Posted on 03/23/2008 11:36:40 PM PDT by nw_arizona_granny
Americans finding soaring food prices hard to stomach can battle back by growing their own food. [Click image for a larger version] Dean Fosdick Dean Fosdick
Home vegetable gardens appear to be booming as a result of the twin movements to eat local and pinch pennies.
At the Southeastern Flower Show in Atlanta this winter, D. Landreth Seed Co. of New Freedom, Pa., sold three to four times more seed packets than last year, says Barb Melera, president. "This is the first time I've ever heard people say, 'I can grow this more cheaply than I can buy it in the supermarket.' That's a 180-degree turn from the norm."
Roger Doiron, a gardener and fresh-food advocate from Scarborough, Maine, said he turned $85 worth of seeds into more than six months of vegetables for his family of five.
A year later, he says, the family still had "several quarts of tomato sauce, bags of mixed vegetables and ice-cube trays of pesto in the freezer; 20 heads of garlic, a five-gallon crock of sauerkraut, more homegrown hot-pepper sauce than one family could comfortably eat in a year and three sorts of squash, which we make into soups, stews and bread."
[snipped]
She compares the current period of market uncertainty with that of the early- to mid-20th century when the concept of victory gardens became popular.
"A lot of companies during the world wars and the Great Depression era encouraged vegetable gardening as a way of addressing layoffs, reduced wages and such," she says. "Some companies, like U.S. Steel, made gardens available at the workplace. Railroads provided easements they'd rent to employees and others for gardening."
(Excerpt) Read more at dallasnews.com ...
http://bean-sprouts.blogspot.com/search/label/preserving
Sloe Gin
At the bottom of the freezer we found a bag of sloes and a bag of blackberries we picked last year. So we defrosted them and popped them in clean bottles, until the bottles were about 1/3 full. Then we covered them in sugar until the bottles were 2/3 full. Then we labelled them.
I’ve put them by the kettle so every time anyone makes a pot of tea they can give the bottles a shake over the next few weeks. The flavours from the berries will infuse into the sugar and result in a thick syrup which can be blended with cheap gin or vodka (the berries can be discarded - or made into fruitcake). After a few months the liqueur will be ready, but it will be even smoother if you can wait another year.
Posted by Melanie Rimmer
A fun page, several good ideas and the Briqx maker is so simple that you will wish you had invented it.
granny
Recycled Briquettes
Steph making a briquetteI’ve been playing with the briquette maker Santa brought me for Christmas. We’ve made several briquettes, and some of them are now dry enough to burn on the fire. We tried one last night and it burned for well over an hour, just as the packaging claimed. I was surprised because I had been rather cynical about the claim. But the proof of the pudding and all that, so I can definitely say they do exactly what it says on the tin. Useful home heating fuel from waste paper and cardboard. Thanks, Santa.
Posted by Melanie Rimmer
http://bean-sprouts.blogspot.com/search/label/recycling
Recycled Bird Feeder
A friend of mine from a Usenet group, Ivan Reid, invented a quick and easy recycled bird feeder using a Pringles tin and a sardine can. There are instructions of how to make it on his webpage.
He says the design has been slightly refined over the years:
You might want to note that it finally succumbed to the elements after about 2-1/2 years. Also it’s very windy in my backyard and I kept losing the cap off the top, so I cut the top off a 1-1/2 litre mineral-water bottle just below the neck and slipped that over the top to keep the rain out.
I like it a lot. Of course, it’s not exactly a thing of beauty. But I don’t put out birdfeeders to adorn the garden. I put them out to attract the birds, which are more beautiful than any garden ornament.
Posted by Melanie Rimmer
The inventor of the feeder..........lots of photos on how to.
http://people.brunel.ac.uk/~eesridr/feeder.html
I am still laughing on this site, you will want to see the photos...
granny
http://bean-sprouts.blogspot.com/search/label/baking
Loaf Baked in Cloche
Here’s today’s sourdough loaf baked in my poor-man’s cloche. I’m going to say no more. The picture says it all.
Posted by Melanie Rimmer at 11:58 AM 5 comments Links to this post
Labels: baking, cultures, self sufficiency
Poor Man’s Cloche
I’m becoming obsessed with baking sourdough bread. I’ve been avidly reading all the information and tips I can find on the internet. One tip which really appealled to me is baking under a cloche.
You can buy a baking cloche for about $50. I can’t find a UK supplier, so if I wanted one I’d have to pay international shipping. I imagine it would work out pretty expensive.
Or you can go to your garden centre, buy a 10” plant pot and base, a big nut, a few bolts and washers, and make your own “poor man’s cloche”. Mine came to less than £10 all told, especially since I got a 10% discount for showing my allotment membership card. The arrangement with the bolt and washers has two purposes - one is to make a sort of handle, helpful for handling oven-hot earthenware. The other purpose is to close the hole at the bottom (top) of the pot, to create a sealed environment. It becomes an oven-within-an-oven (although it can also be used for baking bread on an open fire or barbecue - can’t wait to try that).
I gave my poor man’s cloche a bit of a clean and then put it in a low oven. I turned the oven up little by little to gradually drive out any residual moisture from the pot. This process took about 3 hours. Then I let it cool slowly, and it was ready for its first use. I’ll bake my sourdough boule in it today. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Posted by Melanie Rimmer at
http://www.selfsufficientish.com/marrowine.htm
Marrow Wine - By Jackie Holt
Ingredients
* 5 Ib. ripe marrow (you can add other bits of fruit to this as well if you have not quite got enough marrow)
* Rind and juice of 2 large lemons and an orange or 1/2 OZ. citric acid
* 6 oz. chopped raisins 1 oz. ginger
* 2 1/2 Ib. of sugar
* 1 gallon water
* Nutrient
* Sauterne yeast
Method/Procedure
Choose a good specimen of a marrow, wipe off any surplus dirt and chop coarsely into the bucket, include the seeds (unbroken), the skin of the marrow and the fruit rinds together with the crushed ginger and the chopped raisins.
Pour on boiling water, stir thoroughly and when cool add the fruit juice, nutrient and yeast. Ferment on the pulp for four days, pressing down the cap twice daily, and then strain; stir in the sugar and continue the fermentation.
Click above logo for home page, or why not visit our forum?
Many Thanks to Jackie Holt for sending in this Recipe. If you liked this, we also have a Ciderish and a Nettle Beer recipe. Jackie has also written us two more wine recepies, a fruit one and her favorite a simple grape wine recipe.
http://www.selfsufficientish.com/seeds.htm
Making Seed Raising Mixture at Home by Nev Sweeney
Editors Note - In England we might also call this potting compost! Nev has also found a substitute to peat that can be used! I recommend using this mixture in conjunction with biodegradable newspaper pots.
Ingredients, compost, peat moss, sand,Vermiculite or Perlite, warning
Nev holing a tray of seedling mixFor most of the past 20 years I have grown veggies in the back yard, and for most of that time I have bought seedlings of various types. This has left me with a world class collection of empty punnets and labels, but has no doubt over the years cost me a considerable amount of cash. Punnets of veggie seedlings now cost over $3 (Aud) each(£1.25 or $2.30 USD). There is also a point of ethics here, when one is striving for a measure of self sufficiency to go and buy seedlings seems to be working counter to the cause!
I therefore thought that this year I would not only raise my own seedlings (as I had dabbled with in previous years) but I would also make my own seed raising mixture from scratch, which was something new. I dragged out my old Farm Technology textbooks on plant propagation and did a bit of searching on the net. I wanted a seed raising mixture based on easily available and (at least partially) on home produced materials.
The Ingredients
Compost
After several reasonably successful goes at compost making I found that I had a good supply of this raw material - it smelled like rich soil but looked like a dark gluggy mass, obviously there was some treatment required here. Once I had dug it out and let it dry a bit, I passed it through a good old-fashioned garden sieve. This broke it up and turned it into friable, loose material that was easily mixed with other ingredients. The compost helps to retain moisture and provides nutrients.
more about compost....
