Interesting how some nutritional advice has changed over the last 70 years.
The portions seem relatively the same.
Not sure butter or margarine at each meal is now recommended, although some butter is still good for overall health.
Sweets and desserts after other foods is still a good suggestion.
Charlotte
Do you still have your Mom's metal holiday cookie cutters? I do, and I'm always looking at garage sales for more.
Besides making cookies, cookie cutters are easy guides to make ornaments and gift tags.
Not out of dough, of course. On second thought - why not?
Charlotte
Ok, so I don't always clean out my vegetable crisper.
I had stored my last homegrown radishes in a recycled cereal bag. Four months later, one lonely radish was still crisp and edible.
I'm going to use those recycled bags more often.
Charlotte
Is there anything prettier, or tastier, than a homegrown summer tomato?
Even through a record drought, I was lucky enough to get a few delicious red fruits.
Some were uneven in their coloring because of the drought.
These, however, made a perfect salad with a little oil and vinegar.
Charlotte
One of the treats my cats love is cat grass.
Cat grass is basically chemically-free oat seeds planted in small pots.
I keep them in my kitchen so I don't forget to water.
Seeds sprout in about a week.
Cats will chew this pot down easily in a day and tend to leave my other plants alone. As long as they have their grass.
Charlotte
I don't like to sell anything I haven't tried first so I decided to test our potted culinary herb garden.
With five different favorite herbs, it took about a week for the first seeds to sprout.
I planted half the seeds so I would have enough for a second crop.
So far, so good….
Charlotte
I picked a bunch of chamomile to dry earlier this year.
Chamomile tea supposedly helps promote restful sleep. Just like with other favorite herbs, they are practical and pretty. I also like the white, daisy-like flowers.
I think it works. I took a nap immediately afterwards.
Charlotte
How about that, my first homegrown potatoes!
The trick was to cut them up and let them scab over for a couple of days before planting them.
Not sure I dug up all of them.
If I didn't, I'll have a head start on planting potatoes next year.
Charlotte
Yes, roses.
Besides being a favorite in a vase and considered the "queen of flowers," roses have a long and varied history. According to the International Herb Association, which makes the annual designation, roses are used in many of the same ancient traditions and methods. Rose water is used in cooking and cosmetics.
Rose oil can be found in perfumes.
Aromatherapists use the scent of roses for emotional balance and a calming effect.
We have roses in liqueurs, jams, conserves and teas.
Rose hips are an excellent source of vitamin C, and wild rose hips are a good source of food for wintering animals.
Charlotte
There are few more welcoming gifts than a tin of homemade cookies.
It could be a thank you to your neighbor or a "thinking of you" gift for someone deployed overseas.
The container keeps cookies fresh and in one piece.
Look for containers without any rust.
Wash in dishwasher.
Hunt for ones with favorite themes, like flowers.
What tins do you like to collect?
Charlotte
Parsley is not just for garnish.
This herb is an anticarcinogen that is also useful as a digestive aid and helps to purify the blood. It contains three times as much vitamin C as oranges, and twice as much iron as spinach. Parsley contains vitamin A and is a good source of copper and manganese.
I read somewhere it is added to a plate so that eaters have a natural breath freshener at the end of a meal.
Charlotte
I found this charming poem on a scrap of newspaper. It was inside an "old book" I bought at a library book sale. It's called "Gossip in the Pantry:"
"The Cabbage bowed her queenly head,
The Ham boiled through with rage,
The salt ran down the cellar
For counsel with the Sage;
The old Potato winked his eye,
The Pepper sneezed a tear,
The Ginger burned up with disdain,
The Corn pricked up her ear,
The Steak alone in sympathy
Did smother back a scoff,
The Eggs were so much mortified
A dozen scrambled off.
The entire pantry neighborhood
Seemed to be awry;
The naughty Cold-Sliced Tongue had told
A Concentrated Lye!"
Signed "McCalls."
Charlotte
We grew up in Brazil where star fruits are as common as apples are here.
We called them "carambolas."
