How to remove stains from laminate To remove stains from laminated surfaces use a cloth with nail polish remover on it. Brilliant. <!-- end of tip 1 --> <!--start of tip 2 --> Sterilise your cupboards Clean the inside of your white cupboards with half metho half bleach mix to achieve a clean germ-free surface. <!-- end of tip 2 --> <!--start of tip 3 --> Wipe down grease with lemon Use lemon slices to wipe down greasy surfaces, or just use Viva the strongest when wet and dry. <!-- end of tip 3 --> <!--start of tip 4 --> Soak your dishcloth in bi-carb To keep your dishcloth germ-free, soak it in white vinegar and bi-carb soda everynight, so it's fresh for the next day! <!-- end of tip 4 --> <!--start of tip 5 --> Remove calcium build-up with vinegar To get rid of ugly calcium build up in your kettle just add 1/2 cup of vinegar to water and boil. It's also safe. <!-- end of tip 5 --> <!--start of tip 6 --> Brown vinegar for oven doors To make glass oven-doors shine like new, drench Viva paper towels with brown vinegar and leave on glass for an hour. Wipe with dry Viva... perfect. <!-- end of tip 6 --> <!--start of tip 7 --> Soak up grease don't sink it Use Viva to soak up warm fryer oil or fat to save the environment and prevent fat clogging sink or dishwasher and reduce washing time. <!-- end of tip 7 --> <!--start of tip 8 --> Clean bottles with raw rice To clean hard-to-reach bottles use a cup of water, a teaspoon of bi-icarb soda and 1/4 cup of rice. Swish the mixture around <!-- end of tip 8 --> <!--start of tip 9 --> Erase black scuff marks Ever wondered how to get rid of those black scuff marks on your lino? Use an eraser and it rubs right off without scrubbing. <!-- end of tip 9 --> <!--start of tip 10 --> Clean sinks with shaving cream Use shaving cream from a can to clean stainless steel sinks. Spray on, rub, leave for 20 mins, wash off.
Kitchen Tips For effective dishwashing, add few spoons of vinegar while washing the dishes. The grease is cut by the vinegar and thus leaves the dishes sparkling. When the cleaning sponge smells, firstly wash the sponge thoroughly, and then microwave it for a short period while the sponge is wet. Remove it after some time; be careful, as the sponge will be really hot! Once again wash the sponge before using it. To clean up spills in your oven, sprinkle the spills immediately with salt. When the oven has cooled, brush away the burnt-on food with a damp sponge. To remove hard-water and lime build-up in a teapot or kettle, pour in two cups of vinegar and bring to a boil. Let simmer or about 10 minutes, then rinse well. To remove mineral deposits in a tea pot or burnt spots on a coffee pot, put some ice cubes, cut-up lemon, and salt with a tad water and swish around and let sit overnight. To whiten an old stained sink, poor a half cup of salt in it and then scrub it with a lemon. Let it stand for a few minutes and rinse. To keep your plastic containers from getting stained from tomato-based foods, rub the inside with vegetable oil before placing the food in the container. Removing kitchen and food odours: Soak pure vanilla on a cotton ball and place in a saucer. Put the saucer in the car or refrigerator to remove odours. Keep cotton ball out of reach of children as it contains some alcohol. Odour producing mold and bacteria in garbage cans: sprinkle 1/2 cup Borax in the bottom of the garbage can.
