DILL! Makes us think of pickles, potato salad and…
You have been well aware that the faithful Club Members have terrific ideas and have generously shared them. Well, the mail was especially fun this morning because I heard from a Member from Canada! She and I seem to have a kindred spirit, as do many of the people who take the time to share their lives, and she reminded me how good dill is with carrots! Here is part of her dear message:
“One thing I really love to use dill for is my carrots. especially new carrots, cook until just done, then I add butter and a good sprinkle of dill. When we have company they always rave about my carrots and that is all I do if I am getting “fancy”. “ ~Pat
Boy. I wish I had thought of that! grin We appreciate you for sharing, Pat!
Mother Connie really cannot think of dill without remembering the blog post featuring Dill Pickle Soup! It’s time to prepare a pot of that again! Maybe one day soon I’ll bake a loaf of dill bread. . . wouldn’t that make wonderful croutons?
Pat also had another dilly of an idea: “Turmeric is another of my favorites. Especially with rice!“
Because rice can be ‘blah’ turmeric would certainly give it a kick. That makes me think of my pal, Velda. One of her go-to quick meals when she is too tired to cook is to cook rice, add a can of spinach, juice and all and heat it all together. If she thinks it needs a finishing touch, she sprinkles cheese over it. Now, I’m thinking a pinch or two of turmeric would give that dish a whole new character!
Recently a visitor to the Club House kitchen spied the spice rack, which had recently been moved next to the stove. She was curious about the little bottles and how the contents got used. Really, spices are a reasonably inexpensive way to add punch to your cooking. We get into routines, we humans, and when we use spices to flavor our food it helps to break the monotony. She assured me she would “steal” all my best spice ideas and try them out in her kitchen!
There is always cleaning to be done…
Changing the subject, as I am wont to to, I want to share the cleaning tips sent in by April. Bless her heart, she must keep quite the tidy house and busy kitchen. Still, she makes the time to share with the Club:
“April’s All Purpose Spray:
In a spray bottle, combine equal parts water and vinegar. Shake and use. DO NOT USE ON MARBLE. You can add essential oils, if you want.
To help clean drains pour baking soda down the drain, then pour a little vinegar down the drain.
For cleaning toilets just pour straight vinegar into the bowl, let it sit for a few minutes and then scrub and flush. **Mother Connie here: I had a good friend who used a paper cup to dip all the water out of the bowl and THEN used vinegar + soda to scrub. She cleaned for a living, so I think she must have earned her $!
To make a a soft scrub, mix baking soda and water. It is non abrasive and good to use for sinks and tubs.”
*Thank you, April!
One more cleaning tip for you comes from a good friend who also cleans for a living. Her home made window cleaner is the BOMB and I have used it for years. When she gave me the formula I was astonished at how simple it is:
“In a large spray bottle use a pint of alcohol *NOT the drinking kind!
Fill the bottle with water *Filtered water is best, if you have it
Add 1 TABLESPOON Prell shampoo
Mix the ingredients by shaking the bottle gently and spray on glass. Use coffee filters to polish the surface.
*When washing the INSIDE of windows, wipe them from side to side; on the OUTSIDE,wipe them from top to bottom. By doing so, you can easily see any missed spots. “
Dawn, thank you so much!
Cleaning must be done in our homes regardless of how tired we are, whether we like to clean or not. The SNAP or WIC funds help feed our loved ones but they do not wash the dishes or clean the sink! If you use food commodities or items from a food bank or food pantry, you still have to sweep floors and make beds! Those of you who are frugal or living on a dime, know all too well that those chores pile up as they wait–we hope these ideas will lighten your load.
Again, we thank the Members who contributed their ideas to this post. We really could not keep house without you people!!!
The FTC wants you to know there are links in this post. Should they be clicked, resulting in sales, your humble blogger would be fairly compensated. Please do your due diligence when conducting affairs online or offline. Always do business with those you trust implicitly.
PS/Did you fill out the questionnaire for the Public Insight Network yet? They will be so pleased to hear from you. Remember that there is nothing to buy. Click here: Public Insight Network.
PS#2: These cleaning supplies will be pressed into full service to properly prepare the Club House for the Cooking Class in October! WOOOO HOOOO!
