Homemade Laundry Detergent Part 2

  As previously detailed in Homemade Laundry Detergent Part 1, I made my own laundry detergent using 2 bars of laundry soaps (2 different brands), Borax, and washing soda bought from Publix. I paid $8.55 plus 6% sales tax ($.51) for all the materials and I have Borax and washing soda left over. I stored the resulting soap in a 5 gallon bucket ($2.60 plus $1.28 for the lid, so $3.88) I bought from Lowe's. The bucket is not even close to being particularly full (it actually looks pretty empty), plus I actually took some of it out and put it in a plastic 2 quart jar so we wouldn't have to haul that huge bucket to the laundromat. I suspect that if I took one of those party ice cream pails, washed it, and dried it, then I could use that to hold almost the entire batch.

  Considering that one is only supposed to use 1tbsp per laundry load (2 tbsp for especially filthy loads) this should supply me for quite some time. In fact, there are 64 tablespoons in a quart so that one little jar should do at least 138 loads, and there is enough detergent left in the bucket for maybe another jar (slightly more) so this batch will do 276 loads for just over $9. That is 3.3 cents a load!

  When I look at prices for the detergent I used to use, All Free & Clear Small & Mighty and the size (50 oz size), the price is much, much higher. In fact, by doing a google shopping search, I found that the concentrated detergent is on average, about $5 and will do 32 loads. That is 15.6 cents a load, 4.7 times the cost of my homemade concoction. The Mighty Pacs fared even worse. A package of 48 "pacs" was listed at $16. That is 33.3 cents a load, a solid 10 times more expensive, plus those things are absolutely deadly to children and pets. Last time I bought detergent, I bought the 150 oz bottle, which is listed at $10. It says it will do 100 loads. That is 10 cents a load and roughly 3 times more expensive than my detergent. That is still the best price on the store bought detergent.

  Now, I need to go off on a tangent about laundry detergents. That "load" number that they mention on the front of the bottle is usually a lot more loads than you are actually going to get out of the bottle. The measuring cup has numbers and lines on it, and I think when they say load they mean to the first line. Legally, it could be less. They have no reason to tell you what measurement they are going by so for all we know, a load could constitute of a teaspoon of soap with them knowing you are fixing to use half a cup for each load. If you do use a commercially produced liquid laundry detergent, try using half of what you normally use. If that still gets your clothes clean, try halving it again. Experiment and figure out exactly how much soap you need to get your clothes clean and ignore their measurement. You will save tons of money.

  Another good money saving tip, especially if you need something easily portable or cannot lift the larger containers, is to buy 1 small container initially, and then buy the larger container and keep refilling the smaller container. You will get the best possible price on the detergent and still be able to handle the bottle. Plus, when using the measuring cap for the smaller bottle with non concentrated soap, you will use closer to the appropriate amount of soap and it will stretch more.

  On Friday Daddybeast dutifully went to laundry a day late (he was supposed to do it Thursday, instead he did it before he went to work on Friday). Our coin laundry has changed policy recently and even though the dryers used to be "free" they are not anymore. That's a shame but the lady who owns the place was hemorrhaging money through the dryers and I can understand the need to pay bills. That just means we'll be shopping around for a possibly cheaper laundromat in the future. It's nothing personal, but our laundry bill just went up a good $10 at least and we need to cut costs however possible.

  Anyhow, He did 3 baskets of clothing of varying sizes. These baskets included jeans, khaki pants, towels, work polo shirts, cotton t shirts, baby clothes, cloth diapers, socks, bras, underwear, baby blankets, and a few stuffed animals in a rainbow of colors. Standard laundry fare, though usually we cram at least one more basket into the cobalt and get it all done at once. I asked him how much detergent he used per load and he said, "well you didn't give me a measuring spoon and I couldn't remember how much you said so I just guessed." He probably used about 6 washers and 1/3 the container is gone. I'm not terribly pleased about the wastage, but the clothes are clean and I still have more detergent so we'll take what we've got and run with it.

 So now that a few days have gone by and everyone has had a chance to wear the freshly washed clothing, I will detail the results under the following categories: Cleanliness, Texture, Smell, and Adverse Reactions. The testers are Daddybeast, Mommy (me!), Bunnyworm, Wafflecat, The Diva, and Bjorn.

  The first thing I observed about the clothing upon folding it the day after it was washed (I worked Friday and I was too exhausted to fold clothes after work) was that there was no residue on the clothing. I checked some of Daddybeasts work polos and there were no deodorant stains. Any standard food stains were successfully washed away (standard being things that do not typically stain). Bunnyworm's eating shirts were clean and free of most stains--she did eat blueberries one day and there are faint hints of purple from them. Still, that is why I dedicate a few shirts to her eating. They can get ruined while her other clothes stay nice, and even then, she only wears them in public or when it's cold. Otherwise we strip her down. I did not initially notice anything out of the ordinary on my clothing until this morning. I found a sliver of fells naptha soap on my shirt. I haven't been able to find any other slivers, so maybe that was a particularly large chunk from the load. The cats beds and the towel they sleep on occasionally came clean despite Wafflecat peeing on one of the beds and Bjorn throwing up on just about everything. All in all, I'm very satisfied with the cleanliness of the clothes after using the detergent.

  As I was folding the clothes I noted the texture or feel of the clothes. Most of my towels came out fluffy and soft, the exception being the aforementioned cat towel Bjorn horked up on. It was a gift from my Gramma. She basically handed me a stack of stiff rough bleachstained towels and said I could have them if I thought I could use them. My towels are much nicer than them, but I figured I could use them to clean up messes and dry the cats after their baths. Anyhow, the towel was stiff and nasty before I washed it, and it was still stiff afterwards so next time I wash it, I'm going to add some vinegar to the load to soften it up and get the detergent build up out of it (Gramma always uses "extra detergent for extra cleaning" which just makes the clothes crunchy and uncomfortable, but you do. not. tell. Gramma. how. to. do. laundry.) The bluejeans and khakis were smooth and felt normal. T shirts also felt normal, as did Daddybeast's work shirts. Socks were soft. Stuffed animals were intact and fluffy. Bras were soft and satiny just like they're supposed to be. So no problems with the texture of the clothing were caused by the detergent despite way too much detergent being used in each load.

