Kombucha Project: SCOBY fail

I am giving up on growing my own SCOBY. There are a number of reasons it didn't turn out. Not the least of which was it being cold where I live. My next step is to order a SCOBY from Cultures for Health.

Laundry Detergent

I used the information posted on Simple Dollar Blog (http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/03/15/how-to-make-your-own-laundry-detergent-and-save-big-money/) as a guideline. However, I don't want to make 5-10 gallons of detergent at a time. This guideline makes enough for 1 gallon of laundry solution. By my calculations the cost is roughly $0.50 per gallon. This detergent gets cloth diapers clean. It hasn't noticeably faded any of my dark clothes.

Materials:
1/8 C laundry bar soap (I used Zote)
1/8 C Borax
1/4 C washing soda

-Boil 3/4 gallon water.
-Add shaved or shredded bar soap.
-Stir until soap dissolves.
-Turn off heat. Remove from heat.
-Place borax and soda into a 1 gallon pitcher.
-Add soap soup to soda mixture.
-Stir until borax and soda are dissolved.
-Add enough ice to make 1 gallon total of solution.*
-Stir
-Place by your washing machine.

I usually use about 1/2 C of solution per load of laundry. I have a top loading washer.

*You can let the soap soup cool before adding to soda mix. If you do this add enough cold/room temperature water to make 1 gallon of solution.

Recipe: Quick & EZ Pizza Crust

Be warned: After making this you may never want to buy pizza from a pizzeria again.

Quick & EZ Pizza Crust

Yields 1 twelve inch pizza

.25 oz. pkt. active dry yeast
1/4 tsp. granulated sugar
3/4 cup 110 degree water
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt

-Dissolve yeast and sugar in water. Let it sit for 8 minutes.
-In a separate bowl, combine flour and salt.
-Pour yeast mixture into flour mixture and mix well with a spoon or clean dry hands.
-Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead for 2 minutes.
-Roll dough into a shape that will fit your baking pan or baking stone.
-Place dough on a lightly greased pan and stretch dough to edges.
-Top with desired toppings.
-Bake in a 500 degree oven for 8-12 minutes, or until edges are golden.

Note: Using white flour produces a pizzeria style crust. Using all or partial whole wheat flour makes a more cracker like crust. I suspect it has to do with gluten content.

Suggestions:

-Use your favorite homemade or store bought spaghetti sauce.
-Try using pesto sauce in place of red sauce.
-Make a s'more pizza by using chocolate chips, mini marshmallows and crumbled graham crackers for toppings.
-Make an apple pie pizza by topping with thinly sliced apples, raisins, brown sugar and butter. If you're feeling adventurous you can top it with crumbled or shredded cheddar cheese.