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 ...
Thank you for the kind words.
Now that Vickie is helping me with posts and working on an index, we are going places. LOL, we are going to be big time one of these days.
Keep reading there is more to come, slower as I managed to crash yesterday and lost 8 browsers full of things to post, but there is more to come.
http://kansasa.blogspot.com/search/label/Frugal
You might have a Magic Bullet and not even know it!
You just may have a Magic Bullet in your cupboard and not even know it! If you’re regular readers you know how much I enjoy Tipnut.com, and it’s not just because she’s featured my blog three times, really! Tipnut.com is full of tips and hints and not just “fluff” stuff either but seriously you can use in your life stuff.
Her tip of making bigger cakes from mixes I use ALL the time, I’ve even printed it out and keep it right in with my cake mix container.
But with this tip she has topped the cake (so to speak). She found the tip at Simply Recipes and I’m so happy she posted it.
Use the blender you already have and see if a mason jar fits... lucky me one of mine does! Oh the possibilities! Grind flax seeds right in it’s own storage container, coffee beans, whipped cream, spices. I can then use my vacuum sealer and seal a canning lid on the jar, or use an old mayonnaise lid which fits perfectly on a mason jar and pop in the fridge. No scraping out the blender container, no washing, an unlimited supply of “containers.” I’m giddy :) LOL
Here’s my blender in action with a 1 1/2 quart jar but any size wide mouth mason jar would work :) My KitchenAid uses wide mouth but some people are saying standard mouth works with their blenders.
So if you haven’t checked out Tipnut.com, it’s time!
By Kansas A at 4:41 PM
http://tipnut.com/quick-tips-for-the-kitchen/
50 Quick Tips For The Kitchen
Posted By TipNut On July 14, 2008 @ 10:03 am In Baking Tips, Cooking Tips, Food Tips, Kitchen Tips, Popular Tips | 29 Comments
Picture of Whisk - Tipnut.com
1. Strawberry Tip: Wash freshly picked strawberries & then take a wide plastic straw and insert it at the bottom of a strawberry–then push the stem out. This was previously published as a feature tip on Tipnut for [1] Ask Your Neighbor - Helpful Household Tips.
2. Measuring Tip: Rinse measuring cup in hot water before using syrup, oil, etc. Will pour out clean and not stick to cup. This was also mentioned in the [2] 45 Cooking & Baking Tips - A Collection Of Timeless Wisdom tip list.
3. Sugar In Fruit Pies: When making pie, sprinkle the sugar under the fruit instead of on top. This prevents pie from boiling over.
4. Baking Fruit Pies: Cut four small slits into top pie crust and stand one piece of tubed pasta into each slit (choose pasta at least 2 or 3 inches long–cannelloni and cut ziti work well). The juices will bubble up the pasta ‘pipe’ and back down into the pie–instead of running all over your oven. Once pie has finished baking, remove pasta.
5. Pie Dough Rolling: Try rolling pie dough between two sheets of waxed paper, the dough is easier to manage and doesn’t stick to the table or your rolling pin. Once the dough is in the desired shape and thickness, peel off the waxed paper and place directly in the pie plate. Cut off the excess. This was also included on the [2] 45 Cooking & Baking Tips - A Collection Of Timeless Wisdom page of tips.
6. Bigger Cakes From Mixes: To make a bigger cake from a mix, add 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 egg, 1 tsp. baking powder. *Found on loose page from an old cookbook. This was also included on the [3] 43 Cake Baking Tips & Tricks page.
7. Icing Cakes: For one layer cakes, turn the cake upside down before icing so that the top is perfectly flat and even. When icing two cake rounds or squares, place a layer of frosting on the top of one round, then place the other round upside down on top for a perfectly flat top. If the cake rose high and uneven in the middle when baking, you may need to slice a bit off across the top to lay it flat. This was also included on the [3] 43 Cake Baking Tips & Tricks page.
8. Neatly Cut Fudge: Use a pizza cutter to easily slice through flats of fudge and candy squares. Make sure the baking has been chilled or thoroughly set before cutting. The process is fast and easy and the result is nice, neat squares.
9. Freeze Cookie Dough: Try preparing a few batches of cookie dough at once and freezing the extra that you won’t be baking that day. You can roll the dough in logs first before freezing (wrap the dough really well) and then just slice off and bake what you need whenever you crave freshly baked cookies.