Peat moss
Peat moss is a classic component of seed raising mixtures but digging up peat is not the best from an ecological point of view and due to its acid nature, requires lime to be added to the seed raising mix. So while on the look out for a substitute I found a compressed block of coconut fibre which when soaked in water gave up to 9 litres(16 pints)of peat like material. It was also non-acid and recycled a material which may otherwise be dumped, although it is imported. I have seen it sold as “Fast Peat” or horticultural coir. It is also gluggy when reconstituted but when passed through the sieve it becomes friable and easily mixed with the remainder of the ingredients. The coir keeps the mixture moist by retaining moisture.
Sand
adding the sandThe sand (according to the experts) should be coarse so that it does not crust over, keeping an open structure and it should be river rather than beach sand, which is contaminated with salt. If you have this available on your property good for you, but I had to buy my sand at $5(AUD) a bag(£2/$3.80usd) from our local produce merchant. The sand keeps the structure open and free draining and prevents the rest of the ingredients clagging together (a technical term).
Vermiculite or Perlite
adding perlite to the mixThese are two more expensive components that are expanded mica and volcanic rock respectively. They both assist in keeping the mixture aerated while retaining moisture. Neither are home producible but I have found that a better germination rate is obtained with perlite at least.
So now having found, manufactured, mined or bought your raw materials, it is time to mix them. Just before we get to that I want to let you know about one of the most mind bogglingly useful pieces of apparatus that I have ever found - the pet litter tray. These are a decent sized plastic tray that retails in the El Cheapo type merchandise shops for around $2 (83p or $1.50usd) , and they are Australian made! So far I have used them for:
* Holding the compost while it dries out
* Mixing the seed raising mixture in
* A work platform while filling punnets with the seed raising mix
* Setting up as a capillary bed (more later)
* Washing second hand punnets in disinfectant before re-use
* And if all else fails you can let your cat crap in them!
I have half a dozen of them in various colours and find a new use for them almost everyday.
mixing up the seed rasing mixtureSo now to mixing up your seed raising mix - I tried a number of different combinations but the one that seems to work best for me, time after time, for both flowers and veggies is as follows;
2 parts by volume Compost,
2 parts by volume horticultural coir,
1 part by volume sharp sand,
1 part by volume perlite
I use a round, approximately 500ml(1 pint) Chinese food container as the measure and the above mix makes enough so that it is still comfortably able to be mixed in my mixing tray and fills approximately 10 standard punnets. I just mix it through with my hands until it is homogenous, which takes about 5 minutes, and it is ready for use.
A Quiet Warning
I don’t know the technicalities, but some people have gotten sick with Legionella infections after working with commercial potting mixes, when they inhaled the dust. If you keep all your raw materials moist that should keep the dust down, but if you are still concerned it might be worth purchasing an Australian Standards approved dust mask to wear while doing this work.
You can now store your seed raising mix in a closed container (to keep it moist) or use it to fill your punnets or flats and plant your seeds into them. But if, like me, your punnets are all second hand, you should wash them out in a mild disinfectant solution like Dettol ® so that you do not transfer any bugs or greeblies (another technical term) between batches of seedlings.
Once I have planted my seeds into the punnets, I make a capillary bed by half filling one of my all-purpose cat litter trays with the coarse sand. The sand is then soaked with water until there is a small amount that remains on the surface of the sand. The punnets can be now placed on the wet sand and the moisture is drawn up into the punnets by capillary action, if the seed raising mix is moist to begin with. From this point on you can water into the sand, which prevents the seeds from being washed out by the force of the water and the sand acts as a store of moisture to keep the punnets moist on even very hot days.
I have used this approach for over three years now and last autumn I raised a decent size batch of edible flowers ( marigolds, carnations, poppies, dianthus etc) and, with the exception of chillies, (I think that it was a dud batch of seed or maybe a bit too old) I did not buy any seedlings for my veggy patch this Spring. As I write this there are more seeds germinating in the hot house to replace the ones growing in the patch as they go past their prime (tomatoes or cucumber) or are eaten (lettuce, Brassicas etc.). It was very rewarding from the financial view point but also because of the level of satisfaction gained from being that teeny bit more self sufficient, so try it yourself - it’s worth the effort.
All pictures and articles © Nev Sweeney 2004
Excellent collection of organic gardening and other related articles and recipes, plus links:
http://www.selfsufficientish.com/
Part one of two of an exceptional article on Chili Peppers:
http://www.selfsufficientish.com/chilipepper.htm
http://splendidtable.publicradio.org/recipes/accompaniments_fiveminute.shtml
http://www.creativefrugality.com/
http://www.countingthecost.com/cf/cf71.htm
Creatively Frugal Treatments for Winter Dryness
What are your favorite low-cost treatments for dry skin, hair, nails, lips — any part of your body that gets dry and chapped during cold weather?
“Olive oil — no doubt. I’ve tried lots of items — some expensive, but none beat olive oil. It can be used as a hot oil treatment for hair, a drop rubbed vigorously in your hands and then massaged in makes even middle aged skin renewed (and not a bit oily!). And for ashy skin, it’s a dream. Low cost, given by God and used for ages. Now if someone can just give me some hints to add some low-cost, natural fragrance to it, I’d be set for life. Til then, I’ll just keep using it plain.” ~ Donna
“When I’m washing dishes, I fill the sink with the absolute hottest tap water. Then I slather my hands with a really thick, sticky hand cream, any cheap brand will do, or even a thin coat of Vaseline, and then put on rubber gloves. It’s like getting a hand treatment. The heat feels good and helps the skin open up and absorb the cream. My hands are so soft and warm when I’m done. It’s like getting a treat for washing the dishes!” ~ Catherine
“I have a friend whose father is a dermatologist in Jackson, TN. When I asked Dr. Dad for some free advice about dry cracked heels, he told me that even though this might sound gross, he recommended using CRISCO vegetable shortening. He said to rub some shortening all over your feet, put on COTTON socks and go to bed. IT WORKS and it’s much less expensive than a prescription or an over-the-counter product.” ~ Robbie
“Dr. Bronner’s soap...it’s supposed to be all natural & economical to use.” ~ Melissa
“I massage Bag Balm into my feet and toenails each night and then put on a pair of heavy old socks and go to bed. The moisture, warmth and Bag Balm work together to soften my feet. Then, I use Epsom salt mixed with baby oil and scrub my feet the next morning to remove old, dead skin. I then apply a fresh coat of nail polish.” ~ Suzie
“Baby lotion! Really cheap, the cheapest sort you can find, and use it every day. I have skin that dries up dreadfully during the winter unless I use baby lotion. For very dry skin patches on my feet I use zinc and castor oil cream. Don’t know if you can get that in the US. It’s quite messy, but put old socks on and it works wonders overnight.” ~ Cate
“After your shower, before you step out to dry off, rub yourself down with a bit of baby oil. It seals in the moisture and prevents flaky skin.” ~ Sharon
http://www.countingthecost.com/cf/cf121.htm
Creatively Frugal Insect Control
What tried-and-true strategies do you use to ward off mosquitoes, ants, flies, aphids, and all the other bugs that could put a damper on your familys summer fun?
“This will not kill the bugs but the bites seem to come to an end. I asked two of the grandmothers of my next door neighbors how they handled bugs before the advent of sprays, etc. These women were raised in the deep south at the turn of the century. Both told me that they would take a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar (the real stuff not just flavored vinegar) every day from the day the first daffodils were seen coming up until the first frost. Their mothers made everyone in the family do it. They said they rarely had a mosquito problem and they never had ticks on them.
