Liquid Air Freshener

10 drops lavender essential oil

5 drops bergamot essential oil

5 drops clove essential oil

2 drops peppermint essential oil

1/2 cup vodka

1/2 cup water

Combine in a spray bottle and spray as frequently as you like.  

Wine Recipe - very old so no guarantees!

To every kilo of black grapes add 1 kilo of sugar and 1 litre of water but first:

Crush the grapes in a tub. Pour the cold water over them and leave for a month, stirring the liquid at least once a day. Strain off the liquid, add the sugar and stir till dissolved. Cover with a blanket and leave for 3 months. Then strain into bottles and leave for 6 months, when it will be ready for use.

Peppermint Wooden Floor Cleaner

I just tried this out on my wooden floors and it's a winner, if a little expensive.

1 litre water

6 peppermint herbal tea bags

1 litre white vinegar

2 Tbs baby oil

1 tsp dishwashing detergent

Boil the water in the jug and pour over the teabags in a bowl. Cover with a plate and leave to steep for two hours. Pour the tea into a bucket and add the rest of the ingredients. Just dampen your floor sponge, don't soak the floor with this. No streaks and brings up the colour of the wood. 

Dishwashing Powder 

1/2 cup of borax

 1/2 cup washing soda 

1/4 cup of citric acid

½ cup salt (not iodised, sea salt is good). 

2-3 drops of orange essential oil. 

Place all in a plastic container and shake.Use 1 Tb per load and you can also use white vinegar in the rinse aid compartment

.

Hen food

Make sure all the grains are organic.

Mix together a cup each of:Barley,Rye,Buckwheat,Linseed,Millet,Wheat,Oats,Bran,Sunflower seeds. Add 1/2 cup brewer's yeast and 1/2 cup powdered kelp.If your hens are free range they should get plenty of protein from bugs and slugs they dig up, but you can also give them some yoghurt which my hens love. Also plenty of fresh greens - mine love silverbeet.

Fly Spray

8 ml citronella

1 tbsp meths

2 tsp washing-up liquid

2 tbsp white vinegar

150 ml strong tea

Mix together and add water to make one litre. Pour into a spray bottle and set it on a reasonably concentrated spray. 

Clove Spray for killing mould and mildew on the backs of curtains.
Add about 3mls of clove oil to a 1 litre spray bottle of water and spray all over the mould. Leave for a day and then scrub off. You can then make up a spray of 20 drops each of lavender, lemon and tea-tree oil and spray that on to prevent the mould growing back.

Brass Cleaner - use fine grade steel wool from the hardware store. Or use tomato sauce or worcestershire sauce or a paste of vinegar and salt. Also coat with vaseline or olive oil when clean to prevent getting dirty again. For brass taps try a toothbrush dipped in ammonia.

Aphid Spray- Dissolve 1 Tbs of baking soda in hot water and then add 1 Tbs each of dishwashing liquid, oil and liquid plant food. Add this mixture to 5 litres of water and spray.

To get raindrop marks off car windscreens- cut a potato in half and rub on the screen.

Glass Cleaner: Mix 2 parts water to 1 part white vinegar, add a few drops dishwashing detergent and few drops lavender essential oil. Please make final rub with newspaper.

Coffee Stains: Try neat white vinegar - if the stain lifts make sure you wash off the vinegar completely with water. Another idea is to use glycerine which you can buy from your chemist or supermarket, rub on the stain, leave for at least 30 minutes and rub off.

Stains in electric kettle: Fill the kettle with warm water and 2 Tbs baking soda. Leave to soak overnight. If that doesn't lift them pour on some neat white vinegar and rub. Or place a chopped lemon in, add water and boil.

Excema for hairdresser's hands: Get adequate ventilation when using hair dyes and chemical. Use zinc oxide cream from the chemist and rub on hands as a barrier and soother, then wear gloves. Consider asking your employer to take more steps to protect you from toxic substances.

Ingrown hairs on legs: Use aloe vera gel available from www.lotusoils.co.nz or your health shop. Great also as a hair conditioner, face moisturiser, for burns and general sores.

Oven cleaner: Sprinkle with baking soda, make into a paste with a little water and leave overnight. If grime hasn't lifted add some vinegar - it will fizz and lift the grime. For really filthy ovens upgrade to washing soda and do the same.

Puppy urine: Use straight vinegar to clean up mess. For smell make a solution of 1 cup warm water and 1Tbs tea tree essential oil and spray on the spot. Leave to dry.

Removing fluff on new towels: Put 1 cup vinegar in the final rinse. Follow up with a few turns in the clothes dryer.

Oxalis killer spray:Fill a 1 litre spray bottle with white vinegar to which you add 1 tsp baking soda and 1 tsp dishwashing detergent.

Tooth Powder: For the whitener mix 2 mashed strawberries with 1 Tbs baking soda. Keep in fridge and re-make as needed.

The one I use is 2 Tbs baking soda mixed with a pinch of Stevia (a natural herb sweetener you can find at New World or Health stores) and 5 drops lemon essential oil. Shake well and dip you wet toothbrush into it. You can also try substituting the lemon oil for peppermint essential oil or 1/4 tsp cinnamon which is great for getting rid of garlic breath!

