A simple kitchen cure for a sinus infection

     I've suffered from sinus infections for years, with a typical event resulting in a trip to the clinic and a course of antibiotics. That's before I discovered an effective and painless way to beat the scourge in my own kitchen. All that is needed is stove top, a dutch oven, a towel and a bar stool or chair. I've used this method for several years now and have lost all dread of developing this problem after a cold. Steam cleaning works to loosen and move along the stubborn squatter taking up residence in your sinuses. This is not earth shaking stuff. Vaporizers have for years been recognized as having a degree of effectiveness in treating a sinus infection. This is a just a bit of an advancement on a method my day used at the kitchen table. Trouble was, his pot would cool off and lose effectiveness. My stove top method just keeps bringin' the steam!

   I place put about a quart of tap water into the pot and place it on a front burner. Turn it on high just until the steam begins to rise off the surface of the water. I pull a higher chair, such as a bar-stool up to the stove,

   As soon as steam starts to rise off the surface, cut the burner two or three notches below medium heat. There may be some experimentation needed per individual stove to hit the right temperature. The trick is to get it high enough to result in effective steam cleaning but not so high as to be uncomfortable. I measured the effective temperature at 150 degrees with a kitchen thermometer. I have also found the treatment to be effective as low as 130 degrees. A longer sit time may be needed at a lower temperature.

130 to 150 degrees works well

    Sit on the chair, elbows on the stove top, with a towel on your head to keep the steam concentration where it will do the most good. I set the timer on the stove for about 6-8 minutes per session. Have some tissues handy. The higher chair is needed to get the user comfortable at the stove top level.

Assume the position often enough to beat this thing

    During the course of a bad bout, I do this four times a day when possible. Work and other distractions occasionally cause me to cut back to two or three treatments.
    It is important to keep at this, even a bit beyond when you are feeling better. I have found that if I cut it off too soon, I risk the return of the scourge. Five to seven days seems to be a typical course of treatment. I have kept it up for as long as 14 days on a particularly tough infection. I hope this helps you the way it has helped me. I call it a success when I can stay out of the clinic and avoid medication.

Vegan mashed potatoes made easy

     This useful recipe uses a kitchen scale and a little math to help make consistently tasty mashed potatoes. The non-dairy butter substitute, almond milk and salt are calculated based on the weight of the cooked potatoes. No measuring cups or spoons are dirtied in the making of this delicious side dish.

     Here are the recipe ingredients listed by both cumbersome volume and also the far easier and more efficient gram weight. Notice the use of a spreadsheet in this recipe. The advantage of this will be shown later.

 This recipe also reflects calories and calories for gram for those of us who sometimes count.

1) Select any amount of potatoes of any desired size. Or simply weigh about two and half pounds of raw potatoes to approximate what is needed for serving about five people.

2) Fill a dutch oven or other pot about half full of water and turn burner on high.

3) Peel and slice the potatoes into any desired size. The larger the size the longer the cook time. Put them in the heating water.

4) Boil the potatoes for about 15 to 20 minutes or until a fork or knife easily goes through them.

5) Ready a mixing bowl on a kitchen scale. Zero it out.

6) Drain the water from the cooked potatoes and dump them in the empty bowl on the scale.

1651 grams of cooked potatoes

7) Note this weight. I enter it on a spreadsheet set up to calculate the correct weights of the rest of the ingredients.

The cells can easily be set up to do the math for you

 This can be done by hand of course, multiplying the potato weight by each of the ratios in turn to arrive at the correct ingredient weight.

8) Add the calculated ingredients to the potatoes on the scale, zeroing out the scale between each addition.

9) Mix at high speed with a beater or use a Mixmaster. About two minutes gives a good consistency.

Always tasty, always consistent and always easier to make

10) Enjoy in moderation. I'm kidding. There is only one calorie in a gram.

                                     

How to Make Delicious Granola Bars with Ease

    When I switched to a vegan diet, I wanted a delicious, nutritious and portable snack food. A granola bar seemed fit all these requirements. These granola bars are based on a recipe I found in a vegan cookbook,  the "Oh She Glows Cookbook" by Angela Liddon. This book is an excellent source for great vegan recipes. I've been making them ever since and often. I quickly converted the cumbersome volume measurements to grams and used a kitchen scale to quickly and efficiently make these delicious bars. I transferred the recipe to a spreadsheet and expanded it from 12 to 18 bars so that I could use a 9x13" cake pan to form the bars and better meet strong household demand. A batch costs about $6 ($.33 a bar) to make.

