Of tea tree oil & a veggie casserole (side dish)

Put all your trust in the L-rd
& do not rely on your own understanding.
Think of Him in all your ways,
& He will smooth your path.
Do not think how wise you are,
But fear the L-rd & turn from evil.
Let that be the medicine to keep you in health,
The liniment for your limbs.
Honor the L-rd with your wealth
As the first charge on all your earnings;
Then your granaries will be filled with wheat& your vats bursting with new wine.

Proverbs 3:5-10b





HELPFUL HINTS:

In an emergency when gas lines may have broken – such as a tornado, hurricane, or an earthquake, it is dangerous to turn on a flashlight, as its battery electricity may arc & cause a fire in your home. You should buy a number of “lightsticks” now & keep them in strategic places around your house. All hardware stores carry them; children play with them in the summer; they come in various colors of light; they cost about $2 each.

To rejuvenate your wardrobe or your bedroom furnishings, you can dye as much of it as you like to have the results be in the same color family. Different saturations of color originally & various prints will look slightly assorted after dying, but will coordinate. The first step is to apply color remover; the second is to dye, both according to package instructions. The Rit® brand is the best known, & there are many colors to choose from in that line.

Once you have ground your coffee beans – or taken your ready-ground coffee out of its can – place 1/8 TEASPOON of salt into the coffee filter before you add your 1/8 CUP of coffee for every cup of coffee that you intend to brew. That’s 1/8 tsp for the whole pot, no matter how many cups of coffee you are making. This will reduce any bitter taste.

For any kind of cement that you use, you probably want to be wearing plastic gloves during the application. To avoid waste, take a rubber band & attach the pair you have worn to the cement container, so that you can use the same pair over & over again.

To make yeast-bread dough much easier to knead -- & to add a nice, sourdough-like tang to the resulting bread, place the yeast out in the open overnight (then cover it loosely) or for 3-4 hours before using it (uncovered). Also, use 150% of the amount of yeast called for in the recipe.

The cheapest way to buy yeast is at a superstore where you can buy it in bulk. The next best way is to buy it in a jar in the supermarket. NEVER pay through the nose for those 3-envelope dealies. Refrigerate all yeast on the bottom shelf of your fridge until you are ready to use it, to maintain freshness.





EXPENSIVE CATALOGUE ITEMS THAT YOU CAN SUBSTITUTE FOR, INEXPENSIVELY & WITH SUPERIOR RESULTS:

You see them all over, those advertisements & catalogues's copy promising you a cure for toenail fungus without need for a doctor’s prescription. Far superior -- & cheaper – is pure tea tree oil. (You can purchase it wherever essential oils are sold.) Apply it full strength on a disposable cosmetic puff to all affected nails. It’s helpful to cut away as much of the diseased nail as possible, before applying the oil. Also, you’ll have better results if you apply the oil under the top rim of your nail, as well as all over the upper surface. (You’ll have to apply the oil daily to maintain good results.)





RECIPE:

Veggie Garden Casserole (A Side Dish):

If you still have half a jar of pimientos after cooking the scalloped potatoes recipe given in the December 30, 2004 blog, here’s a good way to use it up. Note, however, that this recipe for Veggie Garden Casserole will taste just as good without the pimientos – the only advantage they give is more color.

1 – 10-oz package of frozen chopped spinach, thawed but not drained
½ large yellow onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, including leaves, sliced fine
1 medium green bell pepper, chopped small
2 medium carrots, grated
4 oz button mushrooms, fresh or canned (if canned, drained & rinsed), sliced
OPTIONAL: 2 oz pimientos, sliced or diced

¼ c canola oil
2 eggs
½ tsp freshly ground pepper
½ tsp salt
1 c whole wheat flour

Grease & flour a 10” tube pan or Bundt pan. (You could also use a roasting pan, but the tube pan will reduce the baking time.) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, mix all veggies & all other ingredients thoroughly together. Transfer to the pan. Bake for 35 minutes, or till an inserted straw comes out clean. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting. Serves 8 as a side dish.