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Simple Solution to Open Tight Bottles and Jars

Lately, for me, the lids on bottles and jars have gotten harder and harder to open. My hands just don’t have the grip strength to turn the lids. I often have to hand the bottle or jar to Bert to open things for me. I find that VERY frustrating. Of course, it’s handy to have him open jars, but sometimes he’s not around to help. Or…I’m in the car and have a new bottle of water. By the time I use my shirt tail to help me grab the lid, I’ve soaked my shirt! I’ve even bought a bottle of Vitamin Water at Sheetz on my way to Kathy’s near Pittsburgh and had to ask the clerk to open the bottle before I headed out to my car! That’s just terribly annoying!

When I’m at home in my kitchen, I do have a rubber disk to help open things. I’ve had it for many years and most of the time it works just fine.

However, it’s thick and not very flexible, so opening the seal on my coconut milk box is difficult. The disk doesn’t bend around the small cap on the box.

I think I’ve found a solution! A few weeks ago, I bought a new rug for the bathroom. It was very slippery so I picked up a rubberized mesh mat to go under the rug. I could cut it to size and it worked well.

After trimming the rubberized mat to size, I was left with several pieces left over. They sat in a pile near my sewing machine for several weeks until I decided I should put them away someplace.

While I was checking to see how much I had, the smallest piece seemed just the right size to help me grip the top of a new water bottle I had by my sewing machine. The new bottle lids are not only very tight, but they are now about half the size as they used to be. They are hard to get my fingers around. The small piece easily molded around the top and worked great!

The water bottle lids are about half the size of a soda bottle lid.

The small piece of rubberized mat was enough to open the water, the soda bottle and even the larger Gatorade bottle. Yea!

I was so impressed that I cut a few pieces (about 5″ x 7″) and put one in my car, one in my purse and one in the kitchen. I may cut more and give them as Christmas gifts! A small roll of rubberized mat is very inexpensive at WalMart…sold near the small rugs in Housewares. Give it a try! Enjoy!

Exploring Gluten-Free Baking

Gluten and gluten-free are words that are familiar to many of us that bake. Gluten is a protein found in wheat (and barley or rye) that is the main ingredient that holds together all that lovely bread. Unfortunately, some folks have an immune reaction to eating gluten and over time this reaction damages the small intestine’s lining. This prevents them from absorbing nutrients from their food. This immune reaction is called celiac disease.

The intestinal damage from eating foods that contain gluten often causes symptoms such as diarrhea, fatigue, weight loss, bloating or anemia. It also can lead to serious complications if it is not managed or treated. Because there’s no definite cure for celiac disease, most people find following a strict gluten-free diet can help manage symptoms and help the intestines heal.

Years ago, when I was trying out recipes to bake with whole grain flour, I encountered a few people who had difficulty digesting wheat products. I found it very difficult to find recipes made with gluten-free flour that actually tasted good. Recently, I found a few friends who were avoiding gluten and even discovered folks at the Auxiliary (to the Boalsburg Fire Company) bake sale asking if any of our products were gluten-free. If I could find some good recipes, that might be something we could offer at the next bake sale.

With a little research online for the best tasting gluten-free recipes, I discovered a basic all-purpose gluten-free flour that could be used almost cup-for-cup as regular all-purpose flour. They also offered a bread mix. I found their packaged flour and bread mixes available on Amazon and ordered some bread mixes to try. The company is https://gfjules.com started by Jules Shepard. See her profile below. Check them out! Besides an all-purpose flour, they offer bread mixes, pancake mixes, etc.

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About Jules Shepard:

Jules Shepard didn’t set out to lead, inspire and advocate for the gluten-free community. But to anyone who knows her, it’s no surprise she does.

As a celiac diagnosed in 1999, and as an indomitable perfectionist with a penchant for equality and fairness, this former domestic violence attorney was simply unwilling to accept the dry, gritty, vacuous foods that were the norm then. Two years in her kitchen later, Jules had perfected an all-purpose gluten free flour blend that enabled her to continue her passion for baking. 

All of her products are certified gluten free and kosher, and are made in a dedicated gluten free facility. They are also certified Free From the Top 9 Food Allergens (NO: wheat, soy, dairy, egg, peanuts, tree nuts, sesame, fish, or crustaceans), non-GMO and proudly made in the USA.