  I have a very sensitive sense of smell and there are some smells that I cannot stand. Cat urine is one of them, as is left over deodorant smell. We had both of these in our laundry. The cat urine smell is gone from the cat bed (for now, until Wafflecat does it again). Daddybeast's work shirts had a very faint trace of his deodorant smell in them, but ultimately it was not strong enough to make me feel the clothes need to be washed again. In fact, the All detergent we have used in the past doesn't get the smell all the way out either. Only pretreating with vinegar seems to work. Other than that, the clothes smelled like tap water. It's different from the All free and clear, which has no smell at all. I don't dislike the smell I guess, but it isn't what I was expecting. I'm wondering if maybe next time I whip up a batch of soap I should add a bar of Dr. Bronner's Lavender Castile Soap and ditch the Fells Naptha bar. The castile soap is much more expensive (about $2 more) but if it makes the laundry smell better, by all means and I've used it on Bunnyworm in the past and it doesn't bother her. It's surprising because the zote soap I used has a very very strong lemony smell, but that smell doesn't make it through the wash. So ultimately, I wasn't impressed with the smell, but it wasn't offensive to me.

  Bunnyworm is allergic to Cheer brand laundry detergent (it's the brand the laundromat sells). My mother is allergic to Tide brand and I've never used it. Because Bunnyworm has shown a reaction to at least one laundry detergent, I was worried the homemade detergent would give her hives like the Cheer did. The first night she slept in and sweated in freshly laundered pajamas. The next day she wore the clothes all day long. Not one bump or red welt. The same has happened with me and Daddybeast. Bjorn has allergies (we aren't sure to what, but he always does better AFTER he has a bath) and it didn't bother him or any of the other cats. None of the clothing was discolored as far as I can tell. So, no adverse effects from using the detergent.

Overall, I have to say I am very pleased with the results of my homemade detergent. It got the clothes clean, they weren't crunchy and nasty (except the one thing that was already crunchy and nasty), there wasn't much of a smell, no one is allergic to it, and it didn't discolor my clothes. Now if I can train Daddybeast to use the proper amount of detergent, we will save tons of cash which was the point of this experiment.

Homemade Laundry Detergent Part 1

So. I name this "homemade laundry detergent part 1" in the optimistic hope that eventually there will be a part 2. Only time will tell.

Two weeks ago Daddybeast did laundry at the local (well, semi-local, it's a few miles away and there are others that are closer but I digress) laundromat. We live in a tiny 1 bedroom apartment. We don't have washer/dryer hookups and that's really not a big deal--we have a dishwasher. In my first apartment I did not have a dishwasher. I had a sink full of dirty dishes. I hate doing dishes. I hate doing dishes a lot.

Anyhow.

We don't have a washer/dryer because there's nowhere to put it and because of that, we go to the coin laundry that offers "free dryers" (fuck yeah!). Now, free dryers is relative. The owner basically looks at what washer you used and puts a certain number of quarters (there is a chart) in the dryer for the type of washer you used. It usually doesn't get the clothes all the way dry, but it helps and it's more than other places do. The place is pretty nice too. There are tables and chairs, those little laundry carts, folding tables, drink machine, food machine, 2 video games, and a bathroom. It's always awfully hot in there because of the dryers but in the winter it's not too bad.

Back to the Daddybeast. He did laundry last weekend and then came home and told me, "The next time you go with your mom to Sam's club, please get another big thing of All. We ran out and I had to use the cleaning vinegar to get some of the clothes clean. I know Bunnyworm is allergic to the stuff they sell there so I didn't get any of that." (Bunnyworm is allergic to Cheer brand laundry detergent). So yeah. The clothes were "clean" for a given value of clean. I discovered on Sunday just how clean the clothes were. There were 2 new pairs of blue jeans my mom had bought for me and they still reeked of the chemicals they process those things in. And I got a rash from wearing them and sweating in them at work all day. I did not have any issues with any of the other clothes (and the vinegar dissolved the deodorant stains on Daddybeast's work shirts).

I have seen a lot of recipes for laundry soap and some of them (the liquid ones in particular) looked like huge pains in the ass. I settled on this recipe from DIY Natural for my first attempt because 3 ingredients? I can do that.

Today I took my mom to Publix and since I was there I went ahead and got me some Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda 55oz ($3.19), 20 Mule Team Borax 76oz ($3.19), and a bar of Fells Naptha soap 5.5oz ($1.19). I already had a bar of White Zote Soap 14.1oz that I have had for years and I have no idea how much I paid for it (I bought a bunch years ago to wash my clothes in the bathtub--a NIGHTMARE).

So. I got my large cloth diaper washing bowl (I still wash those by hand most of the time) and my fine grater and I sat down and got to grating. And grating. And then? More grating. I probably will not be able to move either arm in the morning. That's a lot of grating. I've read of a method where you can zap the soap in the microwave and it makes it puffy then you can drop that mess in the blender. I've read that putting the bar in the freezer for a while makes it easier to grate. I didn't try either. I just sat there and grated the fells naptha bar first. The smell is strong, but the soap is pretty waxy so it comes off in chunky curly peels (make sure you use a fine grater--otherwise you might wind up with left over soap on your clothes--I've read of people complaining about this. If you don't have a fine grater, you can put one of the other dry ingredients and the soap in a blender and chop it finer to prevent chunky soap residue). It didn't give me or my asthma any trouble. I measured out my cup of Borax and my cup of Washing Soda and mixed it. It looked sad and alone. It wasn't much in the bottom of the large bowl.

I wish I'd just sat down and congratulated myself. I might not have strained my arms as much as I have. But I didn't leave well enough alone.

Oh no.

I grated the bar of Zote Soap.

It is NOT smooth and waxy. It is dry and powdery and if you breathe it, you will sneeze a lot. If you have asthma it might just give you an asthma attack. After two hits on my rescue inhaler, a shower, and snorting hot water in the shower to clear my sinuses (it hurt, but it worked) I was able to breathe again. So. Yeah. Wear a dust mask if your soap is dry. If in doubt, just wear a dust mask.