I tried it and I had almost no bites from mosquitoes, flies, gnats. I did not use any chemical sprays and still I was rarely bitten.
In addition I am highly allergic to poison ivy, oak and sumac. Although I came in contact with all three I only developed a very small rash on my arm and I did not need the usual prescription of steroids and cream.
I take the vinegar by mixing the tablespoon of vinegar with about 6ozs. of ice cold water. After the first week I hardly noticed the vinegar.” ~ Linda
“Having a small farm with horses, dogs, ducks, cats and other critters, our back porch can become a haven for flies and the biting black flies at that! On one of our Sunday drives thru the country years ago, we stopped at an old time country store. Upon entering, the first thing you see is a plastic Ziploc bag tied to the roof rafter by a string. My curiosity got the best of me, and I just had to ask. A simple bag of water, sealed, with a small hole punched at the top, tied to a roof rafter, beam, porch rail, etc. is a natural FLY DETERRENT. No chemicals, no additives, no bug poison. Nothing but plain water in a clear bag! The flies shed away from the horses as they enter the barn or the arena! The flies dont migrate to the patio. The flies are absent from everyones food bowls and watering troughs! Now, if I could just find a designer way of hanging them!” ~ Denise
“We recently had a problem with bumblebees living in the ground under our deck. Being the humane type, I was fully willing to just live and let live, until one of them stung my 3-year-old on his nose, right between his eyes. After doing a little Internet research, I tried mixing 1 part laundry detergent to 3 parts water, and dumping it down their nest entrance. The sentries survived, and I still saw a few errants flying around. So very early the next morning I attacked the area with a garden rake, then reapplied the detergent solution (I probably used a gallon all told). We have since been bee-free. According to the Internet, this is the same procedure you would use for yellow jackets, wasps, etc.” ~ Emily in Ohio
“I can only respond to the part about aphids and the ants. For inexpensive, natural bug repellents, I buy ladybugs from a catalog for the aphids. Ladybugs are nice to have around, they eat aphids, and they are harmless otherwise. They do not cost much, I bought some recently that were about $10 for enough to cover 1500 sq. ft.
For ants putting cayenne pepper at the entrance to the dwelling can sometimes be effective.” ~ Melissa
“We usually use ‘After-Bite’ if a mosquito has gotten to us before we use repellent. One day I discovered that we were out of the product and so I used regular household ammonia instead. It worked beautifully! I bought more After-Bite but I will continue to refill the container with regular ammonia instead of buying more.” ~ Christine
“Here are some tips for dealing with bugs:
Ants outside - surround their area with grits. The workers carry the grit piece to the queen to eat. When she drinks water, the grit expands killing her. The rest can’t live without her and die too.
Slugs and earwigs - Place a shallow dish of old beer where you see bugs. They’ll be attracted to the yeasty smell, drop into the beer and die happy.
Aphids and other bugs that crawl on garden plants can be kept to a minimum by spraying plants with plain water mixed with dish soap. Just wash off any produce you pick for eating.
The best thing about these methods is that they are all chemical-free!” ~ Jill
“I received a recipe for an ant bait that is safe and easy. You take equal parts Borax (the kind you get in the laundry area) and a grain like cream of wheat, malt o meal, or cornmeal, mix it together and sprinkle the mixture on the ant hills in your yard. The ants come to eat the grain and get the borax. They take it in their hill and the borax kills the ants. You can buy ant baits with borax in them for much more at the grocery store or in the hardware store. This is also much safer to have around for little kids and pets than the chemical baits.” ~ Shari
Editor’s Note: Thanks to this reader for taking time to share her ideas!
http://www.countingthecost.com/cf/cf6.htm
Creatively Frugal Cooking
Creative frugality is making dinner with what you have on hand rather than what the recipe calls for and ending up with a tastier dish than if youd followed the recipe.
Here are some of the ways our readers put this one into practice:
“My husband and I take baked canned biscuits, add ham and cheese, and we make a little supper out of them. Great for the budget and they are great little sandwiches.” ~ Deborah
“Whenever I have leftover potatoes, especially scalloped potatoes, I mash them up and make yummy potato soup. Even the smallest bits of leftovers can make a whole new meal.” ~ Lisa
“OK, here’s another tip I’ve used! One day, my son called me in the car on the way home from work. He asked if his friend could have dinner with us and spend the night. It was a Friday and I only had a few leftovers in the fridge. I had leftover salad, Italian bread, some broccoli and two chicken breasts. I had one package of bowtie pasta and two cans of cream of chicken soup in the pantry. My recipe light bulb came on and on the way home in the car, I recited out loud these ingredients and created a feast for us for that night. There wasn’t a crumb left over. This is how Chicken Bowtie Pasta Casserole was created! Sometimes leftovers create wonderful meals! (PS Any veggie can be used in place of broccoli.)” ~ Jacqueline
“My husband and I were married in July 2001, and we still had one month left on our leases before we were to move in August. We were changing towns and jobs, so of course things were tight and we wanted to use up what food we had so that we would not waste what could not survive the move. Towards the end of that month I had to get very creative! I took the leftover frozen veggies, a can of cream of broccoli soup, and 1/2 a package of shredded cheese and mixed it all up. I then chopped up some leftover tofu and put that in the mix (my husband and I are vegetarians). I added some seasoning (salt, pepper, garlic, oregano, rosemary) and put the mixture in a casserole dish. I then used up the rest of our pancake mix and added some seasonings to it, and spread it on top for a crust and put the whole batch in the oven until the top was browned. It was the most delicious vegetable potpie I’ve ever tasted, and even now I make it for dinner!” ~ Stephanie
“I keep a very large selection of herbs and spices in my pantry. I do not buy them from the grocery store. I pick them up at chain pharmacies and discount stores. I review ethnic cookbooks from the library, and glean seasoning tips from the recipes. Often times, a little leftover meat and a little leftover vegetables with the proper spice can be fantastic!” ~ Laurie
“There is a good book called CookMiser by R. J. Lavigne. His book is based on cooking from scratch. He provides a basic shopping list which will make a significant portion of what is in his book, as well as an expanded shopping list. He includes various recipes as well as how to make different variations of that recipe. For example, if you were making a casserole, he provides the proportions of things to include rather than specifically state what it is. It might say 1 cup meat/protein, 2 cups vegetables, 1/2 cup sauce. This way you can adapt a recipe to use what is already in your fridge. The topics cover a wide spectrum from basic breads, dressings, yogurts to casseroles, chicken dishes and snacks such as granola bars with chocolate dip.” ~ Gaye
http://www.countingthecost.com/cf/cf1.htm
Making Something out of Nothing
“Creative frugality is making something out of little bits of nothing that the average person would have overlooked or just thrown away.”
