Wash Clothes the Eco Way

I hope your washing is now hanging on the line in this lovely Spring sunny weather we are enjoying? If you haven't already been converted to Eco washing powder then why not give it a go? I have used Ecover, ClearSpring amongst others but have now discovered an ingenius natural product called soap nuts.

Soap Nuts are THE eco washing detergent grown on trees for use in washing machines and dish washers. Environmentally friendly, sustainably produced, bio-degradable and compostable. Harvested from the Soapnut tree, the nuts contain the active natural washing ingredient saponin. Similar to soap, when the shells of the soapnut come in to contact with water, the saponin is released and suds are produced.

If you fancy giving them a try Green Eyed Frog sell a cotton gift set containing 250g of soap nuts plus a small cotton bag to use in the washing machine.

Mummy, I Prefer Shop Pizza!

"Mummy, is it shop pizza?" the children ask when I tell them we have pizza for dinner.

"No, its mummy's pizza" I reply.

"Oh no, why do we have to have your pizza, we like shop pizza" they say.

Mummy now gets annoyed and says in a high pitched voice "mummy's pizza is good for you and much nicer because its made from organic wholemeal flour, organic cheese & mushrooms and vegetables from the garden - and I have just spent AN HOUR IN THE KITCHEN MAKING IT"

"Mummy, is it shop pizza?" the three year old pipes in.

Mummy puts the food on the table and says eat it or go without...

What do you do when they say this, its so frustrating? Good food with organic ingredients made with love is far better than a frozen shrink wrapped wilted thing from the supermarket but they are not convinced and think I'm a horrible mummy for making them eat such nasty food!
If you would like my recipe for pizza just ask...

Spring is in the Air

I love this time of year, you know that winter is now over as the daffodils start blooming and everything comes alive in the garden. We have been busy with the vegetable plot and released some of the worms from the wormery to hopefully make even better soil for next year. We have still got leeks in the garden and yesterday had the last of the carrots from last year. I baked a lovely spinach flan using our own spinach from the garden and local free range eggs from the farm. I think its going to be leek and potato pie for dinner today!

Green Eyed Frog has some new additions in the form of fair trade flower seeds from South Africa. We are looking forward to planting these later on in the year. We have also put together a lovely gift for Spring - the Paper Potter Gift Set which includes a packet of seeds, jute bag and the popular wooden paper potter. You can then make your own seedling pots from newspaper and plant the seeds in the greenhouse or windowsill before going outside.