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The best thing about this mix is the variety of ingredients. I used to have to stock up on individual ingredients and mix up my own gluten-free flour mix. Someone (Jules Shepard, actually) who must have been very motivated to find a mixture that tastes good, did the work for me!

Making a Loaf of Gluten-free Bread

First, I mixed together the liquid ingredients:

Next, I mixed up the dry ingredients:

I added the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in the mixer bowl. It was very sticky and didn’t take long. Next time I’ll just mix it with a wooden spoon! The mixer just made too many dirty dishes.

I dumped the wet dough into the prepared pan, covered it with plastic wrap and let it sit for about an hour.

When baked, it was a little bigger, a little browner and smelled great!

It did not rise very much (remember, without gluten it had nothing to “stretch.”) The texture of the bread is more like cake or cornbread, but it tasted great. Of course, I forgot to take a picture of the finished loaf! Since I would be the only one eating it, I sliced it up and froze the slices.

I ended up ordering a 4.5 pound bag of the gluten-free all-purpose flour so I could try a few more recipes. I printed out just a few recipes to try. More about those over the next few weeks!

Here are the details about the all-purpose flour.

Here are the ingredients for the gluten-free all-purpose flour from https://gfjules.com.

Over the next few posts, I’ll share some other recipes using some mixes I found at Trader Joe’s and Wegman’s. There seems to be a lot of interest in gluten-free products. I’m hoping by the next bake sale I’ll have some great recipes to share!

Final Garden Update for 2024

Well…it happened! We finally had a heavy frost/freeze. When the sun hit the flowers yesterday, they gave up. This happens every year in Pennsylvania, we just never know exactly when that first killing frost will occur. Bert will be busy today pulling out all the plants that need to go, or cutting them off at ground level. The only things left in the garden will be the lavender and the carrots. The lavender will be fine over the winter as they are. We will continue to pull the carrots as we need them. I suspect they’ll all be out of the ground by Thanksgiving. Here are the last pictures of our 2024 garden.

The leaves continue to drop but the redbud leaves seem to hang on for a while. The butternut tree behind and to the right is not very healthy, so it’s been dropping leaves for a month.

The marigolds and zinnias were spectacular this year but the frost finally got them. Bert is pulling them out today.

The geranium baskets finally gave up. Time to go!

The lavender will be fine all winter. The carrots might make it until Thanksgiving.

Carrots

One of the biggest jobs is to empty the big water tank. It can’t have any water in it over the winter. Bert put the rain barrels away in the shop last week.

And finally, the echinacea has been dropping seeds and all we have left are the sharp seed pods. Bert will wear heavy gloves and cut them off at the ground with his big clippers.

It always feels kind of sad to clean up the garden beds but right after Christmas the seed catalogs start arriving so we can start thinking about next year! Enjoy!

Making German Apple Cake

I just came across another recipe for an Apple Cake…this time called German Apple Cake. Several years ago, I shared a recipe for a French Apple Cake, so of course I had to try the German one! I’m always interested in ways to use apples without having to roll out pie crust for apple pie or cut butter into tiny pieces to make an apple crisp. The French Apple Cake appealed to Bert because it had rum in it, but I don’t care for the taste of rum so I don’t make it very often. The German Apple Cake recipe I’m sharing here does not have rum, so I was hopeful I would like it.

Here is a picture and a link to the French Apple Cake recipe: https://marykisner.com/making-french-apple-cake/

The German Apple Cake recipe has similar ingredients and the instructions are pretty much the same. Here’s the recipe:

I started the recipe by cutting up the apples. I wasn’t sure how many I would need, so I bought 3 very large “Honeycrisp” apples.

I put the diced apples into a bowl of water to keep them from turning brown.

When I finished cutting up the three apples, I drained them and put them into my 4-cup measuring cup. Oops! I had more like 6 cups of diced apples!

So, I spooned off the extra into a zip bag and put them in the freezer. They will be great added to my morning smoothies.

Continuing with the recipe…I mixed up the wet ingredients and added the dry ingredients. Then I folded in the cut apples.

