Archive for October, 2011

Winter Dinners in a Jar

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The reason I mention heritage fruits and vegetable is that with items such as tomatoes, you will not need to add another acid to your mix. However if you choose to buy your fruits in the grocery, you will need to add some lemon juice to your mix. The rule of thumb here is two tablespoons lemon juice or ½ teaspoon citric acid into each quart of tomatoes, added before you fill your jars.With spring around the corner, farm markets and road side stands are getting ready to offer you a wide variety of organically grown heritage food stuff. Now is the time to start thinking about your foods for the summer and next winter. And canned dinners is a good place as any to begin. Planning dinners so far in advance can seem not only time consuming, but a daunting prospect.

The simplest thing to do is to go into your cabinets and see what store-bought goods you already have there. Most of us have spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce, baked beans and BBQ sauce -great for sweet and saucy ribs. And if you have children, canned pastas seems to be the mainstay.

 

There is very little information on canning your own pasta dinners out there. Yet the major companies as well as homesteaders have been doing this for years. The problems occur with what types of pasta you want to can and how much of it you stuff into a jar. You will need only enough to loosely fit into the can/jar, never jam pack it in, or fill it to the brim.

As with any home canning you need to leave at least ½ inch of head space. Elbow macaroni, shells or spaghetti noodles are the easiest. It is not recommended that you can pasta because dense foods are harder to heat all the way through during processing. Homemade pastas are simple, and something that everyone should try their hand at. And you can add your own twist, or flavoring, to the noodles, like beet, spinach or Parmesan. Once you have your noodles, forming them into shapes is simple, pack them into the jar, loosely and then add your sauce. Kids love meat ravioli, spaghetti and meatballs, and beef and macaroni. Processing takes the same amount of time as your meats do, 75 minutes for pints and 90 minutes for quarts at 10 pounds pressure, unless you live at an altitude more than 1,000 feet; consult your canning manual for directions for increasing your pressure.

 

Soups, like chicken noodle soup, are a wonderful item to always have on hand. Any of the soups you buy at the store can be modified to your taste, removing or adding certain vegetables, seasoning, and salt . If you have meats in your stock, processing time will take longer then a plain, chicken, meat or vegetable stock. Stews, like roast beef, are the same. And speaking of meats, canning your own meats, poultry, fish and seafood is very rewarding. These items are cooked and stewed in their own juices creating an extra tender meal in a natural stock. Canned Beef strips make an excellent stroganoff. Canned chicken works wonders as a quick chicken with almond rice, while canned salmon makes an irresistible salmon and raisin pie. Which ever dinner tempts your the most, remember that healthy eating requires that you know what is in your food, that you follow all the canning instructions carefully, never eat anything that isn’t sealed properly, and throughly cook all your foods. And most importantly, enjoy.

Soup Recipe: Straightforward and Scrumptious Veg Soup Recipes

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It’s quite simple to make vegetable soups. Consider preparing mixed vegetable, broccoli or pumpkin soup if you love an easy but pleasing lunch or dinner. Soup is easy enough and anyone can master it, plus if you have a handful of veggies past their prime in the refrigerator, you will be able to use them to prepare a wonderful soup. The slightly older veggies could be obtained from the market at a reduced cost and might be utilized to prepare economical soups.

When it comes to vegetable soups, you can play with the ingredients and add in your preferred vegetables. You can try some exciting combinations like pumpkin and cauliflower, broccoli and cauliflower, corn and pumpkin etc.

How to Make Soup the Easy Way The most effortless way to make a veg soup is to boil a bit of diced veggies in water or broth. Add up herbs and spices and possibly some other substances . Raisins, garlic, fruit, nuts, chilli, cream, and rice may all be used, and there are a lot of other ingredients one could throw in too.

Obviously, you will need to make your mind up with regards to the ingredients that will go nicely with the soup you’re making. If you are making a carrot and orange soup, you might like to add a bit of raisins, curry powder and peanuts to make it a curried soup. Add some potatoes or rice too and stir in some cream right before serving the soup.

If you’re utilizing chicken broth and a range of veggies like mushrooms, zucchini, cauliflower, rutabaga and carrots, you may put in herbs to bring out the aroma. Add dried herbs when you add the vegetables or fresh herbs at the end.

