Tag: Cooking

8 Ways Not to Use Vinegar

8 Ways Not to Use Vinegar

  • Chaya, selected from Networx

By Adam Verwymeren, Networx

Common household vinegar is one of those wonder products that people are always discovering new uses for. Whether you want to drive away dandruff, eradicate mildew, or keep bugs at bay, vinegar has been proposed as a solution to just about every problem under the sun.

But while it has a number of uses, vinegar isn’t always the solution, and on occasion it can be downright dangerous. Here are the top 8 ways not to put this miracle substance to work in your home.

1. While vinegar is good at cleaning many things, you shouldn’t confuse it with soap. Alkaline cleaners like dish detergent are ideally suited for lifting grease, whereas vinegar will have little effect on it. If you have a greasy cleaning job, reach for regular soap and leave the vinegar on the shelf.

2. You should never use vinegar on waxed surfaces. The vinegar will only strip the wax off, dulling the sheen on your nicely shined car. However, vinegar is a great option if you’re looking to remove an old coat of wax before you put down a fresh layer of polish.

3. Do not use vinegar on marble countertops or other stoneware, as it can cause the stone to pit and corrode, according to the Marble Institute.

4. Your smartphone and laptop monitor probably have a thin layer of oleophobic coating that limits fingerprints and smudges. Acidic vinegar can strip this off, so you should never use it to clean sensitive screens.

5. Cast iron and aluminum are reactive surfaces. If you want to use vinegar to clean pots and pans, use it exclusively on stainless steel and enameled cast iron cookware.

6. While both bleach and vinegar are powerful cleaning agents, when mixed together they make a powerful chemical weapon. Chlorine gas, the stuff used to clear the trenches in World War I, results when bleach is mixed with an acidic substance, so never mix them together.

7. While vinegar can be useful as an insecticide, you shouldn’t spray it directly on bug-infested plants as it can damage them. However, you can use vinegar’s plant-killing effect to your advantage by using it as a weed killer, as suggested by several people on Hometalk.

8. If you’re the victim of an egging, do not try to dissolve the remnants of this prank away with vinegar. Vinegar will cause the proteins in the egg to coagulate, creating a gluey substance that is even more impossible to clean up, says Popular Mechanics.

I also feel obligated to say that although vinegar is touted as a great way to remove mildew and mold, like bleach it only kills surface mold. Most mold problems are deeper than what you see on the surface, and your best bet is to kill them at their source (which is usually leaks and rotting drywall).

The Magick Of Herbs In the Kitchen

The Magick Of Herbs In the Kitchen

Just stop and think about the Magickal properties of cooking…The Goddess and God energy that is in your kitchen…Well..if you haven’t given it a thought let me see if I can change your perspective about the chore of cooking! Let us start in your kitchen cabinets…What can be found upon these shelves? Herbs of course!

Every herb has magickal, medicinal, and cooking uses…For example:

#1) Salt…Earth…Pentacle…North…Grounding…

#2) Pepper…South…The Wand…Fire…Inspiration…

#3) Garlic…Exorcism…Clearing a space…Protection…

#4) Cumin…Love…Loyality…

#5) Sage (my favorite) East…Wisdom…Smudge with this herb to cleanse the auric field…Healing herb for the stomach…Colon…Sinuses and nasal passages…

Olive oil……West…Used as a cooking oil…(although any ail used to excess is bad for you) …Can be used to make massage oils or annointing oils as a base (just add any of your favorite herbs!)…It also breaks down cholesterol rather than producing it….So as you can see Magick is all around us…Even in our kitchens!….

The Cake

It has always been customary for the bride and groom to slice a fruitcake, holding the knife together and showing their affection by kissing over the top of it. This is supposed to guarantee that together they will bring forth many children. Then, by sharing the cake with their guests, they are indirectly sharing the magickal energies of their love and passing it on to everyone present. Some are terribly lucky, because their maids of honor will bake cakes in the shape of pentagrams. While making the cake, a lovely spell will be casted over the cake to make the marriage a happy one.

A Cherokee Feast of Days, Volume II” – July 14

A Cherokee Feast of Days, Volume II” – July 14

Eating the greens Grandmother gathered was a trial, an imposition on a
child remembering the fried or roasted meats of wintertime. But she
persisted in gathering them and she insisted that I eat them because
their medicinal properties would ward off many diseases. Grandmother
would have been appalled at many things from fast-food to the tasteless
cooking of greens. She was the matriarch and in many ways remains so,
because her mindset set our minds and even now an unwanted salad comes
with the command, “Eat!” We remember and are the better for it.

~ Our village was healthy and there was no place in the country
possessing such advantages. ~ MA-KA-TAI-ME-SHE-KIA-KIAK ~ SAUK AND FOX CHIEF
.
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

Herb of the Day for July 7th is Agar-Agar

 

Herb of the Day

 

Agar-Agar

Botanical: Gelidium amansii (KUTZ)
Family: N.O. Algae

—Synonyms— Japanese Isinglass.
—Part Used—The mucilage dried, after boiling the seaweed.
—Habitat—Japan, best variety; Ceylon and Macassar.