10. Soften Butter: A few different methods for speeding up the process of getting soft butter right from the fridge (without melting it): Grate the butter into a bowl–comes down to room temperature faster; Microwave for a few seconds at a time–watch closely because you don’t want to zap it too long; Cut butter into squares and put them into a bowl, insert bowl in a pan of warm–not hot–water.
11. Remove Dough Quickly From Hands: Keep a small bowl of cornmeal nearby while kneading and working with dough. If you need to quickly answer the phone, the door, or rescue a runaway toddler while your hands are full of sticky dough, rub dry cornmeal on your hands. This removes dough faster than washing your hands in soap and water.
12. Mashed Potato Warmer: Is there ever enough stove top space when preparing large meals (like at Christmas or Thanksgiving)? Here’s a way to get the mashed potatoes done early and out of the way: Prepare your mashed potatoes an hour or two before serving the meal and store them in the slow cooker (on low heat). Serve with the rest of the meal and they’re still hot and tasty :).
13. Fluff Up Mashed Potatoes: Try adding a healthy pinch of baking powder to the potatoes when mashing them. For fluffier mashed potatoes, use an electric mixer to whip air into them. Any other additions? Me, I’m a real butter and splash of milk potato masher-er ;).
14. Mixing Raw Hamburger: If you can’t stand mixing raw hamburger by hand and the wooden spoon just won’t do, try covering each of your hands in a clean plastic bag (or baggy) and dig in. The plastic bags will still give your hands and fingers free movement, yet keep them free from raw meat contamination. Did you know: Meatloaf aficionados declare that the ingredients must be mixed by hand or the meatloaf is doomed? Check out these favorite tasty meatloaf tips.
15. Grilled Cheese Sandwiches: Try slathering mayonnaise on the outer sides of the bread instead of butter when making grilled cheese sandwiches. Makes a nice and crispy sandwich as well as tastes delicious. Another favorite addition of mine is chopped green onions melted in the sandwich with the cheese. Sweet, at least the green onions are healthy! If you have a favorite twist to Grilled Cheese sandwiches, please share and add them below. I’m officially hungry now ;).
16. Cabbage Salad Kicker: To take a cabbage salad “out of this world” add chunks of banana just before serving. *Found on a loose page from an old cookbook. Cabbage Salad would be Coleslaw I believe. My mother-in-law always made hers with slivers of apple mixed in with the coleslaw (delish!). Bananas? I’m hesitant to try this lol. If you do, please let me know how it turns out.
17. Greaseless Griddle Cake: When making griddle cake grease the pan for the first cake. After that rub a piece of raw potato over hot griddle instead of greasing. The cakes brown nicely and there will be no smoke. *Found on loose page of from an old cookbook.
18. Slicing Meat Thin: If you need really thin sliced meat when cooking stir-fry recipes or other dishes, try partially freezing the meat before making your cuts. This will make the meat easier to slice very thin since it will hold firm while slicing, no more uneven cuts from the raw meat mushing underneath the knife blade.
19. Stop Meat Edges From Curling: When grilling steaks or frying up pork chops, sometimes the edges can curl and the meat no longer sits flat in the pan or on the grill. To help prevent that, just cut a slit in the fat along the edge of the meat every inch or so before cooking.
20. Baking Soda Meat Tenderizer: You can use baking soda as a meat tenderizer. Two different ways to do this: Sprinkle baking soda all over the meat, rub it in a bit and then let sit (refrigerated) for several hours. You could also make a baking soda/water paste and slather it over the meat. Let it marinate for several hours. Rinse meat before cooking to remove all the baking soda.
21. Baking Soda Test: Do you have an old box of baking soda in the pantry and you’re not sure whether or not it’s still good? Fill a small cup half full with vinegar and drop a teaspoon of baking soda in it. If things start fizzing, the baking soda is active.
22. Fresh Fruit & Veggies Washing Tip: Sprinkle wet fruit and veggies with baking soda then gently scrub and rinse. This cleaning method safely removes dirt and residue off produce. This was part of Tipnut’s [4] Arm & Hammer week.
23. Prevent Bacon Spatters: Bacon can be quite a messy item to prepare, try lightly dusting the bacon with flour before frying. This helps prevent the spatters and meat shrinkage.
24. Veggie Roasting Racks: Try roasting a chicken or roast on top of long slices of celery or carrot sticks. The vegetables act like a roasting rack plus add flavor to the meat. You can eat the vegetables too, yum! Not only do the veggies work well as a roasting rack, there’s one less item to wash ;).
25. Potato Flakes Thickener: Add dried instant potato flakes to homemade soups and sauces to thicken the consistency. This won’t change the flavor at all and is a sure trick when a dish sauce turns out too watery or thin.
