Do you look closely at your credit card statements each month? Do you compare statements from month to month? You may discover recurring items that you question. If so, contact your credit card company immediately to check out your concerns.
Recently, I was checking my statement and realized I had an amount that was reoccurring each month. I remembered receiving a telephone call from the credit card company asking if I wanted an additional service that they were offering. I could try it out for three months free and then I could decide if I wanted it. After the free months it would be charged to my account.
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Ask tough questions to determine if business still works
Across the country, a hard conversation is unfolding. Many producers are starting to ask a tougher question: can we keep doing this the way we always have?
Well, I forgot to phone and decline the service after the three months and here I was getting charged for it and I wasn’t using the extra service. Free trials and limited offers all too often come with an added or future expense.
I often receive telephone calls from credit companies asking if I would like additional insurance or services. I have come to the point where I say no for anything that comes in on the telephone. Usually I don’t need the item they are promoting and if I do there are probably easier and cheaper ways to get it, especially services such as health or accident insurance.
I have often felt that these phone calls prey on an individual’s fears. If you are really concerned about the need for extra insurance, contact an insurance agent and ask for an insurance review to determine your true insurance needs.
Responding to telephone solicited services can also open the door to identity theft. Never give your credit card number over the telephone to someone who has called you. Your credit card company should have that information already.
Caller ID on your telephone will show who the caller is and if it is a 1-800 type of number. If it is, the easiest thing to do is not answer it.
Hand knit socks
The idea of knitting socks seems to me to be something my grandmothers and great-grandmothers did out of necessity. In the 21st century, knitting has become a popular way to relax, express your creativity and create functional as well as wearable clothes.
So why not socks?
The Patons yarn company has developed a variety of sock patterns that are fun, fashionable and easy to knit. It has also developed a stretch, lightweight sock yarn that’s perfect to wear all year long. A touch of elastic allows the yarn to stretch and helps maintain the sock’s shape. It’s breathable and comfortable and great for all kinds of socks. With seven variegated colour shades, fun socks can be created to compliment any outfit.
Patons also offers free patterns on its website at www.patonsyarns.com and through its member newsletter. The July newsletter features several hand knit sock patterns.
The most unusual is a pedicure sock with no toe. Stitches are cast off just at the toe joints to create a toeless sock. The edge is then sewn together to create a hole for the big toe. They are ideal to wear with flip flops, and as the name suggests, great for keeping feet warm but allowing toe nails to dry following a pedicure.
Homemade tomato soup
Dear TEAM: I have a question about homemade tomato soup. My mother used to make this soup with canned tomatoes and an equal amount of milk. She sautéed onions in butter and added a bit of baking soda (I don’t know the amount) to the tomatoes. I believe that the soda was to keep the tomatoes from curdling the milk.
Would you be able to tell me the exact method so the soup does not curdle? I know it has something to do with the temperature of both liquids. – C.B, Tway, Sask.
Dear C.B.: I too remember my mother making this style of tomato soup.
Tomatoes are acidic, which means milk will curdle when they are added. The same principle is used when lemon juice is added to milk to make it sour.
Developments have been made in recent years to grow lower-acid tomatoes, which is an advantage when making this soup.
Also, tomatoes are always added slowly to the milk while stirring constantly. I remember my mother adding a tablespoon of the tomatoes to the hot milk mixture, mixing them in well and then adding another spoonful.
Some people would also add baking soda to the tomatoes to lower the pH level or to make them less acidic. This did work but it also gave a flat taste to the soup and destroyed the vitamin C. My suggestion is not to use baking soda.
The milk mixture and the tomatoes should both be hot, mixed together slowly, often in the serving bowls, and then served immediately. For a thicker soup, the milk makes a thin cream sauce.
I hope you enjoy this recipe and the memories it brings.
Homemade tomato soup
11/2 tablespoons butter 22 mL
1 tablespoon chopped
onion 15 mL
1 tablespoon chopped
celery, optional 15 mL
1 tablespoon all-
purpose flour 15 mL
1 cup milk 250 mL
1/2 teaspoon sugar 2 mL
1/4 teaspoon salt 1 mL
Fresh ground black
pepper to taste
1 cup diced canned
tomatoes, undrained 250 mL
chopped basil leaves or fresh grated Parmesan, optional
In a saucepan, heat butter over medium-low heat. Add chopped onion and celery; cook, stirring, until tender. Stir flour into the vegetable mixture, stirring until well mixed. Gradually stir in milk and add the sugar, salt, and pepper. Continue to heat, stirring, until the mixture thickens and begins to boil.
Dice tomatoes smaller or puree in a blender or processor, if desired. Heat tomatoes in a separate saucepan. Divide the hot milk mixture between two serving bowls and gradually add the hot tomatoes, one tablespoon at a time to the milk mixture, stirring well after each addition. Continue until the tomatoes have been divided equally between the two bowls.
If desired, garnish with freshly grated Parmesan cheese or fresh chopped basil leaves. Serve immediately. This recipe can be easily doubled but it does not store well because on reheating there is an increased chance that the soup will curdle.
Serves two.
Cucumber salad
This recipe is similar to one that my mother-in-law, Maria Deobald, used to make with fresh cucumbers. Her recipe was one with a pinch of this and a spoon of that. This is one of those quick salad dishes that tastes best made with fresh cucumbers from the garden – a real summer treat.
2 large cucumbers
1/2 tsp salt 2 mL
1 cup buttermilk 250 mL
2 tablespoons sour
cream 30 mL
1 tablespoon
mayonnaise 15 mL
2 tablespoons milk 30 mL
1/8 teaspoon vinegar .5 mL
1/8 teaspoon of salt or
celery salt .5 mL
1/8 teaspoon of sugar .5 mL
1 sprig of fresh dill
1 hard cooked egg
Peel and slice cucumbers and sprinkle with salt. Chill for one to two hours.
Combine remaining ingredients, except dill and egg, and whip until slightly fluffy. Add dill and chopped egg. Chill dressing. Drain cucumbers. Add dressing and serve as a refreshing summer salad.
Source: Canadian Mennonite Cookbook from the Altona Women’s Institute.
Doggie chips
A friend was telling me about how her dog was showing signs of being allergic to certain food. This is a recipe for a doggie treat for pets that may be allergic to wheat flour.
11/4 cup whole grain
hulless barley flour 310 mL
3 tablespoons oil 45 mL
1/3 cup of water or
juice from cooked
meat or vegetables 75 mL
1/2 teaspoon bone meal,
optional 2 mL
Mix oil and water and add to flour and bone meal mixture. Mix well. Roll out thin on a cookie sheet and score with a knife or pizza cutter. Bake at 350 F (180 C) until golden brown. Break apart when cool.
These store well in a plastic container in the fridge.
Source: A Taste of Barley, Favorite Hulless Barley Recipes from Golden Grains Farm Co. Ltd. Dinsmore, Sask.
Betty Ann Deobald is a home economist from Rosetown, 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.