Finally, I dumped the mixture into the prepared baking pan.

Of course, before I could take a finished picture, we had to have a taste! Delicious!

It looked dark, almost like it had chocolate in it (it did not!). I think the cinnamon made it look dark. Yum! I will cut it up and freeze it in portions…we can’t possibly eat that much in a day or two.

I guess I’m on the lookout for other “apple cake” recipes. I wonder what other countries make with apples? Enjoy!

Time to Make More Belly Bands for Greyhounds

Nittany Greyhounds…a greyhound adoption group here in Centre County…has rehomed many greyhounds over the years. Since I’ve been involved with the group, one of the most useful things I’ve made for them is the Belly Band. It isn’t a fancy thing…made of sturdy denim and a piece of terrycloth, fastened with strong Velcro…but it can make the difference in a successful adoption. I’ve begun putting together a batch of belly bands and thought I’d repost the information from two years ago about WHY I make them. If you want to know the details of HOW to make a belly band, you can find the instructions at https://marykisner.com/belly-bands-for-greyhounds/ Feel free to share that tutorial with a greyhound adoption group near you.

From the original post:

What is a belly band? A new fashion statement for our beloved greyhounds? Haha…no! Picture this…you have just adopted a 2 yr. old male greyhound from your nearby adoption kennel. You are ready to make him comfortable in your home and take him off his leash. He wanders around the living room…the kitchen…your bedroom. You show him his kennel or cozy bed in the corner. You let him explore on his own while you take off your coat and put things away. Very quickly you realize that he is lifting his leg and marking the corners of the furniture and table legs. This is a natural response to a new environment, especially if you had other dogs in the house previously. AHHHH…now what?

Luckily, the adoption group predicted this might happen and had sent you home with a belly band, just in case. You had wondered what it was for. This simple denim band wraps around their abdominal region and gently keeps his private parts from being used until you can get him outside. Over the next few days as he gets more comfortable in your home you can train him that if he’s in the house he should not have to mark his territory. When you take him outside and remove the band THEN is the time to explore and mark his territory. The hope is that he won’t need the belly band for very long, but that depends on the dog.

This band can wrap quickly around the dog’s abdomen and is sturdy enough to stay put. (The one in this picture was 27” long…we ended up making all the belly bands 29”).

(Note: The belly band has also been used with the females after being spayed. It keeps them from bothering their incision and stitches.)

So, a greyhound belly band is not a fashion accessory but an important tool to make an adoption successful! I’ll be making 10-15 belly bands over the next few days. Not exciting but so important to new greyhound owners!

Crocheting Dish Cloths for Christmas

Who thinks about Christmas in October? Those of us who try to make handmade things for gifts find even October is sometimes too late! As soon as Labor Day festivities are over, we start getting anxious about what we want to accomplish by the middle of December. Of course, retail stores help this along by hauling out the decorations to get us in the mood! We tolerate displays of Halloween ghosts and goblins and Thanksgiving turkeys but we’re already looking for fabrics, patterns and craft ideas. As we know, it takes time to produce a quilt, knitted sweater or gift basket of handmade items.

How wonderful that sometimes folks will request a special handmade gift in September so I have time to actually make it! Love it! I had such a request for crocheted dishcloths like I had made several years ago. Actually, at that time I was making random wash cloths to go with my various bars of soap I was making. I ended up making a variety of squares, trying to find the best yarn to make a washcloth that was strong when wet (not just soft when dry). I finally passed the whole pile on to my son’s family. I didn’t know they were using them and now needed more!

Very well-loved dishcloths!

I had to search for my bag of crochet hooks and of course had to make a visit to JoAnn’s to choose some new yarn.

I shouldn’t have to buy any more crochet hooks!

Next, I tried to remember what kind of yarn I used originally. That was hard, because I remember trying all kinds of yarn…from nylon and acrylic to bamboo and cotton. I was pretty sure I used cotton but now the choice was between a 4-ply cotton yarn and a #3 crochet cotton.