26. Natural Peanut Butter Storage: Here’s a tip sent in by reader Beth: Regarding natural peanut butter, the type that separates after it sits for a while. Store the unopened jars in the cabinet upside down. The oil will want to rise to the top again and will pass through the solid part to do so, basically stirring itself! Great tip! Thanks for sharing that Beth :)!
27. Flour Bugs: Keep a couple bay leaves in the flour canister to help deter the bugs (flour Weevils) congregating in their favorite hangout. You can toss the leaves loose in the flour or make a rough pouch out of one layer of cheesecloth to keep the leaves separated from the flour. Another tip is to tape the bay leaves to the inside of the lid. Always try to keep flour and other grains in air tight containers, this will help keep pantry pests out.
28. Squeezing Lemons For Juice: For those who suffer from arthritis or hand pain, use a nutcracker to mangle and squeeze wedges of lemons to juice them. Otherwise jab a fork into the fruit flesh, squeeze both ends of the wedge together (towards the fork) and then twist the fork every which way. Lots of juice!
29. Herb & Spice Storage: To help preserve flavor, herbs and spices are best stored in airtight containers, out of sunlight and away from heat sources. Store the jars and containers in the pantry or a cupboard. Keeping spices and dried herbs in cute glass jars over top of the stove is a popular practice, but it does negatively affect the flavor of your spice collection.
30. Make Your Own Celery Flakes: Instead of cutting off the leafy tops of celery and tossing away, try making your own celery flakes. Simply wash and dry the leaves well, place in oven at 180° F. until crispy dried (a few hours), crumble and store in an air tight container. Use the celery flakes in cooking dishes such as soups, stews, stuffing and anything else you’d like to add a little flavor.
31. Crystalized Honey Fix: If your honey has crystalized, place the bottle or container in a pot full of hot water and let it sit for about 1/2 hour or until the honey is melted. Stir the honey well and the crystals will be gone.
32. Soften Marshmallows: Slice open the top of a marshmallow bag then place in a large ziploc freezer bag. Freeze. Remove the amount of frozen marshmallows you need as you need them. Thaw and they’re soft and ready to use. If you have hard marshmallows in the pantry, try tossing a piece or two of sliced bread in the bag. Seal, then check after a few days. The marshmallows should be soft again.
33. How to Keep Cookies Soft: Keep cookies moist and chewy by throwing a few slices of apple in your cookie jar to keep cookies soft. Don’t do this if you like crispy or crunchy cookies ;).
34. Lunch Box Notes: When packing lunch for your child, include a little note just for them to brighten their day while they’re at school. I learned this tip from my son, when he was younger he let me know his friend had nice notes from her mom in her lunch every day–I’d say kids look forward to getting them ;).
35. Use A Pastry Brush To Butter Baking Pans: Use soft butter and a pastry brush to grease decorative cake pans, bundt pans and muffin tins. The brush makes it much easier to get into all the grooves. Martha’s Good Things for the Kitchen booklet also suggests to butter the top of muffin pans between the cups as it helps remove the baked muffins easier. This was also included on the [3] 43 Cake Baking Tips & Tricks
36. Reuse Butter Paper Wrapping: Save the paper or foil wrap from blocks or squares of butter and use them to grease baking pans. Keep the paper refrigerated in a separate baggy. Not only do they do an effective job buttering the pans, it also puts to good use something we often toss freely.
37. Muffin Tin Use: After stuffing peppers and tomatoes, arrange in a muffin tin before sticking them in the oven. They’ll stay upright and keep their shape perfectly! You could also do this with baked apples or other round or stuffed items.
38. Fill Empty Muffin Tins With Water: If your muffin or cupcake recipe doesn’t fill all the spots in your muffin pan, fill the empty places 3/4 full with water. This will help protect those slots from darkening or getting scorched.
39. Easily Color Shredded Coconut: If you’d like to color shredded coconut for toppings on cakes and desserts, simply put the coconut in a clean jar (only one half jar full at a time), add a few drops of food coloring in your choice of color, then cap the jar and shake it until all the coconut is evenly tinted. This was also mentioned on the [2] 45 Cooking & Baking Tips - A Collection Of Timeless Wisdom page.
40. Add Flavor To Cooked Vegetables: Toss in a bouillon cube or two to the boiling water instead of salt when cooking vegetables. Adds a delicious flavor to the veggies. Another alternative is to add a couple roughly halved cloves of garlic to the boiling water, then lightly tossing veggies in butter once cooked. This was also mentioned in the [2] 45 Cooking & Baking Tips - A Collection Of Timeless Wisdom page of tips.
