Mustard and stock, with developments in laundry detergent

My big canning project this week was mustard. I used this recipe: http://smedette.wordpress.com/2011/08/11/recipe-spicy-beer-mustard/

I chose it because I wanted to be able to can it, so I can share some as gifts and also keep it shelf-stable as long as I needed it. I don't have a pressure canner so I needed a recipe with vinegar. Anyways, it was loads of fun, and pretty easy to do. I omitted the horseradish and onion powder, because the recipe said it was okay to play with these. I don't like my mustard too hot and the vinegar made it plenty tangy. The recipe made three cups of mustard, which I canned in one-cup jars. Exciting!

I also made stock this week. I make stock frequently so it didn't occur to me to share it earlier, but I realized that many people don't know how to make stock. If you can boil water you can make stock! I gather scraps from vegetables and chicken bones in a one-gallon plastic bag that I keep in the freezer. When that gets full, I dump it into a large pot that I fill with water and I add a couple of bay leaves and a handful of peppercorns, if I have them. Then I bring the water to the boil, then reduce it to simmer and let it do that for about an hour. Then I cool it and strain it. I usually use most of the stock I just made in soup that evening, with a little bit set aside in a two-cup container for rice pilaf, and a few quarter-cup containers for Chinese food. I freeze these containers until I'm going to use them. So you can do all this for basically no money because you are using what other people consider to be garbage. Seriously. The only thing I wouldn't put in it are fruit scraps and the peels of russet potatoes, which are kind of dirty. (You can dry citrus peels in the oven and use them for mulled wine and such, and the rest of your fruit scraps you can use to make vinegar. Vinegar!) So if you do nothing else, you should make stock. Soooo easy and it saves you a lot of money over storebought stock.

I am learning about making your own laundry soap. Holy crap! It's so easy and cheap! You need borax, washing soda (soda ash, which I use for dyeing), and bar soap. The best type of bar soap to use is fels naptha, which is really cheap. I'm going to check my nearby hardware store. You only need 2 tablespoons per load. It doesn't have nasty chemicals or scents and is much better for the environment and allergies. If you need fabric softener, you can use vinegar in your rinse cycle, but I don't usually use fabric softener and I think it would be a pain in our commercial machines.

We have been doing a bit of low cost decorating for the Advent/Christmas season. I made an advent wreath with floral wire and evergreen branches. We threw evergreen branches on some surfaces and made popcorn garlands to decorate the tree with. It's been very exciting. I have made a present for my husband (more on that later, once he's opened it). I'm also doing my Christmas baking now. I've made banana bread and will also make butter tarts, peanut butter cookies, and popcorn balls. Maybe oatmeal raisin cookies too if I have enough time and butter.

Happy holidays everyone, and happy homemaking!

I'm back and Beauty Routine

I haven't been using this blog for a while, but I wanted to share some of my efforts in radical homemaking and self-sufficiency and decided that this was the right venue. So I'm resurrecting it.

I wanted to share some ways I am being more self-sufficient in my beauty routine. I'm not huge into beauty, although I like makeup and nice hair. Anyways, there are a few things one must do for personal care and I want to know how I can do more stuff for myself. In hair care, I am following the no-poo (no shampoo) method. I thought it sounded gross at first but actually it is working better for me than shampoo did. Basically, I take a tablespoon of baking soda in a cup of water in a squeeze bottle and squeeze it over my hair in the shower, taking care to massage my scalp. Then I rinse it out. Next, I take another squeeze bottle and use a mixture of a tablespoon or two of apple cider vinegar and a cup of water, and finger-comb that through my hair. That's my conditioner. How does acid condition? I don't know but it works so well! I no longer need to use a leave-in conditioner in order to comb my hair after my shower. It works great! I usually use the baking soda once or twice a week and the vinegar every time I shower. I've also made my own hair gel using a quarter teaspoon of agar in a cup of hot water, and then cooling it as it gels. I usually add a drop or two of a floral essential oil so that my hair smells nice. It doesn't work so great but it's okay and I don't look like a hippy, so it will do until that day when I can afford silly things like hair mousse.

In facial care, my stepmom gave me a really nice skin care "regime" but I only use that once a day. In the morning, my routine is usually to wash my face with soap in the shower or with Spectro gel at the sink. Then I use my stepmom's lotion. At night, I use her cleanser and toner, but my own lotion, which is a little jar of olive oil scented with rose and ylang ylang essential oils so I don't smell like salad. It works fantastically on my skin and my skin hasn't been this clear in a long time. I don't use the oil in the morning because it makes my face look pretty oily for a while, which isn't a problem if I'm going to bed but is if I'm going out in public. Also, I sometimes use my own toner, which is just rose water that I get from the mediterranean store. It's the best toner I've ever used.

Next, we had a problem earlier this year when my husband ran out of deodorant. He still had to go to work and the weather was warm so it was a real dilemma. Anyways, we found out that you can make your own deodorant from two tablespoons cornstarch, two tablespoons baking soda, and two tablespoons olive oil and a couple drops each of tea tree oil and lavender oil. Just mix it up and scoop in onto your pits with your fingertips. My husband said it was the best deodorant he'd ever used.

Finally, I've become the hairdresser in our home. I shave my husband's head, and I found a way to cut my own hair into layers by making a very high ponytail while it's wet and straightened as much as possible. Then I pull the ponytail up and cut off the very top evenly. Not the most artistic haircut I've ever had, but it's certainly flattering and looks good (this only works on curly hair). Additionally, I've figured out how to do my own threading for tidy eyebrows. So that's the self-sufficient beauty routine at our place!