Finally, all I could do was START! I basically used a single crochet stitch. Beginning with about 28 stitches, I first used the 4-ply cotton yarn. Geez! My fingers had forgotten how to crochet! The first attempts made a hefty 10-inch square. It was heavy enough to use as a pot holder! Next, I started with only 24 stitches. That was better. I also went to a larger hook so it wasn’t so tightly woven (plus, I finally relaxed my stitches). I’m not sure about this yarn. Would I wash dishes with this cloth? It was pretty heavy.

Next, I tried the #3 crochet yarn. These turned out thinner and more flexible.

My first cloths with the #3 crochet cotton started with about 24 and then I crocheted around the whole cloth several times. This made a very flexible cloth…but I think it should be larger, so I’ll increase my starting row of stitches.

At this point, I’ll just keep crocheting and around the beginning of December, I’ll put them in the mail to California! What fun for me and hopefully useful to them!

While I was looking for any other posts I’ve written about crocheting…I could find only one! In June 2023 I tried to make my favorite hot pads. They are my favorite and were gifts from a dear friend (Thank you Helen!). I figured I’d better learn how to make them myself. Luckily, Pinterest had several tutorials available. Here’s a picture of the ones she made for me. They wash beautifully and have double protection.

These hot pads were a wonderful gift!

My hot pads were thick enough, but not exactly as pretty!

Read about how to make them here: https://marykisner.com/crochet-a-double-thick-hot-pad/

So for now, you’ll know what I’m doing while I’m watching Hallmark Movies or Penn State football! What Christmas gifts are you going to try to make this year? Enjoy!

Discovering Cut-Your-Own Silicone Mat

In the last few weeks, I’ve tried a few recipes that suggested I use parchment paper on a baking sheet or to line a bread pan. Frankly, it’s a pain in the neck! I have a roll of parchment paper, but it requires me to cut to fit my specific pans every time, and then it’s so slippery that the whole sheet slides off when I try to take a cookie off the tray!

I have four small baking sheets (8″ x 11 1/2″) that just fit in my oven side by side on two racks. I use them for everything but I haven’t found a silicone tray liner that just fits. And then, I have my bread pans! I recently made a zucchini blueberry bread that really needed parchment paper on the bottom because the mix was so wet. I just didn’t stop to cut paper to fit. I learned the hard way that it was really needed!

The bread tasted great, but the bottom came out in pieces! See the recipe at https://marykisner.com/making-zucchini-blueberry-bread/

While I was searching on Amazon for silicone mats in various sizes, I discovered this one that I could cut to size myself! Great idea!

Silicone Baking Mat Roll 16IN*5FT Free Cutting, Non-Slip Pastry Mat, Non-Stick Reusable Air Fryer Liner, Oven Liners, Counter Mat, Freeze Dryer Mat, Easily Cut to Size Fit All Ovens Pans Tins Dishes $18.99

I got the mat in the mail yesterday and got to work.

It just fit! I cut three more and I now have one for each of my baking sheets!

How about my bread pans? I measured the bottom of the pan…3″ x 7″.

I cut six so all my bread pans would have one. I also have a set of very small bread pans I use occasionally. The bottom is 2″ x 5″. I cut four of the very small size.

Finally, how about my square and round baking pans? The square pan was 7″ x 7″ on the bottom but the corners were rounded, so I cut two 7″ squares and cut off the corners! Perfect!

The round pans were a little tricky and I could probably do better, but I made two 8″ squares and tried to round the edges. Not pretty, but functional!

This is how much mat I had left over. (I’ll toss the corner pieces.)

I’ll put the extra pieces in a zip bag and will store them with my cookbooks…just in case I need a little piece to put under a flower pot or vase.

I can hardly wait to bake something to try these mats out. I’m sure they will lower my frustration level! Give it a try if you assorted pans like I do. Enjoy!

Follow the Major Steps of All My DIY Projects

I was all ready to describe my next project…crocheting some dishcloths for Christmas gifts…but instead I thought I’d focus this post on how ALL my do-it-yourself (DIY) projects get going.

There are five major steps that seem to be common to every project I start. These five steps include:

  1. I’m intrigued with a new project. I may need something but think I could make it myself; or someone else asks if I could make something for them. I find ideas everywhere…at craft shows, bake sales, advertisements, or in gifts from others. Even the fiction books I’m reading will often have a “craft” focus like quilting, baking or holiday activities. (I’m easily bored, so I’m always looking for something new to try!)