Whilst preparing sweet soup like pumpkin soup, you might like to add sugar, cream and perhaps a few nutmeg or cinnamon to enhance the sweetness of the pumpkin. Then again, one could use garlic, salt, herbs and onion powder to make a more aromatic soup. Put in all of the elements, cook the soup until the vegetables are tender and then serve the way it is or puree it in a blender.

Garden Housekeeping | Housekeeping Tips

In general, housekeeping is a term traditionally related to cleaning the home and making it neat and tidy. However, in recent times, housekeeping has been largely associated to a kind of cleaning and maintenance business in various work settings such as hotels, hospitals, schools, and conventionally homes. If you are thinking about housekeeping jobs, it cannot be said that these are highly paid. However, if you run a relevant business or are considering some part time jobs; the income from these jobs can surely add up to your primary income. In the following, we are going to discuss about housekeeping job description and salary range.Housekeeping Job Description The primary factor that has an impact on housekeeping duties is the employment setting and environment. A housekeeper usually provides services in different facilities such as homes, schools, hospitals, and hotels; which is why the job responsibilities differ greatly.

If a housekeeper is working in a home, he will see to it that the house is clean by sweeping floors, cleaning and shining the furniture, vacuuming dusty and dirty areas, etc.In some cases, a housekeeper is also handed over the responsibility of taking care of children; which includes dressing them, giving them food, and taking care of them. Housekeepers working in hotels are responsible for cleaning and maintaining the quality of rooms, corridors, and storage spaces. They have to make beds for guests, clean ceilings, walls, floors, curtains, furniture, and other things which are meant for the comfort of guests.Those working in hospital housekeeping jobs have to make sure the facility is clean enough for the patients to stay and get treatment. They have to make patient’s beds which includes changing, washing, and ironing the linen. They have to dispose off all used materials such as medicines, syringes, bandages, and cotton as soon as possible. The responsibilities vary according to the position of the person in housekeeping; such as a director, supervisor, cleaner, or an assistant.Likewise, the job description of housekeepers varies according to the work setting, position, and additional responsibilities given. Now let us see how much the housekeeper salary is.Housekeeper Salary The salary range for job as a housekeeper differs according to whether the person is a housekeeping director, cleaner, supervisor, or an aide. The average yearly salary of a housekeeping supervisor is reported to be somewhere around ,000 to ,000. On the other hand, the median pay range of a housekeeping director falls in the range of ,000 to ,000 per annum. Housekeeping cleaners have a pay range of ,000 to ,000 per year. Housekeeping aids can earn a yearly salary of about ,000 to ,000. Housekeeping aids working at homes can earn a bit more because they can work at multiple homes in a single day on a part time basis. Private housekeepers can get an hourly rate pay from to . Along with the monthly pay, live-in housekeepers can also get additional benefits. Housekeepers working in hotel rooms can get decent amounts of tips from guests for the services rendered.This is some general information on housekeeping jobs in hotels, hospitals, and homes. Regardless of the financial situations, running a housekeeping or cleaning service can surely be a profitable option to invest in. Note that the housekeeping salary ranges mentioned above are approximate figures and are subject to change as per conditions and employers. One generic responsibility of those working in housekeeping jobs is to maintain cleanliness in the facility they have been given charge of. Housekeepers from any work setting necessarily need to be physically fit and agile to carry out the work.We always look for simple ways to organize things around us in order to keep our house clean and tidy. But despite of all our efforts quite often we see ourselves surrounded with items that we don’t know where to keep or store. In fact, some of these items might not be used in our daily activities but considering that we might need them for some unexpected work in future we avoid keeping them out of our sight or either bury them in drawers. However, seeing such items around us or finding them unwantedly in the middle of some other work can be a bit annoying. Hence, to solve this problem, a pegboard can be very helpful. But what exactly is a pegboard, we will know in the following section.Pegboard is a perforated hardboard containing evenly spaced drilled holes to keep items like workshop or garage tools, kitchen utensils, etc. The board is made from hardboard, wood or metal, and its pre-drilled holes are used to hold pegs and hooks in order to support various tools. A typical pegboard is prepared of wood fibers and some amount of resin. The board is fortified with a thin coat of linseed oil and is then heated at high temperatures to polymerize the oil. This increases the pegboard’s durability, impact resistance, hardness and tensile