Almanac for Homemakers

How to Eat a Lobster  "If you are a native of the eastern coast of the U.S., the above heading may cause you to remark: 'But everyone knows how!' Not so. It's a fact that in the middle and western parts of the country you still can find many persons who do not know the delights of this most delicious seafood." I love this topic! It's a question as old as time, or For as long as we have been eating these sea cockroaches. I call them that because they are arthropods which means that they are more closely related to insects than they are any fish in the sea. In fact, in the 19th century, eating lobster was a sign of poverty. Prisons fed lobsters to their prisoners. Native Americans would use lobster as fertilizer or bait for more attractive fish to eat. They would even steam them to eat sometimes. Why was lobster so vilified? My guess is because they were plentiful! Lobsters would was ashore in piles sometimes 2 feet high. ...

Housekeeping without Power: Laundering by Hand "Sometimes you may not be able to wait until power is restored to wash clothes. Prepare for this by having on hand the following necessary and helpful items:" Ah yes, the joyous past time of washing your clothes without the washing machine or power or anything. I briefly touched on this when we talked about Wringer Washers in March. Click here for the March Blog post! Our Almanac suggests stocking up on these items for your Doomsday Checklist: Bar of laundry soap, box of pre-soaking laundry formula, detergent suitable for hand washing, plumber's helper, washboard, clothesline, clothespins, wooden drying rack, and metal pants stretchers. If you were scratching your head wondering what a pant stretcher is just take a look. You can still purchase these today in 2018. They are mostly meant to keep your pants from wrinkling while also giving your pants that crisp creased look too. Now y...

How to Buy Fish and How Much to Buy "Fish are sold in various ways Some forms are ready to cook. Others need cleaning. How much you should buy for your family depends on the form in which you buy it." I am a simple girl. I prefer my fish already cleaned, gutted, and scaled. Just have it ready to go from package to pan and we are good. And as far as family goes, my kids won't eat fish so I always buy enough for just two adults. Sometimes cooking something special for just my husband and I makes it feel like we are on some mini date. It's really sweet and sad at the same time eating steaks next to three kids having hot dogs. So let's go to the meat of this post. Whole or Round Fish is just as it was caught and needs to be cleaned before cooking. Drawn A drawn fish has been cleaned but must be scaled. Dressed Dressed fish have been broth cleaned and scaled. Fillets Sides of the fish that have been cut from the ...