 Make your own bread today!

Since I mentioned my bread making on NewstalkZB the other day I have been inundated with requests for the recipes. These two recipes are from my book A Home Companion and are best made at the same time as the white one heats up the oven ready to receive the wholemeal one when it is cooked.

White Bread - steam baked

This is a great economic bread to make because you put it into a cold oven. No wasting power while you wait for the oven to heat up!

25 g butter

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar

400 ml boiling water

1 tablespoon active dried yeast granules (not Surebake)

100 ml water - blood temperature

6 cups white flour

Put butter, salt and sugar in a large bowl and pour over boiling water. Stir until butter has melted and leave to cool to lukewarm.

Sprinkle the yeast over the lukewarm water and whisk with a fork. Set aside for 10 minutes until the yeast goes frothy.

Stir yeast mixture into the butter mixture and stir in nearly all of the flour. You should have a dough which you can knead easily and which leaves the bowl clean. Knead for 10 minutes by pushing it away from you with the heel of your hand and then rolling towards you.

Rinse your bowl out with hot water so that it heats up, dry and coat with oil then put the dough in it in a warm place for about an hour until it has doubled in size.

Push the dough down gently (don't punch) then cut in half and mould into two oval shapes. Place side by side on a greased tray and leave to rise for just five minutes, no longer. Slash the tops with five quite deep slits with a sharp knife and place on the middle rung in a cold oven. On the rung underneath place a large roasting pan which you have filled with a jug of boiling water. Close the oven door and set temperature to 200°C. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes. The loaves will be crusty and delicious.

Wholegrain Bread

It is so difficult to get a wholegrain bread that doesn't come out looking like a brick. With the extra weight of the grains it takes a special mixture to rise, and the addition of gluten flour. This recipe never fails me and I often make it at the same time as I make the white bread above. If you start preparing it once you have set the white bread dough to rise for an hour, you will be perfectly timed to pop the brown bread into the hot oven when the white bread is finished baking.

1 1/2 cups kibbled whole grain (I buy this at Pak'n'Save in their bulk food bins

600 ml whole milk

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 tablespoons honey

3 cups white flour

3 cups wholemeal flour (use stone-ground if you can find it)

1 cup gluten flour

2 x 8gram sachets of granulated yeast

1 teaspoon salt

Wash the grain in hot water and then put in a bowl and cover with 500 ml of the hot milk, add oil and honey. Stir to combine and leave to cool.

Leaving the remaining 100 ml of milk to cool to lukewarm, then add yeast and 1 teaspoon of honey. Leave for 10 minutes until it is frothy.

Sift flours and salt together.

Mix the yeast in with the grain and stir. Then add enough flour to make very stick dough with a similar consistency to porridge.

Allow to rise for half an hour, covered in a warm place. Add enough of the remaining flour to make good soft dough which you can knead. You may need to add more flour than allowed in the recipe.

Knead for 10 minutes using the technique above and then shape into two loaves which you put into two greased loaf tins. Bake at 200°C for 30 minutes, or until when you tap the top gently it sounds hollow inside.

This bread freezes well.

p.s. for more fibre you can add 1/2 cup of linseed (flax seed) to the grain mix.

Silver Cleaner :Cleaning silver has never been easier when you use washing soda crystals. You will need a container large enough to hold the item to be cleaned, preferably made of aluminium, such as a pot, pan or jam pan, etc. Alternatively, using enough aluminium foil to cover the bottom of a glass bowl will also do. Make a solution by mixing one rounded dessertspoon  of washing soda per litre of hot water, enough to cover the item to be cleaned. Immerse item to be cleaned, making sure that it is in contact with the aluminium when in the solution. Lightly tarnished items should come clean in seconds, while heavily tarnished items may need repeat treatment and even the help of a soft-bristled paintbrush to help rub off the tarnish. Do be careful though. I was demonstrating this on April in the Afternoon and it wasn’t working fast enough for the cameras so I kept adding more and more washing soda, which worked so well it removed the silver plating! Be patient is the general lesson here, and don’t rush for the cameras was my personal lesson. If you are cleaning a mass of cutlery in a stainless-steel sink or other stainless-steel container this will take longer, as the solution will first clean the stainless steel. It is the use of aluminium that sets off the cleaning action.

Rinse in clear water and dry with a soft cloth.

Warning: do not immerse any non-metal items or items with painted surfaces, as damage could be caused. These could be items of jewellery and be cautious if silver items have other non-silver components.

Natural spray to kill bugs

3–4 chilli peppers
3–4 cloves of garlic
½ cup water
¼ cup liquid detergent (I use Dr Bronner’s Castile soap)
enough water to fill remainder of spray bottle

Steep the chilli and garlic in the water over a low heat for 15 minutes. Cool and then pour into a spray bottle with liquid detergent. Fill the rest of the bottle with water

If you're looking for the liquid handwash recipe I mentioned on Newstalk ZB just hit the Beauty Recipes button.