Whether you regularly wear hair gel and are looking for a low-waste, body-friendly alternative, or are an historic reenactor looking for a period-correct way to style your hair, this easy do-it-yourself recipe for making hair gel is sure to fit your needs.
You’ll Need:
1 cup flax seeds
Enough water to cover the seeds
A pot for boiling
Non-reactive container for the resulting gel
Cloth scrap for filtering
Step 1. Boil the flax seeds for 15 minutes.
Step 2. Strain the flax seeds from the water mix, keeping the water mix in the non-creative container. Toss the flax seeds.
Step 3. Let the mixture set, until it has the consistency of mucus.
Step 4. Refrigerate and use as needed. This will keep for about 3 weeks, and can be used just as normal hair gel would be.
Bonus! This mixture isn’t tacky/sticky like regular gels can be. It washes out with water, and has a medium strength hold. In making your own gel, you’ll be reducing the waste generated by the production and packaging of gel. Also, this natural gel is more gentle on your hair and scalp, as it is 100% natural. Enjoy!
Thanks to Beth for this great quick class!
Showing posts with label Quick Class. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Quick Class. Show all posts
Monday, March 15, 2010
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Bath Poof Dress
For you beginning sewers out there this is a project you can do with very little trouble, and it's a good way to recycle those bath scrubbie thingies that are made of plastic. Take a look at this great video our lovely teacher Beth forwarded:
Bath Poof Dress
Bath Poof Dress
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Another Quick Class- Casseroles!
A great quick class from our lovely instructor Beth Wade...
Make Your Own Casserole
If you have any leftover meat, or veggies that are starting to look
sad, a great way to make them into something new and more appetizing
is by throwing them into a casserole. Any casserole that contains
already-cooked meat (or not meat at all) can be tightly covered
(sealed as air-tight as you can make it) and frozen, making for an
easy weeknight dinner option- just thaw and bake!
Any basic casserole requires all of the following:
1 (8-ounce) carton sour cream or plain (unflavored) yogurt AND
1 cup milk AND
1 cup water AND
1 teaspoon salt AND
1 teaspoon pepper
Then pick one sauce base below:
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted OR
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of celery soup, undiluted OR
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of chicken soup, undiluted OR
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can Cheddar cheese soup, undiluted OR
2 (14 1/2-ounce) cans Italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained (if
choosing this option, omit the sour cream/yogurt and milk listed
above)
Then pick one meat option from below, if desired (not required):
2 (6-ounce) cans solid white tuna, drained and flaked OR
2 cups chopped cooked chicken OR
2 cups chopped cooked ham OR
2 cups chopped cooked turkey OR
1 pound ground beef, browned and drained
Then choose one 'dry base' from below:
2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni OR
1 cup uncooked rice (white works best, but you can use other types) OR
4 cups uncooked wide egg noodles OR
3 cups uncooked medium shells
Pick one topping from the list below:
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese OR
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded Swiss cheese OR
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese OR
1/2 cup fine, dry breadcrumbs, or panko
Pick one veggie from the list below:
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed (or fresh, cooked
and gently squeezed to a less-moist consistency) OR
1 (10-ounce) package frozen cut broccoli (or fresh, cooked) OR
1 (10-ounce) package frozen Italian green beans (or fresh, cooked) OR
1 (10-ounce) package frozen English peas (or fresh, cooked) OR
1 (16-ounce) package frozen sliced yellow squash (or fresh, baked
until tender) OR
1 (10-ounce) package frozen whole kernel corn (or fresh, cooked)
Lastly, pick one extra ingredient (optional):
1 (3-ounce) can sliced mushrooms, drained (or fresh, sliced and
sauteed just until tender) OR
1/4 cup sliced ripe olives OR
1/4 cup chopped bell pepper OR
1/4 cup chopped onion OR
1/4 cup chopped celery OR
2 garlic cloves, minced OR
1 (4.5-ounce) can chopped green chiles (or fresh, diced and cooked
just until tender) OR
1 (1 1/4-ounce) envelope taco seasoning mix
Combine the sour cream or yogurt with the 1 cup milk, 1 cup water, 1
teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper and Sauce Base. Stir in the dry
base, veggie, meat, and if desired, extras.
