Of Kitchen Timers & Buckwheat

Tonight, Jews the world over celebrate Purim, which commemorates the triumph of faith in G-d over the forces that would annihilate us as a people. We read the Book of Esther, which involves the adopted daughter of Mordechai who became the wife of the King of Persia & Medea – the King did not know that Esther was a Jew. His executive, Haman, convinced him to slaughter all the Jews, starting with Mordechai. But Esther was able to persuade him to execute Haman upon the gallows that Haman had set up for Mordechai.

There are many customs associated with the holiday. Adults are supposed to drink “until they cannot tell Mordechai apart from Haman.” (This is the only time when being drunk is sanctioned in Judaism.) Children dress up in costumes. Everyone uses a noisemaker & stamps their feet when the name of Haman is mentioned in the Book. People exchange gifts of food, generally including “hamentaschen,” or delicious tarts with prune or poppyseed filling, in the shape of Haman’s hat.





HOUSEHOLD HINTS:

Hard cheeses that you don’t want to freeze keep better in cheesecloth that you’ve saturated with white vinegar. Then place the wrapped cheese in a plastic bag.

The most important skill in caulking is to start your work at the least visible place. You will improve in your ability to draw a straight, smooth line of caulking as you go along. So, you should terminate your work at the most visible spot.

When you’re driving, & need to brake suddenly, it’s preferable to use the emergency brake. Your rear brakes will engage with the emergency brake. This will save wear & tear on your regular brakes.

Plants need to be watered with water free of chlorine. To achieve this, let the water in your watering can sit out in the open for at least several days before you use it on the plants – all the chlorine will have evaporated.

If you have a can of hairspray on hand, here are 2 good ways to use the spray:
(a) Zap flying insects.
(b) Spray it on fresh flowers, & then turn the flowers upside-down, held together with a tie. They will dry with their natural colors intact.





THE GENERAL UTILITY OF THE SIMPLE KITCHEN TIMER:

I own three, each a different brand so that the sounds are distinct. (I also have an egg-timer that runs for just 3 minutes. The other timers generally will not ring if set for less than 5 minutes.)

Here are just a few of the increments of time that I measure:

When I am preparing 2 or 3 dishes of food at once, I can time each step easily, as I recognize the various rings.

In hand-washing, each soaking step takes 10 minutes, & the timer will remind you of the need to move on to the next stage. Similarly, in doing the laundry, there are various chores that are requisite at different points, & the timers come in handy again.

One set of exercises that the physical therapist gave me has to be done for at least 15 minutes a day. Frankly, I hate complying with that length instruction, but when I feel cooperative, the timer helps me out here, too.

Everyone knows that an egg timer helps in limiting the length of long-distance phone calls.

A timer can be used as a measure of how long something takes. Just set it to 60 minutes, & read it when the activity that you are timing has ended. This simple subtraction gives you the elapsed time.

When I want to go back to sleep for a while, I set a timer, so much more fluid in range than is the “Snooze” button on the alarm clock ….(Who wants to be awoken 3 times, when knowing that she needs a full 20 minutes of extra sleep?)

Until you have dropped a timer a couple of times, timers seem to work for many years. What other expenditure of $4-$7 (for each timer) will reward you with so many benefits?






RECIPE:

Baked Kasha with Veggies:

Raw buckwheat groats (“kasha”), (medium granulation is preferable), 1 c
Egg, 1
Stir together with a fork till all groats are covered with egg. Place in a dry Dutch oven & cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until groats are separate. Remove from Dutch oven & place in a small bowl..

Olive oil, 2 T
Garlic, 3 cloves, minced

Cook in the Dutch oven, over medium heat, until garlic is lightly browned. Remove the garlic to a large bowl.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Scallions, 1 bunch, whites only, sliced thin
Greens -- turnip, collards, kale, or mustard greens, chopped, 2 c frozen, & then defrosted
Corn, 1 can (14.75 oz), drained & juice reserved
Salt, 1 tsp
Freshly ground black pepper to taste or ¼ tsp ready-ground black pepper
Juice of 1 lemon (Since fresh lemon prices are often steep, I purchase the bottled variety – waiting till I have a good coupon. You’ll need 2 T of the bottled juice.)
Egg, 1, beaten
The cooked kasha from the small bowl.

Add to large bowl. Mix thoroughly

Water to add to corn liquid to make 2 cups altogether

Bring water/corn liquid to boiling in the Dutch oven. Pour in the veggies & kasha from the large bowl. Cover immediately. Bake for 45 minutes.. Serve to 6..