I had a look around after reading Mary Jane's post on cleaning products and thought that I would post some links to some of the products I use. The first is 'Eco Balls", a way of washing your clothes without using any detergent. How could that be, you may ask! I asked the same question four years ago but decided to try them and we have been using them ever since!
http://www.lakeland.co.uk/ecoballs!REG/F/keyword/laundry/product/21756
Next, I discovered microfibre cloths from the same supplier during this summer just gone by. I thought that if the ecoballs work why not try the cloths. Again, you don't need to use detergent with them. And yes, we are still using them 6 months later:
http://www.lakeland.co.uk/F/keyword/microfibre%20cloths
Thursday, 28 January 2010
Saturday, 23 January 2010
About Today's Lunch from Leftovers
To make today's lunch, used leftover turkey chili from the freezer, baking potato from the dark cupboard, spinach from the crisper drawer and low fat sour leftover from New Year's Eve.
Defrosted the leftover chili and kept in warm on stove.
Baked the potato in microwave. Cut it in half and scooped out the white. Mixed it with the sour cream, celery salt, garlic powder and black pepper. Mounded potato back into both skins, making a little trough-like indentation down the centre.
Returned the two potato halves to microwave to warm up.
Mixed some baby spinach leaves with a very light dressing of olive oil, red wine vinegar and seasonings.
Put a thin bed of spinach on each of two plates. Set half a potato on the spinach. Spooned warm chili along the trough and then on top of the trough. Sprinkled on some grated Parmesan, chopped fresh cilantro and chopped green onion. Then gave each plate a good grating of black pepper.
We liked it..seemed to suit a wintery Saturday.
Defrosted the leftover chili and kept in warm on stove.
Baked the potato in microwave. Cut it in half and scooped out the white. Mixed it with the sour cream, celery salt, garlic powder and black pepper. Mounded potato back into both skins, making a little trough-like indentation down the centre.
Returned the two potato halves to microwave to warm up.
Mixed some baby spinach leaves with a very light dressing of olive oil, red wine vinegar and seasonings.
Put a thin bed of spinach on each of two plates. Set half a potato on the spinach. Spooned warm chili along the trough and then on top of the trough. Sprinkled on some grated Parmesan, chopped fresh cilantro and chopped green onion. Then gave each plate a good grating of black pepper.
We liked it..seemed to suit a wintery Saturday.
Wednesday, 20 January 2010
About Leftover Basic Black Beans
There's a recipe for Basic Black Beans in a post dated a few days ago. In today's post are some notes about two ways to use leftovers from that recipe. Fr both recipes, you start by pureeing the beans in a blender or food processor.
Then...
Black Bean Soup
Add the purred beans to a few cups of good chicken, beef or veg eatable stock. Season to taste with cilantro, ground cumin and salt. If you've sour cream, a dollop onto the soup in the bowl is a good garnish.
Black Bean Dip
Add 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil per cup of pureed beans. As with soup, season to taste with cilantro, ground cumin and salt. Serve with oven baked corn or flour tortillas chips. A lager is a nice accompanying beverage.
Then...
Black Bean Soup
Add the purred beans to a few cups of good chicken, beef or veg eatable stock. Season to taste with cilantro, ground cumin and salt. If you've sour cream, a dollop onto the soup in the bowl is a good garnish.
Black Bean Dip
Add 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil per cup of pureed beans. As with soup, season to taste with cilantro, ground cumin and salt. Serve with oven baked corn or flour tortillas chips. A lager is a nice accompanying beverage.
Sunday, 17 January 2010
About Pico de Gallo
We like the Black Beans (recipe in previous post) with flour or corn tortillas, Pico de Gallo (recipe below) and some very finely chopped jalapeno pepper on the side.
Pico de Gallo
2 or 3 ripe but frim tomatoes, roughtly chopped
!/2 whote onion, roughly chopped
3/4 cup or so of roughly chopped fresh cilantro leaves
juice os 1/2 a lime
salt to taste.
Mix above together and enjoy with the beans. We like our Pico de Gallo to be made within a few hours of eating it, enjoy the freshness.
Pico de Gallo
2 or 3 ripe but frim tomatoes, roughtly chopped
!/2 whote onion, roughly chopped
3/4 cup or so of roughly chopped fresh cilantro leaves
juice os 1/2 a lime
salt to taste.
