THE PENNY ORCHID -- "Thrift with Flair"

Of painful galoshes & slippery soles

2006-02-12T14:18:00.000-08:00

Volume III, No. 26 (February 12, 2006)
Copyright © Deborah Michelle Sanders 2006. All rights reserved,

The force that drives all flesh, exalts You, our Sovereign, always.

HOUSEHOLD HINTS:

Do you – or does your child – have galoshes that are a pain to get on & off? Try this solution. Insert a grocery-sized plastic bag for an adult, or a produce-sized plastic bag for a child, into each boot. Put on the galoshes. Any excess plastic will automatically be scrunched down into the boot. Both insertion & removal will now be a cinch!

My home health-care provider, Margarita Recinos, taught me this trick. When ready to clean a pot that contains food residue, such as a pot of oatmeal, sift its contents through a sieve, & then tap the sieve against the inside of your trash can. Then rinse out the sieve. (I keep mine hanging above the sink.) This is much easier than having to clean out the drain stopper of your sink. Some people (like lucky me!) own a sieve that has a handle that spans the distance between the sink wall & the dishpan.

Are you sewing baby’s all-in-one’s? Special fabric for the soles is very expensive. Instead, cut up 1 or 2 bathtub appliqués to fit the soles.

Homeowners! If you have a leaky roof that is less than 15 years old, you need not replace it. All you need to do is to patch the part of the roof that is leaking. To be safe, use binoculars to inspect the roof, so that you don’t have to transverse all of the roof in the vicinity of the leak, to see where repair is necessary. Leaks generally start higher up on the roof than the ceiling position of the leak would indicate.

You don’t have to buy expensive car windshield wiper fluid. Just mix together 2 quarts of isopropyl 70% alcohol (bought on sale @ about 60 cents a quart), 1 cup of water, & 1 tsp of powdered laundry detergent.

It is important when you go grocery shopping to make sure that you know the price of each item & the running total. Only in this way is it possible for you to ensure sticking with your budget, but you can also spot scanner error (before you leave the store). There are 2 ways to mark the prices. Either take along a roll of masking tape & mark each item, or bring along a clipboard holding a spreadsheet that you have already made of each item you plan to buy, any loss leader prices (special sales), & the value of any coupons you have. Reserve the final column for your net cost for that item. Whether you choose the masking tape or the spreadsheet choice, be sure to bring along a calculator . Only with it can you tell whether you have remained within budget.

Two little-known coffee tricks. First, if you only have circular (cheap) filter bags instead of the conical ones, you can make do. Just fold the circle into a semi-circle. Then, fold in the 2 corners about 1”. There you have it! As to coffee grounds, did you know that they are a more effective odor-absorber than baking soda? Use them in a shallow dish anywhere that you need odor prevention, such as in your fridge.

Give yourself a helping hand while driving in nuts, bolts, & screws. Just apply some kind of wax to the hardware – candle, lip gloss or beeswax (which seamstresses often own). The wax will smooth the hardware’s way!

Make clean-up easy of a pot or pan with baked-on or burned-on food. Just -- & yes, I’m not crazy – put the cookware in the freezer for 3 hours or so. When you take it out, it should be a breeze to clean!

Are your hands always freezing when Old Man Winter does his thing? Put rubber gloves on under your regular gloves, & the insulation will warm your hands up fast!

You know that, before you paint a wall, you need to carefully choose its color. After using the paint chips for all that they are worth, buy a pint that looks promising. INSTEAD of painting a section of the wall, paint an opened cardboard box that you can affix to the wall with masking tape. You will then avoid the labor & expense of restoring the wall to its original color should you decide to leave well/wall alone.

I wasn’t familiar with ALL of the ways that identity theft can occur until I read
US Social Security Administration Publication No, 05-10064. Here’s the low-down:
· As we already know, by stealing wallets, purses, & your mail (bank & credit card statements, pre-approved credit offers, telephone calling cards & tax information.);
· Stealing personal information you provide to an unsecured site on the Internet (any site that does not have a “lock/key” icon at the lower right-hand corner), from business or personnel records at work & personal information in your home;
· Sorting through trash for personal data;
· Posing as someone who legitimately needs information about you, such as employers or landlords; or
· Buying personal information from “inside” sources. For example, an identity thief may pay a store employee for information about you that appears on an application for goods, services, or credit.

When you buy a new broom, the 1st thing you should do is to immerse it in a bucket of water to which you have added a cup of salt. After 20 minutes, you can hang the broom up to dry. (You DO know that setting a broom on its straws is a no-no because the bristles will splay that way.)

Are the soles slippery when you purchase new shoes? Instead of going to a cobbler for rubber soles, try sanding 1st Just sand from right to left, in a series of rows.

Of tire rotation & cut flowers

2006-02-05T15:56:00.000-08:00

Volume III, No. 25 (February 5, 2006)
Copyright © Deborah Michelle Sanders 2006 -- All rights reserved.

“One of the most desirable [character traits] is to be able to totally overlook a slight or an injury that one has suffered at the hands of another person, & to rid oneself completely of even the minutest trace of resentment.” (This is something way beyond me – dms.)

Rabbi Abraham J Twerski, MD
LIVING EACH DAY, p 406

HOUSEHOLD HINTS:

Rotate your automobile’s tires each season. Each time, move the tires clockwise. Include the spare in your rotation series, as tire number 5.

A good place to buy fine furniture for a fraction of its original selling price is at a designer’s studio, after a show has ended.

Some folks think that writing “For deposit only” on the back of a check payable to them will provide sufficient protection. “It ain’t so, Joe.” What you actually need to do is to write. “For deposit only to account number X.”

When you buy new flooring, be sure to purchase an additional 2 square yards, so that you have material to mend with in case of damage to the original flooring. The same principle holds true for home fabrics that the seamstress plans to use for soft furnishings (curtains or draperies, bed covering & shams, perhaps a hassock) – add 4 square yards to the TOTAL yardage that you have calculated. (You need more because you may need to sew new curtains if you move.)

If you buy ready-to-eat cereals, save the waxed paper bags that line the box. They are great for freezer storage! Just be certain to rid them of all crumbs, lest they attract vermin.

When you’re ready to paint a wall or ceiling, obtain a scrap of wood that is a bit longer than the diameter of your paint can. Hold it against the bucket each time you pull your brush out & wipe the brush against the wood. This economizes on the amount of paint you use.

Be aware that all of your laundry appliances are likely to give up the ghost at approximately the same time. The life of a washing machine is 11-13 years. The life of a gas dryer is 13 years, & the life of an electric dryer is barely better at 14 years. The prudent consumer sets aside 10% annually ( in an emergency fund) of the cost of a new washer & dryer, so as to be able to pay cash for these purchases, instead of incurring interest, the demon of those who don’t look ahead.

Instead of carrying a small sewing kit around against the emergencies of a button that has come off or a hem that has fallen, it is much simpler & far less time-consuming to carry a number of small brass safety pins.

Do you keep a cruet of olive oil in your pantry? (I keep most of the oil in the fridge, so it won’t turn rancid.) Place the cruet on a larger plastic lid, such as from a coffee can. No more messy shelves to clean! (Try this with honey or syrup, too.)

Rubber gloves often die before their time because the index finger gets poked through on the hand that is dominant. To prevent the speed of this defeat, stuff a cotton ball into the index finger of the glove on the dominant side; it will absorb stabs by your working fingernail.

Keep a tin of aspirin in your car’s glove compartment, & not just for 1st aid for your body. It also can get you to the nearest service station in case of battery failure. Just (VERY) carefully drop 2 aspirin tablets into the battery itself.

We all have our rituals. Mine on Sundays (when I do not have a home healthcare aide) is to eat a couple of franks for lunch. I find that I put too much of each condiment on my plate normally. So I have adapted the system of stirring together the ketchup & mustard (&, you can add relish if you like it) into a custard cup & dipping each piece of the hot dog as I cut it, into the dish. (Obviously, this does not work if you use hot dog buns!) The custard cup remains quite full for more than 6 weeks!

Before leaving the house to do errands, eat a hearty meal. You won’t be tempted to spend money eating out. And bring a snack & water with you, just in case.

Do you have only soggy lettuce in your fridge? Don’t toss it out! Instead, put it in a bowl of cold water & add the juice of 1 lemon to it. Put it back in the fridge for an hour. Then dry the leaves carefully, & you’ll have crunchy lettuce again!

Liquid fabric softener beats the price of dryer sheets hands down. To best use it, put about a teaspoon onto a dry washcloth & toss it into the dryer along with your wet clothes.

To keep cut flowers fresh, add a teaspoon of sugar to the water. For an even cheaper solution, add a (copper) penny to the water (which is, of course, recyclable!).

Of bristles & Italian Cauliflower Bake

2006-01-29T13:23:00.000-08:00

Volume III, No. 24 (January 29, 2006)
Copyright © Deborah Michelle Sanders 2006

Hate is always picking a quarrel,
But love turns a blind eye to every fault.

Proverbs 10:12

HOUSEHOLD HINTS:

Use 2 kinds of bands to keep 2 kinds of bristles in tip-top shape. Use a wide rubber band (such as comes from the store containing fresh broccoli) to keep the bristles of your paintbrush pristine. For your kitchen broom, cut off the waistband of old pantyhose to avoid the bristles’ becoming askew.

You can save a good deal of energy costs for the oven by taking 2 simple precautions. First, only preheat the oven when baking bread, cake, or other pastries. Second, turn the oven off 3 minutes before the time that the recipe calls for – the residual heat will cook the food just dandy.

Loyal reader Ruan Frenette has asked how to make a clogged drain free-flowing again. Here’s how I do it: First, mix 1 quart of hottest tap water with ¼ cup of baking soda, & pour it down the drain. Follow with a cup of white vinegar at room temperature. Finally, add a quart of boiling water – that sequence should do the trick.

Do you have concrete walls – perhaps in a basement or the garage – that you would like to decorate with pictures? Neither standard nails, toggle bolts, or much of any regular hardware will do the trick. Try 4” hardwood flooring nails, originally made for hardened tin. They are denominated “4” hardened tin nails.”

Washing or dry-cleaning a 2-piece garment? If you neglect to wash the second piece, you’ll be dismayed at the color difference between the 2 pieces….

You don’t need to buy new cedar for your closet to keep it fresh & insect-free. Just sand the existing cedar!

Any liquid that you like to work with – tempura paints & white glue are just a couple of examples – can be controlled better in application if you move them into an empty roll-on deodorant bottle. Get out the ball by applying pliers to the neck – make sure no one is within shooting distance! Wash both ball & container well, & you are on your way!

You don’t have to discard & then replace music CD’s that have gotten scratched. Just wet them with a soft cloth that is barely moist. Buff along the scratch, NOT across it. Wait until it’s dry before playing the CD.

If a battery-operated appliance stops working, don’t change the batteries before you try this handy-dandy tip. Just clean the contacts – use a pencil eraser first. If that doesn’t work, use a very fine grade of sandpaper. (Crocus cloth, which seamstresses use to clean burrs off of the needleplate of a sewing machine, is ideal.)

DON’T purchase “non-stick” cookware from a thrift store, because it probably has nicks (dangerous even if they are too small to see). But, if you have such ware -- that you purchased recently, new -- , & you want a scraper to get up “messes,” try a wooden spoon that you have cut in half with a hacksaw horizontally at the middle of the spoon itself.

Here’s the low-calorie way that I enjoy potatoes & onions. I cut about 1 lb of potatoes into cubes & chop ½ large or 1 small onion. In a 2-quart pot, I cover the veggies with water, & then cover the pot itself. I set the timer for 10 minutes, & wait for steam to be emitted (just put your face about 6” from the side of the top of the pot to tell). Then I lower the flame to nearly-nothing, & set the timer for another 15 minutes. After that, I drain the water (all this entails is leaving the pot lid very slightly askew while pouring out the water – you don’t need a sieve or colander for this because you are TRYING to leave a bit of water in the pot.) Next, I put salt & pepper on the veggies (I use ½ tsp salt to 1 lb potatoes, & grind about 10 grinds of pepper on top.). I then mash the veggies with a potato masher. No, I do NOT add milk, butter, oil, or margarine. This dish tastes lush to me.

To find car-pooling partners, Google “car-pool XXX” where XXX is the name of your town or neighborhood.

RECIPE:

You may have noticed that no recipes have appeared recently. This is because Jewish Family & Children’s Services has been bringing me entrees & other food. I miss cooking, however, so you will be seeing more recipes as time passes (however, they won’t be in every issue.).

Italian Cauliflower Bake:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2 T olive oil
½ large head of cauliflower, cut into small florets & small pieces of stems
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped fine
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried basil

Use an oven-proof Dutch oven. Stir the food thoroughly over medium-high heat. Saute together for 5 minutes.

½ large head or 1 small head of cauliflower, cut into small florets & pieces

Add. Saute, striring occasionally, for another 5 minutes.

8 oz grape or cherry tomatoes (left whole)

Add. Stir thoroughly & take off the stovetop.

1 lb mozzarella cheese, cubed

Add on top of the rest of the food. Place in oven for 10 minutes. Serve immediately.

Of cleaning cast-iron & using ceiling fans

2006-01-22T13:32:00.000-08:00

Volume III, No. 23 (January 22, 2006)
Copyright © Deborah Michelle Sanders 2006

We rejoice in our sufferings,
Knowing that suffering produces endurance,
& endurance produces character,
& character produces hope,
& hope does not disappoint us,
because G-d’s love has been poured into our hearts.

Romans 5:3-5
These lines from the Christian Scriptures were paraphrased in a novel by Madeleine L’Engle.

HOUSEHOLD HINTS:

How to get burnt-on food cleaned off cast iron cookware easily? Club soda poured in can work wonders. Dry off very carefully this time or any time, to avoid rust. And remember to season the pot the 1st time you use it, & every time that you find that the soda does not pull off the whole stain, &, so, you need to use a scouring pad on it.

Don’t get overly enthusiastic in insulating a gas water heater. You must, for safety’s sake, keep a clear breach over its top as well as at the gas burner on the bottom.

To avoid making a big mess while painting a door, wrap all its hardware with aluminum foil. (Use a knife to smooth the foil evenly.) Also, wrap the doorknobs of each door that you need to open to get to the sink, as well as the sink’s faucets. If you use oil-based paint instead of latex, place foil all along the route to the turpentine or mineral spirits.

If you have to get out of a wall a nail without a head, grasp what you can with the deepest part of a claw hammer. Swing the hammer from side to side, &, after some maneuvering, you’ll be able to get the nail out.

Give a special gift to your 18-year-old child – but you’ll have to begin at his or her birth! Save the newspaper from each birthday date, & wrap a box containing all of them.

Fill your car’s tank early in the morning. As the day wears on, the fuel expands, so you’d get up to 5% less gas if you were to purchase it in the heat of the day.

You don’t need to go out to buy a specialized spray to clean your computer keyboard or the printer’s paper bin. Just use the crevice tool of your vacuum cleaner. You can also dip a cotton swab like Q-Tips® in alcohol, & clean between the keyboard keys with that.

You want to save money on delivery services such as the post office or UPS™ by reusing scrap boxes instead of buying new ones. But it’s a hassle to cover up all of the prior print on the boxes. Here’s a good idea: cut down each side seam of the box. Then push down the sides & tape to create a new, inside-out, box!

To clean your eyeglasses, you don’t need expensive fluids or cloths. Just run very hot water over the insides & outsides of each lens. Wipe dry with a lint-free cloth.

If a steel wool pad -- cleanser-type such as SOS® or Brillo®, or workshop-type – becomes rusted, just cut away the rusted portion with scissors. You’re doing yourself a double favor, because you are sharpening your scissors at the same time!

Do the numbers on your measuring spoons & cups make you squint? You’ve heard about using nail polish to make them stand out, but did you know the real secret Take an emery board (yes, another manicure device) & lightly sand the painted numbers – now, they will really stand out!

Does your town offer recycling, but paper needs to be separated from other items (such as plastic, glass, & metal)? Do what I do – keep a new garbage can inside your house. You can throw paper right inside it. As to the other items, add a tall kitchen bag to the can & put the plastic, glass, & metal into that bag. (You’ll have to deal with composting directly into the can provided by your town – or, you can keep a jar in your kitchen for disposal weekly or so.) By these means, you can more easily follow your Sanitation Department’s requirements.

What to do about clothes that require cold water in the washer, knowing that detergent is less effective with dry detergent? Here’s the answer: use liquid detergent, which will dissolve more easily.

You CAN freeze cottage cheese (well, not the creamed style). Just know that when you defrost it, the texture will have changed so much that the cheese will only be suitable for use in a casserole.

One rotten apricot, apple, banana, avocado, blueberry, peach, or cantaloupe can spoil the batch, because they emit ethylene gas, which ripens produce. So don’t keep any of these near potatoes or cut flowers, lest they spoil from the gas. And scan your produce containers frequently to avoid a rotten piece from spoiling the bunch. If you have a pear or a tomato or an avocado that you want to ripen, put it in a brown bag together with an ethylene source.

Are you the lucky owner of a ceiling fan? To use it most efficiently, run it roatating counterclockwise in the summer forcing the hot air up. In winter, run it clockwise in order to send the cold air to the ceiling.

Of cheapskate coffee & caulking best practices

2006-01-15T16:35:00.000-08:00

Volume III, No. 22 (January15, 2006)
Copyright © Deborah Michelle Sanders 2006

My L-rd, open my lips that I may declare Your praises.

-- Beginning of “The Prayer” for Jewish morning services; this is analogous to the L-rd’s Prayer for Christians, as being central to the service.

A continual report on my coffee usage. With the help of a new gold filter, I have been able to reduce my prior usage (for 12 oz water) of 1 scant teaspoon to ½ teaspoon! So easy on the budget! (I calculate that the gold filter will pay for itself within a year of not having to buy paper filters, & I know that it will last for my lifetime.)

If you have a cat, you know that litter is often sold with baking soda already mixed in. Compare the prices carefully. In most cases, it is cheaper to buy clay litter & baking soda separately. Just sprinkle the soda on the bottom of the litter box before adding in the clay litter. (Did you know that if your cat ingests too much of the clumping litters when she grooms herself, she may get sick.) DO NOT FLUSH clay litter.

A paperback cookbook can be read easily if you take a hanger meant for pants & skirts (with “clothespins”) & attach the opened cookbook to it. Then you can just hang the hanger on a cupboard knob & see the recipe easily!

Did you know that, with today’s water-based finishes for furniture, using sandpaper on them is the kiss of death? That’s right – the steel in the sandpaper will interact with the water to cause rust, your Big Enemy. Instead, use abrasive pads, which you can buy at any hardware store.

If your local newspaper offers free ads for items under a small amount of money, try asking for something that you need. For example, “Like to purchase used bridal gown, size 16.” You could get a bite that will save you big bucks. (Or, you can do the opposite & sell something for which you are willing to take an amount under the limit for the free ad.)

The easiest way to defat a cooked dish is with a perforated spoon. Just run it under the surface, & lift off the fat. This may work as soon as the dish has just finished cooking – or, you may find about a particular dish that you’ll need to refrigerate it first.

Do you use iron-on patches or interfacing, but get frustrated having to clean the iron’s soleplate from residue of the add-on’s? Ordinary aluminum foil will come to your rescue! Place a bit of aluminum foil under the area where you will be pressing. You can just pull it out once all is adhered.

When painting an intricate design, use a cotton swab such as Q-Tips® to dust the area where you will be painting, & then use another swab to actually paint.

A hint for seamstresses who make pillows or stuffed animals – wet your hands before trying to push the stuffing inside. The job will be MUCH easier!

Snow in your region? To get it off your car’s windshield, patio furniture, a garbage can, & such small areas, use a plastic or rubber dustpan, or a squeezee. To get it off your pavement (if it’s a relatively light covering), it’s much easier on your back to sweep it than to shovel it. If you do have to take out & use the shovel, coat it with cooking oil spray 1st. The snow will fall right off.

If you have a dishwasher, you’ll save on your energy bills if you turn on the kitchen sink’s hot water before starting up the washer. (Be sure to capture the water in a dishpan, so that it is not wasted.) The further away the hot water heater is from the dishwasher, the more money you will save this way.

To reduce wear-&-tear on clothing – not to mention pilling & accumulation of lint, turn them inside out before laundering. And, of course, you know how important it is to empty all pockets 1st!

You probably have some butter in the house (for baking), as well as the Smart Balance® that I hope you use for all other purposes. The butter has another use – preserving cheese. Just coat the exposed edges of the cheese with some butter. OR, another way to preserve the cheese is to cover it with cheesecloth that has been saturated with vinegar. Just keep the cloth damp.

The cheapest way to remove make-up is with plain petroleum jelly, like Vaseline®. After massaging it in, use one square of toilet paper to rub it -- & the make-up – off. If you use heavy make-up, you’ll need to use a regular facial tissue. (Petroleum jelly is cheaper than mineral or baby oil, which in turn are cheaper than the expensive specialized products that the cosmetics industry wants you to buy.)

Are you the proud owner of a grinder – for meat or for coffee & spices, but are frustrated as how to quickly clean it? Just run a raw potato through it!

Did you know about caulking that there is a “best practices” way to apply the caulk? In holding the caulking gun, the further you deviate from the optimal 45 degrees, the worse your results will be.

Of ever-flowing OJ & trash-can racoons

2006-01-08T14:09:00.000-08:00

Volume III, No. 21 (January 8, 2006))
Copyright © Deborah Michelle Sanders 2006

My heart is steadfast, O G-d,
My heart is steadfast.
I will sing & raise a psalm;
Awake, my spirit.
I will awake at dawn of day.
I will confess Thee, O L-rd, among the peoples,
Among the nations I will raise a psalm to Thee;
For Thy unfailing love is wider than the heavens
And Thy truth reaches to the skies.
Show Thyself, O G-d, high above the heavens;
Let Thy glory shine over all the earth.

-- From Psalm 108

HOUSEHOLD HINTS:

Herewith, the (nearly) ever-flowing orange juice pitcher. First, blend a 12-oz can of concentrate as usual. Drink 1 glass (8 oz) from it. Replace with 8 oz of water. Repeat. Stop when there are just 2 cups left. Fill the pitcher completely & blend. Depending upon your taste, you can either make 2 or 3 pitchers of juice this way.

When your car’s windshield wipers wear out, they will still be of use within your home as squeezes.

If you are on a diet – or just want to avoid unnecessary calories, put your Smart Balance (or butter, if you must) on your toast only after the bread has cooled down, not when it is still hot. You’ll save half the calories!

Here are some hints for touching up scuff marks. Touch up white appliance paint with a correction fluid used as an office supply. Touch up white athletic shoes with white shoe polish. Touch up black rubber or plastic decorations on your car with black shoe polish.

There is no mechanical or electronic reason to purchase a color TV any sooner than 12 years after you bought it. It will continue to work just fine., Of course, there is always keeping up with the Jones’s. But you wouldn’t do anything like that!

If you like deep-fried food, at least you can save some money when you drain it. Instead of using about ½ of a roll of paper towels, use just one towel, placed atop a pile of newspaper.

To blot your lipstick, use a square of toilet paper instead of the much larger facial tissue. Indeed, I keep 2 squares in a small plastic glass, & reuse it until it is nearly covered with color.

If you plan to cook stuffed cabbage, make it easier on yourself. Freeze the outer leaves of the cabbage for an hour. Once defrosted, the leaves will be soft, making it easy to roll them up.

For sourdough bread without the trouble of keeping a starter going, try this (an accidental discovery). Using 1 cup of milk in your bread recipe (in place of any other called-for 1 cup of liquid in the recipe), add 1-3/4 T of cream of tartar. That means that you use 1 T + 2 tsp – that’s close enough, but to be perfect on this, I add a smidgman more. Luscious!

Is it ever worthwhile to spring for the brand-name when there is a generic substitute? As an example, it IS in the case of hoses for washing machines. (Yes, we cover everything in this blog.) The low-priced hoses are subject to heating loss, &, as well, they resist pressure. The best vendor for a new hose is the manufacturer of the washer itself.

Wet your dental floss thoroughly before using it. You’ll see that it is much easier to thrust it between tight gaps that way.

Here’s a great way to show people who give you or your child gifts, to demonstrate to them how much the gift means to you or your child. Take a picture of the gift being used, & enclose it with your thank-you note (or send it as an attachment online).

Fussing 3-year-old’s disturbing you as you try to cook or sew? Just give them a plastic plate of frozen peas to eat &/or throw. (Be sure to take a gander at them every minute or so. And don’t do this with a younger child.)

If your car has an apparent future life of only 2 years or so, buy any replacement parts that you need at a junkyard instead of at an auto supply store to save BIG!

Most folks own a sofa. Here’s how to keep its upholstery in best shape. Turn its cushions often to reduce obvious wear-&-tear. Exchange the cushions at each side arm, then exchange the 2 or 3 back pillows so that all surfaces wear evenly. (If the pattern is the same back & front, be sure to switch these regularly, too.)

Keep raccoons & other critters out of your outdoors trash barrels! Just pour ¼ c of household ammonia into the bottom of each can.

Of tags for Christmas lights & your Pavlovian dog

2005-12-18T13:14:00.000-08:00

“Of tags for Christmas lights & your Pavlovian dog”

Volume III, No. 20 (December 18, 2005)
Copyright © Deborah Michelle Sanders 2005

When the heart is narrow, the tongue is wide.
-- Solomon Ibn Gabriel

HOUSEHOLD HINTS:

For our Christian friends: A good way to use up the bread wrappers’ tabs that you might have been saying is for decorating your Christmas tree with lights more easily. Just attach the wires of colored or white bulbs to the tree with the tabs. And, if you don’t have the tabs this year, here’s a good incentive to save them for Christmas of 2006!

Don’t you hate it when a recipe calls for just 1 oz of a 6 oz can of tomato paste? You COULD freeze the other 5 oz in 1 oz portions in an ice cube tray. Here’s a more imaginative solution. Just use ketchup instead of the tomato paste, measure for measure!

You have probably heard from friends – or at least have read – about buying furniture directly from its North Carolina source. Doing so can sometimes be a good deal – but the company may be a rogue. Check with the Better Business Bureau in the locality before ordering. Also, ascertain the terms of their return policy (if any). Factor any return shipment price into the budget for your purchase, just to be on the safe side.

You say that you’re painting a room or an outside wall? You know that the job will take more than a day. You don’t have to clean your brush(es). Just toss it or them into a plastic bag & freeze. When you’re ready to paint again, there’s no need to fully defrost the brush(es). Just leave it or them at room temperature for an hour before returning to your job. This is as good a time as any for me to tell you to line your roller tray with a plastic bag, so that you can just throw it away at the end of the job & have one thing less to clean, (You can also use aluminum foil for lining, but that’s an expense, considering that you bring home from stores plastic bags that you don’t directly pay for.)

Don’t clean your cat’s litter box with bleach. The lingering ammonia from her urine will yield fumes toxic to her sensitive nose, & you’ll deserve any resulting accidents.

You’ll get a better buy on potatoes if you buy all-purpose “russet” instead of “Idaho” baking-only ones. You can also use the russet potatoes for boiling, such as for making potato salad or mashed potatoes. They are cheaper than the small “boiling potatoes,” &, cut up, are tasty substitutes.

When preparing meat or poultry soup stock, add 1 T white vinegar to the pot, to facilitate the beneficial leakage of calcium from the bones into the broth.

If you are in the market for a new car, narrow your preferences to 2 or 3 models. Then rent each for a weekend. You’ll see each car’s bad & good features, & will be in a better position to buy.

If you have a gas range, & a burner doesn’t seem to be working well (you’ll see just a small flame), try cleaning out the “ports” (holes in the fixture under the drip pan). Use a sewing pin for this task. Do NOT work on or near the pilot light, if your model has one.

When you buy soap, dry it (“cure it”) by letting it sit opened in a drawer for several months. Besides increasing the life of the soap, this will also give the drawer & its contents a pleasant aroma.

To quickly obtain brown sugar that flows (out of hard sugar), one solution is to grate it on a hand-grater. If you have a day to wait, put a cut apple into a solidly closed sugar container.

A handy bit of knowledge: Unless you take a sledge-hammer to it, a toilet will last a lifetime. It may need minor repairs now & then, but will not have to be replaced except for water-savings purposes.

Once you have parked, turn off the ignition key IMMEDIATELY to save big on fuel.

To remove old wallpaper, you need a solution to assist. You can get by with just 1 T liquid fabric softener in a gallon of warm water.

You’ll save calories when making a white sauce if you use cornstarch in place of flour. This is because you only need to use ½ the amount of cornstarch as you would have to use of flour.

Let Pavlov show your dog how to alert you when he needs a walk. Put a string of bells on the inside knob of the front door. Jingle them vigorously every time that you take him out. Soon, he will be jingling them himself when he wants to go out.

Of canceled checks & price discrepancies

2005-12-11T14:05:00.000-08:00

Volume III, No. 19 (December 11, 2005)
Copyright © Deborah Michelle Sanders 2005

I will sing to the L-rd as long as I live,
All my life I will sing psalms to my G-d.
May my meditation please the L-rd,
As I show my joy in Him!

-- From Psalm 104

HOUSEHOLD HINTS:

Need a good place for storing your canceled checks? (I’m assuming that you are not “paperless,” banking online.) Try the box that the checks came in!

If you have a pet dog or cat, you can get its fur off your carpet or upholstery with a tool that you probably have not thought of – the lowly squeezee. Pull the rubber portion towards you. You’ll be amazed at how much fur the squeezee will pick up!

When you go to a store on a special sale day, especially on the last day, check your register receipt carefully to ensure that you receive the designated sales prices. Sometimes, the cash register will still or already be programmed with the regular prices.

To get the most out of a department store sale, go on the 1st day – to get the best selection – or on the last day – because prices may have been further reduced.

Before you shell out the moolah to travel to some exotic locale, look in your own backyard. What you think of as “tourist traps” are probably attractions that you haven’t visited for years!

Ripen bananas on the counter. Once they are ripe, cover them with newspaper & place them in a produce drawer in your fridge. While they will turn black, they will NOT become over-ripe.

You don’t need to go out to buy a rubber mallet. Just take a tennis ball (used is fine), & cut it in half. Apply that half to the head of a hammer. That’s it!

Here’s a tip for parents with small kids. Make calendars featuring their art for grandparents & other close relatives. In December or January, collect calendars given out by local businesses. Rubber-cement on top of each illustrated page a piece of your child’s art. A magnificent gift!

Be certain that you are not using an excessive amount of any product, whether it be a flavoring, a toiletry, or a cleanser. About 6 months ago, I realized that the reason that my mug of coffee tasted bitter – even with the addition of the salt that I’ve told you about – was that the recommended amount of ground coffee (2 T) was WAY TOO MUCH! I experimented, cutting & cutting & cutting. I am now down to a scant teaspoon -- & it tastes GREAT.

Whether you are buying a new car or a used one, take a test drive at night as well as during the day. You want to be sure that all of the automobile’s lights are working well. This includes the dashboard lights.