Also, there is a lot more zote soap in a bar than there is soap in a fells naptha bar. Almost 3 times as much. And the soap is harder so you get less scraped off with each pass. It took forever. Daddybeast would not get near the stuff. He walked into the room I was working in and said "holy crap that stuff smells strong" and walked out.

Wafflecat and The Diva and stupid Bjorn all walked up to see what I was doing (and maybe try to climb into the bowl). Wafflecat stopped dead about 3 feet from the bowl, squinted up his eyes, his ears went back, and he slunk away. The Diva sniffed the side of the bowl, sneezed, and walked away, foofy tail out and up *foof*. Stupid Bjorn tried to jump into the bowl (he is so stupid).

 Anyhow, I made the stuff. Thursday Daddybeast will go up to the coin laundry and we will see how this stuff works. He will probably go ahead and put vinegar in with the wash simply because that gets the deodorant smell out of the clothes (not to mention the cat pee smell out of anything Wafflecat decides to pee on. Damn cat pees on everything.)

So. Here is what I used to make my laundry detergent.

1 bar Fells Naptha Laundry Soap
1 bar White Zote Soap
4 cups Borax
4 cups Washing Soda

Grate the soap. Add the Borax and the Washing Soda, stir vigorously. You might want to blend or process the soap and a bit of the washing soda if you have large clumps of soap. It will make it very uniform. I didn't so I will have to make sure I stir the stuff before I use it.

Store this stuff in an airtight container. I used a 5 gallon bucket from Lowe's. It filled the bucket maybe 1/3 the way full so a 2 gallon bucket might work just as well. Another container that might work out is one of those party sized ice cream containers. In fact, next time we have one, I'm going to save it and wash it so we can store some of the detergent in it and we won't have to drag that 5 gallon bucket around.

As for using the detergent, from what I've read this stuff is really concentrated. 1 tbsp should be sufficient for most loads, with 2 or 3 tbsp for heavily soiled or very large loads. If you are concerned about using a dry detergent you can mix your tbsp or so with a warm glass of water to start it dissolving. If you are able to, let the washer start filling with water before you add your detergent and then add the clothes.

Adding vinegar to your wash would be done when you would normally add fabric softener. There is a place for the stuff in the washers at the laundromat but I usually just add it to the clothes before the start of the cycle (the washers lock after they start).

Anyhow, Thursday Daddybeast will be going to the coin laundry and testing out the detergent. I will hopefully follow up with a part 2 to discuss how well things go.

It's No Longer Just Bunnyworms and Wafflecats

We have had some additions to our family.

Diva and Bjorn

It was never my intention to have more furbabies. These guys were a surprise.

See, my brother rescued a cat two years or so ago. She was undernourished and all messed up, and has a BB lodged in her face just under her right eye. He named her Kelly. He patched her up and got her healthy. She's a really sweet cat. She's got fur like none I've ever really experienced. It's thick and chunky but it's not long, but longer than short. Then there is her round face. Her tail isn't foofy but it's got that same thick fur.

Kelly. I've always been partial to calico cats.

My brother is a bit slow (mentally handicapped) and he doesn't understand some things, and some things he understands wrong, but he loves animals and always has. He has had a cat named Melissa (she is NOT a nice cat. Not a nice cat at all.) for several years.

So he took in this bedraggled abandoned hurt kitty and fed her, loved her, bonded with her.

But he did not fix her. Nooooo he did not.

Oops

The first time I met Kelly, I asked him if she had been spayed and he said he was not sure because she was an adult when he found her (or she found him, which I think is more likely). He said he'd had her for over a year and she had never had a litter so he thought she had been. He was wrong. The second time I saw her (he was living at my grandmother's house at this point) she had that classic "swallowed a basketball" look that pregnant cats have. I told him, "Luis, your cat is pregnant." He disagreed with me. He said she was just fat because she ate all the time.

Now, I grew up with kittens and cats and dogs and rabbits and iguanas and snakes and birds and fish--you name it. My gramma always had a menagerie of animals--usually belonging to one of her 7 kids or her 11 grandchildren. Except Precious, the iguana (named after Gollum), whom she had back in the 90s. Precious was her baby. She loved and doted on that thing. Anyhow, I know when an animal is pregnant. I've been there for the birth of kittens. I've seen (and heard!) cats mating. Like I said, my gramma had all these animals belonging to everyone else at her house--people who didn't spay or neuter their pets.

I told him, "Luis, I can feel heads when I touch her belly." He told me they were parasites (in a way he was right. Hahahaha! Cats.) He told me she's gotten big like this several times before and then lost all the weight suddenly. Now, my theories as to what happened there are that she either raised litters of kittens in someone else's house (she's an indoor/outdoor cat), raised the kittens in the wild, had a miscarriage (she was in pretty rough health for a while), had kittens that were sickly and abandoned them (sad!), or that she had the kittens and that bitch Melissa killed them. Like I said, Melissa is NOT A NICE CAT. I've had the hardest time keeping her from mauling Bunnyworm. Anyhow, I told him that when the kittens were born, I had a home for one of the orange ones if there were any orange ones.

A friend of mine had wanted a fluffy orange kitten for the longest time. A little bit less than a month later I received a phone call from my brother telling me that Kelly had given birth to a litter of 6 kittens--3 gray, 2 orange, 1 black and white. I went up to my grammas right before Easter to see her and honestly, the kittens.

KITTIES!!!!!

He wasn't sure when they had been born but that they were about a week old. (They look older than that to me). Bunnyworm was thrilled to death about the kittens and we had to keep her away from them so she wouldn't hurt them.

About a month and a half later, Luis called me and told me, "They are ready, can you please come get them?"

Now, I was only planning on getting the fluffy orange one and taking it to my friend, but somehow I wound up taking ALL of them.

We planned on going up there to get them on both me and Daddybeast's day off from work. A day before that Luis called me crying hysterically. One of the kittens had gotten outside and gotten lost in the tall grass in the rain and had died. That was the black and white one, while another one had also gotten out but he'd managed to find that one (one of the orange ones).

So, we were going to pick up 5 kittens and Kelly, who I had insisted on taking so I could get her spayed. They were NOT HAPPY in the car for the hour we drove home.

