Prayer Tray

I have always wanted for my family to make prayer a lifestyle. And so this little project of mine was inspired by our Tita Pynky, who does prayer fasting once a week, and out of my desire for my children to become prayerful individuals.

I have seen and heard many people devise ways to make prayer life a wonder. Some have the gift and it comes naturally. Others use paraphernalia like writing in journals, sticks, leaves or with lighted candles while fasting. The idea of using candles is very nice but I don’t want my house on fire. For safety reasons, I came up with stones.

Yesterday, I went to a pet store and bought some white, gray and other colored decorative stones… yes, the ones you see inside a fish tank. The white, large stones represent the members of my family (the core group) and the rest of the stones, I marked with names of all the loved ones, relatives and friends that we want to pray for. Each stone represents a person or a family who are precious in the eyes of God. The stones serve as a reminder to pray for someone that day or that week.

My children are ages 15, 13, 8 and 5 and I would like for them to experience prayer as a joy. So this activity doesn’t have many rules. Just as long as the stones are treated as “precious” and returned to the tray, we’re okay. I also have extra stones and a marker at a safe place, just in case someone asks us to pray for them.

How do we do it?

We pick two stones: one from the core group at the center of the tray (white stones marked with each of our names on it) and another one from the colored stones for those we are led to pray for.
We each pray for the names that are marked on the stones for the day or for the whole week. We can pray for as many people as the Spirit leads. Then we put them inside the cute pouches as we will be carrying them all throughout the day.

After we’re done praying, we return the stones back to where they were originally parked.

I am looking forward to the fruits of our prayer life. This is one way to teach our children that prayer is a lifestyle. You might also want to log in the names that were prayed for in a small notebook. It will surely be exciting to see the hand of the Lord in the lives of our loved ones and friends as we pray for them faithfully.

I hope this was helpful to you

Maranatha!

SOME VERY USEFUL HOUSEHOLD HINTS

I have received this very nice email from a friend and picked up a few little tricks for household tips....

Peel a banana from the bottom and you won't have to pick the little "stringy things" off of it. That's how the primates do it.

Take your bananas apart when you get home from the store. If you leave them connected at the stem, they ripen faster.

Store your opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil. It will stay fresh much longer and not mold!

Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating. Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking.

Add a teaspoon of water when frying ground beef. It will help pull the grease away from the meat while cooking.

To really make scrambled eggs or omelets rich, add a couple of spoonfuls of sour cream, cream cheese, or heavy cream in and then beat them up.

For a cool brownie treat, make brownies as directed. Melt Andes mints in double broiler and pour over warm brownies. Let set for a wonderful minty frosting.

Add garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light taste of garlic, and at the end of the recipe if your want a stronger taste of garlic.

Leftover snickers bars from Halloween make a delicious dessert. Simple chop them up with the food chopper. Peel, core and slice a few apples. Place them in a baking dish and sprinkle the chopped candy bars over the apples. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes!!! Serve alone or with vanilla ice cream.

Reheating Pizza - Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro pizza. I saw this on the cooking channel and it really works.

Easy Deviled Eggs - Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal, mash till they are all broken up. Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up mixing thoroughly, cut the tip of the baggy, squeeze mixture into egg. Just throw bag away when done... easy clean up.

Expanding Frosting - When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to frost more cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You also eat less sugar and calories per serving.

Reheating Refrigerated Bread - To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place them in a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep the food moist and help it reheat faster.

Newspaper Weeds Away - Start putting in your plants, work the nutrients in your soil. Wet newspapers, put layers around the plants overlapping. As you go, cover with mulch and forget about weeds. Weeds will get through some gardening plastic; they will not get through wet newspapers.

Broken Glass - Use a wet cotton ball or Q-tip to pick up the small shards of glass you can't see easily.

No More Mosquitoes - Place a dryer sheet in your pocket. It will keep the mosquitoes away.

Squirrel Away - To keep squirrels from eating your plants, sprinkle your plants with cayenne pepper. The cayenne pepper doesn't hurt the plant and the squirrels won't come near it.