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Do you have an idea that makes your life easier when it comes to home care or food? Won’t you take a moment to share that here?
We really appreciate your input!
Warmly, Mother Connie
Whenever I’m expecting company, and want to perfume the air and discover that I am out of that pricey air freshener; I don’t panic. I merely put a small pan of water on the back of the stove and fill it 2/3 of the way full with water…add some cinnamon, cloves and maybe a dash of nutmeg to fill the house full of a satisfying, welcome to my home smell. Of course, it does tend to make the mouth water…so it is always best to have a pan of apple cinnamon muffins to go with their sit down and stay a while cup of coffee. Soooo, when are you expected to arrive Connie?
I’m on my way, Rainy!
I love the idea of saving $ by not buying air fresheners. I suspect they are full of toxins…
Keep that coffee hot til I get there…
Hugs,
MC
Sheepishly admitting here…I may need to make a brand new pot of coffee.
Hurry up, will ya??
Hey, Girlfriend, I’m doing the best I can!
HA!
xoxo
mc
I don’t know if this is the proper place to put this tip or not…you decide Connie. However, you know, sometimes I get guests who like their coffee iced. Well, the thing is…coffee is hot when you make it and when you add ice to it…it melts pretty fast and waters down the coffee. So what I do, is when I have a pot of coffee that has sat a bit too long on the burner and I’ve gotten distracted and forgotten to finish it (doesn’t happen too often but once in a while it does); then I take that coffee and I freeze it in small little containers. When frozen I take them out of the containers, and plop them into freezer bags. I use these to make “iced” coffee for my guests. These ice cubes don’t dilute the coffee and leaves the iced coffee lovers happy. Me too, because I don’t have an ice maker in my fridge (and ice trays filled with ice tend to take on the freezer taste in my humble opinion) so I guy bags of ice at the convenience store. It saves me money and tastes great for those iced coffee lovers. Just so you know, I do this tip for parties and such with punch too. Nothing worse than watered down punch when entertaining. I use old whipped cream tubs that I re-purpose into “ice cube makers”. I pour my punch base into them, filling them about 2/3 of the way full and freeze. When it is time to serve the punch…I use these big ice cubes to cool down the punch…again, no dilution of the punch with watery ice cubes. If you want to fancy it up…you can add fresh fruit or mint leaves to the ice rings before they freeze.
What great ideas, Rainy! I love iced coffee on hot summer days but when it gets watered down from the ice, it’s no fun any more. By doing as you describe the problem is solved!
So long as there is room in the freezer you have it made!
I know you have tons of ideas along these lines and you are always soooo good to bring them to us!
Great Big Hugs,
Mother Connie
Oh i forgot to mention that vinegar works well as a fabric softener also. i just put some in one of those downy ball and it works great no static! also almost all of the cleaning formula ingredients can be bought with an ebt card. oh and a tip with using vinegar to clean toliet is i bought one of those squeeze bottles thats for putting mayo or whatever in that you can get for 2. i put straight vinegar in flushed toliet so the water level was low and squeezed vinegar under the ring around top and let it sit for a for a few the scrub.
Any way glad the tips were helpful. i try to avoid unnecessary chemicals if possible! I just dont like using them around my children. well im off to make another pot of soup this time vegetable beef.
I love those cleaning tips!
If I use dried mushrooms (I get them at a good price at BJ’s and they last me forever) or cook vegetables, I save the water for stock by freezing it in ice cube trays. Then, if I want to add extra flavor to rice, pasta, soup, or other dishes, or if I just want to thin out a soup but keep in some flavor, I can add a few cubes of stock.
And if I use stock I already have onhand (either homemade and home canned, homemade and frozen, or store bought), I freeze the extra in ice cube trays and use it like the veggie stock above.
I pop them and seal them in a labeled freezer bag.
As far as cleaning goes, ordinary dish soap does wonders for basic cleaning. Just a squirt in a pan of warm water and I can wash my counters and surfaces. I rinse with water and dry and I’m done.
April’s window cleaner is a good one, but I’m not even sure Prell is even available anymore…at least, not here. Dawn dish soap would be a good substitute.