Some Sour Summer Sipping

Wood Sorrel is also known as Sour Grass, Sour Trefoil, Stickwort, Fairy Bells, and Hallelujah.  The lemony flavor leaves, flowers, and bulbs can be eaten fresh or cooked.  Wood sorrel contains significant amounts of Vitamin A.  The leaves work well in salads; they can also be steeped in water to make a tea or lemonade-flavored beverage.

I usually collect the wood sorrel, place it in a cheese cloth, put that in a carafe or pitcher and cover with hot water letting it steep.  When the water has cooled, I remove the cheese cloth and squeeze out the remaining liquid.  Now I have a slightly sour beverage that is great severed chilled!  I also add some honey which adds wonderful complexity to this sour summer refreshment.  Just don't drink too much at once.

The leaves and stem of this plant contain oxalic acid, which can cause kidney damage by inhibiting the uptake of calcium.  The flowers, seeds and leaves are not toxic to humans if eaten in small amounts.

I had been storing the extra as ice cubes which could be melted and consumed or add a cube to another drink to really mix things up.  However, after losing my freezer harvest during the week without power from the hurricane, I'm thinking of trying something different this year to store the wood sorrel.  I read another's suggestion to dry and store the sorrel then steep a measure as desired.

Making Liquid Laundry Detergent

Here is how I got 3 gallons of liquid laundry detergent for 71 cents. 

Grate a bar of soap into a pot with several cups of water and heat on the stove.  This bar of soap I received free so that cost is not included.  You can get a bar of soap for between $ 0.50 and $ 1.50, and more depending on what you choose.  In the past I've even saved up several bath bar slivers and used them.

The heat will help to melt the soap bar.  I've tried soaking the bar soap overnight and mushing it up, but this does not work as well as grating.

When melted, add 1 cup Washing Soda [$ 0.50] and 1/2 cup of Borax [$ 0.21] to the pot and mix.  Then place this in your bucket, adding water to fill.  Overnight the mixture will congeal.  I keep a stick with the bucket to stir before I scoop out a cup of detergent because the gel floats.

A three gallon bucket gives 48 cups / 48 loads of detergent.  This brings the cost per load to $ 0.02 and as I usually do a load of laundry every other day, this bucket will last over a year!

Sometimes when putting the cup of detergent in the machine, I add a few drops of essential oil for fragrance, which bumps up the cost per load a few cents.

Steam Clean

I bought a new steam mop and I really like how much dirt it gets up.  It came with a 'free' bottle of Eucalyptus Mint Fragrance distilled water which was good for two tank fills.  If I wanted to purchase more I could buy a 32 oz bottle for $ 15.00 plus $ 6.00 shipping.  So I decided to brew up some of my own scented cleaner.

I put the peels of two oranges into a mason jar and covered with white vinegar.  Then let it set for two weeks.  Then I refill the container that came with the mop with half scented vinegar and half water.  Cost is $ 0.186 for a final 32 ounces, I like that price better!

I did not calculate the cost of the orange peel in this as the peel was 'left over' from a snack and would have been put in the compost pile instead. 

The instructions recommend distilled water or I'll have to replace the mop filter system sooner, which costs $ 13.00 and $ 4.00 shipping. 

So now do I want to buy distilled water or make some . . .

Almond Paste

Almonds are high in monounsaturated fats, the same type of health-promoting fats as are found in olive oil, which have been associated with reduced risk of heart disease.  In addition to healthy fats and vitamin E, a quarter-cup of almonds contains almost 99 mg of magnesium.  Here is a way to make your own mild but tasty almond paste that can be spread on bread, apples, carrots or added to stir fries.

What you'll need: one food processor, two tablespoons of Safflower Oil = $ 0.17, one 12 ounce package of almonds = $ 4.99.  I like to use the slivered almonds to make quicker work of the chopping, but you can also use whole nuts.  You'll want to use safflower oil for its very light flavor.

Place your almonds in the food processor and start chopping, while it is running remove the stopper on the lid and slowly add two tablespoons of oil.  Now let it run until smooth.  You may need to stop and scrap down the contents then continue the mixing.  Depending on your preference you could add another tablespoon of oil to and continue until a creamy consistency is reached.

This gives me 12 ounces of almond paste for $ 4.16 [$ 0.347 /ounce].

Now here is a cost comparison difficulty because I did not get organic almonds and the only store bought option was Nature's Promise Organics Almond Butter16 ounce for $ 11.79 [$ 0.737 /ounce].  If I bought the small 9.5 ounce container of organic almonds there would not have been any savings.