Flexible Vacuum - To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge, add an empty paper towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum. It can be bent or flattened to get in narrow openings.

Reducing Static Cling - Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip and you will not have a clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling when wearing panty hose. Place pin in seam of slacks... and static is gone!

Measuring Cups - Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with hot water. Dump out the hot water, but don't dry cup. Next, add your ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out.

Foggy Windshield? - Hate foggy windshields? Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the glove box of your car. When the windows fog, rub with the eraser! Works better than a cloth! Turning on your air conditioner will clear foggy windshields too... in the winter, turn on HIGH - only takes a minute.

Reopening Envelope - If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include something inside, just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an hour or two. Voila! It unseals easily.

Conditioner - Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It's a lot cheaper than shaving cream and leaves your legs really smooth. It's also a great way to use up the conditioner you bought but didn't like when you tried it in your hair.

Goodbye Fruit Flies - To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass, fill it 1/2" with Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dishwashing liquid, mix well. You will find those flies drawn to the cup and gone forever!

Get Rid of Ants - Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it "home," can't digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so, especially if it rains, but it works & you don't have the worry about pets or small children being harmed!

INFO ABOUT CLOTHES DRYERS - The heating unit went out on my dryer! The gentleman that fixes things around the house for us told us that he wanted to show us something and he went over to the dryer and pulled out the lint filter. It was clean. (I always clean the lint from the filter after every load clothes.) He told us that he wanted to show us something; he took the filter over to the sink, ran hot water over it. The lint filter is made of a mesh material - I'm sure you know what your dryer's lint filter looks like. Well, the hot water just sat on top of the mesh! It didn't go through it at all! He told us that dryer sheets cause a film over that mesh... that's what burns out the heating unit. You can't SEE the film, but it's there. It's what is in the dryer sheets to make your clothes soft and static free (that nice fragrance too). You know how they can feel waxy when you take them out of the box... Well, this stuff builds up on your clothes and on your lint screen. This is also what causes dryer units to catch fire & potentially burn your house down with it! He said the best way to keep your dryer working for a very long time (& to keep your electric bill lower) is to take that filter out & wash it with hot soapy water & an old toothbrush (or other brush) at least every six months. He said that makes the life of the dryer at least twice as long! How about that!?! Learn something new everyday! I certainly didn't know dryer sheets would do that. So, I thought I'd share!

Note: I went to my dryer & tested my screen by running water on it. The water ran through a little bit but mostly collected all the water in the mesh screen. I washed it with warm soapy water & a nylon brush & I had it done in 30 seconds. Then when I rinsed it the water ran right thru the screen! There wasn't any puddling at all! That repairman knew what he was talking about!

After a month….

If you're a frequent visitor of my blog, about a month ago, I featured an article about drying your own herbs.

Last week, I finally harvested the long-awaited herbs that has been hanging to dry by the roofed patio for a month!

And here they are.... my fresh dried herbs. It looks and smells like heaven after I crumpled them into bits and pieces. I used this convenient flip-flop air tight container for storage. Whenever I need a dash for my dishes, it's just a flip-flop away!

Tips to great cupcakes

(pictures credited to: www.eddybles.com)

A few months back, I was in this small group of little daughters and moms in a baking class. It was a fun get-together. We baked 2 kinds of cupcakes: lemon and vanilla, and the most moist "food for the gods".

The baking stint with the little ones was, as expected, messy! You know, after these little hands measure the dry ingredients, you will find them running around and playing hide and seek. Then, they come back and gather again in the kitchen to do some more measuring. I felt for a time I was in for a merry-go-round ride. The cupcakes turned out fine... but some were just flat due to over beating. Nevertheless, it was quite a wonderful experience for both mother and daughter activity.

The only thing I need to emphasize about cupcakes is how to bake them the right way. If there’s one thing I am known for, it’s the "excellence" in me. Call me a perfectionist or a spoiled little snot: either is an apt description. When something doesn’t go right or looks like it needed mastery, I would try again until I get excellent results. That is why, baking more cupcakes and learning from my mistakes made me take note of some points to remember to bake the almost-to-perfect ones.