While skim milk is the best nutritionally, note that it spoils much more quickly than milk with fat does. The greater the cream content, the longer a dairy product will stay fresh. By adding a dash of salt to each pint, you can extend the life of any milk product (except hard cheese) by at least a week.

Are you getting all the cooling power you need from your fridge & freezer? For food safety, you need a fridge & freezer thermometer. For the fridge, put it in a glass of water & leave it overnight. The thermometer should register between 34 & 40 degrees, For the freezer, wedge the thermometer between food packages. (Take the thermometer out of the glass 1st, lest it burst!) The freezer temp should read 0 degrees. All degrees are Fahrenheit.

Speaking of freezers, how about stand-alone models? Did you know that, with minor maintenance such as defrosting if necessary, you can expect good service for 2 decades? Wow!

I know it’s the digital age, but sometimes it’s better to use an old-fashioned disposable camera. It contains batteries that have hardly been used. Ask at your local photo shop – you’ll probably be able to score some great battery deals! Just don’t put the used batteries into anything you’d need to use in an emergency (flashlights, portable radio).

Except for thrift shops & pawndealers, avoid retail establishments where all sales are final. It’s worth it to pay a few percentage points more for the peace of mind of knowing that you can return the item if necessary

Because catalogues are printed up to 6 months before you receive them, their prices will actually be out-of-date for the Christmas season (or whenever else). You can use this discrepancy to your advantage. Shop in stores in lieu of catalogues if prices have gone down recently, but vice-versa in times of inflation. Obviously, online prices will much more closely reflect the current market.

Of produce tray protection & synthetic paintbrushes

2005-12-04T12:43:00.000-08:00

Volume III, No. 18 (December 4, 2005)
Copyright © Deborah Michelle Sanders 2005

Conceal your faults, & you will not prosper;
Confess & give them up, & you will find mercy.

Proverbs 28:13

BEST BUYS FOR DECEMBER:

The day after Christmas: wrapping paper & ribbons (Jews can buy solid colors); cards; ornaments; artificial trees, etc. Also candy & items packaged & decorated for the holidays.

Baking supplies

Apples
Bananas
Cranberries
Oranges & grapefruit

Potatoes

Turkeys

HOUSEHOLD HINTS:

Make a 3-tier protector at the bottom of your produce trays in the fridge. Put newspaper on the bottom, paper towels on top of that, & nylon netting at the very top. (It’s best to use netting with the largest-sized holes that you have.) This will help keep your fruits & veggies fresh longer.

If you have a computer printer, you’ll never need to buy notepads. Just take draft prints & cut them in fourths (you can easily cut 10 at a time.). Either keep them in a small bowl or basket as-is, OR square them up & rub the top with a rubber cement brush, which will hold them together.

If you bake bread in a household with just 1 or 2, you’ll need to freeze half the loaf, most probably. After slicing, to keep the slices discrete, insert a bit of waxed paper in between, with a tad sticking out for you to grab onto when you remove a slice from the freezer. You only need a piece about 4” wide, which you can then cut lengthwise for as many slices as you have (minus 1).

For a New Year’s party of any sort, January 1st, Chinese, Jewish, what have you, here’s a creative idea. Cut up last year’s calendar & attach the sheets in a random design on a tablecloth or brown paper.

New car warranties may vary among dealerships, even on the same makes & models. Find out before you buy how much you could be out-of-pocket, should something go wrong.

Don’t toss a shower curtain that looks dowdy. First, take off the hooks that affix the curtain to its rod. Wash the curtain. Substitute ribbon in a complimentary color for each hook. Tie a bow at each of the grommets. A whole new look!

Do you enjoy baking cakes? The cheapest implement for piping icing is NOT a Zip-Lock® bag, as once you cut off its corner, it cannot be reused. Instead, save a plastic squeeze bottle, such as a mustard bottle for this purpose.

Here’s a nifty way to keep your dog relatively free of fleas. When you bathe him, start by shampooing his neck. Fleas won’t be able to escape upwards as you wash him!

The safest way to handle unwanted credit card solicitations is to cut them up, put 1 in a wastebasket & 1 in a garbage can, & then consign the remaining pieces to the business reply envelope that accompanied the solicitation. Be sure to remember to mail it back!

I know, & soon you will too, 2 methods for getting rid of furniture indentations in carpet (once you move the furniture). The 1st is to apply ice cubes & leave them there for a few hours, a partial melt. The 2nd way is to dampen a towel, & place it over the indentation. Take out your trusty iron & iron the towel at a medium setting. Once the towel is dry, your indentation will be gone.

I’m sure that everyone who owns a dishwasher knows that to reduce energy costs, one should let the dishes air-dry instead of allowing the appliance to dry the dishes with heat.

You can use a synthetic paintbrush (best for latex paint) considerably longer if, after you clean off the paint, you give it a session in a solution of liquid fabric softener in water, about one part to ten parts.

Of dustpans & phytochemicals

2005-11-27T12:53:00.000-08:00

Volume III, No. 17 (November 27, 2005)
Copyright © Deborah Michelle Sanders 2005

If the L-rd had not been my helper,
I should soon have slept in the silent grave.
When I felt that my foot was slipping,
Thy love, O L-rd, held me up.
Anxious thoughts may fill my heart,
But Thy presence is my joy & my consolation.

-- From Psalm 94

HOUSEHOLD HINTS:

If you’re getting frustrated in sweeping out the kitchen, it could be because your dustpan is warped. Straighten it out with a hammer, & you’ll be back in business.

Home owner? Maintenance can be a full-time chore. Start with the basics, & you’ll be more relaxed. Caulking is such a basic. Wherever one material (such as the roof) comes into contact with another material (the walls, the chimney), that’s where to caulk!

When shopping in any store that carries foodstuffs, including chain drugstores, keep an eye peeled for a cart that is devoted to clearance items. There may be dents or the expiration date may be close to today, but if you buy from the cart, you may be able to save 10-75%.

Replace your car’s oil filter whenever you change the oil. The filter has absorbed dirty oil, which will just contaminate the clean new oil you add.

If you receive winter-forced daffodils (or live somewhere warm, where they will soon be in your garden), & want to arrange them with other flowers, be aware that they have a sap in their stems that is harmful to other plants. So, quarantine the daffodils for 12 hours, by putting them in their own container full of water.

To get out the last ounce or so of foodstuffs like salt or oatmeal that come in cardboard canisters, cut the top off. To get the last ounce or so of toiletries like shampoo , cut as much of the container off as necessary to be able easily to reach its bottom. For both purposes, use a knife that you have dedicated for crafts. A serrated knife serves me well in these endeavors.

Instead of going out to buy an artist’s palette, recycle an egg carton. (This works better with a plastic egg carton than it does with a cardboard one.)

Never buy a new car in its 1st year on the market. Like everything else electronic, it takes its own kind of “beta testing” to get out all of the “bugs.”

Use freezer Zip-Lock® bags over & over for freezer storage, even of meats. Simply use a free produce bag to cover the item while you are in the store. Once you get home, put a Zip-Lock® bag OVER the plastic bag. Unless you are unfortunate enough to tear the zipper, you can reuse that bag indefinitely.

Some public libraries will lend artwork which you can display in your home. Some even lend tools for maintenance & crafting. If your local library does not, call around to neighboring counties. In most states, anyone who lives in the state can receive a library card in any county therein.

Do you have a little girl who has a big doll? Try to obtain the doll’s clothing at a thrift store or garage sale – only, look at newborn’s (children’s) clothing. It should be a perfect fit!

Need to remove rust from chrome? Here’s a nifty way. Take a tiny piece of aluminum foil & wrap it around your finger (shiny side out). Rub the chrome until the rust disappears. That’s it!

You no longer have to clean messy pans of oatmeal! Just spray oil into the pan before cooking! And you know that the same trick works with measuring spoons or cups into which you need to pour sticky foods like molasses. You also are quite aware that when measuring, you should apply the dry ingredients before the wet ingredients, so as to save on that chore of washing up!

If a rubber spatula develops a fray at the edge, just take your kitchen sheers & trim that edge – the spatula will work as well as a new one!

I never peel potatoes, & I only peel carrots when I’ve been foolish enough not to use one until it has developed a “beard.” I also eat an apple completely, everything but the stem! You might not want to go so far with the apple, but know that all the good phytochemicals are right below the skin, so don’t peel eggplants, either.

Of crispy chicken & misplaced objects

2005-11-20T14:51:00.000-08:00

Volume III, No. 16 (November 20, 2005)
Copyright © Deborah Michelle Sanders

Attach us to Your commandments….
Attach us to the Good Inclination & to good deeds
& compel our Evil Inclination to be subservient to you.

n From the Jewish morning prayers

HOUSEHOLD HINTS:

Get that Kentucky Fried Chicken® crispness without the fast-foods price. Just create a coating of ½ part crumbled cornflakes to ½ part flour & place in a shallow bowl. Season as desired; then add ½ tsp baking powder (NOT soda) for each total part of coating & stir well. Fill another shallow bowl with water. Put chicken first in water, then in the crumbs/flour mixture, & then back in water. People who do not observe Jewish dietary restrictions can use milk in place of water. You can then bake or fry the chicken.

When sending a card to a hospitalized person, use his or her return address, not yours. In this way, if he or she has been discharged, the card will still reach its intended destination.

Squeaky floorboards do not need anything expensive for repair. Just take talcum or baby powder, & apply it with a broom. End of problem.

When you open a container of milk – or, after having prepared non-fat dry milk – add a pinch of salt. It will keep the beverage fresher longer.

Do you have a door that is bent out of shape? The easiest way to get it back in shape is to spring for a new hinge. Apply it midway between the 2 existing hinges. Over time, the curve will be straightened out by the force of gravity.

Are you a man who likes to wear silk neckties? Or a woman who wears silk scarves? You can prolong their lives once you’ve removed them by rubbing them against your bare thigh. The nap will be lifted & the wrinkles will disappear. This works because of your body oil, & the large flat surface like an ironing board.

Anyone who can sew can revamp garments that no longer work in their present condition. For example, sleeves with elbow holes can be shortened. Or a full skirt, or wide tie or lapels, can be made narrower. If the garment seems beyond salvation, at least remove everything that can be used again (buttons, zippers, & other notions), before consigning the garment to the ragbag. (Alternatively, give the intact garment to charity.)

You can save valuable time in scheduling & keeping your kids’ visits to the doctor or dentist for routine checkups, if you schedule the visits back-to-back. In this way, you can make just one trip for all the children.

You can obtain many used or returned items from shop owners, at stellar prices. For example, ask a plumbing contractor for sinks or toilets. Ask a dry-cleaner for clothes, a shoe cobbler for footwear, a carpet store for a rug. You get the idea: you can obtain these -- & more – at fabulous discounts,. Floor samples in a store cannot touch these prices, even though the floor samples are considerably cheaper than regular retail.

Serve breakfast juice in 4-oz shot glasses. All the flavor you need to get the morning started right, without high expense.

Consider what you actually NEED, instead of what you initially WANT, before parting with your hard-earned dollars. For example, I recently had a metal watchband break. After trying to no avail to fix it, I initially thought of getting a professional repair. But then I realized: All that I REALLY need is a watch for outside of my house, as I have several clocks inside it. So, I have taken to keeping my watch inside my purse, AND have saved myself several precious dollars.

Don’t go out & buy a new mattress just because your bed has become too soft or your back has gotten bad. Instead, go out & buy a sheet or sheets of plywood large enough to cover your bedsprings. (Ask the lumberyard to saw the wood to size if you don’t have the appropriate tools.) Insert the plywood between your mattress & bedsprings, & there you are!

Place a layer of newspaper at the bottom of trash bins to keep odors away. This works both in a kitchen garbage pail, or in outside trash barrels.

If your coffeemaker with an automatic timer has seen better days, here’s how to economize. Buy a new coffeemaker that is cheap because it lacks a timer. Buy a separate timer, such as is used to turn lights on & off to fool a potential burglar. Plug your new coffeemaker into the new timer, plug the timer into the outlet, & you’ll have your morning coffee waiting for you, at moderate expense.

If you want to give flowers to an out-of-town friend, phone a florist in her town. (You can get the info on the Web.) You’ll save big bucks over FTD, which charges for the middleman.

In order to find a misplaced object – such a frustration to all of us at times – the best place to look first is exactly where it is supposed to be!

Of medications & flooring

2005-11-13T13:47:00.002-08:00

Volume 3, No. 15 (November 13, 2005)
Copyright © Deborah Michelle Sanders 2005

L-rd, help me to remember that nothing is going to happen today that You & I cannot handle together. – Saidie Patterson

HOUSEHOLD HINTS:

If your doctor prescribes a new medication for you, ask for a trial free sample. You COULD also take the script to a pharmacy & ask the drugstore to fill it for only a few pills – BUT you will have to shell out a co-pay. Furthermore, the drugstore charges a dispensing fee on every prescription bottle that it fills.

To save on molasses or honey when you are baking, sprinkle the measuring cup with flour before measuring the sweetening. The easiest way to do this is to keep some flour in a large-holed dispenser (you can also use this flour to dust baking pans.).

A nice way of cushioning goods to be sent to others is to take plastic bags from the market, & blow each one up, knotting its end. These will cushion the shipment nicely.

Would you ever have guessed that there are 2 kinds of damp mops for different kinds of floors? Yup, there are. A wet mop is for cleaning resilient flooring. A sponge mop is for all other kitchen & bath floors.

Before washing clothing, cover nice buttons with aluminum foil, to keep them looking their best. Close zippers completely for aesthetic reasons, as well as to avoid harmful “hook-up’s.”

This is hardly the kind of thing you would think of if you were bereaved, but it’s crucial. Burglars read the obituary columns daily, & plan their criminal path in part with reference to the survivors’ names & the telephone directory. Be sure to have someone house-sit for you on the day of the funeral, to avoid double heart-break.

Do you own an umbrella stand? A major inconvenience is having to clean out the bottom. Try this trick: Cut sponges to fit the bottom. Then you’ll only have to wring them out into a pail, instead of having to bend over each time for several minutes.

Only buy produce in local season -- for 2 reasons: First of all, it is going to be cheaper (no transportation costs). And, secondly, local produce is far less likely to have been sprayed with pesticides, owing to the lenient regulations of many other countries.

If you need to use sandpaper on a plastic or wood surface, but have run out, you can use a cement block or a brick to roughly sand. Then use an emery board to touch up the inevitable scratches. (DON’T try this on interior furniture!)

You MAY have a deposit tied up in a utility company’s coffers, especially if you started new service in the last 2 years. Inquire of your land-line & cell phone companies, & of your gas & electric provider, to see whether you are now eligible for a refund.

When your kids are past the squirt-gun stage, ask them to provide you with one. It can help you in many ways that a squirt bottle could as well. But it has a special use if you are putting up wallpaper. It dampens the corners of sheets that are still dry, after you have applied water to the whole sheets..

After the politicking is over, & the election has passed, the candidates’ offices shut down. For any candidate who spent funds in campaigning, the office will be running for a while afterwards. Go to the office, & request envelopes, posters, or whatever else you would like to have. Most candidates will be willing, because otherwise they would most likely have to pay for disposal. All you’ll need to do is to put your own return-address sticker over that of the candidate, use the back of the poster, & so forth.

Before you commit yourself to purchasing a major appliance, find out whether service is available locally. If it isn’t, you’ll have to shell out transportation money -- & maybe even the assistance of a local dealer to unassemble it for it to be able to be shipped. Ridiculous!

Don’t throw out the shavings from a pencil sharpener (particularly a big one). The cedar makes for great stuffing for sachets for hanging in a closet!

In cold weather, an alternative to extra blankets or an electric blanket is good old newspaper. Yes, folks, just spread newspaper over your mattress, beneath the bottom sheet. You’ll be surprised at how well this works.

The best way to keep your floors relatively clean is to install floor mats both inside & outside each door. Sisal or rubber mats are particularly durable, & you can find then in appealing designs. The expenditure now will pay off in your needing fewer cleaning materials. Your back will thank you, too!

Of 911 cell calls & sweeping

2005-11-06T12:55:00.000-08:00

Volume III, No. 14 (November 6, 2005)
Copyright © Deborah Michelle Sanders 2005

O L-rd, it is good to give Thee thanks,
To sing psalms to Thy name, O Most High,
To declare Thy love in the morning
& Thy constancy every night,
to the music of a 10-stringed lute,
to the sounding chords of the harp.

--from Psalm 92

BEST BUYS FOR NOVEMBER:

Pumpkins
Apples
Cranberry sauce
Baking ingredients, including evaporated milk (which is a very good item to keep on hand, in case of an emergency that keeps the stores shut).
Citrus season starts in November
Brussels sprouts
Broccoli
And, of course, TURKEYS! (Buy the day AFTER Thanksgiving for rock-bottom prices!)

Winter coats on Election Day & Veterans Day
Blankets & quilts
Fabrics
Furniture

The prime season for consumer coupons falls between Thanksgiving & Christmas

HOUSEHOLD HINTS:

Did you know that you don’t need to participate in a wireless cell phone plan to be able to dial 911 in an emergency? It’s true – use any old cell phone that has a currently-charged battery so it can receive a signal, & you’re in business, safely!

When you get a spill in your oven, sprinkle the mess with a mixture of 1 part cinnamon to 5 parts salt just as soon as you turn the oven off. Once everything has cooled down, you can use a spatula to clear out all of it, & then follow up with a sponge.

After a spaghetti dinner, place the pasta & the sauce in SEPARATE containers in the fridge. Next time that you want to serve the dish, put the pasta into a colander & run hot water over it. Then stir it in a pot of boiling water for just one minute, & drain it again in the colander. Meanwhile, heat the sauce. The dish will taste as good as on the day that you 1st prepared it.

If you need to take a large number of medications at different times of the day, the small meds trays designed for 7 days of pills may not be sufficient for you. Try this. Take 2 plastic ice cube trays that hold 14 cubes each, & securely tape their bottoms together, keeping the trays in the same plane or orientation (not back-to-back). Label from top to bottom for the days of the week, & from side to side for the hour at which the medications are to be taken. If you have a VERY large number of dosage schedules to deal with, just add another tray.

If you have broken glass to sweep up, here’s the safest way. Put a plastic bag over the dustpan. Sweep the glass in. Using heavy gloves, run your fingers across the broom straws, to pick up the smallest shards of glass. Place them on the dustpan. Remove the plastic bag by drawing it inside out. Toss.

Decorate your kitchen with pictures of food cut from magazines – or, from cookbooks that have a separate inset of color pages.

If you are sweating after a work-out, grab a bag of discrete produce from the freezer – I mean such things as corn kernels, peas, cranberries, or blueberries. Rub it on your neck & forehead. Instant relief!

To keep broom straws clean, fan them with your fingers onto the filled dustpan.

While Bounty & other premium paper towels are expensive as all get-out, they are still cheaper than cloths like those manufactured by Swiffer®. They can be used either wet or dry on the Swiffer® floor mop or other accessory.

Right after Election Day, visit the various candidates’ offices to get paper goods that are now surplus – envelopes & posters (use the backs) are just some of the items that you can obtain for free.

A creative way for parents to get respite from caring for their kids is for them to exchange weekends with another family. Family #2 brings the kids of Family #1 home for one weekend. Next month, the exchange is reversed.

On all electronic equipment, WAITING for its features to become commonplace will save you big bucks. And you DO know that software should never be purchased unless it has progressed beyond Release .0!

Of oil in sand & vacuuming scents

2005-10-23T14:37:00.000-07:00

Volume III, No. 13 (October 23, 2005)
Copyright © Deborah Michelle Sanders 2005

Glory to G-d, whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine. Ephesians 3:20

HOUSEHOLD HINTS:

Recycle some of the oil from your car engine by using it to keep tool blades & teeth sharp. Just mix it into a bucket of sand.

I’m quite certain that when you have to clean your carpeting, you rent the equipment to save money. But did you know that you can also save time & hassle by renting DRY-CLEANING equipment instead of a wet-dry vacuum?

Make the most out of those tubes of toothpaste, antibiotic cream – even glue. Use a clothespin horizontal to the bottom of the tube as a clamp, so that you can roll up the empty portion of the tube.

When putting in the sweat equity to paint your own house (interior OR exterior), you may want to throw out a brush because the bristles are too stiff with left-over paint (after you have applied paint-thinner [for oil-based paints] or water [for latex paints]). But all you have to do is reach for your liquid fabric softener (for the laundry). Fill a basin with water, add 2 T of the softener, & immerse the brush for an hour. Then rinse thoroughly -- & there you have it!

One use for the mesh bags that produce often is wrapped in, as a sponge-scrubber. Just put a sponge inside sufficient mesh, & either use a rubber band to close the doohickey, or be elegant & sew it shut.

Regret your folly in having purchased a gas-guzzling SUV, given today’s prices? Try contracting out the trip by placing a newspaper ad or notice: “I need to go roundtrip from my home in __________ (general neighborhood), to my workplace in _________ (general neighborhood). Fee expected. Phone ______. (Do NOT give your name, for security purposes.)

Baskets are a staple in thrift stores. They are so useful around the house; it seems as though you can never have too many of them! It is best to select natural-colored baskets, so that you can clean them without fear of running colors. To clean, use warm water & a mild soap, scrubbing with a toothbrush (that you’ve set aside for cleaning purposes). You should then find a place in your house that has good ventilation as a site for the baskets to dry.

An easy way to fill up a savings account: As you pay down debt such as a credit card, continue to pay the same amount monthly that you have now cleared into savings. For example, if you had been making a $100 minimum payment, but now are only being charged $50 monthly, put the other $50 into savings. Similarly, any amounts that you save on the grocery bill should be put into savings. A money market mutual fund is a good savings vehicle for many people.

Don’t buy an extended warranty. Statistics tell us that fewer than 20% of those who purchase one ever have cause to use it! Worse yet, the company frequently requires buyers to take the electronics into a repair shop yourself, get a receipt, & try to be reimbursed. I say “try,” because the company often claims that there was a power surge or that you had abused the electronics.

If your house has wallpaper that is not washable, what a pity! But you can fix the problem. Go to a wallpaper store, & purchase “wallpaper sizing.” Apply it to the walls, & then go over it with a coat of shellac. You’ll be sitting pretty!

To get much more juice out of your citrus fruits, immerse them in hot water for 15 minutes before you squeeze them!

If you are on a truly tight budget, a suggestion for making certain that you don’t overspend yourself at the grocery store. Bring along a roll of masking tape & a pen. As you choose items from the shelves, mark on each what the price is (assuming that your store does not label items, which is generally the case these days). You’ll be able to calculate your total, & see how much you need to put back on a shelf, to arrive at a total price that you can afford. This will avoid embarrassment at the check-out counter. An additional benefit is that you will be able to catch any check-out errors.

To save big dollars on car maintenance, rotate your tires every 10,000 miles – even better is every 5,000 miles. Check the alignment frequently, to avoid having to buy new tires repeatedly for a car with low to medium mileage.

If you have a hospital stay to face, try a little poetry. So many interruptions in your days & nights – let alone how the medications make you feel – you very well will find it hard to concentrate. An anthology of short poems will meet your needs, especially if you choose a paperback (to avoid arm & wrist strain).

Use newspaper as a waste holder when you are cutting produce. You can just discard it without having a bowl to wash out.

Want to get a fresh scent while vacuuming? There are 2 methods. The first is to put some potpourri or the contents of an herbal teabag into the vacuum cleaner bag. The second is to lightly dust your carpet with baking soda. Either or both will make “good scents.”

Of flower arranging & franks slaw

2005-10-16T14:52:00.000-07:00

Volume III, No. 12 (Sunday, Oct 16th, 2005)
Copyright © Deborah Michelle Sanders 2005

From the writings of the Hasid, Rebbe Nachman of Breslov:

The light of the Infinite One is without form & only takes shape – for good or for bad – in the recipient. Therefore, it is up to us. We have to do our best to shape G-d’s light into blessing, not curse.

HOUSEHOLD HINTS:

You can put up an elegant set of shelves (for shelves destined to carry light weights) by installing decorative long brackets UPSIDE DOWN.

When you have a bunch of flowers to arrange, always use a knife to cut off the stems at an oblique angle. Using a scissors will compress the stems; using a knife will allow water to flow into them.

Instead of having to accept collect calls from your collegiate kids, arrange with them to have you phone them at a given time. Saves big bucks!

If the prices & features of 2 computers or other electronic wares are comparable, spring for the one that is accompanied by the more generous manufacturer’s warranty.

Use antifreeze in your car’s engine even when it’s not cold outside. The antifreeze keeps your engine running better in hot weather, too. This is because its boiling point is higher than 212 degrees Fahrenheit (the boiling point of water at standard elevations).

Don’t have a double boiler for making that sauce? No worries – IF you have a small metal bowl. Just set the bowl in a larger pot, & fill the pot so that the water reaches 2” below the top of the bowl. Cover with the pot cover if the recipe so specifies, & you’re in business!
To be able to reuse a can – such as a tuna can as a biscuit cover, or a coffee can for baking a pudding or making Monkey Bread – you need edges with no burrs. Keep a metal nail file in the kitchen for this purpose.

Avoid draining your flashlight batteries by covering the flashlight switch with a strip of duct tape.

RECIPE:

Franks Slaw:

We often put relish on our hot dogs. Here’s a more nutritious “relish,” chock-filled with cabbage, & with the dogs an integral part of the slaw.

8 frankfurters (chicken or turkey), cooked as described on the package, each cut horizontally into fourths
½ large or 1 small green cabbage, cut into fine pieces
1 large or 2 small carrot(s), grated
2 green onions (“scallions”), both white & green parts, cut fine
1 stalk celery, cut fine

Combine in a large bowl.

In a small bowl, combine:

2 T ketchup
heaping ½ tsp dry mustard
¼ c mayonnaise
scant tsp salt

Stir this mixture thoroughly into the slaw. Serves 4.

Of October bargains & basil bake

2005-10-09T13:03:00.000-07:00

Volume III, Issue 11

Copyright © Deborah Michelle Sanders 2005

My favorite psalm -- The 121st Psalm:

If I lift up my eyes to the hills,
Where shall I find help?
Help comes only from the L-rd,
Maker of heaven & earth.
How could he let your foot stumble?
How could he, your guardian, sleep?
The guardian of Israel
Never slumbers, never sleeps.
The L-rd is your guardian,
Your defense at your right hand;
The sun will not strike you by day
Nor the moon by night
The L-rd will guard you against all evil
He will guard you, body & soul.
The L-rd will guard your going & your coming,
Now & for evermore.

OCTOBER BARGAINS:

One for November 1st – candy, gobs of it!
Really in October:
Apples & pears
Winter squash
Pumpkins

Last year’s automobile models (i.e., 2005 models now)
Silver & silverware
Clothing, & fabrics in high-end stores

HOUSHOLD HINTS:

You might think that, in order to sell a car, new tires would enhance the auto in the eyes of prospective buyers. ‘Taint true – once you have paid for the tires, you won’t get equal value from the buyer.

Use wadded-up newspaper to absorb odors in any empty container (including thermoses, lunch-boxes, coolers, or storage boxes).

You don’t have to discard window shades that have seen their better days. Just remove the shade from its roller, staple what had been its bottom to the top rod, & glue a bottom hem just wide enough to be able to encase its wooden straightening stick.

Has someone brought you flowers? Be sure to cut off all of the leaves that are below the water line, so they don’t succumb to disease. Change the water every other day for the same reason. Rot smells bad, but flowers are supposed to smell pretty, right?

Speaking of diseases, how about preventing mold on cheese? You just need some cheesecloth & some vinegar. Soak the former with the latter & wrap the cloth tightly around the cheese. (I’m not talking about cheese where mold IS the gourmet experience, as it is with blue cheeses.)

Call your auto insurance carrier to have your premium reduced if:
You are a policyholder for 2 or more kinds of insurance with that company;
You have had no prior claims (during a period exceeding a couple of years); or,
You have a compact car (especially important in this age of SUV’s).

Hint for a seamstress: If you find that you don’t have wide enough elastic for a garment, just use 2 narrow strips, zig-zag them together, & treat them as 1 when threading through the casing with your bodkin.

RECIPE:

Cottage Cheese, Basil, & Spaghetti Bake:

This dish has the dual merits of being delicious & cheap.

1 lb cottage cheese
1 bunch fresh basil (about 4 oz), scissored or cut into 1/8” slices (no stems, please – you can save the stems, as with all leftover veggie parts, to use in soups for extra flavor)
1 lb spaghetti, cut into thirds, cooked only up until the minimum time stated on the package. BEFORE DRAINING THE SPAGHETTI, take a 1-cup Pyrex measure, & scoop out 2 T of the cooking water – reserve it. Then you can drain the pasta.
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp ready-ground pepper OR freshly-ground black pepper to taste
2 T flour
2 T olive oil
paprika, to dust

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray oil on a THREE-quart casserole dish.

In the pot in which you had cooked the spaghetti, replace the 2 T of cooking water. Add the salt, pepper, flour, & olive oil. Place on a medium flame. Stir vigorously to unify the ingredients, until the resulting roux is slightly browned. Remove from flame. Stir in the cottage cheese, basil & spaghetti. Transfer to the casserole dish.

Dust with paprika.

Cover casserole dish (with aluminum foil if necessary – remember to recycle the foil) & bake for 25 minutes. Remove cover & bake for another 15 minutes. Serves 4-5.

Of Jewish High Holy Days & French Ground Turkey

2005-10-03T10:22:00.000-07:00

Volume III, No. 10

Copyright © Deborah Michelle Sanders 2005

Jews everywhere commemorate the ten Days of Awe this week & next. The New Year, Rosh haShanah, is celebrated at home with a challah (egg bread) baked round instead of the standard braid. Apples are dipped in honey for a sweet year. There are also special synagogue services for these 2 days. There is a custom of throwing bread crumbs into a lake or other body of water, to cast one’s sins away.

Next week, the Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur will fall on the 13th. This is a fast day (no liquids, either). Some people wear white that day, the color of purification. Synagogue services are nearly continuous. At the end of the day, the ram’s horn is sounded for the final time during the Days of Awe, & everyone breaks the fast in a festive atmosphere.

HOUSEHOLD HINTS:

When purchasing women’s clothing, look for wide hems & seam allowances. You’ll be able to let out the hems & seams if styles change. However, circular skirts (gored or full) need to retain narrow hems to flare properly.

Use the liquid left in a pickle jar to flavor veggies. I put thin carrot coins in. A week later, I stir them & enjoy! (Keep these in the fridge.)

Do you have an umbrella stand in your home or office? A major nuisance is pouring out the accumulated water. Try this: Put sponges (glued together to fit) in the bottom of the stand. It is much easier to wring out the sponges periodically than to pour out accumulated liquid

Another use for those pesky bread bag tabs. If you knit, use different colors of the tabs as markers for the stitches & rows. (By the way, do you know why the tabs come in different colors? Each color is coded for a “pull date” to indicate to grocers how fresh the bread is. Unfortunately, different bakeries use different codes ….)
While it’s true that putting hot leftovers into the fridge to chill uses up a lot of energy, cooling down the food quickly is essential for avoiding food poisoning. Best bet: Place the pan of food into a larger container (such as a dishpan) filled with cold water, & wait until the pan has cooled before placing it in the fridge.