strength.Considered to be the best storage device, the pegboard is primarily used to hang different types of accessories which help in creating more storage space, especially in those areas where space is a major concern. But if you are thinking that hanging a wooden or metal pegboard in your room can affect your home decor, then let me tell you that there are several pegboard ideas that can be used to install a pegboard in a creative way which will not hamper your room decor rather will help in keeping your room space more organized. Hence, a pegboard can be used anywhere in your house, i.e. kitchen, bathroom, closets or any other room where you need an easy storage solution. Hence, if you are planning to install a pegboard in your house, check out the below given pegboard installation technique.Pegboards are large boards with holes that can hold hooks to hang different types of accessories. When it comes to using these boards for home decor, there are several ideas for pegboards that can be used in kitchens, garage, home office, etc. Pegboards can be hung on the walls, on the doors and on the doors of cabinets. They are considered as best storage devices for small rooms as they help in keeping the space organized. So, if you are thinking of installing pegboards in your house, then take a look at these easy to implement pegboard ideas.As mentioned above, a pegboard can save you a lot of space, especially if you require to store a lot of essential stuff but don’t have the requisite space. Go through some of the ideas given below to organize and maximize your available space.Pegboard Ideas for Garage If you have a garage, you must have a pegboard that will hold all the garage supplies. Using a pegboard in the garage is a wonderful way to avoid a messy and littered garage. It will also help to keep the functional area clean and tidy. A pegboard in a garage can be used for hanging tools like hammers, pliers, wrenches, screws, etc. These can also be used for storing large garage supplies like batteries. If you have a laundry corner in your garage, you can have a pegboard that holds laundry items like detergent, clothespins, iron, fabric softener, etc. If you have a collection of garage manuals and user guides, then hang a magazine holder on the pegboard and store the collection in it.You can also hang small tin boxes to keep small garage supplies like nuts, bolts and screws. Install long shelves on the pegboard to place bottles of lubricants, flashlights, batteries, etc. While hanging a pegboard which holds the garage supplies, hang it near the work bench, so that you can access the supplies quickly. Use a pegboard that will properly hold all the items, since many of the garage supplies are heavy. You may take the help of furring strips and install along with the pegboard to provide extra support, so that all the tools can be hung properly. Read more on garage storage.Pegboard Ideas for Kitchen Pegboard is a wonderful storage device for small and narrow kitchens. You can have a nice pegboard in your kitchen, which will hold pots, spoons and many other kitchen utensils. There are several ways to hang a pegboard in the kitchen. For example, if you want to have a neat and tidy kitchen storage, then hang a pegboard behind the door of the kitchen cabinets. Hanging a pegboard inside a kitchen cabinet makes for a great organized kitchen cabinet, and keeps the mess out of sight. You can also hang a pegboard behind the kitchen door to have easy excess to kitchen utensils that are used frequently.Since pegboards are very versatile and flexible, you can hang kitchen pegboards anywhere you want. A small pegboard can be hung over the sink to hold tiny kitchen accessories like spoons, while a large pegboard on the wall can be used for holding plates, jars, pans and pots. Using pegboards in the kitchen helps you to have a organized kitchen decor and make easy access of kitchen accessories. While using a pegboard in the kitchen make sure that the color of the pegboard goes well with the existing kitchen decor. You may even design the pegboard in such a way that it becomes the focal point of the kitchen decoration.Pegboard Ideas for Home Office or Craft Room If you have a small home office or kid’s craft room, then a pegboard can help you to give a uncluttered look to the space. Pegboards for home office can be used very efficiently to store the office supplies and other accessories. You can also make a bulletin board out of the peg board and display current events or important tasks to be done. Make use of small tins to store paper clips, stapler pins and other office accessories. A pegboard in the kid’s room or craft’s room, enables easy access of the craft supplies. You can hang cute pen holders on the pegboard and decorate it in various ways. A pegboard in craft’s room should be hung beside or above the working table, so that all the supplies can be accessed easily. For such rooms you can have artistic pegboard designs, that will contribute to the interior decoration and also provide good storage.While installing the hooks in the pegboard, make sure you use good quality hooks that do not come off. Some hooks may come off the pegboard while hanging the objects on them. So, these were some simple and easy pegboard ideas for you. I hope the pegboard ideas given in this article will prove useful to you. Happy Home Making!