Here is the recipe converted onto a spreadsheet for those who count calories:

Note: 4.2 calories per gram

1) Measure out 81g (3/4 cup) of pecan (or other chopped nuts, as desired) pieces and place on a cookie sheet and roast for 10 minutes in a 300 degree oven. When done allow them to cool.

2) Meanwhile measure out 240g (2 1/4 cup) oatmeal, 53g (1 7/8 cup) crisp rice cereal, 54g (3/8 cup) sunflower seeds, 51g (3/8 cup) dried cranberries,1 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 3g (3/8 tsp) salt into a large bowl. Mix together.

adding the crisp rice cereal

3) Add the cooled pecans to the rest of the ingredients in the bowl.

4) In a small saucepan use a whisk to mix 256g (3/4 cup) of the corn syrup (or rice syrup) and 105g (3/8 cup) of the peanut butter. Heat over medium heat on a stove top just till bubbles begin to form.
Remove from the stove and add 6g (3/8tsp) vanilla extract to the syrup mix.

5) Pour the wet mix into the dry and stir together by hand with a spoon or spatula till very well mixed. Remove all the syrup mixture and take all the time and strokes you need to mix together very well.

6) Pour the mixture as evenly as possible into the cake pan. When loosely and evenly distributed, press with a cutting board until very compacted and flat and of even thickness. The more compacted, the better the bars will hold together.

7) Cool in a freezer for ten or fifteen minutes. I prefer a refrigerator for an hour or two.

8) Take the sheet of bars out of the pan by lifting with the wax paper.

9) Cut into 18 even bars with a template if desired. I made a piece of laminated poster board cut 1 7/16" by 4 3/16" to improve my chances of making 18 nearly identical bars.

     For storage the bars should be refrigerated. They can be placed together in zipper bags or just left in place in the covered cake pan or individually wrapped. These bars only take twenty minutes to put together plus the nut roasting and cooling time.

     There are endless variations possible. Use raisins or other dried fruit in place of cranberries. Experiment with them. Tailor them to your tastes. Use ingredients on hand at the moment. Divide or multiply the recipe to fit any size container. These are fun and easy to make. Enjoy and keep eating healthy!

Mashed potatoes made easy

    This useful recipe uses a kitchen scale and a little math to help make consistently tasty mashed potatoes. The butter, milk and salt are calculated based on the weight of the cooked potatoes. No measuring cups or spoons are dirtied in the making of this delicious side dish.

     Here are the recipe ingredients listed by both cumbersome volume and also the far easier and more efficient weight. Notice the use of a spreadsheet in this recipe. The advantage of this will be shown later.

 This recipe also reflects calories and calories for gram for those of us who sometimes count.

1) Select any amount of potatoes of any desired size. Or simply weigh about two and half pounds of raw potatoes to approximate what is needed for serving about five people.

2) Fill a dutch oven or other pot about half full of water and turn burner on high.

3) Peel and slice the potatoes into any desired size. The larger the size the longer the cook time. Put them in the heating water.

4) Boil the potatoes for about 15 to 20 minutes or until a fork or knife easily goes through them.

5) Ready a mixing bowl on a kitchen scale. Zero it out.

6) Drain the water from the cooked potatoes and dump them in the empty bowl on the scale.

1651 grams of cooked potatoes

7) Note this weight. I enter it on a spreadsheet set up to calculate the correct weights of the rest of the ingredients.

The cells can easily be set up to do the math for you

 This can be done by hand of course, multiplying the potato weight by each of the ratios in turn to arrive at the correct ingredient weight.

8) Add the calculated ingredients to the potatoes on the scale, zeroing out the scale between each addition.

9) Mix at high speed with a beater or use a Mixmaster. About two minutes gives a good consistency.

Always tasty, always consistent and always easier to make

10) Enjoy in moderation. I'm kidding. There is only one calorie in a gram.

                                    

How to build a space saver compost bin

   I was looking for a way to build a compost bin for kitchen waste in way that holds the dirt evenly around the waste. I came up with the idea to build a cylindrical frame. This solved several problems I had with the size and shape of a conventional compost pile or bin, while using simple and easy to acquire materials. It provides a nice dirt enclosure around the garden waste.  

Materials: Wire fencing, zip ties, a 12” diameter plastic nursery pot with the bottom cut out, small branches.

 1) Use a piece of wire fencing about four feet high and five feet long. Now connect it together into a cylinder with zip ties. It will end up about 18 inches in diameter.

Cut the bottom out of a plastic nursery pot.

A bigger diameter means more dirt, so keep it under 18 inches

2) Place it in a location that is both near the point of usage and easy to add compost. I selected the middle of my garden when I can reach it with a wheelbarrow and also easily apply the finished compost where I need it in the garden.