41. DIY Non-Slip Bowls: No need to buy expensive mixing bowls with rubber bottoms–just set a bowl on top of a damp cloth and no more worries about it sliding around while you’re mixing something.
42. Cheesecloth In A Pinch: If you’re out of cheesecloth you can use a sheet of paper towel or a coffee filter to line a colander or strainer and then strain liquid. Single use only and you may have to do in batches.
43. Open Tight Lid Jars: If tapping around the lid with a knife won’t loosen a jar lid, try putting on a pair of latex gloves then twisting the lid off. This gives a good grip that won’t slip. Another helper: cut a square of leftover nonslip shelf liner and keep that on hand to unscrew lids.
44. Separate Eggs With A Funnel: If you don’t have an egg separator and need just an egg white or yolk for a recipe, you can use a small kitchen funnel. Crack the egg gently then break into the funnel. The white of the egg will flow through the funnel leaving the yolk behind. No funnel? You could also clip a corner off a ziploc bag and use that as a funnel. Make sure to place the funnel inside a glass so the egg white is contained ;).
45. Reuse Nylon Mesh Bags: If you buy veggies that are bagged in nylon mesh, you can use that mesh for various cleaning jobs around the house and yard. Just wad up the bag and use it as a scrubber.
46. Finding Broken Glass Under Soapy Water: If you break glass in soapy water while doing dishes, to prevent cutting yourself while looking for it you can use a tall clear drinking glass or a wide clear glass bowl–keeping the top part above the bubbles, push the glass into the water and use it as a lens to look around and find the broken pieces.
47. Protect Cookbooks & Recipes: Recipe cards and cookbooks getting a little grungy and marked with goop? To prevent this from happening or the damage from getting worse, place the cards and cookbooks in a clear plastic bag first before using them to prepare a dish. This will keep them from getting smudged up with gooey fingers, yet still be perfectly readable when doing a quick check on a measurement or instruction.
48. Extra Oven Rack: Take out the extra oven rack when baking and you can use it for the cooling rack. Works for cakes, cookies, hors douvres, whatever you like. If you’re baking smaller items that might fall through, simply cover the rack with tinfoil first (fold foil tightly over the edges). Works like a charm!
49. Put Out A Stove Top Grease Fire: Douse the fire heavily with salt or baking soda. Turn off the heat as soon as it’s safe to do so without being burned. This is a great way to use expired baking soda or the boxes you just replaced in the fridge, keep those in the cupboard beside your stove. Teach children how to do this as soon as they’re old enough to start cooking.
50. Repair Rusty Dishwasher Racks: A co-worker found a way to fix up her dishwasher rack by using vinyl caps. You can buy repair kits that contain both liquid vinyl repair paint and vinyl tine caps or ends. They come in a few different colors too so you can match with what you have. Search Amazon for Dishwasher Rack Repair and you’ll find a few options. Prices range from $10 to $30 so it’s not expensive at all to get your dishwasher rack fixed up.
Don’t miss last week’s [5] quick tips for baking substitutes, you’ll have info at your finger tips for making things like your own buttermilk, a baking powder substitute, a recipe to make your own cake flour and more. I also just moved the previously published tip for homemade sweetened condensed milk recipe to the list.
More Kitchen Hacks & Goodies:
* [6] Tip: Use Mason Jars With Your Blender
* [7] How To Turn One Stick Of Butter Into Two
* [8] Smart Tip: Bulk Freezing With Individual Portions
* [9] Homemade Non-Stick Spray Recipes
* [10] How To Tell If An Egg Is Fresh
* [11] Kitchen Measurements Equivalent Conversion Chart
* [12] Recipe Ingredient Substitutions & Equivalents Chart
* [13] 10 ReaLemon Juice Household Hacks Plus Bonus Recipe
* [14] 10 Ways To Soften Hard Brown Sugar
* [15] Hidden Feature On Foil & Plastic Wrap Boxes?
* [16] Why a Cake Fails
* [17] Easy Jello Mold Release
More Kitchen Tip Lists:
* [18] 35 Kitchen Tips - A Collection Of Timeless Wisdom
* [2] 45 Cooking & Baking Tips - A Collection Of Timeless Wisdom
* [3] 43 Cake Baking Tips & Tricks
These quick tips were previously published on Tipnut as single tips, they’ve been moved to this page for better organization and convenience. Any bookmarks you may have had will automatically forward to this page.
