Between work, coughing (hubby is sick too) and being glued to reports of the dire events in Japan, Libya and elsewhere, I haven't been posting. I'm finally having a whole weekend off, and hope to get some urgent projects started at least.
I finally got one of the jar sealers for the Foodsaver that I order so I can start vacuum sealing my jars of dry goods (vegetable flakes, soup makings of various kinds, etc), and I have a couple of kilograms of blueberries cleaned and ready to go in the freezer that needs to be made into jam, and some herbs to get started in the window for hubby. As he keeps tell me, a great chef like himself needs his own herb garden in the kitchen windowsill. I believe it was wisdom on my part not to giggle at him. I figure if he keeps practicing his culinary skills, he'll get better. I hope.
My heart goes out to the folks in Japan. For those most directly affected, the events of the last few weeks (has it really been that long?) will be with them for the rest of their lives and they are living through the kind of thing that a lot of us prepping for and hope will never happen. I have family living outside of Tokyo, and it's a real worry to me. As you can imagine, it's difficult to sleep sometimes. Are they really okay? Knowing that they were not directly harmed by the earthquake and that the tsunami didn't reach their neighbourhood is reassuring only to a point. Reading that the tap water in Tokyo is contaminated, and unsafe for children, is truly frightening.
We haven't heard a whole lot about Haiti recently beyond the news that a devasting cholera epidemic has set in. Innocent civilians are being killed as war heats up in Libya. People are still trying to rebuild after the earthquakes in Chile and New Zealand, and the floods in Australia. Truly, we have entered an age of catastrophe.
Living on the Pacific ring of fire as I do, earthquakes, volcanic activity and resultant tsunamis are actually some of the things I have to prep for. So among my weekend projects is going to have to be revamping the BOBs and the EDC.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Ukranian Cough Medicine
I cannot promise that this will cure your cold, but it sure tastes good....
Ukrainian Cough Medicine
2 cups vodka
2 lemons
2 whole heads garlic
1 cup honey
Squeeze the lemons, and put the juice (and pulp) into the vodka in a quart mason jar. Warm the honey up if it's not the liquid kind so it will dissolve readily in the vodka. Add to the vodka. Set aside. Break up the garlic heads into cloves, skin and mince the garlic. Add to the vodka. Put in a cool dark place and allow to meld for 1 week.
Dose: 1 tbsp.
(I have also used this as a marinade. Tastes not bad.)
Ukrainian Cough Medicine
2 cups vodka
2 lemons
2 whole heads garlic
1 cup honey
Squeeze the lemons, and put the juice (and pulp) into the vodka in a quart mason jar. Warm the honey up if it's not the liquid kind so it will dissolve readily in the vodka. Add to the vodka. Set aside. Break up the garlic heads into cloves, skin and mince the garlic. Add to the vodka. Put in a cool dark place and allow to meld for 1 week.
Dose: 1 tbsp.
(I have also used this as a marinade. Tastes not bad.)
Friday, March 4, 2011
Cough, cough...
Yes, I am yet another victim of the whatever that's going around. Cough, cough, cough. It's getting tedious. I bought some cough syrup, but it isn't helping. Gah, I need relief!
I searched the internet for homemade cough remedies, and most seem to employ honey and/or lemon juice and/or garlic/ginger/freshly ground peppercorns. I have an old Ukranian remedy that calls for vodka, honey, lemon juice and vast quantities of garlic. I don't know if it really helps or not. It tastes delicious, even when I can't taste much else. It also causes a distinct garlicky odour problem after a few doses, right through the skin, and I really don't want to offend anyone.
A nurse told me to put Vick's Vapor rub on my feet every night (covering with socks to prevent staining of the sheets). It definitely helps when rubbed on the part of my chest not covered by mammary glands, and it helps keep the sinuses clear when rubbed on one's nose. I don't know about putting it on my feet. I tried it, and all I noticed was that my feet, and hence the rest of me, were very warm.
When I was a kid, Dad would give my brother and I a little tiny ball of eucalyptus ointment each to swallow when we had a cough. It was nasty, nasty stuff, kind of like eating really thick Buckley's. Well, I guess what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.
