Sometimes, when living alone, a helping hand is needed but not around. A friend in our town lives alone in her home and manages fine. She goes downtown on her electric scooter with her dog in the front basket.
One day I saw her downtown shopping and I commented on her pretty and brightly coloured summer dress. She told me that she had just had a problem with the dress. It had a long back zipper and she couldn’t manage to reach around and get it zipped all the way up. At first, she took the dress off, attached a piece of string to the zipper, put the dress back on and tried to pull it up that way. It didn’t work.
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Rather than giving up wearing this pretty summer dress, she proceeded to find an answer to her problem.
Off she went into the street and waited for a passerby. With one hand grasped onto the front of her dress to keep it up, she used the other hand to wave down the first vehicle that came by. A man in a truck stopped and asked if she needed help. “Yes,” she said. “Could you zip up my dress?”
The gentlemen did just that, got back in his truck and drove away. She isn’t sure who the kind man was but being from a small town, the man called her by her first name.
There is no stopping this independent and resourceful lady.
Summertime recipes
Here are some recipes that your children or grandkids might enjoy stirring up over the summer. They’ll love to eat the results of their labour right there in the kitchen, at a picnic out in the yard or as snacks on a holiday away.
Cinnamon strips
1 cup butter 250 mL
1 cup white sugar 250 mL
1 egg
2 cups flour 500 mL
2 teaspoons cinnamon 10 mL
Cream butter and sugar together. Separate the egg yolk from the egg white. Add the yolk to the creamed butter and sugar, then the flour and cinnamon. Spread on a cookie sheet. One with an edge is best because this batter spreads. Beat egg white slightly and brush over the dough. Sprinkle with white sugar. Bake at
350 F (180 C) for 25 minutes, or until browned. Cut into strips while warm.
Source: The Prairie Christian Training
Centre Cookbook.
Chocolate coconut cups
1 cup chocolate chips 250 mL
11/3 cups flaked coconut 325 mL
8 paper cup liners
Melt chocolate chips and remove from heat. Stir in coconut. Press mixture around sides and bottoms of paper cups. Chill at least one hour.
Remove from paper cups and just before serving fill each cup with ice cream.
Chocolate melts at a low heat, so be careful not to overheat. Heat gently in a heavy saucepan, over hot water, or in the microwave, stopping often to stir. Do not allow any droplets of water to get into the chocolate or it will stiffen.
Source: Rowena Ladies Club Unbaked Recipe Book (from many years ago).
Jello novelties
1 box red gelatin powder 170 g
1 cup hot water 250 mL
3/4 cup cold water 175 mL
1 banana
2 empty soup cans (10 oz.) 284 mL
Dissolve jello powder in hot water, then add the cold water. Chill until slightly thickened. Place about one tablespoon (15 mL) jello in the bottom of each can. Slice the banana in half and stand it in the centre of each can. You may need a toothpick to hold it in place. Fill with the remaining jello. When firm, unmould.
To unmould, briefly dip in hot water or pour hot tap water over the cans. Slice and serve. If you like, garnish with whipped topping and green maraschino cherries.
Source: Rowena Ladies Club Unbaked Recipe Book.
Restoration of clothing, furniture
Dear TEAM: An old house on a farm in the country was left with all kinds of clothing and antique furniture in it. There were traps for mice and rat poison on the floor. Would the clothes be good to give away or sell? Could we spray them with air cleaner and put them in the dryer? – C.S., Sask.
Dear C.S.: I expect each item would have to be checked to see if it was worth the effort to restore or to discard. I would want to wash or dry clean clothing items, just to get them clean. If smell or other problems persist, there are specialty cleaners available.
They specialize in restoring damage caused by water, fire, furnace, vandalism, oil or nature, which includes odour removal.
When our farm house burned last December, the insurance agent took clothing, leather, pictures, furniture and other items with water and smoke damage to such a cleaner. Many items have been returned and are now OK.
Check under janitorial services in the yellow pages.
Zesty apricot glazed chicken
I tried this recipe, printed in Everyday Delicious, the new Atco Blue Flame Kitchen 2008 Cookbook. The consensus from our family was that it was real tasty and a keeper.
1/2 cup apricot jam 125 mL
1/2 cup ketchup 125 mL
1 tablespoon oil 15 mL
1 tablespoon lemon juice 15 mL
11/2 teaspoons hot pepper 7 mL
sauce
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind 5 mL
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper 5 mL
1/2 teaspoon salt 2 mL
1 clove garlic, crushed
8-10 skinless chicken thighs
Line a shallow baking dish with non-stick foil. Combine all ingredients except chicken. Place chicken in a single layer in prepared pan. Do not overcrowd pan. Pour apricot mixture over chicken. Bake, uncovered, at 375 F (190 C), basting occasionally, for 45-50 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Serves four.
I used a large roaster, without the foil. It baked up nicely without sticking.
Skinless chicken is a good idea in order to taste more of the sauce, especially if you do not want to eat the skin.
Nonstick foil
Nonstick foil has been coated on one side with a special, food-safe nonstick surface. It is useful for lining baking pans because it keeps food from sticking to the pan, thereby allowing it to be lifted off easily.
Using nonstick foil makes for easy cleanup. In addition to lining baking pans, it can also be used on the grill and for wrapping foods for the freezer. I like using it on the barbecue for cooking potatoes and other vegetables.
Safety first with camping
To ensure your camping trip is filled with fun and good memories, Canadian Tire has put together the following safety checklist.
- Take a first aid kit. Include antiseptics for cuts and scrapes, tweezers, insect repellent, pain relievers and sunscreen. Be prepared for any minor injury, however unlikely.
- Don’t forget to pack a map, compass, flashlight, knife, waterproof fire starter, personal shelter, whistle, warm clothing,
high energy food, water and insect
protection.
- Plan a trip so that you arrive at your campsite with enough daylight to check the site for potential hazards such as glass, sharp objects, large ant beds, poison ivy and hazardous terrain.
- Avoid attracting stinging insects by wearing light-coloured clothing and not using perfumes or colognes.
- Build your campfire in a safe area. Never leave a fire or your camp stove unattended.
- Never leave food out in the open and always dispose of garbage properly so you do not attract insects or animals. Pack it in the car at night.
- Wash your hands thoroughly, particularly before handling food, to prevent the spread of bacteria.
Information courtesy of News Canada.
Sprayed produce
Why is some produce in the supermarket sprayed with water, and is this safe?
Grocers often mist certain fruits and vegetables to keep them from wilting and drying out. Leafy greens and fresh herbs, for instance, can lose a lot of water through transpiration when water exits the leaf through tiny openings called stomata.
Evaporation also occurs, more so in produce with larger surface areas and thin skins. Some produce including onions, garlic, berries and melons should not be misted, because they can develop fungal growth.
Water loss also affects the nutrients in produce. According to two studies in the Journal of Food Science, misted broccoli retained more vitamin C than nonmisted broccoli. It had better colour, too, which generally indicates that more phytochemicals are present.
In 1989, an outbreak of legionnaires’
disease was linked to a grocery store’s misting machine that had a standing water reserve
– a potential source of contamination.
The industry has, for the most part, moved away from such a system to one connected
directly to a source of tap water, which is then typically filtered. No problems have since been reported.
Alma Copeland is a home economist from Elrose, Sask., and one of four columnists comprising Team Resources. Send correspondence in care of this newspaper, Box 2500, Saskatoon, Sask., S7K 2C4 or contact them at team@
producer.com.
