Crackers for crackers

A little behind here, but I finally have a few minutes to put up the pictures for y'all (which Shauly doesn't like me saying, but hey, I'm in the South!).

FOR COLLEEN: Chicken Crackers/ Savory
3 c flour;
1 tsp salt;
1/4-1/2 tsp pepper;
1 tsp baking powder;
1 TBSP sugar (I've been leaving it out and the crackers are fine)
1 tsp sage;
1/2 tsp thyme;
1 1/2 TBSP onion powder;
1 TBSP garlic powder;
 4-6 TBSP nutrional yeast, depending on how much you like/ I use about 8!;
3-6 TBSP oil;
water or almond milk with a drop of vinegar added -- Note, this is not set in stone.  You can alter any amounts, except for the sage and thyme.  I also throw in a dash of paprika when I remember.
I use 2/3 white whole wheat flour and 1/3 white flour.)

MIX dry ingredients.

ADD oil, use a pastry blender to mush into fine balls.

ADD water or milk and form into a nice dough.

Adapted from Real Snacks

I'll add pictures next week if you bug me.  I took them last time I made them.

No one bugged me, but here are the pictures:

 

 


I used to be very anal about trying to get every cracker to be the same shape and size.  Then I realized that everyone just grabs them out of the jar and it doesn't matter what shape or size they are, as long as they taste good.

Happy snacking!

I love nutritional yeast. Yum!!

Stop looking at me like I'm a lunatic.  Nutritional yeast.  Yup.  It's this "new" stuff that most of my friends have never heard of.  It is so yummy, and incredibly versatile.  So what is it?  Wikipedia, which I trust a drop more than I trust this current administration, says this about it:

Nutritional yeast is a deactivated yeast, often a strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which is sold commercially as a food product. It is sold in the form of flakes or as a yellow powder and can be found in the bulk aisle of most natural food stores. It is popular with vegans and vegetarians and may be used as an ingredient in recipes or as a condiment. 

(I was gonna make it yellow, but then I was worried you would either cart me away to the loony bin, or just not be able to read it.  Which is of more concern to me?  I guess the second.)

This is the brand we use the most, although I don't notice a difference between this one and Red Yeast, which is the other one we can get locally.   I don't think it makes a difference, by girls complain that the flakes on the other one is too big.  I haven't tried the powder yet, just because I can't find it.  I do need to look for it in bulk, because I go through a LOT of this.

So what does it do?  Well, it depends.  You can make something taste like chicken.  You can make it taste like cheese.  For real!  I make these "chicken" crackers, which are really savory crackers.  These are the all time, hands down, winner of crackers in the house.  I can make double or triple the recipe, and it is still gone within a day.  I make a pareve cheddar cheese cracker with it   I use it to make my own bouillon mix.  (Take THAT Goodman's and their MSG!)

But, here is where I love it the most .. ON POPCORN!  Yup.  It is delicious!  It is high in vitamin B.  And it's pretty low calorie.  I put anywhere from 1/4 c to 1/2 cup popcorn kernels in a bag.  My microwave has this cool little feature in that I just push the popcorn button, and a little while later it beeps to tell me my popcorn is done popping.  Remember that mister I use for my oil?  Well pump that little baby up a few times, squirt a tiny bit of olive oil on it, and shake some nutritional yeast on.  I am OCD about it, and I spray and shake and spray and shake and spray and shake.  I don't get that much oil, because I checked in the can how much I've used, and it isn't really that much.  I sometimes add the tiniest dash of salt.  Now comes the fun.  Eat and Enjoy!  Your fingers will turn all yellow and you can lick them too. When you get to the bottom of the bag, you will find a bunch of nurtitional yeast just waiting for you to lick your finger, touch it to catch it, and lick your finger again.  yum, yum, yum.  (I guess it would be sorta gross to watch me do this. Guess why this is best done in the dark with your lap top on your chest while watching Project Runway.  Oh, and make sure you look the other way when your husband vacuums the family room on eruv Shabbos and mutters about the popcorn that is found in the couch.  AND, make sure you have a teenage available eruv pesach to clean the couch.  Unless you are sefardi, in which case, I guess you can enjoy your popcorn on pesach, but the nutritional yeast would be a problem.)

[off topic -- Did you notice that I tend to write these huge, run on sentences.  Does it bother you?  Or are you just following my train of thought and thinking I am insane?  Cuz I am.]

Another (cheap) product that is often overlooked

I finally attacked the milchig (dairy) dishes.  For some reason, it is assumed that I am the maid the house.  Take a dish, use it, toss it in the sink, and voila, it magically gets washed for the next use.  (If you have any tips on by-passing that, please, PLEASE share!  I can't tell you how many times I have asked/told/begged/pleaded for this not to happen.  I have a better chance of Obama admitting he lies than of that happening.)

So I start to pile up the dirty plates.  You have to also understand that the number one lunch and snack around here is melted cheese sandwiches.  The are made on bagels (which is the worst!) and wraps.  The bagels, as you know, have a hole in the middle.  So the cheese melts down the center and side.  Now I have no idea what in the world is in this cheese, but once it gets onto the plate it is stuck like glue.  I kid you not.  NASA could use this to fix their shuttles (oh wait ... we don't have a space program anymore!).  Even soaking them won't help.  (Which is not something people here are inclined to do anyway.)

So what's a mom to do when she wants to get her plates cleaned of baked on cheese?  Are you ready for this?  Take a guess?  No, not my magic citrus enzyme cleaner which can be used for so many things.  (I didn't try it; maybe it would work.)  It's a cheap product that you often buy to toss into your fridge and forget about it until you clean your fridge for Pesach (Passover).  (Side fact -- Did you know that you are supposed to change it every three months?  Really.)  Yay!  You guessed it, baking soda!  That simple little yellow box is AWESOME!  Today I ran some water on the plate, sprinkled some baking soda on it, added a piece of silverware (so the plates don't stick together; we are talking about corelle here), and then do the next plate.  I had a nice huge stack today, probably every milchig plate.  I washed all the other dishes, and then went to the plates.  I tell you, there was not a single piece of cheese on any plates.  Wait, not true.  There was one plate with cheese on the back.  I have no idea why it works, but it does.  I haven't yet tried it baked on grease.  I can share with you some other uses for baking soda.

Deodorant It is great for deodorizing, which is why you are supposed to put it in your fridge.  You can put it in your microwave if it is smells (from cheese).  You can sprinkle it on the carpet or bed if a kid or pet pees.  It can even be used on your person if you can't take a full shower (like on a 3 day yom tov).  Just rub a little on, and you are good to go until you can hit the shower.  It can also be mixed with coconut oil to make an actual deodorant!