Here are some of the ways our readers put this one into practice:
“I adore patchwork and have a box full of fabric to use. I am hoping to make little wall hangings with simple messages, oven mitts and finish a quilt ” ~ Janice
“My husband heard about a farmer getting out of the bee business and had empty bee hive boxes to get rid of. My husband brought them home to burn in our wood stove. BUT I grabbed them, halved them, repainted them white, and now use them as shelving in my laundry room. They are just the right size and very sturdy.” ~ Ruth
“I have a vining plant that wound its way to my roof, but it doesn’t know where to go from there, so its vines grow down onto my patio like long green tendrils. I’d been cutting them all off & composting them, but last year after I’d cut a bunch of drooping vines, each 8’ to 10’ in length, I decided to salvage them. I stripped each vine of its leaves and flowers, and wove them into a wreath. It turned out nice & round, not quite as full as the ones I’ve seen in the stores, but I liked it anyway. While it dried, I hung it on a lampshade to retain the shape. Now I have an authentic homemade wreath, & when the vines grow down again this year, I’ll make some more wreaths for Christmas presents. That should save me a couple of bucks, but the satisfaction, of course, is in knowing I got them for nothing more than a few moments of snipping and twisting!” ~ Chris
“I gain such satisfaction out of creating something useful out of items others may throw away without a second thought. After moving back to the farm, I wanted to establish at least two compost pile containers (one close to the house and one down at the large garden site we have). We had just finished building our home and I did not want to spend even a penny on this project so I began to really look at the materials we already had on hand. Out on the building materials refuse pile, I spied a number of broken or discarded wood pallets that had held the bricks used on our home. I lugged six of them to safety and was subsequently able to wire three of them together with the fourth side being an existing pasture fence. This box shape was perfect for a compost bin, being tall enough that children and pets couldn’t get into it and large enough that it more than accommodated the materials from a season of gardening and establishing landscaping around the house. Both are now in their third year of service and show no signs of not being able to go for more!” ~ Sandie
“Last year, we needed a new bathroom scale. Our old one worked fine, but was rusty, and the foot area was peeling off. I was embarrassed to have anyone see it in our bathroom, but we use it on a regular basis, and I couldn’t afford a new one. I finally decided to get creative one day and do something about it. I peeled off the curling, black rubber foot area, and put it aside. After scrubbing the scale down, I sanded it & painted it with leftover white spray paint from another project. When that was dry, I used the cast-off foot area as a template to cut a new one out of an unused, mismatched placemat I had, then glued that down with rubber contact cement. Because most of my home has similar decorating themes, the placemat matches well with the bathroom color scheme. At a cost of ZERO dollars, I have a brand new, color coordinated bathroom scale, that’s one-of-a-kind!” ~ Phyllis
“These are some ideas that I’m going to put out on my website, www.mommylinks.com. If you can use them for your column, that would be great.
Plastic Tablecloths
If you keep an eye out for deals you can quite often pick up nice flannel-backed vinyl tablecloths for as little as $1. But other than picnics, what are they good for? Here’s just a short list...
- Keep one in the trunk of your car, great to kneel on if you have to change a tire, use as a makeshift tarp for hauling large items, cover the back seat and floor if you have a sick child or pet, or just for a spontaneous picnic!
- In the kitchen, cut to line shelves, drawers and cupboard tops, way cheaper than shelf liner, and more durable, just wipe clean. The flannel-backing helps it stay in place. It can also add a splash of cheerful color to the inside of your cabinets.
- In the diningroom, no, not on the table, under it! Or under the highchair to be more exact. Why pay more for a splashmat? If the tablecloth gets too grungy, use it ...
- For home renovations, as a drop cloth, fold it up to cushion your knees, or hang it over a doorway to keep in dust from a sanding project.
Laundry Baskets
Buy good quality, heavy duty, plain old rectangular laundry baskets. They’ll last almost forever, and they’re great for more than just hauling dirty clothes!
- Back into the trunk...besides holding your bargain vinyl tablecloth, you can put your jack, tire iron, emergency flares, and any other necessary equipment into a sturdy laundry basket. No more annoying rattles or worrisome thuds from the trunk!
- But you may want more than one laundry basket for your trunk. Keep another 1 or 2 in there (depending on the size of your vehicle) for stopping shopping bags from scattering their contents, holding items from wholesale clubs, and for transporting food dishes to your next get-together.
- Instead of a blender for a housewarming or for the newly married couple, fill a laundry basket with cleaning supplies or staple food items. Yes, it is possible to wrap a laundry basket, but you may prefer to just tie a big bow around it!
- If you have a two-story house, keep a laundry basket near your stairs to collect items that need to be returned to the other floor.
- Use two different sized baskets as a make-shift pet carrier. Put a towel in the bottom of the bigger one, put the pet in, then quickly turn the smaller one upside down and push it down inside the bigger basket as a kind of lid. Keep a close eye and a ready hand, as an irritated pet can push the top off, but it’ll work in a pinch.” ~ Kayla at MommyLinks, http://www.mommylinks.com
“I make fire starters out of pinecones, cupcake liners and old candles. I melt the candles, pour the wax into the cupcake tins and top it with a pinecone...They work great!” ~ Shelly
Being raised by frugal-minded parents set our thinking patterns for life. Thus my sister, Rita, came up with the idea of fingerweaving sandals for us out of plastic grocery bags. She does a tight weave like traditional Native American fingerweaving. She’s also used the weave to make closed-in shoes. This makes a very sturdy shoe.
Our first experiments were soled with recycled tennis shoe soles. Now we buy “flats” of sole material from our local shoe repairman. He gets a real kick out of seeing our creations. Our shoes last several years, and they are the only ones we wear. If we got crazy we could weave an Imelda Marcos size shoe stash for just pennies!
We also use plastic bags to ri’illaweave purses, large totes (that went through as airline luggage), rugs, and even a 6’ X 6’ “house” that we used for craft shows.” ~ Priscilla Curry Hale, Chief Yarn Pilot
Sisters Curry, World’s Original Ri’illaweavers
Palm Bay, Florida, USA
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“Okay, here’s my contribution to using up what others would throw away. I admit it takes some work, but it’s pretty good to have in the freezer.
Beef and Broth
- Meat scraps (I generally save these in the freezer until I have enough to make it worthwhile to cook.)
- Water (twice as much water as meat)
- 8 peppercorns
- 6 cloves
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 tsp. thyme
- 1/2 tsp. marjoram
- 2 tablespoons parsley
- 2 diced carrots
- 1 diced onion
- 2 ribs celery, diced
Simmer three hours or more. Cool. If you refrigerate it at this point, you can lift off all the fat in the broth. Now, carefully pick off all the little pieces of meat and discard the fat. This is a very low calorie, tasty, no-sodium beef and broth. Freeze meat and broth in pint containers.
You can use these meat/broth jewels as a base for soup along with leftover vegetables, etc., cooked with rice and diced onion for a Mexican-style rice, cooked with barley, improvise.” ~ Elaine
“My favorite way to make something out of nothing is to make a new and
interesting meal out of leftovers. It’s a basic tightwad thing to do that
really stretches my food budget. A big help to me in this has been The
Use-It-Up Cookbook.” ~ April
“We never have to waste a sliver of soap when it’s too small to use. Just get a new bar out and stick the wet sliver of soap to the new bar. By the time your next shower rolls around, it’ll be stuck fast and you have no waste! Another tip I have is for shampoo and dishwashing detergent. Instead of throwing the bottle out when you can’t get any more shampoo or soap out, add a bit of water to the bottle and you can get a few more dishes washed and a few more shampoos!” ~ Sue
“When I saw this posted the first time, I began looking around for some ideas of items I could re-use. I started with some clothes I was going to get rid of. I am going to salvage what I can and use them to recover (decoupage, etc) other old items for gifts. I had many socks without mates and in bad shape; I am going to turn them into a huge puppet collection for my daughter, then pass them on to the toy box at church.” ~ Jennifer
“One summer I was teaching my daughter and a few of her friends the techniques of basic sewing. While a garment was a bit of a challenge to them, pillows made from the scraps of my sewing fabrics were a huge hit. They selected fabrics, cut them into squares and made nine patch pillows, as many as they wanted, in whatever size they wanted. We also made stockings from the scraps in the Christmas bag. Leftover from tree skirts and Christmas dresses of years past, the scraps had accumulated into quite a pile. They chose their favorites and we sewed them together, then cut the stocking out of the assembled “fabric”, a crazy quilt sort of look. Each is unique and the girls had a blast.” ~ Theresa
“I pop odd bits of crackers and bread into the food processor and make crumbs, which I store in a bag in the freezer. I use them for casserole toppings, in meatloaf, in Cartdriver’s Spaghetti, and a host of other places. Sweet crackers and breakfast cereals—same deal, different bag. They can be used in bread in place of a portion of the flour, in cookies, in cracker-crumb-type crusts.” ~ Lois
“I love pictures and I love my family. My one desire is always to bring us all closer. I was given a photo album and in that album, I cut out pictures of my family who live in New Jersey (I am in California) and I cut out pictures of me, my husband and children. I then put us all in one Christmas picture that was taken at their home. It was fun and we still love the picture.” ~ Erika
“I use scraps of material to make baby bibs for my friends who are having
babies. I save old towels to use as the liner and have learned how to make my own bias to trim the bibs. I applique cute shapes that apply to a boy or a girl. These bibs cost me nothing and take very little time. I usually make a set of three but have done as many as seven for a baby shower. One friend liked hers so much that she has them hanging on the wall as art. People just don’t take the time to give handmade gifts any more and that makes these special.” ~ Jonanna
“I like to use leftover pieces of wrapping paper too small to wrap a gift in a neat way. I run them through our paper shredder (We don’t have a cross-cut shredder.) and get decorative strips to use in place of tissue paper on top of gift bags or inside a gift box!” ~ S.K.M
“My husband has made furniture out of wood taken from pallets.” ~ Pam
http://www.countingthecost.com/cf/cf53.htm
Creatively Frugal
Recycling
In what creative ways do you recycle things to keep from throwing them away?
