lentils and tacos...together...

Our journey towards eating mostly grass-fed meats has forced me to get more creative with my dinner planning, as I mentioned in my post on beans.  We love eating grass-fed meats, but they are a bit more expensive and not always as convenient as conventionally-rasied meat.  With all of the venison that we have in our freezer, it's not often that I'm in need or want of beef.  However, I do sometimes find myself missing ground beef.  (We've been planning to grind venison, but don't have a grinder and just haven't gotten around to borrowing one...)  One of the things that I often used to use ground beef for was tacos.  I love making tacos.  I could eat them on a regular basis and probably not get bored.  So, when I found this recipe for Spiced Lentil Tacos, I decided to try it and ended up falling in love!  It's so yummy, so cheap, and so easy!  

I now use that basic recipe in place of taco meat when I'm out of good beef or want to make a cheap meal.  Basically, you cook the lentils kind of like you would taco meat.  Sauté some onions and garlic in oil, add the dry lentils, add the taco seasoning, add some broth and let simmer until lentils are soft, mash them up a bit, and ta-da!! 

Also, on the note of taco seasoning....I haven't bought a packet of store-bought seasoning in years.  I find that it's a lot easier to whip together some tacos if I just use the seasonings I have on hand.  It's also much cheaper and there are no mystery ingredients!  

Taco Seasoning Recipe (approximation would be better word....)

1 tbsp chili powder

2 tsp cumin

1 tsp ground coriander 

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp dried basil

hot spices, if you so desire, such as red pepper flakes, Tabasco, Siracha, jalapeños, chilies, etc.

This recipe is for a one pound batch of taco meat or lentils.  I always cook my meat or lentils with a chopped onion and some garlic to add flavor.  I also never really measure the proportions listed above, I just kind of guess.  Make it your own, experiment with the mixture.  Have fun with it! 

mother's day candles

This past Christmas I received a box of the lovely blue vintage tribute Ball jars from my step mom, and ever since then, I've been contemplating what lovely creation to put in them.  With Mother's Day approaching and a plan for candle making in the back of mind...I decided to put them to use!  

Using the "Winter Holiday Candles" directions in Taproot, Issue 8 :: Reclaim and the very helpful "Essential Oil Blends" article in Taproot, Issue 9 :: Breathe, I set to work!  

Side note...If you've never heard of Taproot Magazine, I encourage you to check it out!  It is a fabulous ad-free quarterly publication about living fully and digging deeper.  The pages of the magazines are filled with thoughtful prose, practical how-to's, and touching stories.  This is my third year of having a subscription, and I love it.

I got my soy wax and wicks from Bramble Berry and used a few essential oils and fragrance oils that I had on hand for the scent.  For this batch, I used a vanilla, orange, clove blend of oils and with 3 lbs of wax I was able to make 4 candles.

For having never made candles before, I found this project to be a breeze!  They are so cute and they smell delightful!  It made me want to order a lot more wax and never buy a candle again!  I may just do that....

Our moms also loved them!  Dan and I both have large families, and with all of the birthdays, holidays, and Christmas gifts, I'm always looking for creative ways to keep our gift expenses at bay.  These candles fit the bill and I couldn't be happier with them!  

How about you?  What kinds of lovely and creative things do you make for gifts?

laundry soap

Not the most exciting title, I know, but, hey, it's a very important part of life!  Making your own laundry soap isn't exactly a new idea.  I know a lot of people who do it and there are lots of different recipes and concoctions to try.  However, I also know a lot of people who have maybe never thought about it, or would otherwise never consider it.  So, I thought I'd share with you the recipe I use and my reasons for why I choose to make my own.

Reason #1: It's cheap!  I've never done the calculations, but I do know that I'm not spending $9 every couple months on a jug of heavily scented Tide!  

Reason #2:  It's easy.  Every few months, I take about 15 minutes to make up a batch.  The hardest part is grating a couple bars of soap with a cheese grater.  

