Cloth Diapers!

I LOVE using cloth diapers and wish I would have known how easy it is for the girls. It is not what it use to be, no buckets of water, no bleach, no pins, no rough plastic covers, no crazy diaper rashes and no dirty mess. Seriously it is so easy. I love how soft they are, they don't have chemicals, they are good for the environment, they are supper cute and they save us tons of money. I purchased Thirsty Covers and prefolds when Leo was a newborn. Now we use Imagination one size pocket diapers. I have thirteen diapers and wash every two to three days. Their is a lot of steps but it becomes habbit. I would encourage every parent to give it a try. If you don't like them you can always sell them. Yes, cloth diapers actually hold their value very well. I just sold my Thirsty Covers for nine dollars and spent twelve on them new. Can't say enough about cloth diapers and wipes!

Here is a wet bag full of dirty diapers. Soiled diapers simply get thrown in. 

First run the diapers in a cold rinse cycle to get all the wast off the diapers.

I like to make sure all the inserts have come out of the diaper covers.

I do a heavy duty wash with hot water and extra rinse.

Laundry soap is important. You can only use approved laundry soap.
I make my own (blog to come).

Laundry soap and vinger to help with order.

I put my wipes and inserts in the drier. The covers have a plastic like
material that can not withstand the dryer. I turn them inside out to
help them dry faster.

Drying. I like to time this for overnight.

Now I have my dry wipes, inserts, covers and a cute baby ;)

I stuff the insert into the cover.

And I am ready to go for the next few days.

Raw Sauerkraut

Yesterday I took my first try at homemade raw sauerkraut. I am always looking at good ways to get probiotics in our family. With Jake's Crohns probiotics are really important but he is suppose to be off of dairy making it hard to get natural probiotics. My understanding is that probiotics from vegetables offer many different strains of good bacteria unlike dairy. The question is going to be if he can handle a high gas producing kraut. This was a fun project that I really enjoyed doing. I had to do a lot of research on how to safely do this. Making sauerkraut is an anaerobic (no oxygen) process completed by salt and vegetables. The salt pulls the water out of the vegetables to make a brine creating lactic acid bacteria which gives you the probiotics and lowers the acidity of the vegetables to an environment that can not support unwanted bacteria. Honestly I am still a little nervous about this. I think I did it well enough. I don't think I will do an extended fermentation till I get an air lock system. Then I don't have to worry about oxygen getting in. I am excited to see how it comes out and tastes. 

Basic kraut requires cabbage and salt. For more color and
flavor I added cilantro, carrots, jalapenos and garlic.

This was my first try at creating an anaerobic environment.
I was not happy with how the large cabbage leaves meant
to hold the kraut down kept sliding up between my jar
and zip lock bag filled with water.

Second try: I used kale leaves to create more of a
barrier between the kraut and top of the brine level.
I also packed it down better, put the zip lock bag back in,
added a heavy rock and more water into the bag.

Once I felt good about all the kraut being below the brine I
folded the bag back over the jar. I then added another zip lock
bag over the top and put a rubber band around them. I put it in a
bowl incase the gas releasing creates spilage. It will sit in the
conner for at least a week. Some leave it much longer.

Ratatouille

A big lessons about myself lately has been how much I crave, need and enjoy process. I like a list. I like steps. I like projects. I like the ending most of all. Their is something very therapeutic for me in the process. It is also a way in which I like to show my love. 

Here was yesterday's process. Making a huge pot of Ratatouille from scratch. Now when I say from scratch I mean from all locally grown vegetables including homemade tomato sauce. This project literally took all day. Avi was home sick so it became a mama and kid project. Leo was so patient watching me work on a blanket in the kitchen and the girls enjoyed helping for the "flashy" parts.  In the end I had three meals of delicious food that was packed full of nutrients. 

I first boiled a huge pot of tomatoes and cooled them overnight
in the firdge. My helpers worked hard in the morning to
 remove all the seeds and peels with my grandmother's
cone colander  with wood pestle.

I reheated the peels and seeds to get as much pectin out as I could.
I then restrained them in the colander. 

Our tomato sauce (juice).

I was amazed at how well this worked. I did not
see one seed in my sauce.

Let the boiling begin.

I thought the colors were so pretty.

Once the sauce was boiled down I added, cubed zucchini,
asian eggplant, saute onions, garlic and bell peppers. Followed
with a ton of fresh basal and italian seasoning.

It cooked it with the lid on for about 45 minutes.
After everything was soft I took the lid off and reduced again.

Delicious! I was able to feed my family and freeze two future meals!