“When I get a lid from a can, for example hairspray or cooking oil spray, I use it in a drawer to catch odds and ends — paper clips, binder clips, bread bag ties, even loose change, hair barrettes, bobby pins, fingernail clippers — you get the idea. It’s cheaper (free) than a small drawer divider and the roundness usually means it fits wherever with less problem. Works in the car in cup holders too.
Here’s an obvious one. When I print something that doesn’t need to be shredded prior to disposing of it, I allow the kids to use the back for drawing on. They like it better than fancy construction paper.
There are some crafts that my daycare did with CDs — all those AOL and MSN that come in the mail and just go in the trash.
And toilet paper and paper towel rolls are always good for church crafts — if I can get them away from my son. He’s almost 6 and he still loves any kind of tube.
Cardboard boxes can be decorated with markers as forts or blocks, depending on their size. The kids love these, and they are light enough that the kids can tote them around and feel ‘big.’
Those flushable wipes boxes make great cubbies for anything and everything. I use them to store the travel sizes of shampoos, the toothpaste we get from the dentist, etc.
And, shoeboxes make great dividers in my dresser for lingerie - one for underwear, one for bras, one for slips or knee-highs, etc. And even though I haven’t moved in 8 years, when I was single I moved apartments quite a bit. I just stored the shoebox lid under the shoebox. When it was time to move, I put the lid on, put a rubber band around the whole thing (I stored the rubber band between the lid and the box), and then when my “guy” friends helped me move and pulled out the drawers, nothing indelicate was showing! And it’s easier to clean out the drawers, too.
I use old envelopes to store credit card receipts until I can reconcile them.
Store gift bags are nicer to take lunch in than a plastic grocery sack, sit on the desk nicer, and when they wear out, throw them out.
Cut-down boxes from the warehouse stores fit under the sink to hold supplies. When they get grubby, just get a new one. Also good in the trunk or back of the van.
And MY BEST TIP - I have a trash can in the kitchen that uses grocery store bags - they are small, but I hate old trash anyway. Kitchen trash shouldn’t stay in the kitchen too long, especially when the trash can holds real garbage. I put all my old boxes, papers, etc, in the recycle bin. If I ever run low on bags, I ask my neighbors, since everybody always seems to have tons.
My recycle bin is the trash can part of a shredder that burned up - I tossed the shredder but kept the trash can part of it and marked it ‘recycle only.’” ~ Sandra
“Eventually, everything gets thrown away, but there are some things I can reuse at least once, and sometimes more. Here are a few of my favorites.
When I pull the long cotton pieces out of the new medicine bottles, I cut them in half and store them in an old Ibuprofen bottle. The cap on the bottle keeps them fresh and clean, and I have an ongoing supply of cotton balls.
When I cut pies at work, I bring home the aluminum pie tins they come in. I use the tins to bake cornbread or biscuits, as crumbing/flouring plate for fried foods, and have even cut shapes out of them to use as templates or even Christmas ornament.
Nylon bags that onions and potatoes come in become pot scrubbers for my non-stick skillets...after making sure to cut off the metal clasps.
Old bath towels get cut into dishtowel size, later they get folded in squares for potholders. Old cotton clothing gets used as the potholder covers, or, fringed/hemmed and used as napkins.
Old envelopes and the backs of junk mail letters are used for shopping lists, any kind of lists... anything I need scratch pads for. Haven’t bought a scratchpad in years!
This is just some of the reusing that I do. ‘Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.’” ~ Joyce
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“I reuse the large and small contact lens solution bottles in the kitchen. The large one is good for vegetable oil, and the small one for vanilla. It’s much easier to control the output. Now I don’t have to be as careful when pouring. I’m sure your creative readers will think of many more uses for these bottles.” ~ Cynthia
“Because we live in a small GA town with not much local shopping opportunities besides Walmart, gift giving is a very creative endeavor around here. We do have an antique mall were various vendors sell their items on consignment. I have found very reasonably priced glass bowls. wine decanter and glasses set, etc, that make very generic but useful wedding gifts. Where the problem occurs for us is when the bride is the daughter of an acquaintance and we do not know any colors, preferences etc. White towel sets (although thought to be for bridal showers) also make for great wedding gifts.” ~ Colleen in GA
“One of my favorite and most commented on recycling projects is using the back pockets of worn out jeans and jean shorts as coasters. They can be used just as they are cut out of the garment, or stuffed with any scrap material for extra absorbency and sewn at the top. If you have a sewing machine that embroiders, they can also be decorated to suit your style/home.” ~ Paula
“When I receive solicitations from credit card companies, I always reply. I use their postage paid envelope and write on their application, “No thank you. Please take me off your mailing list”. That way they get to pay for the postage!” ~ Gina
“Twice a year our community picks up large item trash. I see trucks going around picking up furniture, some in really nice condition, old
grills, lawn mowers, bookcases and so much more. Many of the lawn mowers only need minor repairs such as spark plugs. I know because I asked several of these people why they picked up these items. Besides, if it doesn’t work they can always sell it for scrap
metal.
If you want to use the parts, you can be quite creative. For instance the lid and bottom of a grill (where the stones or charcoal went) can be
used as planter. The metal racks can be converted to a holder for pots, pans, cooking utensils, scarf or tie holder or even have plants hang from it. The bottom section and wheels along with the tub (bottom of the grill) can be converted into a wheel barrow. You probably will need welding tools for this. Old TVs can be converted into frames for art. Just remove the glass and put flowers or other items inside, even
pictures. Interesting bottles make interesting lamps. A picture that has been damaged can be converted into a clock. A metal can becomes a
flower pot, a coin, pen or pencil holder and so many other possible things.” ~ CSinbad
“I save small plastic containers from cottage cheese, yogurt, cream cheese, etc. I take them to potluck luncheons for my friends to take home a bit of this or that. I also use them to send food home with my children when they come to visit. No returns needed.” ~ Charlene
“I toss egg shells from breakfast and baking to my chickens and ducks. They get extra calcium and I recycle something that would otherwise be tossed out.” ~ Kathy
Editor’s Note: Thanks to everyone who took the time to share his or her
http://www.countingthecost.com/cf/cf73.htm
Creatively Frugal Gardening
What creatively frugal tips do you have for keeping down the cost of gardening?
“Once a year in May a group of women at our church has a perennial swap. The perennial beds need to be thinned anyway. What better way to get rid of the extra plants than sharing it with friends? I have picked up new varieties of plants for my garden this way, too.” ~ Jacki
“My gardens are filled with plants that friends have shared with me and now I’m able to share with other friends. Plants such as hostas, lamium, bleeding hearts, (what we call) scented geraniums, etc, etc, etc, can all be split into more plants.