The comments below are timestamped earlier than the post date since they have been moved from the original tip post to here so they won’t be lost.
Article printed from TipNut.com: http://tipnut.com
URL to article: http://tipnut.com/quick-tips-for-the-kitchen/
URLs in this post:
[1] Ask Your Neighbor - Helpful Household Tips: http://www.askyourneighbor.com/hhints.htm
[2] 45 Cooking & Baking Tips - A Collection Of Timeless Wisdom: http://tipnut.com/45-cooking-baking-tips-a-collection-of-timeless-wisdom/
[3] 43 Cake Baking Tips & Tricks: http://tipnut.com/cake-baking-tips/
[4] Arm & Hammer week: http://tipnut.com/blog-note-this-week-is-arm-hammer-week/
[5] quick tips for baking substitutes: http://tipnut.com/handy-substitute-recipes-for-baking/
[6] Tip: Use Mason Jars With Your Blender: http://tipnut.com/use-mason-jars-with-your-blender-tip/
[7] How To Turn One Stick Of Butter Into Two: http://tipnut.com/how-to-turn-one-stick-of-butter-into-two/
[8] Smart Tip: Bulk Freezing With Individual Portions: http://tipnut.com/smart-tip-bulk-freezing-with-individual-portions/
[9] Homemade Non-Stick Spray Recipes: http://tipnut.com/homemade-non-stick-spray-recipes/
[10] How To Tell If An Egg Is Fresh: http://tipnut.com/how-to-tell-if-an-egg-is-fresh/
[11] Kitchen Measurements Equivalent Conversion Chart: http://tipnut.com/kitchen-measurements-equivalent-conversion-chart/
[12] Recipe Ingredient Substitutions & Equivalents Chart: http://tipnut.com/recipe-ingredient-substitutions-equivalents-chart/
[13] 10 ReaLemon Juice Household Hacks Plus Bonus Recipe: http://tipnut.com/10-realemon-juice-household-hacks-plus-bonus-recipe/
[14] 10 Ways To Soften Hard Brown Sugar: http://tipnut.com/10-ways-to-soften-hard-brown-sugar/
[15] Hidden Feature On Foil & Plastic Wrap Boxes?: http://tipnut.com/hidden-feature-on-foil-plastic-wrap-boxes/
[16] Why a Cake Fails: http://tipnut.com/why-a-cake-fails/
[17] Easy Jello Mold Release: http://tipnut.com/quick-tip-easy-jello-mold-release/
[18] 35 Kitchen Tips - A Collection Of Timeless Wisdom: http://tipnut.com/35-kitchen-tips-a-collection-of-timeless-wisdom/
http://kansasa.blogspot.com/search/label/Frugal
Stretch your Coffee Dollars
Okay a frugal tip. I love drinking those fancy coffees, especially if they are calorie-wise, but the price is out of this world.
What I do is buy one (on sale) dump the whole works into my blender, add skim milk powder (about 2 cups), and about 1/2 cup of instant coffee (usually hazelnut flavour but any instant coffee will do). If you like yours a bit sweeter add 1/2 cup of Splenda or sugar if you don’t care about calories. If you like, for a different flavour, add cocoa. Want it creamier? Add coffeemate instead of skim milk powder (I don’t like the calories so I use the skim milk powder.) Depending on what I add I usually double the amount I started with and sometimes get three tins out of it! I made these for my Christmas baskets, but I stripped the label off, labeled the tin with Christmas wrap, and added a sticker indicating how much to use and let them know it was sugar-free. I also bought fancy coffee cups to add to the baskets (bought at the dollar store of course).
I love whipping cream on top...but darn those calories! Instead I use liquid skim milk (ice cold) and use my hand mixer, it’s a Bamix and it works great. After adding a dollop of whipped skim milk, I sprinkle a bit of Splenda and a teeny bit of cinnamon, it tastes great! I do this for the kid’s hot chocolate too, they have no idea it’s not “real” whipping cream :)
By Kansas A
Thanks for the kudos... I've almost finished reformatting the first 3500 posts and it's down to only just above 4100 pages. I have to see if Word can handle a huge file because you can't build an index on two separate files. We'll see what happens... LOL I may be indexing for the next year.
Yup, we are gonna start our own survival/recipe website and charge admission to the starving millions.
Yeah right!! There are only about 1,000,000 websites out there with the same information!
http://kansasa.blogspot.com/search/label/Frugal
What a site!