Right now, I'm sipping on hot lemonade with honey. I took an antihistamine and some acetaminophen - that's my "generic" version of Neocitran. All I need to figure out now is something to loosen the congestion. Suggestions anyone?
I searched the internet for homemade cough remedies, and most seem to employ honey and/or lemon juice and/or garlic/ginger/freshly ground peppercorns. I have an old Ukranian remedy that calls for vodka, honey, lemon juice and vast quantities of garlic. I don't know if it really helps or not. It tastes delicious, even when I can't taste much else. It also causes a distinct garlicky odour problem after a few doses, right through the skin, and I really don't want to offend anyone.
A nurse told me to put Vick's Vapor rub on my feet every night (covering with socks to prevent staining of the sheets). It definitely helps when rubbed on the part of my chest not covered by mammary glands, and it helps keep the sinuses clear when rubbed on one's nose. I don't know about putting it on my feet. I tried it, and all I noticed was that my feet, and hence the rest of me, were very warm.
When I was a kid, Dad would give my brother and I a little tiny ball of eucalyptus ointment each to swallow when we had a cough. It was nasty, nasty stuff, kind of like eating really thick Buckley's. Well, I guess what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.
Right now, I'm sipping on hot lemonade with honey. I took an antihistamine and some acetaminophen - that's my "generic" version of Neocitran. All I need to figure out now is something to loosen the congestion. Suggestions anyone?
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Let Them Eat ... Cornbread
Thought I would share my recipe for cornmeal muffins/bread. It's loosely dervied from the Purity Cornmeal Bread recipe that used to be on the package 30 years ago. For the longest time, I used a blue teacup with a broken handle as my measuring cup, but it finally completely broke, so my recipe is based on whatever cup I have to hand, and the ingredients are in fractions of that cup.
Preheat the oven to 375F for a loaf, or 400F for muffins. Make sure the rack is in the middle of the oven.
In a largish bowl, put in 1 cup each of cornmeal and flour. Add 1 spoon of baking powder (sized to match the amount of dry ingredients), salt, and about 1/4 - 1/2 cup sugar. At this point, you can add 1/2 to 2/3 a cup of chopped dried or fresh fruit, kernel corn, onions, peppers, or whatever for either a sweet or savoury muffin.
In the cup, break 1 large egg (or 2 small eggs), and add enough oil to make 2/3s of the cup. Add to cornmeal-flour mixture. Add 1+ cups of canned milk (other milk will do but it changes the flavour); basically the amount will be a little more than 1 cup, aiming for a batter which is somewhat thicker than the usual muffin batter. Finish with vanilla extract to taste.
This batter should make about 1 doz. regular sized muffins, and takes between 14-17 minutes to bake, depending on the humidity, the oven and how large the muffin tins are. Alternatively, you can make a loaf (in a largish bread pan), and it will bake in approximately 18-22 minutes.
They freeze well; however, for at hand eating, once they are completely cooled, put them in a closed container or a baggy.
Preheat the oven to 375F for a loaf, or 400F for muffins. Make sure the rack is in the middle of the oven.
In a largish bowl, put in 1 cup each of cornmeal and flour. Add 1 spoon of baking powder (sized to match the amount of dry ingredients), salt, and about 1/4 - 1/2 cup sugar. At this point, you can add 1/2 to 2/3 a cup of chopped dried or fresh fruit, kernel corn, onions, peppers, or whatever for either a sweet or savoury muffin.
In the cup, break 1 large egg (or 2 small eggs), and add enough oil to make 2/3s of the cup. Add to cornmeal-flour mixture. Add 1+ cups of canned milk (other milk will do but it changes the flavour); basically the amount will be a little more than 1 cup, aiming for a batter which is somewhat thicker than the usual muffin batter. Finish with vanilla extract to taste.
This batter should make about 1 doz. regular sized muffins, and takes between 14-17 minutes to bake, depending on the humidity, the oven and how large the muffin tins are. Alternatively, you can make a loaf (in a largish bread pan), and it will bake in approximately 18-22 minutes.
They freeze well; however, for at hand eating, once they are completely cooled, put them in a closed container or a baggy.
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