We bought a wire kennel to keep the kittens in initially (we were not sure how Wafflecat was going to handle invaders plus Kelly had to stop nursing so we could get her spayed) and to keep Kelly in either while she was in heat so she would not sneak out, or after her surgery to keep her contained. That was where the kittens spent their first few days in my apartment.

From the left-female, male, male, female, male.

My friend came and picked up the fluffy orange one that night. She was so excited. I went out and I bought collars for the other 4 in different colors-Purple, Red, Blue, Pink so we could refer to the kittens by the color of their collar instead of naming them or trying to describe them. They were slowly let out into the bathroom where the kennel was initially, and then for short periods of time. Eventually we let them outside to see the back porch. Waffles was very interested in the kittens. The orange kittens (including the long haired one that showed interest in him before my friend came to get him) were they only ones not scared of him and Kelly would not let him near her or the kittens (it was very ugly).

Eventually, Waffles bonded with one of the kittens (Blue collar) who looked *JUST LIKE HIM*.

I should add that Waffles had been neutered about a year prior to this picture.

The matching collars were not a coincidence.

 A few days went passed and my friend gave me a call. She was allergic to the fluffy orange kitten and it was not working out. She couldn't breathe when he was around so she was going to have to bring him back. She brought him back and he was overjoyed to be reunited with his mom and siblings.

He did not have a collar for a while, then I got a green camouflage one for him.

Mothers day was approaching and Daddybeast offered me a choice. I could either have a Ninja kitchen system or the fluffy orange kitten that had been brought back. I chose the orange kitten and we named him Bjorn (bear). I still think I made the better choice.

One of Daddybeast's coworkers was looking to replace a cat she had just lost. I convinced her to take 2. She took the Pink collard gray girl and named her Shay, and the blue collard short haired orange boy (I liked his collar better than the green one, so I switched collars to Bjorn) whom she named Tigger.

So we were down to 3 kittens.

It was at this point that I noticed that Kelly was gaining weight and bulking up. She had not been outside at all since I'd brought her home and spent a lot of time hiding in my bathroom. She was pregnant again and i was not about to abort those kittens so we took her back to Luis. I was happy to see her go. She's a really sweet cat, but she hated Wafflecat and even though he was almost twice as big as her, he was terrified of her. She was constantly attacking and ambushing him and even cut up his face. Luis cried and cuddled her when we took her back. I informed him that he would need to talk to my mom about fixing her because after 2 months of taking care of 4 extra cats (and having to get Bjorn sorted out) I was not going to be able to afford to get her spayed.

I do not know what happened to that litter because I went back by there about a week ago and she was very pregnant. She might have miscarried. Either way, a new litter will be coming soon and I've already informed him that no one I know wants a cat.

Anyhow, with the departure of their mother (they were at least 3 months old by this point) they all became really needy and attached themselves to Wafflecat. He was pretty decent about it too. He got rough periodically, but ultimately he just wanted to play. Red (the gray and white boy) started trying to nurse on him and Bjorn followed suit. The purple kitten never did, but did hang out with him a lot.

Wafflecat is a BOY CAT

 Wafflecat and Bjorn get along very well. They spend a lot of time together.

Cat heart!

Wafflecat initially did not like Diva. Diva is an instigator and a troublemaker. She used to initiate play and then cry when she started to lose, then Kelly would come in and beat his ass. They've started to bond now that she's recovered from her spay.

Ain't nothing like a heap o' cats

Now, we wound up keeping Diva because well, I like her and she loves me (as much as a cat can love a person). She's Daddybeast's favorite too. We got Diva and Bjorn spayed and neutered using Project Catsnips. They did a fantastic job. They were fixed, got all their shots (rabies, 4 in 1, feline leukemia), both have been microchipped, dewormed, and we got 3 months of revolution per cat for fleas (not that they've ever had any). It set us back about $360. Very cheap.

As much as I loved Red we could not keep him. 4 cats is too much for a 1 bedroom apartment. Way too much. I asked around and even tried to persuade my mom to take him. He's a beautiful cat.

He is spotted. He's also got brown on his ears, face and a bit on his tummy. My guess is that someone in the neighborhood owned an unaltered male Bengal cat. Diva and Bjorn show signs of it too.

We took him back to my brother last week. Luis decided he is going to keep him and name him "Speedy". I am not fond of the name, but that's his decision. RED was the least socialized kitten so I spent the most time taming him. He was practically feral when I brought him home and he mauled me several times. He would hiss at me whenever I got close to him. By the time he left, he was sleeping next to me every chance he got. He does not like being picked up and probably never will, but he likes being close and he likes being petted and loved. Very sweet cat.

So yes, we have 2 new furbabies. Bjorn loves EVERYONE and will jump on your chest and lick you until your face is raw. He's a purrbeast. He's also got allergies and I bathe him once a week to keep those in check. He does not like it at all.

They all have tags like this.

Diva is the kind of cat that will reach up and trip you as you step over her. She's also very affectionate and might just turn into my favorite. She's also the smartest (Bjorn is the dumbest cat I have ever seen). She's also stunningly beautiful.

and she knows it.

Still, even with all of this sweetness and posing and cuddlyness, cats are still pretty evil.

We bite.

Making Ramen More Nutritious

I have a guilty secret. I am not particularly proud of it, but I love ramen. I love it. I have always loved it since my mom used to make it for me when I was sick as a kid. She always griped about how much of a pain in the ass it was to make.

No. Not really. I mean, boil water, add noodles, wait 3 minutes, turn off, add spice packet, serve.

How hard is that?!

And that's how she made it. I remember being like 10 years old or so and being indignant when I finally learned how to do it on my own.

Anyhow, I love ramen. I love the way the noodles feel in my mouth and the texture of a perfect al dente noodle. Hell, I'll even eat it dry if I'm bored and hungry enough. It's like chips!

And I love the ever so salty packets. So salty. So good. So terrible for me.

Anyhow, I have never had to eat ramen because that was all I had. And I'm fortunate for that. I'm grateful, because I imagine if I'd had to survive on ramen I'd probably hate it.

Unless it was done right.

My daughter, the Bunnyworm, loves ramen too. She says "want noodles? WANT NOODLES." She gets very insistent.

So yeah. Here's how I like to make ramen noodles.

