Dr. Rangan will also discuss the meaning behind food labels, such as “hormone-free,” “natural,” “free-range” and “certified humane.” She is an expert on many topics, including organic standards, food safety issues, environmental pollution, toxins in consumer products and environmental health concerns. If you can’t make the live chat tomorrow, you can still read up on Thanksgiving food safety tips from the Consumer Reports Safety blog: Check out Talking turkey about food safety. Also, make sure you have a meat thermometer handy for checking the temperature of the turkey.

More Thanksgiving Food Safety Tips

According to the USDA, you should never buy a prestuffed fresh turkey. That’s asking for trouble! If you buy a fresh turkey, you should purchase it one to two days before cooking, but a frozen turkey may be purchased at any time, provided you have the storage space.

If you forget to thaw your turkey in the refrigerator, you can submerge the bird in cold water, changing it every 30 minutes. With that method, you should allow 30 minutes defrosting time for each pound of turkey.

The proper cooking temperature for turkey is 325 degrees F, and it’s done when the internal temperature has reached 165 degrees F. Check the temperature in several locations, including the thickest part of the breast and the innermost part of the thigh. If stuffing is cooked inside the bird, it should also reach 165 degrees F. Depending on the weight of your turkey, the cook time can range from 2 3/4 hours to 5 hours.

How Much Turkey to Buy

The USDA advises that you purchase one pound of bird per person for whole birds; for a boneless breast of turkey, purchase 1/2 pound per person; for breast of turkey, buy 3/4 pound per person; and for a prestuffed frozen turkey, allow for 1 1/4 pounds per person, keeping frozen until ready to cook.

You may reach the USDA Meat and Poultry hotline at 1-888-674-6854. Happy cooking!

(Image via flickr/Clemson)

Post from: Blisstree

Thanksgiving Food Safety Chat

The first thing to keep in mind when you are going away for a long period of time is that you don’t want your home to look invitingly empty. Some people hire house sitters. Others set lights on timers and stop the newspaper and mail delivery so people can’t tell at first glance that the family is away. Still others ask the police to ride by the house every day to be sure everything is okay.

Next, you’ll need to think about what would happen if your pipes spring a leak or something overflows. Many insurance agents and handymen recommend turning off the water supply at the main valve, shutting off the water heater and turning off the ice maker in the fridge if you are going away for long periods of time. Some recommend going a step further and draining all pipes and winterizing the house with antifreeze in the traps. Other people say they are concerned about breaking valves and that they prefer to have a neighbor check for problems with toilets or sinks once a day and simply use the vacation setting on their hot water heater and cut off the washer’s water supply.

After you take care of any potential water issues, take a look at your fridge. Unless you want to come home to an incredible assortment of mold, you’ll want to clean anything perishable out of the fridge. If you’re going to be gone for a really long time, you may want to check into emptying the fridge, cleaning it, turning it off and propping open the doors to avoid problems with mold on the fridge itself. (I have looked into an empty fridge that wasn’t emptied, cleaned and propped and…well, words failed me at the time and they still fail me. You’d have to see it for yourself.

Once you have those issues taken care of, you’ll want to go through the house from top to bottom to make sure everything is turned off, unplugged, locked and/or handed off to someone who can care for it until you return. It is so sad to come home to a dead houseplant that was alive and vigorously growing when you left because you forgot to give it to someone to care for.

Do you have any tips for shutting up a house when you’re going away for the holidays?

Photo: SXC

Post from: Blisstree

Closing Up Your Home – Going Away for the Holidays

I have a very simple and creative project for you today.

Kathy Zengolewicz

Here is what you will need to get started:

• 24 small (2×2 inch) pinecones
• 2 ounces or ¼ cup of Frankencense powder
• 4 ounces or ½ cup of Myrrh powder
• 1 ¼ cups of gold glitter
• White craft glue
• Cellophane bags
• A shallow container such as a shoe box

Rinse the pine cones in water and place on a cookie sheet. Place the cones in a 300 degree oven for one hour to speed up the drying. Then place them aside on some newspaper to finish drying.

Blend the frankincense, myrrh and glitter together in shoe box. Dab some glue on the tips of the pine cone petals and on the bottom of the cone. Roll the pine cones in the blended mixture and set aside to dry.