Room fresher Put some in a mason jar with some essential oil of your choice.  I put lace on top with the outside part of the lid.  The oil needs to be added again after about two weeks.  Our bathroom has a nice orangey smell to it.

Shampoo I put some in an old shampoo bottle that had water in it. You can actually wash your hair with it.  It is a softener, so your hair will feel soft while it is on, and when you rinse it, it will feel squeaky clean.  (You can use vinegar for a rinse, and no, you won't smell like a salad when your hair dries.)  Just warn people before they shower, because the water is cold if you leave it sitting in the shower.  I just tilt my head back so if it runs off, it is going into the running water rather than down my back.

House hold cleaner It can be used in the dishwasher for detergent (but I haven't perfected that yet), and in the laundry.

I gotta make dinner and I can't really think of any other uses.

TTFN!  Go open that box of baking soda and find a new use and make sure you tell me.

Revisiting Celebrating without fattening foods

I am a liar.  I decided to make baked donuts.  (You knew I was going to do that, didn't you?)  I did it last year, and if I remember correctly, I was not 100% thrilled with it.  So what did I do?  What I always do when I have a question.  I went to Google University.  There seems to be a basic "vegan healthy doughnut recipe" (uh, is that an oxymoron to say doughnut and healthy in the same title?).  I don't know why I do this.  I find several recipes that have slight variations, and I print them all out.  To make sure that I don't have the same one as last year, I look it up in my cookbook.  Ha!  The note on that recipe says they are awesome! yay!  Oops.  Going to try a new one anyway.  So I compared them all and narrowed it down to this one, Better For You Baked Donuts.  I did make some changes.  Stop laughing!  I can't try a new recipe exactly the way it is written!

Here is my version of it:

• 2 packages dry yeast
• 1 tsp vanilla sugar
• 1 tsp flour
• 1/3 c warm water

• 1/4 c Xylitol *
• 2 tsp salt
• (The recipe called for 2 tsp nutmeg.  I don't like nutmeg; I left it out.)
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 4 1/2 c white whole wheat flour, divided (I ended up using more.  I added about another cup of white flour)

• 1/3 c coconut oil, melted
• 1 1/2 c warm almond milk (or whatever you want to use instead)

• whatever topping you want or filling (find your own recipe; I don't measure when I make icing)

1. Proof the yeast (That means you need to put the yeast, sugar, and flour into a bowl. add very warm water, around 105-115 degrees; use a thermometer if you can't tell by touch.  Let it sit for a few minutes, about five, while you are busy with the next step.)
2. Combine 2 c flour with the other dry ingredients, set aside.
3. Melt coconut oil in microwave.  Warm the almond milk also.  (You can try to do both at the same time, but I didn't want the milk hot enough to melt the coconut oil, which is why I did it like that.)
4. Add the melted coconut oil and almond milk to the yeast.  Add the flour and dry ingredients.  Mix this up real well.  (I used a bowl and a fork; not a mixer like the original recipe called for.)  Slowly add the remaining 2 1/2 - 3 1/2 cups flour.  You want a smooth dough that has no lumps.  If you add the extra flour, and it is still sticky, pour a little oil on the counter, and rub the dough in it on all sides.  Viola!  You should be able to knead it nicely for a minute or two until smooth.
5. Put into an oiled bowl, cover with a damp towel (I soak mine in hot water and wring it real well), and put in a nice, warm spot.  Mine sat right next to the stove while I was cooking dinner.  Let rise until double in size, about an hour.  (If your kitchen is really warm, it may take less time.)
6. Punch it down, and divide it into a few workable pieces.  I divided mine into four parts.  Dust your counter really well with flour.  I love this doo-hicky for that.
7. Flatten your piece of dough until it is smooth and about a half inch thick.  I keep flipping it to cover it with flour, but you don't want too much, or you will get dry donuts.  Use whatever shape you want and cut out your donuts.  I used a few chanukah cookie cutters.
8. Put your donuts on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  Let rise about 20 minutes.  They don't spread, so you can put them sorta close together.  They rise up, so don't put them so they touch.
   
    
   
   
9. Bake at 375 for about 10 minutes.  You want them to be slightly golden brown at the edges.  The original recipe called for 450, but those donuts cooked in like 4 minutes and didn't have time to rise too much.  Your own oven temperature may vary, so play with it a little.  You want them to rise and not burn at the same time.  

Remove them from the cookie sheet.  If you are using icing, you can ice them while they are hot. You can dip them in powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar.
You can ice them and add sprinkles, like Sheindy did.

If you are making jelly donuts, DO NOT ATTEMPT TO PUT THE JELLY IN WHILE THE DONUTS ARE HOT!  Trust me.  The jelly melts and you end up with a huge mess.  Ask me how I know, I dare you!  I use seedless raspberry preserves.  Shoshana likes grape jelly.

And there you have it.  These tasted really good.  They are not high in sugar or fat.  They are not deep fried.  IMHO, these are not the worst donuts you can eat.  They were actually really, really good, considering the amount of sweetness (not a lot) and that I used white whole wheat flour.  Sruli, my kid who is diametrically opposed to anything healthy, ate three of them.

You also need to listen to Benny Friedman while making these donuts.  It adds to the ambiance.  Sruli was the one who requested this song.  It got stuck in our heads, and we ended up replaying it a bunch of times.  "Don't let the light go out ... "

"The 8th day of Chanukah is known as "Zos Chanukah" (in earlier times it was called "Chanukas Hamiz'beach") named for the Torah portion we read. The day is mesugal for one to daven for; barren women to have children, for a Refuah Sheleimah, and for one to be blessed with increased Parnassah.
It is brought in the name of the Arizal, that the last day of Chanukah “Zos Chanukah” is the day of the "Gmar Hadin” the day when the verdict of Yom Kippur is finalized and signed off."  

(I told the kids tonight, Rosh Hoshana is when Hashem opens the book; Yom Kippur is when He makes the decree, Hoshana Rabba is when he closes the book, and Zos Chanukah is when he puts the book away until next Rosh Hoshana.  Shoshana said that it sure does take Hashem a long time to finish up.  I told her that this is because Hashem is giving us so many chances to do teshuva and change any decree.)

So eat up!  Last day for donuts and latkes until next Chanukah!

*I know that there is a lot of controversy around xylitol.  Here is my take on it.  Sugar is bad.  Bad, bad, bad.  It is addictive, it rots your teeth and makes you fat.  Xylitol is getting a bad rap because it is refined, like stevia.  However, it is not addictive, it is low in the glycemic index, and it won't make you fat.  You do have to be careful not to eat a lot, because it will upset your stomach.  this recipe calls for a 1/4 cup, and you get something like 36-40 donuts out of this recipe.  Meaning you will get such a little amount that it isn't worth getting worried over.  Unless you are eating the entire batch.  Even that much xylitol won't hurt you, but that many donuts is going to get you one humongous stomach ache!

