apple chutney

Another chutney? At the buffet where I assist my husband, I always make the chutney, so here's another customer favorite to add to my collection:

INGREDIENTS:
6 medium large apples, peeled, cored and chopped
4 T ghee
2 t grated ginger
2 cinnamon sticks
1 t anise seeds
2 or 3 dried red chillies, crushed
5 cloves
1 t turmeric
1/4 c water
1/2 c brown sugar

PREPARATION:
1. Chaunce the spices in the ghee and add apples; stir fry.
2. Add water cover and cook on high 15 minutes, stirring often until apples get juicy and soften; mash well.
3. Add sugar and continue to cook until thick. Let cool. You may wish to pick out all the hard pieces like the cinnamon sticks before offering. Delicious served with cauliflower pakoras.

pumpkin

Not only do they look nice around the house, pumpkins make me think about how kind Krishna is to living beings, how perfect He has created and arranged everything for our well being. What's neat about pumpkins and similar foods such as butternut and spaghetti squash is that they have a long shelf life. That means fresh vegetables to eat even during the cold season without the trouble of drying or preserving them in some way. They just need a cool dark place for storage.

Pumpkins are rich in vitamins, too. They are delicious prepared in various ways- pies, cakes, soups, even cookies. Perhaps the nicest way to prepare it, though, is the simplest. Just cut the pumpkin into slices and roast in a pan with a little ghee.
Another way is to put larger slices in a pan of water and steam before adding salt, pepper and butter.
It's easier than how I used to do it below:

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 small fresh pumpkin, seeded and peeled and cut into chunks (or the pumpkin may be prebaked at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes and then cooled to make cutting easier. By cutting it into large sections and not baking too long, it should turn out less mushy)
• 4-6 T butter
• salt
• 1/2 t ground black pepper
• 1/4-1/2 t nutmeg (optional)
• water
• salt

PREPARATION:
1. Melt the butter, add pepper and nutmeg and the pumpkin. Stir on medium to high heat a few minutes, coating the pumpkin with the butter and spices.
2. Add a little water and cover and cook pumpkin on high heat about five-ten minutes (longer and with more water if the pumpkin is not prebaked) until tender. Add salt and offer. Serve piping hot with parathas on a cold morning.

KRISHNA CONSCIOUS CARVINGS
For those who like carving pumpkins, here's one our artistic son-in-law carved last October:

Jaya Jagannatha!

Waste Not; Want Not

For me it's a lot of fun- a hobby even (or maybe its due to my being the progeny of a concentration camp survivor)- to find ways to reuse, recycle and repurpose every day items.

VEGGIE SCRAPS
Instead of throwing out the leaves and or stems of various greens, cauliflower, cabbage, etc., they can be chopped very fine and added to soups! Takes longer to use them up and therefore is a good way to stretch the food budget

WRAPPING PAPER
One example is the paper for these wrapped gifts. It came from the lining of large bags of flour in a temple kitchen that ordinarily get tossed at an astounding rate. The paper got new life when it was decorated with splatters of holiday colors and topped with silvery snowflakes (made from sour cream inner seals).

UNUSUAL BOOK ENDS
Google image search sparks dozens of ways to reuse and repurpose various items, even the unusual like brand new license plates that were not needed (an old man fell asleep and totaled our truck). With a little bending they make suitable book ends. They can be spray painted and then decorated with acrylic paints or left as is.

OSMOSIS

Got some wilted celery, lettuce, carrots  or coriander in the refrigerator? Well, as long as its not rotting, you don't have to throw it away. They look that way because they are dehydrated. To rehydrate put them in cold water for about an hour or two,  shake off excess water and then put back to the refrigerator whatever you are not using right away. Things can be revived this way, via a process involving osmosis.

Now... if I could just get those wrinkles out of my face...

EMBROIDERY FLOSS DISPENSER

I found a way to reuse empty dental floss dispensers. I peeled the label off and removed the innerparts. Then I rolled up some floss to put inside. Each color can get its own compartment. That way they won't get tangled and there's a little cutter on the top, too!