First things first. You can put any number of frozen things in ramen, but you're going to want to let them sit out on the counter for a bit first. That's why the first step for cooking ramen is to get anything frozen out of the freezer and let it thaw while you get everything else together.

Frozen sweet peas

For frozen things, you can use just about anything. Peas are my favorite, but you could also do frozen corn, or carrots. Even frozen spinach. The nice thing about frozen vegetables is that they keep for a long time and they are CHEAP.

Here we have thinly sliced onion, chopped kale, shredded dried shitake mushroom and "green onion" which was really just part of the onion that started growing since I didn't have any green onion.

 Next you are going to want to chop up your ingredients. I used a mandolin slicer to obtain the super thin onion slices. For the dried mushrooms you *could* use a knife and risk cutting off a finger, but I prefer using kitchen shears. They work fabulously. I used a regular knife to cut up the kale, but in hindsight, the shears probably would have been easier. Same with the "green onions"

Hard boiled eggs, peeled

 We always have hard boiled eggs on standby for quick down n' dirty last minute meals. To avoid confusion with uncooked eggs, I always put a dry piece of yellow onion peel in the boiling water with the eggs. It stains the shells yellow or brown and makes it easy to know which ones are cooked and which ones will make a mess if you try to peel them.

Boil your water. I usually salt the water for pasta, but ramen doesn't really need it.

 You will need to use a large pot that will hold all of your ingredients to cook this. A small one is fine for just the noodles, but if you want a real meal, larger is better. More water does take a while to boil, so you can take advantage of the time to assemble the rest of your ingredients.

Maruchan Ramen. Probably every kid in the US has eaten this at least once.

 I prefer beef broth flavor. I absolutely loathe the chicken flavor. I'm not sure why, but it always makes me think of urine so I get the beef flavor, regardless of whether I'll be using the flavor packet or not.

Fish Sauce

 Fish sauce adds a nice subtle flavor to the ramen. You don't want to use too much though. It's pretty cheap where I live, but you might have trouble finding it in less ethnically diverse areas. You might even want to order it on amazon if you absolutely must have it. If you don't want to use it, it won't hurt anything.

Crushed red pepper is GOD in my home

 If you like spicy foods, crushed red pepper is a cheap way to add some heat to your ramen.

Ok, so you are going to add your frozen stuff, half or all of the onions (reserving some until the end gets a stronger onion flavor), the dried mushrooms, and the kale. You can also add in soy sauce at this point if you want. A nice real fermented (it will smell alcoholic) soy sauce does well and imparts a good flavor to the ramen. Shiro (white) Miso also works well in ramen. I wouldn't use both the soy sauce and the miso paste together--they're both made from soybeans and they're both salty.

I used this much fish sauce. You really don't want to do a lot. That's probably a little more than a tablespoon.

 Next, add in your ramen bricks. I put two in this batch.

 Add in the rest of your onion at this stage if you reserved any to impart a stronger onion-y flavor.

 Next add in your flavor packet if you are going to use it. I've found that bullion cubes mashed and mixed with white pepper, garlic powder, and ginger powder are at least slightly less questionable as far as weird ingredients go. If you are vegetarian than you can leave the packet and the bullion out--use miso paste and the white pepper, garlic powder, and ginger powder instead. The miso will add protein. 

The noodles should be just about done when you add in your flavor packet.

It's time to serve this sucker. I did an egg ramen this time. Eggs are also pretty cheap. You will want to add your garnishes now. For Bunnyworm I did just the green onions. For me, I did green onions and crushed red pepper.

This is Bunnyworm's bowl

My bowl.

Close up of my bowl.

Now then. There are several things you can add to ramen to make it delicious.

Meats-note, never boil the meats. It kills their flavor
Sliced cooked ham: Around easter and christmas and thanksgiving you can find hams pretty cheap. Usually about a dollar a pound. If you buy a ham, go ahead and cut it into meal size portions (a good reference is a slice the size of a single deck of cards per person). I wrap my portions in wax paper to separate them and prevent them from getting freezer burn. Then I toss all the portions in a freezer bag and freeze them. You just defrost them as you need them. I've found that they do get a little bit watery after being frozen, so I like to  slice and brown them in a pan before I add them to my ramen.
Chicken breast: Really, any left over chicken will work. If you buy a rotisserie chicken from the supermarket and have left overs, feel free to slice up some chicken in the ramen. It's pretty tasty!
Beef: We don't eat a lot of beef here because it's expensive and inflames my endometriosis, but it is a nice addition to ramen. If you have left over steak (hahahahahaha. as if such a thing could be possible) then you can slice it and then put it in the ramen. If you want to cook raw steak for the ramen, try cooking it with a bit of oil in the bottom of the pot you are going to use to make the ramen. The burned brown bits on the bottom of the pot will dissolve into the water and add a bit of nice flavor. Just take the meat out and set it aside while the ramen is cooking.
Fish: I haven't actually tried this. I've been told that a can of tuna mixed into ramen is pretty good, but it sounds unpleasant to me. I nice slice of pan fried catfish might go down a treat with the ramen. Or some nice salmon slices. Who knows?
Hotdogs: Oh poverty. I was once told that taco bell hotsauce packets and hotdogs mixed into ramen noodles tastes exactly like poverty. Apparently poverty is salty and a little bit spicy.
Sausage: Pan fry slices of sausage in the bottom of the pot you will be using to make the ramen. Like the beef, it will impart a bit of flavor.
Lunch meat: Just cut it into slices and serve with the ramen. I won't judge you.
Bonito flakes: These fried dried tuna flakes will impart a mild seafood taste. This is the only exception to the "do not boil rule". Boil these from the start to impart flavor. It will add flavor but it won't add any texture.