Here are some tips:

1. Fill your cupcake wells 1/2 to 2/3 full. Any more and you will get a gooey mess instead of a beautiful cupcake. If you use less than 1/2 a well of batter, then you will get wimpy cupcakes and will have to use extra frosting to make them look larger. The picture below is an image of a simple batter mixture.

2. Choose the right cupcake pan. Good cupcake pans are shiny and on the heavy side. They will cook 6 to 12 cupcakes at a time. Large muffin pans don't work well for baking precious little cupcakes. Make sure you have 2 pans available because then you won't have to cool a pan before you finish baking your cupcakes. Two 12 well cupcake pans should be enough for one batch of cupcakes.

3. Make it easy o remove the cupcakes from your pan. Either use paper or foil wrappers or spray the individual wells with a nonstick spray. If you are using the new silicone pans, wrappers or nonstick spray work fine in these also.

4. Don't overmix or overbeat your batter. I will emphasize this again.... Never overbeat your batter!!!! Trust me, this has been my dilemma. This will cause your cupcakes to end up like flat shoes or to be rather chewy instead of perfectly moist. How do you do this? It's safe to mix your dry and liquid ingredients manually rather than with a mixer. You want to see some flour in your batter... this means it's not over mixed/beaten. Or follow the directions in your cupcake recipe. If your recipe calls for a hand mixer and you are using a stand mixer, you will need to reduce your mixing time. Stand mixers mix batters faster than regular hand mixers. Consult your owners manual for mixing time adjustments.

5. Bring all ingredients to room temperature before mixing your cupcake batter. The items will mix evenly, and the result will be a wonderful cupcake batter. By mixing cold items into your batter, you risk having a lumpy batter which might cause you to overmix your batter. GASP! What a No No!

6. Bake your cupcakes at the proper temperature. Preheat your oven to the correct temperature BEFORE you put your cupcakes in the oven. An oven thermometer would also be a great idea to make sure your oven is set to the right temperature. If your oven cooks food faster at the rear of the oven, then make sure you rotate your cupcake pan halfway through the baking time.

7. Use your favorite cake batter to make cupcakes. Batter for an 8 inch layer cake usually makes 20-24 cupcakes. Just make sure you have mixed the batter well, and only fill the cupcake liners 1/2 to 2/3 full. Bake approximately 20 minutes, and check for doneness using a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center of the cupcakes.

8. Test for doneness after the minimum cooking time. If the cupcakes aren't finished cooking after the minimum time, then place them back in the oven for some additional cooking time. Cupcakes are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

9. Cook only one pan of cupcakes at a time. Place your cupcake pan in the very center of your oven. If your oven tends to cook items more that are towards the back, then rotate your cupcake pan halfway through the cooking time. If you absolutely have to bake 2 pans of cupcakes at one time, make sure you switch cupcake pans halfway through the cooking time. By this I mean put the bottom pan on the top and move the top pan to the bottom.

10. Cupcakes are best eaten the same day they are made. Undecorated cupcakes can be frozen up to 3 months.

Why don't you bake your favorite cupcakes now? Enjoy one as soon as it's ready and then either share the rest with friends or freeze them for your future enjoyment!

Drying your own herbs?

Yes, nothing beats the taste of fresh herbs picked from your own garden and added, seconds later, to the pan simmering on your stove.

