Home-made Washing Liquid

This recipe is fantastic as it uses just 3 ingredients (other than water) and each ingredient is useful for many other things around the house.

This week on my FaceBook feed appeared a how-to for making washing liquid. I'm so excited to tell you about it as it has made a huge difference to my laundry.

I wanted to make it as soon as I saw it as I had all the ingredients just laying around the house... but did I have a tub? Check Honey's shed... Yes, we are on the money. He has a few re-purposed ex-food buckets with a fantastic seal.

If you are wondering, the recipe is by Bush Flour Herbals and the link is here.

Pros

Price, it works out about 13c per load (and that is not with buying castile soap in bulk... you could possibly nearly halve the price again with the right deal). If you don't have a thermo-type machine no worries the original recipe does not use one. It is fantastic as a pre-wash soaker.

Just remember; it is really not a "brightener" it is good for soaking out periferal stains and should be soaked for no longer than about a day-ish; I'm not sure on exact times, however, I can tell you from experience this week that three days is too long. I popped some in to soak on Wednesday and it smelled revolting by Friday night... like a swamp. I was used to soaking things in store-bought  nappy-soak which can be right for up to a week (when I was a nanny we used to do chux and socks for up to a week... not together). That is not for this solution.  Keep the soaks brief.  

Cons

Castile soap can be quite expensive to buy, if you are short on cash. However one $20L should last about 3.25 lots at about 50 loads per bucket. It is rather bulky, I stick it in my tubs so I don't have to bend down much, and the bucket takes up most of the tub room. If you don't have a Thermo-machine, you will need a stick blender  ;may not be a problem for you) or a whisk and some elbow grease.

Thermomachine method

1. Take your Thermo-device jar and pour about 2 cups of of lukewarm water in, it should reach the 500mL mark
2. Add the bicarbonate soda and washing soda.
3. Add more water to cover the sodas (about 1.5L altogether is good)
4. Set the timer for 2 minutes, speed 5 and blend the mixture until it is fully smooth.
5. Pop your mixture into the bucket 
6. Using your jar to measure (3x 2L of tap water into the bucket), fill your bucket up to the 7.5L mark with tap water (any temperature is fine).
7. Add the castile soap, and stir with a long-handled spoon.
8. Using the funnel, pour into your containers. (I kept it in the bucket)
9. Add your essential oil of choice. (I used eucalyptus)

I used my Kogan thermoblend 1 to make this recipe. The residue would have washed out with water and  cloth, however I was doing a load of dishes in the dishwasher and chose to pop it in with the rest. It came out sparkling clean.

 

3 ingredients toothpaste

I ran out f toothpaste a while ago and was a bit lazy about making more. Basically finding the peppermint and or clove bud oil was the obstacle... then I started thinking... why do I need clovebud oil? Why not just grind some cloves? I used a small mortar and pestle for this recipe and put the mix Into a spice jar.

1/4 tsp Himalayan salt... Celtic would work too

 4-5 cloves

1/4 cup coconut oil.

 It's runny mix. Stir sediment into oil. Carefully pour a little of mix on to tooth brush.

 Method

Half fill small jar with coconut oil

grind salt and add to oil.

Grind cloves and add to mix. Stir. 

If your not In the middle of a very hot summer and your coconut oil is not runny... melt oil over low heat and stir through ground salt and spice. Add to small jar. Dip tooth brush into mix to use.

Aunty Thels Df Gf Ef pastry.

I am so thankful for my BFFs Aunty Thel: the clever lady who made a recipe for biscuit pastry and her lovely family who allowed me to share her recipe. This pastry has changed my life. Today we found that not only can this recipe be made gf and df but also egg free to  this makes a huge difference for parents trying to make lunches for kids with allergies (their own and classmates). If you don't put meat sauce inside the pie it's also perfect for vegans too

Gf Df Ef Aunty Thels Biscuit pastry.

2 *chia eggs* (2x 1 tbs chia seed, 1/4 cup boiling water, stir and leave to sit til cool)

2-3 tbs coconut oil

1 cup gf self raising flour

1/4 cup corn flour

Measure flours and oil into MyCook jar

Mix 5 seconds sp 5 till combined

Add 1.5 chia eggs and press knead button (This dough did not come together the way an egg type does but when you take 2-3 small dough balls, they squish together it's ready allow dough to rest)

Half hour in fridge is good.

Roll dough out.

Cut to size pop in pie maker add filling and lid.

Cook.

You can use any thermo-cooker to make this pastry, or even a food processor. I have chosen the MyCook terminology as it is a little less confusing... Jar is called TM bowl or jug in Thermomix world).