Reason #3:  Less waste!  I'm no longer recycling big laundry detergent jugs!  I now have simple cardboard boxes a few times a year that we can either burn or recycle.  It's great!

Reason #4:  I know exactly what's in it!  This is the biggest reason for me.  I've been working for the past year to get the chemicals and harsh cleaners out of my home.  Knowing exactly what is in my laundry soap has become very important to me.  It's easy to read food labels and pretty much know what you're eating, but cleaner labels are not held to the same standards.  I'm not really a fan of bringing things into my home and washing the clothes that touch my skin all day with things that have ingredients such as "cleaning agents" in them.  These may be perfectly harmless, but they also may be perfectly toxic!  I love that making my own laundry soap enables me to know exactly those "cleaning agents" are.  

So, there you have it!  Those are my simple reasons why I choose to take a bit of time every few months to make my own soap.  Since it's just my husband and I for now, I typically make the following recipe in single batches.  However, if I were running the washer more often, I would definitely double or triple the recipe for efficiency purposes.  

Laundry Soap

2 cups grated soap (I make my own, but I used to use a mixture of Fels-Naptha and Ivory.  Fels-Naptha is a hard laundry bar and Ivory is cheap and soft, which makes it easy to grate.  Fels-Naptha can be found in the laundry isle at a lot of the big stores like Target, Walmart, Cub, etc.)

1 cup washing soda (This is an all-natural product--Sodium Carbonate, but is different from baking soda--Sodium Bicarbonate.  You should be able to find it in the laundry isle.  Arm & Hammer is the most common brand.)

1 cup borax (This is an all-natural detergent that can also be found in the laundry isle.  Some have objections as to whether it's safe or not.  This blog post pulls together a lot of what the experts have to say about that.  20 Mule Team is a good brand.)

I grate my soap using a cheese grater.  Since it's soap, and I make my own, I use my cheese grater from the kitchen.  I figure it just makes it cleaner.  Mix all of the ingredients together until the grated soap breaks down a bit and you have a powder-like consistency.  Store in an airtight container.

Use 2 tbs for a full load.  I use white vinegar as a fabric softener.  I pour about a 1/4 cup into my Downy Ball and throw it into the load.  (The fabric softener spot on your washer will also work, but your washer may consistently smell like vinegar).  

I find that the detergent works great!  Whenever I wash whites or really dirty things, I pour a little extra borax in the load and let them soak a bit.  They brighten right up! 

So, whether you decide to make your own or not, I do encourage you to think about what kinds of things are in the cleaning products you're bringing into your home.  It's amazing how many nasty things are allowed to be in the products we buy!

keeping up with it all

You know though weeks where you feel like you're treading water, feeling as if you're barely keeping your head above water?  This past week has been one of those for me.  I realized this weekend that the end of both the spring and fall semester are not only busy, but they also both fall at busy times in my personal life -- fall semester right before Christmas, and spring semester at planting time.  With a long to-do list at both work and home, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed and overworked.  

This past weekend was no exception to that.  I left work on Friday with a to-do list for the upcoming week that was a bit scary and came home to a list that was much more exciting, but a bit daunting as well.  

It's on weekends like these, that I try to remind myself that while that list of things is important, and mostly necessary, it's not what really matters in the end.  What matters are the moments that I spend making memories with those I love.  

So while some work did happen this weekend, like edging a flower bed, dusting/sweeping the house, and grading grammar tests.  There were also many things that didn't happen - infusing/bottling kombucha, cleaning the kitchen, laundry, laundry, and more laundry...the list goes on.  

However, there were some great moments with my loved ones that did happen.  A Twins game, two bonfires, an impromptu chat with my dear Auntie, and burgers with my love, to name a few.  

The lists still remain, but that's ok.  I feel rested and full.  And that's what matters.  

I hope this past weekend was one for you to remember, even if those memories are as simple as a backyard bonfire on a quiet spring evening.  My hope is that those beautiful moments will carry us through our busy weeks.  

Cheers to you and yours on this Monday morn.