Thursday, April 28, 2011

Plagued during Passover

This year's celebration was much less eventful than the last. I cut 1/5 less fingers. All of our wall fixtures remained in place. And no one was poisoned. That I know of.

We had our flops to be sure. Note for next year: 1) resist hubster's persuasive tactics and do not attempt to make his mother's chocolate cake recipe. 2) Especially when missing some of the ingredients. 3) In case #1 is disregarded, do not attempt to remedy #2 with ill-conceived substitutions.

Some winners included the frozen meatloaf I revitalized with brisket juice. I figured, what couldn't be made better with brisket juice? The answer: NOTHING! It was the best meatloaf I've ever had. Ever.

The other winner was so cool, it will warrant it's own Droolworthy Doodads post. It was fantabulous! Stay tuned!

This year's celebration was much less eventful than the last. I cut 1/5 less fingers. All of our wall fixtures remained in place. And no one was poisoned. That I know of.

We had our flops to be sure. Note for next year: 1) resist hubster's persuasive tactics and do not attempt to make his mother's chocolate cake recipe. 2) Especially when missing some of the ingredients. 3) In case #1 is disregarded, do not attempt to remedy #2 with ill-conceived substitutions.

Some winners included the frozen meatloaf I revitalized with brisket juice. I figured, what couldn't be made better with brisket juice? The answer: NOTHING! It was the best meatloaf I've ever had. Ever.

The other winner was so cool, it will warrant it's own Droolworthy Doodads post. It was fantabulous! Stay tuned!

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Pesach Cleaning thanks to Heloise

I don't know if anyone else remembers reading the "Hints from Heloise" column in the newspaper. As a voracious reader, practical thinker, and short-cut lover, I loved reading her tidbits starting from a young age.

I was so excited to see a copy of Heloise's Kitchen Hints at a thrift store and snapped it up without hesitating. It was more as a keepsake and was promptly tucked in with my cookbooks. I haven't taken a chance to really read through it.

Fastforward a few years and I find myself knee deep in Passover prep. My oven is a disaster thanks to hubsters' speciality "Chicken ala geyser." I tried my usual combo: baking soda paste, salt scrub, and a generous dash of elbow grease. I even tried using hubsters' elbow grease. I was so tempted to buy some Easy Off and well, get it off easy. But toxically. Then I remembered this little gem on the bookshelf. Of course she has a whole section on oven cleaning. The oven was covered in a paste of baking soda and left over night. The racks were plunked into the bathtub with soap and hot water to soak over night. I got some sleep.

Today, after more elbow grease, hubsters added vinegar to the oven mix. The man has seen me in action enough to know I mix them, but not enough to know it makes a volcano, but when I went into the kitchen it was all done! No steel wool, no easy off!

And the racks? Mostly everything wiped off easy peasey.Course for Passover "mostly" won't cut it so I did re-submerge and gave em a good scrubbing with a microfiber sponge. Viola!! They are even nicer than when we moved into this place! The tub does have a heinous ring around the tub, but my calculations show it'll be easier to remove than steel-wooling the racks would have been.

Hopefully there are enough people who have yet to tackle oven who can try these Hints from Heloise. If you are in the group that is partway through your Passover cooking in a spotless kitchen, I don't want to hear it unless there is a gift of chocolate to accompany your cleaner-than-thou proclamations.

If you want your very own Hints from Heloise book, a quick Google will show you where to buy one, whether vintage or new printing. Or you can hope for a blessed thrifting like I did!

Now, does Heloise have tips for dealing with suspicious noises coming from bored, Passover ignored children? If you see my kids covered with baking soda, you'll know why!

I don't know if anyone else remembers reading the "Hints from Heloise" column in the newspaper. As a voracious reader, practical thinker, and short-cut lover, I loved reading her tidbits starting from a young age.

I was so excited to see a copy of Heloise's Kitchen Hints at a thrift store and snapped it up without hesitating. It was more as a keepsake and was promptly tucked in with my cookbooks. I haven't taken a chance to really read through it.

Fastforward a few years and I find myself knee deep in Passover prep. My oven is a disaster thanks to hubsters' speciality "Chicken ala geyser." I tried my usual combo: baking soda paste, salt scrub, and a generous dash of elbow grease. I even tried using hubsters' elbow grease. I was so tempted to buy some Easy Off and well, get it off easy. But toxically. Then I remembered this little gem on the bookshelf. Of course she has a whole section on oven cleaning. The oven was covered in a paste of baking soda and left over night. The racks were plunked into the bathtub with soap and hot water to soak over night. I got some sleep.

Today, after more elbow grease, hubsters added vinegar to the oven mix. The man has seen me in action enough to know I mix them, but not enough to know it makes a volcano, but when I went into the kitchen it was all done! No steel wool, no easy off!

And the racks? Mostly everything wiped off easy peasey.Course for Passover "mostly" won't cut it so I did re-submerge and gave em a good scrubbing with a microfiber sponge. Viola!! They are even nicer than when we moved into this place! The tub does have a heinous ring around the tub, but my calculations show it'll be easier to remove than steel-wooling the racks would have been.

Hopefully there are enough people who have yet to tackle oven who can try these Hints from Heloise. If you are in the group that is partway through your Passover cooking in a spotless kitchen, I don't want to hear it unless there is a gift of chocolate to accompany your cleaner-than-thou proclamations.

If you want your very own Hints from Heloise book, a quick Google will show you where to buy one, whether vintage or new printing. Or you can hope for a blessed thrifting like I did!

Now, does Heloise have tips for dealing with suspicious noises coming from bored, Passover ignored children? If you see my kids covered with baking soda, you'll know why!