Spoon the casserole mixture into a lightly greased 13" x 9" x 2"
baking dish. Sprinkle with your choice of toppings.
Cover and bake casserole at 350ยบ for 1 hour and 10 minutes; uncover
and bake 10 additional minutes.
If you would prefer to make the casserole up ahead of time and freeze
it, do so before the baking step. No time to thaw the dish before
baking? If you have a sturdy enough casserole dish (like a Pyrex), you
can just put it into the oven, however be aware that you may need to
increase the baking time by an additional 10-20 minutes to compensate.
If you would prefer a vegetarian casserole option, try the
Italian-style diced tomatoes, yellow squash, rice, olives, 4 portions
celery, 4 portions bell pepper, garlic, parmesan cheese, and
breadcrumbs.
Make Your Own Casserole
If you have any leftover meat, or veggies that are starting to look
sad, a great way to make them into something new and more appetizing
is by throwing them into a casserole. Any casserole that contains
already-cooked meat (or not meat at all) can be tightly covered
(sealed as air-tight as you can make it) and frozen, making for an
easy weeknight dinner option- just thaw and bake!
Any basic casserole requires all of the following:
1 (8-ounce) carton sour cream or plain (unflavored) yogurt AND
1 cup milk AND
1 cup water AND
1 teaspoon salt AND
1 teaspoon pepper
Then pick one sauce base below:
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted OR
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of celery soup, undiluted OR
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of chicken soup, undiluted OR
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can Cheddar cheese soup, undiluted OR
2 (14 1/2-ounce) cans Italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained (if
choosing this option, omit the sour cream/yogurt and milk listed
above)
Then pick one meat option from below, if desired (not required):
2 (6-ounce) cans solid white tuna, drained and flaked OR
2 cups chopped cooked chicken OR
2 cups chopped cooked ham OR
2 cups chopped cooked turkey OR
1 pound ground beef, browned and drained
Then choose one 'dry base' from below:
2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni OR
1 cup uncooked rice (white works best, but you can use other types) OR
4 cups uncooked wide egg noodles OR
3 cups uncooked medium shells
Pick one topping from the list below:
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese OR
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded Swiss cheese OR
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese OR
1/2 cup fine, dry breadcrumbs, or panko
Pick one veggie from the list below:
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed (or fresh, cooked
and gently squeezed to a less-moist consistency) OR
1 (10-ounce) package frozen cut broccoli (or fresh, cooked) OR
1 (10-ounce) package frozen Italian green beans (or fresh, cooked) OR
1 (10-ounce) package frozen English peas (or fresh, cooked) OR
1 (16-ounce) package frozen sliced yellow squash (or fresh, baked
until tender) OR
1 (10-ounce) package frozen whole kernel corn (or fresh, cooked)
Lastly, pick one extra ingredient (optional):
1 (3-ounce) can sliced mushrooms, drained (or fresh, sliced and
sauteed just until tender) OR
1/4 cup sliced ripe olives OR
1/4 cup chopped bell pepper OR
1/4 cup chopped onion OR
1/4 cup chopped celery OR
2 garlic cloves, minced OR
1 (4.5-ounce) can chopped green chiles (or fresh, diced and cooked
just until tender) OR
1 (1 1/4-ounce) envelope taco seasoning mix
Combine the sour cream or yogurt with the 1 cup milk, 1 cup water, 1
teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper and Sauce Base. Stir in the dry
base, veggie, meat, and if desired, extras.
Spoon the casserole mixture into a lightly greased 13" x 9" x 2"
baking dish. Sprinkle with your choice of toppings.
Cover and bake casserole at 350ยบ for 1 hour and 10 minutes; uncover
and bake 10 additional minutes.
If you would prefer to make the casserole up ahead of time and freeze
it, do so before the baking step. No time to thaw the dish before
baking? If you have a sturdy enough casserole dish (like a Pyrex), you
can just put it into the oven, however be aware that you may need to
increase the baking time by an additional 10-20 minutes to compensate.
