Homemade & Natural Laundry Detergent Powder

MY DIRTY LAUNDRY

Okay folks, I may be Una Mamma Italiana, but I am NOT Susie Homemaker, nor will I ever be. But because of my oldest daughter's extremely sensitive skin and eczema, I have to be very careful with the chemicals/scents I use on her skin. I have thus found myself exploring all sorts of homemaking tricks that were used by those perfect housewives generations ago. You know, someone like this:

I'm working on it, but this is a bit more accurate for me:

Honestly - who wants to separate each kid's laundry just to save $$$ on the fancy, organic stuff? (Who wants to separate laundry period?) I, as is common in my role as the mamma, have had to take matters into my own hands and figure out a cost effective, EASY solution so as to not lose all of my hair before the age of 30.

I have to admit its kind of liberating to be able to create something on your own without needing the grocery store brands to pull you through these types of obstacles. No matter how likely premature baldness may be, having four (and a half) kiddos does not need to mean the end of all simplicity in life. In fact, just look how SIMPLE I am becoming right before your very eyes:

No, Really - give it a try, it is actually super easy, and totally worth it:

NOTE: The following recipe requires no pot, no stove, not even a wooden spoon (unless your kids aren't folding the laundry, in which case I would suggest you DO have a wooden spoon readily available. Tying one onto the strap of your mammarella apron works quite well....not that I know anything about that...

HOMEMADE LAUNDRY DETERGENT

Powdered Formula

1 bar natural soap, grated*

1 cup Washing Soda**

1 cup Borax***

Grate the soap using your food processor or hand grater. Combine with the Washing Soda and Borax and Pulse in a food processor (or blender) until a fine powder is formed. (You'll want to cover the top of your food processor with a wet kitchen towel to avoid all the dusty powder flying everywhere. Also, it is okay if the soap bits are slightly larger in the fine powder.)

Pour into a sealed container and use 2 tbsp per load. I use this for all my loads and I have an HE washer. I have heard the same dosage is fine for regular washing machines as well. This really ends up costing me less than 17 cents a load, making me the perfect, stereotypically frugal housewife.

*I use a brand without Sodium Lauryl/Laureth Sulfates or Parabens, which although very common in domestic soaps, can be carcinogens! HELLO people! You can pay a pretty penny for these "handmade" soaps or find them online in bulk. I get mine from www.SwansonVitamins.com (quite possibly one of my favorite sites! They sell all sorts of paraben-free and SLS-free baby shampoos and stuff like that. But not EVERYTHING on there is organic or completely natural so watch the ingredients carefully.

**I buy the Arm & Hammer Brand in the Laundry Detergent Aisle at the grocery store. Baking Soda is a different chemical compound entirely and will NOT achieve the same result. Although it is a good odor neutralizer if your sensitive skinned child is smelly.

*** I buy the 20 Mule Team brand from the Laundry Aisle at the Grocery store. If you have problems finding any of these at your store/walmart, check Ace Hardware.

Also, mine smells especially yummy since my soap of choice is Lavender & Wildflower, with little bits of dried lavender in the soap! I am in love with my new found Susie Homemaker-ness. Aren't you?

Next thing you know, I'll be using my homemade detergent and merely a wooden washboard - down by the Spokane river......

Okay, no. Never.

Grandma's Garden - The Next Generation

My March Article for La Voce Newspaper! Just click on the image to enlarge it and read about our version of my Grandma Rose's garden!

Stuffed Zucchini

You don't need a whole lot of fancy ingredients to make a delectable, fresh tasting, from-the-garden treat like Stuffed Zucchini!

For this recipe, choose some fresh, firm zucchini, and adjust the fillings to your liking.