Vegetables-note that veggies might take longer to cook than the noodles, so take their cooking time into consideration.
Frozen Corn: cheap and adds a bit of a crunch to your ramen. Add before the noodles
Frozen Peas: cheap. Adds a vegetable to your ramen. Add before the noodles
Frozen Carrots: cheap, adds a source of beta carotene. Add before the noodles
Frozen Spinach:  cheap. WILL turn the water green, so you have been warned. Add before the noodles
Kale: super nutritious and delicious!
Wakame: Wakame is dried seaweed. It's very nutritious and almost flavorless.(there is a picture below)
Broccoli: If you chop it small and boil it first it's pretty good.
Garlic: The holiest of spices. I like to cut mine into "sails"--nice big broad flat slices. Add some at the beginning and some when you add the noodles to produce a strong flavor.
Bean Sprouts: Make a great garnish and add protein.
Green Onions: Another good garnish that adds a touch of flavor. Yummy flavor.
Peppers: Choose your favorite. From spicy thai peppers to sweet bell peppers. Add the flavor that suits you.
Fresh carrots: Fresh carrots can be nice. I like to cut mine into thin strips so they cook faster.

Sauces:
Fish Sauce: Add just a little of this
Soy Sauce: the "authentic" type is better and might be referred to as shoyu
Miso paste: I like shiro miso the best, but the red miso (Aka miso) has a stronger flavor
Sriracha: adds heat.
Chile and Garlic Sauce: adds a lot of heat. use sparingly. Great for head colds!

Spices: just about anything you want to add will work well if you leave out the flavor packet
Garlic Powder: I probably eat way too much of this.
Ginger Powder: useful for imparting an "asian" taste
Curry Powder: make curry ramen.
White pepper: very different from black pepper. Imparts a very nice asiany flavor. It's also one of the main ingredients in the ramen flavor packet
Chives: adds a nice flavor and is a nice garnish too
Onion Powder: or onion flakes
Crushed Red pepper: cheap way to add heat

Exotic additions: Chile and garlic paste, sriracha sauce, bonito flakes, wakame, and shiro miso. All of these have an excellent shelf life. The miso requires refrigeration, and the sriracha and chile garlic paste require refrigeration after opening.

Remember, have fun with your ramen! It's easy to customize and add things. Try different stuff. If one thing doesn't work, try something else.

Happy Ham-egg ramen for Daddybeast

Having a Toddler is NOT for the Short of Patience or the Faint of Heart

Bunnyworm is 2. She turned 2 on February 15th. She ate lots of cake, spent the night at her Granpa's, got to wear a motorcycle helmet, etc etc.

This is not about that. That was just to give you an idea of her age. And tell you she is loved.

So loved.

Daddybeast got up early for work, went to work, was told he wasn't supposed to be at work until this evening. He came home. I was still asleep.

He started  messing about in the kitchen and I woke up, got up, and started my day. Bunnyworm was being endearing and calling "RUUUUUUSSSSSSSSTYYY!" over and over again because she is 2 and her Gramma (my mom) has an orange cat (a very fat orange cat) named Rusty.

Rusty Bucket.

Bunnyworm's cat is the Wafflecat, so I corrected her, telling her "Rusty is Gramma's kitty, your kitty is named Waffles." That set off the "WAAAAAAAAFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFLLLLLLLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!" over and over and over.

Wafflecat

Then everything got quiet.

Too quiet.

Daddybeast had been making coffee in the kitchen when I woke up, and if you have raised a toddler you already know where this is going.

THE HORROR

This morning, instead of eating breakfast and leisurely drinking my sweet tea (coffee and I haven't gotten along since I was pregnant with Bunnyworm), I got to clean coffee grounds out of my daughters ears, nose, eyes, and hair. Daddybeast was beyond angry. He was so angry he just stood there and laughed. He told me to get my camera. So I did.

That sheet was new. It was clean. Bunnyworm's sippy cup leaked in the night and her old sheet was soaking wet with water so we put a clean dry one on. I took it outside and shook as much of the coffee out as I could. I just know it's going to stain.

Still, the only thought that went through my head when I saw this was "Thank god it's not poop."

Something New for Dinner

Two weeks ago I had two coupons for the Campbells Gourmet Bisques soups. They were also BOGO at Publix. So I bought 2. I bought the Butternut Squash ones because butternut squash soup is amazing, but kind of a pain in the ass to cook. I mean seriously. Making it gets a pot dirty, a pan dirty, requires the oven or a steamer cage. Gets the blender dirty. Handling scalding hot chunks of squash. With my toddler screaming "WANT IT! WANT IT! PEEEEEESE! AHH! AAAHHHHH! MOMMMMIIIIIEEE?!"

Delicious Laziness Enabler

Yeah no. Anyhow, the bisques are delicious on their own. It says 2 servings on the box (I think) but on it's own it's pretty much enough for one person. I used the first box/carton thing as a side dish. It was very well received. I always mix in heavy cream. I never measure, I just look at it and pour it in until I think there's enough. That's pretty much how I do things in general. Add until it looks right.

Anyhow. Thursday is baked chicken night. I defrosted chicken thighs dutifully this mornign but I really didn't feel like cooking anything fancy. I didn't want to have to cook vegetables on the side either. I baked bread earlier. Additional effort was not forthcoming. Bunnyworm also has diarrhea as a result of eating too many tomatoes. I've been cleaning that up all day.

So I looked in my pantry, muttering to myself to see what I could do to this chicken to make it delicious and nutritious without having to expend a lot of effort. I saw the box and I decided it looked good.

First I got on Supercook to see if what I was doing had been done before, but I quickly lost patience with scrolling through looking at things that were going to take WAAAAAAAAAAAAY more effort than I wanted to put into this.

Then I got on google. What herbs go with butternut squash? I got any number of combinations, but I decided to go with Sage & Onion. Goes well with chicken, goes well with butternut squash. Not complicated.

Then I looked in the fridge. There are always veggies in my fridge. I decided to grab some sliced mushrooms. The white ones you find in supermarkets, but portabella mushrooms would have worked just as well.

I got my fancy square glass baking dish (bought on clearance at publix) and plopped the defrosted chicken thighs out of their ziplock back into it. Then, because I didn't want raw chicken on my hands (ewww!) I used a clean fork to arrange them. Got my rubbed sage and sprinkled it on the chicken. Then I broke out my dried minced onion and shook it good and hard over the chicken.

Then I grabbed a bowl, the bisque, and my carton of heavy cream. I made scallop mushroom alfredo a few days ago. I had some left over and I'd hate to let it go to waste. I put the bisque in the bowl and poured in the cream. I have no idea how much I put in there. Let's just say 3/4 a cup. Give or take a few ounces. I used the raw chicken fork to mix it up. The bisque is really thick when it comes out of the carton. The cream dilutes it nicely.