Can you celebrate without fattening food?

I am going to share a little secret with you ... I am officially the wicked witch of the East, the Grinch that has stolen Chanukah, the rotten, mean mommy who just can't seem to bring herself to make horrible, rotten food for her kids.  OK, I take that back ... I did give in and made latkes last night.

See, I have a reason for not making donuts and sugar cookies (like I ALWAYS, ALWAYS do, every single Chanukah).  First, I do believe that certain foods are associated with certain holidays.  In our house, it isn't Pesach if there isn't rolled up eggies.  Who wants to eat honey cake in June, or eat blintzes in December?  It just isn't happening.  So in our house, it has been a tradition for years .. latkes, donuts, and sugar cookies.  I have a gazillion chanukah cookie cutters (Ok, about 20 of them are magen dovids, about 50 of them are menorahs and dreidles, and a few of them are those big Macabee guys whose sword or leg falls off when you try to pull the cookie cutter from the cookie dough.)  I have this fantastic recipe that uses colored sprinkles (not the long ones, the little round ones that are hard little balls).  It is so yummy, and I am not kidding when I say that the kids look forward to it all year.

So this year I just couldn't do it.  I can't bring myself to do it because ... <whispers> ... i lost my self control!  I just can't seem to stop from eating the sweets.  I lost a lot of weight.  I've struggled for years and years with my weight.  I was rarely technically over weight.  I was just at the high end of normal, and I hated it with a passion.  I finally got wise. I kicked the sugar habit.  I started eating healthy, exercised, and watched my portions.  I dropped the weight and was thrilled.  Then I had an issue, and stopped exercising for a while.  The weight was staying off, so fine.  But this past summer, I started eating sweets again.  BIG MISTAKE!  I've put on a few pounds. Not a lot, but enough to make me mad at myself, for all the hard work I've done.  Now it seems like it is going to go down the drain.  Or rather, show up in my pot belly.  (Yeah, I may be thin, but I am telling you that my internal organs are packing on the fat.)  I can't make donuts or cookies because ... I will hide them in the freezer and eat them myself.

Like I said, I did give in to the pleading and made the kids latkes.  Now if you don't know what a latke, it is potato pancakes that soak up as much oil as possible.  You can put them on a paper towel to try and blot them out, but forget it.  The oil is just staying there.  There is probably enough oil in each latke to fill a cup of a menorah.

 I was sooooo proud of myself.  I did not taste a single one while frying them. Not one.  That was part of my problem, I reasoned.  Don't stand around sampling them until you've eaten 5 or 6 without even realizing it.

And then ... and then ... I sit down to dinner and reward myself with TWO latkes.  Yeah me.  Wrong.  They were yummy, so I decided to eat just one more. And then one more.  And then one more.  At that point, I stopped, but I was still annoyed.  So much for myself control.

 

Come on, admit it ... your mouth is watering, isn't it?  You can almost hear those sizzling in the pan, right?
So now I ask you ... since you know my horrible secret, can it really be a holiday without fattening food?  Can you have Chanukah without donuts?  Is the food what makes the holiday?  Why have we reached the point where my kids told me that this is the worst chanukah ever since I was not making them the traditional foods?  This came after I broke down and <gasp> bought the kids chanukah presents.  (Shauly was shocked that I did.  We give chanukah gelt, no presents.  Well, he was shocked until he heard what they got ... they got bike helmets that they all needed.)

Why do we associate food with holidays, and more important, how do we break away from this?  I've tried baked latkes in the past; they stink. They are not real latkes.  Last year I made baked donuts.  Guess who ended up eating them?  And slipping the white whole wheat flour into the donuts and cookies makes it worse.  (Some of them are starting to figure out that I am using a lot less white flour.)

*sigh*  So, if you happen to have a really good recipe for a low-sugar, not fried donut, or a low sugar sugar cookie recipe, let me know. After spending several hours searching for some, I realized this ... if you take the sugar out of a sugar cookies, and the frying out of a donut, you will get exactly that ... a poor substitute for the real thing.

OK, enough.  I am actually going to make some crackers and I hope that this will make everyone happy.  Maybe I will use my chanukah cookie cutters!

Happy Chanukah and a Gutten Chodesh!  Wishing everyone a g'bentched month, and we should all merit to celebrate the ultimate Chanukas HaBayis, the Bais Hamikdash Shleeshi.  (I was basically saying I want Moshiach Now.)

Shopping local

Ok, I am going to say this, and yes, I can say it.  I am a cheap Jew. (I am not racist for saying it; I'm Jewish!  LOL.  I can say it.  But you can't call me that, because then YOU will be a racist.  Nah.  I don't care. I am a cheap Jew, and it doesn't bother me if you call me one as well.  As long as you say it with a smile in your voice.)  I love a bargain.  I love knowing that I didn't pay full price for something, and that I did get the best price out there.

I am not sure of the age of everyone reading my blog, so I will give you a little background.  Before the Internet (yes, there was a time when there WAS no internet, just like there were no VCRs, oh wait a minute ... you don't know what a VCR is, do you?), you used to get the Sunday paper.  In the paper was all the ads for the week.  You could compare which stores had the best prices for a certain item.  You could go to the store and buy it.

Then came the magic of the internet. Suddenly, you could look online, and find the item for a better price. Sometimes shipping would eat up the cost of the savings, sometimes not.

But then came the apps on your phone that took it one step farther. You can walk into Bed, Bath, & Beyond, scan the bar code, and find out that Amazon had this gadget for cheaper.  I have no problem with this if you are planning on buying it from BB& B and getting the Amazon price.  (They do that, you know!  I got the cool ice cream maker that I just had to have, and then only used once from there.)  I have a problem with walking into Target, look at an object you KNOW you are going to buy online, but you want to see it in person.  IMHO, this is wrong.  Just plain wrong.

Here we get into the cost of doing business.  When you take all your business online, you drive local business out of business. Big whoop, right?  You'll still be getting the better price, right?  Wrong.  I am not going to go into an explanation of capitalism, but suffice it to say that the more businesses there are, the better the consumer fairs.  For example, way back when I was pregnant with Goldie (in 1990!), the two local private hospitals were having a war to attack pregnant women.  They were wooing us like crazy.  Newly renovated rooms!  Steak dinners on your way home in a limo!  When I had my last two babies, no more war, no more wooing.  Just hello, thanks for using us, bye-bye.  Competition drives the businesses to offer you the best product or service, knowing that you can go elsewhere.  When you take away the competition, you end up with prices going up, and little choice.