Thank you Nancy for sharing the “Hillbilly Housewife” site with me!
http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/index1.htm
The owner and creator of the site is “Miss Maggie.” I whipped up her Magic Milkshake recipe tonight and I have to say it is an excellent recipe. No milk, no ice cream, the recipe makes quite a lot at one time, and I used Splenda, a cup for cup sugar substitute instead of real sugar. Not only did the kids love it but after they had their share I put in about a 1/4 teaspoon of instant coffee granules in a glass for me, and I swear I was drinking a Tim Horton’s Iced Mocha! Very delicious, low calorie, and other than the corn oil (I used canola) it was pretty healthy, well more healthy than a real mocha from a fast food joint. Miss Maggie gives some other variations you could use such as banana, peanut butter, or mint and she compares her milkshakes to Wendy’s Frosties, (although I’ve never tried one so I wouldn’t know).
http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/yogurt.htm
Right now I am trying out her Homemade yogurt recipe. I made a different one off the net tonight too and it called for starter (plain yogurt), milk (I use skim) and powdered milk but Miss Maggie’s recipe is starter, water and powdered milk, no fluid milk at all. It’s going in my large dehydrator in about ten minutes so we shall see in the morning which one is better. I’m hoping it’s Miss Maggie’s because, although it’s rare, I don’t always have milk on hand and it’s a long drive to the store.
Anyway this post has nothing to do with looming...but if you can save a few bucks by being frugal you can buy more wool, looms, etc :) LOL
UPDATE: Well both yogurts were okay, except Miss Maggie’s wasn’t as thick or as creamy as I like it. Yet the other one calls for just too much milk sooooo; I am making it using both recipes combined and it’s turning out great. My ingredients and measurements are: 2 1/2 cups milk, 1 cup water, about 2 cups instant milk powder, 4 tablespoons of plain yogurt with live cultures for starter.
The recipe is as follows:
Pour skim milk into a 4 cup measuring cup and add enough water to bring it to 3 1/2 cups. Add the milk powder. Stir well. Microwave for 8-10 minutes until boiling. Let cool, do not put in your thermometer until it’s slightly cooled as it will boil over. When the temp is around 115-118 degrees add the plain yogurt, stir well.
I poured it very carefully over a dollop of blackberry jam in a half pint jar and it set beautifully, (I wasn’t sure if it was going to set) so I only tried the one small jar and put the rest into a quart jar. Place into dehydrator, leave undisturbed, keep the temperature between 110-115 degrees and in roughly 6-8 hours you should have a very thick and creamy yogurt. I had some this afternoon with the carrot-cake jam I canned last year and it was delicious!
Check out “Hillbilly Housewife” or “Fias Co Farm/Dairy” for other ways to incubate your yogurt if you don’t have a dehydrator or yogurt maker.
By Kansas A
http://kansasa.blogspot.com/search/label/Frugal
Cheap alternatives to loom essentials
Did I say cheap? I meant to say “frugal.” Because I live in a very small town, which offers nothing for loomers, knitters, or crafters, or they have a very limited and/or costly selection, I must seek other alternatives. And that may be just what I have on hand.
To keep my yarn clean I use a plastic coffee can with a snip cut out of the side of the lid. I tried the centre hole but have you ever had a tangle and tried to undo it with a coffee lid between your work and the ball? Not fun. Yesterday I wasn’t using it, I know bad, bad, and a coffee was spilled, all over my very light blue, baby wool sock still on the loom as well as all over the ball. At the table I had one of those “magic cloths” I grabbed it and I couldn’t believe it, it took that coffee and sucked it right off, barely leaving a mark, I didn’t rub, just blotted. Of course I had just finished my last row so I figured I’d have to let it sit for a day to dry before I could remove it from the loom, nope, I was able to get it off in less than half an hour. I think I’ll be tucking one of those into my knitting bag.
For my fine gauge looms I found no stitch marker that would fit...so I used a coloured band from extras off my Oral-B toothbrushes, that tip came from my sister Biffy.
I also tape the side of the loom with masking tape so I can mark my purls or special stitches without permanently marking my looms. I’ve tried scotch tape and it’s hell to get off, I’m hoping the masking tape is better. In cases where I do want to mark permanently, such as my blue Knifty Knitter, I use a Sharpie metallic silver pen I picked up at Michaels, a double pack; now if I could just get my husband to leave them alone.
I just discovered this one; I needed another yarn guide and had only one, which was in use, so I grabbed a bic pen and it works great. The tapered end fits nicely between the pegs...watch out all the bic pens in the house!