I used:

3 medium sized zucchini, sliced lengthwise

4 fresh Roma tomatoes, chopped

1 - 2 lb. Italian sausage, removed from casing & cooked

1/4 cup - 1/2 cup grated Romano cheese

1 big handful chopped fresh Italian parsley

1/2 - 1 cup Seasoned Italian bread crumbs

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper to taste

minced garlic to taste

Scoop out the pulp from the zucchini with a spoon. Roughly chop & place in a large mixing bowl. Combine with the all other ingredients and enough extra virgin olive oil to moisten the entire mixture. Add salt, pepper, garlic to your liking. Fill each zucchini half with the mixture and top with mozzarella cheese. Bake at 275 degrees for 15 minutes.

I did a lot of mixing & adding by eye, so these measurements are approximate. Experiment to find out what works best for you. Add some hot pepper, or sauteed onions and garlic. You simply cannot go wrong when you're working with such yummy, simple ingredients! And THAT is my kind of recipe!

Italian Mammas Put Meals on Wheels!

Check out this awesome article from the WSJ: original article here.

Italian Mammas Put Meals on Wheels, Say 'Mangia!' to Faraway Offspring

By STACY MEICHTRY

On a recent Sunday in Rome, Daniela Varano and some friends lunched on eggplant parmesan whipped up by the 33-year-old publicist's mother.

Mom, meanwhile, was 500 miles away in Bovalino, a small town in southern Italy. Despite the distance, she does what it takes to spoil her grown daughter with home-cooked fare.

"The umbilical cord was never cut," says Ms. Varano's 61-year-old mother, Lina.

Like thousands of other mammas across the southern Italian region of Calabria, she relies on Domenico Martino, a 39-year-old truck driver who has made a career of ferrying lasagnas, raviolis and other traditional dishes over long distances.

Every Saturday afternoon, Mr. Martino picks up hundreds of meals from kitchens across Calabria, drives them overnight to the bustling capital of Rome, and delivers them to children's doorsteps in time for Sunday lunch.

Whenever she gets a package, Ms. Varano calls up her friends for an impromptu feast. "Everyone postpones their plans just to have the lunch," she says. "Although it seems weird, I'm maintaining an emotional link with my family."

Rocco Rorandelli / TerrraProject for The Wall Street Journal

Michela Natale, with her daughter, unwraps her mother's latest dishes.

Mr. Martino's is one of a dozen such services thriving on Calabrian mothers' steely determination: to cater, literally, to their far-flung adult children. While Mr. Martino only serves Rome, a wave of other trucks depart each week from Calabria to cities across the rest of Italy.

"They don't want their children doing anything. Even getting up and going to the market is overdoing it," says Mr. Martino, hoisting a crate of oranges into his truck on a recent Saturday afternoon. "And that's good for me."

For generations, Calabrian women have poured their maternal love into Sunday lunch. They labor to produce sumptuous meals of fresh pasta, long-stewed meats and homegrown greens to lure their grown children back to the nest every week. It was easy when the children lived nearby or—as was often the case—in upstairs apartments built or bought by their parents. But today, the Sunday lunch tradition has fallen on hard times.

Ravioli

Jobs for young Italians are scarce—particularly in Italy's poorer south—forcing people to migrate north to big cities, leaving their mothers behind. In Calabria, on the toe of Italy's boot, 52% of Italians between the ages of 15 to 64 were "inactive," or not working or studying during most of 2010, according to Italy's official statistics agency ISTAT. Authorities say Calabria is also home to the 'ndrangheta mob, a drug trafficking syndicate that maintains a stranglehold on the region's economy, starving the area of jobs.

Mr. Martino's career got rolling in the late 1990s when he delivered chocolate and pasta to supermarkets around the region. He launched his current enterprise a decade ago, after a handful of mammas asked him to help them make a gastronomic connection to their faraway kids. As more family members scattered across Italy, Mr. Martino's business boomed.

Eventually, some 3,000 mothers came calling, each with a set of special requests, Mr. Martino recalls. Many wanted a discount on what traditional couriers charged; others wanted meals to arrive in time for lunch. Some have asked him to linger at the delivery site to gather intelligence on their children's new lives. Others demanded his cellphone number.

