summer greatness

We've been blessed to be able to live on a organic biodynamic farm. That means that they don't do any spraying at all--not even commercial "organic" sprays. And they only fertilize with manure. So, the vegetables are as natural as you can get them. Most of their veggies go to local restaurants and to their local CSA subscribers, but they also pass on baskets loaded with veggies to us! It has been a bit of challenge to figure out how to use some of the stuff, or even to figure out what some of it is. Luckily my kids don't mind eating vegetables, and it has been fun to learn new recipes, and to try new things.
So, I thought I would share a little summertime recipe that kids love---or my kids anyway. I've been making spinach popsicles for years now. These are requested just about every day during the hot summer months.

Again I don't like to buy things at a store when I can make them, so that I control what goes in them. Spinach Popsicle Recipe

a few tablespoons of orange juice concentrate (or fresh squeezed lemon juice which is super good for you, but the OJ does add sweetness to it)

around 4-5 tablespoons of water --or just OJ if you have it already made

1 banana

about a third to a half a cup of yogurt (I use plain or vanilla)---not necessary but I add for the probiotics. Or you can use  homemade kefir which is what I prefer.

2 big heaping handfuls of fresh spinach (you can also put avocado in instead of spinach if you want)

honey

add all this to a blender---I just usually eyeball how much stuff I put in and don't measure anything out. Blend everything up. Blend the honey in after the rest is blended testing for sweetness. You shouldn't have to add too much honey. Put into the molds and freeze. You might have to adjust the recipe to fit the type of molds you have. We have little rocket molds and there is often a bit left over that I just drink. If there isn't enough you can just add a bit more water--or better the whey from the yogurt for extra protein. These ingredients are items I always have on my shopping list, so I always have the stuff on hand to make.

And I thought I would share a dish detergent recipe with you. This is natural and cheap, and simple!!

Dishwasher Detergent Recipe

1 cup of borax

1 cup of washing soda (again I buy mine online at www.alice.com. You have to buy six boxes at a time but it's cheap and there's no shipping. They will ask you when you want it delivered again and I always put that I don't know so that I can order some more whenever I run out and not on some schedule.)
*Wal-Mart now carries washing soda
1/4 c of Epsom salt

2 packs of lemonade mix (without the sugar.) This is a cheap way to get the citric acid that is needed with hard water.

Mix all of these together well, and you should only need about 1 T per load.
Now I'm going to tell you a BIG secret. Most people don't have success with homemade detergent because it leaves a white film on the dishes. The advice is to put white vinegar in the rinse compartment of the dishwasher, but this doesn't work. Here is the secret. You put a few small splashes of vinegar directly in the bottom of the dishwasher, underneath the bottom rack. I don't know how or why this works, I just know it does. This also works if you use regular commercial detergent but you have really hard water, and it leaves a film on your dishes. The vinegar in the bottom makes it crystal clear. You don't need to waste money on commercial chemicals just use vinegar!
*if you still have issues with film on dishes try putting ONLY a few drops of dish soap (the kind you hand wash dishes with) or Dr. Bronners castile soap on top of the 1T of detergent in the soap dispenser.

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