kitchen gadgets i totally love (and probably couldn't do without)

I love summer for many reasons. One of those reasons is BERRIES, especially strawberries! I love them. And, in a roundabout way, strawberries are the inspiration for today's post.

Before Ross and I got married, we registered at Bed Bath & Beyond. Ross got to hold the scan gun, which explains a lot of items on our registry: the restaurant-style toothpick holder, the citrus peeler, the strawberry huller. I never thought I'd admit it, but I love that strawberry huller. Actually, it's the first item on today's list:

Kitchen Gadgets I Totally Love and Probably Couldn't Do Without


1. Oxo Strawberry Huller

I realize a strawberry huller is a unitasker, but I'm making an exception for this one. This little gadget is really handy when your family goes through two or three cartons of strawberries a week. Before owning the strawberry huller, I just lopped off the top of the strawberry -- an effective method, to be sure, but it wastes a lot more of the strawberry than necessary. Now, I just pull the leaves off, remove the hull with this little gadget, and voila -- strawberries are ready to eat!

2. Salter Kitchen Scale

Where would I be without my kitchen scale? I love this little gadget. I bought mine at BB&B with a 20% off coupon, but they're widely available everywhere. This is most handy for measuring liquids. Shortly after buying this scale, I conducted an experiment to determine the weight of commonly used liquids. Know what I found out? Alton Brown's saying is true: "A pint is a pound the world around."  One pint of liquid = 16 oz.  So, do you need to measure 1/2 c. of milk but hate to dirty up your liquid measuring cup? No problem! Just put your bowl on the scale, turn it on, and pour until the display reads 4 oz. It also works for water, orange juice, and pretty much any other liquid. 

3. Cookie Scoop

I have no idea what brand mine is, but I love my cookie scoop. It's great for no-bake cookies & chocolate chip cookies, especially if you loathe the two-spoon method like I do. It's great for making uniform cookies so you don't end up with some bite-sized and some gargantuan-sized. I also really like this for scooping ice cream into a small dish. It makes me feel like I'm eating more ice cream than I actually am!

Let me know what kitchen gadgets you can't live without!

Homemade Laundry Detergent: Liquid

Earlier today, I posted about my homemade powdered laundry detergent. While I do love it, we're switching to liquid for two reasons: (1) the powdered detergent doesn't dissolve all that well, especially in cold-water loads, and (2) I am personally a little uncomfortable with the idea of whirling Borax around in my food processor, then later using the same food processor to chop vegetables for dinner.

We've only used our liquid detergent for one load of sheets, but I think it'll do okay. Here's the recipe!

Leah's Homemade Liquid Laundry Detergent

1 cup liquid castile soap -- I like Dr. Bronner's lavender, which I bought from my local hippie store out of the bulk soap container

1/3 cup washing soda

1/3 cup baking soda

1/3 cup Borax

warm/hot water

Directions:

1) Fill a one-gallon container with 1 cup of liquid castile soap

2) Add about 4 cups warm water

3) Add all powdered ingredients slowly. If possible, stir while adding. Alternatively, shake frequently.

4) Fill container with warm water until full.

Use 1/4 cup per load of laundry.

I should mention that this recipe is adapted from several I found on the interwebs. If you wanna see my sources, see this recipe and this recipe.

Good luck, and let me know if you try it!

Homemade Laundry Detergent: Powder

Yep, that's right. I make my own laundry detergent!

And you know what? I don't care if you think it's nerdy or weird. I'm ok with it! Know why? Because I crunched the numbers.

All Powder: 19¢ per load

Arm & Hammer Powder: 9¢ per load

Cheer Powder: 13¢ per load

Homemade Powder: 4¢ per load

We do about 5 loads of laundry per week, so by using our homemade powder, we're only spending $11.44 on laundry detergent every year. I know my mom will say we're too concerned with money, and deep down I do have some anxiety that I'm going to turn into my Grannie. (Don't worry, though; my hot water heater isn't on "vacation," and I do use my oven regularly - I haven't taken to microwaving everything just to save on the power bill.)

Anyway, I digress. If the cost isn't enough for you to consider making your own detergent, consider the environment! I'll be the first to tell you that I don't know a whole lot about this topic. Apparently, though, phosphates are bad. And also, I guess a lot of laundry detergents contain phosphates. I don't have a clue. My mantra is why not do things that are environmentally friendly, especially when they're cheaper, too? Anyway, consider making your own detergent!

Here's my recipe:

1 bar ivory soap

1 cup Borax

1 cup Arm & Hammer washing soda (baking soda is an OK substitute if you can't find washing soda)

optional: 15 to 20 drops of your favorite essential oil (I like orange -- smells good & is one of the cheapest essential oils at our local hippie health food store)

Directions:

Using a food processor or a grater, pulverize the bar of soap.

Add borax and washing/baking soda. Food process or stir until it resembles powdered detergent that you'd buy from the store.

Add essential oil, if using. Food process or stir until incorporated.

Use 1 to 2 tablespoons per load.

For a visual, go here. If you try it, let me know!

Next up: LIQUID laundry detergent!