** Results

Dough was easy to roll, a tiny bit chewier than the egg kind but still delish.It dod not brown as the butter and egg type. If doing again and not feeling so lazy in the morning; I would grind the seeds before adding hot water.

*** Fridge dough was made into pies on day 3. Both doughs were a little stiff, but chia dough stiffer. I added some water and worked the dough and it rolled very well. Each dough gave me 1.5 more pies and a small biscuit. I used the base of the chia and lid of the egg dough to make the 3rd pie.

What to do if you have too any pies... You can keep in the fridge for as long as the meat will allow ie if you have fresh meat 3 days, if you are using 3 day old meat obviously it will not last in the fridge. The pies also freeze well too. I have microwaved pies and eaten them cold. You can also reheat them in your pie maker (if that's what you cooked it in). I would also venture to say that they can be warmed in the oven as you would a store-bought frozen pie. 

Meat sauce - MyCook method

4-5 steaks, cubed (stewing meat)

1-2 onions (can use 1 onion and add onion flakes

2-3 carrots

1 zucchini

2 MB's wine (200g)

1 MB water (It was slightly too much liquid so it may pay to add 50g water instead of 100g or less wine)

heaped tbs corn flour (I would add more next time, 1.5-2tbs heaped)

heaped tsp gf *vegemite* (whatever passes for vegemite at your place)

1 tbs tomato paste

1 tbs soy sauce

1 tbs tomato paste

1 tbs Worcestershire sauce

pinch salt and pepper to taste

good shake of paprika

Dash of olive oil

Handful fresh basil

Grate zucchini and basil, remove from jar.

Wash out.

Add oil, set timer for 1 minute 120c, Sauté

Add onion 5 mins, 120c, sauté

at 4 min mark add carrots, 1 min mark add vege stock paste.

Add cubed stewing meat, cook 120c 10 mins sp 1.

Add rest of ingredients cook 100c 60 mins; MB on.

When done check if meat is tender if yes give it 10 mins MB off and allow to reduce. If not do this step with MB on until soft then reduce sauce.

  

Meat sauce - GSM/TM type machine method

Grate zucchini and basil, remove from jug.

Wash out.

Chop onions and carrot, sp 5 few seconds. You want them chopped but not mushy 

Add oil, set timer for 1 minute 120c/Varoma/Steam

 at 1 min mark add vege stock paste.

Add cubed stewing meat, cook 120c/Steam/Varoma 10 mins sp 1/soft...  use blade cover, blunt blades or reverse if available.

Add rest of ingredients cook 100c 60 mins; MC on.

When done check if meat is tender if yes give it 10 mins MC off and allow to reduce. If not do this step with MC on until soft then reduce sauce.

Mini pie method

Find a big glass and a smaller one. The big glass should be about 8.5-9cm in diameter and a nutino glass is perfect for the smaller. It should fit snuggly into the top of your muffin tray.

Roll dough out, use large glass to cut the dough into pie bases

Place pie bases into muffin trays

Add about 2 tbs of pie meat

Carefully pick up smaller dough disk. Run some water around the edge with your finger to help it stick to the base. Add lid.

Cook in moderate oven 10-15 mins

** small pieces of chopped apple are also nice in small pies. If you use pink lady apples no extra sugar is needed. For extra flavour try a little allspice, cinnamon,or Chinese 5 spice.

   

Cooking with MyCook and Kids

Pie News

First some bad news my estimates completely out as I measured out the mince sauce with a 1/3 cup but the recommended size is 1/2 cup. This resulted in a rather disappointing set of pies with overcooked bases and undercooked lids.

My neice was visiting over-night and I was keen to divert her from the devices today... the easiest way I have found to do this is to offer cooking... so we made more pastry and made some more pies today and added peas (not mushy) and stirred them through the mince before cooking.Everyone was happy except mr Fussy (who does not like peas in his pies).

Gluten Free Bread (Egg and Dairy free too)

We decided to make pies and Gluten Free bread... a new recipe I found here. You do not need a thermo-machine for this recipe. A mix master should work or even mix by hand. I love it, if I didn't prefer whole meal for health, this would be my go-to bread. Basically I needed fresh bread crumbs and thought that if it didn't taste nice it would be an easy way to get some... fyi if wondering, yoghurt bread works out more expensive and goes funny in the freezer. 

Me being well me... I made a few changes...

Orgran for Freefrom gluten flour (I measured 500g)
Oven for slow cookers
Thermomix for MyCook

TBH I was concerned that the lowest setting for MyCook was 40c and I wondered if it was too high. However when browsing actual MC yeast recipes I found that 40c was recommended so I proceeded.

I was surprised that there was no sugar included in the recipe but the yeast did its thing quite well.  Miss J commented that the mixture looked like chocolate chip ice-cream... She was not so impressed with the taste raw, but enjoyed it warm with butter and mighty-mite.