To be able to reuse a food can (such as a tuna can for cutting out biscuits or a coffee container for steaming Boston brown bread), you need to be certain that the edges are completely smooth. Use a metal nail file (from your nail-care set) to take care of this.

Recycle a plastic milk jug to make a handy case to weave through your belt, to hold your electric drill or otther tool that you want to keep close at hand. Just
remove the neck from the bottle & then cut it diagonally, ending at approximately the half-way mark.

In the market for carpeting? Before you spring for new carpets, inquire around to determine whether there is used floor covering for sale. You might post an ad, or phone local dealers to see whether they have what you are looking for. To get a better price yet, check with remodeling & construction companies, as well as agencies that rent furniture, or, landlords of short-term “suites” for business people who plan only short stays in town. You get the picture!

To keep produce fresher longer in the crisper drawers of your fridge, thoroughly wet a clean sponge, & then squeeze it relatively dry. Put one in each crisper drawer. When it gets dry, repeat.

Want to save on the cost of facial cosmetic powder? Store it in a flour shaker (large version of a salt shaker). Whenever you want to use it, shake out the amount you desire into your palm, & apply it with a make-up brush.

Do you have tiles in your bathroom (whether floor or wall) that are ugly, because their grout is stained? Sandpaper can come to the rescue! Just smooth the grout with a light application of the sandpaper. Naturally, you can do the same with kitchen tiles.

Heavens, do you know why professionals always mat art that they are framing? It’s because the artwork needs a chance to breathe, so cannot be flush against the picture glass. If you frame your own art, be sure to use a mat.

RECIPE:

French Ground Turkey

3 stalks celery, including leaves, chopped fine
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ c olive oil

Saute, in a Dutch oven, on medium heat, for about 10 minutes, until the onions are lightly browned.

4 medium fresh tomatoes (about 1 lb.), sliced, OR a 14.5-oz can of tomatoes, UNDRAINED, cut into small pieces with a pair of kitchen shears (while still in the can)
3 small (“boiling”) potatoes, in 1” cubes

Add. Cook for 12 minutes on medium, stirring occasionally.

1 lb ground turkey (thawed if frozen)
1 tsp EACH sage, & thyme
½ T (1-1/2 tsp) salt
¼ tsp ready-ground black pepper, or freshly-ground black pepper to taste

Add. Turn to high, stirring continuously, for 5 min. Turn heat to medium, cover, & cook for 15 minutes more.

Serves 5-6.

.

Of sandpaper & early autumn stew

2005-09-25T14:38:00.000-07:00

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.

Of washing dogs & peppers stuffed with potatoes

2005-09-18T13:23:00.000-07:00

Volume III, No. 8

Copyright © Deborah Michelle Sanders 2005

O praise the L-rd.

Praise the L-rd out of heaven;
Praise Him in the heights.
Praise Him, all His angels;
Praise Him, all His host.
Praise Him, sun & moon;
Praise Him, all you shining stars;
Praise Him, heaven of heavens,
& you waters above the heavens.
Let them all praise the name of the L-rd,
For He spoke the word & they were created;
He established them for ever & ever
By an ordinance which shall never pass away.

-- From Psalm 148

HOUSEHOLD HINTS:

To keep drains from getting clogged if you have a dog to wash, stop up the drain with a piece of steel wool (a soap pad such as Brillo® is OK.).You may well save the high cost of a repair. (You can use the pad in the future for the same purpose – just squeeze out the liquid. Store it in a sandwich bag in the freezer.)

An old chamois can get a new lease on life. Put a teaspoon of olive oil in a bucket. Add warm water so that the container is about halfway full. Soak the cloth for 15 minutes. Stir the water thoroughly about 5 times as the chamois soaks.

In the wake of the Katrina tragedy, everyone should be careful to have stored at least 3 days’ worth of water (1 gallon per day per person) & food & medications.
Many people, including me, store much more, trying to have enough to get through a month or longer without having to pay price-gouging rates for black-market supplies. The tricks are to always purchase an extra item that you are buying on sale, & to rotate all of your food & water supplies, so that what you have is always fresh enough to retain its nutrients & good taste. (As to the water, refill every plastic jug -- that has a cap -- that you have with fresh water, & mark the date upon which you filled it, to ensure an ample supply.)

Did you ever yearn for a sanding block that would conform to all the curves of a piece of elegant furniture? Here’s how to stop dreaming. Take a deck of cards, wrap it with the sandpaper in your chosen grit, & you’re done! A flexible sanding block!

Save energy & nutrients when cooking veggies by steaming them. Add some herbs or a little citrus juice to the steaming water for a taste treat!

Are you a homeowner – or a renter with a yard – who wants or needs to move a shrub or tree? Use a shovel to sever the root ball (to a foot’s depth). This will cut the feeder roots. Do not move the plant for a week. The shrub or tree will suffer less shock if you move it in this way.

You can use your caulk again & again without the tube’s opening drying out. Just mosey on over to an electrical supply store or the appropriate aisle of a hardware store, & pick up a 10-gauge or 12-gauge wire nut. Thread it on the tip of the tube & you’re cooking with gas!

You can avoid the purchase of a new broom by the simple expedient of washing its straws by soaking it in a bucket of a little ammonia & water. Tie the straws together during their phase of being dried.

RECIPE:

Peppers Stuffed with Potato Pudding:

6 medium green peppers, tops cut off & reserved, seeds & ribs removed
6 medium or 12 small potatoes, unpeeled if you can bear it as all the nutrition is in the skins, mashed in about 1/3 c of their cooking water (no butter or milk is needed) – it is best to cook them in a Dutch oven, so that you can mix all the ingredients in it & won’t have to wash a large bowl.
3 eggs
¾ c flour, matzo meal, cornmeal – whatever you choose
¾ tsp baking powder
2 tsp salt
¼ tsp ready-ground black pepper or freshly-ground black pepper to taste
1 large onion, chopped
1/3 c canola oil
1 tsp EACH sage & thyme

Mix all of the ingredients thoroughly. I find that the potato masher does an excellent job of this. Set upright the 6 green peppers (without their lids) in a 9x13” pan (sprayed with oil). Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Using a large cooking spoon, place about ½ c of potato mixture in each pepper; then press down the mixture so that you can add more to each pepper. Replace the top of each pepper. With what is left over, use a round cake pan to bake a regular potato pudding.

Bake plain potato pudding for 30 minutes. Keep the peppers in the oven for an additional half-hour (for an hour in total).

The plain pudding serves 2 as an entrée. With the 6 stuffed peppers, you’ll get a total of 8 servings from this recipe.

Much on dishwash detergent

2005-09-11T13:44:00.000-07:00

Volume III, No. 7

Copyright © Deborah Michelle Sanders 2005

Which of you delights in life
& desires a long life to enjoy all good things?
Then keep your tongue from evil
& your lips from uttering lies;
turn from evil & do good,
seek peace & pursue it.

From Psalm 34

HOUSEHOLD HINTS:

If you have a sink or container filled with soapy water, you can wash your hands at any point in its life, by simply rinsing your hands in it & drying them off on a tea towel (never paper!). Take advantage of the resource, & keep your water bills down.

When shopping for frozen groceries, be sure to select items that are kept below the “load line.” It’s indicated in most stores as a painted line on the side of the freezer.

A mop is a kind of brush, right? And you know enough to soak the mop in water & cleanser thoroughly & then squeeze it out before mopping. How about doing something similar with your paint brushes? You can soak them completely with water (for latex) or turpentine or paint thinner (for oil-based paint) & then gingerly smooth away the liquid from the brush, before you apply the paint to it. This method will use less paint than if you try to affix paint to a dry brush.

For those who DO prefer a new car to a used one, be aware that new cars come with ample rust-proofing. Sales personnel may try to sell you rust-preventative chemicals, but Just Say No.

Take the skin off poultry before cooking, & you’ll save half the calories. BUT – you’ll also be wasting money on a price-by-serving basis. BETTER FOR YOUR WALLET: Cook the chicken, turkey, or other poultry with the skin on. Then remove the skin before serving (when making stock, refrigerate the pot so that you can easily skim off the solid fat the next day). PLUS you’ll have a flavor boost over cooking without any fat at all.

A cheap burglar alarm is this: Place a strip of plywood between the top of the door & its frame. Set on the wood a number of empty tin cans with a hole in the bottom & a short length of rope knotted securely inside each can as well as being attached to the wood. Every time the door is opened, you -- & the burglar – will hear an alarm. This will likely make the criminal move to a quieter house.

Avoid this scene: You are suddenly in the dark in your car, so you reach over to the glove compartment to get out the flashlight. Oh, boy! What terrible news! -- The flashlight doesn’t work. The on-off button must have accidentally gotten switched on. To prevent this from happening in the future, use a piece of tape such as duct tape to keep the light securely in the “off” position. You can easily remove the tape when you actually do want the light to be on.

Don’t wash your car with dishwash detergent, lest you remove the car’s wax finish. Instead, spring for a bottle of soap at the discount auto supplier. Also, wash your car right after an (acid) rain or snow storm, to avoid having the acidity ruin the car’s finish.

RECIPE:

Ground Meat Stew with Seasonal Veggies:

(A recipe for the Crock-Pot ®)

1 lb frozen (yes, NOT thawed) ground meat (I use turkey)
2 ears of corn, with the corn cut off the cobs (you could use a cup of frozen or canned corn, but you lose everything in the taste department)
4 small potatoes, cut into quarters
½ lb fresh green beans, trimmed
2 carrots, cut into large slices
3 cloves garlic, chopped fine
1 tsp EACH salt, onion powder, thyme, & marjoram
1 bay leaf
¼ tsp ground black pepper or freshly-ground pepper to taste

2 c water

Place the frozen ground meat at the bottom center of the Crock-Pot ®. Place all veggies around & on top of it. Sprinkle seasonings over all. Add the water. You do not need to stir the stew.

Cook on High for 4 hours. Remove bay leaf. Serves 6.

Of torn socks & a dish like lasangna

2005-09-04T12:23:00.000-07:00

Volume III, No. 6

Copyright © Deborah Michelle Sanders 2005

Death is not the end;
The earthly body vanishes,
The immortal spirit lives on with G-d.

Union (Jewish) Prayerbook, 1940

HOUSEHOLD HINTS:

The easiest way to repair pantyhose or a sock that has a tear in the hole is to cut across the hosiery in the foot portion before the tear, & then zigzag on a sewing machine or blanket stitch with a hand needle across the new toe.b

Who wants to throw out produce that has gone bad? In the case of limp celery, there is something simple that you can do. Just put it in a bowl with a couple of slices of raw potato, cover with water, & wait a few hours – it will be crisp!

A nuisance that you can end easily is a door that squeaks. You could of course use a lubricating oil to fix it – but then you’ll most likely end up with a stain on the wall or floor. A much better solution? Rub the hinges with petroleum jelly.

If the fitting room in a thrift store has too long a line, or there isn’t any fitting room in the 1st place, the way to get clothing for yourself that will fit is to know the labels & what size you take in a manufacturer’s garb. This may take some exploratory trips to a department store as homework. Also, you can try on the garment OVER your clothes. If it looks like it will cover you but just barely, it will most likely fit fine when you’re dressed normally. (Don’t try to zip up a garment you’re trying over your clothes. You may well break the zipper & have to pay for a damaged garment. The same goes for other closings such as buttons or frogs.)

If you want to drink chamomile tea to relax at bedtime, here’s the best way to avoid extra liquids which can cause bathroom trips at night. Just put up ¼ c water to boil. Put 3 chamomile teabags in a mug. Cover with the boiling water & let steep for 15 minutes. Voila – strong chamomile impact with very little liquid! (It will taste harsh – just giving you a head’s up – but you can always add honey.)

Cars manufactured after 1980 are computerized. You can’t do a tune-up yourself – in general. BUT you can still change the oil & brake fluid, check the levels of most other fluids (look in your owner’s manual for a list of which fluids you can change yourself), & change the air filter.

You’re savvy enough to know, before I tell you, that dry cleaners & shoe-repair stores generally will sell goods that have not been picked up by their owners – often at a price no greater than what the owner owed on the repair ticket!

I have a surprise for dog-owners. I’ll bet that you never heard that your dog will accumulate fewer fleas if you walk him or her on the sunny side of the sidewalk pavement. Fleas prefer grass, & they prefer the shade….

Here’s what I do immediately, if not sooner, when I am at home & get a stain on something washable. I wet the spot with water, apply a thick coat of mild hand soap like Ivory®, & rinse off thoroughly. Most stains come completely out with this procedure.

You can root many plant cuttings in water. So that the leaves don’t get wet & rot, put aluminum foil over the glass that you’ll be using. Cut a small X in the center of the foil, & insert the stem in the hole. Be sure that water reaches most of the stem. Once you see roots, plant the cutting in soil.

When one of the ingredients in a recipe is walnuts, almonds, or other expensive nuts, you can substitute peanuts – or even sunflower seeds!

Do NOT buy a new broom just because the one you have is cruddy with dirt & dust Stand the broom up against the wall, placed in a bucket with cleaning solution – ammonia in water is generally best. Keep it there for a couple of hours, then rinse thoroughly. That’s it – a broom as good as new!

RECIPE:

Sauced Macaroni Florentine: This is like a vegetarian lasagna.
1 lb pasta of your choice, UNCOOKED

1 large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 T water
2 T canola oil

In a Dutch oven, saute the veggies in the liquid until they have browned slightly.

1 – 6 oz can tomato paste
1 – 29 oz can tomato puree
1 – 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 T dried basil
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp ready-ground black pepper or freshly-ground black pepper to taste.

Add to Dutch oven, mix thoroughly, & cover. Reduce heat. Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a lasagna pan with cooking oil. (A roasting pan will do nicely – this recipe yields a bit too much food for a 9x13” pan, so, if you don’t have a lasagna pan, use a square pan in addition to the 9x13” one.)

1 lb cottage cheese
2 eggs
10 oz chopped frozen spinach, thawed

Mix in a (separate) bowl.

8 oz mozzarella cheese, sliced in half the long way & then sliced in about 1/2” pieces

Spread ½ of the sauce thickly on the bottom of the pan(s). Cover with pasta in one layer (do not overlap.). Spread the cottage cheese mixture atop. Reserving some tomato sauce for the top layer, spread the rest of the pasta (without overlapping) over the cottage cheese mixture. Place the mozzarella cheese over the pasta. End with tomato sauce on top.

Cover with foil & bake 45 minutes. Remove foil & bake for an additional 15 minutes.

Wait 5 minutes before cutting. Serves 12.

Of ballroom dancing, & turkey with greens

2005-08-28T10:13:00.000-07:00

Volume III, No. 5

Copyright © Deborah Michelle Sanders 2005

The day is Thine, & the night is Thine also,
Thou didst ordain the light of moon & sun;
Thou hast fixed all the regions of the earth;
Summer & winter, Thou didst create them both.

- from Psalm 74

HOUSEHOLD HINTS:

Men who are good ballroom dancers can take a free or low-cost ocean cruise in many instances. The cruise operators often want extra men to be available as dancing partners for the ubiquitous single women.

The best day to buy a new or used car off an auto dealer’s lot is the last Saturday of the month, when the sales force is eager to sell. Their monthly sales quotas generally run until that day.

Here’s a cheap way to correspond for a short message to a person if one of you lacks email. Buy 2 postcards. Write your address on the postage side of one & the recipient’s address on the other. On the postcard addressed to the recipient, write your message. Staple the 2 cards together so that the recipient’s name is on the outside.

Are you ready to purchase a high-ticket item? Go to the negotiation with a check already made out to the seller, for the top price that you are willing to pay. When the seller sees your check on the table, he may well be willing to accept your offer, even if he had been looking to receive a higher price.

Don’t throw away glasses that have small chips. Instead, immerse an emery board in water for about a minute, then use the side of it that is a finer grit to file the rough or chipped surface.

The best time of year to buy perennial plants, as well as trees, is in the fall – the nurseries don’t want them in stock during the wintertime. And for more September buys, see the following:

BEST BUYS FOR SEPTEMBER:

Gardening supplies
Patio equipment & furniture
Bicycles
Fishing equipment & boats
New cars
School supplies

Corn
Apples
Pears
Beets
Peas
Sweet potatoes
Figs
Plums

RECIPE:

Turkey & Greens:

2 T canola oil
2 T water
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 large onion, chopped

1 lb ground turkey
1 tsp EACH salt & ground ginger
1 lb greens (turnip OR collard OR mustard), sliced thin including any flowers – in the winter, you can use 2 c of thawed frozen chopped greens
1 jalapeno pepper, including the seeds (membranes discarded)
1 c cooked brown rice

In a Dutch oven, sauté garlic & onion in oil & water. Add all other ingredients & stir well. Cook for 25 minutes over medium heat, stirring frequently. Serves 5.

Of paintbrushes & mackeral

2005-08-14T14:29:00.000-07:00

Volume III, Issue 3:

© Copyright Deborah Michelle Sanders 2005

Were not the L-rd my help,
I should soon dwell in silence.
When I think my foot has given way,
Your faithfulness, O L-rd, supports me.
When I am filled with cares,
Your assurance soothes my soul.

Psalm 94, verses 17 to 19

HOUSEHOLD HINTS:

Thinking of tossing out that used paintbrush that has seen better days? Think again. You can cut off an inch from the end of the bristles, so that you can use the brush for dusting. Or, cut off almost all of the bristles, leaving only 1/2”, & you’ll have a handy scrub brush.

Gals, multiply your wardrobe of necklaces by twisting a scarf. Just attach one end to a doorknob (tie it around) securely. Twist & twist & hold the scarf taut. When you get to the other end, hold that end tightly in your non-dominant hand. Using both hands, remove the other end from the doorknob. Holding both ends tightly, put the scarf around your neck & tie it. It may look best with the knot behind your neck, in front, or at one side – experiment!

If you are remodeling your house, & wish to use new moldings, opt for the short type instead of the longer ones. You’ll save on a per-foot basis – you are exchanging your labor for a higher price.

Check out the liquid capacity of your ice-cream scoop. Most hold a quarter-cup. The scoop makes a great utensil for measuring solid shortening.

To find out whether your toilet is leaking, first, flush it. Then put a few drops of food coloring or a teaspoon of the spice turmeric into the tank. Give it 10 minutes & then check the bowl. If the water in the bowl is colored now, you’ve got trouble!

If your dish reeks of black pepper, add a little butter or margarine (& here’s a plug for Smart Balance, the most economical healthy spread on the market). The fat addition will work wonders on the taste!

A car battery should be replaced about 6 months BEFORE its warranty date expires, as its charge will probably be low at that point.

You can toast small or short slices of bread by threading a toothpick through them & hanging the toothpick horizontally over the toaster rim.

RECIPE:

Mackeral Loaf:

Canned mackerel is one of the cheapest foods in the world. I subsisted on it & brown rice when I was in college & in between paychecks. But it tastes awful when eaten plain. Here is a recipe that makes it taste VERY good. Remember not to eat mackerel often, as it is one of the fishes that has the highest mercury content.

3 eggs
1 15-oz can mackerel
2 tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper OR freshly-ground black pepper to taste
1 tsp celery seeds
1 tsp paprika
1 T Worcestershire sauce
2T lemon juice
1-1/4 c milk
1-1/4 c uncooked oats

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients thoroughly. Pour into an 8” or 9” square pan that you have sprayed with oil. Cook for 1 hour. Serves 9.

Of shopaholics & Harvest Tofu

2005-08-07T12:02:00.000-07:00

Volume III, #2 –
© Copyright Deborah Michelle Sanders 2005

It is good to give thanks to the L-rd,
For His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the G-d of gods;
His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the L-rd of lords;
His love endures forever.
Alone he works great marvels;
His love endures forever.

From Psalm 136

HOUSEHOLD HINTS:

If you are a shopaholic, & want to go to a mall, here’s a better way than just driving there by your lonesome. Invite your entire neighborhood or church congregants to charter a bus. Phone the outlet manager in advance, & tell the manager that your group will be there on such-&-such a day. The manager is likely to provide your group members with special vouchers for discounts.

Avoid having to replace your kids’ crayons so often! When they are new, wrap their centers (the middle of their height) with masking tape – they won’t break soon that way. This also works with the chalk that seamstresses use to mark fabrics with, & that kids use for play.

When you eat a citrus fruit (like a tangerine) or use one (like a lemon), put the peels in a freezer bag. When you need zest (the colored part of the peel), it is easy to grate the frozen peel. It is even easier if you can find a special tool called a zester at a garage sale or thrift store. It is an implement that has about 5 small holes & 1 triangular, larger hole, all sharp, the better to get a thin layer of the peel off.

Children being toilet-trained need a rubber or plastic bedsheet liner. These are expensive – why not use a shower curtain liner instead?

Another kind of product that you certainly don’t need to buy is the stand-up-by-itself form of kitchen storage bags. Here’s a cheap alternative: Open any sort of plastic bag & ease its edges over a bowl that is somewhat smaller. After filling, bring the edges of the bag back together & seal. There you are!

For cheap lodgings when you travel, check with the tourist bureau in the region where you will be traveling. Lighthouses & religious retreats are off-the-beaten-path & low-priced alternatives to motels.

RECIPE:

Harvest Tofu:

2 T canola oil
2 T water

Place in Dutch oven.

1-1/2 lb mixed fresh vegetables , cut into 1” squares approximately (I used broccoli & summer squash)
2 tsp salt
¼ tsp ready-ground black pepper or freshly-ground black pepper to taste
3 T lemon juice

Saute for 5 minutes over high heat. Cover & reduce heat to low. Cook for 5 more minutes.

1 bunch scallions, green & white parts, sliced thinly
1 bunch parsley, leaves only, cut finely
1 – 14 oz tub extra firm tofu, defrosted (after freezing – this gives the tofu a meaty texture), sliced horizontally & then into 12 pieces vertically

Stir thoroughly. Cook for a final 5 minutes (on low). Serves 5.

Of extended warranties & untying knots

2005-07-31T16:25:00.000-07:00

Volume III, No. 1

(The print version was Volume I, & the blog issues preceding this one comprised Volume II.)

All blog issues © Copyright Deborah Michelle Sanders 2004-2005

Five spiritual invocations for the five weeks during which there has been no issue of this blog!

(1) Who is aware of his unwitting sins?Cleanse me of any secret fault.
Hold back thy servant also from sins of self-will, lest they get the better of me.
Then I shall be blameless & innocent of any great transgression.

May all that I say & think be acceptable to Thee,
O L-rd, my Rock & my Redeemer!

-- Final stanzas of Psalm 19

(2) Every blade of grass has an angel who stands over it & whispers, “Grow! Grow!” – Jewish Talmud

(3) It is the same whether a man offers (charity of) much or little, provided his heart is directed to Heaven. – Jewish Talmud

(4) Rather a short prayer recited slowly & with devotion than a long prayer recited hurriedly & without devotion. -- Jewish Book of the Pious

(5) The world endures because of 3 things: Bible study, worship of G-d, & deeds of loving-kindness. – Jewish Ethics of the Fathers

HOUSEHOLD HINTS:

Seamstresses, alert! You can get a good idea of how much yardage you have of piece goods or trims – just stand at the front door of your house. It should be one yard across! (For apartment doors, add on the frame width at either side of your apartment door.)

Proceed with care to the busiest service station in your town! Not only is it likely to be selling gas at the lowest prices – it is also the most apt among stations in your town to be watering down the gasoline ….

In most cases when buying something expensive, such as a new refrigerator, purchasing an extended warranty from the merchant is a poor choice. You’ll pay more for the warranty than you would be likely to have to pay out-of-pocket for repairs. Furthermore, the original warranty will cover most failures, which tend to occur early in the lifetime of the appliance.
BUT, it is important to have protection against lemons. The solution? Buy using a credit card that has a “buyer protection plan” (& pay off the amount due on the first presentation of the debt!).
YET there is an exception, & that is for a new (or late-model used) car. The computerized components of such an automobile are so susceptible to requiring costly repair that an extended warranty, if offered, does make sense. (And of course, while some are able to pay cash for a car & some take out an automobile loan, it would be highly unusual to pay for a new car with a credit card ….)

If you plan on baking a birthday cake tomorrow, cook a little spaghetti today. Reserve several cooked pieces in the fridge. Tomorrow, run cold water over the spaghetti to separate the strands. Once you have baked & frosted the cake, use the strands to decorate the cake with swirls & curlicues.

For Jews & Muslims who eschew pork, all the recipes for beans with pork may seem like forbidden treasure. A good substitute is the sea vegetable, kelp. (You can find it in dried form at health food stores.)

Is there a knot in a string or rope that is so difficult to untie that you want to cut it open? Don’t waste the cord. Just rub cornstarch over all surfaces of the knot. The lubrication promotes untying.

AUGUST BEST BUYS:

Corn, tomatoes, cantaloupe, & watermelon
Bathing suits
School supplies
Water-sports, gardening, & camping equipment
New cars
White sales

RECIPE:

One-Pot Turkey with Pasta:

½ lb elbow macaroni

In a Dutch oven, prepare macaroni according to package instructions. Remove to colander & let drain over sink.

1 lb ground turkey

Brown turkey in the Dutch oven. Pour off the fat into a small bowl. Discard the fat. (The most environmentally-friendly way to discard fat is to scoop it up with a paper towel & put the towel into the trash can. No blockage of your drains, either!)

1 carrot, grated
2 stalks celery, sliced thin
½ large or 1 medium onion, minced
14.5 oz can of tomatoes, cut up in the can with kitchen shears, UNDRAINED
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 clove (the dried spice)
½ tsp salt

Stir thoroughly. Cover. Saute in the Dutch oven for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Return macaroni & turkey to the Dutch oven, uncovered, for 5 minutes.

Serves 6.

Of #2 pencils, sandpaper for needles, & Deb's chili

2005-06-15T13:46:00.000-07:00

Jews are celebrating Shavuous this week, commemorating the giving of the Torah/Law of Moses to the Israelites.

The law of the L-rd is perfect & revives the soul.
The L-rd’s instruction never fails, & makes the simple wise.
The precepts of the L-rd are right & rejoice the heart.
The commandment of the L-rd shines clear & gives light to the eyes.
The fear of the L-td is pure & abides for ever.
The L-rd’s decrees are true & righteous every one,
More to be desired than gold, pure gold in plenty,
Sweeter than syrup or honey from the comb.
It is these that give Thy servant warning,
& he who keeps them wins a great reward.

Psalm 19, second portion

HOUSEHOLD HINTS:

Did you know that an old-fashioned #2 pencil can write 15-30 times as far as the typical ballpoint pen? Use a pencil whenever you can, therefore.

Don’t have a furniture dolly? If you have a helper, you can improvise a dolly out of a household broom. To move something the weight of a 4-door filing cabinet, have your helper tip the object towards him. Insert the broomstraws underneath, as far across the floor as possible. Have your helper put the object back in place, but covering the broomstraws. Then you pull the broom while your helper pushes the object. (You can also use a piece of carpeting in place of the broom, but it needs to be narrower than the object while being about 4-5 feet in length.)

The cheapest moth-repellant sachets are those that you fill with black peppercorns.

You should be keeping track of your expenditures, comparing them with the amounts that you have budgeted for each category of spending. Make it more fun when you total the figures – give yourself “a gold star” or a “green light” if you stayed within your budget, a “yellow caution light” if you were right on target but had no room to spare, or a “red danger sign” if you overspent.

When you are ready to buy a used car (the only type that a frugal person should buy), & have run it through http://www.carfax.com/, there’s another step that you need to take. Bring along a magnet. You don’t want to be buying a car that has been repaired with plastic instead of metal. You want stick-to-itness!

To keep a soap-filled steel-wool pad rust-free, & to be able to use one for many months without a care, freeze it between uses. You’ll need to run it under hot water for each use, treat it to more dish soap every time, & be particularly careful to wash off from it bits of the food that you have cleaned off the pots & pans.

Do NOT run a fan so that it circulates air in the direction of a smoke detector, lest the air interfere with the proper functioning of the alarm.

The best way to clean glass is with plain, unadulterated water. You can recycle it in that bottle of window cleaner that you wasted money on. If you want a stronger product, add a tablespoon of ammonia to the bottle. If you want flair, & have food coloring on hand, add a drop of blue!

Do you shop at a market where the produce is drenched with water? Shake it off before you leave the produce counters, so that the water will not inflate the price per pound charged at the register.

Did you just get a little burned, say by picking toast out of the toaster? Next time, try this: grab one or both earlobes. It sounds weird, but there are so many blood vessels in the surfaces of the delicate tissue of your earlobes that the lobes conduct heat quickly.

If you have shoes that are particularly hard to get on – they are beyond shoehorn-utility, try using the flat handle of a long metal cooking spoon to urge your feet in.

Tired of having to change sewing machine needles so frequently? Here’s a cure. Take the finest sandpaper that you have, & sew along it for a few inches. (By the way, something called “crocus cloth” – an extremely fine sandpaper – is sold for this precise use. Try a sewing store.) Your needle will be sharpened & will remain sharp for a good long time!

RECIPE:

Deb’s Chili:

Textured Vegetable Protein (“TVP”) is a very cheap meat substitute made of soy. It takes on the flavor of anything that it is seasoned with, & it has the texture of ground meat. It reconstitutes easily. Just add ¾ c boiling water to 1 c of the TVP, stir with a fork, & wait 5 minutes.

Here is a recipe utilizing TVP. Yes, there are many ingredients, but the well-rounded resulting taste is worth your time in the kitchen.

½ large or 1 small onion, diced
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 T canola oil
1 T water

Saute for 10 minutes, covered, in a Dutch oven. Stir every few minutes..

1 c TVP, prepared with ¾ c boiling water, mixed with a fork, & allowed to sit in the bowl by itself for 5 minutes
Tomatoes, total of 29 oz canned, cut in can(s) with kitchen scissors, UNDRAINED
6 oz tomato paste
1-3/4 c of red or red kidney beans, prepared as described in the blog of 9/10/04 & defrosted, or 1 can of red or red kidney beans (drained & rinsed)
12 oz canned corn, UNDRAINED

Add to the onion & garlic. Cook, uncovered, on medium-high heat, stirring frequently. The chili should be simmering.

1 T chili powder
2 T cocoa
1 bay leaf
1 c strong coffee
2 T brown sugar
2 tsp oregano
1-1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dry mustard

Add. Stir thoroughly. Cook together (uncovered, on medium-high heat, as before) for 15 minutes. The chili should be at a rolling boil now. Stir frequently.

½ c cilantro, minced with kitchen scissors

Add to the cilantro at the end of the cooking time. Remove the bay leaf. Serves 7.

Accompany with corn tortillas, heated as the package directs.