MUST HAVES IN THE KITCHEN - Mistress of Spices: Powdered Spices: Lal Mirch Powder/Cayenne Pepper or chilli powder Dhania Powder/Coriander Powder Haldi Powder/ Turmeric Powder Jeera Powder/ Cumin Powder Garam Masala/A spice blend Chaat Masala Amchur Powder/ Dried Mango Powder Herbs and Whole Spices: Kasoori Methi/ Dried Fenugreek Leaves Sabut Jeera/ Whole Cumin Seeds Saunf/ Fennel Seeds/Aniseeds Rai/ Mustard Seeds Kadi Patta/Curry leaves Sabut Kali Mirch/ Black Peppercorns Laung/Cloves Sabut Dalchini/Cinnamon sticks Elaichi/Cardamom - Available in three types – black, green and white. Buy just a little of each type. Tej Patta/Bay leaves - Use it to neutralize strong odors in cooking. Dried red chillies Khus khus/Poppy seeds Hing/Asafoetida - Store this strong-smelling spice in a tightly closed container as it can easily impart its smell to other spices. Imli/Tamarind – These are sold in blocks. Buy a small block to make into chutney. Must-haves in every Indian Fridge: Plain Yoghurt Ginger-Garlic paste Fresh Coriander Leaves Fresh green chillies – Buy a few at a time. Staples: Oil – I like to use vegetable/sunflower and mustard oil. Keep a small tin og ghee for tempering dal and for adding in special dishes. Dals: Masoor/Split red lentils Moong/ Split yellow lentil Urad/Black gram Chana/Large yellow split yellow lentil Safed and kala chana/Chickpea Rajma/Kidney beans Flour and Rice: Aata or whole wheat flour to make chapatis, parathas and other Indian breads. Maida or refined flour for making puris and pastry. Rice – plain rice and Basmati rice for special rice dishes
For soft Dosas, add some boiled rice to white gram and rice, while grinding. Put some neem and turmeric pieces or garlic flakes in the container where you store rice or grains, in order to keep away insects. Add roasted rice powder to adjust salt in curries. If the curd is too sour, add 4 cups of water to it. After half an hour, remove the water collected on top. Add some vinegar in the boiling water before steaming potatoes. Add a pinch of corn flour to the jar of salt to prevent it from getting damp. While chopping raw bananas and potatoes, put the pieces in a bowl of water to avoid it from turning black. A bay leaf added to the flour container will keep the flour free from moisture. To peel garlic flakes easily, wash and soak them in cold water for about an hour. Green peas will retain their original colour, if you add a pinch of sugar while boiling. For thick cream, cover the milk vessel with a thin muslin cloth and refrigerate over night. You can make tasty chappathi by mixing equal proportion of wheat flour and barley. Cut boiled eggs with a knife dipped in hot water to avoid breaking. Boiled eggs will last longer, if you store the shelled eggs in a bowl of cold water in a refrigerator. If the bread is too soft to cut into pieces, hold the knife close to a flame and then slice the bread with it.
Short on time? These instant beauty escapes will have you looking and feeling gorgeous in one minute or less. Hydrate your face - Apply moisturizer before you get in the shower and leave it on until the end. The steam opens pores so moisturizer penetrates deeper. Warm away dryness - While showering, place a closed container of body lotion in a sink full of warm water. When you dry off, you'll have a warm treat to massage from head to toe. Get soft, smooth lips - Apply lip balm several minutes before getting in the bath or shower, then gently scrub lips with a warm washcloth. You'll easily whisk away flakes and dead skin. Take 10 years off your hands - Treat yourself to a skin-smoothing manicure in seconds. Mix some sugar with a dollop of olive oil and a drop of vanilla; massage into hands and cuticles, then rinse under warm water. Massage your scalp - Add a few drops of peppermint oil to baby shampoo for a tingly scalp refresher. Bonus: peppermint is a natural astringent that helps keep scalp oils in check. Deep clean your face - Before washing your face, saturate a washcloth with hot water and apply to face for one minute. The heat opens pores to allow for deeper cleaning and more effective removal of pore-clogging debris. Follow with your regular cleansing routine. Create baby soft skin - Mix together equal parts salt and body wash or conditioner. Scrub your entire body in the shower, then rinse for the smoothest skin yet. Soften your tootsies - Close the drain to your shower and add a powdered skin softening foot soak to the bottom of tub. Then, just let your feet soak while you shower as usual. <!-- / message --> <!-- controls -->
Here are some tips which help you to save your money. * If you accidentally over salt a dish while it's still cooking, drop in a peeled potato, it will absorb the excess salt. * Place a slice of bread in hardened brown sugar to soften. * To keep marshmallows from turning hard, store them in the freezer. When thawed, they're like fresh. * To keep marshmallows from sticking together in the bag, toss a little powdered sugar into the bag and mix. * Wrap celery in aluminum foil before placing in the refrigerator, it will keep for weeks. * For maximum flavor and long life, wrap your prized onions (like Vidalias) individually in newspaper and store in a cool, dark place. * Cut a roll of clear plastic wrap in half to use for individually wrapping brownies, cookies and other small items. You end up with two narrow rolls of the perfect size wrap. * Bread stale? Don't toss it out, cut it into cubes or process into crumbs; place in a freezer bag and freeze for later use in recipes. * Save money by using low-salt beef, chicken and vegetable bases, available in any supermarket, to make the broth called for in recipes instead of using canned broth. * Use the cooking water of potatoes meant for mashing, in place of milk, for lighter and fluffier mashed potatoes! Drain potatoes first and incorporate the liquid back into the potatoes a little at a time as you mash or whip them. * When you don't have cheesecloth, tie your spices up in a coffee filter for pickling or other uses. It works just fine! * Store shelled nuts in the freezer to retain their freshness. * Use an ordinary wooden or plastic clothespin to seal bags of chips, packets of crackers, and cereal-box liners. * Bread will stay fresher longer at room temperature or frozen. It is best not to store bread in the refrigerator. * Honey is best stored in a dry place because it tends to absorb moisture and become granulated. * Every time the door of the oven is opened, the oven temperature drops 25 to 30 degrees. Use the oven window to conserve energy.
