Of sandpaper & early autumn stew
Volume III, No. 9
Copyright © Deborah Michelle Sanders 2005
When you do some act of charity,
Do not let your left hand know what your right is doing;
Your good deed must be secret,
& your Father who sees what is done in secret
Will reward you.
Matthew 6:3-4
This is a traditional Jewish teaching, as well.
HOUSEHOLD HINTS:
Before starting to use a sheet of sandpaper, attach clear self-adhesive vinyl such as Con-Tact® to the paper side of the sandpaper sheet. You’ll get much more life from the abrasive.
Before you assign chores to your kids, find out which potential chores they hate -- & assign them to someone else. Helps with the morale!
Get ready for your garage sale with a 5-pocketed apron for bills & coins. All you need to do is to bring an apron’s hem up 5-6” from its previous hem, attaching the right sides together. Sew channels to make 5 pockets ($20, $10, $5, $1, & loose change). You’ll be safer than if you were to use a money box, & it will be more convenient to make change.
If you have on hand both a left-over lemon & copper-bottomed cookware (or other copper), you can put them together to yield a shine like Shirley Temple’s smile! Just cut the lemon in half & apply salt (preferably, kosher salt) on each half, & scrub the copper. You’ll be able to see your face in the copper!
A use for at least one of those pesky tabs that seal loaves of bread in the supermarket: Do you wear dangling earrings that are not balanced by the earring backs alone? Cut out a circle from each of 2 tabs (a tad bigger than the existing earring backs), & (with a needle heated as you would do to sterilize something) make a hole in the center of each. Press them into service between the earring posts & their original backs.
Don’t give in to the nay-sayers. Dryer lint really IS good as stuffing for pillows or animal toys. Just gather it from the machine each time you dry clothes, & store it in a shopping bag.
If you hear your car brakes squeaking, check them out at a garage that you trust. The squeaking may be a sign of impending serious damage, & you’ll save dollars the earlier you catch the problem.
Another use for half an apple – if you’ve baked a cake, it will stay fresher longer if you put the apple into the cake’s container.
RECIPE:
Early Autumn Stew
1-3/4 c frozen & thawed black-eyed peas, having been baked according to the instructions in the 9/10/04 issue of this blog (or a pound can of black-eyed peas, drained & rinsed)
4 stalks celery, chopped
2 large onions, chopped
½ c pearl barley
4 carrots, in 1” thick slices (or, you can use a pound of baby carrots, which someone gave me – why pay for the “baby” carrots when all should know that they are simply mature carrots sliced elegantly by a machine?)
¾ lb summer squash (about 2), in 1” thick slices
3 dried Chinese mushrooms (if you live near an Asian market – these are quite cheap), rinsed, & soaked in 4 oz water for an hour (add the liquid to the pot) OR a 4 oz can of mushrooms, drained & rinsed PLUS 1 tsp liquid smoke
1 lb fresh greens (kale, mustard, collard, or even spinach), chopped OR ½ lb frozen chopped greens, thawed
Put all ingredients in a stockpot. Add water just to cover. Stir thoroughly. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat & simmer for 90 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serves 8 hearty eaters.
Copyright © Deborah Michelle Sanders 2005
When you do some act of charity,
Do not let your left hand know what your right is doing;
Your good deed must be secret,
& your Father who sees what is done in secret
Will reward you.
Matthew 6:3-4
This is a traditional Jewish teaching, as well.
HOUSEHOLD HINTS:
Before starting to use a sheet of sandpaper, attach clear self-adhesive vinyl such as Con-Tact® to the paper side of the sandpaper sheet. You’ll get much more life from the abrasive.
Before you assign chores to your kids, find out which potential chores they hate -- & assign them to someone else. Helps with the morale!
Get ready for your garage sale with a 5-pocketed apron for bills & coins. All you need to do is to bring an apron’s hem up 5-6” from its previous hem, attaching the right sides together. Sew channels to make 5 pockets ($20, $10, $5, $1, & loose change). You’ll be safer than if you were to use a money box, & it will be more convenient to make change.
If you have on hand both a left-over lemon & copper-bottomed cookware (or other copper), you can put them together to yield a shine like Shirley Temple’s smile! Just cut the lemon in half & apply salt (preferably, kosher salt) on each half, & scrub the copper. You’ll be able to see your face in the copper!
A use for at least one of those pesky tabs that seal loaves of bread in the supermarket: Do you wear dangling earrings that are not balanced by the earring backs alone? Cut out a circle from each of 2 tabs (a tad bigger than the existing earring backs), & (with a needle heated as you would do to sterilize something) make a hole in the center of each. Press them into service between the earring posts & their original backs.
Don’t give in to the nay-sayers. Dryer lint really IS good as stuffing for pillows or animal toys. Just gather it from the machine each time you dry clothes, & store it in a shopping bag.
If you hear your car brakes squeaking, check them out at a garage that you trust. The squeaking may be a sign of impending serious damage, & you’ll save dollars the earlier you catch the problem.
Another use for half an apple – if you’ve baked a cake, it will stay fresher longer if you put the apple into the cake’s container.
RECIPE:
Early Autumn Stew
1-3/4 c frozen & thawed black-eyed peas, having been baked according to the instructions in the 9/10/04 issue of this blog (or a pound can of black-eyed peas, drained & rinsed)
4 stalks celery, chopped
2 large onions, chopped
½ c pearl barley
4 carrots, in 1” thick slices (or, you can use a pound of baby carrots, which someone gave me – why pay for the “baby” carrots when all should know that they are simply mature carrots sliced elegantly by a machine?)
¾ lb summer squash (about 2), in 1” thick slices
3 dried Chinese mushrooms (if you live near an Asian market – these are quite cheap), rinsed, & soaked in 4 oz water for an hour (add the liquid to the pot) OR a 4 oz can of mushrooms, drained & rinsed PLUS 1 tsp liquid smoke
1 lb fresh greens (kale, mustard, collard, or even spinach), chopped OR ½ lb frozen chopped greens, thawed
Put all ingredients in a stockpot. Add water just to cover. Stir thoroughly. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat & simmer for 90 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serves 8 hearty eaters.
posted by THE PENNY ORCHID -- "Thrift with Flair" at 2:38 PM
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