Of Soup and Soap

So yesterday I was bitten by some kind of strange, foreign insect...the Domestication Bug.  I cooked an entire meal from scratch, well...we only had soup, but dammit I made it!  and it was good!!!  And very easy.  I will mos definitely make it again.

First was sauteeing some onions in a little olive oil

Then I added one potato and two finely chopped garlic cloves

Next, the only thing I had to use that was store-bought was 3 cups of vegetable broth.  FYI, I found this recipe on a blog I follow - 101 Cookbooks
So many recipes there that I want to try out!

 

While the potato and onions were cooking a few minutes, I chopped up a head of broccoli.

Then, added it to the broth mixture and let it all cook for a few minutes

While this cooked, I got Number One Son to shred some fresh sharp cheddar cheese

The broth mixture was then poured into the blender along with the shredded cheddar, a couple tablespoons of creme fraise and some ground mustard.  I poured them into individual bowls and garnished with more cheese and a sprinkling of smoked paprika.

Not Bad...Not bad at all if I do say so myself.....

After dinner, we scoped out a potential kayak launching site in Coral Gables, then came home and I started making a batch of laundry soap.  

  I had read about the soap and it sounded super easy so I thought, what the heck!  Bought a bar of Fels Naptha soap, 1 box of borax and 1 box of Arm & Hammer washing soda.  Shredded the bar of soap (with it's own shredder, NOT the cheese shredder!), added 1 cup of washing soda, mixed it up, then added 1 cup of borax and mixed it all up again.  Simple!  Only use 2 tablespoons for a large load a 1 for a small.  

I did laundry last night and I swear my whites ARE whiter and everything looks a bit cleaner than normal.  I think I may never buy Tide again!

CAUTION:  When that domestication bug bites, it bites kind of hard, but the effects aren't too long lasting.  Be prepared to do unusual household activities and astound your family and neighbors with smells of cooking food floating around your house, laundry being done and other miscellaneous things getting accomplished all within 2 hours of each other!  WARNING:  You WILL sleep in late the next morning.