If you would prefer a vegetarian casserole option, try the
Italian-style diced tomatoes, yellow squash, rice, olives, 4 portions
celery, 4 portions bell pepper, garlic, parmesan cheese, and
breadcrumbs.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Hot Chocolate on the cheap
Well since winter seems to be here to stay here's a cheap recipe for hot chocolate that will help you stay warm with credits to the Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn... a good book to check out if you're looking for ways to save some cash, or just wonder to do with those odd things around the house that you don't want to throw away. (I'm fairly certain Amy throws away NOTHING!). And best yet the Seattle Public Library has it so you can check it out for FREE!!!
1/3 cup dry milk
1 teaspoon cocoa
1 teaspoon sugar
Mix above together and add 1 cup hot water.
This would be great for camping too if you're trying to avoid high fructose corn syrup or hydrogenated oils as most mixes that don't require milk have those things in them. You could also try soy milk powder if you wanted to go vegan.
Give it a try and let us all know what you think! (you may have to fiddle with the recipe a bit if you have a sweeter tooth)
1/3 cup dry milk
1 teaspoon cocoa
1 teaspoon sugar
Mix above together and add 1 cup hot water.
This would be great for camping too if you're trying to avoid high fructose corn syrup or hydrogenated oils as most mixes that don't require milk have those things in them. You could also try soy milk powder if you wanted to go vegan.
Give it a try and let us all know what you think! (you may have to fiddle with the recipe a bit if you have a sweeter tooth)
Friday, February 13, 2009
Tiramisu Part 2
Here you go. Between this and the mascarpone you made yourself you will have the best tiramisu you've ever had. It's really quite easy honestly, even the cheese making part so don't let it scare you away!
3 eggs separated
2 cups mascarpone at room temperature
2t vanilla sugar or 1 sachet of vanilla sugar
(note: you can make your own vanilla sugar by placing one vanilla bean into
a jar of sugar- let sit for at least a week)
¾ cup cold, very strong black coffee (instant espresso works great)
¾ cup kahlua or other coffee-flavored liquor
1 large package of ladyfingers (at least 20 total)
unsweetened cocoa powder
Put egg whites into a mixing bowl and whisk until they form medium stiff peaks.
Combine mascarpone, egg yolks and sugar in another bowl.
Fold the egg whites into the mascarpone mixture.
Put a few spoonfuls of the mix at the bottom of your serving pan and spread out evenly (a 9x9 glass dish works about right for this)
Pour the coffee and the liquor into a shallow dish and stir to combine.
Dip the first layer of lady fingers quickly (they don’t need to be soaked through) and place on top of the mascarpone in the serving pan next to each other. Tiramisu is sort of like lasagna so basically make a layer of soaked cookies.
Spoon ½ of what you have left of the cheese mix on top of the cookies and spread evenly.
Make another layer of cookies soaking these ones a bit longer (remember, the liquid goes to the bottom, thus no need to soak the bottom layer for too long. Your cookies should never be falling apart on you or you’ve soaked them too much).
Cover this layer with the cheese mix and dust with the cocoa powder.
Cover and let sit in the fridge overnight.
Note: you may need more coffee, liquor or cookies. It’s always a good idea to have extras on hand.
3 eggs separated
2 cups mascarpone at room temperature
2t vanilla sugar or 1 sachet of vanilla sugar
(note: you can make your own vanilla sugar by placing one vanilla bean into
a jar of sugar- let sit for at least a week)
¾ cup cold, very strong black coffee (instant espresso works great)
¾ cup kahlua or other coffee-flavored liquor
1 large package of ladyfingers (at least 20 total)
unsweetened cocoa powder
Put egg whites into a mixing bowl and whisk until they form medium stiff peaks.
Combine mascarpone, egg yolks and sugar in another bowl.
Fold the egg whites into the mascarpone mixture.