But when fresh herbs are no longer in season, there's no reason to resort to those jars of stale supermarket herbs that have lingered in your pantry for years.
Last weekend, my family had a chance to visit a place where herb plants were in abundance. My herb plants in the garden have passed their season. Unfortunately, only the chives survived. So, I snipped a handful of the herbs I could find.
It was a good thing we were there early morning just as the dew evaporated and before they are subject to direct sunlight. I carefully picked the ones just before the flowers open as this is when the oil in the leaves are at it's highest level, providing the greatest flavor. But if there are a few flowers, I guess it won't matter too much. If you plan to dry your own herbs, this is what you’ll do. If you've harvested entire "branches" you can air-dry them by tying the stems together and hanging them upside down in a large brown paper bag or plastic bag with holes around it for ventilation. Make sure there is plenty of room inside the bag so leaves do not touch the sides of the bag. Label them and date each bag. Look for a dry, fairly warm area away from direct sunlight to hang your herbs.. There is no need to wash them first, unless they have dirt or other inedible bits attached. If you do need to rinse them briefly in cold water, pat them dry immediately with paper towels before hanging.
It should take between two and four weeks to yield an excellent supply of dried herbs. Test them periodically to see how they're doing. The leaves should be brittle but not so dry that they crumble to dust between your fingers! When herbs are dry and crumbly, remove leaves from stems. Crush leaves with a rolling pin or leave whole. Pack in an airtight container, preferably dark, or zip-top bag with air removed. I combine half of the yield in one container for my roasts, pastas, pizzas and soups. Some recipes dictate individual portions so I keep the rest in separate containers. Use within 6 months.
Reminder: Sage, thyme, summer savory, dill, bay leaves, oregano, rosemary and marjoram are sturdy, low-moisture herbs that are best suited for air-drying.
Basil, tarragon, lemon balm and the mints have a high moisture content and will mold if not dried quickly. So the oven, dehumidifier or dehydrator methods work better.
Chives are best frozen.

The right way to peel Castañas

It’s only October and I can smell Christmas in the air! Christmas is not Christmas without Poinsettias, ham, queso de bola, lechon…. and castanas!
Castañas (or chestnuts) is a favorite of my family. We buy them cooked from grocery stores so we don’t have to roast them. Chestnuts are very high in starch. Most people will only eat a few at a sitting but my family just can’t stop once we get started.
However, through the years, I have found a way to peel them without much hassle. Here’s how:

1. Quickly strike each nut with a mallet. Your goal here is to create a small slit across the rounded side of your chestnut. Beware, unsliced chestnuts can explode causing not only a safety hazard but a big mess to boot! (Tita Nena, thank you for the tip).
2. Toast cooked castañas in the oven for 5 minutes or 3 minutes in the toaster
3. Spread into a basket lined with a towel
4. When peeling without the use of a mallet, simply pop the nut with the fat side facing you (see picture). It should be no trouble if your nuts are fresh and newly toasted
5. Be sure to peel away the outer shell and the inner brown skin before eating your chestnuts.
6. Serve roasted chestnuts while still warm for best taste.
7. Remember to always store unused fresh, cooked, and/or roasted chestnuts in the refrigerator

While you are at it, here's Nat to sing you the Christmas song.... Enjoy!

What about coffee? To drink or not to drink?

My husband and I consider ourselves coffee lovers but that does not make us connoisseurs. We get our coffee beans direct from baguio every now and then. Ours is a mixture of Arabica, Benguet and Barako. Lately though, I haven’t been sleeping very well. I discovered that having two cups of coffee a day (one in the morning and one after lunch) does give me a bit of insomia. In nursing school, I have learned a few things about coffee, its pros and cons to health. And here they are:

The good news:
*Caffeine increases intellectual activity when fatigued or bored.
*Caffeine speeds up fat metabolism during exercise while conserving glycogen and glucose thereby maintaining brain activity and reducing hunger.
*Caffeine prevents crystallization of cholesterol and reduces risk of development of gallstones. Coffee has a protective effect against cirrhosis of the liver.
*Coffee has shown a protective effect against colon cancer likely due to enhanced colonic activity of the colon and antimutagenic components in coffee.
*Coffee may lower the incidence of Parkinson’s disease due to high anti-oxidant activity.
*The theophylline in coffee may be protective against asthma.
*Coffee has four times the anti-oxidants of Green Tea, makes an excellent anti-depressant, and enhances performance and memory.
*Caffeine dilates the arteries of the brain and may counter migraines. (Caffeine is also a cause of migraines.)
*The FDA considers caffeine to be “Generally Recognized as Safe.”
*Coffee may reduce the incidence of kidney stones by increasing the flow of urine and decreasing its concentration.
*Coffee lessens the incidence of bladder cancer in smokers due to its diuretic effect.
*Minerals like magnesium and antioxidants may contribute to coffee being shown to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.
*Coffee has the ability to reduce the release of histamine from mast cells thereby having anti-allergic properties. With all of these conflicting studies, it is apparent that common sense must prevail.