"I needed someone who would take it seriously," says Annamaria Careri, a silver-haired 69-year-old, as she welcomed Mr. Martino into her home on a recent Saturday afternoon and handed him 165 pounds of food she had prepared for her three grown children in Rome. Like other customers, she doesn't bristle at the price, which is relatively low compared to other courier services. Mr. Martino charges €15, or about $21, for a 55-pound package.

Timely delivery is crucial, added Lina Varano, as she waited for Mr. Martino to call on her. Mrs. Varano puts days of preparation into her packages, combing her garden for fava beans, citrus fruit and scarlet-colored tomatoes that she presses into tomato sauce for freshly made ravioli.

On this occasion, she had prepared lightly breaded artichokes, pork cutlets and stuffed eggplants one night with the help of her 90-year-old mother-in-law. A tube of salami, from a recently slaughtered pig, was wrapped into tin foil for its journey to Rome.

"I have to give it my all. Everything, everything, everything!" said Mrs. Varano.

Mr. Martino and a small crew of associates spend the whole morning navigating Calabria's streets to collect packages. It's not easy. Many lack signs; others are pocked with potholes or give way to dirt roads that wind through olive groves and cacti. On his way, he fields calls from mothers seeking updates or speedier deliveries.

"There is raw meat in there, and I don't want it to spoil," said one mother, pressing for an early delivery to her child.

"Signora, all the packages are created equal," Mr. Martino replied.

The cargo is then brought to a warehouse in Calabria and packed into a semi-truck that Mr. Martino drives to Rome. Arriving in the capital at midnight, he sleeps in the truck and rises at the crack of dawn on Sunday to make the deliveries before lunch.

Anna Bianchi, 68, says Mr. Martino's marathon goes a long way in easing the stress her daughter faces as an architect working in Rome. "She's absolutely suffocated by work," Mrs. Bianchi said after entrusting a casserole of baked fish and a freshly made meatballs to Mr. Martino.

Antonio Natale, Ms. Careri's 37-year-old son, padded up to the door in sneakers and a blue track suit to collect the latest haul: slabs of vacuum-packed chicken meat, jars of olives, homemade almond-paste cookies, fish stock. "You see, the separation has been traumatic for her," he said.

A high-school teacher, Mr. Natale has been receiving Sunday deliveries for eight years. He deeply misses his mother, he said, but "there is no going back."

Write to Stacy Meichtry at stacy.meichtry@wsj.com

Sage Honey - THE Sore Throat Remedy

With all the sickness that has plagued our household, the kids were starting to become immune to OTC cough meds! I can only give them so much before it stops working - especially when the sickness circulates through all the kiddos for weeks.

This is my latest finding in sore throat remedies that ACTUALLY WORKS!

Not only does honey have an enzyme that actually heals inflammation, it coats the throat. Sage also has antiviral properties (just learned this) and is a great addition to the honey. I use raw local honey because a lot of the commonly store-bought brands are often processed so much that they lose all their goodness & nutrients in the high heat of pasteurization.

DIRECTIONS:

Simmer (on low) some organic sage leaves in

enough honey to cover the leaves for almost 1 hour. Strain, and pour into bottles. Take 1-2 teaspoonfuls throughout the day as needed for sore throats!

That's it! Medicine in a minute! And its not so dangerous that you have to worry about giving them too much! Just don't give it to babies under one year. Salud!

Gabriella's Onomastico!

Today marked a popular Feast Day for many Italians - the feast of the Annunciation, or L'Annunciazione!

It's when Catholics remember the Annunciation of the Archangel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary, "announcing" that she would bear the Christ child. In our house, this is a particularly special feast because our daughter's name is Gabriella. Now, the traditional feast of St. Gabriel the Archangel was yesterday, so that was really Gabriella's "Onomastico" or 'name day." (In Italy it is very common to celebrate the feast day of your patron Saint or namesake.) We decided to celebrate today instead for a few reasons:

1. It's Friday night and the sugar buzz will not be so lethal on a non-school night.

2. It is also the anniversary of our other daughter, Gianna's, baptism - or her "Baptismal Birthday" (which we also celebrate every year!)