I layered the mushrooms over the chicken. and poured the bisque/cream mixture over.

Then, because it felt right, I sprinkled walgreen's "NICE" brand italian blend cheese over the top thinly. I put this in the oven at 450 degrees. This is probably too hot, but it's the temp I'd baked the bread at and I didn't remember to turn it down (whoops).

I baked it for a really long time. Probably an hour, but 45 minutes would have been sufficient.

When I pulled it out of the oven, I sprinkled another thin layer of cheese over the top.

Daddybeast loved it. Bunnyworm loved it. I loved it. Wafflecat got yelled at for trying to lick my bowl.

Here is a recipe in a more comprehensible list:

Cream of Butternut Chicken
Makes 4 Servings

4 chicken thighs (bone-in, skin on/off per preference)
1 tbsp Rubbed Sage
1/2 tsp Dried Minced Onion
1 carton Campbells Gourmet Butternut Bisque
3/4 cup Heavy Cream
4 oz White/Portabella Mushrooms sliced (supermarkets tend to sell them in 8oz packages)
1/4 cup mozzarella or "italian blend" shredded cheese divided into 2 equal measures

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

1.) Place chicken thighs in oven safe pan and sprinkle sage and onion over.
2.) Combine bisque and cream in bowl
3.) Layer mushrooms over chicken
4.) Pour bisque/cream mixture over chicken and mushrooms
5.) Scatter half of the cheese over the top of the bisque/chicken/mushroom mess
6.) Bake for 45 minutes (or longer--the chicken only gets tenderer, just make sure the top doesn't burn)
7.) Remove from oven and scatter remaining cheese over the top.

I wish I took pictures, but Daddybeast was into this as soon as this came out of the oven...

Grocery List for 2/13/12

One thing I am going to try to start doing is posting my receipts from when I go grocery shopping. This one is for today, I went to the Lilburn International Farmers Market which is owned by Nam Dae Mun. I have a Nam Dae Mun market closer to my home (built in an old Publix) but I don't like it as much. It doesn't have the variety I like and honestly, it feels smaller and is an old Publix. The whole time I am there, I am going "This is Publix." The setup confuses me and I am used to my store in Lilburn (LOLburn XD). I went to Publix yesterday and if I can find the receipt I will go ahead and add it to this, but if I don't well...

meh.

Anyhow. Here is what I got with maybe explanations for each one:

3 Ladies Jasmine Rice 50lb bag. $42.99. That comes to 86 cents per pound. Not bad for Jasmine Rice *if* you have somewhere to put it. I have a tote I pour most of it in, and a large glass jar on the counter that I keep full and has it's own 1 cup scoop for measuring quick and easy. I have bought 3 Ladies brand before and I really like the quality. The rice is all uniform and is clean with no debris in the bag (I cannot remember the brand I bought once that had moldy rice husks in it.). I prefer Jasmine Rice to regular rice because it cooks well and has a delicious aroma and taste. Basmati rice is good too, but it is a *thirsty* rice and takes a lot more water. Brown rice takes longer to cook (but is healthier for you) and I tend to use it in soups and 1 dish meals.

50lbs is probably the most economical way to buy rice, but only if you have somewhere to store it and can physically lift it. It is at the edge of my ability to lift. I scraped my arm trying to lift it out of the cart (I put it on the edge, but the cashier put it in the cart). Next time I may just buy a 25lb bag...

Plastic Sushi Mold 2 pc $1.99. Not an essential item, but I have been looking for one to make onigiri. I also want to make bentos for Daddybeast and eventually Bunnyworm, and I have looked online at amazon. This was much cheaper.

Bamboo Sushi Roll Matt .49. Another non essential item, but Bunnyworm kinda broke our old one.

Plastic Jar for Storing Spices/Grains $1.49. We have  a lot of miscellaneous grains in our home and we are always upcycling jars to put them in. This one will probably wind up holding split peas or black beans or something. Actually, it would work great to hold my millet.

Plastic Ladle Spoons $.49 each x 2. I like these little ladles for when we eat soup. My soups always have a lot of chunky stuff in it and I strongly believe in throwing a little bit of everything in. Soup isn't a watered down thing in our home. It's rich and thick and has lots of bits and has to be eaten with a large spoon. For whatever reason, the spoons keep disappearing, so I replenished 2 of them.

Double Basket Set $2.99. This one can be a bit confusing. It's a large plastic bowl with a large plastic colander that fits inside. Useless for draining noodles or hot things, but excellent for rinsing salad greens etc. The holes are too wide for rice or quinoa. I have several of these but Bunnyworm keeps breaking the colander part (she likes to take them into the bathtub). One of them is still in the tub with her toys in it. She can keep it there. I bought a new one.

Carrot Bag 5lbs $2.49. We eat a lot of carrots. Carrot sticks, carrot hearts (I use a cookie cutter), carrot slivers, diced carrots, you name it.

Family Pork Chop $14.48. The receipt doesn't say how many pounds and we already divided up the chops and put them in the freezer. It had 12 chops in it though, and I feel like it was a good deal.

Goya Chick Peas Can 29oz $2.19 each x 2. I love chickpeas. We use them often in our "Meatless Monday" meal. Of course, Bunnyworm's birthday is on Friday and I am thinking about making some Hummus to take to her party =) These are the large cans, and I like Goya brand a lot.

Goya Black Beans Can 29oz $2.19. Another vegetarian day favorite. Black beans and rice. Blackbean salsa (I will put a link in later). You name it. Good price, good brand.

Asian Taste Coconut Milk 13.5 oz Can $1.39 each x 4. The brand name is pretty silly, but the quality is good and I have bought them several times before. I just wish it had the easy open tab.

Green Zucchini $1.49 /lb x 3.81 lbs. ($5.68) We eat a ton of zucchini. In stir frys, curry, soup, logs, sauteed in butter, etc.

Red Onions 3lb bag $3.99 Great for guacamole, and salads. Red onions are supposed to be more nutritious than yellow or white onions. I think.