Of cheap haircuts, a substitute for saffron, & zesty salmon loaf

2005-06-08T14:48:00.000-07:00

The heavens tell out the glory of G-d,
The vault of heaven reveals His handiwork.
One day speaks to another,
& this without any speech or language
or sound of any voice.
Their music goes out through all the earth,
Their words reach to the end of the world.
In them a tent is fixed for the sun,
Who comes out like a bridegroom from his wedding canopy,
Rejoicing like a strong man to run his race.
His rising is at one end of the heavens,
His circuit touches their farthest ends;
& nothing is hidden from his heat.

Psalm 19, first portion

HOUSEHOLD HINTS:

You can get a cheap haircut & styling (& coloring, if you want that) by becoming a model at a hair salon. (Look for signs in the window, or for ads in the paper.) You can get an even cheaper cut & so forth by going to a cosmeticians’ school. (Look in the Yellow Pages.)

Invest in a kitchen scale, ideally one that shows both the metric & U.S.A. conventional weights. You can use the scale to weigh packages (so that you don’t put on too much postage & waste that money). Of course, you will also use it in the kitchen. It is invaluable in weighing produce & meat so that you can follow recipes – mine generally specify produce in terms of units of the veggies (! Medium onion, for example), but this is unusual. Even in my recipes, I ask often for such items as ½ lb of pasta, & it is far better to weigh that out than to guess. (If you do guess, & you make 2 recipes from the package of 1 lb., you are going to be wrong in a way that may make a difference in at least 1 of the recipes.)

If you sew, save up empty cardboard rolls (toilet paper, paper towels, food wraps) for storing your trims. Notch one edge to hold the beginning of the trim, another on the other end to hold the other side of the trim.

The rolls from food wraps can also be used to mail documents. Roll up the document until it fits inside the roll. Replace it in the food wrap box, seal, tape all over, & address & stamp.

Put on rubber gloves to open a stubborn jar lid.

To determine how thrifty – or how liberal – your spending on groceries is, click on the USDA’s Center for Nutrition Planning & Promotion website, www.usda.gov/cnpp/foodplans.html The thrifty plan for 1 woman of age 51 or over is higher than what I spend, but only by a little less than $20 a month.

A tip for gardeners: removing weeds is easier after a rainstorm.

Inexpensive cold cream is just as good as commercial leather-conditioning lotions. After applying the cold cream, rub it in. Then wipe it off with a clean rag.

Always run a used car that you are considering buying through http://www.carfax.com/ to ensure that it isn’t a rebuilt wreck.

Do you have a fireplace? Next to chopping your own wood, the cheapest source is from a lumberyard (their warped boards, or other pieces that they wish to discard) or from a sawmill (again, pieces that they wish to discard).

OR, make your own logs! Roll newspaper’s black-&-white pages (no colored pages, please, as they produce dangerous fumes). You’ll need to roll the log to be approximately 5” in diameter. Tie it tightly with string.

Saffron is MUCH too expensive to buy & use, right? And turmeric doesn’t taste anything like it (though it provides the right color). A better substitute is marigolds from your garden or from another organic source. You’ll need to dry the flowers first.

RECIPE:

Zesty Salmon Loaf:

2 stalks celery, minced
1/4 of a large onion or 1/2 of a medium one, chopped
1 large carrot, grated
1 14.75 oz can salmon (use the bones & liquid as well as the fish pieces)
2 eggs
½ tsp salt
freshly-ground black pepper to taste, or¼ tsp ready-ground pepper
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp lemon juice
1c milk
1 c uncooked rolled oats

Spray loaf pan with oil. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients thoroughly in a bowl, but be careful to leave the salmon in fairly large chunks. Spoon into pan.

Bake for a half-hour. Serves 4.

Of petroleum jelly, worms, & creamed spinach

2005-06-01T14:20:00.000-07:00

Gossip kills 3: the speaker, the spoken of, & the listener. – Samuel ben Nachman

HOUSEHOLD HINTS:

Here are 2 uses for petroleum jelly, which you may know better under the brand name of Vasoline®:

Avoid buying more glue, honey, or anything else that has a cap that sticks to the bottle. Once you DO have the tube or bottle open, spread a little petroleum jelly over the threads of the cap.

At bath time, keep the soap out of Baby’s – or Fido’s – eyes by rubbing a thin layer of the jelly around the perimeters of his eyes – making sure, of course, that you don’t get too close to his eyes themselves!

Use a cooling rack – generally for the purposes of cooling baked goods – as a partial shelf in your fridge. In this way, you can make the most of your fridge space using this “double-decker.”

Burning your home-made muffins is like burning money. This happens particularly often when some of the cups are empty. Here’s how to avoid that outcome. Just fill any empty cups halfway with water!

MEASURE the amount of water you need to brew a cup of tea, herbal tea, or coffee. I measure 12 oz out for a mug of brewed coffee. Doing this saves money on energy costs, whether you use a range, an automatic coffeepot, or a microwave oven.

When you bring radishes home from the market, cut off the greens before storing the radishes. Wash & dry the radishes, & then place them in a covered plastic container. It’s best to line the container with a piece of paper toweling. The radishes will last much longer.

Make worms work for you! In addition to their obvious use as fishing tackle, the worms can also till your soil before you plant a garden. Just lay 10 sheets of newspaper over each area of your intended garden plot. Set on top of the papers about 2 inches of kitchen scraps (produce & coffee grounds only, please). Water the garden plot twice a week gently, with a watering can. Wait a month altogether. Make holes directly through the mulch with a small shovel or a spade, & then plant. There will be earthworms all through your garden plot!

Do you wear plastic-lensed eyeglasses? If they become scratched, here’s a potential fix. Apply a small amount of furniture polish to each side of the lens. Wipe dry with a clean, soft cloth such as a chamois. It often does the trick!

If you think ahead to your funeral, you can save your family hundreds or potentially a couple of thousand dollars. Look in the Yellow Pages to find a local memorial society or office of the Funeral Consumer Alliance. Those associations will help you to save big.

A good resource for those looking to furnish a home for the 1st time (read: newlyweds), for that ONE item that will give the living room punch, is the back rooms of a local interior designer.

Many people try to restrict their decorative planting to perennials, in order to save the money that new plants would cost each year. But, did you know that if you let certain annuals go to seed at the end of the season, they will generally flower again next year? These plants are Johnny-jump-ups, marigolds, petunias, poppies, & sweet alyssum.

To reduce your car’s gasoline costs, take off or out of the car everything you don’t need now. In particular, if you have a roof rack, it certainly doesn’t need to be on the car all of the time.

RECIPE:

Southwestern Creamed Spinach:

Spinach, chopped, thawed frozen (10 oz)
Onion, 1 medium or ½ large, chopped
Garlic, 3 cloves, minced
Peppers of your choice:
Jalapeno pepper, 2 medium, minced, if you want a spicy-hot result OR
Jalapeno pepper, 1 medium, minced , if you want a medium-spicy result
(Wear gloves while handling jalapenos. Remove the seeds & veins.) OR
Bell pepper, 1 small, if you do not want any heat
Canola oil, 3 T

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Using a Dutch oven, saute the veggies in the oil for 10 minutes. Remove the veggies from the Dutch oven

1 T canola oil
2 T flour
2 c milk
4 oz Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

Brown the flour in the oil in the Dutch oven. Add the milk in 3 parts (about 2/3 c each part). Stir until you see small bubbles at the perimeter. Add the cheese. Stir thoroughly, & continue to stir until the cheese sauce thickens.

Stir in veggies. Bake for 40 minutes or until browned. (There will be some liquid left in the Dutch oven when you remove it from the range’s oven, but that will solidify as the spinach cools.) Serves 3.

Of June hot buys, & thrift-store appliances

2005-05-25T13:34:00.000-07:00

THE PENNY ORCHID – “Thrift with Flair” is copyright Deborah Michelle Sanders © 2004-2005. All rights reserved. You must seek permission to copy any portion of this blog or its predecessor print newsletter.

Engage in the study of Scriptures, & do charity, even with an ulterior motive, for that habit of right doing will lead also to right motivation. -- The Jewish Talmud

HOUSEHOLD HINTS:

Tired of the high price of oil cooking spray? Have you tried with no luck a regular spray bottle? Here’s a hint for you. All you need is a pastry brush. Put ½ tsp of oil into your pot or pan (before you start cooking). Then, use a pastry brush to spread the oil around.

If you are selling a car, be sure to ride along with a prospective buyer who wants to take the car out for a road test. Otherwise, your prospect may turn out to be a thief….

The beginning vegetable gardener should plant kale to have a most nutritious and VERY easy-to-grow crop.

HOT BUYS FOR JUNE:

Groceries for picnics (soda, beer, potato chips, charcoal, paper goods, marshmallows, & ketchup & mustard) are all on sale this month. So are beets, corn, okra, English peas (peas that need to be shelled), dairy products, local onions, tomatoes, apricots, blueberries, cantaloupe, cherries, figs, plums, STRAWBERRIES in abundance, & watermelon.

Regarding items that are not found in your neighborhood supermarket, here’s the list:

Tires
Furniture & home furnishings/floor coverings & bedding
Refrigerators
Tools & building supplies
Storm windows
Summer clothes & clothes for boys
Televisions
Fishing & camping gear
For the dads: ties & aftershave
Swimwear & summer clothing IN TOURIST AREAS ONLY

A SAMPLE APPLIANCE BOUGHT AT A THRIFT STORE – HOW-TO’S

It can be iffy to purchase an electrical appliance at a thrift store. Sometimes, the store has an electrical outlet available for you to use to ensure that the appliance’s motor works. But you still don’t know whether the appliance will do what it was originally manufactured to do, in a safe way. Let me recount for you how I handled the purchase of a CrockPot®.

I got mine for $4 – it was marked at $8, but I got it at Salvation Army on a half-price sale day. The regular price for a new one is $40.

However, I knew that the prior owner had to be dissatisfied with something. In this day & age, slow cookers have returned to fashion, so it couldn’t have been the mere desire to clear out clutter.

Most likely, I figured, the calibration (temperature levels) was off. And so I found. All you need to do in such a case is to measure the scope of how far off it is, & then adapt.

This is what I did. I wanted to make my experiment by cooking only veggies in the CrockPot®, to avoid any chance of food poisoning (from cooking eggs, poultry, dairy, or meat). I cleaned the unit thoroughly – I’m sure that you know not to let water touch the metal housing. It is also vital to only run hot water into a heated slow cooker, lest the cooker’s crock crack (say that 3 times fast!).

I cooked 3 cups of sliced carrots in 1 cup of hot water with 2 T of oil & 1 T of dried dillweed, at low temperature. According to my cookbook, that should have taken 2-1/2 hours to cook to the point of making the carrots crisp-tender. They were NOT ready, so I continued to cook the veggies, & checked them every half-hour. They actually took 4 hours. I did some calculations & figured that my slow cooker needs to be on for 160% of the expected time to cook at the low temperature.

I then tested a recipe calling for high temperature, & found that the cooker worked as calibrated, without needing to increase the time that recipes give.

So, I can only assume that the last owner had given up on the slow temperature setting, & decided to “throw out” the cooker for that reason.

Test & test again, that has to be your mantra when you have purchased an appliance at a thrift store or a garage sale.

RECIPE:

Confetti Stuffed Potatoes

4 large Russet potatoes:

2 T canola oil
1 small bell pepper of a color that is cheap when you market, chopped
1 small bell pepper of another color, chopped
½ large or 1 medium onion, minced

1 c lowfat cottage cheese
2 T milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pierce potatoes, & bake them for 50 minutes.

Meanwhile, sauté the veggies in the oil for 10 minutes, covered. Stir occasionally.

Combine all other ingredients well.

When potatoes have baked, cut in half & use a metal tablespoon to scoop out the pulp. Add pulp to the veggie/cheese mixture. Stir thoroughly. Return the mixture to the potato skins. Return to the oven for 10 minutes to warm the filling.

Serves 4.

Of Children's Allowances (Revisited), & Tarragon Pasta Salad

2005-05-11T13:49:00.000-07:00

“When men talk too much, sin is never far away; common sense holds its tongue.” Proverbs 10:19

CHILDREN’S ALLOWANCES, REVISITED:

Two intriguing responses to the discussion of the blog issue of 4/14/05 appear below. The first is from loyal reader Tamar Gold:

“Interesting discussion on children’s allowances. We start each child with an allowance at age 6, but they start doing chores around age 3 or 4. I am in agreement with you about not tying the allowance to participation in family responsibilities. (Some of my children might disagree, however!) We start them at 50 cents & it stays there until they reach age 10 when it goes up to a dollar. As you can tell, we don’t expect them to buy much with this allowance. It is for the extras …. Like a lipgloss for my high school junior or baseball cards for my preteen boy or a cheap toy for my little girl. Mostly, they just let the money accumulate, without a specific goal in mind. When they find something they just “must have,” they check to see how much they’ve accumulated (sometimes over years!), & see if they can afford it.

“What’s interesting about how we do allowance is that we don’t actually give them the cash. We keep a running tally of their allowance, &, when they want to spend it, it is deducted from the accounting & we do the actual buying. It got too hard, when I had only 2 getting allowance, to come up with the 4 needed quarters every week! We stop giving allowance, by the way, when they go to college.”

For another take on the issue, read what Beth Sovern, another loyal reader, has to say & show:

“Just chiming in on allowance. Our children get half their age for allowance, but it’s pretty much for them to allocate as they wish. They get allowance every other week, on my husband’s payday.

“They all chip in at holiday time for a charity of our choosing. Last year we did something through the high school where we answered children’s letters to Santa from a needy school.

“Usually, the kids save their allowances. My 12-year-old is allegedly saving for a car. But he only has $70. Should be interesting. My high school junior uses hers for food out with her friends. They’re pretty frugal.

“We have an involved chore chart with rotating chores on a weekly basis. Supposedly they don’t get allowance if they don’t do their chores. But we don’t check the week’s chart before ponying up the money. They’re good about doing the many jobs, but only if we remind them. I make a chart (see below) so that I don’t have to hear, Why can’t he do it? I just say, whose turn is it to empty the dishwasher? That way, they can’t complain that I ask one of them to do more than the others. Hope this is useful to you.” [Boy! Is it ever!]

No chores = No allowance!

Rotating Chores

Garbage
Week of:
2/28
3/7
3/14
3/21
3/28
4/4 (Each child's name is listed for each chore, in rotation.)

Bring in recycling bins: Wednesday

Bring up cans: Monday/Thursday

Empty small cans into bag: Saturday

Kitchen
Week of:
2/28
3/7
3/14
3/21
3/28
4/4

Sponge/Sweep

Help prepare dinner/set table

Wash/Dishes

General Household Chores

Week of:
2/28
3/7
3/14
3/21
3/28
4/4

Help with Laundry

Empty kitchen garbage/Put in garage can

Empty dishwasher

Daily Chores

Ø Make Beds
Ø Pick up dishes
Ø Cups and snacks in dishwasher/garbage
Ø Backpacks & debris put away
Ø Shoes in bins
Ø Coats hung up
Ø Dirty clothes in hamper
Ø Clean clothes put away
Ø Towels hung up
Ø Bathroom clean up-toothbrushes/ hairbrushes etc. put away
Ø Feed pets

RECIPE:

Tarragon Peas with Spaghetti:

This is a most unusual pasta salad.

In a Dutch oven, place
1 large onion, minced
2 T canola oil

Saute until lightly browned. Remove from Dutch oven.

1 lb. spaghetti (preferably totally whole wheat – or partially – Healthy Harvest brand)

Cook in the Dutch oven for 2 minutes less than package directions call for.

2 lb. regular (English) peas, shelled

Add to spaghetti in its last 2 minutes of cooking.

Drain peas & spaghetti together very well. Return to pot.

Add:

2 tsp dried tarragon (If you have a garden & have fresh tarragon, use 2 T, minced.)
1 T butter or margarine

Stir thoroughly. Serves 6.

bOf Inter-Library Loans & Fresh Squash with Chicken

2005-05-04T10:44:00.000-07:00

If a Jew breaks a leg, he thanks G-d that he did not break 2 legs. If he breaks both, he thanks G-d that he did not break his neck ….

HELFUL HINTS:

If you have a gas oven, you have a built-in food dehydrator! Just leave food such as herbs on a baking sheet overnight. The pilot light will do all the work. If not thoroughly dry in the morning, continue the drying process while you are not heating the oven. Store the dried food in tightly-sealed jars.

If you have an older dog or cat, whose teeth have worn away, add water to its regular food instead of buying special (& expensive) “senior” food.

Place one oven mitt inside another when you will be handling steaming food. An example is if you use a “Theatre” popcorn maker, in which the temperature exceeds 450 degrees.

Egg shells adhere to egg shells. So, if you’ve dropped a piece of shell into your mixing bowl, just scoop it out with a larger piece of shell.

Speaking of eggs, if you don’t want to use them & want a substitution, try 1 heaping T of soy flour with 1 T of water, for each egg that you would otherwise be using.

When buying a used car, check the label on the door on the driver’s side, to learn the date when the car was manufactured. You’ll find bargaining easier on older cars.

THE PLEASURES OF INTER-LIBRARY LOANS:

Loyal reader Terry L Jackson wrote to me this week about how much enjoyment comes from the Inter-Library Loan service that every library I know of provides. “One of the things that I discovered, many years ago, was the interlibrary loan service at my local library. If my library doesn’t have a book that I am interested in reading, I can request that they borrow it for me from another library…. This service has … helped me to reduce my book buying ‘addiction.’ … If [after reading the book that I have borrowed,] I feel that the content is something that would be good to have for future reference, I buy the book & add it to my personal library.”

I could not agree with Terry more. Each month, I order about 8 books through Inter-Library Loan. If a book is a reference book, like a cookbook, I do exactly what Terry does, & read through it to make sure that it is great before I seek it out to buy. I buy most of my books at the sales that the library holds for the public, & I keep a list of titles that I want – I bring the list with me to the sales so that I won’t buy items “sight unseen.”

The main way in which I find out which books I want to borrow through Inter-Library loan is to find authors’ names in bibliographies of the books I have already been reading. Then I check BOOKS IN PRINT (which is online for cardholders of my library in San Francisco, CA) to find out the titles of all the books that the author has written. The only books that I cannot borrow through ILL are those that were published within the prior 12 months.

Of course, if I know of an older book that I would like to read (an out-of-print one), I give the library as much information as I have been able to ferret out about the book. I have noticed that it is harder for the Library to find out-of-print books than those that are still in print.

The Library requires that, as a 1st step, you check the Library’s own catalogue to ascertain whether the book you want is already in the collection. If it is, the catalogue indicates whether there is a copy on the shelf. If there is not, you can reserve the book.

ILL’s have made both me & Terry very happy -- & we hope that you, too, will try these loans out.

RECIPE:

Fresh Summer Squash with Chicken:

1-1/2 pounds any type of summer squash (including zucchini), sliced in 1” pieces, then cut in half if pieces are wide, steamed for 18 minutes (including the time to get the water boiling).
1 jalapeno pepper (this is optional), sliced (Remember to use gloves), with seeds & ribs removed
1 tsp EACH dried thyme, dried rosemary, & dried sage – crushed (The easiest way to crush dried herbs is to put them in the mixing bowl when the bowl is still empty, & use the back of your spoon to crush them.)
1 c chicken
1-1/4 pounds tomatoes (about 3 medium)
½ tsp salt
2 T lemon juice (from 1 medium lemon)
¼ c olive oil (“extra-virgin” has the best flavor)

Mix thoroughly for 3 entrée servings. Serve immediately (does not keep well).

Of great May buys & Spring Veggie Chowder

2005-04-27T13:25:00.000-07:00

Jews tell a tale of a peasant who had dreamt that he could find great treasure under a bridge in a town far away. He dropped everything, & traveled to that town, & sought that bridge, & began to dig underneath its banks. A watchman appeared, & asked him what he was doing. “I dreamt that there is treasure under this bridge, so I came from my town.” The watchman replied, “You can’t believe dreams. Why, if I believed my dreams, I would journey to your town, & dig up under the floor of your hovel.” The peasant returned to his home in passion, dug up his floor, & found the treasure.

HELPFUL HINTS:

Potatoes should be kept in a separate cupboard than onions. They need to be stored in an opaque bag, though – just like onions. On the other hand, potatoes don’t need to be separated from each other –onions do. The way I handle onions is to place them in a cloth bag, with the bag twisted shut & tied above each onion. (I use rubber bands between each pair of onions.) They last much longer that way. And, so do the potatoes when kept by themselves in an opaque bag.

The best way to avoid getting clogged drains in the bathroom is to avoid getting hair in. When shampooing hair in the shower, remove stray hairs from your hands, & transfer them to the shower wall. After your shower, a simple wipe with a tissue will pick up all the hairs. (I economize by using a square of toilet paper.) Similarly, wipe out the vanity bowl after you brush or comb your hair.

When you plant seed in your garden, do not fertilize for several weeks, or you are just throwing away good compost, manure, or commercial fertilizer. The seeds contain nutrients, & there are not yet enough plant roots to fix the nitrogen in the plant food.

If your life situation changes drastically, such as having to deal with being laid off without sufficient savings &/or unemployment insurance, you may well find it appropriate to relocate from suburbia to either the city or the country – suburbia is the most expensive place to live.

You can find the best recipes for thrift in any older cookbook, published before, say, 1975. While I have a number of these, my favorite is the GOOD HOUSEKEEPING COOKBOOK of 1973. A specialized cookbook that I enjoy is the 1971 COMPLETE AMERICAN-JEWISH COOKBOOK. Going back to the time of widespread immigration to the Midwest, any edition of the SETTLEMENT COOKBOOK gives over 3,000 ideas – even though most of them require some basic cooking knowledge to follow. (The edition that I own is the last one published, to the best of my knowledge. THE NEW SETTLEMENT COOK BOOK – THE WAY TO A MAN’S HEART, 1954 edition, is the book that I have. The first edition was published in 1901 in Milwaukee, WI.)

GREAT BUYS FOR MAY:

Groceries:

Artichokes
Asparagus
Corn
Peas
Tomatoes

Grapefruit
Plums
Strawberries

Mexican-themed foods for Cinco de Mayo

Other great deals:

Costume jewelry (but a thrift store is cheaper any old month for this.)
Handbags (ditto)
Outdoor furniture (OK, here’s something that one rarely finds at a thrift store.)
Silver (If you don’t care about having items match, you can find great buys on silver at a thrift store.)
Dry-cleaning of linens (Bed coverings & draperies)

RECIPE:

There are a few more days of Passover, so here is another recipe suitable for the holiday. By the way, as with the preceding Passover recipes in the last 3 issues, you need only substitute flour for matzo meal to have a year-round dish. Also, if you prefer, you can use green beans in place of the spinach year-round.

Spring Veggie Chowder:

2 T butter
1 large onion, minced

In a Dutch oven, saute until the onion is lightly browned.

10 oz frozen, defrosted chopped spinach, or 1-1/2 lbs. fresh spinach, trimmed & chopped, OR (not during Passover) 1 lb green beans in 2” pieces (fresh or frozen)
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes or cayenne
6 medium zucchini or summer squash, sliced in 1” pieces
1 large Russet potato, diced (no need to peel it)
29 oz can of tomatoes, chopped in the can with kitchen scissors, UNDRAINED

Add to pot. Stir thoroughly. Reduce heat & cover. Cook for 30 minutes.

MEANWHILE:

3 c skim milk, scalded in a separate pot until you see small bubbles forming (then take the pot off the flame)
2 T butter
½ c matzo meal

Remove ¾ c of the milk to a quart Pyrex measuring cup or bowl. Add butter & matzo meal. Stir with a whisk until completely smooth.

Pour the remaining 2-1/4 c of scalded milk into the Dutch oven. Mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk-matzo meal mixture, & stir thoroughly again. Cover again. (Maintain the heat on low.) Simmer for 10 minutes.

1 bunch fresh parsley, minced with kitchen scissors

Add parsley & stir. Serve to 7.

Of Passover & distressed furniture

2005-04-20T14:09:00.000-07:00

During the coming week, Jews celebrate the holiday of liberation, Passover. The holiday is so named because, when Moses was ready to lead the people out of Egypt, the Angel of Death passed over the homes of the Jews during the execution of the 10th plague, the killing of the 1st-born sons. The holiday starts with 2 seder evenings, or organized readings & special foods. ( The readings have to do with how a people can move from slavery into freedom. One way is to uphold the Divine laws.) The Jews were in such a hurry to leave Egypt that they had no time to bake their bread. In all the centuries since, Jews eschew risen breads during Passover, & just eat matzo instead. (We also do not eat other foods that puff up in cooking, such as beans & rice.)

HELPFUL HINTS:

Keep fresh ginger in the freezer. It will last much longer, & it is easier to grate when frozen.

If you are in the market for a new or used car, bear in mind that the cost to insure different makes & models varies enormously. Before you buy, check with your insurance company to learn which cars the company accepts the lowest premiums for, & seek to purchase one that is on that list.

When you cook an oven meal for which the recipes advise different temperatures, bake it all at once, to save on your utilities bill. Just choose the temperature advised for any bread, cake, pie, or cookies that you are baking - goods with baking powder or yeast, & adjust the times that you keep other foods in the oven. (Adjust items that are advised to be baked at a higher temperature to be in the oven longer. Adjust items that are advised to be baked at a lower temperature to be in the oven for a shorter time.) If you are not preparing baked goods, choose the temperature that is in the middle of the range of temperatures given in the recipes that you are preparing, & adjust the other temperatures as given in the parenthetical above

As we approach mosquito season, here’s an easy way to keep the critters out of your face when you’re outdoors. Just cut some cheesecloth (about 2’ by 2’), put on a hat, & tuck the cheesecloth under the hat’s front brim & inside your collar.

To store plastic bags, stuff them into an oatmeal canister, & cut a slit in its plastic lid. You can even provide continuous ejection by knotting one bag’s bottom end to the next one’s top end. (That is, stuff them together into a chain before putting them in the canister.)

A fine place to find high-ticket goods at rock-bottom prices is the business bankruptcy auction where a business (in Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code) did not have anything to do with the kind of item you are looking for. For example, if a clothing store has gone belly-up, the resulting auction would be a great sale at which you could find a computer, because the computer is “ancillary” to the business that had been going on – the computer will go for a song.

When you want to give a present that will fit into a jar – such as a mix for baking where you can layer the ingredients attractively & affix the recipe, you want the jar to look pretty, &, of course, you would prefer to recycle a jar. Here’s how to make a lovely new label after you soak the old one off & let the jar dry thoroughly. Use a scrap of fabric, aluminum foil, wallpaper, ConTact® paper, or what-have-you, & write or print out a descriptive label smaller than the decorative label. Affix the descriptive label to the decorative, & the decorative label to the jar, both using rubber cement on all the edges. I’d bet that you know about rubber cement that it dries quickly, &, once dry, you can rub any excess off easily – it beads readily.

ABSOLUTELY ABSURD RETAIL ADVERTISEMENT:

The Broyhill furniture company, selling a new collection called “Attic Heirlooms,” assures the public that the furniture in this group have “[r]ustic worn woods … [that] feature unique character knots, dents & scratches that harken to the past.” The ad promises that “these newly-made pieces have all the character & style of one-of-a-kind antiques.” Wow! Guaranteed to have you pay through the nose for distressed furniture when you can pick some up in any Salvation Army store ….

RECIPE:

I’ve doubled my usual poultry ration for this recipe, since so few foods are available for Passover. A good accompaniment to this dish is mashed potatoes made with chicken broth.

Fruited Turkey:

½ lb pitted prunes (about 1 lb prunes that you pit yourself)

Soak overnight in 1 c water at room temperature (covered). Reserve water.

1 c matzo meal
1 tsp cinnamon for the holiday – 1 tsp cardamom instead if you are making this recipe year-round (Note: Observant Jews only use foodstuffs marked for the holiday, & not everything that is available year-round is sold Kosher for Passover.)

Mix together the prunes in water, matzo meal, & spice.

¼ c olive, peanut, or walnut oil
2 c cooked turkey, chopped
2 large or 3 medium carrots, grated
½ large or 1 medium onion, sliced with rings separated

In a Dutch oven, sauté the turkey, carrots, & onion in the oil, stirring frequently, for 10 minutes.

Add the prune mixture & stir thoroughly. Cover & reduce the heat. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring at the 5 & 10 minutes marks.

Serves 5.

Of children's allowances & eggplant/mushrooms

2005-04-13T14:24:00.000-07:00

That which you see & hear, you cannot help; but that which you say depends on you alone. – Jewish Zohar (a mystical work)

HANDLING CHILDREN’S ALLOWANCES:

Some folks prefer to give their children allowances that are not tied to “chores.” Others feel differently. Let me be up-front about my bias. I think that a child should share in the work of a household without the work’s being rewarded with crass coins. I think that the child should make contributions of his or her time in solidarity with the rest of the family, without what may be felt by the child as “bribery.” But you may feel differently. I’d love to run another piece, gathering your opinions about why & how paying for chores is better -- & how you have arrived at a pay scale that you & your child feel is equitable.

Whatever monies children receive – gifts, allowances, income from work – should be saved, in part. Decide with your child 6 or over what would be a fair percentage – something between 10 & 30 percent would probably be equitable. Younger children should have, in my opinion, all the money gifts that they receive be saved for them.

Have the child decide what she or he is saving for. (Perhaps this would be a used car if the “child” were a teenager – or a new bicycle for a younger child.) If the amount to be saved is on the high end – 30% instead of 10%, it might be a good idea to divide the saved pot in half. One-half would be for short-term savings, & the other half towards an adult goal – college or a down-payment on the adult child’s first home. (If a child puts 15% of all monies the child ever receives into long-term savings, these goals would not be absurd. Naturally, these larger sums should be invested carefully. Tax considerations are crucial, particularly if the child is receiving income for his or her help in a family business. The state “529” tax-deferred savings accounts for college would often be the most appropriate vehicle. Finally, liquidiy & safety of the investments are the paramount issue.)

Many people calculate allowances as $5 or $10 times the child’s age. This is simply ridiculous for pre-teens in my opinion – how can a 10-year-old responsibly handle $100 or even $50? (If $1 is used as a multiple for the youngsters instead, how would it seem fair to the child for that multiple to be increased at a given age? What IS the big difference between 8 & 9, for example?)

But, if the parent & child agree that, as a teenager, the child should provide out of his or her allowance for all needs beyond (i) shelter, (ii) food at home, & (iii) health care, (or from the allowance plus his or her earnings), the $5 or $10 per year of age formula makes more sense.

A back-to-the-nester, in my opinion, should not be given an allowance but should be asked to pay rent. I would define such a child to be anyone who is not disabled from working, who is over 18.

So, my friends & readers, add your voices to mine & let’s speak together about this important issue!

HELPFUL HINTS:

If you need to fly cross-country, consider purchasing tickets to & from Las Vegas. The casinos are almost always inducing the airlines to provide special deals to that destination, so you often will pay less on your trip by utilizing this method.

