I have found that the filmy plastic bags used for produce in the grocery store make a pearly-looking crocheted work that is quite pretty. It needs to be cut about 1 1/2 in. wide as it is quite fragile. I crocheted some plarn squares and attached them together with bright yarn for decoration and also make handles or drawstrings out of yarn for decoration.
Grocery bags are fine, though, and speckles of color from the lettering on the bags makes a neat flecked design. ... View related article.
1. Save fats that are solid at room temperature from meats, bacon drippings, Crisco, etc. You may be able to obtain discarded fats from restaurants. Clean lard by adding water and boiling it. The fat will rise to the top. Put in refrigerator to harden and remove fat. You will need 6 lbs. (a #10 can full) of fat for this recipe.
2. Pour one 13-oz. can of "Lewis Lye" (NaOH or sodium hydroxide) into one quart and one cup of cool water in a large (about 15 x 24 in.) enameled pan. Stir with a long handled wooden paddle or stick until completely dissolved. Use great care not to allow any of this mixture to contact the skin or eyes and do not inhale the fumes. The mixture will evolve considerable heat in combining with the water. Allow to cool to room temperature.
3. Melt 6 lbs. of cleaned fat so that it can be poured.
4. Pour the fat into the lye and water solution gradually, stirring constantly with the wooden paddle. Continue stirring until the mixture assumes the consistency of smooth cream. Allow to stand overnight and it should be ready to cut in the morning. Cut into bars and allow to stand in the pan for a few days after which the pan can be inverted and the bars will fall out intact.
I freeze a lot of applesauce and other soft or liquid food items in plastic sandwich bags. I first put the sandwich bag into a 8 oz. measuring cup or margarine container, add a cup of applesauce or whatever, and close with a twist tie. If I have enough 8 oz. margarine containers, I just leave the food in them to freeze. If not, I use those cheap aluminum foil bread pans and cram about three bags in each pan. When frozen, I remove the bags and put them in a plastic grocery bag and label with the kind of food and date.
This method prevents the bags from freezing with pointy corners and puncturing the grocery bags and they are small enough to defrost easily. To defrost, I remove the sandwich bag, put the food in a glass dish, and give it about a minute in the microwave on high. I chop it up somewhat with a knife, and heat it again 1-2 min. more to completely defrost or a couple of minutes longer than that to heat up. ... View related article.
Another way to cut up items without dirtying a cutting board is to use a kitchen scissors. I hate to contaminate my cutting boards with poultry so if chicken is already thawed and needs to be cut in strips or diced, I leave it in the styrofoam meat tray. If it needs to be thawed I put it on a glass plate to thaw it in the microwave, then cut with a scissors. A glass plate is easier to wash. Also since the chicken is only about half thawed, it is easier to cut than if completely thawed. ... View related article.