After a quick safety lesson, Miss J was also proficient in using the MyCook lid and found no difficulty getting it on or off.

The bread was lovely and moist with a soft crust. It did not brown as the artisan bread does, but straight out of the oven it was delish. This bread was as easy to make as the "easy bakers" bread from a packet but is nowhere near as salty.

Judie

Australia Day Food... Meat Pies

Meat pies, what can I say... they are yummy and they are Aussie, but if you a gluten free they are frozen, expensive, hard to find and/or disappointing. The really great pies are usually found in small country bakeries... I have fond memories of Bernies (in Rocky), Gracemere, Emu Park, Yeppoon and Mt Morgan (in that order) pies with mushy peas and several flavours to choose from. The decisions - this pie has the better filling; but the base on that one is divine... its all part of the pie-eating culture the ranking of personal favourites then discussing it with your mates... Upon reflection; BP had a nice gourmet pie and so did the chain of bakeries - in Shopping Fair (who calls it Stockland???) and Allenstown plaza. Bakers Delight is on the tip of my tongue but its the other one.

The secret to getting someone to pay $4 - $6 for a pie when they could just get a pack of them for $6 - $8 is making it unique, something they could not make at home, and leaves the eater thinking... I want another one. I cannot say that I am there yet with my pies but they are better than frozen and some gluten-eater bakery pies I have tasted and certainly better than the majority of frozen GF pies I have eaten. Moreover they are much more cost effective, can be eaten cold and are easy to make. 

I have shared with you Aunty Thel's biscuit pastry recipe, on this blog and here but did you know that if you remove the sugar it makes an awesome savoury crust. 

Each brand of GF flour is slightly different. If dough is too sticky just add more flour when rolling it out. If it is too dry add a little water.

• 160 grams Self Raising Flour, I use Gluten Free (1 Cup)
• 60 grams Butter
• 1 egg + a spare yolk or white (whichever you prefer parting with)... if making a double batch just use 3 eggs.
• Corn Flour, (1/4 cup)

MyCook method (works for TB1 type machine too)

Put dry ingredients into the MyCook jar, close lid

Press turbo for 2 seconds to sieve the dry ingredients.

Weigh in the butter- 60g = 3 tbs, use speed 5, 5-10 seconds until mix looks like breadcrumbs

Add egg, turn dial to closed lid position, press the knead button (Looks like a dough roller)

If making a double batch wizz on sp 5 for 20 seconds first. 

Dough is ready when it looks like a ball of playdough, if it has trouble coming together pop some water in half an egg shell and tip in.  

If it is too sticky just add a little more flour when rolling dough out for cooking. 

GSM method (TM, TC etc)

Put dry ingredients into the jug, close lid

Press pulse for 2 seconds to sieve the dry ingredients.

Weigh in the butter- 60g = 3 tbs, use speed 5, 5-10 seconds until mix looks like breadcrumbs

Add egg

Wizz on speed 6, 10 seconds then speed 1 for 1 - 2 mins. (If using a machine that has a knead button press it and knead till its done)

Dough is ready when it looks like a ball of playdough, if it has trouble coming together pop some water in half an egg shell and tip in.  

If it is too sticky just add a little more flour when rolling dough out for cooking.

 

Meat Sauce (MyCook)

Heat oil in MyCook jar for 1 minute 120c on Sauté 

Add onion (quartered) some pepper, paprika and any seasoning you like... I added onion flakes as my onion was a little small. 5 mins, sauté 

** if adding Tomatoes or Carrots you will want to add them here**

Towards the end of the 5 mins, add a tbs Veggie stock paste

Set timer for 10 mins sp 1 - 2 (If using a TB1 type machine, add bade cover here)

While blades are moving add mince in large chunks through the beaker hole in lid. Then add 1 tbs corn flour and another of tomato paste; 1 measuring beaker each full of water and wine, a very heaped tsp of whatever passes for Vegemite in your house, any veggies you want to add.

Keep an eye on the mince. When it is cooked turn it off and pop into a casserole dish/thermal dish 

Meat Sauce (GSM, TM, TC etc)

Chop onion sp 7 add oil to jug for 5 minutes, sp 1, ST, Varoma etc (higher than 100c) to Sauté 

** if adding Carrots you will want to add them here, "grated" with onions** 

Add some pepper, paprika and any seasoning you like... I added onion flakes as my onion was a little small. 5 mins, sauté 

** if adding Tomatoes you will want to add them here**

Towards the end of the 5 mins, add a tbs Veggie stock paste

Set timer for 10 mins sp 1 - 2 / spoon + reverse (If using sharp blade swap to blunt)

While blades are moving add mince in large chunks through the beaker hole in lid. Then add 1 tbs corn flour, and another of tomato paste, 1 measuring cup (100mL) each full of water and wine, a very heaped tsp of whatever passes for Vegemite in your house, any veggies you want to add.