I am IY"H (please G-d) going to make a quilt for my grandson.  An I-Spy quilt.  They use A LOT of fabric.  Lots of different fabrics.  I have a ton, but the last few I made were for girls.


I had my eye on several fabrics I wanted.  I did go to our local quilt shops.  We have a whooping TWO quilt shops.  I am not talking fabric from Joanns or Hancocks or Hobby Lobby. I want fabric that will last through throw up and hot washes and all that other gross stuff kids do on their quilts.  Anyway, I did buy from both stores, and I ordered online.

Why am I going on about this today?  Because each of those stores were SOOOO thankful for my business.  I made a point of telling them I was shopping local. I go to the little toy store near my house every once in a while.  Why?  Because when I need a gift in a hurry, I don't want to find that they are closed and now my only choice is Target.  When I want to make sure that the color of the fabric is the right blue or what have you, I don't want to wait for my order to arrive, only to find out that I ordered puke green instead of pretty green.

Shop local.  Support your neighbors, and keep capitalism alive and well in your community.  And now that I have all my fabric, from two online stores and two local stores, I can get down to the fun part of actually planning the quilt.

(BTW, one good thing about Internet shopping is being able to find something you can't find locally.  None of my stores had the "black and white cookie" fabric that I just had to have.  That picture came from Fabric Paradise if you need some too.  The owner is a doll, very easy to work with.  She has loads of cool fabric too.  I don't work there or get anything for plugging them; just a happy customer.)


Now if only I could find a money to support my spending habit ....

Happy Shopping!

Messianics

I am going to start by saying that I am really sorry if this offends anyone.  This is my blog, my thoughts, and as far as I know, this is still a free country, and I am still entitled to have these thoughts.

Tonight was our Chanukah program, Chanukah On Ice.  It's a lot of fun.  We rent out the local ice skating rink.  We play Jewish music, light the menorah, have arts and crafts and sell kosher food.  This year we had some unwelcome guests, messianics.  Yes, I did go over and ask about them (what's your name-where are you from-what synagogue do you attend?).  They had no problem letting me know that they are from Tikvat Israel, our local Messianic church. The guy claimed to be Jewish, with a Jewish mother. Sorry, but I know a Jew when I see one.  There is no way, no way at all that this guy was Jewish.  It is like a sixth sense.  He claimed that he doesn't believe in yehoshua, which is what the messianics call him.  Yeah, he isn't one, my foot.  I did tell them that I was going to let everyone know who they were. And I did.  Anyone who got within 10 feet was warned.

The thing that really, really gets me is this -- We are there celebrating our religious freedom.  The Syrian-Greeks were bent on taking the Jewishiness out Judaism.  I've said it before, it's OK to light Shabbos candles, because they are so pretty.  It's OK to eat kosher, because it is good for your body.  It's NOT OK to light Shabbos candles to show that G-d created the world in six days.  It is NOT OK to eat kosher just because G-d told us to, even if we don't understand why.  This is exactly what they are trying to do to us again.  They use trickery and lies to steal Jewish souls away.  They tell us to believe in their god, and you can still be a Jew. It's a total and complete load of baloney.  It goes against the basic Jewish beliefs to believe in a man as a god.  Why do they have to come to our programs?  Why do they have to slap us in the face like that?

And more important, why do people not care?  So many people kept asking me why they were there.  They all said that it's a public forum, they can't kick them out. No one needs to make them feel welcome.  Call them out for what they are.  They are liars and thieves of the worst kind.

Shame on them for showing up.  And yes, you are listening to a modern day Yehudis who would not let them do their dirty, evil work.  I will call them out for what they are.  I do hope that at the Jewish Food Festival there will be others who will be strong enough to call them out and make them feel very unwelcome.  It's time to take a stand and protect our children and protect those who don't know any better.

Happy Chanukah -- night number 5 - A special night where there is more light than darkness.

WHERE IS IT???

This takes real brains.  Or actually, no brains.  So I have this "theory" ... I have to read all my books before I put them in Yossi's a'h Library.  So Monday night I started a book.  I read maybe one chapter, maybe two.  I decided I didn't like that book so much, so I picked the other book I had brought into my room.  The second book was really good.  I ended up finishing it that night.  (I read fast when I want to, and I tend to stay up way too late.)  The funny thing is that I was halfway through the book when I kept trying to remember how the girl in the beginning of the book fit in.  Then I remembered that I had started a different book.  Oh yeah.  Duh.  So I finish the book.  I thought the next night I would go back and read the other book.  IT'S GONE!  I can't find it anywhere.  It was not the other book on my night table.  It's not in any piles of books on the coffee table.  It's not in the pile of books on my desk, or in the bookcase in the dining room.  I can't find the book anywhere.

Look, if anyone has read a book about a girl who took her baby to a clinic, and the nurse ended up making a home visit, PLEASE TELL ME THE NAME OF THE BOOK!!!  (The girls house was messy, and she was embarrassed when the nurse came by.  Her sister in law usually went with her to the doctor appointments, but she couldn't go that time.)  I can't remember the name of the character, because I have read so many books lately.  It's driving me nuts, because books don't just disappear.

Now let's talk about Jewish books today.  Years and years ago there were very few Jewish novels.  When a new one came out, it was so exciting.  The books were not ridiculously expensive either.  Now, a frum book costs around $20-$25 a book.  Some of the authors are GREAT!  They really think out their story line, developed their characters, and have great descriptions.  Others leave a lot to your imagination.  I am finding that the books seem to fall into two categories -- too realistic or too far out to believe.  Let's see, I just finished a book about a guy who happened to fall into the diamonds mafia.  He goes to West Africa as an undercover cop.  Really?  Do frum Jews really do these things?  I doubt it.  Then take a book where the girl had a hard time finding a shidduch (marriage partner).  Ok, like that never happens!  I don't want to read a book about how hard it is to lose your job, find a shidduch, have a kid with ADD.  I want to just read something fun.  I don't always want a fairy tale ending, but I also don't want so many characters to die (like in another book where the main character died near the end of the book.  boo, hiss!).  That also hits too close to home. Even with these little complaints, I am still more than thrilled at the amount and the quality of the frum books out there.


I have read a whole bunch of really good kosher books.  Years ago I decided not to read non-Jewish books.  A friend recommended the book, The Time Traveler's Wife. I love fantasy.  I love time travel.  Should be a great book, right? Well, there were parts of the book with real shmutz in it.  It didn't fit in with the story, just there for I don't know what.  I ended up skipping sections. When I was done with the book, I decided that I didn't want to sully my neshama with reading those books any more.  Hence, the need for good Jewish literature.

So here are a few of my recommendations.

