vs-money-saved factor' and let me know how it goes!

No Ordinary Baked Ziti

Baked Ziti.  A simple hotdish familiar to many American households, but its tastiness can vary greatly and tend towards mediocrity.  

This version hails from a Cooks Illustrated article. The America's Test Kitchen team takes recipes and re-hashes them usually 50+ different ways to find, what they deem, the perfect recipe.  Their recipes tend to be reliably delicious, but also obnoxiously complicated or tediously long.  But always amazing! And this is no different. 

Their strategy for Baked Ziti involves using cottage cheese, to make for flavory, pillowy cheese pieces, rather than ricotta, which when stirred in, can turn grainy and tasteless.  Another method is to use chunks of mozzarella, rather than shredded, so there are pockets of melty cheese.  Then for the sauce, they make a red sauce and alfredo, for a richer flavor than just red sauce alone.

So when you're in the mood to do more than throw noodles, jarred pasta sauce and mozzarella in a pan and bake it to death, this is the recipe for you.  Its involved, but the end product is gooey cheese, correctly-cooked noodles, yummy sauce.  

So here are the usual suspects, plus a few others.

Grate 1.5 c parmesan.

Lightly beat 2 eggs.

Whisk eggs, cottage cheese and 1 c Parmesan together, then set aside for later.

Boil water in large dutch oven.

Boils faster with a lid!
I find it funny, the recipe says to add 1 Tbsp salt and pasta together, rather than salting the water first, which people do to make it boil faster--huh.

While your water's boiling, mince or garlic press 5-ish garlic cloves.

When I use my press, I end up with a big chunk of the garlic skin after pressing each clove, but I just throw it in with the rest and haven't noticed a difference.

Chop the basil; I just used the entire small container of basil I bought, because any time I save a a few leaves of fresh herbs, they just go bad in my produce drawer!  The amounts came out about the same, I decided.

Water is boiling!
Add 1 Tbsp salt.

Then 1 lb Ziti or other short, tubular pasta and cook until just al dente, 5-7 min.
I cooked mine closer to 7 min, and the noodles seemed a little over done in the end, so don't be afraid to leave them firm--the dish bakes an hour in the oven, so it takes care of any remotely crunchy noodles!

Drain in colander and set aside.
Do not rinse out dutch oven.
We'll use it for another sauce in a bit, and leaving the pasta water residue helps it thicken.
That's never a problem for me,  I never think to "do dishes as I go".

In large skillet, heat olive oil and garlic for 2 min, to soften but not brown the garlic.

While garlic and oil are heating, prepare these guys:
1 tsp oregano
28 oz can tomato sauce (or 2 (15 oz) cans)
14.5 oz can diced tomatos

Stir in.

Bring to a simmer, then simmer for about 10 min, until thickens.

If you have a splatter screen, now's the time to break it out.
Especially if you have a white stove.

While sauce is simmering, gather 1 tsp sugar and 1/2 c chopped basil.

When 10 min are up, add sugar and basil.

Salt and pepper to taste.
I over-salted, and then burned my tongue trying to taste it.
Remember this was simmering just a minute ago and taste with discretion.
Remove from heat and set aside.

Now for the other sauce.
Combine 1 c heavy cream and 3/4 tsp cornstarch in bowl
Or if using whole milk, increase cornstarch to 2 tsp and simmer 2 extra minutes later on.

If you, too, have a *helper*, let her/him keep stirring while you work on the next steps.
It also entertains the baby!

Chop the cheese!
That sounds like a euphemism.

There is a really great brand that carries Whole Milk Mozzarella, that slips my mind, but its located on the top shelf of the regular cheese section at Cub.  I used regular part-skim mozzarella, and it was fine, but not as awesome and melty as whole-milk mozz.

Recover cream/cornstarch mixture from said *helper* and bring to a simmer in unclean Dutch oven.
Simmer 3-4 min, until thickened.

Meanwhile gather the cottage cheese mixture, half the chopped mozzarella (3/4 c) and 1 c tomato sauce.

Remove cream mixture from heat and add cottage cheese mixture, mozz and sauce.

Stir to combine.
Mmm boy.

Pour into 9x13 pan.

Pour tomato sauce over pasta.
Then dot with remaining mozzarella.
Sprinkle remaining parmesan.

Cover tightly with foil and bake at 350 degrees x 30 min.

Remove foil and continue to bake another 30 min, until bubbling and cheese begins to brown.

Cool 20 min, or not.

Eat. 

And love those pillowy pockets of cheese!

Baked Ziti

Serves 8-10

1 lb whole milk or 1% cottage cheese
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
3 oz grated Parmesan cheese (about 1.5 c)
Table salt
1 lb Ziti or other short, tubular pasta
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
5 med garlic cloves, minced or pressed (about 5 tsp)
1 (28 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 cup pus 2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil leaves
1 tsp sugar
Ground black pepper
3/4 tsp corn starch
1 c heavy cream (or if whole milk, increase corn starch to 2 tsp and cook 1-2 min longer)
8 oz whole milk mozzarella, cut into 1/4 inch pieces

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Whisk cottage cheese, eggs and 1 cup Parmesan together in medium bowl; set aside.
Bring 4 qts water to boil in large Dutch oven over high heat.
Stir in 1 Tbsp salt and pasta; cook, stirring occasionally, until pasta just softens, 5-7 min.
Drain pasta and leave in colander; do not wash Dutch oven.

2. Meanwhile, heat oil and garlic in 12-inch skillet ove rmed heat until garlic is fragrant, but not brown, about 2 min.
Stir in tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and oregano; simmer until thickened, about 10 min.
Off heat, stir in 1/2 c basil and sugar, then season with salt and pepper.

3. Stir cornstarch into heavy cream in small bowl; transfer mixture to now-empty Dutch oven.
Bring to simmer over med heat; cook until thickened, 3-4 min, then remove from heat.
Add cottage cheese mixture, 1 c tomato sauce and 3/4 c mozzarella; stir to combine.
Add pasta and stir to coat thoroughly with sauce.

4. Transfer pasta mixture to 9x13 baking dish and spread remaining tomato sauce over pasta.
Sprinkle remaining 3/4 c mozzarella and remaining 1/2 c Parmesan over top.
Cover tightly with foil and bake for 30 min.
Remove foil and bake 30 min longer, until bubbling and cheese beginning to brown.
Cool for 20 min.
Sprinkle with remaining 2 tbsp basil and serve.