    2. I start researching how something is made, how it is used, what kind of tools are necessary to make it, etc. This is where websites like Pinterest and YouTube help…if anyone has made it, surely someone has posted about how to do it. I have found classes that will teach me how to make something, from baking to crafting. Of course, books and illustrations will often show the most elaborate finished product that could eventually be made (like a beautiful sweater crocheted with a complex design) when all I wanted to learn was how to make a simple product (like a crocheted dishcloth)!

      3. Next, I begin collecting the tools I’ll need. For my soap projects, I needed soap molds, blocks of melt-and-pour soap and 4-cup heat-proof glass measuring cups to melt the soap. For my beading projects I found the best elastic to string the beads and the design board to hold the beads as I worked.

      4. Practicing making the product takes the longest and is the most fun for me! When I’m baking, the family and neighbors have been my taste-testers while I figure out the recipe. I’ve learned that my baking mistakes will sometimes make good croutons…or will feed the birds…or at least will compost well!

      When I made batches of soap, I started making small sample size bars and my high school friends graciously took them off my hands. I learned the sample size soap bars made good gifts…or could be melted down and poured again!

      When I made my gemstone bracelets, if the elastic knot came apart or made an ugly lump, I could cut the string and try again! Right now, I have about 60 bracelets left over that I made for the Craft show in July. If I decide to change the design of the bracelets, I can always cut the elastic and use the beads in another design.

      5. Finally, I begin collecting the supplies to continue making the products. Usually, I buy just enough to make/finish the one project I’m working on. However, I am optimistic and end up with enough supplies to make more than one! The trick is to buy enough to keep me going…until I lose interest in making the item. This might mean I’ve baked enough that I need to move on…having all those yummy things around every day is too much for my diet! It might mean I’ve given away enough soaps that no one wants more. Mostly…I’m the one that is ready to move on…to learn something new!!

      When you explore the posts in this blog you might wonder how I do it all! Haha! Remember…I’m 78 years old! I’ve been “crafting” as long as I can remember. I got bored easily as a kid so my mom always had pencil and paper ready for times when I had needed to sit quietly…like church or a long car ride.

      Mom always had bits and pieces of her projects (like yarn, fabric, buttons) that I could work with. Every Christmas Eve I would open a gift that was a project I could make that night that would keep me busy. I remember making ornaments with felt and glue and buttons.

      As I grew up, mom included me in her projects. She let me choose the fabric for the dresses she made for me. By the time I was 14 I was making myself a straight skirt and jacket in Home Economics class. Not sure I ever wore it…but I tried! You can see I had to learn to read instructions on patterns early and I’m still learning and even making my own patterns for little things.

      The majority of this website has been inspired by my DIY projects. While my academic career focused on teaching elementary school, I ended up teaching Vocational teachers at Penn State who were coming back to school for additional degrees. These folks were my kindred spirits…they made stuff every day! I tried to help them focus on all the reading, writing and math skills they found naturally in their subject areas. All the DIY projects I’ve done and written about have incorporated reading, following instructions and essential math skills.

      So, in accordance with the goals of this blog…think about what you do every day. How do you go about learning new things? Is it fun? Do you share these new things with your family and friends? No matter how old you are, every day is an opportunity to learn something new! Share your new knowledge or projects with others. Enjoy!

      Remembering Patty and Her Italian Bread

      This is a repost of an article I wrote exactly 3 years ago today. I would not have remembered it but Facebook reminded me about it! The pictures were just too cute to not share again!

      September 18, 2021

      I pulled out my recipes today to make some Italian bread. It’s been a while so when I found the recipe I was reminded of my sister-in-law, Patty…my big brother’s first wife. She was a real sweetheart and my mentor when I started my own family. Here’s an early picture with two of their kids, Eric and Pam. Paul, Todd and Teresa rounded out their family by the early 1980’s. We were sorry to lose her in 1984, but my memories keep her in my heart to this day.

      In 1980, Ted, Kathy and I spent a few days with my brother’s family on the farm in northern Pennsylvania. We borrowed my sister’s motor home while she was out of town and had an adventure going to Uncle Mark’s farm.