Put a few spoonfuls of the mix at the bottom of your serving pan and spread out evenly (a 9x9 glass dish works about right for this)
Pour the coffee and the liquor into a shallow dish and stir to combine.
Dip the first layer of lady fingers quickly (they don’t need to be soaked through) and place on top of the mascarpone in the serving pan next to each other. Tiramisu is sort of like lasagna so basically make a layer of soaked cookies.
Spoon ½ of what you have left of the cheese mix on top of the cookies and spread evenly.
Make another layer of cookies soaking these ones a bit longer (remember, the liquid goes to the bottom, thus no need to soak the bottom layer for too long. Your cookies should never be falling apart on you or you’ve soaked them too much).
Cover this layer with the cheese mix and dust with the cocoa powder.
Cover and let sit in the fridge overnight.
Note: you may need more coffee, liquor or cookies. It’s always a good idea to have extras on hand.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
The Best Tiramisu
I often say that I make some of the best tiramisu but honestly it has nothing to do with me or some secret recipe. The key is using mascarpone you make yourself. It's not hard to do and is much less expensive then buying it in a store. So here's the first part in a two part series on making your own best tiramisu...
Mascarpone with tartaric acid
1 quart light cream or half-and-half (you can also use a pint of each).
1/8-1/4 teaspoon tartaric acid
1. Heat cream to 185°F (or more- up to about 200, just make sure it's AT LEAST 185).
2. Add 1/8 teaspoon tartaric acid and stir for several minutes. The mixture will slowly thicken into a runny cream-of-wheat consistency, with tiny flecks of curd. If the cream does not coagulate, add a speck more of the tartaric acid and stir for another 5 minutes. Be careful not to add too much tartaric acid or a grainy texture will result.
3. Line a colander with a double layer of high quality cheesecloth. Pour the curd into the colander and drain for 1 hour for a traditional mascarpone texture. Drain for up to 12 hours in a refrigerator for a whipped cream cheese texture.
If you're worried that you've gotten enough curd and used enough tartaric acid simply drain the first time into another clean pot. If you didn't put enough tartaric in the first time you can just repeat the process with the stuff that drained through.
4. Place the finished cheese in a covered container and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.
Yield: about 1 pound
Mascarpone with tartaric acid
1 quart light cream or half-and-half (you can also use a pint of each).
1/8-1/4 teaspoon tartaric acid
1. Heat cream to 185°F (or more- up to about 200, just make sure it's AT LEAST 185).
2. Add 1/8 teaspoon tartaric acid and stir for several minutes. The mixture will slowly thicken into a runny cream-of-wheat consistency, with tiny flecks of curd. If the cream does not coagulate, add a speck more of the tartaric acid and stir for another 5 minutes. Be careful not to add too much tartaric acid or a grainy texture will result.
3. Line a colander with a double layer of high quality cheesecloth. Pour the curd into the colander and drain for 1 hour for a traditional mascarpone texture. Drain for up to 12 hours in a refrigerator for a whipped cream cheese texture.
If you're worried that you've gotten enough curd and used enough tartaric acid simply drain the first time into another clean pot. If you didn't put enough tartaric in the first time you can just repeat the process with the stuff that drained through.
4. Place the finished cheese in a covered container and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.
Yield: about 1 pound
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Quick Class-Laundry Soap
Making your own laundry soap is quick and easy but the best part is that it's very very cheap. You can easily make 3 gallons of soap for about $3 and have virtually no waste whatsoever. Here's the info:
Make Your Own Laundry Soap!
Ingredients
1 bar soap
1 cup Washing Soda (not baking soda!)
1 five gallon bucket with a lid
3 gallons of water
Grate the bar of soap into a sauce pan. Heat up some water in a kettle and cover the soap with boiling water. Leave overnight to melt. If there are still chunks of soap in the morning add more boiling water until all chunks of soap are gone. Pour melted soap mixture into the bucket. Add enough hot tap water to make 3 gallons of liquid and then add the washing soda. Stir well and let sit overnight. Use from ½ cup to 1 cup of detergent per load of laundry at a total cost of approximately 3 cents per load!
