Stuff I tried today

Okay, I hope I seem excited about this, because I am.  I have actually been looking around for things to wash and dry, because I wanted to try my homemade laundry soap and homemade fabric softener in combination.  I just made the softener today.  I used a $.90 bottle of V05 conditioner - kiwi scent - plus three cups vinegar and six cups water, a la this recipe, and, voila!  Super cheap fabric softener (11 cups is 2/3 gallon).  I will have to give some to my laundry expert friend to see if she is pleased with it, but it is working for li'l ol' me right now. Plus, she gave me a thumbs up on the homemade detergent, which was made using this recipe.

Alright, now for the créme de la créme - pun perfectly placed - I made coffee creamer today, riffing on this recipe.  I really should take a picture.  Imagine two pint-sized jars of coffee creamer, one slightly tanner than the other.  That one is mocha mint.  The lighter is plain.  I have been without creamer for a few days and was going to make the powdered kind - which is what I usually buy - using this recipe, but wasn't sure I could find or afford coconut oil at this juncture.  Mmm, mmm.  The creamer is my sweetest success yet.

I just remembered that I also tried a really simple dessert recipe today; s'more pops, a riff on this recipe.  I bought a six-pack of Hershey bars for $1 @ Wal-Mart today.  Surprisingly, just one or two is enough for a dessert.  I didn't toast mine first, btw.  However you do it, it is a really cheap and simple, sweet, and fun treat to make for kids.  All you need is a few marshmallows, a chocolate bar, and a graham cracker.  You don't even need the lolly sticks.

Next on my list is popsicles and cutting my daughter's hair.  

For the sake of not leaving my post pic-less, I'm attaching a pic of some food I made yesterday*.  I flexed my menu a bit and used half a box of leftover ziti, some cottage and mozzarella cheeses, half a package of leftover thawed frozen spinach, an egg, and some pasta sauce, and made Ziti Florentine.  It was actually quite good!  I had leftovers of my leftovers for lunch today - a grown-up mac 'n' cheese.

* Food pics are risky.  I can doctor them up and everything looks divine.  This one I didn't, and I just hope it doesn't look gross.

D'in I M(yself)

I have been on a major DIY kick lately.

Here is what I had for breakfast.  I made the yogurt and granola myself.

It was delicious.

Other things I have made: laundry soap, dishwasher detergent (new and improved), baby wash.

I also planned our meals for the whole month, and made and froze seven or so of them.

More later.

No recipe for happiness

There are shows like America's Test Kitchen, where the chefs try stuff out and explain what works, and there is Elton Brown on TV explaining why these aminos and those carbohydrates result in this product.  But have you ever noticed how decidedly unscientific cooking can be?  Specifically, how no one ever reports on the failed experiments?  I'm no scientist - it is not my calling - but I know that generally you start out with a hypothesis, then propose an experiment, describe the materials and procedure, describe the results, and then analyze the data.  Sometimes your hypothesis is proven and sometimes it is disproven; sometimes it is not disproven.

So today I started with a working hypothesis that I could make whole wheat pancakes from scratch without a recipe and that they would turn out delicious.  Like I said, no scientist, but I do love to cook.  So, it was an experiment, and one that I pretty much needed to work since I was making breakfast.  I think part of the scientific method - or at least write-ups of experiments - involves providing some background.  Background: I love pancakes, but cannot consistently make them well.  If it's not bisquick, they are often flat or unevenly browned.  Also, I am on a health kick, under conviction that my family must eat better.  Furthermore, it was a rough night with my son, so as he slept in, I decided I would have a special moment with my daughter and make whatever she wanted, hoping she wouldn't ask for waffles, because the Bisquick ones are unsatisfactory and from scratch is a pretty involved process (though they are delicious).  I know that applesauce is a good substitute for fat in baking, but we don't have any, so I decided to use nonfat vanilla yogurt.

Here is the recipe:

Whole Wheat Yogurt Pancakes

1 C WW Flour

1/2 C AP flour

1 t baking soda

1 t baking powder

1 t salt

1 C milk

1/2 C nonfat vanilla yogurt

1 t cinnamon

1 t vanilla

2 eggs, beaten

Mix all dry ingredients, and make a well.  Mix all wet ingredients, pour into well, and stir.  Pour by 1/3- 1/2 cups onto 300 degree griddle.  These pancakes take a long time to bake; maybe 4 minutes per side.  But they do cook all the way through.

Results:

I was very pleased with how evenly they turned out; they were thick but they cooked all the way through and did not burn.  They tasted good, but were kind of shiny and rubbery on the edges.  

Analysis:  I assume the shininess and rubberiness was because of subbing yogurt for fat.  Kids liked them just the same; happy-face shape was a success.

Conclusion: In the future, I will stock oatmeal and wheat germ so I can make WW pancakes per recipes I know will work.  Also, hypothesis that I could create a great pancake recipe from scratch was proven to be wishful thinking.