Here is a way of saving on toiletries that are thick such as deodorant: just turn the container upside-down between uses.

In the specific case of colored nail polish, dilute it with a base coat/topcoat as it is used up. You can use the cheapest kind of base coat/topcoat to keep a more luxurious brand of colored polish going for many, many months.

To save big dollars on your car insurance, cancel your collision coverage once the car’s market value is less than 10 times the premium for the coverage.

When you MUST use a paper towel – a cloth just won’t do, such as to pick up a dead fly, which carries disease – tear off the least possible amount feasible for your purpose. This may be as small as a 2” square.

RECIPE:

Here is a second recipe suitable for use during Passover, when no leavened products are used by observant Jews. (For example, baking powder & yeast are prohibited foodstuffs.) The holiday won’t be here for a week, but it’s necessary to plan menus in advance, in order to know what to shop for. Nothing that has been used year-round can be used on the holiday (which lasts for 8 days), if a family is observant. Note that the carrot custard in last week’s issue is also suitable for the holiday.

Eggplant & Mushroom Bake:

Both eggplant & mushrooms are pricey, but, hey, Passover is a major holiday!

Prepare a 9x13” casserole dish like Pyrex® with cooking-oil spray.

¾ lb. mushrooms, sliced (you can use an egg slicer to make this easy)
1 to 1-1/2 lb eggplant, cubed (cut into 1” cubes)

Place attractively into the casserole dish.

2 T olive oil
½ large or 1 medium onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 tsp salt
1-1/2 tsp (1/2 T) marjoram, if you can get it Kosher for Passover – or, substitute oregano
“lots of” freshly-ground black pepper, or 1/2 tsp ready-ground black pepper

In a Dutch oven, cook the onion & celery in oil until lightly browned. Add seasonings & stir thoroughly. Remove onion/celery/seasoning mix from Dutch oven & place into casserole dish atop other the eggplant/mushroom mix.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2 T olive oil
2 T matzo meal
2 c milk

Prepare a white sauce:

In same Dutch oven, heat remaining oil. Add matzo meal slowly, & stir until it has browned. Slowly add milk (2/3 cup at a time), stirring constantly. Stir intermittently until mixture has thickened.

Pour the sauce over the veggies in the casserole dish.

3/4 c matzo meal

Sprinkle over the top of the casserole.

Bake for 30 minutes. Place under broiler for 2-3 minutes to brown the matzo meal. (Watch carefully, to ensure that the meal does not burn.) Serve to 6..

Of plastic in microwaves, & carrot custard

2005-04-08T09:45:00.000-07:00

(4/7/05)

From the Jewish Talmud: Who is rich? One who is happy with what he has.

DANGER OF MICROWAVING IN PLASTIC CONTAINERS:

Johns Hopkins Medical Center has recently underscored the dangers of using plastics in the microwave. Our information comes from a physician reader of this blog, who sent it along from her family member, Dr Jody Bedore, who supervises materials management at the operating rooms of University of Chicago Medical Center.

Dioxins, which are carcinogenic molecules, can be released when you microwave in plastic containers or put plastic wrap over a dish that you are microwaving. This is especially true if there is fat in the food.

It is much safer to use a glass or ceramic container, even if that means that you must transfer the food from the plastic dish in which you had purchased it.

And I add: This is something that holistic practitioner Andrew Weil, MD has been saying for many years, but it is now being sanctioned by allopathic/mainstream medicine.

HELPFUL HINTS:

Even with using a spatula, do you have trouble getting all the good food out of a can? Particularly with solid foods such as cranberry sauce or tomato paste, here’s an idea. Open BOTH ends of the can, remove the top, & push the bottom of the can through the can.

Speaking of opening cans, my home health care aide, Margarita Recinos, has just taught me a valuable lesson. NEVER leave a can lid hanging from the can. Cut it off smoothly, even if doing so requires several passes through the opener. One of Margarita’s clients failed to remove a lid completely, & in the process of removing the food severed 2 veins in her wrist ….

Fill up your gas tank when the gauge tells you that the tank is half-empty. That gives you enough time to find the cheapest price.

Instead of BUYING identification tags for your electronic equipment, simply use the tabs that close bags of store-bought bread. (The reason they come in different colors is so the bakery can tell which day of the week the bread will be delivered to the stores.) You can use one color for each piece of equipment that shares one surge protector. OR, you can number each tag of any color. Either way, you’ll need to post a “cheat sheet” to identify the pieces of equipment, but this method is still much easier than trying to commit the whole problem to memory.

When you’re at the end of a tube of toothpaste, you’ll often find that you need the strength of 2 hands to get the last bit out. A simple trick is to apply the paste to your index finger as you hold the tube, & once you’ve put the tube down, apply the paste from your finger to your toothbrush.

RECIPE:

Eggs are so cheap during the spring. Why not take advantage of the price to make this hearty side dish? (Vegetarians will find it to be a fine entrée.) Even though there is a little sweetener & there are pie spices in this recipe, it turns out not to be cloying.

Carrot Custard:

Spray a 9x13” casserole dish like Pyrex® with cooking oil spray.

1 lb carrots (about 6 medium carrots), grated

Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees

6 eggs
3 c milk
¼ c honey or maple syrup
½ tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp ginger
½ tsp cloves
¼ tsp ground allspice

Mix in a large bowl using a hand mixer set on low or an egg beater.

Stir in the carrots.

Pour into the casserole dish. Bake for 75-90 minutes or until an inserted knife comes out clean. Refrigerate for a few hours at least. Serve to 8.

Of April bargains & macaroni

2005-03-31T13:32:00.000-08:00

Man is the only being – not angels, not animals – whose perfection is not preordained. Man must participate in his own perfection. (Adapted from LIVING EACH DAY, p. 168)

I hope that all of our Christian friends had a good Easter!

HOUSEHOLD HINTS:

If you are in the market for a used car, place notices on the bulletin boards of local senior citizens’ centers. Elders are more likely to have gently-used & well-maintained cars, compared at least to teenagers!

To counteract the truism that you lose one sock in every washload, try loading your socks UNDER the rest of your clothes in the washing machine. It works!

Your kids can develop a booming business by advertising through the Welcome Wagon that they will break down & cart away used moving boxes. Not only will the newcomers pay for the service, but the cardboard can be recycled for cash!

Vinegar – especially -- & baking soda cost money, isn’t it true? I am always amazed at how homemade cleansers utilizing these 2 household stalwarts are touted as being cheaper than cleansers designated as such in the stores. It’s certainly true that vinegar & baking soda are more environmentally sound, but cheaper? Not according to my calculations.

To keep your kitchen cutting board from slipping, place 2 rubber bands around it, at 2 kitty-cornered edges. (You may want to use the wide bands that broccoli comes in at most markets.)

GOOD BUYS FOR THE COMING MONTH (APRIL):

Groceries:

Artichokes
Asparagus
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Eggs
Grapefruit
Strawberries

Other Deals:

Exercise equipment sold by private parties whose New Year’s resolutions weren’t kept!
Home entertainment
Snow blowers
Space heaters
Winter sports equipment

RECIPE:

Cheesy Macaroni & Tomato Bake:

2 T canola oil
½ large or 1 medium onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced

In a small skillet, heat oil & then sauté onion & garlic, NOT browning it but keeping it crisp. This requires frequent stirring & a cooking time of 10 minutes. Meanwhile, boil the water for pasta (I always put a little salt & a little oil into the pasta water.)

Prepare 1 lb elbow macaroni, cooking for the least time that the package directs. (You can use the same Dutch oven for this & every step that follows in this recipe. Your Dutch oven must be able to contain at least 4 quarts.) Drain, & set aside the macaroni. Spray the Dutch oven with cooking oil spray.

Prepare the tomatoes by mixing together in a bowl:

A 29-oz can of tomatoes in juice, cut into small pieces using a kitchen shears, UNDRAINED
1 tsp salt
Freshly-ground black pepper to taste OR ¼ tsp ready-ground black pepper
1 tsp marjoram
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp basil

Prepare a cheese sauce:

2 T canola oil
2 T flour
2 c milk (soymilk or dairy)
2 c grated Cheddar cheese (sharp cheese will give superior results, but it IS more expensive!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Heat the oil in the Dutch oven. Add the flour, stirring constantly. You want to brown the flour slightly, but certainly NOT burn it. Add the milk slowly (2/3 c at a time), stirring frequently. Watch (while stirring) until the sauce becomes thicker. Add the cheese (1/2 c at a time), & stir until the cheese is completely incorporated in the sauce.

Break up the clumped macaroni with a cooking spoon. Return it to the Dutch oven (adding it to the cheese sauce). Then slowly add the tomato mixture to the Dutch oven. Stir thoroughly.

Bake for 40 minutes. Serves 8.

Of Kitchen Timers & Buckwheat

2005-03-24T08:40:00.000-08:00

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..

Of grocery savings & hickory smoke

2005-03-17T13:07:00.000-08:00

A prayer attributed to Saint Francis: L-rd, make us instruments of Your peace. Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; & it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.

GROCERY SAVINGS & NOTES ON STORAGE:

Do you have a store (or several) in town that issue advertisements about the items that they want you to know are on sale this week? Those items are called “loss leaders.” The store expects you to come in, pick up some loss leaders, & then shop for everything else that your family could use. Duh! Why not just shop at each store FOR the items that are on sale. This works better & better as you purchase duplicates of the items on sale, & begin to build up a personal pantry inventory.

Work out a map that allows you to “hit” all of your stores in a logical order that minimizes driving time & gasoline. Of course, if you are using public transportation or walking, you will probably prefer to limit your hits to just one or two stores at a time.

Buying loss leaders in preference to everything else in the store becomes an even better deal when you have a coupon for a particular item that is a loss leader. Better still if the store doubles coupons. (But be careful. Ask exactly what the double-coupon – or triple-coupon – policy is before you purchase multiples of the same item. There may be a limit on units that will be given the double-coupon treatment – in which case you might wish to make multiple shopping trips to obtain as many units as you have coupons, or there may be a limit on how high the value of a coupon that will be given the double-coupon treatment can be.)

Don’t be afraid to stock up on loss leaders. .Just about everything can be frozen or otherwise stored. Most fruits & vine-ripened tomatoes can be canned using the water-bath method, which requires little equipment. (Watch for a late spring essay on canning. By the way, vegetables, having little acid, need to be pressure-canned.)

You may recall that I roasted 2 turkeys before Thanksgiving, for which I only paid a pittance per pound. Four months later, I still have 8 one-cup portions in the freezer (which indicates why you so often read recipes here that call for such).

Little-known freezer storage facts concern dairy. Divvy up the milk into containers that you can use in 1 week or less, & be certain to leave head-room of 1” in each container, then freeze. Defrost in the fridge. As for the eggs, separate each white from each yolk, & place 1 white or 1 yolk into each cube of an empty ice-cube tray. There is no need to defrost if you want to cook scrambled eggs, but for most uses, you need to defrost the egg in the fridge. (You can then transfer the cubes to a storage bag.) Hard cheeses such as Cheddar also can easily be frozen -- & actually grate more easily in their frozen state. Yoghurt cannot be frozen, but it will last in the fridge for at least one month past its “pull date,” as will eggs for that matter!

Look around your house for places where you can store dry goods, such as cans or packages of pasta & dried beans. These may include under a bed, in a closet, under a table that is covered to the floor with a cloth, & so forth. Just be cautious to place all food that you are storing in secure containers (such as Rubbermaid® or Tupperware® that you can purchase at a thrift store, used). This is to avoid sharing your food with mice or other pests!

Using a coupon on a sale item is called a “double-play.” There are also “triple-plays.” These involve obtaining a rebate on a double-play item. Chains like Walgreen’s & Rite-Aid frequently offer rebates, although rarely on groceries (but often enough for paper & plastic goods). Sometimes you will be able to find rebate forms in your coupon circulars. While most of these nowadays are for so-called free gifts instead of money (you are asked to pay a shipping & handling fee, which defeats the purpose of obtaining a rebate in most cases), there still are cash refunds available. A typical one would be for March as Frozen Foods Month, with proofs-of-purchase & cash register receipts required for an assortment of products bought during March or another specified time period.

RECIPE:

Hickory-Smoked Tomatoes with Turkey:

1 T canola oil
1 T water
3 stalks celery, diced
1 medium onion, or ½ large onion, diced
1 bell pepper, seeded & cubed

Saute for 8 minutes in a Dutch oven, stirring frequently. Preheat cooking oven to 350 degrees.

28-oz canned whole tomatoes, each tomato cut in half (best done with kitchen shears)
1 tsp liquid smoke (I use Wright’s Concentrated All Natural Hickory Seasoning Liquid Smoke™)
1 c turkey, diced

Add on top of the sautéed veggies.

1 c fresh breadcrumbs (you can accumulate these in the freezer)
1-1/2 T canola oil

Mix & place atop the casserole. Bake for 45 minutes or until crumbs are golden-brown. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving to 6.

Of color-coded spatulas & enchiladas

2005-03-10T12:05:00.000-08:00

Rabbi Moshe Leib said: “The way in this world is like the edge of a blade. On this side is the netherworld, & on that side is the netherworld, & the way of life lies in between.” (Martin Buber, TALES OF THE HASIDIM: LATER MASTERS, 1961 paperback, page 92.)

HOUSEHOLD HINTS:

If you like to bake muffins, here’s a way to save oven energy along with your time & trouble: just bake a double batch (yield of 24 muffins) in a 9x13” Pyrex® casserole dish (spread out as you would with a cake batter).

What’s more frugal than doggie biscuits? Try baby carrots – or, even more cheaply, carrot sticks that you cut yourself. Your dog will still get the desired tooth-cleansing effect. And she or he will be enthusiastic about the taste.

There are 2 good ways to make powdered milk taste delicious – actually, 3, as it needs to be very cold before you drink it. The other 2 ways have to do with the mixing process. You can use a blender, but that takes up electricity (not much, but every penny counts). The manual way to do it right is to mix it in a large jar. Fill up the jar half-way with cold water, & dump the water out into a measuring cup. Jot down how much water you have (pour out enough to round the total water to a certain number of full cups.). Pour the water back in the jar, & add 1/3 as much powdered milk as there is water in the jar. Cover, & shake-shake-shake-shake (did you get that vigor?). Then refrigerate (or drink right away, assuming your water is truly cold).

If you’ve equipped your car with a roof rack, take it off when you don’t need it. This can save you big on fuel economy.

A tasty & cheap Catalina-style salad dressing can be made by combining equal amounts of pureed tomatoes & yoghurt, & whisking in 2 T of canola oil per cup of the tomato-yoghurt mixture.

CLARIFICATION:

Remember to add lots of soil atop that absorbent material (the insides of a disposable diaper or sanitary napkin) in any container in which you are gardening -- & remember the necessary drainage holes!

ANOTHER CATALOGUE ITEM THAT YOU DON’T NEED:

For $12.99, a catalogue advertises “color coded spatulas.” These are as follows: a red spatula for retrieving the ketchup at the bottom of a bottle, a green one for relish, a yellow one for mustard, & a white one for mayonnaise. Stuff & nonsense. A regular spatula will work easily for the relish, mustard, & mayonnaise. The way to get the ketchup out that clings to the bottle is to fill the bottle halfway with water, cover, & shake. Then you can add the liquid to any tomato or pasta sauce. Results of these measures? $13 saved.

RECIPE:

Deb’s Enchiladas:

My home health care aide, Margarita Recinos, who hails from El Salvador, says that this dish is delicious.

2 cups cooked brown rice (1 c raw)

Defrosted frozen 1-3/4 portion of black beans baked as explained in the blog dated 9/10/04 OR a 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 medium onion, chopped
3 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 T olive oil

4 scallions, white & green parts, sliced thin
1 large (or small, if you want less “kick” to your dish) jalapeno pepper, seeds & ribs removed, diced (wear gloves while handling)

28 oz prepared mild red enchilada sauce

1-1/2 c Monterey Jack cheese, grated
1-1/2 c cheddar cheese, grated

12 medium corn tortillas – 2 whole & 10 cut into fourths with a kitchen scissors

1 bunch cilantro, minced with the scissors

Prepare brown rice. Preheat oven to 400º. Spray a 9x13” casserole dish with cooking spray.

Cook onion and garlic in oil in a small pan until the veggies are slightly browned.

In a large bowl, mix rice, beans, scallions, jalapeno, and onion and garlic.

Place a whole tortilla in the casserole dish & fill in the spaces with 20 wedges. Layer all of the rice mix over. Distribute cheese over. Pour one-half of the enchilada sauce over. Place remaining tortillas, whole & wedges, on top. Pour balance of sauce over.

Bake until sauce is bubbly, about 25 minutes. Let sit for 5 minutes & then serve to 6-8. Garnish with cilantro (if not serving all of the dish at this time, put the excess cilantro in a jar in the fridge, for later use).

Of savings & spaghetti

2005-03-03T12:58:00.000-08:00

The You encounters me by grace – it cannot be found by seeking. But that I speak the basic word to it is a deed of my whole being, is my essential deed. (Martin Buber, I AND THOU, translated by Walter Kaufmann, 1970 paperback, page 62)

TECHNIQUES FOR SQUIRRELING-AWAY MONEY:

Savings! Everyone wants to have savings, few have good ideas for how to make savings happen. Here are some suggestions:

(1) Pay for everything with paper currency. Every evening when you get home, dump your pocket change into a special “savings jar.” Once a month, roll up the coins (the bank will give you special paper for rolling) & deposit them in your savings account.
(2) When you redeem grocery coupons, tally up your savings. Take that amount of money, & place IT (paper & coin currency) in your “savings jar.” Once a month, take the paper currency & all of your coin rolls & deposit THEM in your savings account.
(3) Have you just found a deal on anything – clothing, home furnishings, anything from small to large? You can guess what I’m going to tell you! Put the money that you have saved into your savings account (it’s probably too much to put into your “savings jar.”)
(4) Did you just receive an unexpected check or gift of cash? Guess what you should do with it!
(5) Have you spent less in one category of your economic life than your budget calls for? Now I’ll bet you know what my advice is …!

HOUSEHOLD HINTS:

Do you enjoy gardening in containers? This could be inside as well as outside. Take something that has synthetic absorbent material – this could be a sanitary napkin or a disposable diaper. Tear off the cover & place the insides into a container (remember that you need drainage holes.)

And where do you get the plants themselves, at a reasonable price? Of course, you could start with cuttings (perhaps from a neighbor), but what if you want a big plant? Try a rental agency. This could be either a furniture rental center, or a store that specializes in plant rentals.

In order to keep kitchen knives that you use only rarely rust-free, wash & dry them, & then coat them lightly with petroleum jelly. This works well for razor blades, too.

When you want to buy just a very small amount of grated cheese or chopped veggies, it might be cheaper to simply pick it up from the supermarket’s salad bar. But be certain to do the unit pricing math first!

I’ve told you before that, for elective hospital stays, you should avoid being there over the weekend. Another time to avoid – if your hospital is affiliated with a university medical school – is the month of July, when the new crop of house staff comes on board.

RECIPE:

Spaghetti with Turkey:

2 T olive oil
1 T water

1 medium onion, diced
2 large or 3 medium cloves of garlic, minced
1 stalk celery (including leaves), diced
1 carrot, grated

Heat oil & water in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the vegetables and sauté for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add seasonings as follows:

1 tsp EACH:
Oregano
Thyme
Sage
Parsley
Salt
Freshly-ground black pepper to taste or ¼ tsp ready-ground black pepper
1 bay leaf

Stir thoroughly. Continue to sauté for a minute.

Add tomato products & turkey, as follows:

28 oz canned tomatoes, including liquid, diced in can with scissors
6 oz canned tomato paste
a 6-oz can of water
1 c turkey, diced

Stir thoroughly. Reduce heat & cook, uncovered, for 12 minutes, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, prepare spaghetti as follows:

1 lb. spaghetti, cooked according to package instructions, drained (I like to break the spaghetti into thirds before cooking it -- makes for easier eating!)

Return spaghetti to cooked pot of sauce, & stir thoroughly. Remove the bay leaf & serve to 6.

Of budgets & curried eggs with tomatoes

2005-02-24T11:52:00.000-08:00

Keep your mouth from crooked speech, & your lips from deceitful talk. Let your eyes look straight ahead of you, fix your gaze upon what lies ahead. Look out for the path that your feet must take, & your ways will be secure. Swerve neither to right nor left, & keep clear of every evil thing. – Proverbs 4:24-27.

HOUSEHOLD HINTS:

Do you have a dried-out marking pen? Here’s another use for acetone nail polish remover. Pour a bit of the remover into its bottle cap, & give the tip of the marking pen a good though short soak in the remover. Cap the pen again, & wait overnight before trying to use it again.

When you plan a vacation to the city, try to time your hotel stay to be on the weekends, when rates are lowest due to the relative absence of business travelers. It’s just the opposite in the country, where bed-&-breakfast inns prevail. They are the busiest, & have the highest rates, on the weekends.

In the blog dated October 1, 2004, I told you that you can keep brown sugar soft by adding half of an apple to the container holding the sugar. Check that apple a few times a year – now is a good time if you put the apple in when I told you about it. You may find that it needs to be exchanged for a new one (it might have begun to “go bad.”).

BUDGETING BASICS:

Around this time of year, with tax time rearing its ugly head, many of us are planning to budget better for the rest of 2005 & beyond. This is not the only time that I’ll be addressing budgets, but here are several ideas to start:

First, WHERE to budget? If you enjoy working on the computer, & are frugal, a regular Excel spreadsheet will save you money over a specialized program. But I have a better idea for those of you who prefer paper-&-pencil. Do you still have in your house an extra 2005 calendar? So many businesses give them out free that you may well. Devote that calendar to recording all of your expenses day-by-day. At the end of each month, you can add up the totals spent in each category that is important to you, such as Mortgage/Rent, Household, Insurance, Transportation, Health-Care Visits, Prescriptions, & so forth, with the categories grouped by your personal outgo. (Just staple a piece of paper giving the items & their totals on the corresponding calendar page.) In 2006, assign a new calendar for the same expense accounting purpose, & so on each year. You will have an easy way to compare year-by-year, without needing a computer.

Secondly, HOW to budget? You’ll need to see how much money you have spent in the prior year in each category for which you have decided to record on-going spending. This can be done by looking back next year at your 2005 records. For this year, look at your checkbook, your credit card records, & use some guesswork on the uses you made of those ATM withdrawals for which you have no record. (Those should really be assigned to “personal allowance,” & they are the most discretionary of any money that you have.) Compare your total income last year with your outgo. If you are carrying debt beyond mortgage, such as credit card debt, you are likely to have a deficit rather than a surplus in your historical spending. Try to finesse savings in every category that is discretionary. These discretionary expenses can be both fixed (rent – you can move to a cheaper apartment) or variable (workday food – you can bring your lunch & your coffee). There are also non-discretionary expenses, both fixed (mortgage – you see, a similar housing expense can be either discretionary or non- depending on the type of contract you have signed for it.) & variable (groceries, which, next to personal allowances, is the single easiest category of expense to decrease. Another variable fixed expense is utilities costs).

You want to come up with a spending total for the year of 2005 that (a) takes into account the monies already disbursed last month & this, & (b) adjusts expenses for subsequent months so that by the end of the year you have a surplus that (i) you can save OR (ii) use to pay down debt. The second goal [(ii)] trumps the first [(i)]: there is no sense in gathering savings at a low interest rate while you are paying through the nose for the use of credit. Again, a mortgage is an exception, but, even there, you can generally pay down an amount in excess of the given monthly payment (unless your contract calls for a prepayment penalty.)

Thirdly, WHAT should come off the top of your budget monthly? If you are self-employed, you need to set aside monies for tax & social security assessments. If you have an employer, check to be sure that you are not having deducted from your gross pay more exemptions than necessary. (There is no reason to give the government a tax-free loan.)

Many financial advisors recommend taking 10% of your after-tax income each payday for savings, but I’d say that this is a minimum, & that it’s best to squirrel away monthly whatever you are able to amass through a variety of savings techniques, which we’ll begin to specifically address in next week’s issue. (Obviously, saving money is the leitmotif or constant theme of this blog.)

The Biblical idea of giving 10% of your income to charity such as your place of worship seems to spur many people on to prayer to be given more income, & a surprising number of folks do find such prayer to be answered affirmatively. And perhaps it is not all that surprising that “tithing” does that, since it is a type of prayer – as is that for good health – that reverberates in one’s own heart & mind, setting up a cognitive loop instilling ever-greater efforts towards the desired end.

RECIPE:

Curried Eggs & Tomatoes:

2 T canola oil
½ large onion, diced
1 carrot, grated
1 T curry powder
1 tsp salt
freshly-ground black pepper to taste or ¼ tsp ready-ground black pepper
2 T flour
28 oz canned tomatoes, chopped in can with scissors, drained but reserving the juice
2 c fluid – juice drained from the tomatoes plus water to bring total to 2 c
8-10 hard-cooked eggs, sliced

Place oil in Dutch oven. Saute onion & carrot for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add curry powder, salt, & pepper, together with flour. Saute 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add fluid, bring to a boil, reduce heat, & stir constantly while the sauce reduces in volume & thickens. Add tomatoes & eggs, & heat through. Serves 3.

Of frozen juice, popcorn salt, watch batteries, & more

2005-02-17T12:58:00.000-08:00

Hell is a state of mind …. And every state of mind, left to itself, every shutting up of the creature within the dungeon of its own mind – is, in the end, Hell. But Heaven is not a state of mind. Heaven is reality itself. All that is fully real is Heavenly. For all that can be shaken will be shaken & only the unshakeable remains. C.S. Lewis, THE GREAT DIVORCE (pb, 1973, pp 70-71).

REASONING ON AN INVESTMENT CLOTHING BUY:

No, this is not an essay on purchasing a mohair sweater! I recently got tired of buying a dozen pair of run-resist pantyhose annually, or sometimes even more often. (I generally wear skirts.) I felt that there just had to be a better way – one that would save money, as well as the annoyance of dealing with pantyhose: you know, how they seem to always fit either too tightly or too loosely.

I “shopped” in several catalogues to find an alternative that would satisfy the style-conscious me as well as the budget-conscious me. (I live in a warm climate, so did not need to satisfy the cold-weather-me.) I eliminated in sequence each of the kind of tights that I could find, & all the types of knee socks & knee-highs. I was attracted again & again to Buster Brown® anklet socks, but was unhappy with the color selections offered. Finally, I found in the VERMONT COUNTRY STORE™ catalogue a choice of 8 colors sold in 2-pair packs. A dozen total pair works out to $3/pair. These should have a life of several years or longer. Compare the $2.58/pair best-price for run-resist pantyhose, which as I noted above, have only a one-year life, & that only if you are blessed in this “walk of life.”

PREPARING RECONSTITUTED JUICE:

You may have noticed that, generally, the 16-oz size of frozen juice is cheaper than the 12-oz size, ounce for ounce. I further economize by reconstituting the juice with 4 times the ounce size, instead of the 3 listed on the label instructions. But this means that I have to use 2 pitchers, as my larger one will only hold 2 quarts. The following system works perfectly. You want to put 12 oz of the concentrate into the bigger pitcher, & 4 oz into the smaller one. The easiest way to do this is to pour the concentrate into a 16-oz glass measuring cup. Keep the concentrate container. Pour 4 oz from the cup into the smaller pitcher. Pour the balance of the concentrate (12 oz) into the larger pitcher. Then fill up the container that the concentrate came in with water (this cleans it out, & guarantees that you get every smidgen for your money), & pour it into the smaller pitcher. That’s a 4:1 ratio of water to concentrate. As to the larger pitcher, fill up the 16-oz measuring cup 3 times, & pour all of that water into the larger pitcher. Again, that’s a 4:1 ratio of water to concentrate. Stir before each use, enjoy, & save!

THE POSTAL SERVICE DOES NOT WANT YOU TO ….

In the blog dated January 27, 2005, I told you about using USPS Express Mail envelopes to store sewing patterns in. This week, the USPS has announced that it prohibits the use of these envelopes for anything other than mailing purposes at the Express Mail rate.

DO YOU LIKE SALT ON YOUR POPCORN?

I’m assuming that you pop your corn on the stovetop, rather than in a microwave (more expensive, &, to hear some talk – & I believe them – the rays may be dangerous to your health). Here’s how to get salt evenly distributed & on every kernel. When you pour your oil into the pot – such as 2 T canola oil for ½ c raw kernels to make 2 quarts popped – just add 1 tsp salt to the oil. You’ll notice a slight sautéing sound. Wonderful taste & no waste of salt!

THE CHEAPEST WAY TO REPLACE YOUR WATCH BATTERY:

Go to a dollar store to buy a new cheapo watch, & remove the watch battery. Replace the one that is in your good watch with the battery from the cheap watch. Enough said.

A PARTY THAT SHE’LL OR HE’LL REMEMBER:

Do you have a friend over the age of 50 whom you would enjoy remembering at a party? Here’s a star gift. Find out all the towns where she or he has ever lived, & write to the Tourism Bureaus or Chamber of Commerce of each. Ask for picture postcards of the loveliest sights in the region. Prepare a scrapbook for the honoree of the postcards.

RECIPE:

Beans & Greens with Turkey:

2 T olive oil
½ c water
½ large onion or 1 medium, diced
1 large or 2 small cloves of garlic, minced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 c frozen greens (collards, turnip, mustard, or kale), thawed

1 tsp EACH:
celery seeds
basil
salt
freshly-ground black pepper to taste OR ¼ ready-ground black pepper
1-3/4 c your favorite beans (I used chickpeas) – (that you have baked & thawed if frozen, as per the September 10, 2004 blog, OR one 15-oz can of beans, drained & rinsed)
1 c shredded turkey, thawed if frozen

Heat oil & water in a Dutch oven. Put in the veggies & seasonings. Over a medium flame, stir-fry f 10 minutes. Add the beans & turkey. Cook until the beans & turkey are just heated through. Serve hearty portions to 4 diners.

Of punching holes, & Yum-Yum Stretched Burgers

2005-02-10T07:58:00.000-08:00

From the Jewish Talmud (Berachos): Accustom your tongue to say “I do not know.”

A GOOD BUY:

I put fat-free sour cream into my potato-&-egg salad yesterday instead of light mayonnaise. Why? The mayonnaise had cost me $4.19 for a quart (32 oz), or 52 cents for a half-cup. I had bought a pint of sour cream (16 fluid oz) on sale yesterday for $2. I had a 55-cent-off coupon, which was doubled. This made my final cost for the pint 90 cents My cost for a half-cup of sour cream? 23 cents. And, by the way, the extra tang of the sour cream tastes wonderful. (This comparison is probably exaggerated, since I rarely purchase anything other than produce without a coupon &/or a sale -- I bought the mayo too long ago to recall the details. BUT I also rarely shop at the double-coupon store, since its prices TEND to be high on items other than its on-sale “loss-leaders. I only shop once monthly, spending under $10 at a produce store, & the balance of my food budget at a supermarket within walking distance.)

