A Confession

First, before I make my confession, I have to say that it has been a long time since I've been on blogger.  It took me several minutes to figure out how to make a new post.  Whew.  It's changed a lot.

I haven't shampooed my hair since December 31, 2011.  Over 5 months ago.  I have gone "no 'poo."  I wash my hair with baking soda and condition it with apple cider vinegar typically about every 4-5 days.  I've let it go a full week before, but at that point it's nasty.  As long as I wash it before that, though, it doesn't look greasy at all, and I like the way that it feels.
Here's my method for my long hair (I used a different one at first, but I like this one much better):

1.  Brush hair.
2. Wet hair thoroughly.
3. Put about a tablespoon of baking soda in palm of hand and use other hand to massage the baking soda all over scalp.
4. Rinse hair thoroughly.
5. Fill cup with about 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and 3/4 cup of water.  I never measure this.
6. Dip hair into cup.  Let rest in vinegar mixture for about 30 seconds.
7. Take hair out of cup, and pour remaining vinegar mixture over top of head.
8. Rinse hair thoroughly, massaging scalp of head to get all of the baking soda out.
9. Brush hair well, beginning at scalp at least one to two times each day.

Baked Oatmeal and Bagels

Just wanted to share a few of my family's new favorite recipes with you.

Baked Soaked Oatmeal-This recipe has become a Saturday morning tradition.  Soaking is great for your grains so that you get more nutrition from them.  This recipe is adapted from Kelly the Kitchen Kop.

Baked Soaked Oatmeal

• 2-1/2 c. oats
• 1 T. whole wheat flour (provides phytase to help break down the phytic acid in the oats)
• 1-3/4 c. buttermilk
• ½ c. melted butter, coconut oil, or canola oil
• 4 eggs (or 1/4 cup powdered eggs)
• ½ c. honey, maple syrup, or sugar
• ½ tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. Cinnamon
• 2 tsp. Vanilla
• 2-4 cups fresh or dried fruit (dried apples, raisins, apples, pears, etc.)
• Optional: 2 c. chopped nuts (or sprinkle on each individual serving after baking)

Soak oats, flour and buttermilk covered on kitchen counter overnight, but 24 hours is better in order to break down more phytic acid. Before serving, beat oil, sugar, and eggs until glossy. Add salt, cinnamon, and vanilla; beat. Stir in oats and fruit. Add more milk, buttermilk, or water, if it seems dry (mine always does).  Pour into 9×13 baking dish and bake at 350 for 10-40 minutes, depending on your desired consistency. (I always cook mine 10-20 minutes, and still end up with overly dry oatmeal a little too often.)


Whole Wheat Bagels-I made these bagels a few weeks ago.  So good!  They take quite a bit effort since I had to broil, boil, and bake them.  What a fun treat, though! 

How I Make Yogurt

Yogurt!  This has become a favorite for me over the past year, as it is easy and healthy.  I can't believe that just a year ago I hated the stuff.  In the past I typically made it with powdered milk from the Home Storage Center (LDS cannery).  I am making the change to using more and more milk instead for health reasons, and because my husband thinks it tastes better.  He'll eat my powdered milk yogurt in smoothies or with vast amounts of fruit.  My two year old loves my yogurt completely plain.  I don't like it plain, but I'll eat it with fruit or as a substitute for sour cream (such as on enchiladas or potatoes).   I am also using more milk because it makes much better tasting yogurt cheese (like cream cheese)-a new family favorite.

I'll begin with the basics, then give more details on how I make it using powdered milk.
Update:  I now only make it with whole milk and it is so yummy!

1.  Heat milk to 180 F.
2.  Lower temperature of milk to about 115.
3.  Add yogurt with live cultures.
4.  Keep milk between 90-115 for 6-12 hours. The idea here is to allow the healthy bacteria to multiply (pleasant thought!).  If the temperature is lower than this, the bacteria will stop multiplying.  If the temperature is too high, the bacteria will be killed.
5.  Refrigerate yogurt for 8 hours.
6.  Enjoy!