Vastu For Kitchen - Vastu for kitchen is a separate study area for the Vastu pundits. The kitchen being a quintessential part of the household is an important contributing factor in the general health and well being of the family members. Planning the basic layout of the kitchen as per Vastu Directions therefore becomes a mandatory practice in the construction of your home. The Vastu Shatsra principles say there are specified directions and facing of each component of the kitchen and any altercations in these can lead to a Vastu Dosha resulting in unexplained financial losses and misfortune. Below we give you some quick Vastu tips for kitchen to help you plan the layout of your kitchen to ensure good health and prosperity in your home.>br> The ideal position for kitchen is the South East corner of the house The kitchen door should open in North, North East or East direction in clockwise manner. The cooking stove is best placed in the South East corner (the place of Lord Agni). The person cooking should face East direction as this brings good health for the family members and violating this with face towards South while cooking could bring financial losses to the family The Kitchen sink should be placed in North East. The ventilators and larger kitchen windows should be in the East direction and smaller windows in the South. The water filter and other drinking water storage should be done in the North East direction of the kitchen. The refrigerator should be placed in the South West corner. The dining table if placed in the kitchen should be in the North West corner and not in the centre with the face in East or North direction while consuming food. Any toilet or bathroom should not share a common wall with your kitchen.
MAKING THE MOST OF WHAT YOU EAT An important physiological function performed by our body is that of digestion. The power of digestion determines the overall health of the body’s functioning. We can always do a few things to improve our digestive powers. There are no strict rules that can bring on immediate effects but there are some sure practices that can streamline the digestion processes by way of converting them into good eating habits. What really happens when you eat? After that burger disappears into your mouth, it makes its way down the esophagus, through the stomach and into the small intestine, where the major part of digestion takes place. Food is broken down into nutrients small enough to be absorbed into the bloodstream. The bloodstream carries the nutrients to all parts of the body and that is how you get the energy to do the things you do every day. Nutrition not only boosts the muscles you use, it also provides energy to keep up the things you do not think about: the building and repairing of cells and the movement of blood through your body. To improve digestion, eat only when you are hungry. The body can tolerate even wrong combination of foods in strong genuine hunger. But the fact remains that the digestive system should be handled with utmost care. Some experts are of the opinion that food like milk should not be combined with any other food. It should be taken alone as it is a complete and concentrated food in itself. It prevents the gastric juices from reaching out to the other foodstuffs, hence delaying digestion. Milk is best taken with light snacks like biscuits. Melons should also be eaten alone. Melons digest more quickly than other foods and may even ferment sometimes. Also, as a law no liquid should be taken with solids. Liquids tend to rush through to the intestines directly taking away all the digestive enzymes thus inhibiting the digestion. Take one type of food or lesser varieties of foods at a time. More variety of foods puts great strain on digestive system since body can handle one food at a time more smoothly. It has no provision to secrete many juices and digest different foods at one time. Hence many varieties of foods taken at a time result in delayed, imperfect digestion and fermentation and putrefaction. For example, having a beverage like tea, coffee or soft drink with food severely restricts the proper gastric secretions and therefore normal digestion is hindered. Milk and yogurt should not be taken together for the same reason. Fruits and vegetables too should not be taken together. Avoid eating fats with proteins as fat depresses the action of gastric glands and inhibits the release of proper gastric juices, which are required for protein digestion. It lowers the digestive tone by more than 50 percent. Unlike proteins, combination of carbohydrates with fats is tolerable. Applying butter on bread is acceptable. For optimum usage of nutrients in meals, make it a point to consume natural raw foods to the maximum. Munch on an apple when hunger strikes in between meals. Having a carrot to assuage hunger pangs or a bowlful of pulse sprouts for breakfast or even a few almonds when the craving to munch is there, is a good idea as food such as these is light work for the digestive system. As it is, these foods are fibre rich and fibre helps in weight reduction. Fibre makes a person feel full even though it does not contribute calories. This is because one has to eat this kind o food more slowly since the food needs more chewing. One will swallow more saliva also in the process to fill stomach. A high fibre diet is always a low fat diet and a high fat diet is always a low fibre diet. As I wind up this column let us take a quick appraisal of tolerable combinations of foods that are ideally most often used in daily fare: • cereals and pulses • cereals and buttermilk • rice and milk • rice with fish/ egg curry/ meat • bread and eggs • sprouted pulses with lemon or tomato • egg and milk • nuts and milk • yogurt and rice • yogurt and bananas