You can often find a bucket for free at any industrial kitchen or grocery store where they make things from scratch or a place that sells honey in bulk. You can find washing soda at the Ballard Fred Meyer (so far the only place I've found it).
Make Your Own Laundry Soap!
Ingredients
1 bar soap
1 cup Washing Soda (not baking soda!)
1 five gallon bucket with a lid
3 gallons of water
Grate the bar of soap into a sauce pan. Heat up some water in a kettle and cover the soap with boiling water. Leave overnight to melt. If there are still chunks of soap in the morning add more boiling water until all chunks of soap are gone. Pour melted soap mixture into the bucket. Add enough hot tap water to make 3 gallons of liquid and then add the washing soda. Stir well and let sit overnight. Use from ½ cup to 1 cup of detergent per load of laundry at a total cost of approximately 3 cents per load!
You can often find a bucket for free at any industrial kitchen or grocery store where they make things from scratch or a place that sells honey in bulk. You can find washing soda at the Ballard Fred Meyer (so far the only place I've found it).
Monday, January 26, 2009
Quick Class- Microwave Popcorn
As I was making my own microwave popcorn at work today I realized that a number of people probably don't know you can make your own for next to nothing. Since telling you how to do it takes all of one minute it's hardly class worthy. So how to get the information to you...? The blog! So here's the first in a series of quick classes. Look for how to make your own laundry soap for pennies coming next.
MICROWAVE POPCORN
What you need
a brown paper bag about lunch size or so
popcorn
whatever stuff you want to put on your popcorn
Place about 1/4 of a cup of popcorn into the brown paper bag and fold it over tightly a few times. To be honest you can use one staple to hold it together but I've found that folding over works fine and frankly you don't even need to fold it over that well... usually the top of the microwave keeps the bag folded over.
Place bag with popcorn into the microwave and set for about 5 minutes. You're not actually going to use this much time but it will usually be enough no matter how much popcorn you're making.
Start the microwave and hang out in the same room with it. You'll want to catch it before the popcorn burns so keep your nose and ears on the microwave. You'll also want to make sure the bag doesn't open or you might have a pretty decorated inside to your microwave. Personally I've never had this happen but the microwave at my work is pretty small.
Once you feel like you've let it pop enough stop the microwave and let it sit for a few seconds to make sure everything that's going to pop has popped. This time will vary depending on how much popcorn you're making and your microwave.
Take it out, pour it into a bowl and cover with whatever yumminess you want.
Done! And if you don't use the staple you can just keep using that bag for a very long time.
Not only is this a heck of a lot cheaper then microwave popcorn but it doesn't have any of the nasty stuff being found to cause lung disease that's in the regular microwave popcorn.
Popcorn at work for about 20 cents... what's not to love?
MICROWAVE POPCORN
What you need
a brown paper bag about lunch size or so
popcorn
whatever stuff you want to put on your popcorn
Place about 1/4 of a cup of popcorn into the brown paper bag and fold it over tightly a few times. To be honest you can use one staple to hold it together but I've found that folding over works fine and frankly you don't even need to fold it over that well... usually the top of the microwave keeps the bag folded over.
Place bag with popcorn into the microwave and set for about 5 minutes. You're not actually going to use this much time but it will usually be enough no matter how much popcorn you're making.
Start the microwave and hang out in the same room with it. You'll want to catch it before the popcorn burns so keep your nose and ears on the microwave. You'll also want to make sure the bag doesn't open or you might have a pretty decorated inside to your microwave. Personally I've never had this happen but the microwave at my work is pretty small.
Once you feel like you've let it pop enough stop the microwave and let it sit for a few seconds to make sure everything that's going to pop has popped. This time will vary depending on how much popcorn you're making and your microwave.
Take it out, pour it into a bowl and cover with whatever yumminess you want.
Done! And if you don't use the staple you can just keep using that bag for a very long time.
Not only is this a heck of a lot cheaper then microwave popcorn but it doesn't have any of the nasty stuff being found to cause lung disease that's in the regular microwave popcorn.
Popcorn at work for about 20 cents... what's not to love?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
