In 2015 - THINK GREEN! Eat green vegetables, grow greens - sprouts, herbs, whatever! Houseplants also help keep us healthier as a food, as well as provide us with moisture and oxygen.
It is a strange world we live in. Or is it, what goes around comes around? Magazines and health books are filled with recipes for "greens" - from smoothies to whatever else you can think of.
Spinach has always been good for us but often shunned as a "green of choice.” I bought some dried spinach at the health food store. It was almost $20 a pound. Thank goodness I didn't need a whole pound. The clerk told me to put a little of it in my homemade soup for flavor. I guess I will have to give that a try, too!
The reason I was buying dried spinach is that I was trying to find the ingredients I needed for a broth recipe my sister had told me about. Spinach extract is "a wow selling dietary supplement" in Scandinavia. A compound in the leaves called thylakoids is akin to having a medical bypass but without the surgery, because it coats the fat cells as they travel into the intestines. Once they reach the intestines they are broken down and absorbed in the lower intestines, which is where most fat is digested, for those who have undergone gastric bypass . Thylakoids suppresses the urge for carbs and the stubborn belly fat melts first!
During the Depression years - believe it or not - because gardens didn't always grow like weeds, the housewife often canned weeds. Lamb’s quarter was more mellow than dandelion greens.
One could learn a lot from the Depression. In fact, during the Depression years people probably ate healthier than we do today. What goes around comes around.
While I am on the subject of food – I have known for many years that vinegar is good for many things. It is good to be used as a preservative, as well as a deodorant in a room where the smell from a smoky fish fry pan can get a little bit strong.
Vinegar is used to keep apples from turning brown. It can also be used to tenderize meat. A tablespoon of vinegar, instead of cream of tartar, will make a beautiful meringue.
My mother has used vinegar since the days of "croup" when both she and her brother, Bud, coughed and struggled with "phlegm.” She still uses it yet today when she is struggling to free her throat of "phlegm.”
Vinegar can also be used to clean your vegetables from unsuitable chemicals, as well as sterilize your counter tops. It can be used to wipe away tarnish on brass or copper items. Just add a little bit of salt to some vinegar and start cleaning. Three tablespoons of vinegar in a quart of water will also help take stains out of your carpet.
These are just a few reasons to keep a jar of vinegar on hand. No household should be without soda or vinegar.
On to a new subject – looking at the lowering gas prices we have been seeing lately is a joy. I remember my dad telling me how when a gas tank was getting low and his Model T couldn't quite make it up a hill, he would turn his car around and back all the way up the hill. Gravity fed gas tanks were under the front seat back then.
My Dads' workshop was a block from where we lived when I was growing up. He often didn't take the time to turn his truck around when he was going to go over to his shop to work. He would just "back" his truck back and forth from the shop and home. Yes, that was my dad - and seeing him do it was an interesting site for one of the neighbors in the area. Mr. Jones, whose house was nearby, once said, "Curt is the only darn fool I know who doesn't take time to turn around.”
And speaking of vehicles – I talked with a nice older gentlemen and inquired if he never drove his vehicle during the winter, because his car didn't appear to have any signs of rust on it. He said he drove it all the time. He did o on to tell me when he washed his vehicle in the fall, he used water to which he had added a cup of fuel - which he had found helps prevent salt damage.
One wonders who has discovered some of these great helpful ideas. Our ancestors were a lot smarter than we think, or else they discovered how to use other things because they had to.
Some of our Star Eagle readers have commented they like to read about events such as family and school reunions, birthdays and anniversaries, and birth and wedding announcements. In order to read about these important things we need our faithful readers to pass along the information to us. Also if you have an idea for a story that you think would be of interest to our readers, please contact me.
If you have birthdays and anniversaries you would like include, or news to share please contact me via e-mail,This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; by postal mail, P. O. Box 192, Geneva, MN 56035 or telephone, 507-256-4405.
This week’s birthdays and anniversaries include:
Thursday, January 8: (Elvis Presley) Cameron Schember, Mike Marcus, Terry Pelzl, Dan Reese, David Jensen, Ryan Benning, Jennifer Rechtzigel, Brandon Borchert, John & Melissa Marlin
Friday, January 9: Melinda Hanson Talamanates, Lisa Dunn Wayne, Mark Lee, Adam Deml, Jay Wangsness, Steve Vanden Heuvel, Becky Wayne Clark, Larry Jensen, Allen Dobberstein, Allan Swearingen, Dan & Lavonne Nelson
Saturday, January 10: Sue Hunnicutt, Martha Jacobson, Gary Nelson, Eldert & Avis DeRaad, Robert & Eleanor Leiser
Sunday, January 11: Melissa Farr, Rick Hanson, Nanko DeRaad, Deb Robertson Hare, Brad Nelson, Kelly Reichl, Alvin & Ardys Nelson, Dennis & Barb Grunwald
Monday, January 12: Heather Mattson Johnson, Macy Misgen, Albert Diaz, Barry Jepson, Cindy Farner, Brian Milan, Chris Wilker
Tuesday, January 13: Lacey & Brad Grutzik, 2013, Julia Anne Marlin, Melonie Crabtree, Rita Sletten Nelson, Diane Lee, Haley Butler, Tracy Utpadel, Jay Brown, John Olson, Tracy Bergerson, Marion Hoffman, Bruce Haberman, Gregory David, Jack & Gloria Jensen
Wednesday, January 14: Brooke Sorenson Krohn, Marlys Sorenson, Darla Hagen Matthees, Christine Hanson, Skyler Cromwell Lembke, Jenna Marie Abbott, Mark Langlie, Ryan & Kerri Wagner
Thursday, January 15: Steve Bailey, Paul Christensen, Emily Crabtree, Angela Borchert, Brian Farr
Friday, January 16: Carter Howard Hanson, Kiley Beenken, Craig Bailey, Remi Wayne, Joshua Crabtree, Joni Groth, Jeff Kaplan, Tracy Tracy, Melissa Wagner, Emily Bedker, Tena Bryce, Jeremy Anderson
Saturday, January 17: Ava Elizabeth Schember, her 6th; Blake Michael Born/Norday, Don Anderson, Jan Bartsch, Annette Busho, LuAnn Johnson Prescher, David Strenge, Mike Peterson, Brayden Broitzman, Kayley Camerer
Life is a journey we begin each day - wishing that each new day is happier than the day before. Have a great day!
Surprise somebody. Call someone. Send a card and make their day. Little things mean a lot.