Keep an eye on the mince. When it is cooked turn it off and pop into a casserole dish/thermal dish

I have not tried this yet but it may work to steam the meat in the rice basket with some salt and the wine and add to veggies in the last minute of cooking.

Pie Peas

Honey does not agree, but what is more awesomely

Queenslander than peas in your pie... Add some frozen peas and water to your jar (we like McCains), cook 

If peas are cooked but not mushy pulse your turbo button for 1 - 2 seconds. Repeat if needed... Making your own mushy peas helps to avoid the additive tartrazine in your children's food.

 Judiet

  

Mayo Madness

I have probably mentioned before that I hosted my besties first ever Thermomix demonstration. She asked me if I could get a few friends together, supply a few ingredients and eat some yummy food so that she could practise on us. Out of that party, my friend sold one TM31 that night, another person at the party had bought a TM from her within 3 months and at the party of the first buyer yet another TM was sold. 

I will never forget how her confidence as a person soared becoming a demonstrator... and I will never forget one line "Thermomix consultants make their own mayonnaise"... I don't know how many times it took my bestie to get it right but here is what it looked like for me.

The first time I tried making mayo was with a TM31 and the Everyday Cookery book recipe (the original, I am not sure if it was updated in the newer book). Dismal fail. The 2nd time was with the 4 Blades magazine recipe using the Kogan TB1. Perhaps it was because it required a 37c but the Kogan goes has a 40c setting. I was tired of wasting precious ingredients and gave up entirely.   

This is a thing I had struggled with. I didn't like consuming all the "nasties" and finding a good brand that used free range eggs, no gluten and a decent enough oil was a nightmare. I found a supermarket brand we liked, and then it was discontinued. I played with a few organinc ones and we did like the S&W brand and Macro... but they just were not quite the same.

It was time to face the mayo dragon again. I decided that if it did not work this time, I was getting a stick blender... I saw this exciting method of making fool proof mayo a while back here.

So this is the recipe I tired first. I cannot thank this blogger (Rachel) enough because her demonstration of the MyCook recipe led to the first mayo that ever worked for me.  

If you have to buy eggs or your chooks are lazy/broody or you can get oil for a mad discount etc this is a good recipe. It is a little oily compared to bought brands but you can definitely play with it, and the potato salad I made with it was awesome. If I made it again I would add French mustard and herbs at the beginning. 

Last night we tried this recipe Honey liked it a lot better. The website photo does not do it justice. We added 1 tbs French mustard  at the beginning. I plan to experiment with some sugars and acids soon to get it just right for us.

The dregs of mayo left in the jar were used to make a yummy coleslaw. The next night I persevered with the silicone spatula. Most of the first batch went to making Potato salad. The rest (along with some of the 2nd batch) went to making pasta salad. 

We use the EDC coleslaw recipe but I never bother measuring anything...

Mr Fussy's clone of Mrs Crockets pasta salad

Mayo

1/4 onion

1 capsicum (use red for authenticity but what ever is cheaper works for taste)

Pasta

200g Cheese (use less if you want the sauce "runny" like Mrs Cs)

2 small carrots or 1 large

Optional Frozen corn

Boil some water and add some salt, olive oil and half a pk of good quality pasta... I used San Remo spirals (about 250g). 

When done strain and flush with cold water... allow to cool (if your family like corn, now is a good time to sir through some frozen corn) and grab your fave machine... 

Grate 1/4 smallish to medium onion, 2 skinny carrots or a large (peeled) and a capsicum. 

Wash out jar (if you are like me and had no grated cheese) Grate a 1kg pk of cheese save about 200g and pop the rest in the fridge for next time. 

Grab pasta, check that it has cooled. 

Add veggies and stir

Stir through most of a jar of mayo (if using a cheep one go half/half with some cream or sour cream) 

stir though cheese then add the last dreggs of mayo and give one final stir through.

I have been advised that a gluten Free version of this could be made with Barilla but I have not attempted it yet.   

Mr Fussy's Potato Salad

1.5-2kg Potatoes, peeled

Handful *eschallots

Bottle of Mayo

Salt and Pepper

 

Bite size potatoes boiled in water with a pinch of salt.

Wizz some eschallots add to potatoes and sir through.

Season with a little salt and pepper

Confession: I need spice jars - the big ones; so I am using Masterfoods Chives lately instead of eschallots. Buying chives is one of the cheapest ways to get the spice jars... cheaper is if someone gives them to you or you can get them from Vinnies.

Judie