The bad news:
*Coffee, including decaf, has high amounts of vitamin K, which affects coagulability of the blood – bad for people at risk of heart attack, stroke and blood clots.
*Decreases quality of sleep.
*Caffeine may cause problems with blood sugar control after meals for type 2 diabetics.
*Coffee excites more rapid peristaltic movements of the intestines resulting in shorted transit times and less absorption of nutrients.
*Coffee hampers the absorption of essential minerals and vitamins such as magnesium, zinc, iron, potassium, and B’s.
*Coffee contributes to caries in the teeth.
*Coffee stimulates more frequent urination and subsequent loss of various vitamins and minerals such as B, C, calcium, iron and zinc.
*Caffeine may aggravate osteoporosis by leaching calcium from the bones.
*Caffeine may increase intraocular pressure in persons with glaucoma.
*Coffee may interfere with proper levels of homocysteine and cholesterol by inhibiting vitamins folate, B12 or B6.
*Coffee is one of most heavily pesticide sprayed crops.
*Caffeine aggravates stress in people who drink it every day.

So, what’s your verdict?

Handy Andy/Hannah Bridal Shower

Bim and I were married in October 5, 1991. But a couple of days back, a group of church friends gave us a bridal shower with a different twist called: Handy Andy/Handy Hannah. Believe it or not, in some places friends and families have opted to forgo the stag/bachelorette parties simply because they are opting for more practical things. Hardware stores are gold mines of widgets and gadgets that everyone always needs and never gets as wedding gift. This is the simplest of showers since the type of things one buy are scissors , batteries, lamps, flashlights, brooms, hammers, nails, laundry clips. You get the idea? For me, it was the most practical of all bridal showers I have ever imagined. Each of our guest brought a gift with the hardware logo on it and tied with a pretty ribbon. Each one gave helpful suggestions written on a 3 x 5 card.

One of my favorite of all best gifts we received that day was a book titled: 1001 Helpful Household Helps. I got tons of super great ideas on housekeeping and tips from that handy book. And one of them is the many uses of Bicarbonate of Soda.

Here are its many, many uses:

