Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Uses For Coffee Filters

USES FOR COFFEE FILTERS
(forwarded from my cousin Grace)


1. Better than paper towels and a lot less expensive...
(Who knew! And you can buy 1,000 at the Dollar Tree for almost nothing even the large ones.

2. Cover bowls or dishes when cooking in the microwave.

3. Clean windows, mirrors, and chrome. (They are lint-free, leaving windows sparkling)

4. Separating china dishes to protect from breakage.

5. Filters broken cork from wine if cork breaks when opening a wine bottle.

6. Protects cast-iron skillets from absorbing moisture and prevent rust by placing in the skillet.

7. Applies shoe polish.

8. Recycles frying oil by straining through a lined sieve.

9. Weigh chopped foods by place ingredients in on a kitchen scale.

10. Convenient wrappers for messy foods, like Tacos.

11. Stops soil from leaking out of plant pots by placing at drainage holes.

12. Prevents Popsicle and ice cream cone drips by poking holes as needed.

13. Do you think we used expensive strips to wax eyebrows? Use strips of coffee filters.

14. Soaks up fat from bacon, sausage, chicken and greasy foods.

15. Keep in bathroom for great razor nick fixers.

16. Use to embroider or appliqué soft fabrics as an easy-to-tear backing.

17. Put baking soda in and insert into shoes or a closet to absorb or prevent odors.

18. Strains soup stock and to tie fresh herbs in to put in soups and stews.

19. Prevents spills when adding fluids in car engine.

20. Great spoon rest while cooking and clean up small counter spills.

21. Saves from washing extra dishes when baking by holding dry ingredients, cutting fruit or veggies.

22. Wraps Christmas ornaments for storage.

23. Removes fingernail polish.

24. Sprouts seeds by dampening, placing seeds in, fold and place into a plastic baggie until it sprouts.

25. Blotting paper for pressed flowers by placing flowers between two filters then put in book to press.

26. Disposable 'snack bowl' for popcorn, chips, etc.

Tuesday, February 09, 2010

Cooking With Rain Water by Kola Boof

One of the "oldest" traditions in BLACK CULTURAL COOKING is the
saving of "rainwater" for later use in cooking.

The world has changed...skies are Polluted. But we still carry out
this ancient tradition:

(1) Get you a good clean bucket or a Pot or whatever you want
to catch the rain in. I usually have 10 to 12 pots scattered about
when it's raining.

(2) Let the rain collect in your pots/buckets. Take it in the house.

(4) Using a CHEESE CLOTH STRAINER---pour the fresh rainwater
into another pot/container "straining it" through the CHEESE CLOTH.

(5) Pray over the rain water. Tell God what your hopes are for your
family's "health", "blessings you need"--the nourishment that you
are hoping God will place inside every meal you cook. Most of all,
tell God that you see this freshly fallen rain...as LOVE from up above.
You want God's love inside you and your family. You are THANKFUL
for this wonderful rain.

(6) Take all your "strained" rain water and BOIL IT until it's seething,
bubbling hot in the pot. This is because we're in America with man's
pollution--in some areas, we have to CLEANSE the rain.

(7) Transfer water to a plastic container and FREEZE. You now have
"rain water" for cooking certain African dishes or making Greens...you
can also simply Refrigerate some rainwater if you know that you'll be
using it soon.

This is closeness to GOD...the using of rain water in cooking. It is
ancient practice of the Black Woman, since Alpha.


God, the ancestors and all who will be born meet up with us when
we eat delicious meals blessed with the sacrament of Rain Water.
You can check out more of Kola Boof's work Kola Boof