HELPFUL HINTS:

I seemed to have ruined a one-hole puncher by trying to punch light-weight plastic with it. I tried a tweezers to get the plastic out, to no avail. Then I thought of a solution written about in various YANKEE books, as well as in Amy Dacyczyn’s TIGHTWAD GAZETTE. The idea is to straighten out a regular-sized or large paper clip & use the wire for various fixes. I found that the straightened large clip was a perfect pusher-outer. It took less than 5 minutes to put the hole punch to right!

Speaking of punching a hole, what if your belt has become too tight? To punch a hole in leather, lay it on a scrap of wood. Use a pen to mark the place where you want the hole –the belt will look best if you maintain the spacing used on the rest of it. Put a large nail on the place that you marked, & strike it with a hammer until you have pierced the belt.

You probably know that you can easily stretch shampoo or other soap by mixing it with water half-&-half. But do you know the easiest way to do this? You need a glass measuring cup with a capacity that exceeds one-half the number of ounces in the original bottle. You also need a funnel. Finally, you need an empty bottle that had contained the same amount or greater ounces as the original bottle. Here’s what you do:
(1) Pour the soap carefully into the measuring cup until you have filled the cup with the soap to the measure that is one-half the capacity of the original bottle. (That is, remove one-half of the soap from the original bottle.)
(2) Using the funnel, pour the soap from the measuring cup into the empty bottle.
(3) Top off each of the bottles with water, ending 1 inch from the tops.

If you want to start a nifty part-time business, may I suggest the second-hand trade? Just rent a truck for the days that you wish to work. Advertise that you pick up junk & that you will empty basements, garages, & attics. People will actually pay you for doing this. Then you sort out what you have gathered. The good pieces you sell yourself (classified ads are good), & the balance you sell as a lot (perhaps to a flea market vendor).

I live in a studio apartment – big so far as they go, but without any access to a storage facility. Still, I save scrap items that look to me as though they may come in handy. I bought 20 yards of 1/8” piping cord today to sew welting from for a variety of projects (for a total expenditure of $4.40). I wanted to make a reel for it that would keep the cord from tangling. I had a plastic rectangular tub & the popped-out back end of an old kitchen timer. I cut a square hole in the tub (it only needed a regular scissors), & wound the cord around the timer piece, then placed the cord reel inside the tub. There it is! – a perfect solution from totally free parts.

RECIPE:

Yum-Yum Stretched Burgers:

The ground cloves is the secret ingredient that flavors these burgers so wonderfully.

1 pound hamburger meat
¼ tsp ground cloves
1 c oatmeal
2 eggs, beaten
½ large onion, diced
¼ c ketchup
1 tsp salt
freshly-ground black pepper to taste OR ¼ tsp ready-ground black pepper

Mix thoroughly with hands. Form into 6 balls of equal size. Flatten into 6 burgers. Heat up a 10” skillet. Cook 3 burgers at a time, waiting to turn until the top of each burger turns a bit brown in color. If there is any fat exuded, remove burgers from skillet when you are ready to turn them, & drain the fat completely. Turn burgers & again drain any fat that may be exuded. Yields 6 burgers.

Of a marketing ploy & a 3-ingredient recipe

2005-02-03T13:18:00.000-08:00

All issues of this blog are © Deborah Michelle Sanders 2004, 2005.

From the portion “Derek Eretz” in the Jewish Talmud:

Regard as trifling the great good you did to others, & as enormous the little good others did to you.

HELPFUL HINTS:

Freeze your bread crumbs to use in place of the sky-high-priced commercial ones. If you bake your own bread or buy it unsliced, transfer the crumbs from cutting the bread to an 8-ounce (or so) freezer container. If you buy sliced bread, take the crumbs out of the bag when it is empty & put them in the same freezer container. You will be surprised at how quickly you fill the container. If you want to be truly a gourmet, you can separate sweet crumbs (challah, cinnamon bread, & such) from savory, using 2 freezer containers. Then you can add crumbs of cookies, cakes, piecrusts, & doughnuts to the sweet-crumbs container, which probably should hold 16oz (or so).

If you need to make a hotel reservation, besides searching the web or calling toll-free, phone the hotel in question itself to inquire about its specials. Sometimes, the specials are too temporary to be listed on the web or too local to be known to the national toll-free phone center.

My grandmother taught me to keep boxes of facial tissue out for company, but to use toilet paper (SO much cheaper!) within the family for sneezing & a runny nose. Just fold 6 or so squares over your hand & smooth out; you’ll have a very useful “handkerchief.” I always keep one in a pocket of each of my street clothes, & one in the utility drawer of my desk.

Two great uses for acetone nail-polish remover:
(1) To liquefy thickened nail polish so that it will last longer & not look puffy on your nails;
(2) To get further use out of your liquid correction fluid (mostly used today for pen-&-ink changes, since relatively few Americans use typewriters any longer).
For both purposes, use a couple of drops, which you can transfer with a cotton swab. Then, shake the bottle well, & dab a bit of the nail polish or correction fluid out to see whether you have added enough of the acetone. Better to add too little than to add too much & end up wasting what you were trying to salvage!

When you hard-cook eggs, place a teaspoon of vinegar in the water before bringing it to a full but not rolling boil (and then removing the pot from the flame & letting the eggs sit, covered, for 25 minutes.). This keeps the whites from migrating into the water if eggs get cracked. (I buy a gallon of white vinegar at a time, & transfer some to a small jar.)

READ THOSE LABELS – REGARDING A MARKETING PLOY:

A name-brand line of pretzels sells all varieties at $2.39 in my local market. Almost all of the varieties contain 15 oz. However, one is being marketed as being “Heart-Healthy,” due to having no trans-fats, & the bag contains only 10 oz. Guess what! Just read the labels on all the other varieties – NONE contain trans-fats …. (The "Heart-Healthy one also contains less sodium, but the manufacturer does NOT advertise that fact.)

DON’T BUY CANNED COMPRESSER AIR FOR YOUR COMPUTER!:

All you need is a turkey baster to blow air into your keyboard.

RECIPE:

A 3-ingredient recipe, perfect when you know that you’ll be getting home late the next night (you just have to remember to freeze the tofu & then defrost it & the frozen spinach in the fridge the night before – if you are using frozen spinach..). It takes longer to describe the dish than to cook it!

Teriyaki & Spinach Tofu:

Preliminary steps to make tofu taste more like meat:
Using 12 oz firm or extra firm tofu,
Freeze it in the package for at least one day;
Defrost it.
Open it up & drain out the water.
Wrap the tofu snugly in a clean tea towel.
Place the towel & tofu between 2 dinner plates (the top plate should be upside-down.). Put at least one full canister of food on top of the top plate to weight the tofu down & get all the moisture out of the tofu & into the towel. Let sit at least 1 hour.
Cut into 16 pieces. (This is 4 cuts across & 4 cuts perpendicular to the first 4 cuts.)

The dish itself:

4 oz washed & trimmed spinach (about 1 lb before you remove the stems). You can also use a 10-oz package of frozen, chopped spinach, thawed but not drained. Check in your market to see which is cheaper (in this season).

¼ c of Veri-Veri Teriyaki ™ sauce – This is worth having on hand for this dish alone! But it is also very good as a marinade for chicken, as seasoning on brown rice, & in many more ways. If you don’t have it on hand, you have 2 choices:
(1) You can purchase a different brand of ready-made teriyaki sauce – I cannot vouch for how this will taste, or
(2) You can experiment at duplicating Veri-Veri’s taste by mixing soy sauce with garlic, sesame seeds, sugar, onion, ginger, soy oil, and Asian sesame oil, but note that the Veri-Veri sauce itself is cheaper than your experiments will be (since Asian sesame oil costs so much).
Buying this Veri-Veri sauce is my little luxury; try it & it may become yours, too. Assuming that you have the sauce itself on hand, SHAKE WELL (about 50 times).

Place the sauce & the spinach in a 3-quart pot. Mix thoroughly. Cook briefly over medium heat, just until fresh spinach is wilted, or until thawed spinach has a bright aroma (about 2 minutes).
Add tofu to the pot & stir to coat the tofu with the sauce. Cook 5 minutes on low, stirring frequently.
Serve as an entrée to 2, or as a side dish to 4. Scrumptious!

Of keeping the dentist away & a barley pilaf with chickpeas

2005-01-27T13:13:00.000-08:00

“Master of the universe, I hereby forgive anyone who angered or antagonized me or who sinned against me [today] – whether against my body, my property, my honor, or anything of mine; whether he did so accidentally, willfully, carelessly, or purposefully; whether through speech, deed, thought, or notion.” This is part of the Jewish bedtime prayers.

HELPFUL HINTS:

To keep the dentist away, do you know the best way to take care of your teeth? Brush after every meal AND each time that you eat something like yoghurt or drink something like coffee – anything acidic. (The active cultures in yoghurt directly attack your tooth enamel, too.) Floss your teeth before brushing, to the extent that you feel that you can afford floss (isn’t it cheaper than a dental bill?). After you brush your teeth themselves, brush the gums beyond your teeth. It will take a few days to get into these habits, but they will pay off in a big way for your oral health. If you brush your tongue, too, you’ll beat bad breath flat!

You can use Express Mail envelopes (which you can obtain free at the Post Office) to hold sewing patterns. Just cut the pattern envelope open & display it in the clear pocket. Put the pattern pieces & instruction sheet inside the envelope itself. (Alternatively, you can tape the opened pattern envelope straddling the 2 sides of a 9x13 manila envelope, putting the pattern pieces & instruction sheet inside.) Sure beats trying to fold all those pattern pieces back into the itty-bitty company envelope that they came to you in!

In a small pot, potatoes & rice are foods that tend to boil over. To avoid the resulting mess, spray cooking oil on the rim (in the kitchen sink).

Do you have a porcelain anything that is stained? Try this remedy: Wash the surface with clear water, & then apply a sprinkling of cream of tartar. Finally, cut a lemon in half & rub the surface with the lemon. It works wonderfully!

The price of ready-made “cute” magnets is exorbitant. You can make your own for just the cost of a package of round or strip magnets at a crafts store -- & then you’ll have the raw materials for perhaps 10 magnets. Some ideas for what you can glue on: photographs (they may extend far beyond the magnet itself), baked clay ornaments, or earrings when you have lost one of a pair.

BUY OF THE MONTH:

Heavy-duty aluminum foil under the store brand, 37-1/2 square feet in the package, cost $2.39. But I spotted heavy-duty aluminum foil in the half-off bin, SEVENTY-FIVE square feet in the package, for $2.29. I’m sure you know which one I purchased!

RECIPE:

Barley Pilaf with Chickpeas:

Barley isn’t JUST for mushroom soup any more!

2 T olive oil
1 c pearl barley
1 large onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
2 stalks of celery, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced

3-1/4 c water
1-3/4 c chickpeas (that you have baked & thawed if frozen, as per the instructions in the September 10, 2004 blog, OR one 15-oz can of chickpeas, drained & rinsed)
1 tsp ground cumin
¾ tsp salt
¼ tsp ready-ground black pepper or freshly ground black pepper to taste

In a Dutch oven, saute the barley, onion, carrot, celery, & garlic in the olive oil – starting on high heat for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add remaining ingredients. Cover & cook on high heat for about 8 minutes, until boiling. Stir thoroughly. Reduce heat to very low, cover, & cook for an hour & 20 minutes or until mixture is nearly dry. Remove from heat, & let sit for 10 minutes, covered. Fluff with a cooking fork before serving to 6 hearty diners.

b

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

2005-01-20T14:39:00.000-08:00

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.

Of exercise & turkey/veggie hash

2005-01-12T16:18:00.000-08:00

From Psalm 95:

The L-rd is a great G-d, & a great King above all gods.
In His hands are the corners of the earth, & the strength of the hills is His also.
The sea is His & He made it, & His hands prepared the dry land.

O come, let us worship & fall down, & kneel before the L-rd our Maker.
For He is the L-rd our G-d, & we are the people of His pasture & the sheep of His hand.

On January 12, 2005, the USDA & the federal Department of Health & Human Services issued their 2005 revision of the food pyramid guide. Unlike in other revisions, this time much emphasis is placed on the role of exercise in maintaining or increasing good health. Previously, the Surgeon General's recommendation was to perform 30 minutes of vigorous exercise most days of the week. (This exercise could be done in small portions, say, 10 minutes at a time, so long as 30 minutes accumulated.) In the 2005 revision, though, that 30 minutes recommendation is only for those who are thin. Anyone overweight is urged to exercise 60 minutes – vigorous exercise on most days of the week. Anyone obese is urged to exercise 90 minutes – vigorous exercise on most days of the week. (The same small-portions option is given in the 2005 revision – the accumulated exercise over the course of the day is what one needs to exceed 30, 60, or 90 minutes a day respectively.) I’m one who has to change from feeling smug about doing 45 minutes of exercise most days, to being one who has to complete 60 minutes instead. How about you?

HELPFUL HINTS:

You’ll always find the best bargains in produce in the frozen food aisle if you remember to look there for items that are seasonal in the fresh produce aisle. Marketers want to keep up sales of frozen goods, so, for example, you will find frozen strawberries cheap in May & June, & frozen peaches cheap in August.

To get the most juice out of your citrus fruits that you’ll be cooking with, first remove the outer rind (the zest). (You can freeze the portion of the rind that you don’t need for your current recipe. Indeed, it is much easier to zest the fruit with an implement called – guess what! – a zester, when you are using frozen rinds.) Then place the fruit in a bowl of hot water for about 10-15 minutes. The last thing you should do before juicing it is to roll it on the counter for a minute or so.

Purchase 23 cents (stamps for additional first-class ounces) instead of wasting the difference between stamps for the first ounce (currently 37 cents) and the current 23 cents stamps – you’ll save 14 cents each time, not to be sniffed at. And, if you are mailing something that requires still more stamps than just these 2, you’ll save 28 cents, 42 cents, & so on. Just remember that postal regulations require that you bring to the post office window any envelope or parcel that weighs 12 ounces or more. You’ll save the most money by using a scale to weigh your material – you can use a kitchen scale or the one supplied at the post office.

Before buying a major item in a bricks-&-mortar store, you may be able to reduce the price in the following manner: Ask the owner in a friendly tone what the item cost him; just say that the item is beautiful & you’re wondering how much it set him back. You are then in a good position to negotiate.

You can make your own memo cube. Just pile up pages (with at least one side blank) of the same size – even 8-1/2 by 11” is fine -- & glue one side with rubber cement. (Just brush it along the outside of the stack of paper.)

RECIPE:

This recipe takes account of the cheap price of the frozen (& convenient) versions of seasonal produce, as stated in the Helpful Hints section of today’s blog. It also uses a couple of the BAKED Russet potatoes that I’ve urged you to prepare monthly, since using them in various dishes reduces over-all energy costs. (You can bake them while something else is in the oven; having them ready reduces top-of-the-stove cooking time in recipes, AND you already have prepared the basis of potato salad, etc.)

Turkey & Veggie Hash:

2 T olive oil
2 T water
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 large BAKED Russet potatoes, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 large carrot, chopped
So that the veggies above will cook in about the same time, try to chop all of them to the same dimensions.
2/3 c chopped frozen greens (not thawed) or 1-1/3 c chopped fresh greens – greens should be the leaves of kale, mustard, turnips, or collards (no stems)

½ T salt
dash black pepper
½ tsp rosemary, crushed
1 tsp oregano
½ tsp sage, crumbled

1 c shredded turkey (or chicken)

Place oil & water in a Dutch oven. Add all of the veggies & stir thoroughly. Place over high heat. Cook until you hear simmering. Cover & reduce heat to its lowest point. Saute 10 minutes. Stir very thoroughly. Add salt, pepper, & herbs. Saute, covered, for another 10 minutes. Stir thoroughly. Add turkey & stir again. Cook, covered, until turkey is heated through (about 5 minutes). Serves 8.

Of the tsunami & red beans and rice

2005-01-06T13:05:00.000-08:00

In the wake of the tsunami devastation, all believers explore how a good & omnipotent G-d can allow such things to happen. For me, natural disasters come down to the butterfly-in-China explanation. One small event in Nature has many repercussions, & sometimes a repercussion is a tragedy beyond our ken. (Historical atrocities like the Holocaust come down for me to perversions of the free will that G-d has given Man.) I pray that if you are/were a religious person, your faith has not been completely shattered by the earthquakes. G-d needs all the faithful prayer that we can give, even if what we ask for is simply the understanding of why He allows mass death.

HELPFUL HINTS:

To save time & utilities cost while cooking, I always keep the pot covered while I am bringing anything to the boil – pasta water or the ingredients in this week’s recipe, for examples. I just stand by with a book to pass the time, while waiting for the tell-tale steam to escape, letting me know that it’s time to move on with the cooking steps.

In painting a room that doesn’t get much visitor traffic – such as the garage interior -- use up what’s left in several cans of used paint. Just pour them all into one can & stir most thoroughly. You are likely to get an appealing shade, since YOU were the one who had chosen all the constituent colors! (This won’t work if you’re a lover of bright red, bright purple, & other shrieking colors, though.)

The cheapest -- & most environmentally sound – way to keep your household drains clear is to boil a teakettle’s worth of water, pour half down a sink, wait 5 minutes, & then pour the other half down. Works like a charm!

Do you have a spray bottle that is not spraying? Probably it is low in fluid. If it’s not water which you can replenish, take out the sprayer itself & place it into a drinking straw (you may have to cut it down to fit). Once you’ve replaced the sprayer-cum-straw, it should work just fine.

Lipsticks that are not made with harsh chemicals tend to fade quickly. The way to keep your lips bright is to apply the lipstick twice: the lipstick, a dusting of powder, & then the lipstick again.

STILL ANOTHER CATALOGUE ITEM THAT YOU DON’T NEED TO BUY:

For a little girl, a $50 item marked down to $25 is a bed canopy. This is a cone of fabric attached to a ceiling hook, with the cone attached to a fabric cylinder. In turn, the cylinder is attached to tulle/netting which flows over the sides of her bed. Tulle costs 50 cents per yard, so you can see the extent of profit on this item, even on half-off sale.

RECIPE:

This recipe came about as a way to use up Spanish tomato sauce that I had erroneously bought in place of the standard type, on a sale that was too good to miss. Furthermore, I slightly undercooked the rice purposefully, to create a textural contrast with the beans. The result? A chewy dish that is hot, but not too hot. (If you do want it hotter, just add more hot pepper sauce to the 4 drops called for.)

Red Beans & Rice a la Deb:

1 tsp salt
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 T canola oil

1-3/4 c red beans (that you have baked & thawed if frozen, as per the instructions in the September 10, 2004 blog, OR one 15-oz can of red beans, drained & rinsed)
2 c brown rice, raw
1 bay leaf
4 drops of hot red pepper sauce
2 c (16 oz) Spanish tomato sauce
2 c water

Saute the onion & garlic, salted, in the canola oil in a covered Dutch oven over low heat for 10 minutes; stir thoroughly; & continue to sauté the veggies for another 10 minutes.

Add all the other ingredients. Stir thoroughly. Bring to a boil on high heat. Cover & reduce heat to medium-low. Cook for 25 minutes without raising the cover. Reduce the heat to low & continue not to raise the cover. You will have cooked the rice mixture for a total of 45 minutes. Remove to a cool burner for 10 minutes – do not uncover until the 10 minutes have elapsed.

Stir thoroughly & remove the bay leaf before serving to 8.

Of lasagna & other helpful hints, another thing you have no need of buying, & scalloped potatoes

2004-12-30T13:12:00.000-08:00

Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, perhaps the most famous Chasidic Jew of past centuries, said:

When asked how things are, don’t whine & grumble about your hardships. If you answer, “Lousy,” then G-d says, “You call this bad? I’ll show you what bad really is!” If, however, you answer, “Good,” then G-d says, “You call this good? I’ll show you what good really is!”

HELPFUL HINTS:

Loyal reader Matt Tierney, Certified Nursing Specialist & Nurse Practitioner, has sent in this fine hint: “Just read through the blog & thought I’d share a time-saving & frustration-saving tip for lasagna: don’t cook the noodles first! Just layer them while hard & uncooked with all the other lasagna ingredients. Then, for cooking the lasagna, cover the pan with aluminum foil for the first half of the specified cooking time …. This will steam-cook the noodles. Uncover the pan halfway through the specified cooking time to release steam & to let the top of the lasagna brown beautifully. No more sticky & torn noodles to contend with!”

To avoid polluting the water supply with a heavy dose of animal fats, don’t dump the fat from a roast down the toilet. Instead, do one of these 2 things:

If you have a pest-control problem, put the pan in the fridge for a few hours.

If your house is free of pests, just let the pan sit overnight.

In either event, you will then have solidified fat that you can wipe out with a paper towel. If you keep changing the part of the towel that you are using, you can wipe out a whole pan with 1-1/2 towels. Then wash the pan as usual.

Place galoshes in plastic shopping bags that you close with a twist-tie. In this way, you won’t have to dust them (rubber attracts dust electrostatically.).

While kids certainly can’t do this until they are teens, everyone else can use a cheap solution for clearing the air – just light a match! (Then blow it out, of course, before it can burn your fingers.)

To teach an errant dog not to chew on his nylon leash or other fabric that can take getting wet, try this hint: Saturate a part of it with vinegar. Once he tastes it in one place, he’ll think that the whole item is ptui! This should also work with cats.

YET ANOTHER CATALOGUE ITEM THAT YOU DEFINITELY DON’T NEED TO BUY:

The company wants to sell you a $9 doohicky which you can replace with a glass jar that has a lid, a jar wide enough to hold the kind of cut produced that you want to save. It’s advertised as being superior to plastic wrap. So is the jar …. By the way, save that produce with the cut end down – the catalogue copy is right about that!

RECIPE:

This recipe came about because boiling potatoes were 10 cents cheaper per pound than Russets when I shopped, & I also got pimientos on sale & with a double coupon. I had in the freezer Monterey Jack cheese that I had purchased when it was previously half-off. (I shred all my cheese when I buy it, & freeze it in ½ c portions – this works well in sandwich bags piled into a large freezer bag.)

Deb’s Scalloped Potatoes:

1 lb (about 6) red or white boiling potatoes, sliced into ½” rounds
2 oz pimientos (save the other 2 oz in the jar by covering the peppers with water, & adding ½ tsp of vinegar to the jar’s contents)
½ large or 1 medium onion, chopped fine
3 small or 2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 T canola oil
2 T flour
2 c soymilk or dairy milk
1 c Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
2 eggs, beaten slightly

Prepare a white sauce as follows: Put the oil, pimientos, onions, & garlic in a Dutch oven. Saute on medium heat until the veggies give off their liquids (about 5 minutes). Add the flour to the Dutch oven & stir vigorously until the flour begins to brown. Add the milk in 3 two-third c portions. Stir continuously over medium heat until the sauce begins to thicken. Remove from heat. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Add cheese to the sauce & stir. Add eggs to the sauce & stir. Pour potatoes in & stir thoroughly.

Bake uncovered for 35 minutes. It is good for the potatoes to remain a little bit toothsome/al dente. Serves 4 as an entree.

Lots of helpful hints, & caramalized onions with turkey

2004-12-23T08:46:00.000-08:00

In something like the original Hebrew, “Everything alive will gratefully acknowledge You, & praise Your name sincerely.” I like better the looser translation, “The force that drives all flesh exalts You, our Sovereign, always.”

A very merry Christmas to all of our Christian friends!

HELPFUL HINTS:

You know how difficult it is to tell which paper products are the best value. Comparing the unit price per sheet doesn’t give you much information, since the weight of each sheet varies by manufacturer. The solution? Take a sample of brands to the produce department & weigh each. People may look at you as though you were nuts, but you’ll make the best buy.

I do almost all of my grocery shopping together at the beginning of the month. This makes it easier to budget. If you do as I do, use your fresh produce early in the month, & then turn to frozen & canned goods. It’s a good idea to chop some onion at the beginning of the month & freeze it, so that it will be on hand all month. You can also do this with bell peppers. Celery will last in the produce drawer of your fridge if you keep it in a perforated bag. Garlic will keep in a glass jar in the produce drawer.

Speaking of onions, they actually will last quite a while if you do as I do – first, only purchase ones that have their skin intact around the whole onion. Otherwise, mold can set in. Secondly, place each onion separately into a dark bag (cloth or brown paper), & close the bag. Then you can place all those bags into one large one for convenience.

Many things are washable & don’t need to be replaced. For example, if you use pressed or loose powder (or if your baby does), you don’t need to buy new puffs. Just throw them in the washer on delicate & hang them to dry!

That’s not all the scoop I can give you on powder. Make your own! Just fill the container that you want to use halfway with cornstarch. Add a few drops of vanilla extract (or your favorite fragrance – lavender, anyone?). Close the container tightly & shake for all you’re worth. There you are!

If, like me, you don’t have a microwave for health reasons, & your brown sugar has hardened, you can use a meat mallet to break it up easily. (As I’ve mentioned before, you can avoid this problem by placing half an apple in the brown sugar canister.)

In food containers where you always use the same amount of the food at one time, devote a measuring cup to the container. For example, put a ½ c measure into an oatmeal canister & a ¼ c measure into a raisins container, so that you can easily prepare one serving of the cereal. You can also put a scoop (perhaps 1/3 c if you like) into each flour container. As you know, flour needs to be measured by putting scoops into the measuring cup & then leveling off the top of the cup – since flour in the container is aerated.

The cheapest furniture of all -- & that with the best storage capacity – is made of wooden (storage) boxes topped on every side with foam & then covered with fabric (you can staple on the foam & the fabric.). The basic idea (without the wood storage boxes) is described on pages 440-441 of the 1976 edition of READER’S DIGEST COMPLETE GUIDE TO SEWING. Try Inter-Library Loan, specifying the 1976 edition, to obtain this book.

When you clean a coffeemaker with vinegar, save & label the vinegar. You can use it up to 5 times for the same purpose, without losing effectiveness.

Seamstresses can cover buttons without using the expensive kits found in stores. Just take any old set of flat buttons that are 1/8” smaller than the ones called for on the pattern, & cut a circle of fabric for each that is 1/8” larger than the button (i.e., that is the same size as the buttons called for on the pattern). Then gather the pieces of fabric to fit around the buttons. Be sure to knot the ends securely after gathering.

RECIPE OF THE WEEK:

Do you love the taste of stuffed turkey, but would like to avoid the saturated fat from the meat as well as reducing the calorie & carbs counts by eliminating the bread? Here’s the recipe for you. You can reduce the canola oil to 3 T, & reduce the salt to ½ tsp, but you’ll lose the full satisfaction of the taste.

Turkey with Caramelized Onions:

½ large or 1 medium onion, cut in half vertically & then sliced across, half-moons separated
¼ c canola oil

Heat, covered, in a 10” skillet, on high until you can hear simmering. Reduce heat to its lowest, & sauté for 20 minutes. Stir thoroughly, cover again, & sauté another 20 minutes.

2 stalks celery, sliced in ½” pieces
1 c turkey, in small pieces
1 tsp ground sage
1 tsp salt
freshly-ground black pepper, to taste

Add to skillet these other ingredients & stir thoroughly. Cover & cook on medium heat for 10 minutes. Serve to 3.

Of hints to lessen emergency's price-gouging, & other hints, & of chicken-chickpea salad

2004-12-16T13:22:00.000-08:00

Efficacious prayer needs to be directed “not to what I think Thou art, but to what Thou knowest Thyself to be.” C. S. Lewis, THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS, paperback p. 18.

HELPFUL HINTS:

If you sew on a machine, you know to use “jeans needles” (16/90 or 18/110 in size) on thick fabrics. However, did you know that if the needle skips stitches, you can just rub the fabric in the portion to be seamed with pure soap like Ivory®, & your sewing will proceed swimmingly!

Why not recycle aluminum foil? It’s so expensive to buy – you might as well clean & save large pieces of it. Just take an empty paper towel roll, & roll the foil onto it. Saves the environment, too!

I’m sure that you’ve heard the hint that, to save money on a restaurant meal, you should go at luncheon when the same menu is served as in the evening, but at a much lower cost. To get pleasure the next day when yesterday’s portions were too large, don’t rely on a doggie bag from the restaurant kitchen – all the different types of food will get unpleasantly smooshed together. I bring 4 small containers for each diner, plus a small bottled water bottle if I think that I’ll be ordering a beverage (of course, it is much cheaper to merely ask for water as your beverage)

Once you’ve used up prescription medications, you can save the whole bottle if it is about 2 inches in diameter or larger. (When you first open the bottle, save the cotton & the dessicator tube from it. The cotton you can use for toiletries application. The dessicator you can use to keep a camera dry in its case.) Then you can use the bottle with its cap on for spices or herbs. If you have enough of those containers, another use for the caps is as casters underneath furniture legs.

After an emergency like an earthquake or flood, merchants often price-gouge for sales of flashlight batteries, bottled water, & the like. One of the favorite types of gouging is to refuse to give change & to require exact change. You can avoid this problem by always keeping many dollar bills in your home as an emergency stash. $200 in $1 bills is a good amount for a family with 2 children.

ANOTHER CATALOGUE ITEM YOU CAN SAVE YOUR MONEY ON:

A “3-section breading tray” at $6.99 is replaceable with the utmost ease by using one soup bowl for the eggs, one for the breadcrumbs, &, if using flour as well, a 3rd bowl for the flour!

RECIPE OF THE WEEK:

Chicken & Chickpeas Salad:

14.5 oz can of tomatoes (or up to a pound) -- You can cut whole canned tomatoes into pieces of any size right in the can, using a kitchen shears. The whole tomatoes are cheaper than the “convenience” cans of diced ones.

2 T orange juice

Stir thoroughly. Refrigerate this mixture overnight to give a summer-fresh taste to the tomatoes. Of course in the summer, you can skip the OJ & just use 2 medium tomatoes, chopped (Use liquid, too.)

1 c shredded chicken
1-3/4 c chickpeas (See the blog of September 10, 2004 for directions on how to bake & store four or more of these portions. If you are so inclined, you can drain & rinse a 15 oz can of chickpeas instead.)
2 stalks celery, diced (include leaves, if possible)
¼ c mayonnaise (which you can make at home for parsimony & great taste)
1 T dried basil
1 tsp paprika

Mix thoroughly. Makes 3 entrée servings.

Of hints to help small children & more, & of lasagna

2004-12-09T16:24:00.000-08:00

Today is the second day of Chanukah, & within the hour we will light the candle for the 3rd day. A luminous, happy, & healthy holiday to all!

A lovely prayer for the Sabbath: Love of my soul, merciful Father, draw Your servant to Your will. Your servant will hasten like a fleet deer to bow to Your glory. Your love will be sweeter to him than honey & all delicacies. (Page 74 of LIVING EACH DAY)

HELPFUL HINTS:

A quick way to cook veggies in a way that kids will love: In a large bowl, put a package of ramen noodles, cut in half by your hands, plus various frozen veggies with short cooking times such as corn & peas & carrots, the veggies altogether measuring what you want your kids to be eating. Putting the entire contents of the bowl into a pot, prepare the ramen according to package directions. DO use the entire package of seasoning at the time called for in the directions. It will flavor the food. Then – guess what! – DRAIN all the liquid out before serving the veggies & noodles to the kids. Now, there will be only a little bit of sodium clinging to the veggies.

