Another WREX Segment!! Clean and Green

I was' 'green' long before it was trendy and cool. Call it Yankee Ingenuity or general frugality - doesn't matter which. The producer of the WREX morning show asked me to stop in for a quick segment about green cleaning today. Of course I was thrilled to talk about something I am so passionate about.

Here's a summary of what Laura Gibbs-Green and I spoke about:

Clean and Green

As seen on WREX TV
Keep your home "Fresh as a Daisy" with some inexpensive and simple tips.
Fact: The average home has at least 60 synthetic chemical cleansing products. That’s roughly 10 gallons of the stuff.

Go To Ingredients:
1. FREE: SUNLIGHT!
2. Good Old Soap and Water
3. Baking Soda ($.79)
4. Vinegar ($.66)
5. Lemons ($.33)

Optional:
6. Borax ($2.69)
7. Washing Soda ($2.69)

Tools:
1. Sponge ($.50)
2. Clean Spray Bottle ($.99)
3. Newspaper (free if you subscribe)

Room by Room:

Living Room & Bedrooms:
Air out pillows, heavy winter blankets, area rugs in bright, hot sunlight. A day or two will leave them smelling really fresh! This gives me time to clear clutter. My motto is still 2 things a day! My four options are: Donate, Recycle, Sell or Trash. Old magazines and accumulation of ‘stuff’ over the winter makes this 2 a day goal a cinch.

Wall to Wall carpet: Since it's not practical to put your carpet outside, the next best thing is to sprinkle baking soda on carpets. Let sit for 15 minutes or so, then Vacuum clean.

Still Need an air freshener? 10-20 drops of Essential Oils like mint, citrus or lavender in a quart of water - spray around. I have found that 1/4 cup of Vodka in 1 quart of water helps to spread the fragrance around more fully. Use the bottom shelf, cheap vodka.

Need a quick scent? Try clear Vanilla with spray bottle top. The scent is inexpensive and delicious, though people may look for the fresh baked cookies! If you don't have clear vanilla, then try pouring a few drops of the regular kind onto a square of aluminum foil and heat in the oven at 170 degrees F for a minute or two.

Windows & Mirrors: (house and car)
¼ teaspoon grated soap or dish detergent
2 cups hot water
3-4 tablespoons vinegar
Mix well in spray bottle. Spray on wipe off with newspaper. Newspaper goes right in the compost heap.

KITCHEN:
General Cleaning-Solid Surfaces
Old fashioned Soap and Water applied with a sponge. Dish detergent in a pinch.
Scum/greasy deposits/burnt on crud: baking soda paste on sponge. Wipe around to remove.
Vinegar and water rinse to shine it all up.
(Don’t want your house to smell like a salad? 1/4 c VODKA in a quart of water (I use distilled). Add a few drops of Spearmint and Orange essential oils for added freshness!)

Microwave: Heat a mug of water with lemon wedge for 2 minutes. Steam works on cooked on stuff. Wipe clean with sponge. OR - just microwave your damp sponge for 1 minute. Wipe steamed walls clean. This also kills bacteria on your sponge allowing you many, many days of cleaning.

Garbage Disposal Freshener:
Use that microwaved lemon wedge to freshen it up. Oranges and limes work just as well. Once a week is usually enough to keep odors at bay. Baking soda and vinegar are powerful deodorizers that clean the source of the bad odor.

Slow Drains: Pour 1 cup baking soda chased by 3 cups hot water (boiling if your sink can withstand it). Is the drain still slow? This is more fun – 1 cup baking soda followed by 1 cup vinegar, then once the bubbles stop, pour hot (if possible boiling) water.

Rust Stains? Try vinegar. Spray on. Let sit. Rinse off. - OR - Borax on cut lemon half. Rub around a bit and rinse. I was AMAZED how well this worked on my tub and shower when the softener went on the fritz.

Mildew? Straight up vinegar. Spray on. Let sit a while. Rinse off. Not strong enough – Tea Tree Oil. Can't stand the smell of Tea Tree oil? Spritz on some peroxide. Use a toothbrush to finish the job.

Dishwasher: Many Ordinary dish detergents contain phosphates which end up in waterways causing algae blooms – suffocating fish. Use ordinary baking soda or washing soda with borax instead.
Recipes:
A)mix one part borax, one part baking soda and 1/4 part salt. Add white vinegar to the rinse cycle to get them squeaky clean!
B) I use a teaspoon each of liquid soap and baking soda in the cup of my dishwasher.”
C) Mix equal parts of borax and washing soda, but increase the washing soda if your water is hard.

Does your Dishwasher have unsightly stains or odor? Dump a package of unsweetened lemonade mix into the powder dispenser. Run a short wash cycle. The citric acid in the mix helps wash away stains and odors.

Furniture Polish
1/2 tsp olive Oil
1/4 cup vinegar or fresh lemon juice
Apply with soft cloth. Buff lightly to a shine that smells divine.

Stay tuned for more suggestions...

Make your day wonderful!
Shannon

My 4 minutes and 15 seconds of fame.