—Description—-A seaweed gathered on the East Indian coast and sent to China, it is derived from the various species of Sphaerococcus Euchema and Gelidium. It is brownish-white in colour with thorny projections on its branches; the best variety, known as Japanese Isinglass, contains large quantities of mucilage. The seaweed after collection is spread out on the shore until bleached, and then dried; it is afterwards boiled in water and the mucilaginous solution strained, the filtrate being allowed to harden, and then it is dried in the sun. The time for collection of the Algae is summer and autumn when the bleachingand drying can take place, but the final preparation of Agar-Agar is carried out in winter from November to February. The Japanese variety is derived from several kinds of Algae and comes into European commerce in two forms: (1) In transparent pieces 2 feet long, the thickness of a straw, prepared in Singapore by treating it in hot water. (2) In yellowish white masses about 1 inch wide and 1 foot long. The latter is the form considered the more suitable for the culture of bacteria.

—Constituents—Agar-Agar contains glose, which is a powerful gelatinizing agent. It is precipitated from solution by alcohol. Glose is a carbohydrate. Acetic, hydrochloric and oxalic acids prevent gelatinization of Agar-Agar.

—Medicinal Action and Uses—Agar-Agar is widely used as a treatment for constipation, but is usually employed with Cascara when atony of the intestinal muscles is present. It does not increase peristaltic action. Its therapeutic value depends on the ability of the dry Agar to absorb and retain moisture. Its action is mechanical and analogous to that of the cellulose of vegetable foods, aiding the regularity of the bowel movements. It is sometimes used as an adulterant of jams and jellies.

—Dosage and Preparations—It is usually administered in small shreds mixed with fruit, milk or any convenient vehicle. It is not wise to give it in powder, as this gives rise to irritation in some cases. 1/2 to 1 ounce may be taken at a time. 1 ounce to a pint of boiling water makes a suitable jelly for invalids and may be flavoured with lemon.

—Other Species—Ceylon Agar-Agar, or Agal Agal, which is the native name of Gracillaria lichenoides, is largely used in the East for making soups and jellies. Gigartina speciosa, a variety found on the Swan River, was erroneously supposed to have formed the edible swallow’s nest, but it has been ascertained that this delicacy comes from a peculiar secretion in the birds themselves. Macassar Agar-Agar comes from the straits between Borneo and Celebes and consists of impure Euchema Spinolum incrusted with salt.

Happy, Happy, Happy Wednesday To Ya’ !

 

Good Morning or Afternoon my lovely readers! How are all of you doing today? As you know and probably noticed I have been rather quite since my momma wildcat was found dead in the field. She had been shot and then the people brought her over here for me to find, well on our property.  I am dealing with this rather well now. I am still trying to find where my hubby hide the gun cabinet key but life is good. He keeps telling me, “No way in hell are you getting that key now. You will go to the pen.” No, I won’t. Anyway we are having a battle over the key. I know he is right. But you know how we hate for men to know they are right!!!

I have to tell you something funny though, we found the little babies the momma left behind. There were three of the little devils and they are absolutely adorable. I found out something funny last night. I came in the house to get their food to feed them. Stinker was up on the table mad and jealous. So I took the time to love him and reassure him, he was the best cat on the planet. Well he had loved all over my hands and my arms. I didn’t think a thing about it. I went back outside and two of the babies thought I was their mother. They came running, meowing and looking for a tit. When I sit on the ground, I sit Indian style. These two little brats found my toes and they did everything they could to get milk out of them. Well I finally got them to bed. I came up the porch steps and at the back of the porch sit two of the big male wildcats. I came in the house to get their food and by the time I got back out there, they were eating the babies food. I reached for the one shotgun hubby will let me have (because it is filled with rock salt). I took it outside, aimed at their butts and let them have it. Rock salt won’t hurt them just stings like hell and scares them.  They ran off.  Well I had to come back outside and count the kids to make sure they were all right. When I did, I found two of them sitting on the steps. I noticed another tail under the car where I had been hiding their food. I thought this is strange. I went to check to see if this was the little runt that was missing. I got down on both knees and peeped under the car and looking back at me was the biggest skunk I had ever seen in my life. I screamed the skunk jumped up and hit its head and we both run. After I calmed down and got to thinking about how that skunk looked when he saw me, I started laughing. The poor fella, if he had sprayed me, he wouldn’t have been a poor fella. I thought about that also. What if he had sprayed me? Oh my goodness! I don’t even want to think about it. But this place has turned into wild kingdom. All I can say is, “Wish you where here!”

Ancestor Summoning

  1. Add one tablespoon of anisette liqueur to a glass of pure spring water.
  2. Place it on a table to summon ancestral and other beneficial spirits.
  3. That much alone is sufficient; however, to reinforce the spell add photographs of blood relative, even if they are not the ones whom you call.
  4. Provide food or other libations that the ancestors will find hard to resist, whatever is appropriate to your family or cultural tradition, or perhaps serve them whatever you would if they were truly coming to dinner.

Herbal Oil for Salads and Sautes

Enjoy this spicy oil for Mexican salad and rice dishes, or add it to a fresh garden salad.

1    cup oil

3    (2-inch) sprigs each of oregano and basil or rosemary and thyme

1    tablespoon each fresh oregano and basil or rosemary and thyme

1    (1/4-inch piece ginger

1    chili

1/2     teaspoon seeds, crushed with mortar and pestle

Gently heat oil 3 – 5 minutes. Pour into a glass jar with six 2-inch sprigs of herbs for each cup of oil. or one of the following fresh herbs, ginger, chili, or seeds. Cool, cover, and refrigerate up to six months.

*Note:  Only add garlic to oils to be used within three days,. Garlic forms a botulism in oil that can cause severe  diarrhea.