Passover and Recipes

This week I celebrated Passover (a site that explains passover and how to do it) with my friends Alison and Eva and Lauren. We had a great time. The reading we were using was aimed at children and so my understanding was very good, although my Hebrew is terrible. :) We went through, ate what we were supposed to eat when we were supposed to, drank (bubbly grape juice for me) when we were supposed to, laughed, talked and then ate our yummy dinner of salmon, salad, matzoh ball soup, potatoes, etc. We sat and talked and ate strawberries until 11. It was a great time and I learned more about the symbolism involved - that happens each year and I am so grateful. What a beautiful holiday.


I got this recipe the other day from a friend. They are called Wonder Balls (very appropriate for our family!). It is pretty sweet but a good pretty healthy snack with no "sugar" in it. Enjoy

Wonder Balls
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup honey
1/2 cup milled flax seed (I used golden flax -not milled and it worked great) - for fiber
1/4 cup chopped nuts (I used almonds)
1/2 cup dried fruit (chopped if needed)
1/2 cup chocolate chips (mini's)
2 cups uncooked oatmeal

Combine peanut butter and honey well. Then add in oatmeal and flax. Add in remaining ingredients. Roll into balls (use a teaspoon) and then store in a tupperwear container with wax paper in between. Some people freeze them - I don't have room in my freezer so they are in the frig.
I doubled the fruit and left out the chocolate but I will try different combos in the future - they are really yummy.

Homemade Laundry Detergent
This is a "recipe" I found in a book but it is also found online here. You can also buy the Fels Naptha soap here, and it is on sale right now - bonus! This makes a lot and you don't use much. You will need two 5-gallon containers that you will fill with soap (I buy mine from the grocery store - they sell the 5 gallons that icing comes in for the bakery. My store sells them for a dollar a piece and I just ask them at the bakery counter - make sure they have the lids too - also great containers for food storage.) This produces low suds so don't worry - my clothes really are clean and it costs so little! This is what the packaging for the soap looks like so you know what you are looking for.



The recipe for the detergent.
1 Fels Naptha soap bar, grated
1 cup washing soda (not baking soda)
1 cup borax
Grate the soap bar into a saucepan. Cover with hot water. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring continually, until the soap completely dissoves (about 8-10 minutes). Put washing soda and borax ina 5-gallon bucket. Pour in the hot, melted soap mixture. Stir well, until all the powder is dissolved (a yard stick works well because of the depth of the bucket). FIll the bucket to the top with hot tap water. Stir, cover securely, and let set overnight. The next morning , stir teh mixture. Mix equal amounts of soap cencentrate and water in a smaller container or another 5 gallon bucket. Shake before using or stir.
For top-loading machines: Use 1 cup of hte soap mixture per load
For front loading, use a 1/3 cup per load