When you prepare oatmeal or other sticky cereal, spray the pot with cooking oil spray before you start putting the ingredients into the pot.

For small children who have trouble knowing their right from their left when it comes to footwear, here are 2 hints. For slippers or sneakers, sew or cement a coordinating button on the outside of the heel portion of the right shoe. For shoes that are not made of fabric, use permanent marker to write the child’s first name on the heel of the left-hand shoe or boot, & to write the child’s surname on the heel of the right-hand shoe or boot. When his or her name is lined up correctly, so will be his or her footwear. Plus, it will help with reading readiness.

To save time & money on darning kids’ jeans, patch them before they wear them for the first time. Do this on the INSIDE of the knees. Duct tape makes an adequate patch.

Don’t you prefer chewy raisins to ones that are dried up? Here’s how to plump a cup or so at a time. Put them in a quart jar & pour ½ c of boiling water over the raisins. Shake the jar. Let it cool to room temperature & then store in the fridge.

ANOTHER CATALOGUE PRODUCT YOU DON’T NEED:

Advertised widely for prices that are at the cheapest $3 are “cooking oil sprayers.” These are simply spray bottles. You can get one at a 99 cents store for 69 cents or so. Use one for canola oil, & others for olive oil & your favorite vinegar to season your salads.

RECIPE OF THE WEEK:

Low-fat Lasagna Yum-Yum:

I found great buys on spinach lasagna noodles & stewed tomatoes, so used those in this recipe. But you can use whatever ingredients (that are similar to those called for) that you can find cheaply.

8 oz lasagna noodles, cooked according to package directions

2 T canola oil
½ large or 1 medium onion, cut lengthwise & then sliced into thin half-moons
3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 medium carrot, cut lengthwise & then sliced into thin half-moons
1 large stalk celery, together with its leaves, sliced thinly

2 c PLUS 2 T water (this is NOT the water used to cook the noodles in)
24 oz whole tomatoes (snipped in can to make pieces), stewed or seasoned in any way OR unseasoned
6 oz tomato paste
1 tsp EACH salt, oregano, & basil (salt may be reduced if dietary needs require)
Dash freshly-ground black pepper

8 oz canned mushroom pieces & stems, rinsed & drained
1 c corn kernels (fresh, or frozen & thawed)
1-3/4 c chickpeas (thawed from one of your freezer containers – see the blog dated September 10, 2004 -- or one 15-oz can of chickpeas, rinsed & drained)

½ of a 15 or 16 oz container of part-skim ricotta cheese (I was able to find a container with exactly 8 oz in it)
8 oz part-skim mozzarella cheese, sliced into 8 pieces

Coat a 9x13” casserole dish with cooking spray.

Put the canola oil into a Dutch oven. Add the onion & garlic. Saute for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the carrots & celery, cover the pot, & sauté another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add tomato products & water. Stir thoroughly. Bring to a boil. Cook on high heat (uncovered) for 30 minutes, stirring frequently. You are “reducing” (boiling down) the sauce – thickening it. Place lasagna noodles at the bottom of the casserole dish. Cover with mozzarella cheese. At the 20 minute mark, preheat the oven to 350 degrees for a Pyrex™ casserole dish, 375 degrees for any other kind. At the 25 minute mark, add the mushrooms, corn, & chickpeas to the Dutch oven. Stir thoroughly. Remove from the heat when the 30 minutes have gone by. Add the ricotta & stir thoroughly.

Pour sauce over the casserole of mozzarella cheese & noodles. Bake for 45 minutes (uncovered). Upon removing from the oven, do not cut for 10 minutes. Serve to 8.

Of petroleum jelly & other hints, making your own lettuce-keeper, & salmon-&-cheese baked pasta

2004-12-02T16:51:00.000-08:00

Hbope that you had a joyous Thanksgiving!

Reader Sandra Harris has offered this Episcopalian prayer:

Eternal Father,
So draw our hearts to You,
So guide our minds,
So fill our imaginations,
So control our wills,
That we may be wholly Yours,
Utterly devoted to You;
And then use us, we pray, as You will;
And always to Your glory
And for the welfare of Your people.
Amen.

HELPFUL HINTS:

Here are 2 great uses for petroleum jelly -- the generic type is much cheaper than Vaseline®.

(1) Apply it to paper cuts. This works like the new product, Liquid Bandages®. You will probably need to apply a few coats of the petroleum jelly, about 5 minutes apart. This works quite well indeed.

(2) Did you know that your refrigerator is in most households the biggest drain on your utilities bill? Donna Watkins, who writes an e-letter on herbs which also runs general helpful hints (the e-letter is called THE FRUGAL LIFE), suggests a way to save big on electricity costs. I’ve tried it, & it works ever so well! Just apply a thick layer of petroleum jelly on the refrigerator gaskets. It’s insulation! The first few times after the application of the jelly when you try to open the fridge, it will stick (natch), but that effect will dissipate, while the insulating effect will keep on going.

When cooking or baking, save on your washing-up time. Just put each utensil & measuring spoon or cup on a plate that you have designated, & keep them together until you have completed making the recipe. Measure dry ingredients first, then wet ones -- the other way 'round, you would have to wash a second measuring utensil.

The shortest hospital stays begin on Tuesdays. The longest begin on Fridays, because the senior, "attending," staff take the weekends off. Plan accordingly for elective procedures.

ANOTHER CATALOGUE OFFERING THAT YOU DON'T NEED:

A "lettuce keeper" (also good for broccoli, cabbage, & cauliflower) is advertised at $8, on sale for $6. Here's how to do without, while getting its benefit of keeping the lettuce or cruciferous vegetables fresh longer. Just take a colander (a spare one that you can get at a thrift stre for a dollar) & find a bowl that it will fit into. (Your colander needs to have feet -- but I've never seen one without them.) Put the colander into the bowl, the veggies into the colander, & the colander into the fridge. That's it!

RECIPE OF THE WEEK:

Salmon & Cheese Baked Pasta:

8 oz spaghetti, broken into thirds
1 – 15-1/2 oz can salmon, UNDRAINED
3 T canola oil
3 T flour
1 c milk
½ tsp salt
dash black pepper
dash paprika
½ c shredded Cheddar cheese
dash dry mustard
1 tsp dried tarragon

Oil a 2-quart casserole dish with cooking spray.

Prepare spaghetti according to package directions in Dutch oven; drain in a colander; pour cold water over & drain. Leave in the colander.

Prepare the cheese sauce:
(1) Place oil & flour in Dutch oven. Stir thoroughly to mix. Stir over medium heat until mixture is fragrant & light brown.
(2) Add 1/3 c milk & stir thoroughly. The mixture will be very thick. Add the remaining milk quickly & stir thoroughly.
(3) Stir in cheese & seasonings.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Stir spaghetti & salmon into cheese sauce. The salmon liquid will thin the sauce. Break up salmon into chunks with your cooking spoon.

Pour into casserole. Bake 25 minutes. Serve to 4.

Of Air Forc coupon charity, hints, & a recipe for those holiday leftovers

2004-11-23T03:35:00.000-08:00

Hope that your Thanksgiving is blessed & happy.

Due to computer glitches, no blog was published last week. Today’s is published in lieu of that. The next blog will be published on December 2nd.

From the Jewish morning prayers:

The L-rd supports all the fallen ones & straightens all the bent.
The eyes of all look to You with hope
And You give them their food in its proper time;
You open Your hand , & satisfy the desire of every living thing.

CHARITY FOR THE HOLIDAYS:

Did you know that many of our American service people are paid such a pittance by Washington that they are on food stamps? At least members & their families are given the benefit, when they go to the Commissary to shop, of being able to use coupons that expired up to 6 months ago. Approximately every 2 weeks, I send a package of new coupons that I cannot use plus expired coupons to US Air Force personnel. If you are willing to help, please send your unused coupons to me (Deb Sanders) at 1140 Sutter St, Apt 211, San Francisco, CA 94109-5654. Full disclosure: I will look through the coupons, &, if there are any that I can use, I will so use them & not send them on. This personal use accounts for about 5% of all coupons.

HINTS:

Every few months, spray your kitchen dust pan with a polish like Pledge ™. The dust will fall right off into the trash can.

So that you & your family are protected against price gouging in an emergency, keep about $200 in cash in the house, in one-dollar bills. Merchants may refuse to give change in those circumstances, so you would lose only up to 99 cents if you can present dollar bills.

File folder labels from an office supply store are much cheaper than special freezer labels, especially if you cut them in two (there is a line for cutting indicated). They will stick on very well.

Set new pantyhose & nylon knee-high’s in a solution of liquid fabric softener & water for 15 minutes & then air-dry, before wearing them for the first time. The resilient result will please you.

I market for groceries just once a month, which makes it easier to practice economies. I purchase 2 dozen eggs. When I get them home, I hard-cook one dozen. Once they are cooked, I turn the whole caboodle from the pot into a colander & run cold water over. This cracks the eggs. I then refrigerate them. They thereby peel easily. I mark the container on both ends “HARD,” so that I cannot mistake them for raw ones.

RECIPE OF THE WEEK:

Here’s one way to recycle those Thanksgiving leftovers in a way that your family will love. There are lots of ingredients, but the dish goes together easily:

Garden Turkey Casserole:

¼ c canola oil
10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed
8 oz canned mushrooms, pieces & stems (this is generally 2 cans. You can also use fresh mushrooms, sliced – try an egg slicer – if you can manage their price)
2 celery stalks, cut in thin & narrow slices
2 medium carrots, sliced in half, & then cut thinly
½ large or 1 medium onion, chopped
Optional: 1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 c shredded turkey, or chunks of turkey
½ c whole wheat flour
2 eggs, beaten lightly
½ tsp baking POWDER
½ T salt
dash of pepper
3 T dried parsley

Spray a 2-quart casserole dish with cooking spray.

Place oil in a Dutch oven. Add all the vegetables except the mushrooms (that is, add the spinach, celery, carrots, onion, & -- if using – the bell pepper) & sauté for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Remove the Dutch oven from the heat. Add the mushrooms, turkey, flour, eggs, baking powder, salt, pepper& parsley. Stir very well.

Pour & scrape the mixture into the casserole dish. Bake for 25 minutes or until a straw placed in the middle comes out clean (the eggs have set). Do not be concerned if there is still bubbling around the edges.

Let stand for 10 minutes before serving to 5.

Of everyday miracles, buys of the month, helpful hints, & fried rice

2004-11-11T17:34:00.000-08:00

A REFLECTION ON EVERYDAY MIRACLES:

“The Talmud [a set of books commenting on the first 5 books of the Bible, called by Jews the Torah] states that most often the beneficiary of a miracle does not even recognize that he was saved or what it was that saved him. Divine providence is often cloaked in natural phenomena, & the direct hand of G-d is concealed.” (Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski, M.D., in LIVING EACH DAY (Artscroll [Mesorah Publications], 1992), page 51, paperback)

GREAT BUYS OF THE MONTH:

(1) This is the time of year to buy those turkeys. I spent just 49 cents per pound in a “buy one, get one free” promotion.

(2) Salvation Army’s thrift stores in many localities have a half-off sale on or near every major holiday. In today’s Veteran’s Day sale, I purchased for a total of $5.70 the following:

That I had been praying that I would find:

A black-&-white top that can be worn with either casual or dressy outfits, &
A slacks hanger that accommodates 5 pairs.

Additionally, I found & bought things that I enjoy having:

Leo Rosten’s THE JOYS OF YIDDISH,
A tension rod to hang diagonally over the bathtub, to supplement my drying rack when I hand-wash., &
2 sets of binder dividers,

In my experience, no other thrift store has bargains like these from the Salvation Army.

HELPFUL HINTS:

One can freeze anything that needs to be loose – from blueberries to hamburger patties – by placing them on a baking sheet (don’t use a cookie sheet without sides, as the items you desire to freeze will fall right off at your touch.). Once the items are frozen, you can take them off the sheet & wrap them for long-term freezing. (Remember to label what you freeze.)

If you want to light a match, & the striking surface on the box has worn away, you can use an emery board for the purpose of striking the match.

When you iron on a patch or commercial appliqué, place a sheet of aluminum foil (not much larger than the patch) underneath the clothing (with the patch on top of the clothing). The foil will increase the heat, & ensure true adhesion. Then, you can just peel it off from the back of the clothing.

Turn cans upside-down before you open them. The food that was on the bottom (before you turned the can over) will come out easily that way.

A turkey baster reserved for use with plants makes an excellent substitute for a mister. It allows you to moisten the soil around the plant without disturbing it.

RECIPE OF THE WEEK:

Generic Fried Rice:

The day before, prepare 4 cups of RICE (preferably BROWN) & refrigerate it once cooked. On the day upon which you plan to cook the fried rice, break up the clumps of rice with a cooking spoon.

Chop an ONION (1/2 large or 1 medium), Mince 2 cloves of GARLIC, Chop a stalk of CELERY,& Slice an inch of fresh GINGER (or ready 1 tsp of dried ginger).

Chop 1 cup of any MEAT, or shred 1 cup of POULTRY, or cube ½ pound of TOFU.

Chop up to 3 cups of any VEGETABLES (fine to mix them). [For example, in the winter, I’ve used happily everything but the outer leaves of a small cabbage, shredded & 1 carrot, grated. (If you use cabbage, save the outer leaves for stuffed cabbage.)
In the summer, I’ve successfully combined ½ lb of green beans (cut into 2” pieces), corn kernels from 2 ears of corn, & 1 jalapeno pepper (with the seeds & ribs removed)]

Scramble 3 EGGS, hard, & set aside.

Place 2 T of oil (preferably PEANUT OIL) in a Dutch oven. Saute the above onion, garlic, celery, & fresh ginger (if using fresh) till fragrant.

Add ¼ CUP SOY SAUCE & dried ginger (if using dried) to the Dutch oven. Stir. Add the MEAT & the 3 cups of VEGETABLES. Stir. Return the scrambled EGGS to the Dutch oven, then add the rice. Stir & stir again till all is incorporated.

Makes 4 hearty portions as an entrée.

Of prayer to heal the nation, who would buy this?, hints, & a pasta recipe

2004-11-04T13:29:00.000-08:00

AN EPISCOPALIAN PRAYER, NICE FOR AFTER THE ELECTION:

The country needs to heal after the bitterly-contested election. Here is a prayer used in the Episcopal Church that might help:

O L-rd, show Thy mercy upon us;
And grant us Thy salvation.
Endue Thy ministers with righteousness;
And make Thy chosen people joyful.
Give peace, O L-rd, in all the world;
For only in Thee can we live in safety.
L-rd, keep this nation under Thy care;
And guide us in the way of justice & truth.
Let Thy way be known upon earth;
Thy saving health among all nations.
Let not the needy, O L-rd, be forgotten;
Nor the hope of the poor be taken away.
Create in us clean hearts, O G-d;
& sustain us with Thy Holy Spirit.

THIS WEEK’S HINTS:

To save energy, preheat your oven when making baked goods only when you are halfway through with preparing the mix or dough.

If your child is of car seat age, put a plastic dishpan on the carpet in front of his feet. It will pick up all sorts of spills, making “less work for Mommy and Daddy.”

VERY IMPORTANT: New banking regulations regarding your checking account make it possible & highly likely that any company to which you issue a check will debit it from your account as an electronic transfer the moment the company opens your envelope. So, you can no longer count on any time for “float” of your money.

For those who sew on a machine, here are 2 hints:
(a) keep the foot of your machine from wandering by placing it in a plastic bag, closed with a tie & taped in place.
(b) for portable machines, use a rubber mat such as a mouse or even a jar opening doohickey underneath your machine to keep it in place. You may need to use more than one.

Use thimbles on your thumb & forefinger to keep from grating yourself when you’re trying to grate carrots, cheese, or what-have-you.

WHAT YOU DON’T NEED & CAN MAKE YOURSELF IN A CINCH ANYHOW:

Originally priced at $24, on sale for $14.99, are brooches (pins with several stones in them – made with acetate, according to the revealing details) that are attached to satin ribbon in a coordinating color. The catalogue copy is enthusiastic about how you can wear this jewelry with or without the ribbon ….

RECIPE OF THE WEEK:

SPAGHETTI WITH BEANS, PEAS, AND TUNA:

3 cloves of garlic, sliced thinly
1 medium onion, chopped
2 T canola oil
8 oz spaghetti, broken into thirds before cooking
1 can (6 oz) chunk light tuna, NOT drained
2 c peas, frozen & thawed or fresh
1-3/4 c beans from your freezer stock (see the blog dated September 10, 2004) or one 15-oz can of beans (I used red kidney beans)
28 oz crushed tomatoes
1 tsp EACH salt, dried basil, & dried oregano
freshly ground black pepper to taste

(To save on washing, cook the spaghetti in the same Dutch oven that you’ll make the recipe in.) Prepare spaghetti & drain it in a colander. Heat oil in the Dutch oven, add onion & garlic, cover, & lower the flame. Saute. Stir at the 10 minutes mark, then sauté for an additional 10 minutes. Stir. Add tuna, beans, & seasonings. Stir thoroughly & bring to a simmer (you’ll be able to see some bubbles at the sides of the Dutch oven.). Cover, lower heat, & cook for 15 minutes. Stir, & continue cooking for another 15 minutes. During that time, run cold water over the spaghetti in the colander, & use your hand to break up any clumps. Stir into the Dutch oven the peas & spaghetti, & cook on medium until heated through. Serves 4 as an entrée.

Of bedtime prayer, hints, avoiding teapot drips, & a chicken-grapes salad

2004-10-28T15:16:00.000-07:00

Like all other believers, Jews say special prayers in the evening as they contemplate sleep. This is my favorite:

Lay us down to sleep in peace, L-rd, our G-d; raise us awake, our King, to life, & spread over us the tabernacle of Your peace. Set us aright with good counsel from before Your presence, & save us for Your Name’s sake. Shield us, remove from us foe, plague, sword, famine, & woe; & remove spiritual impediments from before us & behind us, & in the shadow of Your wings shelter us – for G-d who protects & rescues us are You. Safeguard our going in & our coming out – for life & peace from now to eternity.

HINTS:

In the blog of October 7, 2004, I told you how I organize my shopping list. I forgot to tell you about the final righthand 2 columns of my table or spreadsheet. I mark how much each item costs singly & then the total cost for the number of the item that I will be purchasing. Sometimes I know the price from a previous shopping trip (& then mark it anew if the price has changed), but if I haven’t purchased the item before, I simply leave an empty space for it.

Simply Green™ is a great product that most of us know about, but did you know that if fabric is mildewed, it will clean off the mildew? Just soak the article in a solution of 1 oz (2 T) of the cleanser to each quart of water for 15 minutes, & then wash normally.

While your ice cube trays are being used for such things as tomato paste & herbs, there’s a better way to make ice itself. Just recycle a plastic or waxed milk carton, clean it, & fill it with water. Then freeze it. When you need it, take the carton outside & bang it on each side & on the end hard, against the sidewalk, & Lo! & behold, you’ll have ample crushed ice. A note to folks who keep kosher; use a Toffuti™ carton & you’ll have parve (neither meat nor milk) ice.

If you wear lipstick, you undoubtedly would love to get the last bits out of the tube so that you can merge them with bits from other tubes, & put the caboodle into one tube. This is how: freeze the lipstick tubes! Then take a small paring knife, insert it into the center of the tube, & the lipstick will come right out! You can melt all of the lipsticks together to get a uniform color.

An emergency measure that you probably haven’t thought of: Besides the 2 weeks’ worth of water & food that you should maintain for each member of your family (& you know to rotate those stocks, so that what’s being stored is always good & fresh), you should always have one clean change of linens, towels, etc. for each bed or bathroom. If this means an extra laundry session, so be it.

USE OF THINGS ON HAND: THE “TEAPOT DRIP CATCHER”:

Something that you never thought you might need, but that is actually a clever idea. At least, it’s clever if you’re like me, & often have to wipe off the counter after pouring tea from a teapot. BUT, since you need to rinse this doohickey out & let it dry between uses, you might want to sew 2 of them. You’ll be saving $4 for each one that you make.

Here’s how: Take your teapot & measure the circumference one inch towards the pot down the stem. Cut elastic to that length MINUS ½”. Find some old towel, washcloth, T-shirt, or any other absorbent material, cut off a 13” long piece of it and finish its edge. Sew that edge to the elastic. You now have a circle. Cut it off at the 2” wide mark (this does not need to be exact), & finish the outer edge. If you want to be fancy, take a coordinating scrap of oilcloth or vinyl (if you have this on hand), & cut a hoop that you can sew on the outside of the 2 inch wide circle. (Or, use a trim from your scrap basket.) If you really want to imitate the kind that is sold, use colors like fruit – the one in the catalogue looks like a lemon.

RECIPE OF THE WEEK: As you may have surmised, I use whatever I have in my pantry to devise the recipes I share with you. Here’s one:

POPPY-SEEDED GRAPES & CHICKEN SALAD:

(A little note about this recipe: Generally, I cannot afford grapes, which at their cheapest cost $0.80 per pound in my neighborhood. But, yesterday, I found 1-1/2 pounds at the day-old counter for just $1 – that’s $0.67 per pound! These were green seedless, but you can use any type of grapes in this recipe. I had developed this recipe when I was at my friend Ruan Frenette’s house, because she had the below ingredients on hand. I was delighted to be able to recreate it in my own home!)

1-1/2 lb grapes, any type, stems & any seeds removed
1 c shredded chicken
2 stalks celery, sliced thinly
½ red onion, chopped OR 4 scallions (green & white parts), finely slivered with kitchen shears
1 T poppy seeds
¼ c mayonaise

So simple! Just stir all together & serve as an entrée to 2. Mmmmh!

Of annunciations, helpful hints, making instead of buying from catalogues, & a custard entree

2004-10-21T13:46:00.000-07:00

AN ECUMENICAL THOUGHT:

This week, Jews read the portion of Genesis that includes the recounting of the annunciation that the matriarch Sarah, at age 90, would become “the mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be of her.” I have always wondered why this story hasn’t done more to improve Judeo-Christian relationships. For Christianity also starts with an annunciation, that of a virgin birth. Birth by parthenogenesis does not to me seem to be particularly much more outside the purview of G-d’s immanence than birth by a woman so very far past menopause ….

HELPFUL HINTS:

You’ll always be able to find the sheets that match a pillowcase if you fold the sheets & insert them into the matching pillowcase. If you have more than one bed in your house, it’s best to purchase linen in a different color for each bed so that you can identify it easily. Also, giving each family member his or her own color for towels helps to keep the laundry load down, as the towel will be more likely to dry between uses, so your family won’t always be raiding the linen closet.

A cancelled credit card for an account that you have CLOSED has its uses. (Note that I am NOT speaking about a reissued credit card, that has your on-going account number on it, for an account that remains open.) You can use it as a dough scraper when baking bread, as a scraper to get bathtub decals up, & for many other purposes where a razor blade would be too sharp.

We who sew on a machine are admonished by “the experts” to insert a new needle whenever we start a new sewing project. This is wasteful, considering that one needle costs a dollar or more. The better procedure is to continue using a needle until it breaks, & then replace it. (The experts do tell you one thing that is completely correct, & that is that you must clean the entire bobbin area, called the race, & get rid of all the thread & lint that has collected there, before you start a new project.)

To find out which gas station in your neighborhood is offering the best price per gallon, click on www.GasPriceWatch.com.

Aha! I didn’t tell you enough. In the September 24th issue of this blog, I told you how to use 2 ice-cube trays taped together to make a medications tray for yourself. I omitted to tell you the best part. Cover the trays with a plastic produce bag & tape it into place. Then, you’ll be able simply to cut away the plastic covering the one cube that has in it the meds for that day & time of day.

USE OF THINGS ON HAND: THE PLASTIC BAGS ANIMAL HOLDER:

This blog has a NEW FEATURE: How can we use things that we have on hand (or can buy very cheaply) to make items similar to those expensive doodads that catalogues sell? This will be a weekly contribution to THE PENNY ORCHID: THRIFT WITH FLAIR.

Take for example those handy-dandy animals stuffed with plastic grocery bags, into which you can insert the bags at the head end, & from which you can remove them at the tail end: Do you have a sewing machine & have you made patterns from newspaper or brown paper bags before? This project will be a cinch, then. Draw an oblong 8” wide by 18” long. Take a drinking glass and use it to round off each inner corner. What animal do you want to make? To copy the commercial ones, you would want to make the belly side of your animal. The animal that you select will probably be determined in large part by the colors you have in your box of scrap fabrics. You will also need contrasting scraps to put on the facial features & the feet. (Pieces of felt are particularly handsome; what’s more, there’s no need to finish the edges of felt.) Before you sew the side seams right sides together (leaving an opening to turn the animal right-side out), you may want to quilt a lining to the outer fabric. Use elastic at the top & bottom, leaving a 3”-round opening at both ends. With a scrap of bias binding, ribbon, or whatever narrow trim you have on hand, fashion a hanging loop at the top back of the animal. That’s that, & you’ve just saved yourself at least $11, not counting the tax, shipping & handling, & any insurance.

RECIPE OF THE WEEK:

FRUITED BROWN RICE WITH SOY MILK CUSTARD:

1 large cooking apple, halved, sliced in 1 direction, turned by ¼ & sliced perpendicular to the initial slices
½ c raisins (break up any clumps)
3 dried apricots (that’s just 1,2,3, for economy), snipped with kitchen shears into small pieces
1 c uncooked brown rice
2 c soymilk
½ tsp salt
1 T honey

In a 3-quart or larger saucepan, place all ingredients. Over high heat, checking frequently, bring to a boil. Cover & reduce heat to low. Simmer for 1 hour. With lid still on, remove from heat & let sit for 10 minutes. Fluff with a cooking fork & serve to 2 appreciative diners as an entrée.

Of a prayer you might like, selecting produce, & a pot pie

2004-10-14T14:09:00.003-07:00

A PRAYER FOR ALL WHO LOVE & FEAR THE ALMIGHTY:

From time to time, I will quote a prayer that I particularly like. I’ll quote from either a Jewish prayerbook or an Episcopal one. Here’s a Jewish prayer:

My G-d, the soul You placed within me is pure. You created it, You fashioned it, You breathed it into me, You safeguard it within me, & eventually You will take it from me, & restore it to me in Time to Come. As long as the soul is within me, I gratefully thank You, O L-rd, my G-d & the G-d of my forefathers & foremothers, Master of all works, L-rd of all souls. Blessed are You, O L-rd, Who restores souls to dead bodies.

HOW TO SELECT THE BEST PRODUCE:

Purchasing a 5 lb or 10 lb sack of potatoes may SEEM like an economy. But, in my experience, many of the potatoes inside will either have ruts or many eyes that have to be cut away, or will be tinged green (which tells you that they have become toxic.) What good is it to have to toss out so much of your “find?” I strongly urge you to select your potatoes individually. In that way, you can be SURE that they are of excellent quality. Indeed, this holds true for all produce that you can find bagged, such as apples, oranges, & grapefruit, as well as onions.

TOFU & CHICKEN COUNTRY PIE:

A reader requested that I develop a “pot pie” recipe. This one combines good-for-you tofu & soymilk with much less fat than any pot pie recipe that I’ve read -- & the fats that it does have – olive & canola oils – have “good profiles.” It also has a plethora of veggies. Instead of a traditional crust, it has a streusel-like topping. What’s more, it’s delicious. There are many steps, but hang in there. Essentially, you are preparing your ingredients before you start – the French call this “mise en place,” then you are making the white sauce, then you combine & place in the casserole dish all the ingredients except those for the streusel & refrigerate the dish. Finally, you make the streusel out of a “pat-in-the-pan oil crust” recipe, sprinkle it over the top of the casserole, & bake. You get 8 portions for all this work, so it’s well worth it.

Utensils needed:

A 9” x 13” pan, preferably Pyrex ™ glass
Cooking spoon & cooking fork
Rubber spatula
Sheet of plastic wrap large enough to cover your casserole
Measuring implements

Ingredients:

For the streusel: I have many recipes but all but one of them call for more oil than I like to use. This one is adapted from the 2002 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS NEW COOK BOOK. By the way, such recipes are called “pat-in-the-pan” because the dough is too brittle to be rolled out.

1-1/4 c all-purpose flour
1 T sugar (this does NOT interfere with the desired savory taste; &, it’s necessary chemically)
¼ tsp salt
¼ c canola oil
3 T soymilk

For the pie:

1 c shredded chicken
anywhere between 10 oz & 1 lb of extra-firm tofu, cut into chunks (the Mori-Nu brand is shelf-stable & has a hecksher [kosher seal of approval].)
6 T olive oil
6 T all-purpose flour
2 c vegetable broth
1 c soymilk
1 lb mixed vegetables, preferably corn, carrots, & peas. These can be either thawed frozen veggies or fresh ones that you prepare (the carrots should be diced.).
1 medium or ½ large onion, chopped
1 baked russet potato, chopped (you can do this with a butter knife, it’s so tender!)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried sage, rubbed in your palm
freshly-ground pepper

Mise-en-place:

Put the salt, herbs, & pepper in a ramekin or very small bowl.
Measure the vegetable broth in a quart measuring cup & add the c of soymilk to it.
Put the olive oil & 6 T of flour in a Dutch oven.
Put the other pie ingredients in a large bowl – DO NOT include the streusel ingredients.
Put the flour, sugar, & salt for the streusel in a medium-sized bowl.
Measure the canola oil in a cup measuring cup, & then add the 3 T of soymilk into that measuring cup.

Prepare the white sauce:

Put on the heat on high until the Dutch oven has warmed up enough that there is a slight aroma from the olive oil & the flour as it is being browned. Reduce heat to medium-low & stir constantly for 2 minutes. Add the liquid from the quart measuring cup, 1 c at a time, stirring occasionally. Add the salt mixture from the ramekin. Bring the heat up to medium & stir occasionally until the mixture reaches the simmering point (so you can see a few bubbles.). Stir occasionally & cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

Prepare the pie ingredients:

Pour the contents of the large bowl (chicken, veggies, tofu) into the casserole dish. Pour the white sauce over. Place in the refrigerator for food-safety’s sake. After 5 minutes, remove the casserole from the fridge & cover it with the plastic wrap (top, clean side down on the casserole dish). Return it to the fridge. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees if using a glass casserole, or 400 degrees if you are using metal.

Prepare the streusel:

Pour the canola oil/soymilk blend into the medium-sized bowl (with the flour, etc.). Using a cooking fork, stir quickly (as though preparing a quick bread). Use your hands to form the dough into a circular loaf shape. Wash your hands.

