Home products you can make

I am saddened to note that an entire quarter year has passed since I have posted to the blog. One reason this has come to pass is that I have misplaced our cute pink camera. It was last seen in mid-December, and we hope it comes to light soon, but until then there will be no new pictures of food. :(

However there are still things I'd like to share. First, I continue to record and review all the books I'm reading using goodreads.com--you can see small book covers on the right side of this blog and you should be able to click on any of them to see my review. I add several books a week, so there should often be something new to read.

I've also been spending a lot of time reading blogs--mostly food blogs, but some library and book blogs as well. My current favorite is smitten kitchen. Today she is featuring granola bars that look amazing!

And for today's main event, I'd like to share the following tips. These are taken from Homemade (click to see the book in the Ames Public Library catalog), a book produced by Readers Digest that provides recipes for foods, cleaning solutions, and gardening products that you can make yourself. In general I thought this book was informative and clear; most of the recipes were made of cheap, easily available ingredients. I typed out the ones I want to use sometime (and bolded several that I mean to try in the next couple months). Please forgive the shorthand I used, and let me know if you don't understand my abbreviations. Do share if you try any of them; I'm curious to know what works.

Homemade by Readers Digest—Recipes for food, green cleaning, and garden products

In the Kitchen

• Strawberry Frozen Yogurt: Combine 16 oz plain yogurt, 2 c pureed strawberries, 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk, 1 c milk, 1T vanilla. Pour into ice-cream maker, no more than 2/3 full, freeze in batches. Firm in freezer before serving; thaw 30 min before serving.
• Orange Cream Pops: Combine 3 oz orange jello pack in 1 c boiling H20, dissolve. Stand till room temp. Add 8 oz yogurt, ½ c milk, ½ t vanilla. Stir to blend. Freeze in molds or 3 oz cups for 2 hours; insert sticks or plastic spoons. Freeze 4-8 more hours. Makes 10.

Around the House

• Bubble Bath: 2 oz dishwashing liquid, 6 cups water, 1 oz glycerin. Swish in bucket and pour into tub.
• Citrus disinfectant: In a quart jar, combine peel from one piece of citrus fruit and 3 c white vinegar. Close and store for two weeks, shaking occasionally. Strain. Store in the jar. Pour 1 c vinegar in 32 oz bottle and fill with water for spray cleaner. Add 1 c vinegar to 2 gallons water for floor cleaner.
• Multi-purpose cleaner: 3 ½ c hot water into 32 oz bottle. Add 1/2c white or cider vinegar, 1 t borax, 1 t washing soda, 1 t liquid castile soap and shake. Spray (counters, kitchen app., tile, painted things) and wipe.
• Oven cleaner: ¾ c clear ammonia in a small bowl overnight in closed oven. Wipe down using damp sponges w/ baking soda. Or use my method and wipe up with dish deterg. on sponge.
• Scouring powder: equal amounts baking soda, borax, salt. Sprinkle, scour, rinse, dry.
• Soft scrub: Combine ¼ c borax and ½ t oil soap. add ½ t lemon juice, stir. Apply to sponge, clean surface, rinse, dry surface.
• Nontoxic toilet bowl cleaner: Flush toilet. Sprinkle 1 c borax on bowl; drizzle 1/2c white vinegar on top. Let sit for 3 hours; scrub with brush. or leave overnight; no scrubbing needed.
• Stronger toilet cleaner: combine 2/3 c borax with 1/3 c lemon juice to make paste. apply to toilet bowl with rag. let sit 2h then scrub off.
• Drain opener: Pack drain with ½ c baking soda, pour in 1 c vinegar. Cover for 10 minutes; flush with boiling water.
• Upholstery shampoo (for car interiors): 6 T grated soap flakes and 2 T borax mixed in large bowl; slowly add 2 c boiling water, stirring well. Cool. Whip to foam. Brush dry suds onto furniture; wipe off with damp sponge.
• Goo-be-gone: dip cloth into white vinegar and rub on goo. rinse and dry.

In the Garden

• Weed killer: 5% bleach, 95% boiling water in spray bottle. Douse weeds. Check the next day—increase concentration if necessary. Place bottomless plastic bottle over weed to isolate from nearby plants.
• Anti-Rabbit: sprinkle blood meal over soil around edges and in garden beds. reapply after heavy rains. (Fencing needs to be as small as chicken wire and at least a foot deep.)
• Anti-Deer: Tie white grocery bags or rags to fence posts at deer-nose height to flutter in wind and simulate deer tails.
• Insecticide: Puree 10 garlic cloves with 1 T vegetable oil. Strain into quart jar. Add 3 c hot water and 1 t dishwashing soap. Close and shake to mix. Put into spray bottle. Spray plants infested with aphids, whiteflies, etc., making sure to get both sides of leaves. Apply every 3 days for a week. Repeat after rains or as needed.
• Insecticide for aphids and mealybugs: Combine 1 c rubbing alcohol and 1 c water in spray bottle and shake. Test on a leaf—if it browns, do not use. Otherwise spray whole plant—undersides of leaves, flower buds, but not open flowers. Repeat every other day for 3 days.
• Aspirin insecticide: Stir 3 regular aspirin into 5 gallons water in can. Treat plants twice monthly.
• Bug blaster soap spray: good inside and out for caterpillars and other soft-bodied insects. Add 1 T dishwashing soap to 1 gallon water, stir. Test spray on plant. Next day, coat entire plant. Repeat twice a week until no longer visible, then as needed.
• Ammonia plant conditioning spray: 1 part household clear ammonia, 1 part liquid dishwashing soap, 7 parts water combined in large container. Spray on garden plants and lawn for fertilizer and insecticide.