First of all, not a book, but Zman Magazine gets my top vote.  The section of News You May Have Missed is worth the magazine alone.  The articles are all "kosher", even if they aren't Jewish in content.  This month there is an article on ice hotels.  Sometimes they add a frum spin on things.  The article about the doctor who killed patients during hurricane Katrina mentions at the end how halacha looks at this.  Two thumbs up.

Now, not in any particular order:
The Double Life of Chani Greenberg by Menucha Beckerman

Set Me Free by Esti Florans

Deep Blue by Meir Uri Gottesman (I can't find this one online to buy, only the ebook.)

All the books by Sarah Kisner and Devorah Rosen (I can't find a link with just her novels on it  Off Limits is one of my favorite of her books.)

A Daughter of Two Mothers by Miriam Cohen (I don't like historical fiction, but I loved this one and )

The Four Sesaons of Golda Mirel by Eva Vogiel (She is a very talented author.  I really enjoy her books a lot too, and she writes in many different styles, adult, young adult, short stories)

Amen Allowed M.C. Millman  She is another fantastic author.  She has written a lot of books that are good for many different ages.  Locked In Time was very thought provoking.

Reality Check by Faigy Peritzman is one of the newer books.  She seems to be a new author; looking forward to reading more of her books.

Brain Waves by Shuli Mensch

Authors Rachel Pomerantz and Riva Pomerantz

Interrupted Journey by Rachel Schorr, as well as her book, One Flight Up.

Mirror Image by Shevy Schottenstein

There are more novels out there, but my fingers are tired of typing.  Please share your favorite frum Jewish novels, even out of print ones.  Amazon and Ebay are my places for finding them, and I am always on the look out for more books for Yossi's (a'h) Library.

I can add more if people want requests.  This is only for novels, not short stories or biographies, historical fiction, or holocaust books.

So your pan has burnt-on gunk

I don't use Pam.  I use a mister that I pump myself to make my own DIY version of Pam.
My glass mister  and the stainless steel mister  I keep safflower oil in the glass one, and olive oil in the stainless steel one. (I use the olive oil for my popcorn.)

I also add a layer of parchment paper on the bottom of my pans.  Even with all these precautions, I still end up with pans that have burnt on gunk.  In the "old days", when I used chemicals to clean (aka, Dawn Power Dissolve), I would give a little spritz, and a half hour later, most of the time, it came clean.  Now I need to put a little more work into it.  Case in point:

The sauce went over the side, and volia, baked on gunk that is going to be impossible to get off, right?  Nope. 

First, I take some of my trusty, handy-dandy citrus enzyme cleaner.  Jillee has directions right here.  Mine look like this:

 The one on the right is one, and the ones on the left are in the process of fermenting.

So here is the deal.  I took the citrus enzyme cleaner, and put a little bit on, not diluted at all.  I let the cleaner sit in the pan for a little while, maybe an hour or two?  You have to move the pan around to get the cleaner all over the gunk.  Then, I added some salt.  I use coarse salt. You mix it up a little, and use a paper towel.  Look how easy it comes off!  See how dirty the bottom of the paper towel is?  This was literally a quick rinse!

 

Need any more proof?  My stainless steel pans -- I had made pepper steak type meat, and it cooked for too long (the hazards of waiting for a kid to come home from school for family dinner).  Same deal.  A little bit of enzyme cleaner on it, add salt, and swish around.  If you loose patience, and start to scrub too soon, you will end up using elbow grease rather than letting the cleaner do the work.

I mixed some enzyme cleaner in a spray bottle with water.  I used a ratio of 10-1.  My microwave was disgusting.  (Not my fault. I clean up the sides when things splatter.  Other people don't.  Gross.)  Just spritz and wait.  The glass tray required absolutely no elbow grease.  Just ran water over it and wiped it gently with a shmatta (rag).  

Yup.  The only down side is the wait for the next batch. Which is why I am always having another batch in the process of fermenting.  

My only change  is that I found it took longer than 2 weeks to ferment.  Until I accidentally left the lid too tight on one of the bottles.  You have to open it really, really slow, because other wise it will explode.  Anyway, that one fermented real quick.

Happy Cleaning!

Good Shabbos!

A kosher, freilechen, and lichtechen Chanukah!  

Freilechen Thanksgivakah!

Happy Chanukah!  Tonight is the first night of Chanukah.  

Some of you are like, huh, is Chanukah the Jewish Christmas?  The answer to that is no.  Chanukah is such a minor holiday in Judaism, but it's message is timeless and of utmost importance.  2178 years ago (I cheated; I got that off another website, Chabad.org ) the Jews were victorious over the Syrian-Greek army.  You have to understand that the Jewish army was tiny.  We are talking a few hundred guys who used to sit around learning Torah.  The Syrian-Greek army was tremendous.  They were trained soldiers, some of who even rode on elephants!  We are talking about thousands and thousands of soldiers trying to squash the rebellion of a few hundred Jews who refuse to give in.  (They wanted G-d out of the picture.  You can light Shabbos candles, but not because G-d rested on the seventh day.  Because it is nice to light candles.)  So we had this huge menorah, giant!  It had three steps leading up to light it.  I found a picture here: Bais Hamikdash picture of Menorah (You can read the comments if you want to know why there are multiple menorahs there.)  The oil that was used to light it was pure.  It had a special (kosher) symbol of the rabbi who made sure that only the first few drops of the oil that came from olive were used.  These jars were sealed.  So here is the crux of the issue.  The lovely Syrian-Greeks cracked the seal of every jar.  See, they wanted us to light our menorah, but not in a pure and holy way.  They wanted a touch of Greek life to rub off on us.  Suckers!  They didn't know that when you have G-d on your side, nothing is impossible.  So lo and behold, the mighty Maccabees (not the Maccabeats, who are really, really good, but the Maccabees, the Jewish warriors) found one, yes one teeny tiny jar of pure oil.  They light the menorah even though it was only enough for one day, and as the song goes, the light burned on and on and on.  All the way until the 8th day when they were finally able to procure the special oil with the seal of the High Priest.
So for the last 2178 years, we have been thanking G-d for both of these miracles.  In fact, we add in our prayers the entire time the words of V'al hanesim.  They read in English:
"And [we thank You] for the miracles, for the redemption, for the mighty deeds, for the saving acts, and for the wonders which You have wrought for our ancestors in those days, at this time -- "

Thanksgiving's origins are that the pilgrims had a very bountiful harvest, so they gave thanks to G-d for it.  (Which some people believe they got the idea from our holiday of Sukkos.)  So now we have Chanukah, a holiday to thank G-d for our miracles, colliding with Thanksgiving, which is thanking G-d for food.  Pretty cool, huh?  Y'all have any idea what the main food for Chanukah is?  (No, it's not turkey and pumpkin pie.)  As Jews, we sorta have this obligation to make the most unhealthy foods possible.  Yup, in the US we eat latkes, which are fried potato pancakes.  In Israel, they eat jelly donuts.  Of course, if you are like me, you eat both!   My daughter asked me how come I only make latkes and donuts on Chanukah.  I told her it is because it is special just to chanukah.  Like rolled up eggies on Pesach (sorta like crepes piled on top of each other, rolled up like a log, and then cut into strips and used in soup in place of noodles).

