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1 June 2023 - It's Electrifying!

  I got chills, they're multiplying and I'm losing control  Cause the power your supplying... It's Electrifying! Today is all about safety when using a toaster. Now remember, our Almanac was written in the 1970s, and the modern electric pop-up toaster was commercialized around the 1920s. That is almost 50 years and barely a generation of this metal death trap taking up counter space in modern homes. In fact, toast has been one of the most popular ways of eating bread since the Roman Empire and was likely a way to preserve bread rather than make a tasty snack. Even with more modern technology, you are most likely to be killed by your toaster than by a shark. The electric contraption kills an average of 700 people a year, with over 300 of those deaths occurring in the United States. The most common injury is attempting to remove stuck food from the toaster with a utensil. This was Kindergarten 101 for me. I remember firefighters giving my entire school a healthy dose of child
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30 June 2018 - June Mix

June Potpourri for Homemakers It's the end of the month. I can't believe we are already here. It seems like last week I was writing about the end of May. Time is just going by too fast. Per tradition in our Almanac, the last day of the month is for a mix of friendly advice. "Save old toothbrushes." Ew. I get it. The idea here is use them for cleaning. Brush around faucets, counter edges, knobs. But old toothbrushes are riddled with bacteria so I'm not sure how effective you will be at cleaning unless you disinfect them first. "A bathtub is a good substitute for a washtub." We talked about using your bathtub in this April Post  as an emergency for clothes washing. The idea in this tips is to also use it for washing things that need to be hand washed that won't fit in a sink such as your curtains or drapes. "Tie the cords on such garments as pajamas, sweat pants, and jackets before washing." Ever l
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29 June 2018 - Pearly Whites

Dental Checkups - A Must for Young Children  "As soon as your child has cut his milk (baby) teeth, about the age of two years, it's time to plan semiannual visits to the dentist." I guess this opinion varies. I was told by a pediatrician that once the teeth come in, it's time for a dental appointment. I was told by another pediatrician that unless there were dental issues, you can wait for the first dental check up. I was told by our dentist recently that it is a good idea for my 3 year old to come to dental check ups to get used to them and see what a dentist appointment looks like. The key here is to start developing a positive attitude about seeing a dentist. This is super important because my dental appointments as a child were not positive. They were incredibly unpleasant. So unpleasant that I kept my kids from going to the dentist until they were older. I wanted them to be prepared. Thankfully they have really good teet
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28 June 2018 - The Incredible Edible Egg

All About Hard Cooked Eggs  "When eggs are in good supply and consequently cost less - possibly early summer - hard cook them and use them in a variety of ways." As if my family leaves eggs just laying around. We go through our eggs like it is the only food around after Armageddon. Our Almanac is considering that chickens tend to lay more eggs and more often now in the summer than in the darker colder winter months. So purchasing eggs could be potentially cheaper now than in the winter. I haven't really seen that is the case in 2018. Organic backyard raised chicken eggs can average $3 per dozen and I have seen that price year round. Farm produced eggs (I'm talking factory farmed) can control the temperature environment for their laying chickens so prices might fluctuate but not that much. You really want to take advantage of stores having a sale, manufacturer coupons, or straight up system errors. This past weekend I got a dozen eggs f
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27 June 2018 - Sum Gud Eatin

Buying and Cooking Clams  "The clams you buy or harvest from the sea are different on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the U.S. - but on both coasts they make great eating." Yesterday we talked about how to dig for clams . So the next logical question would be "How do you eat them?" If you went through the work of harvesting clams, you really don't want to ruin them by cooking them the wrong way. The most popular way is to make a clam chowder. Chowder is taken really seriously you guys. Have you ever heard of restaurant wars over their clam chowder? This is a real thing and consumers can be picky! You might have even heard of a "clambake". You steam clams, mussels, and lobster over hot rocks and seaweed. This is serious business! Here is a video on how to do a proper clambake.      Don't just try this on a whim. Maybe get a seasoned baker on your team for this day. Let's say you are buying
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26 June 2018 - Clam Digging!

It's Fun to Dig Your Own Clams "Next time you vacation at the seashore, plan to take the youngsters clamming." Clamming is a real thing guys. I live right next to the Pacific Ocean in Washington state. We have Razor Clams! We just had a Razor Clam Festival a couple of months ago. Soooo many people came in to dig for these guys. With any type of clamming, you need to check with the local jurisdiction. Right now in my state, Razor Clam season ended. This is so the next generation of clams can grow under the sand for the next season. You can get into some trouble for clamming out of season. This is just like fishing or hunting seasons. You might need a permit, limited to certain times and days of clam digging. The other thing to think about is what you need for clam digging. In our picture, the tube floating in the water is a clam basket. This is for clam digging in the water. The basket has a float that hangs out and
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25 June 2018 - Under Pressure

Pressure Cooking Vegetables "In pressure cooking vegetables, follow the directions that came with your cooker, but learn to adjust cooking time to suit the quality of vegetable being cooked." A pressure cooker uses steam from water or broth to increase pressure inside the sealed cooker. The trapped steam increases the temperature. Once the pressured steam is released from the cooker you can safely remove the lid and finish prepping your meal. The first known pressure cooker was invented in 1679 by a French Physicist. In 1938, Presto released their pressure cooker with immediate success. Unfortunately, the first World War brought the need for aluminum to the war effort. A lot of companies couldn't get the aluminum they needed to produce products. After the war, pressure cookers would make an explosive comeback. Many manufactures were not making the cookers with consumer safety in mind. The pressure release valves would get clogged and BOOM!
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