30 Second Non-Toxic Laundry Soap

Remember this post from last year with my recipe from concentrated laundry soap?  Well, I've been using it with success up until yesterday when my most recent batch ran out.  It was late at night and I was tired and not at all interested in whipping up a new batch in order to start another load of laundry.  So, I decided to reformulate my recipe.  And by reformulate what I really mean is skip the part of the original recipe where I have to walk to the kitchen and boil water.  Then I kinda had a "well, duh" moment and suddenly realized there was never any need to pre-mix batches of laundry soap.  So, in all my late-night laziness glory I bring you:

30 Second Non-Toxic Laundry Soap

Add to your washer:

1 tablespoon Borax
1 tablespoon washing soda
1 tablespoon Dr. Bronner's Castile Soap (or any liquid dish soap you have on hand)

Honestly, people.  That's it.  My clothes are coming out of the wash every bit as clean as usual!  I just keep a measuring spoon in the cabinet above the washer along with the ingredients.

Voila!  This is about as close to free as laundry soap is going to get!

Homemade Magic Shell

Take a hop and a skip over to San Diego Moms Blog and check out my two recipes for Homemade Magic Shell. 

How to Make Vanilla Extract

Have you ever made your own vanilla extract?  It is really, really easy and requires only two ingredients.  You'll spend a bit more money up front to make it, but it ends up being a lot less expensive in the long run.  If you're like me and bake a lot this is something you'll definitely want to make.  

I also like to make my own extracts because (like everything else I make from scratch) it is important to me to control the ingredients.  If you're not careful, it is easy to end up with vanilla extract that isn't really vanilla (it's artificially flavored) and/or has added GMO sugar.  Blech.

Homemade Vanilla Extract

What you'll need:

whole vanilla beans (I order mine here)

vodka, rum or bourbon (vanilla extract is most often made with vodka, but rum or bourbon make for an extra sweet and silky extract)

a glass bottle (I like these or these)

The method:

Ready?  You'll need 6 vanilla beans per 8 ounces of liquor.  Slice the beans lengthwise and scrape out the tiny black seeds.  Make sure to get all the seeds into the bottle- that's where all the flavor lives!  Drop the whole beans into the bottle and fill with the liquor of your choice.  

Allow the extract to develop in a dark cabinet for at least two months.  Shake and swirl the bottle once a day.  You can begin to use the extract after two months, and it will continue to develop a richer flavor as it sits.  It will keep indefinitely.  Do not refrigerate. 

Try experimenting with different types of vanilla beans and different types of liquor.  There are endless combinations.  Learn more here.  

Here's one of my all-time favorite recipes using vanilla extract.  

Mother's Day Jewelry Giveaway!

Hooray!! Mother's Day is right around the corner!  Since most of you, Dear Readers, are women, I wanted to do something special for you to celebrate.

I've joined forces with Becky at WhirlyBird Designs to bring you a $25 gift certificate to her Etsy store.  You can apply the gift certificate to anything in the store, or you can have a piece custom made.

And here's the best part: You don't have to buy anything in order to enter the giveaway!  This is just my thank you to you for making what I do worth doing.  So, email a link to this post to your husband (See- now he doesn't even have to figure out what to get you!), and enter to win some jewelry for yourself, your own mother, your mother-in-law or a special mom friend.

AND, if you don't want to wait until the close of the giveaway to see if you're the winner, you can also use the coupon code HeavyOnWholesome to get 15% off any order now through the close of the giveaway!!

Enter Giveaway Here

Entry-Form

This giveaway will end on May 12, 2013 at 11:59pm PT.  

Quinoa Horchata

Here's a quick festive little weekend recipe for you!

Quinoa Horchata

1 2/3 cups cooked quinoa
3 cups filtered water
1 can coconut milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 rounded teaspoon ground cinnamon
honey or organic granulated sugar, to taste (I used about 1/4 cup)

Pour everything into a blender and blend until smooth and creamy.  Chill, then serve over ice.

Enjoy!  Have a happy Cinco de Mayo!