 |
Main Menu |
 |
|
 Home |
| |
|
 Communication |
| |
|
 Information |
| | |
|
|
|
|
|
Weather |
|
|
|
Gas Prices |
|
|
|
Today's Recipe |
|
|
|
Amazon.com |
|
|
|
Word of the Day |
|
|
|
|
Member: Kitchen Equipment: the Right Tools |
|
 A basic kitchen needs a selection of pots and pans, some basic gadgets, and a collection of common spices and condiments.
Pots and Pans:
A minimum set includes a small frying pan, a one-quart saucepan with cover, a two-quart saucepan with cover, a large frying pan with cover, and a large pot (for spaghetti, stew, pot roast, or homemade soup.) If you are cooking for more than one person, get two each of the frying pans and saucepans. Covers are optional for the frying pans, but try to get a cover to fit at least one.
Good quality pans spread the heat evenly so that food does not burn in area of the pan and stay undercooked in another. The bottom of a good pan sits flat on the stove. Cheap pans wear out fast and cost more in the long run. Stainless steel pans with a porcelain coating or a copper bottom are excellent. Stay away from aluminum pans. They get bent out of shape easily and do not last. There have also been some health warnings about cooking in aluminum, but no real proof of any danger.
When using pans with a non-stick coating, turn the heat up only as far as is necessary, and only use wooden or plastic tools. Wipe the pan clean in soapy water. A plastic or nylon net scrubber can be used, but never use steel wool pads. If you do not burn the food onto the pan, and you wash it while the food is still fresh and moist, it will be easy to clean. If you have birds as pets, you may want to avoid non-stick coatings. If you use them, be sure not to overheat them. The coating can release fumes that can kill a bird.
Some other useful tools are a slow cooker, a wok (for Chinese cooking), toaster, microwave, blender, food processor, electric mixer, and an electric knife. There are also bread machines available at reasonable prices that produce a fresh hot loaf of bread rapidly. Most machines also have a delay setting to allow one to place the ingredients in the machine hours before the bread is needed, so the machine finishes just in time for dinner.
Basic Gadgets:
You will need some wooden spoons. Get a selection of sizes and handle lengths. These are always handy and they will not damage your non-stick coatings. Unlike metal tools, they do not get too hot to handle.
You will also want a collection of spatulas in different sizes and shapes. The lightweight spatula that will flip an egg may not be strong enough for a hamburger. Sometimes a narrow spatula is all that will fit in a pan, and sometimes a wide one is needed to get under whatever needs to be turned or lifted.
Whisks come in various sizes. They are very handy for mixing lightweight ingredients quickly, and are easier to get out and later to clean than a blender or mixer.
Get a good set of knives. Cheap ones make the job of cutting more difficult and they wear out fast. With the knives, you will need a good cutting board. A cutting board provides a flat working surface and protects your counters. Plastic cutting boards are easier to clean than wooden ones. Never cut vegetables that will be eaten raw on a cutting board that was used to cut raw meat unless you thoroughly clean the board first.
You will also need a selection of measuring tools. Measuring cups for dry ingredients and measuring spoons come in sets. Get a set of each. You will need a measuring cup for liquids, too. A one-cup measure is probably sufficient, but two-cup and quart measures are also useful. If you want to be precise in your measurements for dietary requirements, buy a food scale and measure your portions until you get used to the sizes and can estimate accurately without weighing everything.
A lot of canned products are now being packaged with pop tops, but get a good can opener for the others. There are some electrics that sell for reasonable prices and do a good job, but get a manual one too. When the power goes out, it can be frustrating not to be able to open the cans.
Spices and Condiments:
Salt and pepper go without saying. Some dried minced onion peps up a lot of recipes. Garlic is available fresh or in dried, chopped form or as a powder. Caution: make sure you know the difference between garlic powder and garlic salt. Garlic powder makes great garlic bread; garlic salt makes VERY salty garlic bread.
Oregano or "Italian Seasoning," gives an Italian flavor to anything. A bay leaf cooked in stew brings out the flavor of the other ingredients. Paprika is a red powder used mainly for appearance, but it has been linked to some health benefits. If you like things hot, try sprinkling some cayenne pepper or chili powder on your food.
Basic condiments include ketchup, mustard, relish and mayonnaise. There are all sorts of mustard varieties available. You can probably find traditional yellow mustard, Dijon, spicy brown, honey, and hot Chinese mustard, just to name a few. Explore your local market and see what looks good. Be adventurous, but buy the smallest size, so you do not have a lot to discard if you do not like it.
Other condiments to try are steak sauces, barbecue sauces, tartar sauce, and various stir-fry sauces. Read the labels. If sugar is one of the first few ingredients, forget it. Ingredient labels list the ingredients in descending order. The main ingredient is first, then the others, with the least one last.
============================
Chris and Cindy Curtis are the owners of C-Double Web Development and have been doing web design and development since 1997. They began offering affordable web hosting and design in 1999 when they started their own business. http://www.c-double.com
|
|
Posted by webmaster on Monday, February 27 @ 13:20:05 CST (316 reads)(comments? | Score: 4) |
|
|
|
|
|
Member: Keeping Chickens As Pets |
|
 There are many different types of hens. The silky bantam hens are prolific layers - some even lay eggs with a pretty, pale green shell. They make quiet, quaint pets for the children.
Other hens are larger and more robust and come in a variety of colors; black, brown, white or speckled. They all eat bugs, snails and slugs - good news if you are trying to reduce the number of these pests!
Did you know that chooks (hens) are able to eat the Sydney funnel web spider without any ill affects? How good is that? They make your yard a safer place to be and double as a pet for the children...
