San Francisco sourdough is famous because of its flavor, but don't expect to be able to keep a starter of it, because the flavor (and smell) of the sourdough will change. That's because wild yeasts are different everywhere, and even vary from house to house on the same block. You cannot keep a batch of sourdough completely safe from other wild yeasts and the ones that grow where you are will eventually overpower any imported ones.
Elephant Stew
1 medium sized elephant
2 rabbits (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
brown gravy (lots)
Cut elephant in small bite size pieces. This will take about two months. (Reserve the trunk, you will need something to store pieces in.) Add enough brown gravy to cover. Cook over kerosene fire for about four weeks at 465 degrees. This will serve about 3,800 people. If more are expected, the two rabbits may be added. Do this only if necessary, as most people do not like to find hare in their stew.
Powdered Laundry Detergent
1 cup grated Fels-Naptha soap (or any plain soap like Ivory)
1/2 cup Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda (not baking soda)
1/2 cup 20 Mule Team Borax
Mix and store in airtight container or bag. For light loads, use 2 tablespoons. For heavy loads, use 3 tablespoons.
Big Batch: To make a large batch, grate 6 bars of Fels-Naptha Soap and then add 3 cups of Super Washing Soda and 3 cups of 20 Mule Team Borax. Mix well and store in covered container.
TIP: Homemade detergent will not make suds in your washer, so don’t be alarmed. Fels-Naptha Soap is a pure soap and typically makes little or no suds in the water. This makes it perfect for use in the new HE washers as well as traditional washers. You will also notice the need to either reduce your laundry softener; in most cases you can even eliminate the use of softener completely. You can also use white vinegar in the last rinse (1 cup is plenty) to remove all traces of detergent.
Liquid Laundry Detergent
3 pints water
1/3 bar Fels-Naptha Soap, grated
1/2 cup SuperWashing Soda (not baking soda)
1/2 cup 20 Mule Team Borax
2 gallon bucket, for mixing
1 quart hot water
Mix Fels-Naptha soap in a saucepan with 3 pints hot water and heat on low until dissolved. Stir in SuperWashing Soda and Borax. Stir until thickened, and remove from heat. Add 1 quart hot water to a two-gallon bucket. Add soap mixture, and mix well. Fill bucket with additional hot water as needed (you should have about 1.5 gallons of the mixture), and mix well. Set aside for 24 hours, or until mixture thickens. Use 1/2 cup of mixture per load.
I have discovered how easy it is to make my own laundry detergent! The cost is just pennies (about 3 or 4 actually!) per load, and you are not putting any extra chemicals into your water system. Try these two recipes: they work just like the expensive name brands!
Marshmallows
2 Cups Sugar
3 envelopes (3Tablespoons) unflavored gelatin
2 dashes salt
1 Cup cold water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Butter
Confectioner’s sugar
Combine the sugar, gelatin, and salt in a saucepan; stir in the water. Heat the mixture over low heat so that the sugar dissolves; bring the mixture just to the boiling point, but don’t let it boil. Remove the pan from the heat; let it cool for 8 minutes, then stir in the vanilla. Transfer the mixture into a large mixing bowl.
Using an electric mixer, beat at high speed until the mixture is fluffy and thickened and will stand in soft peaks (this will take 10-15 minutes of beating). Use butter to generously grease a 13x9 x 2 inch (or similar) pan. Pour the marshmallow mixture into the pan, spreading it evenly. Set the pan aside, uncovered until the mixture is cool. Lay a sheet of wax paper very loosely over the top of the pan and let it stand for 12 to 24 hours. Remove the marshmallow block from its pan. With scissors dipped in hot water, cut the marshmallow block into 1-inch squares; roll the squares in confectioner’s sugar. If you want to be fancy, use small cookie cutters in place of the scissors.
Store the marshmallows in an airtight container at room temperature.