After drying you can place the pine cones in open glass containers or package in the cellophane bags to give as gifts. The scent of the cones is powerfully release when they are burned. Toss a few of the cones into your fireplace when lit for a pleasant smell. If you decide not to burn them, you can still enjoy the aromatic scent just being in the same room.

You can also make scented pinecones by using fragrance oils. Take the same steps to wash and dry the pinecones.

Place water and several drops of fragrance oil in a spray bottle and spray the cones. Seal the pinecones in a bag and let the sit for about a week. Some great fragrance oils to use are apple, cinnamon, orange, peppermint, nutmeg and pine.

Always store your pinecones in a plastic bag to make the scent last longer.

Post from: Blisstree

Scented Pinecones

First, make sure to created a welcoming table. You can use candles to do that. They don’t have to be twenty dollar pillar candles, use what you can afford. Make up a placecard for each guest and a napkin holder. I have the information for both placecard and napkin holder right here. You will find the patterns for this project here.

Kathy Zengolewicz

Here is what you need to get started:

• Chocolate brown felt
• gold felt
• orange felt
• orange embroidery floss
• fabric marking pen
• white or cream paper
• rotary fabric cutter or scissors
• cutting mat
• pre-cut chocolate brown placecards or you can use card stock or scrapbook paper

Cut your brown felt 7 inches wide by 1.5 inches long to make the napkin rings. Measure ½ inch from the left side of the strip and make a slit half way through from the bottom up. Repeat on the right side, but cut from the top side down. Slip the slits together to form the ring.

Trace a leaf pattern onto the felt and cut it out. Place the leaf in the middle of the brown ring, place a small button on top and sew through the button, leaf and ring with orang embroidery thread. Knot in the back. Roll your napkin and place inside of the ring.

Open the name template and type your guests names, one on each leaf. Print and cut out the leaf. Now take your pre-cut placecards or card stock and cut a square from the orange felt, a little smaller than the card. Place the orange felt square on the placecard and then place the name leaf on the top. Sew through all layers with the orange embroidery thread. That’s it. You’re all set. Enjoy!

Post from: Blisstree

Your Holiday Table

Anyway, there are a lot of really good uses for baking soda. Here are just a few of the ways you can use it around your house:

• Freshen your kitty’s litter box. Arm and Hammer baking soda actually makes several kitty litter products now, but if you just use generic cat litter, a bit of baking soda can do wonders for the room the box is in.
• Freshen your kitchen trash disposal. (A piece of lemon also works well for this.)
• Dry up fleas and flea eggs on carpets and upholstered furniture. (Bombs are worthless. If the preventative measures, like Advantage, Promeris, or Frontline on your dogs and cats didn’t keep those pesky varmints out of your home, my vet recommends Ortho spray for the edges of the room and daily vacuuming. People who go all organic recommend baking soda all over, letting it sit awhile and then daily vacuuming.)
• Draw leftover moisture from a spill out of hardwoods. (Mop up all the liquid you can. Shake the baking soda onto the area. Let it sit a few hours. Vacuum it up.)

What is your favorite way to use baking soda around the house?

Photo: SXC

Post from: Blisstree

Baking Soda Is a Home Owner’s Friend

Honor Those Working to Protect Us
Make extra food and give to the local police station or fire department. Call ahead to see what these folks might accept, but offering a home-cooked meal to people who are working on Thanksgiving is a wonderful gesture.

Honor Those Serving Our Country
Say a prayer for the men and women serving in our armed forces. Send cards, books, and thank you notes to them letting them know how much you appreciate their service. Places like Any Soldier can help you find addresses and instructions.

Visit Someone Housebound
Make or bring meals to those alone or shut in. So many people are alone on Thanksgiving, and some don’t have family. Make a meal for them and offer to spend time helping them celebrate.

Feed the Hungry
Serve at a food pantry or homeless shelter. Use Google to find places near you, or contact your church or community center.

Reach Out Long Distance
Call up an elderly relative or long-distance friend to let them know you are thinking about them.

Mend Fences
Been fighting with a friend? Relative? Apologize and let bygones be bygones.

Give Thank You Cards
Instead of sending home leftovers from the Thanksgiving meal, give your guests a card filled with reasons why you appreciate them. A personalized card describing what it is you love about them will help them feel grateful too.