I've done some experiments.  You can NOT make latkes in the oven and have them come out good.  (I oven fry food, not pan fry.)  So once a year, it isn't going to kill you to eat a latke. Just don't go overboard and enough to make you sick.

Now donuts happen to be one of the all time worst things you can eat.  Yes, you can make them in the oven.  But lets get real.  We eat donuts because they are fried in oil.  If you make oven-baked one, you are making a cakey dough that is not at all like a real jelly donut.  So my advice to you is this, only eat one or two of them.  They are only good when they are fresh out of the pan.  So if they have been sitting for a while, then take a pass.

Happy Chanukah!  Remember, I'm watching!  You are only allowed to eat a few latkes and no more than 2 donuts the whole time.  Don't make me come over there and take those away from you!  Make sure you are using GMO free ingredients, and organic potatoes.  They are one of the biggest offenders for harboring a ton of pesticides inside of them.  Ok, Ok, I'm ending now.  Go back to reading about Iran, and seeing how many lies this administration can come up with.

I know it's blurry. She moved, duh!

 

Lost and (not) Found (yet)

Brutal honesty here.  My mom brought me a bracelet on Friday.  I put it on today.  I really, really loved it.  It wasn't anything special. I don't even think it was real silver.  It was so pretty and so my style.

So I am at BJs, right?  I showed it to the lady who works in the bakery.  So I know for a fact it was on then.  I finished my shopping, put my coat on at the door, and went out.  I put my gloves on while loading the car.  I got in the car, and went to the store where we bought it, as I had one item that needed to be returned.  As soon as I get in, I see the owner, who was so sweet. Since I am sabbath observant, I can't return bought items on Saturday.  Ok, I know.  You're gonna tell me, Don't go shopping on Friday.  I don't know how or why, but somehow, almost every time I go there it is on a Friday.  So I go to show her the bracelet I got last week, and IT'S GONE!  Yup.  Bare wrist except for my TGVZG (tracht gut vet zein gut - Think good and it will be good) bracelet and the one Yossi (a"h) gave me.  (Not totally bare, but missing the new one.  Those are on all the time, so they don't count.)

First thought, gam zu l'tovah (this too is for the good).  It's what Hashem wants.  I've been working soooo hard on this concept.  I figured that it wasn't meant to be for me to have this bracelet.  I called BJs, and they were not too helpful.  I decided to go back, and retrace my steps.

So first I look where I think I parked the car.  Nope, nothing.  I went where I put on my coat, the cash register, and worked my way all the back to the bakery.  I retraced my steps, even pulling the box of frozen chicken out to see if it fell in there.  Nothing.

On my way out, I leave my name and number and a brief description.  Silver bracelet with multicolored stones in it.  I go out to the car, and sit there for a minute and think.  Honestly Leah.  What would you do if you found a bracelet in the parking lot?  First thought, OH yes, I would so go in and return.  Second thought.  Let's get real.  You find a bracelet in a public spot.  Halacha (Jewish law) says that if you find something in a public spot, you can assume that the owner has given up hope of finding the object again.  Therefore, you are allowed to keep it.  It is praiseworthy to try and find the owner.  It is actually a mitzvah to return a lost object.  I know myself.  I would look for the loophole to be able to keep it.

Lesson to myself.  I now know how it feels to lose something.  It doesn't really have much monetary value.  It's more the sentimental value.  I guess Hashem was trying to teach me the meaning of lost and found objects.

I haven't given up hope.  I did say a special prayer (3x!), and gave money to charity in the hopes that someone will actually turn it in. I guess if it isn't turned in, I found something bigger, in that I have learned a moral lesson here.

The Constitution; Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness

I was reading How An Economy Grows and Why It Crashes with my breakfast this morning.  (I know, I know, I am a total geek.  Don't bother trying to tease me, I don't care.  Please don't lecture me on reading while you are eating.  There is no way I can sit there and just eat. Not going to  happen; save your breath.)  Peter Schiff is a fantastic author in the sense that he takes this incredibly hard topic and is able to translate it to children in a way that they can understand.  On page 99, he says:
"In our desire to make the pain of the economic contraction go away, we have forgotten that freedom involves risk.  If government is obligated to cure all hardships, then no one is really free in the first place. TAKE AWAY THE FREEDOM TO FAIL AND YOU HAVE OBLITERATED THE FREEDOM TO SUCCEED."
(The bold is my emphasis, not the author's.)

Wow, wow, wow!  This is what is wrong with our country, among other things.  People are so scared of failing that they don't even want to try.  You have all these ridiculous "everyone is a winner" games.  If someone loses their job, give them food, rent, and money to help them.  For as long as they need.  Encourage people to take handouts, rather than try and fail.  It's OK to fail.  Really, it is.  If you try something, and it doesn't work, hopefully, it turns into a learning lesson. Seriously.  I can't tell you how many learning lessons I have had in my life.  I've been trying to make a dishwasher detergent that actually gets all my dishes clean.  I've tried a bunch of different recipes, and so far, what works on dishes doesn't work on glasses or pots.  As a result, I've been learning so much about the actual ingredients.  This one cuts grease, this one softens water, etc.  But you see, if I didn't fail (and I am still at the fail point right now), then I wouldn't be learning this neat stuff.  This past summer, I made the dresses the girls wore to my son's wedding.  We are talking about professional gowns.  I spent hours and hours on them.  Literally, from early morning until almost early morning 5 days a way, for three weeks on each gown.  I had to get the pattern just right.  It involved pining and sewing and ripping out and redoing and asking questions and getting frustrated and kicking myself as to why I was so stupid as to think I could make them.  In the end, after blood (oh yeah, how many times do you stupidly poke yourself in the finger with a pin?), sweat, and tears, my girls ended up with the most gorgeous dresses.

Yes, I am tooting my own horn, but then again, this was not a failure. You wanna know how many UFOs (UnFinished Objects) I have finally had to toss because they are beyond repair.  I had several great ideas for fantastic businesses.  I invested a lot of money into them, and they did not take off.  (Seems like when the economy takes a hit, people don't want to buy fancy decorated pillow cases or designer outfits for their little kids.  Oh well.)  The fact is, each and every failure is a lesson on what NOT to do.  If you don't walk away from every experience in life with a lesson learned, then IMHO, you are wasting your time here.