Chickens can be bought as "day olds" (under a week old) or "week olds" (over a week). You can buy them fully grown too, but they make better pets when bought young. Make sure you buy from a reputable breeder who can tell what sex they are. The neighbors will not be pleased to be woken at dawn by a rooster crowing.
A young chicken will need to be kept inside where it will be warm, until it is older. A newspaper lined cardboard carton with sawdust or straw in the bottom is fine. A day old chicken will benefit from the extra warmth of a pretend mother. To make this, push many strips of fabric through a strong piece of cardboard and hang it so it dangles to the floor of the box. This is a good job for the children. Chicky will run straight into it and be perfectly content. Alternatively, you could use a new mop head.
To make a drinking trough that the chicken will not fall into or tip over, take an empty food can (tin) and hammer a hole through each side just under the rim. Fill with water and place a saucer over it. Invert the whole quickly and you will see that water trickles out of the holes, but stops when the level rises to the rim of the saucer. It's a fascinating experiment for the children. Another tin to hold the special chicken growing mash is all you will need. Of course, keep the bottom of the box clean and dry.
When the chicken is grown up, change the food to laying pellets and gradually introduce chopped kitchen scraps. It will eat what it wants and leave the rest to be discarded with the soiled sawdust. If you have a garden, this is excellent fertilizer.
The hen will need a warm, dry place to live outside. An old aviary is fine, but it's not much trouble to hammer in some stakes and wrap wire mesh around them. This will keep the hen safe from stray dogs while you are away. If it flies out, cut the long wing feathers back to about half, on one wing only.
This will not hurt the hen, but will prevent it from flying.
Remember that a hen is actually a bird and it is natural for birds to roost in trees. Make a perch for your hen by poking an old broom handle through the mesh of its cage under the roof, but about one metre (3 feet) from the ground. Check on whether your hen is actually roosting. Some hens need to be taught. Dusk is the right time to gently pick up the hen and place it on the perch. It will soon realize what it is supposed to do.
A small drum, box or even a dog kennel filled with straw will make an ideal nest for your hen to lay eggs. If you use a larger dog kennel, it can double as a nest and a night shelter too, with the simple addition of the perch. Or if you have a garden shed, the hen will not mind sharing with a few rakes and spades. If you live in an area where the winters are snowy, it will be best to keep your hen in the barn or shed.
As with any hobby, take your time, enjoy and learn along the way!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Member: Hop to It! - Rabbits Make Great Pets |
|
Want a great pet that's cute, cuddly and won't grow from a cute little ball of fur to a 100 pound beast?
Then consider a rabbit!
Here are just a few reasons why you should consider a rabbit for a pet.
1) Plenty of choices
There are 45 different breeds of rabbits recognized by the American Rabbit Breeders Association (ARBA).
Do you want a small rabbit? Consider a Netherland Dwarf, Polish or Jersey Wooly.
Do you want a large rabbit? Then choose a Flemish Giant that can weigh up to 20 pounds.
Are you attracted to the “lop” eared rabbits? The Holland Lop is a popular choice because of its smaller size, but you can also choose from a Mini Lop, French Lop, American Fuzzy Lop or even an English Lop. An English Lop's ears can be up to 24 inches long.
Are you picky about color? Rabbits come in a variety of colors. You can undoubtedly find one or more colors that will appeal to your tastes!
Do you want a rabbit with a lot of fur? Then choose one of the Angora breeds, or a Jersey Wooly. But be prepared to spend extra time grooming the rabbit!
So the choices are endless, and for many of us, the choices are hard. Like the potato chip commercial says, “You can't choose just one”!
2) Rabbits are quiet
It's guaranteed: You'll never have neighbors calling you to quiet down your rabbit. It just won't happen.
3) Rabbits can live indoors or outdoors
Obviously, there are rabbits that live in the wild, but they can adapt to living inside as well.
If you keep rabbits outside, you need to make sure they have adequate shelter and are well-protected from predators. These include the neighborhood dogs and cats that may wander through your yard.
They need to be protected from the elements and have plenty of ventilation. When hot weather comes, you need to take special measures to keep your rabbit safe because hot weather bothers them more than cold weather.
Many people keep their rabbits inside, and that's fine as well. If you keep your rabbit inside, you'll need to spend some time preparing your home for your new friend.
Be sure to keep electrical wires away from your rabbit. Rabbits love to chew, and those wires are tempting...and lethal.
Rabbits can be litter box trained, and are very clean animals. So feel free to keep them inside if this is what you want to do.
4) Rabbits are fun to have around
Just watching them play in their cages is great fun, but let them out, hold them and pet them, and you'll be hooked!
5) Rabbits are extremely cute
Have you ever seen an ugly rabbit?
With rabbits, the babies are very cute and adorable, and they stay cute and adorable when they grow up.
Now I like dogs, but so many of them are cute as puppies, then grow into huge ugly dogs.
That won't happen with rabbits. They'll stay cute their whole life.
6) They can be low cost to keep
Rabbits are a low cost pet. Shots at the vet are unnecessary and you can easily take care of your rabbit yourself. If you care for your rabbit correctly, there will be no need to visit a vet at all.
So, pick out a rabbit for your very own to take home and love today!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
User Login |
|
|
|
Event Calendar |
|
| S | M | T | W | T | F | S |
| | | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | | | | | | | | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | | | | | | | | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | | | | | | | | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | | | | | | | | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | | | | | | | | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Upcoming Events |
|
|
|
Survey |
|
|
|
Virus Alerts |
|
|
|