Living in northern Wisconsin poses the problem of ‘munching’ deer. But ferns transplanted from the woods to my gardens don’t seem to tempt them. My gardens are bordered by great looking rocks also gathered in
the woods and along roadsides. Small rocks may be used to create walkways.
Anything I do purchase has to be deer-proof and able to be split - for sharing!” ~ Lyn
“For annuals and vegetables I save seeds from last year’s plants. Also, having a compost pile is a great money saver. It saves water when used as a mulch. It fertilizes the plants as it breaks down and keeps the weeds at bay. The other thing we use is drip irrigation. It saves A LOT of water and the water goes right to the plant, which also keeps weeds down, since the ground isn’t all wet and weed seeds won’t germinate as easily in dry soil.” ~ Tinuveil
“Our church is having a ‘Plant Swap’ for the second
year. The local newspaper did a great article about
it last year. What a wonderful way to meet new
people and share our bounty! This year’s ‘Plant
Swap” is April 30.” ~ Diane
“I use a rain barrel to cut down on the cost of watering my yard. I got the rain barrel for free through www.freecycle.org “ ~ Suzie
“The best way to cut gardening costs is to host a Perennnial Swap Party. Invite your guests over and ask everyone to bring a perennial or annual plant from your garden. Then swap. Make sure everyone marks their plants so you know what you’re getting. It’s a great way to welcome spring and start an annual event!” ~ Anonymous
“Though this is a frugal method of gardening, I think of it more as a joy, frugal or not. There are several plants in my garden that have come from the gardens of my friends. In the front corner is a Rose of Sharon given to me by my next door neighbor, Barb. She also gave me a slip of a rose bush that originally came from the garden of the mother of our 87 year old friend, Margaret. I see fernleaf peonies from Diana, trillium and Jacob’s ladder from Sandy and that is just a small example. Many of my plants have found homes in their gardens. It is a wonderful living reminder of good friends and neighbors.” ~ Laura-Jean
“My husband makes me so proud! We’ve just moved into a new home (our first), and he just couldn’t wait to plant some tomatoes. The problem is our backyard has a considerable slope to it. I suggested terracing it, but the cost of those fancy stones they sell at the home improvement stores almost made us sick! So hubby started asking around and found a local quarry that sells their rock for $20 per ton. The stone is beautiful, just the right size, and, with a little work, fits together very nicely to make a perfect wall. Well done, Hubby!” ~ Emily
Excellent.
Of course, only use NON-GLAZED flower pots !!!!!!!!!
(Some flower pots have lead in their glaze.)
Nice blogspot.
Thanks
http://www.countingthecost.com/cf/cf95.htm
Creatively Frugal Hand
and Nail Care
What are your best low-cost tips for having great-looking hands and nails?
“The best hand treatment I know of is this: take one small spoonful of olive oil and one small spoonful of white sugar in the palm of your hand. Rub this mixture all over both hands for several minutes, scrubbing them all over, especially around the fingernails. Rinse under warm water and dry. Your hands will be baby soft!” ~ BethAnne
“As a gardener, I really do like the feel of all the plants AND the dirt. The gloveless approach is not easy on hands, but there are some helps. After years of reading about and trying digging my fingernails into a bar of
soap before gardening, I usually found that to be less than helpful. Now I put liquid hand soap on and under my nails, also emphasizing the cuticle area. After it dries I slather on a silicone hand cream. This system allows
me to work with little damage to my hands and to readily clean them up. When I sometimes really scratch up my hands, I liberally coat them with petroleum jelly then wear gloves to bed. Then next morning they are ready to go again.” ~ Anna Marie
“I like to use hot water straight out of the hot water tap for the dishes. Naturally, this is wayyyy too hot for my hands, so I wear a pair of white cotton gloves underneath the rubber ones, which has two benefits: added insulation from the heat, and easier to get on and off.
Of course, wearing gloves means that dangerous chemicals from the dishwashing liquid don’t affect my hands.
Immediately after the dishes, or even inserting my hands in any water or using any chemicals, I have pump bottles of moisturizer nearby and rub in a small amount quickly, just to keep me going.
Last thing at night, I put petroleum jelly on them, as well as on my lips, which crack easily without. My daughter has inherited this problem. Petroleum jelly is cheap and effective - even Marilyn Monroe used it!
My mum was told about wearing hand cream to bed having lavished it on her hands and then putting her hands inside gloves. I have done the same thing with the dishwashing double-gloves and, because of the warmth, the moisturizer really does get in.” ~ Leonie
“Always wear gloves when washing dishes, cleaning the house, or gardening! My skin stays nice, and my nails are strong. Lotion, a good nail file, clippers, and a buffer are all that’s needed for maintenance.” ~ Anonymous
“Drink milk! Three or more glasses of 2% milk every day do wonderful things for my fingernails. Drink water! Eight or more glasses of water every day keep my skin moist and prevent water retention (puffiness).” ~ Coleen
“I found ‘Obey your body - Original Dead Sea Minerals’ to be a very helpful and inexpensive way to keep your hands looking manicured and sensational all week long. It comes with the basics: cuticle cream, buffer, file, lotion, etc. But, what makes this kit so remarkable is the fact that it has this four-sided magical buffer that leaves your nails looking as if you just polished them with clear nail polish. The shine on your nails lasts for up to 5 days regardless of how often you wash your hands. I have so many people complementing me all the time on how beautiful my nails look. I’d like to think it also is aiding with my nails growth because my nails never chip and stay very long. I got it at the local mall, at one of those vendor carts for $20, but I know the regular price is about $30.” ~ Ronice from CT
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“Vaseline and gloves! I keep a large jar of Vaseline next to the bed and every night I coat them twice. I let the first coat sink in and then reapply. Nothing works better. My hands get so dry on my job that they crack and bleed. This is the only treatment I have used that truly works. And you don’t have to buy name brand. Gloves are the other big help. When washing dishes, using floor cleaners and working in the garden. Especially if the air is cool/cold, I always wear gloves. Since I live in the Midwest, that is most of the year! I also found that coating my hands with a good CREAM—not lotion which contains water—before putting on my dishwashing gloves helps because the hot water helps it soak into my hands. I have tried a lot of products, but Vaseline and Nivea cream work the best for me.” ~ Liz
“I have a problem with dry and splitting nails. I finally found the solution - Vaseline! If I massage Vaseline into my nails twice a day it keeps them strong and healthy. I keep a small jar in my car. I rub the Vaseline on my nails before I drive to work and by the time I get there, it’s completely absorbed. I keep another small jar next to my bed and massage it into my nails before I read or watch the news. Again, it’s totally soaked in by the time I fall asleep. When my hands and feet are very dry, I rub Vaseline over them and wear cotton gloves (99 cents) and socks to bed to keep the Vaseline from ruining the bedsheets. On the few occasions when I get my nails done, the manicurists always comment on the great condition of them, especially the cuticles. They never need any work.” ~ Fran
“Homemade Paraffin Bath for Hands:
Melt blocks of paraffin wax in an old slow cooker you don’t use on low temperature. Wash your hands with any face scrub soap and rinse. Dip one hand in wax, remove and let harden. Repeat the dipping several times and then wrap them in cellophane and then in a towel. Leave on until completely cold. Peel wax off and put in slow cooker and repeat for other hand. Your hands will be so smooth and soft. Reminds me of the expensive Mary Kay hand treatment. Also gives relief for arthritis. Save wax and reuse. Kathy from Alabama
“I work in retail where everything comes in cardboard boxes. Needless to say, my hands get very dry and cracked. The best thing I have found for that is to use cornmeal mixed with liquid soap. It works great. Just pour some cornmeal onto your hands and then squirt some soap on top. Rub this in just like you would plain soap. Rinse with warm water. The result is smooth soft hands. It’s the cheapest way to exfoliate your skin. For a softener afterwards, you could use Vaseline, or (this sounds gross, but it works) apply mayonnaise to your hands before bed and put on some cotton gloves. Smooth hands in the morning. As far as the nails, I can’t help you there, mine have always grown under, back toward my fingers so I keep them cut off.” ~ Michelle
“When my hands become dry and rough I use a homemade sugar scrub. Mix 1/2 cup of white sugar with enough olive oil to make a moist paste. Rub the paste over your hands and massage into the skin. Rinse with water, pat dry, and use your favorite moisturizer. I prefer to do this at bed time.” ~ Angela
MYCOBACTERIUM BOVIS, CHEESE - USA: (CALIFORNIA EX MEXICO)
*********************************************************
A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org
Date: 6 Jun 2008
Source: News Inferno [edited]
http://www.newsinferno.com/archives/3223
A rare form of [human] tuberculosis [TB] due to _Mycobacterium bovis_
has emerged and has been traced to illegal, unpasteurized dairy
products, including tainted ‘queso fresco’ cheese. The outbreak is
rising among Hispanic immigrants in Southern California and is also
raising fears about a revival of this strain that was nearly
completely destroyed in the USA in the 1900s.