This past week was a whirlwind of Sweet Teagan's activity. We were invited to be interviewed for a live segment on WREX TV13 out of Rockford. I had little (OK NO IDEA) what the angle of the interview would be, but was able to think fast on my feet at 6:20 am and not embarrass myself too much.

Strangely, the interviewer didn't see the point of an interview about soap prior to my arrival. I set up the most colorful soaps with a few full soap logs, a few scrubs in little stacks, a basket of bath bombs and one of lotions. The set started to smell like a soap store. The cameras started to roll and the interviewer picked up a few soaps to sniff while speaking. Once she opened the Peppermint Eucalyptus and gave a nice long sniff she became a believer. She called over the weather girl and they both oohh's and aaah'd until the end of the segment.

I was asked to not leave until after the show ended because everyone wanted to shop. OK. No problem. While they rifled through the 50 or so types I brought along I was invited to be a vendor at the Stateline Splendor Bridal Expo in 2 weeks. Eeeek. I was gearing up for the annual Garden Fair and had not planned for a Bridal Expo! What a great day!

I will be embedding the interview on the web store.

Tweeting - The Old Fashioned Way

I'm an old-fashioned girl at heart. Though technology has supported me and my family for the past few decades I have to face my country roots. "Tweeting" to me means birds. Actual birds.

Spring has officially arrived in Woodstock (just don't look out the window this weekend as the last snow of the season falls!). With Spring comes new life. We have officially doubled our laying hen flock. About a week and a half ago we added 3 Araucaunas, 2 Barred Rocks and One Rhode Island Red. This past Week we added 2 Buff Orpingtons and 2 more Araucaunas. It amazes me how fast these little buggers grow! The first bunch is more than double the size of the group we got only a week later! How is that possible?

My little girls are spending the rest of the cold days in a protected area in my second office. Even though that office is nowhere near a window, I hear tweeting non-stop. It makes my heart smile.

A New Chapter To My Destiny: Sweet Teagan's

For the past couple of decades I have toiled away, like many people, earning money for someone else. When I 'retired' last year I needed something to keep my mind sharp, so I started a small business. I took a hobby that I loved, soap making, and built an honest to goodness business.

The process brought back many years of college education and work training. I'm the CEO, CFO, CIO, Marketing Manager, Ops Manager, cleaning crew and everything in between. The hours are long, the pay low and the intrinsic rewards priceless. The most recent accomplishment that makes my dear Sweet Teagan's seem 'real' is the web store: http://SweetTeagans.com.


It amazes me to watch web visitors from all over the world browse my site. Admittedly, the first time I saw a guest online I had a feeling of panic. What am I doing?!?!?!? Then the comments and orders come in and the link gets forwarded and I remember what it's all about. Good or bad I make the decisions. So far it's all good.

Take a chance. You never

Talking Turkey

It almost seems sacrilegious to talk about turkey in March, but I had one left over from Christmas. I was proactive last November and purchased two fresh Amish turkeys: one for Thanksgiving and one for Christmas. We ended up going to the in-laws in Ohio for Thanksgiving, so I ended up freezing BOTH fresh turkeys. We did roast one in the traditional fashion for Christmas, but the Thanksgiving bird was just taking up space in the deep freeze.

After thawing slowly in the refrigerator for about 3 days, I propped him up on a can of beer and slowly cooked him on the Weber grill. It took about 2 1/2 hours for the 11 pound bird to cook. He came out golden brown, crispy skinned delicious. I didn't brine this one, so he wasn't as moist as I would usually like. I also didn't do anything to spice him up - very unusual for me.

After cooling overnight in the fridge we carved off all the 'good stuff' for sandwiches, soups and pot pie leaving the unsightly naked turkey corpse. That stuff has not fulfilled its full turkey destiny - yet. Into the stock pot with any vegetable scraps it went covered with just enough water to ensure it all swims. Then, as Chef Anne Burrell chants, "BTB-RTS-STS" - bring to boil, return to simmer, skim the scum. After simmering for a couple of hours the bare bones are sent to the trash while the little bits of meat go to the dogs. The rest is strained off reserving the liquid for some special stuff!

Turkey Stock
I cannot believe how many people spend good money on stock that is loaded with preservatives and salt. It is so easy to make your own that there's really no need. The plus for me is it falls into the Waste Not Want Not category. Make chicken, beef or pork stock using these same steps.

Ingredients:
1 turkey carcass
any vegetable scraps you have around (we save onion skins, celery tops, carrot peels, whatever is around)
Water to barely cover

Process
Dump it all into a stock pot. Bring to boil, reduce to simmer for a couple of hours. Cool a bit. Strain stock into smaller containers to use/Chill/freeze.

If you're feeling adventurous (or if you forget it's on the stove like I did) simmer the strained juice for a while longer to concentrate the flavors.

What's Turkey Stock Good For?
Use it in place of water to cook rice, beans, lentils, barley (get the picture?)
Make soup
Make gravy for Turkey Pot Pie (that's for tomorrow folks!)

Be happy!

