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Showing posts from April, 2013

Peach Melba Iced Tea

A French chef created the Peach Melba dessert in London for an Australian singer named Nellie Melba. It's peaches in a raspberry sauce over vanilla ice cream. I paired two of the flavors in iced tea and it is so sweet you don't have to add sugar! It's really quite good and tastes like summer! PEACH MELBA ICED TEA 2 regular-size bags peach tea such as Celestial Seasonings Peach Passion 1family-size bag raspberry tea such as Lipton Specially Blended for Iced Tea Raspberry 8 cups of water to start plus 6-8 more later Place the tea bags and 8 cups of cold water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn off heat and steep for 15 minutes or so (sometimes I lose track of time and it still turns out OK.) Remove the tea bags and discard. Mix the tea with 6-8 cups of water ... taste as you add the water to get it to the strength you like. You can add sugar if you really want to, but it's so naturally sweet you really shouldn't. Definitely taste before you add sugar.

Homemade Laundry Soap

Evidence that we are in a second Great Depression: I made homemade laundry detergent. I used this recipe from The Family Homestead: http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/laundrysoap.htm. I'll print it briefly below in case the link goes bad in the future. Homemade Laundry Soap 1/3 bar Fels Naptha or other type of soap, as listed above 1/2 cup washing soda(sold in the cleaners a isle, the Arm & Hammer brand is in a yellow box) 1 /2 cup B orax powder  2 gallon bucket Grate the soap and put it in a sauce pan.  (I used the lidded stockpot I wanted to keep my detergent in.) Add 6 cups water and heat it until the soap melts.  Add the washing soda and the borax and stir until it is dissolved.  Remove from heat.  Pour 4 cups hot water into the bucket -- I put it in the pot with t he soap mixture. If you're using a separate bucket, add soap mixture to the 4 cups of hot water in your bucket and stir.  Now add 1 gallon plus 6 cups of water and stir.  Let the s