3) Put a six inch layer of sticks in the bottom. This is for air flow underneath the forming compost.

4) Add a layer of leaves or grass clippings.

5) Set down the plastic pot, inverted (small diameter down) on top of the previous materials. 

6) Dump in the kitchen or garden waste to near the top of the pot.

a lot of material will fit in the pot

7) Shovel dirt around the cone and to the top. some will fall through the openings in the fencing. No matter, just shovel it back in. 

8) Pull out the cone. A second layer can built on top of the first, if desired.

Remove the pot and voila, the material is evenly encased in dirt

9) Keep the compost moist and turn after 10 days to two weeks. I find the compost ready in 3-4 weeks. I have two of these in my garden. 

How to make a batch of dill pickles

      Canning dill pickles at home is easier than many other types of vegetables and fruits. I purchased fresh cucumbers and dill from a farmer's market for under ten dollars and made eight quarts of pickles in about an hour.                                         

                           Job Overview 

• Kitchen utensils and appliances: Large stock pot, jar rack, dutch oven, tongs, funnel.
• Materials: Eight quart canning jars with rings and lids
• Ingredients: per jar: 4 to 5 cucumbers (4 to 5 inches long), four heads of fresh dill, 423g (1 3/4 cups) water, 180g vinegar, 18g (1 tsp) salt
• Cost of materials:  $1.13 per jar 
• Store cost:  $2.29    
• Estimated time: 1 hour         

·        

Ready, set, go. Let's make pickles!

                                             

                                                       Procedure

1)   Heat up as many jars and lids as will fit in large stock pot to boil and then let them sit     until needed.

2)   Make the brine for the number of quarts you’re canning. I’m making eight, so I need  water (3384g or 8 cups), vinegar (1440g or  6 cups) and salt 144g or  2/3cup) and heat to a boil.

3)   Wash the cucumbers and dill and put them in the hot jars. Poke with needle. 

4)   Fill the jar with hot brine to ½ inch from the top.

Fill with brine to 1/2" from the top and put on lid and ring

5)   Place the lid on the jar and screw on the ring.

6)   Let sit until the lid pops, signifying a seal.

7)   Wait a few weeks to use. Longer is even better. 

How to make delicious and simple applesauce

    I picked up a 15 pound box of windfall apples from an orchard in October. While the apples were a little blemished, they were good enough for applesauce. In this post I will show how to make two quarts of freezer applesauce; from apples to freezer in an hour.

                                                Job Overview 

• Kitchen utensils and appliances: paring knife, dutch oven, hand masher, large spoon, ladle, food processor, two cups with pouring spout, cookie sheet, oven, freezer. 
• Materials: quart freezer bags (2)
• Ingredients: 5 pounds of apples, 1/2 cup water..
• Cost of materials: 15 lbs of apples: $5. cost of a quart as prepared: $2.13
• Store cost:  
• Estimated time: 1 hour   

1) Measure out 2900g  (6.4lb) of apples. This accounts for peel waste of about 30%. After cooking loss and waste the result should be two 950g freezer bags of sauce. This is just a guideline. A little more or a bit less is a personal matter.

2) Wash, core and peel the apples. Doing it by hand takes about 1/2 hour with a paring knife.

Paring and peeling took me half an hour

3) Place the apples into a dutch oven and add 1/2 cup (120g) of water.

4) Place the pan on the stove top at medium to medium high heat and keep the apples moving. As they warm up and start to boil, bring down the heat to prevent scorching.

5) After about 5 minutes, break out the masher and start to push down on the softening apples. Continue with this until there are no more large lumps of apple, about 10 minutes.

6) Pour a couple of cups of the steaming mashed apples into the food processor and set it to chop. Continue for 30-45 seconds, depending on how coarse or fine a sauce is preferred.

7) Prepare a quart freezer bag for filling. I find it works well to place the bag in a large measuring cup and prop it open. Use another measuring cup to fill the bag. I use a scale and fill to 950g. Just filling the bags will work also. I just like two nearly identical bags of applesauce.

8) Work the air bubbles out of the bag by gently sort of kneading the warm sauce from bottom to top.

9) Place on the cookie sheet, do a final check for air and seal the zipper. The sauce should be right up against the zipper to keep air out.

10) Repeat bagging the second quart of sauce and place both bags flat on the cookie sheet.

With the air pushed out it's ready for freezing

11) Place in the freezer. Remove cookie sheet when they are frozen and place bags in a good place for long term storage.

12) Remove when the craving for great applesauce strikes, thaw in the refrigerator for a couple of days and then enjoy some great home-made applesauce!
         
                This one works well                                         A good buy