Laundry soap is one of those things that drives me crazy.  Like paper towels and plastic baggies.  It is completely disposable yet we spend huge amounts of money on it.  In addition the primary ingredient in that expensive jug of laundry detergent is water. WATER.  So I make my own.  It isn’t hard (and yes I still do it even now that I work full-time) and it washes the clothes just as well as Tide did.  I would like to think it is better for our skin, allergies, etc… but we never had a lot of problems there to begin with so the jury is still out.

So for those of you who said you’d be interested here is how I make my laundry soap.  There are lots of recipes out there for laundry soap but this is the one I use, primarily because it is easy and doesn’t require a lot of ingredients.  Let’s just get the disclaimer part out of the way upfront, shall we? Disclaimer: I am not responsible for any damage to yourself, loved ones or property as a result of using this recipe or attempting to make your own laundry soap.  Exercise due caution with the ingredients and if swallowed or splashed in eyes call poison control.  Let’s all just use our common sense now, ‘kay?

Here is the part that is going to drive you crazy.  I don’t measure my laundry soap or ingredients down to the last gram or ounce.  I have a large plastic cat litter jug that I cleaned out and it probably holds about 3 gallons of water.  You can use a 5 gallon paint bucket or a 1 gallon milk jug.  What’s important is that you have a container with a lid that will hold enough soap that you aren’t constantly refilling it and is convenient to store.  For me the cat litter jug works because it has a lid and a handle and I can tuck it away in the laundry room like I would regular detergent.  Click here for the recipe »

Indian food amazes me.  There are a few cultures in the world that can take bland, cheap ingredients and turn them into rich, hearty dishes bursting with flavor and spice.  I have never had much use for cauliflower, potatoes, or chickpeas.  They have always seemed bland and mushy and I didn’t trust any cuisine that presented them front and center and expected me to be satisfied.  Until I learned to love Indian food.  The chickpeas here are almost irrelevant.  The texture is nice but you could serve almost anything with this spice combination and you would find me sucking down spoonful after spoonful (and sweating from the heat).  The chickpeas are important because they are healthy and inexpensive.  The chickpeas also mean you can keep all of the ingredients for this dish in the pantry, to whip up at a moments notice.  So, thank you chickpeas, I will try to be more respectful from now on.

Click here for the recipe »

I made this dish back in the fall when Elise from Simply Recipes made it.  It sounded like the perfect comfort food and at the time it was.  But since then, life has changed.  Not that the original recipe is hard, it is not, but because after working all day it sounds easier to throw everything in a baking dish and let the oven take care of it.  I still have to do the dishes, but at least I can get them done while dinner is baking instead of after the kids are in bed! (When, let’s face it, I would rather go to bed too.)

I was inspired to make my own version of this dish after see Aggie post it on facebook.  It was easy enough to make after work and supplied us with several generous servings of leftovers to take to work and share. Click here for the recipe »

Considering my last post, this probably isn’t the first thing thing you would expect me to post.  In fact, I made this during Ramadan and am only now finding the words to post it here.  This is an amazing dish and the one I wanted to share with you first.

I love Lebanese food.  My roommate and best friend in college was Lebanese and I fell in love with the culture and the food through her family’s dishes, lovingly shared.  It was my first experience in life with trying something “different” with an open mind and heart.  I first saw this recipe on Chicho’s Kitchen, a beautiful blog written by a Lebanese woman living in Paris.  I love her posts because I finally have recipes for many of the wonderful dishes I fell so madly for during college.  I saved it then but I didn’t actually try making myself until after I tried this same dish at a Ramadan dinner held for the patients at the hospital where I work.  It was delicious and I knew immediately from the ingredients it had to be this recipe.  I couldn’t wait to try it myself at home and it was spot on and just as tart and rich as the original.

I have roasted lemon slices several times before and it sounds crazy but it comes out beautifully.  Slice it very thinly, peel and all, and it roasts into a sweet and sour delight that adds punch and flavor to chicken or fish.  Also, there are many recipes, names and spellings for this dish but this one was exactly what I was looking for. Click here for the recipe »