* Clean a microwave oven: Sprinkle Bicarbonate of Soda on a damp sponge, scrub, and rinse.
* Remove tarnish from silver: Mix a thick paste of Bicarbonate of Soda with water; apply the silver with a damp sponge, rub, rinse, and buff dry.
* Clean a stainless steel sink: Sprinkle Bicarbonate of Soda on a damp sponge, scrub the sink, and rinse clean.
* Boost the strength of liquid laundry detergent: Add one-half cup Bicarbonate of Soda with the usual amount of detergent in your regular wash cycle.
* Clean a fibreglass bathtub or shower. Sprinkle Bicarbonate of Soda on a damp sponge, scrub, and rinse clean.
* Clean bathroom tile: Sprinkle Bicarbonate of Soda on a damp sponge, scrub, and rinse clean.
* Maintain your septic tank: Flush one cup Bicarbonate of Soda down the toilet once a week. Bicarbonate of Soda helps maintain proper pH and alkalinity, controlling sulphide odours.
* Deodorize cloth diapers. Mix one-half cup Bicarbonate of Soda in two quarts of water, and soak diapers in the solution.
* Clean a refrigerator: Sprinkle on Bicarbonate of Soda a damp sponge, scrub, and rinse clean.
* Deodorize a dishwasher: Sprinkle one-half cup Bicarbonate of Soda on the bottom of the dishwasher between loads.
* Boost the strength of dishwashing liquid. Add two full tablespoons Bicarbonate of Soda to the usual amount of detergent you use.
* Remove burnt-on food from cookware. Dampen area, sprinkle with Bicarbonate of Soda let soak overnight, then scrub with a sponge, rinse, and dry.
* Clean and deodorize a cutting board. Sprinkle Bicarbonate of Soda on a damp sponge, rub the cutting board, and rinse clean.
* Deodorize food containers. Mix one-quarter cup Bicarbonate of Soda with one quart water, swish food containers in solution, soak overnight, and then rinse clean.
* Clean coffee and teapots. Wash in a solution of one-quarter cup Bicarbonate of Soda and one-quart warm water, then rinse clean.
* Deodorize kitchen garbage. Sprinkle a handful of Bicarbonate of Soda in the garbage pail each time you add garbage.
* Deodorize carpet. Sprinkle Bicarbonate of Soda lightly over the dry carpet, let sit for fifteen minutes, then vacuum up.
* Deodorize a cat litter box. Cover the bottom of the litter box with one-quarter inch Bicarbonate of Soda then add the litter.
* Soothe poison ivy rash or insect bites. Make a paste of Bicarbonate of Soda and water, and apply to the affected area.
* Soothe sunburn, windburn, and prickly heat. Dissolve one-half cup Bicarbonate of Soda in a tepid bath. Soak in the bath for fifteen minutes.
* Take a refreshing bath. Dissolve one-half cup in Bicarbonate of Soda a tub of warm water for soft, smooth-feeling skin and a relaxing bath.
* Brush your teeth. Plain baking soda is a gentle abrasive that cleans like the strongest toothpaste. Apply Bicarbonate of Soda to a damp toothbrush, brush as usual, and rinse.
* Wash your mouth. Add one teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda to one-half glass warm water, and swish through teeth for a refreshing mouthwash.
* Neutralize vomit odour. Sprinkle Bicarbonate of Soda generously to cover the stained area, let sit for an hour, then vacuum up.
* Soothe tired feet. Add three tablespoons Bicarbonate of Soda to a basin of warm water and soak feet in the solution.
* Use as a deodorant. Dust Bicarbonate of Soda under arms.Clean dirt, grime, and scuffmarks from doors, stoves, laminated tabletops, linoleum floors, and tile.Sprinkle Bicarbonate of Soda on a damp sponge, wipe clean, and dry.
* Remove coffee or tea stains from china. Dip a damp cloth in Bicarbonate of Soda gently rub the china, and rinse clean.
* Minimize the smell of dirty laundry. Sprinkle some Bicarbonate of Soda into your hamper or laundry bag.
* Deodorize a closet. Place an open box of Bicarbonate of Soda on a shelf.
* Deodorize garment storage bags. Sprinkle Bicarbonate of Soda into the bottom of the bag.
* Deodorize shoes or training shoes. In the evening, sprinkle Bicarbonate of Soda inside shoes to eliminate odours. Shake out in the morning.
* Remove crayon marks from walls or wallpaper. Sprinkle Bicarbonate of Soda on a damp sponge, scrub gently to avoid mussing the paint or wallpaper, then wipeclean.
* Clean dirt and grime from hands. Sprinkle on Bicarbonate of Soda to wet hands with liquid soap, rub vigorously, rinse, and dry.
* Remove conditioner and styling gel build-up from hair. Wash hair once a week with a tablespoon of Bicarbonate of Soda mixed with your regular shampoo; rinse thoroughly, then condition and style as usual.
* Refresh stuffed animals. Sprinkle Bicarbonate of Soda on the stuffed animal, let sit for fifteen minutes, then brush off.
*Clean high chairs, car seats, strollers, and plastic mattress protectors. Sprinkle Bicarbonate of Soda on a damp sponge, wipe clean, and dry.
* Clean baby bottles, nipples, and bottle brushes. Soak in a solution of warmwater and Bicarbonate of Soda , then sterilize before use.
* Whiten socks and dirty clothes. Add one-half cup Bicarbonate of Soda to regular liquid laundry detergent.
* Clean chrome bumpers and hubcaps. Sprinkle Bicarbonate of Soda on a damp sponge, rub surface, and wipe clean with a dry cloth.
* Remove dead insects from a car or truck windshield. Sprinkle Bicarbonate of Soda on a damp sponge, clean glass, and wipe clean with a dry cloth.
* Deodorize carpeting in a car. Sprinkle Bicarbonate of Soda on the carpet,let sit for fifteen minutes, then vacuum up.
* De-grease and clean barbecue grills. Make a paste by mixing equal parts Bicarbonate of Soda and water, apply with a wire brush, wipe clean, and dry with a cloth.