3. L'Annunciazione is a pretty special feast to just let pass by...

Since our kids were babies, we would celebrate these 'excuses for cake during Lent'........ahem, I mean - special feast days.....to try and teach the kids a little bit about their culture & religion. (we all give up sweets for Lent - it's my husband's way of dieting) Now that the kids are really starting to understand the meaning behind it all, it's tons more fun.

These are the cupcakes that went to school with Gabriella this morning:

When I asked if her class enjoyed them, she paraphrased, "Oh, Mamma - everyone in the class wanted my cupcakes soooo bad. I opened them in the morning and I wanted them all day but I waited until lunch and then Sister handed them out because I would have spilled."

I was looking for a simple, "yes" and "thank you" but hey, that works.

Each little picture is a scene of the Annunciation that I printed off from my computer (in t-2 seconds), cut out, and taped to toothpicks - super simple.

So if you don't do it already, find a way to incorporate these types of feast days into your calendar. It's a terrific way to teach the kids a little something with meaning behind it, and a greaaat excuse for cake:) Cheers!

5 Things to cook with Ground Beef

Sometimes the busy week gets the best of us, and we just don't have time to pull a meal together in only 20 minutes. Rather than drive through the nearest fast food chain, I've come up with a quick solution for your weeknight chaos - ground beef! All it takes is the investment of cooking a larger batch of ground beef ONE NIGHT, and you'll have dinners for FIVE NIGHTS!

INSTRUCTIONS:

Saute a few pounds of ground beef (adjust to the size of your family) with garlic, onions, salt, and pepper until browned. Separate into 3-5 batches and you have the makings of 3-5 meals in a cinch! I use one small onion and 5 cloves of minced garlic per pound of meat, because I like it to be VERY flavorful. Adjust to your liking. (You can even place the cooked ground meat into freezer baggies and freeze for later use.)

Here are the TOP FIVE ways I use my pre-cooked ground beef:

1.) SLOPPY GIUSEPPE'S

(Open-faced Sloppy Joe sandwiches)

Mix the ground beef with your favorite bbq sauce. Top sliced ciabatta bread with the mixture. Sprinkle with a mix grated mozarella, cheddar, and provolone cheese. Cook under the broiler until warmed & melted.

2.) PSEUDO-GREEK EMPENADAS

Mix the ground beef with feta cheese. Fill croissant dough and fold over to make empanada pockets. Serve with zucchini or cucumber 'chips' & Sour Cream Dipping Sauce (below).

Dipping Sauce:

1 3/4 cups sour cream

1/4 cup mayonaisse (you may substitute sour cream if you are not a mayo fan)

1/2 tsp dill

1/2 tsp basil

1/2 tsp oregano

1 tsp lemon juice

3.) Baked Ziti

Mix the cooked ground beef with a can of your fav. crushed tomatoes, simmer 20 minutes. Toss with ziti pasta & ricotta cheese. Pour into a casserole dish, top with shredded mozarella and bake it off!

Here's mine right before it goes into the oven! I use a mixture of fresh and shredded mozarella! (I usually bake it at 375 degrees)

4.) Tacos

Reheat the ground beef in a skillet on med-low heat, tossing in some cumin, garlic & onion powder, chili powder, and shredded mexican cheese. Fill up some taco shells & mangia!

5.) Asian Lettuce Wraps

These are one of my favorites! Reheat the ground beef in a skillet on med-low, adding your favorite terriyaki or hoisin sauce (I prefer hoisin). Pour spoonfuls of the meat mixture into lettuce cups and top with fresh chives, cashews, and whatever other asian veggies you might like.