Next up, this fear of failure and this "game" called Knock Out.  First of all, I refuse to call it a game.  Monopoly is a game (albeit an incredibly boring one to me).  Farmville is a game.  Punching defenseless people is NOT a game.  It's a cowardly and criminal act.  It is blowing my mind that just because some low-life has decided to call it a game, the media is going along with the hype.  What is wrong with us?  Why isn't any editor out there saying to themselves, OH MY GOSH!  This is not a game, and I won't refer to it as such?  Why???  Why is You Tube not taking these videos down?  Why are the cops not running after this?  What is it going to take to wake people up? Maybe we should start playing "Knock Out the Politicians" and then we can get somewhere.  Oh but wait. They are the "elite".  Not like us lowly citizens deemed unworthy of special protection.  Let them surround themselves with armed guards.  All animals are equal, but some are more equal.  No folks, that isn't true.  Either we are all equal and at risk to fail, or we are under tyranny.  Toss away your rights, and this is what you get.  You get animals running around punching out defenseless people (there is a victim in NY who is a Yale researcher).  You get government running around thinking that they know better how to spend our money and how much money we actually deserve to make.  (Remember, if you are stupidly making more than $250,000, then you are greedy.  You need to give some of it to some other poor loser who prefers to sit in their underwear, popping back beers while watching Jerry Springer.)  You get government telling you which doctor you are allowed to see and if you are past a certain age, well, adios folks, you have lived past your usefulness.  No, this is not dire predictions.  It is so sad to see people sooo quick and so ready to toss away freedom for absolutely nothing.  Look at all the people willing to stand in line at the airport, take off their shoes, submit to a search, all for the right to fly on a plane.  I'm sorry, but no where in our Constitution do I see that buying an airplane ticket the right to search a person.  Hence, rather than give away my right, I am giving away my liberty to travel by plane.

Something has to give.  We can't keep going down this path.  At some point, we are going to have to decide what is more important to ourselves.  Do we want to get back to our old way of life, which includes the possibility that we may fail?  Not a small failure like sewing the sew upside down.  I am talking about making the wrong decision and losing your company big time.  I am talking about failure to pay your mortgage and losing your house.  Actions have consequences.  If we take away the consequences, than actions have no meaning. Which is how animals are now able to run around punching out people and our media calls it a game.

What to avoid?

It seems to me as if this blog may end up writing itself.  No, my blog isn't only going to be rants about poisons.  There are so many other things to rant about, and I will IY"H (please G-d) get to those.  But for now, my stepfather asked me what should he be avoiding.  My parents know a little of this and a little of that.  I guess it would be easier to just start a list, and people can pick and choose what they want from it.

So here goes --

#1: GMOs.  Genetically Modified Organisms.  I feel that this is the biggest threat to our bodies and our existence right now.  If you aren't going to get organic, then do yourself a favor, and stay away from anything with corn, canola, and soy.  If you buy a product with that in it, you are almost guarantying yourself of a GMO product, since over 90% of the US crops are GMO.  The only way to avoid it is to buy organic corn, soy or canola (which I will get to later in this list).

#2: Pesticides.  Google "the dirty dozen".  It is a list that is updated periodically of which fruits and vegetables have the most pesticides in them.  Yes, IN them.  You can peel it off the apple, or soak it out of the grapes.  It is in the food like the seed and juice is.  Gross. Just go sprinkle some Round Up on your food.

Now it's getting tough ... These are not in any particular order.

*Aspartame - No, it's not safe.  It's a carcinogen.  I once asked my doctor which is worse, HFCS or aspartame.  He told me that aspartame as worse.

*HFCS, commonly known as High Fructose Corn Syrup.  The corn industry wants you to think that HFCS and sugar are the same thing.  They aren't.  Your body doesn't process it correctly.  It is one of the main reasons behind the obesity epidemic in our country now.  Plus, it is GMO (see #1).

*Sugar - Let me tell you, I have the worlds biggest sweet tooth.  I love sweets.  Yeah, I know, you are telling me that you can eat it in moderation.  No, you can't.  First of all, it is addictive.  Second, our bodies handle it the same way we handle alcohol.  Third, it's not good for our teeth or over all health.  This is one that I have a hard time with.  I don't buy white sugar.  I do try to use only unrefined sugars.  Although, my cookies this shabbos were gross, because my turbinado sugar did not dissolve totally, leaning a crunchy cookie.  Not desirable in a chocolate chip cookie.  You can watch a video here where he explains medically why it isn't good for you.
Dr. Robert Lustig on Obesity

*Food Dyes - Now these are just plain evil, IMHO.  Why in the world do you need blue dish soap?  Why does shampoo have to be red, and for goodness sake, if you make a cake, it does not, I repeat, IT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE BRIGHT YELLOW to be a lemon cake.  G-d gave us fruits and vegetables and they are all pretty, bright, vibrant colors.  You want red color?  Take it from a beet.  You want some blue, take it from red cabbage (I think).  I know what you are saying, you LIKE your florescent pink strawberry short cake from Duncan Hines.  Is it worth putting a carcinogen into your body for that 5 minutes of fun?  Have you seen your kids tongues after they eat "fruit" peels?  Better, yet, take a look in the toilet after eating fruit loops.  It's so gross.  Your pee will turn a florescent color, and poop will have a greenish or blueish hue to it.  Is this REALLY what you want going through your body?  The food dyes are in everything.  Read every label in your house, you will find it.  My dentist gave me a mouth wash.  A clear colored mouth wash with food dye in it.  Obviously, that went into the garbage, which is exactly where it belonged.  Food dyes are disgusting and they are banned in so many countries.  They are linked with hyperactivity.  Anyone wonder why so many American kids are being doped up on Ritalin?  Could it have anything to do with the horrible foods we are pushing on our kids? For sure!  BTW, this list also includes caramel coloring.

* Preservatives - Fresh food doesn't need preservatives.  Some of them are just plain carcinogens.  Yup, that nasty word popping up again.  BHA. BHT. Propyl gallate.  Sodium Nitrite & Sodium Nitrate. MSG. Sodium benzoate (same as food dyes; causes hyperactivity in children).  Basically, my thoughts from all my research are, about 5 ingredients, all of which I can pronounce.  If I can't say it, I won't eat it.

*Transfats - If any of the ingredients say hydrogenated, put it back on the shelf and not in your mouth.  This is what causes heart disease, not animal fats, like butter.  So throw away that margarine and crisco.  It's toxic to your heart.  There is talk that the government may ban it.  I'm not in favor of the government telling us how to live our lives, but this may be a good thing.  (Not sure.  I wonder what Sara For America would think.)

