Day 79: Dish Soap


As a kid my parents were unbelievable, I should have had them committed! They actually made us do chores! Can you believe it? I know in today's society this sounds appalling and on the verge of child abuse but back in my day (man I sound old when I say that) we actually had to do our chores every day. I can't believe what my parents put us through.

One time I was on kitchen duty...ya, the whole kitchen! I needed to start the dish washer but we were out of detergent so I thought liquid dish soap was just as good.....WRONGO! I realized it was not the same thing as I watched a wave of bubbles creep across the dining room floor and into the family room. Mom and Dad were not happy (though my siblings quite enjoyed it) and I was stuck on dish duty " till I could learn to do it right"....really, it's their fault for running out of the right kind of soap. But I must say that I was glad to kill two birds with one stone by cleaning the dishes and the floor at once.

Now, I must insert this disclaimer. This soap is NOT meant to be used in your dish washer. This is liquid dish soap. That said, if you happen to be looking for a night of good clean fun, I say go for it!

Dish Soap
2 c soap flakes or 2 bars shredded ivory soap
1 c baking soda
1 gallon of warm water
1/2 c lemon juice or white vinegar
A few drops of essential oils for scent, if desired
baking soday dish soap essential oils
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Day 78: Laundry Soap

I learned to do the laundry at a very young age....of coarse I didn't do the laundry per say, but I knew how to do it. I'm sure we went through laundry detergent like it was water. There was always that mound of laundry waiting by the machine. I used to hear stories from my grandma about laundry day at her house growing up. This is when they did it all by hand on a rock in the river or something like that.

In Western Samoa they do their laundry in a 5 gallon bucket at the local village pool/"laundry mat." Once they get to Amerikan Samoa and find out about the washing machines it's bye bye bucket!

I find it's best to make a big batch of this. To take it to the laundromat we put it in gallon jugs but if you have a left over bucket, that will work great too.

Laundry Soap
2 bars ivory soap pulverized or 2 c soap flakes
2 cups baking soda
2 cups borax
6 cups hot water

In your bucket add the ivory, soda, and borax. Boil the water and pour over powder stirring well. Let sit till cooled. Use 1/2 cup of soap per load.
baking soda borax ivory soap
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Week 12: no billy, don't eat that

Many may disagree with me, but I think one of the worst movies ever made was "the christmas story"....of course, that's why I watch it every Christmas. My family really can't stand that show but yet we quote it all the time. One of the lines that comes up often is the one when he goes blind and the parents ask what it was..."soap poisoning" every kid hopes for that moment as their sitting there sucking on a bar of ivory. At our house we didn't use bars, we had liquid soap which sticks a lot longer! To this day when I get a whiff of lemon joy I start to wretch and eating a mango is a traumatic experience. Do mangoes taste like soap to anyone else?

This week I hope to put an end to the threat of "soap poisoning" to kids everywhere and to the nastiness that our parents put us through and that I'm sure my children will experience. This weeks recipes are only edible by naughty children. And since it's spring and time for a little spring cleaning, I thought this a perfect time to break out the homemade cleaning supplies recipes.

What does this have to do with being vegan. Well, my friend, being vegan isn't just about what you put in your mouth but whats in your life. A lot of cleaning products out there are not vegan, meaning they use animal fats or other ingredients that come from animals. All these recipes are vegan, effective, and best of all, cheep! You can make these for pennies with no worry of toxic yucky nastiness in your home. There is something comforting knowing that you can eat your cleaning supplies.

Week 12
Monday : Laundry Soap
Tuesday: Dish Soap
Wednesday: Bathroom Cleaner
Thursday : Carpet Cleaner
Friday: All Purpose Cleaner
Saturday: Dishwasher Detergent
Sunday: Homemade Fabreeze

Shopping List
baking soda - lots and lots of baking soda
peppermint essential oil (food grade)
lemon or orange essential oil
hydrogen peroxide
liquid castle soap
or
4 bars ivory soap
or
soap flakes
epson salts
borax
all purpose cleaner recipe body detox scrub body wash
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Day 77: Vegan Chick Fillet


I'm not really a fan of Chick-fil-a, for obvious reasons. But I always thought their advertising was kind of cute. I could kind of relate. Now I eat, and spell like a cow. For all my critics out there lets just let that one go.

Chicken was the first thing to go when I started going vegetarian. After killing a chicken there is no going back! But with all the blood and guts aside, chicken is a very tasty meat....minus the whole meat part. This recipe makes a great breaded chicken patty that any herbivore would be happy to eat.