Sweet Onion and Tomato Salad

Try this very easy salad a few hours before it is served.

Ingredients:

4 large bulbs of sweet onion, sliced
varieties of salad greens
cubed cucumbers
a cupful of cherry tomatoes (sliced or whole)
balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper
grated parmesan cheese

optional: slices of apples and a bunch of seedless grapes

Prepare the green salad and arrange in a large salad bowl.

Slice the large onions and sliced tomatoes. Spread unto baking sheet with a generous amount of balsamic vinegar, salt and freshly cracked pepper. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Take out the baked onions and tomatoes and let it cool for a little while. Dump all of the baked onions with the remaining balsamic vinegar on top of the green salad. Add in a dash of salt and freshly cracked pepper. You may add in some sliced apples and grapes for color and extra sweetness to the salad.

Chill in the ref. Toss the salad just before serving and a generous amount of parmesan cheese and freshly cracked pepper. Enjoy!

How to chop or slice onions minus the tears:

There's so many ways:

1. Put the unpeeled onion in the freezer and leave it there for about ten minutes. Remove the onion from the freezer and peel it. The onion can now be sliced, chopped, or minced without tears.

2. Refrigerate them before slicing or chopping

3. Run the cold water at the faucet in the kitchen sink. Place a cutting board across the sink, in front of the running water. Slice the onions without tears.

4. Simply keep your onions in the fridge along with other veggies and you will never cry when chopping them - it's that simple!

5. If you use a sharp knife, there shouldn't be any tears. An onion makes you cry because acid is being released from the onion. Using a dull knife crushes the onion rather than cutting it, releasing far more of this acid into the air.

6. Try holding a wooden spoon or a piece of bread between your teeth while cutting. This significantly reduces the irritation to the eyes.

7. Keep your mouth open and breathe through it while cutting onions to reduce the amount of tears.

8. Do the peeling and dicing of the onion in your kitchen sink area. But first turn on the water faucet (the spray works better) and try to peel and dice your onion behind the running water. The sulfur gas from the onion will hit the running water and becomes sulfuric acid and washes away before it hits your eyes.

9. Bring a pot of water to boil until it starts steaming. Then remove from heat and put the pot on the kithen counter and start peeling and dicing your onions in the vicinity. The steam from the pot will trap the sulfur gas emitted from the onions before it hits your eyes.

10. Burn a candle on the counter near where you're cutting the onion. It'll burn off the fumes that cause eye irritation. A scented candle also smells better than raw, chopped onion!

11. You can also avoid tears simply by chewing a piece of gum while you are cutting the onion.

12. Try holding 5-7 wooden matches in your teeth (unlit of course); it will absorb the odor. The matches with red tips work best. Match stick tips have sulfur (S) in them and the sulfur gas (S) emited from onions hits these tips before getting to your eyes and becomes S2 that is neutral.

13. Put a fan behind you and towards the onions to blow the sulfur gases away from you.

14. If you have contacts, wear them.

15. Grandma always held a silver spoon in her mouth while peeling onions. I tried it and it worked!

16. Fill your sink with water and peel and cut the onion under water. Works every time.***
Normal or Prescription swim goggles - exceptionally effective***

Now, if you don't believe me, it won't hurt to try them all. Lol! Have a nice day!

How to boil sweet corn

It was in the early 90's, when my husband and I was into farming a couple of years after we were wed, one of the crops we planted was sweet corn. We did a lot of experimenting until we came up with the best way to boil them. Here's the tip:

Don't boil corn for more than 3 minutes. Place the corn directly into boiling water, and do not add salt. You will find the flavor is much better than cooking for 10 minutes or more. Corn will never get soft, no matter how long you cook it-it will only lose its taste.