The increase in this TB is being seen chiefly in San Diego,
particularly among children who drink or eat dairy foods made from
the milk of infected cattle, but _Mycobacterium bovis_ TB can infect
anyone who eats contaminated fresh cheeses sold by street vendors,
smuggled across the Mexican border, or produced as so-called “bathtub
cheese” made in home tubs and backyard troughs. The problem
originates from cattle in Mexico, where _M. bovis_ infects about 17
percent of herds; occasional outbreaks among isolated herds affect
the USA.
This rare TB accounts for about 10 percent of all new TB cases in the
California border region. “_M. bovis_ TB is a disease of antiquity,”
said Timothy Rodwell, a researcher who led a study published by the
federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “It is
important that it not be allowed to re-emerge as a cause of TB in
this country.”
Unfortunately, this species is uniformly resistant to one of the
front line anti-TB drugs [pyrazinamide]. Adults who contract _M.
bovis_ TB are more than twice as likely as those with traditional TB
to die before completing treatment.
Researchers analyzed nearly 3300 culture-confirmed cases of TB in San
Diego between 1994-2005. Approximately 265 were identified as due to
_M. bovis_; this increased by nearly 65 percent, rising from 17 to 28
cases annually. By 2005, over half the _M. bovis_ cases were diagnosed
in children under 15. The majority were in Hispanics, 60 percent from
Mexico. Between 2001-2005, 19 adults with _M. bovis_ died before or
during treatment. Dr. Kathleen Moser, director of TB control programs
for San Diego County, said: “It’s clearly being seen in places where
people drink unpasteurized milk and eat unpasteurized dairy products.”
In California, 108 million pounds of legal, properly pasteurized
‘queso fresco’ and other cheeses were produced last year [2007],
according to the California Department of Food and Agriculture. Last
year, Moser launched a public health campaign, and agricultural
officials seized over 375 pounds of “bathtub cheese” from an open-air
market in San Bernardino, according to Steve Lyle, the agency’s
director of public affairs. Such illegal cheeses have been infected
with _Salmonella_, _Listeria_, _Escherichia coli_, and _M. bovis_.
Rodwell cautioned that people worried about _M. bovis_ TB should pay
close attention to dairy products, not people. “It is not a disease
you are very likely to get from a foreign-born person,” he said. “The
increase in _M. bovis_ cases is more about what you eat, not where
you were born.”
—
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail promed@promedmail.org
[_Mycobacterium bovis_ is a member of the “_Mycobacterium
tuberculosis_ complex,” which is composed of the closely related
species _M. tuberculosis_ (the usual cause of tuberculosis in
humans), _M. bovis_ (the usual cause of bovine tuberculosis), _M.
bovis-BCG, _M. microti_ (a pathogen in rodents), and _M. canetti_ and
_M. africanum_ (both rare causes of tuberculosis in Africa). _M.
bovis_ can be distinguished from _M. tuberculosis_ by specific gene
probes (the standard nucleic acid amplification assay only identifies
the organism as a member of the “_M. tuberculosis_ complex”), colony
morphology and specific biochemical assays (_M. bovis_ does not
produce niacin or reduce nitrate), and intrinsic monodrug resistance
to pyrazinamide among _M. bovis_.
_M. bovis_ can cause disease in a wide variety of domestic and wild
animals, including cattle, goats, sheep, deer, badgers, as well as
humans. In humans, consumption of unpasteurized milk products from
infected animals is thought to be a common source of infection;
however, human-to-human, airborne transmission from patients with _M.
bovis_ pulmonary tuberculosis is also thought to be possible (Lobue
PA, et al. Int J Tuberc Lung Dis 2004; 8: 868-72).
Accurate speciation of isolates from clinical specimens is important
for epidemiologic and clinical reasons. However, very frequently, a
clinical isolate is only identified as “_M. tuberculosis_ complex,”
and pyrazinamide resistance is not routinely performed. In such
circumstances, the standard 6-month, short-course combination drug
therapy for TB, which includes pyrazinamide, is likely to fail, as
the 6-month, short-course regimen depends on the rapid bactericidal
action of pyrazinamide; without this drug as part of the initial
regimen, therapy must be prolonged beyond 6 months.
Human infection caused by _M. bovis_ has been mostly, but not
completely, eradicated in the USA by the use of pasteurization of milk
and culling of herds shown positive on tuberculin skin testing,
starting in about 1917. _M. bovis_ human infection continues to be
reported in the USA, primarily in immigrants from countries where
bovine tuberculosis remains endemic and where many presumably acquired
their infection. Bovine tuberculosis is endemic in Latin America as
well as Mexico (Milian F, et al. Rev Latinoam Microbiol. 2000;
42:13-9), and _M. bovis_ is a well-recognized cause of tuberculosis in
Southern California in the Hispanic community. For example, in San
Diego, California during 1980-97, 34 percent of culture-confirmed TB
cases in children aged less than 15 years were caused by _M. bovis_;
about 90 percent of these children were USA-born and of Hispanic
ethnicity; fresh cheese brought in from Mexico was suspected to be one
source of infection in these children (Dankner WM, et al. Medicine
1993; 72: 11-37)[see ProMED references below. - Mod.JW].
People of Hispanic ethnicity and consumption of unpasteurized milk
products produced in Latin America are not restricted to states of
the USA bordering Mexico. A recent investigation in New York City
identified 35 cases of tuberculosis due to _M. bovis_ during 2001-4;
19 of the 23 interviewed patients reported eating cheese produced in
Mexico while they were living in the USA:
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/507311_print
In this investigation, of the 35 isolates, 14 were resistant to
streptomycin, one was resistant to INH, and 2 were resistant to INH
and streptomycin, in addition to being resistant to pyrazinamide.
Thus, accurate speciation of clinical isolates identified as “_M.
tuberculosis_ complex” and drug susceptibility testing are important
throughout the country. - Mod.ML
Link
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queso_fresco
- Mod.JW.]
[see also:
2005
LOL, yes, it is a good and fun blogspot.
One has to ask, “if the lead in the glaze is too dangerous for food, is it also picked up by the plants, if food plants are grown in it?”
Just one of those questions that I have had floating in my mind, for years.
I enjoyed her experiences with her bread, as I have also baked loaves that looked like hers.
One never knows what will happen, while it is in the oven.
Several years ago, someone won a contest with a “Tunnel of Chocolate cake”.
I had made the same cake years before and the family said it was a flop, as it was hollow, but tasted good.
