May 9, 2011

Homemade green cleaner

I've always been a bit wary of household cleaners. I bought Comet because my mom had always used Comet, but the smell alone always made me wonder if I was giving myself some kind of chemical-induced asthma. But I kept using it, mostly because there weren't any "green" alternatives on the market yet. Then P moved in with me and brought an industrial-sized box of Mr. Clean Magic Erasers with him (courtesy of his mom). I'd never used them before, and was amazed at how freakin' well they worked. I was seriously impressed by the innocent-looking little pads. At least until when, despite my protests, P decided to use one to clean something off my arm - which quickly resulted in a nice raw chemical burn on my flesh. I decided then and there I'd rather use some elbow grease and plain vinegar if I had to than wipe something that would burn my flesh all over the house.

When my friend Tracey posted an easy recipe on her blog, I had no more excuses.


I tested it out on the bathroom today and it works like a charm. Took about 3 minutes to make, gets rid of the grime and best of all - no chance of chemical burns in the forecast! Sweet. You can get the recipe over on Tracey's blog, Short + Sweet.

May 8, 2011

Easy miso soup

Soup is my comfort food. Anytime I'm sick, sad, cold or hungover, I reach for a bowl of warm, brothy goodness. One of my favourites is miso soup, especially if I've got a craving for something salty. Since it usually only costs about a buck in Japanese restaurants, I figured it must be cheap and easy to make and decided to give it a try. I've been making it in big batches ever since. So cheap, so easy, so GOOD.