Hints From A Homemaker

Here are some random kitchen tips that I decided to post. (My mind is currently bent kitchenward, since I have been doing dishes and tucking cinnamon rolls into a pan while singing "Bonnie Dundee" with Sarah, after gardening all the ding-dong day! Whew! Run on sentence!)
Anyway, without further ado:

1. When you make cinnamon rolls, cut them with dental floss. Really! Take a long piece, tuck it under the edge of the long roll, bring the ends up over the top, and cross, pulling tight. Voila! This way you can see the swirl super well! :)

2. Zucchini takes on the flavor of whatever it is cooked with, so use it to stretch things like spaghetti sauce, ground beef for tacos, etc. Supposedly, you can't even taste it! :]

3. ALWAYS WEAR AN APRON!!!!

4. Wash your feet before doing much in the kitchen. This sounds silly and strange, but if you have been gardening all day (as I was) and then you walk through a puddle of water on the floor, you will be mopping later. :) Ahem.

5. Wash you dishes while you go. I am sure you all already know this one, but seriously, it is important to avoid dish-overwhelm at the end!

6. Forsake the mixer now and then, and experience making something by hand for real! And use a wooden spoon! Nothing is quite so sturdy and comfortable as that! If you seek a real challenge, try whipping egg whites till they are stiff and glossy using elbow grease and a whisk. I did it the other day, and it wasn't all that bad!

7. Do things by hand. No, this is not a repeat of the tip above. I mean, doing things literally with your hand. Like when I make my cinnamon rolls, I rub butter on the dough with my hands. Then I scrub the cinnamon and sugar in with my hands like I'm scouring the floor. It helps the flavor really sink in! :)

8. Always bribe siblings with tastes. ;) This worked on Leah when I begged her to go upstairs and get me the dental floss for cutting my rolls!

9. Sing some random song and laugh if you hit the high notes wrong. This helps keep you from getting stressed, and makes anyone smile who walks into the kitchen! ;) Singing while you work is an art that goes by the wayside far too much!

10. Spatulas are handy tools for smacking over-eager hands that reach into the cookie dough too many times! ;)

So, these are some things that aren't as helpful, maybe, as you'd expect, but I hope they make you laugh, and realize once more how much fun being a homemaker is! :) -Rachel