Plain Yogurt

8 cups water
powdered milk to reconstitute water, plus a little more (2 cups from Home Storage Center)
1/4 cup plain yogurt with live cultures (store bought or saved from a previous batch)

1,  Heat water in a crockpot on high for 1 hour.  Stir in powdered milk; mix well.  Heat on low for 1/2 hour.  Temperature of milk should now be 180.  If too low, keep heating.
2.  When milk reaches 180, unplug crockpot.  Cool for about 2 hours, or until milk reaches about 115.  Update: To ensure thick yogurt, don't add the yogurt until the milk has lowered to 110 degrees.
3.  Stir in yogurt.
4.  Wrap crockpot in a towel or two to insulate.  Allow to sit for 6+ hours, until the yogurt is firm.  (Sometimes I let it sit for nearly 20 hours.  This is okay, because yogurt is cultured.  It won't hurt you to eat yogurt that's sat out for a day.)
5.  Scoop yogurt into containers.  (You may have some watery looking substance at the very top, or the bottom may not be quite as solid as the rest.  This is okay.  The watery substance at the top is whey.  If you don't want to eat it, add it to your bread, or save it to soak your oatmeal.)  Be sure to scoop 1/2-1 cup into a separate container to use as the starter for your next batch.  Refrigerate for at least 6-12 hours before eating.

I have made this recipe about once each week for about 6 months without having any botched batches.  If you have problems let me know, so I can help troubleshoot.

Update:  Click Here for Directions on how to make your yogurt thicker.

Whole Wheat Sourdough

Over the summer I learned to make sourdough.  I loved it!  I made sourdough bread, pancakes, pizza crust, biscuits, and probably other delicious things too.  At the end of the summer things got a little crazy in my life, and sourdough (and breadmaking in general) was one of the first things to go...after this blog.  Now that my life is much more in control, I cannot wait to make start another starter, hopefully a few days ago.  Wait!  That didn't happen!
So here is how to make your own starter.  Hopefully I'll share some recipes in a few days.

1.  Mix equal parts of wheat flour (or any flour) and water in a quart-sized jar.  I started with 1/2 cup of each.
2.  Put a napkin over top, and screw it on with a lid.  The napkin allows for airflow to get into the jar.  The idea with sourdough is that you are getting natural yeasts and healthy bacterias from the air.
3.  Set in a warm place.
4.  "Feed" the starter twice each day, following steps 1-3.  I usually use 1-2 tablespoons of each flour and water at each feeding.  Be sure to mix well, making certain to scrape the bottom and sides of the jar.
5.  Within 2-4 days you should start to see bubbles.  This is all dependent upon things you can and can't control such as temperature.  When I started my starter during the summer, I had a lot happier of a starter than I expect to this time.  Just do your best to keep it warm.  Keep the jar on the stove so that it warms up while your cooking, etc.  (Note:  When I tried in the future, I found it rather impossible to get good results in the cold winter temperatures.  I'll give it another shot, and then I think I'll just have to wait for warmer weather.)
6.  You can make crackers in less than a week of starting your starter, but you should probably wait 1-2 weeks prior to making bread, just to make sure your starter is happy (lots of bubbles).
7.  When you're ready to make a recipe, take out as much starter as the recipe calls for, then replace with equal parts of flour and water.

Easy!  This really only takes about 1 minute of work each day!

I learned how to make sourdough from Kitchen Stewardship.  If you don't like my directions, you can check out her's.  I also started by using her recipes.  Then I got more adventurous.

Stock Up on Peanut Butter!

Prices on peanut butter have already risen, and will continue to rise.  But, good news to some of you, Fresh Market has Sunland Peanut Butter on sale for $.99, per 16 oz. container.  Time to stock up.  If all the peanut butter is gone, ask if you can get a rain check.  Hopefully you can.

A note about Sunland Peanut Butter.  It tastes a little different than you may be used to.  I love it!  (And so does the rest of my family.)  It's made from Valencia peanuts and palm oil, instead of the typical hydrogenated soybean oil.  Palm oil is a healthy fat, soybean oil is not.