Lemishine

LemishineWe are completely thrilled with our new dishwashing discovery, Lemishine. We thought that our dishes were getting all grimey and gross because of something in our water, but it was just our dish soap. Apparently in an effort to be more “green” many states have banned phosphates from all dish detergents. After a friend suggested we try Lemishine, we did some research and found that phosphates not only clean off food and grease from dishes but also prevent debris from getting reattached later during the wash. After using phosphate free soap for a while, the build up was getting worse and worse. Yuck!

We had resorted to hand washing all of our good serving dishes when they used to go in the dishwasher. We would also rewash glasses when we would have company because the glasses looked so bad. After just one wash our dishes were honestly just as shiny as when they were brand new!

Glasses

Here is our glasses before and after. I’d say the results are just as advertised on the package… definitely worth every penny!

What’s Yours Like?

If you haven’t played this game yet, you should.  Basically, everyone except the guesser knows the word that everyone is describing.  The guesser then has to ask each person what their’s is like.  Each player has to give a truthful answer as to what their’s is like… but their answer doesn’t necessarily have to be helpful to the guesser.

Game

The object of the game is to guess the word by asking as few questions as possible. But they only have vague and not-so-helpful answers to form their guesses from.

Physique

Sounds easy enough, until it’s your turn and you have no idea what people are talking about.  The first word was physique.  So, when asked what’s your like, answers ranged from could use some improvement to larger than it used to be to the result of too much chocolate!

DadsMoms

The answers make perfect sense when you know the word they are intended for, but not so much when you don’t.

Jesse guessing

We had a good time laughing at answers and guesses with both sets of our parents.  My parents hadn’t had a chance to see Jesse’s parents yet, so last night was their last chance before they left. Nothing goes together better than family, dessert, and a game!

Namaste Foods: Chocolate

Mom used to have a refrigerator magnet that read “There’s nothing wrong with me that a little chocolate wont fix!”  There’s nothing wrong with me today, but I just needed some chocolate anyways.  I’ve never been very good at baking.  Having to be so precise with the measurements just doesn’t work very well for me.  I usually cook by sprinkling a little at a time until it has the right smell or taste.  However, these two chocolate recipes are easy enough that even I could make them.

First I decided to make cocoa macaroons.  This is a recipe that came from my Grandma and Mom always would make them during the holidays with the rest of her Christmas cookies.  Since they don’t have any flour in them, I’ve decided that they need to be made year around.

3 cups oats
6 tbsp cocoa
1 cup coconut
2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla (optional)

Combine oats, cocoa, and coconut and mix well. Then bring sugar, butter, and milk (and vanilla) to a boil. Combine the wet and dry mixtures, form cookies, and drop onto wax paper. Chill in the fridge before serving. These also freeze really well to save for later.

Cocoa macaroons

Apparently, that wasn’t enough to satisfy my chocolate need. I decided today would be a good day to try out my Namaste Foods brownie mix.  I think they turned out pretty good.  Not quite as chocolaty as I thought they would taste by looking at them, but still very yummy.  Of course I may have a biased opinion in my very chocolate needy state of mind.  I think they would be even better with chocolate chips sprinkled on top.  This mix was just as easy to make as regular brownies.  I only needed to add an egg, some oil, and water.

Brownies

I tested out both of my recipes as soon as they were ready and I think I’ll be going back for more after dinner.  A very successful and chocolaty afternoon!