SALT AND PEPPER SHAKERS

These used to be spice containers, but got repurposed for the dinner table. The glue under the labels was super tough, which is what would probably discourage most people from removing them, but after soaking overnight a razor quickly finished the job.

STORAGE JARS FOR THE CUPBOARD

These were soaked first to remove the labels. Some labels are tough, so a razor may be needed after peeling off as much as possible by hand.  If the glue is really stubborn, dab vegetable oil on it and then rub vigorously with a terry cloth. Wash in warm soapy water after the glue is removed.

REUSED BLANKET FILLING

The outer cover was badly torn. First the filling was well washed and dried, and then a new patchwork covering sewn on made from durable fabric odds and ends.

WOODEN SPOON MAKEOVER

Wooden spoons used in cooking inevitable get burned. When this happens, a sharp whittling knife can be used to trim off the burnt part (not shown in this picture) and produce an almost new cooking spoon to continue using rather than throwing away. And speaking of burning, kids can have fun wood burning designs on the handles.

REUSING PLASTIC LIDS

These can be used as a embroidery hoop or frame. The top lip of a large tub of sour creams was cut off along with the inner portion of the lid itself. Snap back together to form the hoop with the cloth in between.

framed artwork, fun craft for kids

HAT MAKEOVER

Unraveling the top yarn and binding off, an ear warmer was made and the unraveled yarn was used to crochet a decorative flower. Instructions are available on YouTube.

JAPA BEAD REPAIR 

Simple beeswax can be melted and poured into cracked beads which acts like a superglue when it hardens.

MAKE STUFF FROM STRIPS OF CLOTH

Rag crochet hot pad:

Rag weaving. To sit on, sleep with (make more blocks like it), cover something or use as a kitchen mat...

 

REUSING PAPER ALREADY WRITTEN OR PRINTED ON VIA COLORED MARKERS

Got junk mail? Old or useless books? Or any piece of paper already written on will do. 

Tossed and Found

When it comes to furnishing a home, what's your style? A popular one is eclectic which means mixing and matching items from many different styles. For a devotee it also means depending on Krishna to send stuff our way.  In that case, it is fortunate to live near an alley in which pieces of furniture may be found abandoned by neighbors, and with a little Googling (especially image search), new ways can be found to revive otherwise homeless pieces.  Below is a sampling:
 

This drawerless dresser got turned into shelving for art supplies. To look more like shelves, the middle portion of each shelf had the middle piece removed that drawers once slided on to. Bulk containers were added instead. Some graffiti was removed via a gentle scrubbing with baking soda.

These two shelving units appeared at different times and finally ended up paired together on a table top in my sewing corner for storing sewing and crafting supplies. The lamp on the top shelf to the right was also broken somewhat, but turned upwards, still gives good lighting.

This chair had its crumbly, musty stuffing and a torn cover removed. It was re-covered with a cozy blanket instead.. It used to have worn looking wooden armrests and leg coverings, too, but it was decided- to save time- to do without them in the final result. It was quickly claimed for a student's desk.

 This chair found its way into the kitchen, along with a new seat cover that matches the kitchen curtains. What's especially nice about the chair is that the seat is removable from latches underneath it, so the cover fabric can be easily changed at whim.

This ottoman just needed a good dusting and a little wiping and sun baths before making it to the bedroom. It not only makes good extra seating, but has a storage compartment inside when the top is lifted off- something a small child may be fascinated by.

Krishna kindly provides, so that like the spider that sits in its web, one can patiently wait for stuff to show up instead of wasting valuable time hunting it down. Also we learn to "Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without" (a conservation motto during WWII)

And by Krishna's mercy, it usually takes only some cleaning and creative loving for found pieces to get functioning again.

SB 2.2.5: "Are there no torn clothes lying on the common road? Do the trees, which exist for maintaining others, no longer give alms in charity? Do the rivers, being dried up, no longer supply water to the thirsty? Are the caves of the mountains now closed, or, above all, does the Almighty Lord not protect the fully surrendered souls?"