Mix above together and enjoy with the beans. We like our Pico de Gallo to be made within a few hours of eating it, enjoy the freshness.
Friday, 15 January 2010
About Basic Black Beans
Basic Black Beans
Rinse a bag of dried Black Beans, also called Turtle Beans, I think they're ususlly about one pound bags.
Toss the rinsed beans into the crock pot along with a chopped whole onion and 2 or 3 cloves of copped garlic. Cover with water. Cook on high for 1 to 2 hours.
Check water, keep it just barely above the top of the beans, not too much as you dont' want to end up with too much "sauce".
Add about 1/4 cup of ground cumin and 1 T cocoa. Continue cooking for 1 hour or so more. It depends on how fresh your beans are.
When beans are soft, add about 2 T cup of chili powder, 2 t cumin seed, 1 t hot pepper flakes and salt to taste. About 2 tsp salt might taste right, it depends in part on how much salt is in your chili powder.
You may want to add more cumin at this point, depending in part on the quality of your ground cumin.
Continue cooking on low for at least 1/2 hour more.
We use these beans as base of burritos and dips. They freeze very well.
Rinse a bag of dried Black Beans, also called Turtle Beans, I think they're ususlly about one pound bags.
Toss the rinsed beans into the crock pot along with a chopped whole onion and 2 or 3 cloves of copped garlic. Cover with water. Cook on high for 1 to 2 hours.
Check water, keep it just barely above the top of the beans, not too much as you dont' want to end up with too much "sauce".
Add about 1/4 cup of ground cumin and 1 T cocoa. Continue cooking for 1 hour or so more. It depends on how fresh your beans are.
When beans are soft, add about 2 T cup of chili powder, 2 t cumin seed, 1 t hot pepper flakes and salt to taste. About 2 tsp salt might taste right, it depends in part on how much salt is in your chili powder.
You may want to add more cumin at this point, depending in part on the quality of your ground cumin.
Continue cooking on low for at least 1/2 hour more.
We use these beans as base of burritos and dips. They freeze very well.
Thursday, 14 January 2010
About white vinegar
I am confident someone else will soon show up here. In the meantime, I will try to keep my resolution to post here three times per week...so far, so good.
Okay, this is another, and likely final, post about household cleaning products.
What do you do with white vinegar?
- Mike thinks it gets sweat stains out of workout shirts so soaks his gear in it from time to time
- I think it gets rid of bad smells. Put out a dish and your home smells like white vinegar, not paint of cooking odoure or smoke.
- I know it removes calcium build up in kettles and from around taps
- What else...???
I know some people use it to wash windows. I don't. To wash windows, I use a spray bottle of water, just tap water and a aqueegie and nothing else. I think anything else in the spray bottle contributes to streaking may be wrong on that.
I think I've reached the bottom of my well of knowledge about household cleaning products.
Okay, this is another, and likely final, post about household cleaning products.
What do you do with white vinegar?
- Mike thinks it gets sweat stains out of workout shirts so soaks his gear in it from time to time
- I think it gets rid of bad smells. Put out a dish and your home smells like white vinegar, not paint of cooking odoure or smoke.
- I know it removes calcium build up in kettles and from around taps
- What else...???
I know some people use it to wash windows. I don't. To wash windows, I use a spray bottle of water, just tap water and a aqueegie and nothing else. I think anything else in the spray bottle contributes to streaking may be wrong on that.
I think I've reached the bottom of my well of knowledge about household cleaning products.
Saturday, 9 January 2010
About cleaning products
How many different cleaning products do we need?
Here's what I think we have on hand right now:
All purpose spray cleaner
Liquid dish detergent
Powdered dishwasher soap
Scouring powder in a can
White sponge..I think it's called an eraser
Spray carpet spot cleaner
Liquid laundry soap
Spray spot remover for laundry
With exception of "eraser", scouring powder, carpet cleaner and laundy spot remover, I think all are "green" or "greenish".
Suggestions for improving my list are welcomed? What do you have?
Here's what I think we have on hand right now:
All purpose spray cleaner
Liquid dish detergent
Powdered dishwasher soap
Scouring powder in a can
White sponge..I think it's called an eraser
Spray carpet spot cleaner
Liquid laundry soap
Spray spot remover for laundry
With exception of "eraser", scouring powder, carpet cleaner and laundy spot remover, I think all are "green" or "greenish".
Suggestions for improving my list are welcomed? What do you have?
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