      Ted was four and a half and Kathy was three. Such sincere smiles!

      We parked the motor home in the backyard of the farm house and enjoyed visits with the barn cats and the cousins. Early on the first morning, we were awakened by the neighbor’s sheep. What a surprise to look out the window and see we had been surrounded by a whole flock of sheep! That was the beginning of our adventure!

      Of course, this post is about making Italian bread so let me just say every time I make this recipe, I’m reminded of those days visiting the farm. Patty was always baking something and I was inspired by her ability to whip out this Italian bread or homemade Pizza crust in a flash. We had many conversations about baking with whole wheat flour and making our own yogurt. Great memories!

      So, here is the recipe for her Italian bread:

      When I make bread, I often start with the liquid ingredients and then add flour. This recipe started with all the flour in the bowl and then added the liquid ingredients. I had forgotten this, but it worked out just fine.

      At this point, I dumped the dough out onto the floured table, gave it a few “kneads” and put it in a bowl to rise.

      An hour later, the dough had raised to the top of the bowl.

      I shaped it into two long loaves and let it raise on the pan.

      In 20 minutes the whole kitchen smelled great!

      Of course, before I could get a picture of the loaves, SOMEONE had to have a chunk!

      So that’s the story of Patty’s Italian bread recipe, memories and all! Enjoy!

      Busy Week, Various Activities

      This has been a very busy week with our son visiting from California, my yearly eye doctor’s appointment, a luncheon with my high school friends, a pot luck dinner with the Ladies Auxiliary to the Fire Company, and the two-day yard sale at the Fire Hall. In the middle of all that, I tried a new recipe for apple hand-pies in the air fryer! At the same time, our son was pulling a bunch of tubs out of the attic that had his mementoes from preschool through college graduation. His goal was to sort, purge and organize his memories. He flew here from California with plans to rent a car/van to drive back home…with all of his stuff that had been in our attic for many years!

      It was such a joy to watch him discover his past memories! A great “life review.” I imagine we will have a similar process to go through when we finally downsize our house. Of course, to sort through papers and mementoes…the living room became the best place to set up!

      It started with the first few bins…

      As he emptied bins and started sorting into piles, he could see he had his work cut out for him. Such a process!

      It wasn’t long until I could see the organization begin to make sense.

      His stuff is now organized into bins with labels so when he unloads his car in California he’ll know where to store them. Whew! I’m so proud of him in getting it done…and our attic has an empty space. Hopefully it will not get filled with more junk!

      Good time for a selfie! (I think I always look like I stuck my finger in a light socket!)

      Now, about those Air Fryer Apple Pies!

      I started by cutting up apples into tiny pieces. I sprinkled lemon juice on them, added the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and stirred them together.

      I filled a small bowl with water to use as “glue” to close the egg roll wrappers.

      I had a little trouble finding the wrappers at the grocery store…they were on a high shelf in the vegetable cooler. Luckily, a very tall employee found them!

      A tablespoon of apples just fit on one wrapper:

      Then I folded the sides in:

      …and the bottom up…

      …and finally folded the top over, using a dab of water along the edge to help it stick.

      My air fryer has two shelves, so I could cook all 12 at once, turning them over halfway and rotating the trays.

      Of course, I forgot to get a picture of them coming out of the air fryer! Sorry!

      If you look at the recipe above, once fried they were to be dusted with extra sugar. I did not do that but within half an hour of coming out of the fryer, the pies were gone! They tasted great, but egg roll wrapper got pretty crunchy. Seemed like a lot of work for a few bites!

      So today, Saturday afternoon, I’m finally home from the yard sale at the Fire Hall. It was successful, but I’m exhausted! Tomorrow our son will begin loading his rental car with all his memories. His visit has been fun for us and successful for him. On Tuesday he’ll begin driving home to Santa Barbara.

      I’m looking forward to getting back on track…with my own projects. I’m finding my Morse Code bracelets are a hit with some friends ordering them for Christmas gifts. Other bracelets feature favorite colors, birthstones and meaningful beads.

      It’s probably time for me to start thinking about what to do for Christmas too. Any gifts that involve crafts or sewing take time. Let me know if you think of any craft projects that would make interesting gifts! Enjoy!