I was baking a choc. cake, in a tube pan, saw the stale fudge crumbs that were waiting to be thrown out, and threw them in the cake..........made a tunnel and the fudge turned to syrup.
Bill ate a cake in a couple days, so I quit the layer cakes and used the angel food pan, so I could get away with a ‘drizzle’ of icing, instead of pounds of it......
There was a fad of baking in flower pots a few years ago.
The one that bothers me, is the coffee can bread, I don’t know how much lead there is in the seam solder.
Thanks to Milford421 for this report.
N.J. Burger Plant Recalls Over 13,000 Pounds; No illness
http://www.1010wins.com/N-J—Burger-Plant-Recalls-Over-13-000-
Pounds/2335106
Posted: Monday, 09 June 2008 10:41AM
N.J. Burger Plant Recalls Over 13,000 Pounds; No illness
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — A small hamburger plant has recalled 13,275
pounds of hamburger after tests showed possible contamination of a
batch that was kept at the operation, officials said.
No illnesses from the potentially deadly E. coli bacteria have been
reported from products shipped by Dutch’s Meats Inc. of Trenton, the
USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service said Sunday.
continued.
http://www.artisanbreadbaking.com/breads/english_muffins/english_muffins.htm
English Muffins in Words and Pictures
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Discussion
This is adapted from a recipe in Olney on Bread, by Judith Olney, a very good bread book from the 1980s.
The recipe makes very good English muffins when scaled at 3-4 ounces / 80-110 grams. The dough is only moderately sticky and handles very well. I have modified the original recipe to use a poolish and an autolyse. You can use a biga if you would prefer to, or make the recipe straight. The liquid in the original recipe is 1 2/3 cups / 380 gms milk and 1/3 cup / 75 gms water for the yeast. I use 10 ounces / 285 gms water for the poolish and the rest milk, 6 ounces / 170 gms. The poolish here had 1/2 teaspoon / 2 grams yeast and sat on the counter for 6 hours.
There are several variations of the basic English muffin recipe you can try. I’ve tried them each once or twice, and they work, but your taste will determine the proportions to use.
I’ve folded in some raisins and some sugar-cinnamon mix at the last fold. This works well, but the sugar cinnamon shouldn’t be mixed in too finely, let it be streaks.
I’ve used maple syrup (I use Grade B, it’s tastier) in place of a bit of the milk and some of the sugar. This is a judgement call on what you like.
Use buttermilk for some of the milk. I’ve tried up to 8 ounces / 225 ml and it works well.
This English muffin recipe is very forgiving and works well with just about any combination of add-ins.
The recipe also responds well to using whole wheat for some of the flour, up to 5 ounces / 140 grams.
Total Ingredients
Ingred Ounces Grams
HK Flour 29 825
Milk 1 2/3 cup 380
Dry Yeast 1/4 7
Egg 1 1
Vinegar 1 Tbsp 15 ml
Sugar 1 heap Tbsp 25
Warm Water 1/3 cup 75
Butter 2 1/2 Tbsp 35
Salt 2 tsp 14
Malt Extract 1 Tbsp 15 ml
Poolish
Ingred Ounces Grams
HK Flour 10 285
Water 10 285
Dry Yeast 1/2 tsp 2
Ingredients to Add to Poolish
Ingred Ounces Grams
HK Flour 19 540
Milk 3 3/8 95
Dry Yeast 1 1/2 tsp 4
Egg 1 1
Vinegar 1 Tbsp 15 ml
Sugar 1 heap Tbsp 25
Warm Water 1/3 cup 75
Butter 2 1/2 Tbsp 35
Salt 2 tsp 14
Malt Extract 1 Tbsp 15 ml
Malt extract is optional
Cornmeal for shaping
One or two large griddles
Method
1. Mix all the ingredients except the salt in a mixer for a minute or two. Then let rest for 20 minutes.
2. Add salt and mix for 5 minutes. The dough will be alive and just slightly sticky.
3. Set to ferment in the mixer bowl for 40 minutes. Then do a drop-hook or on the counter fold.
4. Set the dough to ferment again for 30 minutes. Do another fold.
5. Set the dough to ferment for 20 minutes. Remove from the bowl and place on the counter.
6. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes, then divide into 3 1/2 ounce / 110 gram pieces.
7. The trick to making English muffins is to avoid overworking the dough. The less you work the dough, the flatter the finished English muffins will be.
8. If you take the dough as it’s cut from the main dough and just pull it into shape, you’ll have a flatter English muffin.
9. However, if you like higher English muffins, with loft between a regular English muffin and a round loaf, then round the dough and flatten it with your hand.
10. Round the doughs into balls and let them rest for 5 minutes.
11. Take each dough and gently pull it around the edge and in the center as if you were pulling the dough to start a pizza. They should wind up about 4 inches / 10 cm in diameter for this weight.
12. Place cornmeal in a bowl and press the doughs flatter in the corn meal, turning once or twice to assure that you have cornmeal on both sides.
13. The flatter you can get the doughs the better, within reason. They will puff up when you cook them, but if you start too round, they will be thick and may not cook on the inside.
14. You may either let the muffins rise for 20 minutes or cook at once.
15. Now here’s a trick for cooking. I find that the muffins work best when I start the batch from a cold griddle. If I start them from a hot griddle, the outside gets too brown before the inside is cooked. I use a thin griddle and cool it under water between each batch.
16. So, start the griddle cold, place as many muffins as will fit on the griddle and turn on the heat to something between low and medium. Cook, shifting the muffins and turning them over frequently, until the muffins are done to your liking. The longer you can cook them without burning, the better they will be.
17. Do each batch in succession, cooling the griddle between batches.
18. Allow the muffins to cool before splitting and heating. These freeze very well; put two or three in each plastic bag and freeze.
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Baps Scottish Breakfast Rolls in Words and Pictures
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Discussion
Baps are a small breakfast roll from Scotland. This recipe is from “A Cook’s Guide to Bread,” by Christine Ingram and Jennie Shapter. The rolls themselves are very easy to make and turn out really well. This recipe is good for beginners or children as it isn’t difficult and makes really good rolls. They are also very good for small sandwiches and snacks during the day. They are best served warm or reheated for a few minutes. They freeze very well.
The original recipe calls for all purpose flour. I tried a batch with Harvest King and a batch with King Arthur Bread Flour. I think the Harvest King batch was better; the higher protein in the KABF seemed to make the crust a little too tough. I also had to add 1/2 ounce of water to the bread flour batch to make it handle the same as the HK batch.
Ingred Ounces Grams
HK Flour 16 450
Water 5 1/4 150
Milk 5 1/4 150
Dry Yeast 1 packet 7 gms
Salt 2 tsp 10 ml
Method
Have extra flour for the counter and extra milk and flour for glazing.
1. Grease 2 baking sheets or line the baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Sift the flour and salt together in a large bowl. Make a well in the bottom.
3. Mix the yeast and milk, then the water. Add this mixture to the flour and salt.
4. Mix together to form a soft dough.
5. Knead the dough lightly in the bowl (I used a mixer), then cover with clear film and leave to ferment for 1 hour, or until doubled.
6. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surfce and deflate it slightly.
7. Divide the dough into 10 pieces. (Mine weighed 2 3/4 ounces / 75 grams.)
8. Knead lightly and, using a rolling pin, shape each piece to a flat oval 10 X 7.5 cm / 4 X 3 inches or a flat round 9 cm / 3 1/2 inches in diameter.
9. Transfer to the baking sheets, spaced well apart, and cover with oiled film.
10. Let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.
11. Heat the oven to 400F / 200C.
12. Press each roll in the center / centre with three fingers to equalize the air bubbles.
13. Brush with milk and dust with flour.
14. Bake for 15 -20 minutes, or until lightly browned.
15. Dust with flour and allow to cool slightly. Serve warm.
Here we go:
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