Take the casserole out of the fridge & remove the plastic wrap (save it, though.). Pick up about ¼ of the streusel dough & rub it between your hands to sprinkle it atop the casserole. Repeat until you have used up the dough. Use a rubber spatula to even out the streusel.

Baking the pie:

Keep it in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes; you want the streusel to be golden-brown. Place the casserole on a rack to cool for 10 minutes. If you are going to serve it now, fine. If you plan to serve it later, move the dish to the fridge WITHOUT THE PLASTIC WRAP COVER (it could melt) for 10 minutes. Remove the casserole from the fridge & cover it with the plastic wrap & with an overlay of aluminum foil (It is not safe to place aluminum foil directly atop food. The aluminum could leach into the food.).

Enjoy!

Of prayer journals, washing produce, baking potatoes, & more

2004-10-07T13:26:00.000-07:00

A PERSONAL PRAYER JOURNAL:

People of all faiths will benefit from being reminded of how the grace of G-d has given us so many blessings. And it is always nice to have a prayerbook that reminds us of whom we want to pray for & what we want to say, as it is overwhelming without one to remember every person we have offered to pray for, every desire we have for our country, our extended families, & our friends. Evangelical Christians have a solution: they keep prayer journals. A journal starts with a list of what they are thankful for. They update this as new blessings occur, & look it over when they are feeling down or on Thanksgiving Day. The other list they keep is one of personal petitions. Again, they keep adding to it, & they look at it every day to be reminded of what to pray for (of course, with many desires, they pray for only a portion on any given day.) When they need to see a miracle, they review this list & see how many prayers G-d has answered. They add to their thanksgiving list those prayers that were answered with blessings. I brought this idea up to an Orthodox Jew in my family, to see what she thought of expressing it to Jews as well as to Christians, and the idea excited her & she felt very favorable towards it.

HOW I WASH VEGETABLES & FRUITS:

You know, I’m sure, that before you cut an avocado, a melon, an orange, or any other fruit or vegetable that you aren’t going to peel (such as is my habit, potatoes), you need to wash it thoroughly to remove both soil & any pesticides that were used in growing it. (If you were not to, you’d be moving pathogens from the peel to the inside when you cut the produce.) This is my method. I fill a dishpan with a tad of dishwashing liquid & lots of warm water. I immerse the produce & swish it around. Then I toss out all the water, & repeat the process twice, but without using any soap the 2nd & 3rd time. Finally, I dry off the produce with a tea towel.

BAKING GREAT POTATOES:

Before I set the oven at 350 or 400 degrees for some other purpose, I begin to prepare baked potatoes. As anyone else would do, I wash them & use a fork to poke them so that they will not burst in the oven. Then I place them ON THE FLOOR of the oven. I bake them for an hour at 400 degrees or 90 minutes at 350 degrees (I may have to keep the oven on after removing the other dish I’ve prepared .) The result? Wonderfully soft inner potatoes with crispy skins. Wow!

A SPECIAL TABLE PLACE-SETTING FOR A SPECIAL PERSON:

Beverly Nye, a homemaker who has written 3 books explaining how members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (pejoratively called “Mormons”) take care of their families, suggests that a special china plate, unique among your possessions, be placed where a particular member of your family will be sitting. Such a person may be having a birthday that day (if you have twins or triplets, you’d better purchase multiple special-china plates!), have done something special that day such as being on the team that won a soccer game, OR have had a particularly bad day & could use some cheering up.

THE MANY USES OF A COMPUTER-GENERATED GROCERY LIST:

Before I go grocery-shopping (which I do on a monthly basis, except for picking up the odd produce – in this way, I avoid going over my budget), I use my computer to come up with a grocery list that I set forth like the example just below. As I shop, I fill in the prices that I don’t know. Then, when I come home, I post the finished list until the next time that I am to prepare a list, so that I can fill in more prices. I also:

(1) Enter the prices into a “price book,” so that I can see how much the various stores are charging, & I note whether the price is a sale price, a loss-leader, or a regular price,
(2) Post a new to-buy list, so that during the ensuing month, I can add items that I want to purchase when I go shopping the next month, &
(3) In the ensuing month, I delete items for the previous month that I have enough of on hand.

Grocery Shopping – Date: October 1, 2004 Store: Big Apple

There follows a table, which I cannot reproduce in this blog. Imagine that each set of entries runs horizontally across a row in the table.

Item
Notes
Amount
Price Each
Total Price

Black beans

2 pounds

Red kidney beans

1 pound

Scallions

Bunch
0.49

Hope that this has proven helpful to you!

RECIPE OF THE WEEK:

Here’s a recipe that will make your family feel cozy & warm as the leaves fall, that’s a good change from saturated fats (& trans-fatty acids) that you don’t want to be feeding them every day:

Yummy Vegetarian Chili

This recipe is loosely based on one from the Physicians’s Committee for Responsible Medicine.

½ c boiling water
½ c textured vegetable protein
2 T canola oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 bell peppers (red if you can afford them – they are more nutritious than the green ones)
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 of your frozen home-cooked-in-the-oven containers of beans (thawed – use 2 types – it’s nice if one type is pinto or kidney beans) – this is 3-1/2 c or 2 cans of beans if you don't have the home-cooked ones on hand.
2 cups frozen corn, thawed
1 can of tomato sauce (15 oz) or 2 c of your home-made tomato sauce
1 tsp chili powder
1 heaping tsp oregano
1 tsp salt
¾ tsp ground cumin
1/8 tsp cayenne

Put the textured vegetable protein in a small bowl & pour the boiling water over it. Let stand while you sauté over medium heat in a Dutch oven (boy! Do I enjoy my Dutch oven!) the onion, peppers, and garlic in the oil till soft, stirring occasionally. Add the remaining ingredients & stir thoroughly. Bring to a boil. Then turn the heat down to low & cover the pot. Cook for 45 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Serve to 4 people with hearty appetites – cornbread is a nice, but not necessary, accompliament. You’ll get kudos.

Of anthropology of religion, bras, ring-around-the-collar, & apples

2004-10-01T16:39:00.000-07:00

You certainly don’t need to be Jewish to read this blog, but you might anyhow appreciate an anthropological view into the religion. Right now observant Jews are celebrating Sukkot, which is both a harvest festival & a commemoration of the wandering in the desert for 40 years. Today, Jews eat (on the first night at least) in three-sided booths covered with a natural material & decorated with a harvest theme. The special foods for the week are stuffed vegetables & streusels. An unusal citrus fruit, the citron, is an important part of the special prayer services for this week.

It’s a lot of fun to read old cookbooks, & you can often find thrifty recipes in them. The one that I have has a special story. It’s the NEW SETTLEMENT COOKBOOK (1954 edition of a book that started its history in 1901). A number of society ladies, mostly German Reform Jews & all living in or near Milwaukee, Wisconsin, were startled by what they saw as being the bad manners of immigrants, including Russian and Polish Jews, & wanted to educate them. So this cookbook includes such details as how to wash dishes in a sanitary manner! Its theme is that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, old-fashioned but still true in my experience.

To save tomato paste or any other liquid leftovers – or herbs that you can cover with ice -- in the freezer, it’s helpful to apportion the substance into small amounts. A tablespoon is ideal. Well, did you know that if you get the kind of ice-cube trays that have 16 cubes (2 rows of 8 cubes), each one, when filled about ¾ full, will contain exactly a tablespoon! (If filled to the brim, each one will contain 4 teaspoons.)

If you’ve had a mastectomy or know someone who did, you probably realize that special bras are both quite limited in styles & cost about twice as much as regular bras. I’d like to direct your attention to great instructions for altering regular bras to accommodate prosthetic pads. They are on pages 107-109 of Karen Morris’s SEWING LINGERIE THAT FITS: STYLISH UNDERWEAR, SLEEPWEAR, AND LOUNGEWEAR FOR EVERYDAY LIVING. If you can’t find it in your local library, just Inter-Library Loan the book.

Speaking of clothing, we’ve all wondered how to get that darned ring-around-the-collar out. It turns out that, for washable clothing, chalk is the answer. Yes, good old white chalk. Just apply it heavily to the ring, wait a few hours, & then launder as usual. Presto, the ring will have disappeared… & the chalk will have dissolved & floated away.

It’s apple season again, & I’d like to share with you some apple tips. First of all, you can soften brown sugar by placing it in a canister with half an apple (it will take a few days to soften.). Secondly, to make apple tea, dry the peel of one apple & pour a cup of boiling water over the pieces that you’ve placed in a mug. Thirdly, you can scoop out the flesh from an apple that has had its top quarter cut off, & use it as the container for a salad (perhaps for the Waldorf salad below). In that case, be sure not to waste what you’ve cut away – use it for applesauce. Finally, if you like to peel & core your apples when you make applesauce, make a juice from everything you’ve cut away (except the stem!). Cover these leavings with water in a saucepan & bring the mixture to boiling. Reduce the heat & cook until soft. Then strain the mixture through a strainer that you’ve lined with cheesecloth or a clean old nylon.

Here’s a recipe using apples:

Deb’s Chicken-Waldorf Salad:

(Traditional Waldorf salads are made with the expensive ingredients of raisins and walnuts. Here is an inexpensive version, suitable for an entrée due to the addition of chicken.)

1 c shredded chicken
1 chopped large apple (I like Pink Lady best; you can also use Fuji – or whatever kind of “eating apple” as opposed to “baking apple” – or your choice of what you have on hand)
2 stalks of celery, cut lengthwise into thirds at the bottom & then sliced thinly
1 medium carrot, cut lengthwise into thirds & then sliced very thinly
¼ c mayonnaise
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
¼ tsp ground allspice OR ¼ tsp ground cardamom

(1) Mix veggies and spices together.
(2) Mix in the chicken.
(3) Add the mayonnaise.
(4) Mix thoroughly.

Of medications, thrifty uses, emergencies, seasonal produce, & barley

2004-09-24T17:02:00.000-07:00

Let’s schmooze together on the cusp of the Day of Atonement, so that, at its close, you will have some good reading to look forward to after you break your fast.

First, let’s talk about taking medications. When you empty a bottle of meds that is cylindrical, save it. You can use it to store bulk-purchased herbs or spices. Just be sure to mark it with a permanent marker, so that oregano doesn’t get confused with a drug.

Speaking of medications, do you have to take them 3 or 4 times a day? Marketed pill holders only give you space for 2 times (AM & PM). To be better off, take 2 plastic ice-cube trays (the kind that give you space for14 ice cubes. Use duct tape to put the 2 together, one on the left and one on the same plane on the right. This is most successful if you avoid putting tape directly inside any cube, but tape the center aisles and all sides.You now have 7 compartments for each of 3 or 4 dosing times a day (for example, upon awakening, at breakfast, at dinner, & at bedtime). Label each cube with a time, e.g., Mon AM.

You ought to put out all your medications into the cube trays just once a week to reduce errors (you’ll still make them sometimes, but SO much less often, & always in the direction of having taken too much medication instead of too little.) I recommend, therefore, that you count out the meds you are taking as you take them, & that you don’t take any meds at all without first having placed them in the appropriate cube for the time of day necessary.

It’s wasteful to use as much of consumer products as the manufacturer suggests, in almost all cases. One can get by with 1/6 of a toothbrush’s being covered by toothpaste, or by orange juice’s being reconstituted with 3-1/2 cans of water. Indeed, one can regularly use just 2 squares of toilet paper. (Furthermore, one can just leave out for guests “real” facial tissues, & use for the family the much cheaper toilet paper – just pull it out from a pretty “boutique”tissue container for the effect.)

Do you know that when you want to wash your hands energetically because you have been in contact with something noxious, or before touching a wound, you should have your hands soapy to the full count of “Yankee Doodle Dandy,” together with its verse, “Father & I went down to camp … And there we saw the men & boys ….”

G-d has a wonderful sense of humor. All of the cheapest produce that He gave us is also chunk-filled with the most nutrients. As we head into the middle of fall, those foods are apples, carrots, onions, squash (some summer left over, some winter coming through), and early cabbage. Buy what is most seasonal as a rule – your pocketbook & your body will both thank you for it. (If you see produce 6 months away from its northern season, that means that it has traveled from across the Equator and is anything BUT fresh.)

To prepare for a night-time emergency, keep your eyeglasses in a holder that you wedge between the bed & the wall so that you’ll be able to grab on to it. If a gas main has been broken, do not use a flashlight or a candle (either of which can spark & cause a fire) – rather, use a light stick which you can find in most hardware stores. Keep a pair of heavy shoes and socks to go with them in your nightstand, bewaring of glass on the floor.

Now that I’ve reached the “foods” portion of this week’s blog, I want to add 2 important qualifications to the slow-cooked beans recipe of last time. First, the amount of salt to use in the boiling water is a scant T. Second, you must keep the beans covered when they are in the oven, lest the water evaporate.

Here’s a good recipe for early fall:

CHICKEN, PEAS, & BARLEY, OH!

As a whole grain that is digested slowly, barley is an often-overlooked fine food to get acquainted with. This recipe may assist you in doing that.

Cook 1 c pearl barley (Rinse 1 c barley. Cook in covered pot on high with 3-3/4 c water for 15 minutes. Lower heat to medium-low. Cook for another hour. Take off from the flame and let it stand 10 minutes. Fluff with cooking fork.). Let it cool, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Place it in a large bowl.

Add:
1-1/2 c frozen (defrosted) or fresh green peas
1 c shredded chicken
2 large or 3 medium scallions, snipped into small pieces (both the white and green parts)
Mix thoroughly.

Add 4 T mayonnaise
+ 1 tsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Mix thoroughly. Serves 6.

(If red onion is cheap, substitute ¼ cup, minced, for the scallions. This makes a more colorful presentation.)

Until next week, Yours in thrift!, Deb

Of ovens and beans and the new year

2004-09-10T14:58:00.001-07:00

May all of you, readers of THE PENNY ORCHID – “Thrift with Flair,” have a happy, sweet, healthy, & prosperous new year. Next week, as you may know, the Jewish new year, Rosh HaShanah, falls. We dip apples in honey towards that sweet new year that we wish each other. We bake our special egg bread, challah, in a circle instead of in the every-week braids because we hope to have an unending cycle of life through our families. The shofar, or ram’s horn, is blown in the synagogue, just as it will be ten days later on the Day of Atonement. It is a clarion call to examine one’s life. There is a custom of going to a lake to cast breadcrumbs into the water, which many people see as symbolic casting off of one’s sins of the past year.

Because of the holiday, there will be no issue of this blog next week.

From the sublime to the greasy cleaning of an oven – what a let-down! But something we must do once a month or so, if only to keep smoke detectors from alarming us. I have a very safe and simple method. First of all, I should advise you on how to keep steel wool pads from rusting & becoming useless. Freeze them! (Leave all of them in the box until you use one, & then freeze it.) As you use it each time, just run hot water over it until it is supple again. Mine last about 2 months before they have become so shrunken from continual scrubbing that I need to exchange for a new one. (Of course, it is necessary to apply dishwashing liquid to the soap pad on each use.) Now, how to clean that oven. First, take out the racks & use the soap pad in the sink on them. If you clean the oven often enough, this is no heavy task. Then, use the soap pad on the oven, one section at a time. In my kitchen, the grease seems to rise to the top of the oven. After scrubbing with the soap pad, take a paper towel, wet, to rinse off the soap & grease. (This is just about the ONLY use I make of paper towels. I launder after using all manner of other cloths, for dusting, wiping of all sorts, & general cleaning. This is both for the environment & for saving money. All that is necessary is to rinse off & air-dry the cloth before laundering it.)

Please be careful if you have recently moved to a formerly-occupied house or apartment, until you have cleaned the oven at least several times, to wear heavy rubber gloves. For all you know, the previous tenant may have used lye (like Easy-Off ™) to clean, terrible ecologically & even worse on your skin.

Another tip about homes that have been or will be occupied by others – you probably don’t want to put adhesive-backed plastic (like ConTact™) directly on the shelves, since it is so hard to get off when you are ready to move. Here’s my way of handling this problem. I cut cardboard to size, & then cover the cardboard. Not only does this solve the afore-mentioned difficulty, but it makes it a cinch to reach the corners of the shelves when you want to clean, as you can just remove the whole contraption. I do this on my counters as well.

I want to share with you the world’s best 3-bean salad recipe, so good that I am giving it to you although it has only a few revisions from a vegan magazine called VEGETARIAN JOURNAL – but I must explain to you first how to bake beans & save BIG-BIGGER-BIGGEST1
You will be baking the beans in a very slow oven, set at 250 degrees. The heat will come from your pouring boiling water over the beans. Use that trusty Dutch oven that I’m always at you to use. You can cook as many beans as you like at one time, but a pound is convenient. By the way, sprinkle the beans with salt before you cover them with the boiling water. Check on the beans about every hour to see if more water (boiling) is needed to top them. It may take 3-5 hours to cook the beans, depending on how old they are and what kind they are. Check their “doneness” by forking out a couple & tasting for toothiness (not too firm). Once they are done, cool them & set them in 1-3/4 cup containers for freezing. One & three-quarters cups is exactly what you’ll find in a can of beans, which you’d pay at least 80 cents for, whereas the beans you bake yourself will cost only pennies for each 1-3/4 cup portion.

Every few weeks, bake another type of beans, so that you’ll always have a nice selection in the freezer.

Now, for that 3-bean salad recipe. In a medium bowl, combine 3 portions of beans (in different colors) with chopped radishes from one bunch, a chopped medium onion (red if you can afford it, because the rest of this recipe is very spicy), a tablespoon of spicy brown mustard, and a quarter cup of dried parsley flakes or ¾ cup of fresh parsley (snipped with kitchen scissors – of course, in this case, the fresh parsley is cheaper than the dried kind, in most areas of the country, in most seasons). Add ¼ cup each of vinegar, preferably wine, & olive oil. This is simply a scrumptious salad. If you serve it with whole-grain bread, you have a complete-protein meal, too!

So, my dear friends in thrift, until we meet again in 2 weeks! Yours, Deb

Of ovens and beans and the new year

2004-09-10T14:58:00.000-07:00

SWEET SEPTEMBER SAVINGS SOLUTIONS

2004-09-02T19:35:00.000-07:00

The children have been back to school for at least a week now, in most cases. September is the most holy month this year, as Rosh HaShanah ("the head of the year' -- that is, New Year's) and Yom Kippur (the day of atonement), not to mention Sukkot (the feast of booths, when families dine al fresco) all fall within September this particular year. (The Jewish, lunar, calendar shifts in reference to the Western, Gregorian calendar.) Why not place in such a propitious month new modes of saving money?

A cutie that I heard the other day:
There are three kinds of people in the world, those who can count and those who can’t. Whoops! I meant four.

I told you how to shred cups of chicken in a prior blog (inaugural, on August 19, 2004), but I omitted to tell you the yield you can expect. If you have roasted a 3-1/2 pound chicken, you should get 5 cups. If you have roasted 3 “quarter-chickens” (3 legs with 3 thighs, weighing in total about 2-1/2 pounds), you should get about 3-1/2 cups. Additionally, I should have told you to place the roasted chicken in the fridge overnight BEFORE starting to shred it, so that you can easily remove the fat.

To get 6 large mugs of tea out of one teabag (such as orange Pekoe, a black tea widely sold under the Lipton ™ name), you’ll need a teapot that will hold 1-1/2 quarts (6 cups). Take the paper off the teabag. Place the bag in the pot, and pour 6 cups of boiling water over it. Shut the teapot firmly. Steep for 5 minutes or to taste. Once you have served the 3 large mugs, & the teapot is empty, boil another 6 cups of water; pour it into the teapot; steep, & serve. (You can try to get another 3 mugs’ use out of the same teabag, but I find that the paper disintegrates by then. Tea bags are ever so much cheaper than loose tea, so that I find them to be worthwhile purchases, even though I also have a teaball for loose tea.)

If you buy a “natural” (no trans-fats) brand of peanut butter like Laura Scudder’s ™, pour off the oil on top into a bottle that you can hold the peanut oil in for Asian cooking. Use a funnel. (If you actually purchase peanut oil because you often cook Thai or other Asian food, just top off its bottle with the extra.)

A clean pipecleaner is just the ticket for cleaning: (1) between keys on a computer or typewriter keyboard, or (2) the area around the bobbin of a sewing machine, which is called the “race.”

You can do 2 cleaning jobs at once, by using your broom to scrub out your bathtub. (Use a scouring powder.-- Baking soda or Barkeeper’s Friend ™ are gentle.)

You can still enjoy pierced earrings when you have lost 1 of the pair – just turn the 1 that remains into a thumbtack.

Lotion manufacturers seem to make their bottles hard to squeeze on purpose, to make consumers buy more quickly. Here are 2 hints. First, use both hands to apply the lotion exactly where you want it, for example, on your leg. Secondly, when that no longer works, take a utility knife and cut away the top portion of the bottle. Wrap the bottle in a plastic bag to prevent having the lotion’s drying out, & scoop your fingers inside to get some lotion out.

You will find keeping one serratesd knife, measuring between 8 inches and a foot long including the handle, as a quite handy crafts knife.. Make a sheath for it out of cardboard, & keep it out of reach of your children.

Here's a new recipe for all you hungry readers. It's filling, cheap, & delicious, ready for early fall. What more could you desire to feed your hungry family?

Terrine of Eggplant with Spaghetti & Chicken:

1 large eggplant, about 2-1/2 lbs., chopped into 1” cubes. (Only cut away the brown stem portion. Keep the skin on; all the good phytochemicals are demonstrated by that bright purple exterior.)

8 oz spaghetti, broken into thirds & placed in a small bowl
2 eggs, beaten
6 oz can tomato paste
6 oz water
½ large or 1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 c chicken, shredded
¼ tsp freshly ground pepper

1 tsp EACH of the following: salt, chervil (or parsley for a more robust taste), basil, oregano, & sage (1 tsp assumes dried herbs, which you should crush before using. You’d need 1 T for fresh herbs.)

You’ll need a Dutch oven – a 4 qt or larger pot that can go from stovetop to oven.

Bring 3 qts of water to a rolling boil in the Dutch oven – by covering the Dutch oven, you’ll save energy. When water is boiling rapidly, uncover, put in the spaghetti, & stir. Then put in the eggplant & stir thoroughly (the eggplant will cook down substantially). Cook for 9 minutes & drain in a colander.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Add all the other ingredients (except the eggplant & spaghetti). Mix thoroughly. Pour the eggplant & spaghetti back into the Dutch oven. Pour the other ingredients over the eggplant & spaghetti. Mix thoroughly (this could take 3-5 minutes.).

Bake about 20 minutes, uncovered, or until a skewer set in the middle of the casserole comes out clean.

When you store the leftovers – the recipe makes 5 hearty servings – be sure not to use plastic containers, as tomato stains plastic.

Until next week, Yours in thrift, Deb

Copyright Notice -- The Penny Orchid -- "Thrift with Flair"

2004-08-28T11:03:00.000-07:00

All materials not otherwise designated are Copyright 2004 Deborah Michelle Sanders, whether they precede or follow this notice. Linking and reproduction allowed only with the consent by email of the author. The address is deborahmichelle@earthlink.net . Thank you!

Deal of the Month; Common Cents; Something from Almost Nothing

2004-08-26T18:19:00.000-07:00

DEAL OF THE MONTH: The finest loss-leaders in the San Francisco Bay Area are generally found at the drugstore chain, Rite-Aid. Groceries of all types are routinely (on a rotating schedule) sold at half-price. Today, "Berry Burst Cheerios" were on sale for 2 for $5. Typically, the only kind of cold cereal I would buy is Nutty Nuggets/Grape Nuts, which give best nutritional value (barley plus whole wheat) by weight. Surely, I would not buy cereal that includes the fruit that I can much more cheaply add to the breakfast. HOWEVER, lo! and behold! each box bears a coupon, "Free One Quart Any Flavor 8th Continent Soymilk OR Save $2.75 when you buy One Half Gallon." By taking these 2 coupons to my market that doubles coupons (up to $1, giving me $3.75 off the cost of each half-gallon), I will get essentially a gallon of the product for free. (Also, I must admit that the Berry Burst Cheerios do indeed taste great.)

COMMON CENTS: This is all about that chore that all of us have to go through who have to wash some clothing by hand. It covers (1) preparing liquid soap for a fraction of the cost of the manufactured type, (2) how to agitate the clothing to get it really clean, & (3) how much rinsing is needed. I assume that you have some kind of clothes line or drying rack.

To prepare liquid soap for a song, you need to dry out all the slivers of soap that your household provides. I keep a small plate on a bathroom shelf to hold the slivers. Once thoroughly dry, I move them to a bag. (Large slabs of soap don't seem worth grating. Rather, I let them dry out on the plate and then swop one for the gooey soap in the soap dish.) When I need more liquid soap, I grate a few ounces of the thoroughly dry soap. I measure it, add 3 times the amount of water as of soap to the mix, & blend the combo in the blender. Then I pour it into an old detergent bottle. I ensure that the bottle is not more than 3/4 full. Every time I want to use the liquid soap, I fill the bottle to the top with water, & shake thoroughly. Then I pour into the basin that I intend to wash the clothes in all of the water from the bottle plus some 5-6 globs of slurry (something between a liquid and a solid). I add a little hot water, & with my hand, homogenize the solution. I put lukewarm water in the basin & add the clothes to be washed. I set a timer for 15 minutes (you'll be hearing all about the wonders of timers in future issues.). At the end of that time, I'm ready to agitate the clothes.

I use a "sink plunger" or "sink plumber's helper," obviously scrupulously clean & reserved for the purpose of washing clothes, as an agitator. Ask in the hardware store for a sink plunger; it is about one-half the size of a toilet plunger. (It is important to keep this sink plunger wrapped & sitting far away from the toilet plunger, to avoid pathos.) I plunge 20-30 times, depending how many clothes are in the basin.

Then, I spill out the water from the basin, & pour in cold water. So little actual soap has permeated the clothing that (with the exception of wool), it is not necessary to rinse each item individually. I wring the clothing gently and then set it out to dry.

SOMETHING FROM ALMOST NOTHING:

Here is a “Dijon” (with broccoli) dish for all of you baked macaroni-&-cheese fans out there. I prepare it with mild Cheddar cheese (as being the least expensive Cheddar), but you can use a sharper Cheddar, or, on the other end of the price range, American cheese.

MACARONI AND CHEESE DIJON:

1 lb broccoli (this is generally ½ of a bunch) – pare away any black spots, & slice stems thinly; prepare small florets
½ lb of cheese, grated (this is 2 cups of grated cheese – be sure to grate it yourself for big savings!)
8 oz elbow macaroni
1 medium onion or ½ large onion, minced (you can save ½ of a large onion, cut into big pieces, in a canning jar in the produce bin)
½ c bread crumbs (pull a slice of fresh bread [including the crust] into pieces, & whirl in a blender)
4 T canola oil, divided in half (2 T each)
2 T all-purpose flour
1 c soymilk or dairy milk

You’ll need a Dutch oven for this dish. This is a 4-quart or larger pot that can go from stovetop to oven ware. You’ll also need a small skillet (to sauté the bread crumbs in).

Saute the bread crumbs in 2 T of oil in the small skillet.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare boiling water (rapid) in the Dutch oven.

Place the broccoli and the macaroni together in the Dutch oven. Cook according to macaroni package directions. When ready, drain the macaroni/broccoli combo in a colander.

Place in the Dutch oven the other 2 T of oil, together with the flour. Stir constantly while flour browns. Gradually stir in the milk. Add cheese gradually, continuing to stir.

Place crumbs atop.

Bake for 15 minutes, or until top of casserole is lightly browned.

Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. Makes 5 servings..

Yours in thrift, Deb

Deb introduces your best guide to thrift

2004-08-19T20:37:00.000-07:00

Hi! The old print version of THE PENNY ORCHID -- "Thrift with Flair" is now available as a blog. (Its ISSN is 1522-9831, and its registered trademark, which includes a logo, will run through 2009 without further application.) You will find here, once a week, a recipe ("Something From Almost Nothing") that uses seasonal produce for rock-bottom priced-meals. You will also find a short essay, which could be on "Health Is Wealth," "Well Worth It (a review of a book or product)," "Common Cents (general ideas on thrift," or "Pro Bono (the law & you. Deb is an inactive attorney.)" You will find THE PENNY ORCHID to be published most Thursdays, except in the case of Thanksgiving or another secular or a Jewish holiday.

Here's your first "Something From Almost Nothing," & it's luscious.

Chicken and Tomato Saute with Potato

2 T canola oil

1/2 pound baked potato, sliced thickly

1/2 large or 1 medium onion, chopped

3 medium tomatoes, cut in half and sliced (use the juice, too)

1 c shredded chicken

heaping 1/2 tsp sage

1 scant tsp salt

freshly-ground black pepper

Place all in a large skillet. Mix thoroughly. Cook 8 minutes over high heat, covered. Then reduce heat to low, & cook for another 15 minutes. Serves 3 as an entree.

COPYRIGHT Deborah Michelle Sanders 2004
COMMON CENTS: Sorting Your Chicken Into One-Cup Portions for Freezing:
You can either roast or poach your chicken. By poaching, you are making chicken soup in the first place. The chicken will be moister, but less flavorsome. I prefer roasting chicken, & then making soup with the frames of a couple or three roasted chickens. In either event, set aside some time once the chicken has cooled (in the fridge -- you don't want to inoculate a bacteria culture!) to pull the chicken off the bones & apportion it out. Place 2 plastic bags at one side of your work, to stick your hands into should a child or the telephone need your attention. Use the biggest bowl that you have to place the chicken into. Take another large bowl and throw chicken fat and bones into it -- grist for that soup if you have roasted the chicken. Shred the chicken in the large bowl as you work. It is fine to take breaks from this work -- it is repetitive stress motion and can be injurious. Take a 2-cup glass measure and fill it to the 1-cup line. Each time that you have filled a cup, pour the chicken into a freezer container. I like the plastic cubes that cost $2 for five cubes and hold 2 cups each. They are much less trouble to keep clean than washing & drying plastic bags. (But some people prefer the latter since with the air siphoned out -- use a straw at one edge -- they take up less room in the freezer.) Every time you have filled 3 containers, put them in the fridge for food safety. When you are all done, count the number of packages & prepare labels ("chicken, 1 cup, [date]."
All of my recipes that include chicken call for 1 cup of shredded chicken so you will find plenty of uses for these portions.
COPYRIGHT Deborah Michelle Sanders 2004
A SPECIAL "HEALTH IS WEALTH" NOTICE:
The British Broadcasting Company recently published a surprising finding. It is NOT good or safe to rinse poultry before cooking it. Germs are killed in the process of cooking. But, if you wash the chicken before putting it in the pot, you are spraying pathogens all over your sink.
It's important, of course, to carefully wash any cutting board and knife or scissors that you have used to prepare the poultry.
All of this is true when you prepare any form of meat.
This information came from the British Food and Drink Federation and the British Food Standards Agency.
COPYRIGHT Deborah Michelle Sanders 2004
Yours in thrift, until next time, Deb