Consciously Recognize How Blessed You Are
As your Thanksgiving day progresses, stop an appreciate the small moments where you find yourself surrounded by friends and family and simply appreciate them. Whatever your situation, know that someone cares about you and that you are blessed.

Image: sxc.hu.

Post from: Blisstree

Grateful Ways to Celebrate Thanksgiving

Andrea had just eaten it for lunch and wanted to try it out at home. So, for Andrea, and anyone else who wants to make a good mushroom bisque, keep reading! If you missed it, go back to the Chestnut Soup recipe from Chef Craig von Foerster of Sierra Mar.

Porcini Mushroom Bisque

(Recipe courtesy Asa Kesner, who cooks with Chef Craig von Foerster at the Post Ranch Inn’s Sierra Mar)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Canola oil
• 3 Leeks – Medium dice
• 3 Celery ribs – Medium dice
• 3 Yellow onions – Medium dice
• 3 Carrots – Large – Medium dice
• 12 Garlic cloves – Smashed
• 10 Roma tomatoes – Rough chopped
• 3 cups Sherry wine
• 2.5 lbs Button mushrooms – Quartered
• 2.5 lbs Porcini mushrooms – Medium dice
• 1 quart Heavy cream
• 4 quarts Water
• 2 tablespoons Fresh thyme
• 6 tablespoons Kosher salt

To prepare:

• Medium dice leeks (rinse well), celery, carrots and onions.
• Heat oil in the pot, and add vegetables.
• Saute for 10 to 15 minutes on medium heat or until vegetables begin to caramelize.
• Add garlic and cook for 2 more minutes. Be careful not to burn the garlic.
• Add tomatoes and sherry wine; simmer until there is minimal moisture in the bottom of the pan.
• Add mushrooms, heavy cream and water. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.
• Add the thyme and blend thoroughly in bar blender. Whisk in the salt and then cool properly.

Yield: 2.5 gallons

(Image via flickr/kthread)

Post from: Blisstree

Porcini Mushroom Bisque

Now, I also have experienced the joy of living with a wall someone tore out that shouldn’t have come out. I’m sure there wasn’t a problem when it was done in the 60’s, but it is becoming a problem. I’m going to have to decide whether I want to put it back in or put in a set of pillars for support. Hmm. Old farmhouse, old farmhouse…Grecian pillars. Or something that looks like a fireman’s pole. I see a new wall in my future!

So, the next time you wish a wall was somewhere else, give someone a call to make sure it isn’t a load bearing one. If it isn’t, go ahead and move it. After all, it isn’t like you can’t move the wall back again if you change your mind.

Photo of wall being drywalled by K. Thomas

Post from: Blisstree

Walls Don’t Have to Stay There

Alas, we can only have one winner. I used random.org to select our winner, and that person is our 22nd commenter:

Aisling!

The comment this person left was:

I’d love to read this and share with several family members. Who doesn’t need some mentoring in self-confidence?

My thoughts exactly!

For those of you who didn’t win, we’ve still got some awesome contests going on here, so feel free to check them out.

Post from: Blisstree

Think Confident, Be Confident Winner

Perhaps the following tips will help you save time for one of those busy Christmas items, and that’s is the sending of cards. How to cut back? Read on.

Send Only to Those You Don’t See
Do you really need to send a Christmas card to that friend you see every Wednesday or the next door neighbor? Rather than send to your entire list, focus on the people you rarely see. Those are the folks that will cherish an update.

Forget About Cards Entirely
It’s a radical concept, isn’t it? You’d think you’d want to see some…. but once you make up your mind to stop sending cards, you can focus on other great things like giving of your time to a good cause.

Send an E-Greeting
While I’m not a fan of email greeting cards, you could send an electric note to friends telling them you are going green this year and skipping handwritten cards.

Make Some Phone Calls
How about a few phone calls to loved ones in the days before Christmas? There is nothing like hearing the sounds of someone you love on the phone. It makes everyone feel closer together and far less lonely.

Make a Website Greeting
Many people have a website or blog of some sort today. Why not direct your friends and family to the website, and write out a nice thought or note to each one.

There are many ways to cut back on Christmas cards, but most of all, don’t feel guilty about your choice. Send the cards if you are really in the mood and have the time. If you decide not to, do so happily and don’t let guilt ruin your holiday.

Image: sxc.hu.

Post from: Blisstree

Ways to Cut Back on Christmas Cards