I have a row counter I really like, but it’s usually in use on another project...so I use my knitting needle counters. I tie it to my tail in case I put the project down for a long time, it always stays put, and I know what row I’m on whether I pick it up in an hour or a week later (sometimes more).
By the way my fav counter came from my Dad who got it when he was loading gravel trucks, my husband says you can pick them up for next to nothing in a...well I really don’t know what to call it...we have a store where they sell logging/forestry supplies, lawnmowers, propane, etc. Anyway this one-handed click, metal counter is much cheaper than the counter I saw at a craft store and it was all plastic. It’s sitting on one of those cloths I talked about earlier :)
So you see it didn’t cost me much for any of these items, except for the Sharpie pens, which should last for quite awhile as long as I hide them :)
If you have any tips leave them in the comment section, and if you don’t want to leave your tip in the comment section you can email it to me: jal@writeme.com Thanks. I’ll make a list in a later post if I get enough.
UPDATE:
*Purchase teeny hair elastics at the Dollar Store, great stitch markers.
*Scour second-hand stores or sales at Wal-Mart, etc. for cheapy purses, cut off the handles and use them on your bags.
*Quoted from a faithful reader: When I am knitting I get distracted and forget which stitch I am supposed to be doing. I am working on a poncho that has purl 4 stitches, knit 20, purl 4. Next row knit all, then repeat. So to remind me I place 2 ribbons with holes cut in them on a peg wrong sides together one on top of the other. One color I write Purl on and the other Knit on and it reminds me ok this row is all knit and this row I have to purl (partly). As soon as I finish a row I turn over the ribbons and then if I get pulled from my loom I come back and know exactly what to do next :)
*From “celticdragonlady2002” To remove residue from Scotch tape: try peanut butter on the residue...smear some on the area, let it set for a few minutes, then wipe off. The sticky residue SHOULD wipe right off as well. The peanut butter oil has solvent properties that breakdown the residue.
By Kansas A
Ping to this post (2900) gluten free flour
[An excellent blog, a little of everything and a glimpse at life on a ranch....granny]
What to do with those leftover Xmas Cards
“Think outside the box.” Or just think “of a box.” It’s pretty simple to make small boxes from old Christmas cards.
Take one used Christmas card. (Thank you Isolde for the card, and a Merry Christmas to you too!)
[photos - how to]
http://kansasa.blogspot.com/search/label/Christmas
Lunch bag CD holder:
http://kansasa.blogspot.com/search/label/Crafting
An entire page of gardening info:
http://kansasa.blogspot.com/search/label/Garden
Homegrown Luffa
I did it! After months of wondering if I was going to have luffa, and even thinking it had failed a few times, it turned out great! It sure has been a learning experience I have to say. Next year I will do a few things differently.
I have no idea what “zone” I live in and I’m sure most people would say that my area is cold, but here in Lillooet we have very hot summers with very little rain (usually) :) If you were to look on a map I live about four hours north of Vancouver BC Canada. Growing luffa in my area you will have to do things a bit differently than if you lived down south with heat year ‘round. Here’s my mistakes and what I will do differently next year.
Germination: I tried two different ways and found soaking them in a plate of water for two days, with no paper towels, and then planting them worked the best. After planting I placed them on a germination box set near a very hot woodstove. Four days later they spouted. (I have read that sprouting can take as long as 3 weeks!)
I started them way too early: March 3rd. My house is HOT, I had sprouts in four days, and full grown plants when it came time to take them outside. Next year I will time it so they are only in the house for roughly 3 weeks so a good time to start for me would be May 1st. If it’s a bit chilly at the end of May at least they will be small enough to place covers over them. This year when I was able to plant them they were well over five feet long with numerous vines already growing, impossible to cover. I planted them at different times and first lost quite a few to transplant shock, then we had a freak snowstorm and I lost the second batch, and finally when I planted the last three I still had in the house, they lost all their leaves and I thought for sure they were dead. I kept watering them and eventually saw small green growing from the bottom, essentially they had started over from scratch.
I did have a few cool days when I threw an old wool blanket over them on the fence and I’m not sure if it helped, but they continued to grow. You might want to pick a spot where it’s not too close to your house because the number of wasps and bees were crazy. Luffa seems to flower the whole season so the insects were constant.
