Salt is great... brings out the flavor in your food, helps to melt snow and ice on sidewalks, puts moisture back into skin when added to the bath water. ah... but it will rust out the bottoms of cars. Here are some other smart ways to use salt!
- Clean your drain! Mix 1/2 cup salt with 4 cups hot water and slowly pour the solution down your drain. The salt will help to dissolve greasy buildup and neutralize odors!
- Keep cut flowers longer! No need for those florist packets! Sprinkle 1 tsp salt into the water before arranging your cut stems. The salt kills bacteria and helps deliver the nutrients your bouquet needs to look beautiful longer!
- Remove glassware stains! Soak stained glasses overnight in a solution of a handful of salt and a quart of vinegar, and all you'll have to do is wipe them clean in the morning!
- Peel eggs easily! Before placing the eggs in the pot to boil, pour in 1 tsp salt. The shells will come off without breaking into a bunch of pieces!
- Slough and smooth skin! No need to pay for expensive ex-foliating treatments! In the shower, just scrub your damp skin with sea salt to slough off dead skin cells, then rinse away to reveal baby-soft skin.
- Kill weeds! Get rid of the pesky weeds growing between the cracks in the sidewalk with a shake of salt at the base of the plants. The weeds will die, and nothing will shoot up in their place!
Pg. 39 Woman's World September 13, 2010 issue
Make your car smell fresh!
Instead of hanging a chemical air freshener in your car, make an odor-control sachet to stash under the seat. Just fill a coffee filter with 3 Tbs baking soda and tie with a rubber band!
Pg. 34 Woman's World Feb 1, 2010 issue
Nuts
- Keep Brazil nuts and other hardshell nuts in the freezer. Frozen nuts are generally much easier to crack.
- Soak shelled walnuts in salted water overnight, and they'll be a cinch to crack.
- Hot water makes pecan sells more porous and creates air pockets, making them easy to crack. Here's how to do it-place pecans in a microwave-safe container, cover them with water and zap them on high for about 3 minutes. Then take the pecans out of the water and, once they're cool, their shells should be easy to crack. You can also soak pecans in a covered pot of just-boiled water for about 15 minutes before cracking them.
- When a recipe calls for unsalted nuts, but the ones you have are salted, cook the salted nuts in boiling water for 2 minutes. Then drain them and spread them out on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake them in a 200 degree F. oven until they're dry... no more than 5 minutes. Then continue on with your recipe and your unsalted nuts.
- To skin almonds, first boil a pot of water. Then put the shelled almonds in a strainer and plunge the strainer into the water. After a couple of minutes, take the almonds out of the water. When they're cool enough to handle, pinch the lower portion of each almond and watch it slip right out of its skin.
- Macadamia nuts are a real treat. Because they're pricey, people tend to buy a jar and dole out the nuts over a period of time. But that's not a good idea. These nuts turn rancid rather quickly. Make sure the lid is on the jar tightly, keep it in a cool place, and eat them sooner than later!
pg. 52 Bottom Line's Best Ever Kitchen Secrets