Crock Pot Braised Pork Chops

For those people out there who don't have time to cook, or cannot afford to eat healthy food because it's sooooo expensive, here's another recipe for you. Keep in mind that I treat food recipes as starting points. Sometimes when the mood strikes I will modify quantities and sub out ingredients.

Tonight we enjoyed Crock Pot Pork Chops. I purchased a bulk package of pork chops a couple of weeks ago and froze portions in vacuum sealed bags forgetting to brine them. To me, defrosted pork chops seem to come out dry if not brined - that is UNLESS YOU BRAISE THEM.

Ingredients Used:
3 boneless pork chops
1 large onion
2 apples
1 can diced tomatoes with juice
2 cups Chicken broth
1 cup or so red wine (it was on the counter, so why not?)
2-3 Tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar
Fresh ground pepper - to taste
A handful of shredded red cabbage (it was in the fridge and looked pretty...)
3-3 large carrots, peeled cut in half

Step 1: Brown pork chops in sautee pan in a little oil (I used Olive). Get a nice caramel color on both flat sides. Transfer to crock pot

Step 2: Sweat onions - in the same pan the chops came out of. Lightly sweat - not caramelize. Put that into the crock pot.

Step 3: pile the rest of the stuff in. No particular order. Just make sure the chops are on the bottom.

Step 4: Cook long and slow all day long. It will be ready when you get home. We actually started it late on Sunday and realized too late that we didn't get it started in time. I cooled the crock, chilled over night then put back on the heat for a few hours today.

We didn't make any sides for this, but a nice egg noodle or rice would be nice to soak up the broth. I could have reduced the liquid as a thicker sauce, but didn't. It was bowl slurping good as it was. The whole dinner (with plenty left over for lunch tomorrow) totalled about $10.00. This was FAR less money than any fast food place for dinner and sooooo much healthier.

Enjoy!

Noodles and Chocolate Pudding

As you have probably read, we have an abundance of eggs. Using chicken eggs seems easy. Omelettes, fritattas, scrambles, hard cooked, salad, you get the gist. What is more difficult is using the duck eggs. I suppose I should 'man up' and just try one outright, but the thought of tasting too strong of an egg has me hesitant. Instead, I bake with them. Sunday night I wanted something tasty, yet a bit healthy to eat. I didn't feel like meat, so Teagan and I made some semolina egg noodles. The fresh cooked noodles we then stir fried into vegetables with a bit of parmesan cheese. This is one super way to get veggies into my family.

Semolina Egg Noodles
2 Egg yolks (we used duck)
1 cup Semolina Flour
1 cup AP Flour
1 T Good Olive Oil
1 Pinch Salt (we used kosher)
a little water.

I used my Kitchenaid paddle mixer to mix all ingredients together and knead. The mix seemed a little dry, so I added cool water 1 tablespoon at a time until the mixture was a smooth ball. Then I wrapped the dough ball in plastic wrap and chilled for a couple of hours.
When ready to cook, Teagan and I rolled out 1.4 of the dough at a time on the pasta maker and cut them using the wide noodle setting. 3 minutes simmering in salted water and they were done.

Veggie Stir Fry:
I cleaned the freezer on this one. Broccoli florets, cauliflower, carrots in different colors, pea pods. I steamed the veggies to get the cooking started, then transferred them into a preheated (hot) wide skillet along with 1T olive Oil and a pinch of salt. I added a can of diced tomatoes with the juice and tossed around for abut a minute. Then I added the noodles and tossed it around to coat the noodles with the juice from the pan. Sprinkled a tablespoon or two of parmesan cheese into the pan to heat and served. Yummo. We had enough for 2 servings each for dinner and a lunch the next day.

Dessert Time: Chocolate Pudding A La Teagan
1 cup chocolate milk (she never finishes the little bottles from lunch time
1 cup whole milk (we use organic)
4 t Corn Starch
1/2 - 2/3 cup cane sugar (more or less to taste)
2 squares unsweetened baking chocolate
a handful of mini chocolate chips - because they were there
1 t Vanilla

Step 1:
Combine sugar, corn starch, 1 1/2 cups milk and the chocolate to a sauce pan. Warm through to gentle simmer

Step 2: beat egg yolks lightly in a bowl with 1/2 cup milk

Step 3: temper egg mixture with hot milk/sugar/chocolate.
Pour 1 - 2 tablespoons of the hot milk into the egg mixture while stiffing/whisking. Continue to add hot milk slowly until about 1/2 of the milk mix is mixed into the eggs. Return the tempered egg mixture back to the pan and bring to simmer stirring constantly for about 2 minutes. The mixture will thicken and coat a spoon. Turn off heat and stir in vanilla. Optionally you can add a butter pat to make it even more decadent and silky.

Pour into either separate bowls (around 6) or a single bowl. Cover with plastic wrap to prevent 'skin' from forming. Chill thoroughly.

Serve either as-is or topped with whipped cream. This stuff is amazing frozen into ice cream. Add slivered almonds for a little texture. Your imagination is the limit.

Enjoy!