Harvesting: I picked a few long before they were ready, thinking they were ready. I peeled them with a carrot peeler like I had seen at one site. This did NOT work. The flesh inside was still very fleshy and the seeds were impossible to get out without pretty much destroying the luffa. The seeds were white and very small. The fiber was not out to the edge of the peel and I lost a lot of the luffa. They more resembled a zucchini inside and I would not do it this way again. Lufa has to be dry, such as at this site, but in my area the luffa is still growing and hasn’t got to that dry stage when our cold weather hits. I waited until the first frost killed the vines, after a few days I cut the luffa at the stems, leaving enough stem to tie a string on them. I hung them by our woodstove and let them dry completely. They became very light and the peel cracked when you squeezed them. I cut both ends off with a serrated knife and could see the flesh inside was now like cotton. I then tried to peel it, this was very difficult. I started running water over it and the peel came off much easier, the flesh washed out really well, and the seeds coming out were black and most of them washed out with the running water. I’m sure the black seeds will be good for planting next year, unlike the under developed white ones.
After getting all the seeds out I soaked the luffa in bleach water and here’s my finished product:
I still have many hanging by my woodstove that haven’t completely dried but this smaller one was pretty much ready.
By Kansas A at 11:59 AM
download the latest version of Internet Explorer so you can have tabbed browsing?<<<
Not on your life, laughing as I say that.
I have Foxfire and it has tabbed browsing, my problem is that I keep opening new windows and fill them with tabs.
If you haven’t tried Fox Fire check it out, it beats both Explorer and Netscape. LOL, I have both of those too.
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/
LOL, so what is wrong with having the name backwards?
Firefox, is a smaller faster engine and even the old versions were better than the other two.
My opinion of course, along with many millions who agree.
Yeah right!! There are only about 1,000,000 websites out there with the same information!<<<
But they want to sell it to you and none of them have as much as we have here...........that I know of.
Thanks for keeping an eye out for the gluten free flours.
Thank you for all the work you have already done on this thread and the index, you are a real wonder woman.
Excellent site, crafts, make overs, recycle, ton of ideas and links, some is very sharp looking:
an example of why I hate hidden links, everyone of these go to a different blog, but you will need to come here for the link, as I am too tired to open all of them, so they can be posted....... getting off my soapbox..granny
prodigious list for a handmade thanksgiving
JC handmade: lavender/herb bags
crafting nature ideas
crafty fall roundup
sublime stitching: embroidered napkins
bella dia: handprint turkey softie
storque: patchwork trivet
table centrepiece
martha stewart: paper turkeys
plum pudding: nature sculpture
Amy Butler: fabric leaves pattern
maple leaf coasters
acorn wreath [pictured]
leaf votives (candle holders)
country living: oak leaf wreath
martha stewart: corn husk garland
felt napkin rings
napkin leaf prints
thanksgiving table runner
crochet acorn
soft acorn
martha stewart: thanksgiving table setting ideas :: fall garland
woolen wreath
thanksgiving papercraft
button napkin rings at craft stylish
brussel sprout wreath
clove necklace
http://whipup.net/2008/11/26/prodigious-list-for-a-handmade-thanksgiving/
[more hidden links, each to a site...]
mammoth list of festive tutorials
egg carton fairy lights
thrifted holiday trees
mini felt stockings
tomorrowland trees
woolly decorations
jingle mouse ornament
ice wreath
celestine knitted star
froebel star
no sew holiday ornament
woodland ornament
mitten ornament
gumdrop wreath
felt wool pomander
little house ornament
advent calendar
pocket advent calendar
blanket stockings
bird mobile
flower pinwheel
bunting flags
stars and hearts ornaments
teepee ornament
paper fortune cookies
easy ornament
festive tutorial roundup
ribbon pinecone ornament
advent calendar tutorial roundup
woolen wreath
owl ornament
fabric chain
stacked fabric trees [pictured]
santa lucia dolls
pyramid advent calendar
joke tree advent calendar
yoyo advent calendar
cookie sheet advent calendar
felt circle garland
modern paper ornaments
chandelier ornament
paper dove ornament
maddie bird ornament download
mitten ornament
recycled stars
yarn wrapped ornament
button ornament
owl ornament pattern
felt candy cane ornament
ice skate ornaments
peace dove ornament
gift wrapping
holiday tags
pom pom gift topper
recycled packaging
gift card boxes
Share and Enjoy:
http://whipup.net/2008/11/28/mammoth-list-of-festive-tutorials/
Gingerbread recipes, more hidden links to different sites and other good information.
http://bohemianrevolution.com/
Well it is more fun, when it is shared, thanks to you.
Some times I get to thinking, “I can talk to myself at home, why post till your hands cramp and no one knows you exist?”
Thanks for coming along to join the fun.
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