I don't usually buy them. They are picked so green that by the time they show up in my midwest grocery store, they have color but no flavor.
This time, I couldn't resist.
This Star Fruit had the faint sunny flavor of my childhood summers.
Charlotte
I chuckle every time I think of the hours I spent pulling plantain. So much easier to eat it!
Plantain is a common Missouri weed, found in most disturbed lots and road sides. I happen to have a nice crop of plantain in the center of one of my gravel driveways, which makes picking it very convenient. No need to write down a recipe, use as you would lettuce.
Make sure the area hasn't been exposed to chemicals and pick younger leaves. Reminds me of spinach so I'm going to steam it next and see how it tastes.
Charlotte
Maybe it was because we spent part of our childhood greasing and flouring cooking pans; I can still remember trying to get the yucky sticky stuff off my hands. Not even using dish towels worked!
One of my kitchen must-have's now is Baker's Joy non-stick baking spray. Shake it, then spray cupcake pans.Takes maybe 5 seconds for 6 cupcakes.
Pour in batter. Cupcakes will easily pop out, no papers - or hand-cleaning - required.
Charlotte
Deer eating my strawberry plants suggested I was missing another source of salad greens.
Sure enough, wild strawberries are edible and their young leaves make a nice addition to a spring salad.
My patch of wild strawberries has expanded on its own over the years. It's a perfect spot to cut young wild strawberry leaves because it's not exposed to any chemicals.
Charlotte
When I think of grape leaves, I think of Greek dishes using grape leaves as wraps.
Never occurred to me that I could also add grape leaves to a spring salad!
Cut the younger, less tough leaves. Wash; dry on paper towels or dish towels. Tear into small pieces and add to any basic salad to add texture and flavor. If you use chemicals in your garden, don't eat these.
Since I don't use chemicals in mine, my plants are safe to use. Yummy!
Charlotte
If we're going to decide this through a taste test, I would say no.
Organic and pure vanilla are the same, an alcohol base for the vanilla bean that produces the tell-tale vanilla flavor.
I have tried both imitation vanilla and real vanilla in my recipes; those do make a difference. The lighter and more delicate the food, the more inclined I am to use real pure vanilla.
For those recipes where there are a lot of ingredients and vanilla happens to be an accent, then I haven't tasted much difference. In terms of organic, I don't think the higher price delivers a better product.
What do you think?
Charlotte
I can't remember exactly when I started to collect decorative tins but I have been using them for as long as I can remember.
Retail stores usually have them on sale mid-summer. Thrift stores also often offer a variety of new and pre-used tins that can be easily re-purposed.
When choosing tins, check that you can easily remove the lid. Also make sure there are no bumps or dents on sides, and no rust anywhere but especially on the inside.
I try to keep several tin sizes on hand, as well as simple tins without any decorations so they can be used for a number of occasions.
Tins are a great way to ship cookies so they don't break. You can also use tins to store cookies for school and office parties. If for some reason the tin is not returned, it's not much of a loss.
I have also inherited some nice tins from cookie exchanges. Once empty, I run them through the dishwasher and immediately remove to hand dry with muslin dish towels. That helps to prevent rusting and gives me a chance to think about how I can best use those tins again!
Charlotte
My younger brothers always took the job of picking out what cookie cutters to use very seriously. I'm sure it was the engineers in them coming out at an early age.
Cookie cutters with a lot of small pieces can be a challenge for young kids to use. Wider cookies with less angles are easier to cut, and move, to waiting cookie sheets.
Cookie cutters with narrow sections can also be difficult to move. I use a flour-dusted metal spatula to carefully remove the cut cookie from the cutting board. The metal spatula helps prevent the cookie dough from breaking and ensures the cookie gets to the cookie sheet in one piece. When waiting, uncooked dough rests on clean dish towels.
Plastic cups, jar lids and small tins can also be used as cookie cutters. One year we couldn't find cookie cutters in the shapes we wanted so we used new sand toy shapes. Apply a little butter or shortening before dusting with flour and the cookie dough will get a clean cut.
Charlotte
Favorite Easy Healthy Recipes