Vegan Chik -fil-A

1 c cooked garbanzo beans
1/2 c cooked rice
1/2 c bread crumbs
2 vegan chicken or vegetable bullion cubes
1 clove garlic
2 tb soy sauce
1 pinch sage
1 pinch paprika
2 heaping tb vital wheat gluten
1/4 c oats

In your lovable food processor process the garbanzo beans, rice, and oats. You may need to add just enough water to make it creamy. Now in bowl mix the rest of the ingredients, adding the vital wheat gluten last. Knead into a dough. Roll out and cut into squres. cook in oil till golden on both sides.
bread crumbs bullion garbanzo beans
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Day 76: Roasted Eggplant Sandwich

This sandwich is so elegant and filling, just the picture of it will make you drool.....which is not elegant but with these sandwiches I completely understand.

Eggplant Sandwiches
1 large eggplant
1 tomato
fresh basil
hummus
crusty rolls
vegan feta cheese
EVOO

Peel your eggplant and cut it in rounds 1/4 of an inch thick. Drizzle with olive oil and put under your broiler till tender. Be sure to turn it once and keep an eye on it so it won't burn. While that's cooking smear your roll with hummus. Once the eggplant is finished, place on your roll, cover with feta and place it under the broiler for just a minute to heat the cheese. Now drizzle with EVOO and top with fresh basil and tomato.
basil eggplant eggplant sandwiches
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Day 75: Cucumber Sandwiches

I loved these sandwiches as a kid. My grandmother was a master at making them. My grandmother, in my eyes the master chef, would actually toast a piece of bread and cut one piece of bread in half creating two full size pieces. We all thought that this was just another product of her being raised during the depression and she was just being frugal. Actually, grandma was just introducing us to high society.

"As the thinness of the bread is a point of pride in the kitchen, a dense-textured white Pullman loaf is cut with a wide-bladed knife, which guides the cut; daylight should pass through the resulting fine pores." - Wikipidia

Grandma can cut a piece of bread thinner than anyone...ya, I'm puttin out a challenge. Think you can cut it thinner? It is quite the art and takes quite a bit of practice. I can cut it in half but I'm still not as good as grandma. Another key point is the thinness of the cucumber. You can't have thin bread and thick cucumber...that defeats the purpose.

So raise your little fingers, dab the corners of your mouth and hoover up a dozen or so of these delectable morsels.

Traditional Cucumber Sandwiches

1 loaf of sliced bread toasted
1 cucumber sliced thin
veganaise
seasoning blend like spike or oneara

The key is to slice the piece of toast in half right when it comes out of the toaster. Be careful, its hot! Place your hand on top of the toast so you can feel as you cut through it. Now cover one half with veganaise, sliced cucumber, and sprinkle with seasoning. Now "put the top back on" as grandma would say and slice on the diagonal....it has to be on the diagonal or it won't taste right!
cucumber cucumber sandwiches spike
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Day 74: BLATO's

My absolute favorite sandwich has got to be the BLT! Actually, my favorite is the BLTAO or the BLATO sandwich (pronounced blahh toe). That's bacon, lettuce, avocado, tomato, and onion. Does anything come closer to perfection? I submit that it does not.

Unfortunately, my bacon experiments have not gone as planned. I found a recipe for eggplant bacon. I like eggplant, I like bacon, so I gave it a whirl. It turned out to be strips of charcoal with a slight hint of maple flavor. I then found a recipe for tofu bacon but if you remember chocolate week you'll know that I've had my tofu allotment for the decade. One recipe called for shredded coconut. Now coconut I have an abundance of but do you know how much work it takes to shred a coconut? Plus, I'm not really feelin the connection. So I checked out my fridge and found some egg roll wrappers and thus, the birth of brilliance.

Vegan Bacon

1/2 tsp liquid smoke
4 tb soy sauce or liquid aminos
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 c maple syrup
1 pkg vegan egg roll wrappers

Cut your wrappers into strips making them 4-5 sheets thick. Mix all your ingredients together and marinate the strips for about 10-20 minutes. Now fry up in a fry pan till golden brown on each side. They should be crispy yet chewy.

Vegan BLATOs

lettuce
sliced tomato
veganaise
mustard
vegan bacon
avocado
red onion sliced
rolls

Do I really need to spell this one out? You know how it goes.
avacado egg roll wrappers lettuce
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Day 73: Greek Pita Sandwich

Matthew and I love all things Greek -- the history, the food, breaking plates on the floor, hairy men dancing all night long to music straight from Mt. Olympus - It's great! This sandwich is one of those simple luxuries that as you eat it in front of a fan you can imagine sitting on a white and blue hillside soaking in the sun and breathing in fresh Mediterranean air. ahh...where's my sun bonnet?

Greek Pita Sandwiches

1 cucumber sliced
2 Roma tomatoes sliced
sliced olives
EVOO
sliced red onion
vegan feta cheese
1 pita per person
hummus

Smear the inside of your pita with hummus then layer your cucumbers, tomatoes, olives, onion and feta cheese. Drizzle with EVOO and serve.
hummus olives soy free vegan feta cheese
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