More Life Hacks

 

I’m pretty sure I’ve written about life hacks before, but don’t remember when. I always enjoy reading about the various ‘hacks’ I run across. There are several “What I wish I knew before I was 30” kind of articles. Some are plain common sense and some are unique to me. Here’s my offering this time around…

 

Seal a Ziploc bag with a straw. I’ve done this for YEARS. We now have a real sealer for prepping our stuff for the freezer, but for small packages, the straw method is fine.

 

Powdered sugar is regular sugar blended. I learned this a long time ago from one of my cookbooks. I rarely use powdered sugar and this is a good way if all you’re using is a small amount.

 

Roll the lemon and then pole holes to squeeze for juice. This one was new to me. Makes sense. When I was a kid, we’d roll an orange around and then cut a small hole in it to suck out the juice. Then we’d cut it open and eat the pulp.

 

Rinsing the nozzle on a can of whipped cream. Seriously?? It’s supposed to ensure that mold doesn’t grow in it between uses. If we EVER get canned whipped cream, you can be sure that thing is emptied LONG before it will grow mold…It MIGHT last for an entire pumpkin pie, but I wouldn’t bet on it…

 

You can change which way the refrigerator door opens. I learned this fairly recently. I had never even thought about if before because I’ve never had a problem with the direction of any fridge I’ve had. When my dad was briefly in an apartment while my mom was in a nursing home, his tiny kitchen had a fridge that should have opened from the other side. Had no idea it could be changed or we’d have done it.

 

100 Books – part 3

 

More from the list of books everyone should read in their lifetime.

 

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

Absolutely delightful book and series! I’ve read them all and highly recommend them. If you love the Laura Ingles Wilder books, you will love these. Same flavor of a rural lifestyle that is long gone.

 

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

Another great series. Sadly, my kids had zero interest in them. I read them the first one in the series and they didn’t want to hear any more and of course never read them. Lewis wrote a sci-fi trilogy that is well worth reading as well.

 

Dracula by Bram Stoker

Forget the movies…read the original. Some of the movies I have enjoyed, but the book is my first love.

 

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Same as above. I’m sure Shelley was turning in her grave when the travesty movies came out.

 

Harry Potter book series by J.K. Rowling

Awesome books! Loved them all and read them before each movie was made. I truly enjoyed the movies as well, but I think reading the books first is valuable. Everyone knows by now what the characters look like, so it’s easy to read the books and be able to “see” what takes place.

 

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

I will also include The Hobbit with this series. I tried reading The Hobbit when I was in junior high and didn’t get very far before losing all interest. The first year Marv and I were married, my brother gave us a boxed set of the four books. Don’t know why, but this time around I started The Hobbit again and I just DEVOURED it and the following 3 books like brain candy. Marv read them as well. The movies were awesome, of course, but I’m glad I read the books first.

 

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

I read this when I was in 5^th or 6^th grade. It wasn’t really my style of book but I did enjoy it. I thought Jo should have married Laurie (which I thought was a truly ridiculous nickname for a boy) instead of Mr. Bhaer since he was SO much older, but there ya go. Jo was headstrong, that’s for sure.

 

How to Prepare a Humble Feast, 1638

 

Note: If this is a HUMBLE feast, I’d hate to contemplate a boastful feast…the underlined parts are my input to point out the vast excess of it all. I’ve also changed some of the spellings and explained some of the terms.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Now for a more humble feast, or an ordinary proportion which any good man may keep in his family for the entertainment of his true and worthy friends… it is good then for him that intends to feast, to set down the full number of his dishes… and of these sixteen is a good proportion for one course unto one meal, as thus for example:

 

First, a platter of Brawne (head cheese! Yuk!) with mustard:

Secondly, a boyl’d Capon:

Thirdly, a boyl’d piece of Beefe:

Fourthly, a chine of Beefe roasted: (a cut of beef with part of the backbone)

Fifthly, a Neats-tongue roasted: (beef tongue)

Sixthly, a Pig roasted:

Seventhly, chewets bak’d: (a mixture of minced meat or fish combined with fruits or spices)

Eighthly, a Goose roasted:

Ninthly, a Swan roasted:

Tenthly, a Turkie roasted:

The eleventh, a haunch of Venison roasted:

The twelfth, a Pasty of Venison: (yes, I said pasty, not pastry. A pocket with a savory filling)

The thirteenth, a Kid with a pudding in the belly:

The fourteenth, an Olive Pie:

The fifteenth, a couple of Capons:

The sixteenth, a Custard or Dowsets. (basically an egg custard)

 

Now to these full dishes may be added in salads, Fricassees, Quelquechoses (a type of dessert), and devised paste (type of food spread), as many dishes more, which make the full service no less than two and thirty dishes, which is as much as can conveniently stand on one Table… and after this manner you may proportion both your second and third course…

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

So this “humble” feast has a first course of no less than 32 different types of food and is followed by a second and third course…

 

Bring on the Maloxx….