Iberia Extra Virgin Olive Oil 51oz $8.99 I love this brand. I've been buying Pompeian Olive Oil for years. I've bought Crisco brand before because it was on special and I had coupons. Neither of them has the flavor or aroma of Iberia Olive Oil. It smells better and tastes better than any I've ever bought before. The others *may* have some olive oil in them. There is apparently a lot of sheisty business practice going on with olive oil. There is this article on olive oil scam and another one from Daily Mail. Oh, and there is this one which outright lists Pompeian Olive oil and many other brands I've bought in the past and states they are being sued. *As they should be*. I have bought Bertolli and Filippo Beri. I even encouraged a friend of mine to buy some Carapelli at BJs because it was a large bottle and I had a $2 off coupon. All of them are rip offs. I don't know if Iberia's is any better, but it certainly tastes better. I will know in a few hours.I just put my small half empty bottle in the refrigerator.

update: I put the olive oil in the fridge for an hour and it has started to solidify. This is the easiest way to determine whether or not you have genuine extra virgin olive oil. I will only buy Iberia from now on in any large quantity.

Yakinori Brand Nori Sheets 21 grams $1.99. This is Nori, or that dried seaweed stuff that holds the guts of sushi together.

Chicken (Boneless) Thighs $4.16. I did not mean to buy boneless, skinless thighs, but the other packages were frozen and I needed something I could separate. It doesn't list the poundage but I got 6 thighs out of this package.

Whole Chicken 1.09 / lb x 3.25 lbs ($3.54) I love roasting whole chickens. These chickens are usually gibletless which is kinda sad, but hey. I roast the chicken at 450 degrees Fahrenheit for the first 30 minutes and then at 350 degrees for the rest of the time. I do 20 minutes per lb of chicken. I generally season it heavily and stuff half a lemon, half a head of garlic, and half an onion up it's bottom. I'll post the recipe for whatever I cook it with later tonight. I do not like freezing whole chickens because they take forever to defrost and I'm scared of them spoiling.

Lamb Frozen Shoulder Chops $2.99 / lb, $6.73. I love lamb. It *is* expensive, and it is always frozen here. I've been told there is a Halal Meat purveyor where I can buy kosher fresh lamb for a reasonable price. I just have never been in to check.

Boneless Chicken Breasts $6.59. Again, I didn't note the cost per lb or the weight before I threw away the packaging. I got 4 juicy thick breasts. That is 4 meals =)

Lemons 5 for a $1. I bought 5. I love using fresh lemons instead of the bottled stuff. I tend to roll the lemons along the counter, pressing down and it makes it easier to juice them once they are cut =)

Jumbo Sweet Potatoes $.39 / lb. x 3.16 lbs ($1.23) We love sweet potatoes here, with the exception of Bunnyworm. She likes them fried, but she doesn't like them otherwise. Shame. They are really healthy.

Granny Smith Apples (the nice ones) 1.12 lbs at $1.19/ lb ($1.33) I don't usually buy apples individually. These are for Bunnyworm's Party on Friday.

Orange Bell Peppers .78 lbs at $.99 / lb ($.77) These were on special. Great price for orange bell peppers. Going to be part of Bunnyworm's Veggie Rainbow at her party =)

Bi Color Corn 2 for $1 x 4 ($2) It says bi colored, but it looked like regular old corn to me. One ear is going in the Black Bean Salsa (recipe later) and the rest will get cooked...later.

Cucumbers 5 for $1.99 x 3 ($1.20) One of these will go on the Veggie Rainbow =)

Purple Bell Pepper .71 lbs at 2.49 / lb ($1.77) Good Lord they are expensive, but are going to be part of the Veggie Rainbow

Gala Apples (the nice ones) 1.51 lbs at $1.49 / lb ($2.25) These are for Bunnyworm's party. I buy bags of apples for regular use, but these will be cut up and tossed in lemon to keep them from oxidizing.

Fresh Ginger 1.39 lbs at $.89 / lb ($1.24) We use a lot of ginger here. It is very good for you. I have ginger powder, but I like to use fresh for curry. I blend it up with garlic and curry powder and make a very delicious paste.

Yellow Onions 3lb Bag $2.39 Regular onions for regular cooking

Red Bell Peppers 1.07 lbs at $1.99 / lb ($2.07) For the Veggie Rainbow.

Yellow Bell Peppers .95 lb at $1.19 / lb ($1.13) For the Veggie Rainbow. I should note that any left over peppers will go into stir frys and curry and everything else.

Green Bell Pepper 1.85 lb at $.99 / lb ($1.83) We use these in everything. Stir frys, curry, chicken soup, salads, you name it.

Broccoli 1.9 lb at $.99 / lb ($1.88) Yum!

Fennel 1.49 each Yummy but expensive. We toss it in olive oil and lemons and stir it in with baby potatoes and roast it.

Jalapeno Peppers (Green) .68 lbs at $.69 / lb ($.47) One of these is going in the black bean salsa, the others ... well, we'll see =)

Gala Apple Bag 3 lbs $3.49 each x 2 These are the general all purpose apples that go in pies, lunches, etc.

8 oz mushrooms $1.49 We use mushrooms in lots of stuff too =)

Celery $1.89 each We eat a ton of this, but most of this is going in the Veggie Rainbow

Honey Dew Melon $5.99

Roma Tomatoes 2.66 lb at $.59 / lb ($1.57) I like roma tomatoes. They seem to last longer than other tomatoes and don't seem to mold as easily.

Mandarin Oranges 3 lb bag $2.99 for lunches and snacks

Blood Oranges 4 for $1 x 8 ($2.00) For Bunnyworm's party. Interesting looking oranges

California Oranges Bag 8 lbs for $5.99 Some for the party, some for lunches/snacks

Hass Avocados 2 for $1 x 6 ($3.00) We eat tons of avocados. Bunnyworm loves them. They go great in my black bean salsa too =)

Bananas 5.55 lbs at $.49 / lb ($2.72) We eat loads of bananas too

Grade A large brown eggs 2.5 dozen $3.99 This was a good dollar cheaper than the white eggs.

Mangoes 7 for $6.99


My total for the whole mess was $193.96 which is the most I've ever spent here. Food enough for at least 3 weeks. The colored bell peppers are something I usually buy, but for her party it's worth it.