*Soy - THIS IS NOT GOOD FOR YOU!  Sorry folks, but you have been fed a load of garbage about soy.  The stuff is awful for humans.  The only soy that is safe for human consumption is fermented soy, and that list is sooo short.  Soy lecithin is pure garbage, through and through.  It's the junk that was left over and used to be tossed until someone figured out you can heat it into pellets and make money on it.  Soy oil is GMO unless it says organic.  Then again, do you really want extra estrogen floating around in your body when it's been linked to breast cancer?

*Canned Tomatoes - The BPA lining leaches into the tomatoes.  Buy it in a glass jar, or in a can that says it is a BPA-free lining.

Getting tired of typing.  Maybe it's time for you to start typing into google?  You can start here:
8 Foods that Experts Won't Eat

To sum it up, basically, read your labels.  You should know what the ingredients are.  Is this something that is safe for me to eat or use?  (Think about this -- regular cleaning products all say, do not inhale.  Well how are you supposed to clean if you can't breathe it in?)  Be smart.  Start doing your own research.  Make wise choices.  And if you see me in the market, don't make fun of me for taking 2 hours to figure out what I am buying.  (BTW, most of the time you won't catch  me out of the organic aisle.)

How about tomorrow we talk about my library and the number of quality Judaic books that are out there???

Gotta start doing it ...

My first and only post was over a year ago.  Wow.  Well, my friend Robin has asked me (more than once) to start a blog.  So here goes.  I am, IY"H (please G-d), going to try and do this fairly regularly.  (You may have to push me to get me to do another post though.)

So basically in the last year my son has gotten married, my daughter had a son, and I even more concerned about our toxic environment.  Bet you would have never, ever, ever expected to see those words come out of my mouth.  It's true though.  People are doing so much, and therefore they don't have time to do the really important stuff, like caring for your family and making the world a better place.  I speak to myself when I say these things.  It's very hard to "live in the present".  There is a great saying that I love, one of my favorites : Where ever you are, there you are, all of you.  Huh?  At first glance you are sorta going huh?  Have you ever been with someone, whether on the phone or in person, and you are thinking of something else?  The other person is talking, and you are just nodding your head and putting in the right "uh huh"s in the pauses, but you are not there.  You are thinking of the laundry you need to do, or the shopping, or just something else.  Your mind is elsewhere, and therefore, you yourself are not there.  So one of the most important things I am trying to do is to be in the moment, with the moment, not somewhere else.

Now, back to the environment ... (I am very ditzy, and tend to skip around from one idea to another, because there are so many thoughts floating around in my head.  Bear with me.)  Because we are so busy with all our gazillion and one things to do, we don't have any time.  So we buy convenience items.  We buy cake mixes to make cakes (if we are going to bake).  Cold cereal, soap, shampoo, cleaning products, almost all our food from crackers to noodles to anything we need.  We go out to eat because we don't feel like cooking and we use throw away products because we don't have time (or desire) to wash dishes.  We use boatloads of paper towels.  Grab one, use it, toss.  Now stop for a minute and think ... Why? Why are we doing this? Well, because we are spending so much time working. Why are we spending all this time working?  Well, because we need more money.  And why exactly do we need more money?  Because we want things, and they are expensive.  And also the cost of living is so high. Why is it so high? BECAUSE WE ARE THROWING AWAY OUR MONEY ON CONVENIENCE ITEMS!!!  Ridiculous!  Absurd.  It goes round and round.

OK, so now we see that we are on this crazy merri-go-round.  One of the most life changing things you can discover is that most (if not all) of these convenience products are that they are toxic! They are toxic to our bodies, to the air we breathe, and to the way we live our lives.  These products have so many things in them that are literally killing us.  Genetically Modified Organisms (gmo for short).  Food Dyes.  Pesticides.  Food preservatives.  High Fructose Corn Syrup.  Antibiotics.  Transfats.  Chemicals.  Poison!  Why are these things in all these products? So that the big corporations can make tons of money.  They are getting rich and we are getting sicker. Cancer is on the rise.  (Childhood cancer is one of the cancers that is rising.  Our kids!  Our future.  Doesn't anyone care?)  Food allergies are going wild.  I personally do not remember anyone having any allergy when I was young.  I don't remember ever having to ask anyone if they had special food requirements when they were invited over for Shabbos.  I know of so many young couples who can't conceive.  Then you have all this "ADD" and ADHD.  Here we go on the merri-go-round again ... Food dyes cause hyperactivity.  So voila!  Here is a magic pill to fix it.  Do ya think that these two are connected?  A while ago it was all over the place that you shouldn't sleep with your baby because you are going to roll over and kill it G-d Forbid.  Who started this?  Well golly gee willakers, it was the manufacture of cribs. Why do you think THAT happened?  Monsanto tells us we need GMOs to feed the world, and stop the use of pesticides. Except that it isn't working.  We are using MORE pesticides. And who is making the money there? Dow.  They are all inter-connected, and they are all in bed with each other.  I love to say, "Do your own research".  Don't just listen to me.  Start with ONE thing, and look at it carefully.

I personally started with HFCS.  That led to GMOs which led to food dyes which led to basically figuring out that we are truly living in a toxic environment.  I'll post next about how to fix.  We ditched all foods that have GMOs and/or pesticides.  We ditched HFCS and transfats.  We ditched food dyes.  (That is a hard one. They are literally in every single thing. Why does your Dawn have to be blue?  Why does soap have to be different shades?  Food dyes in chocolate???  Why? Why?  Why????  I am not even going to get into the sugar substitutes.  Poison.  Pure poison.


Anyway.  I made my own laundry soap today that worked beautifully.  I haven't bought dryer sheets in I don't know how long.  I no longer need bleach or ammonia or Dawn or laundry soap or cleaning products.  My cleaning products are super cheap.  They are pretty easy to make.

Those are my citrus enzyme cleaners that are either finished or in the process of finishing.  I used that on my stainless steel pans that I had cooked meat in.  (I don't have a before picture; sorry.)  The meat cooked for too long, and both pans were coated on the bottom with brown gunk.  Normally, I would have reached for Power Dissolve Dawn.  This time I poured a tiny bit of my enzyme cleaner in the pan, and turned it around so it coated everything.  Then I added a little bit of coarse salt.  As you can see from the pan on the right, a tiny bit of elbow grease, but there are no more stuck on parts.  (I only had to use elbow grease because I was cleaning up and didn't want to have to come back later and do the pans.  If I had let them sit for longer, the gunk would have just slid off.)  The pan on the left only has the cleaner it.  I took the salt from the first pan, put it in the second pan, and they are both shiny and new looking.  

So that is what I am up to.

Have a good weekend, and I will write again soon.

~ Leah, the Jew with a HUGE, HUGE attitude (and proud of it!)