Hung out to dry

The winters here in Alberta can be brutal. The average temperature is around -20 degrees Celsius and there's snow on the ground for about six months. Everyone finds it hard going. A guy I was working with a year or so ago, during the winter time, started talking about taking a vacation to the UK to escape not only the cold and snow, but the monotony that can accompany the winter weather: Every day you wake up and look out of your window and everything looks exactly the same as it did the day before, and the day before that. One question he wanted answered was: how do the English do their laundry? I imagine that he had been carrying out a bit of research on properties in the UK and not many mentioned "utility room." I told him that while most homes would have a washing machine, not everyone used a tumble dryer (or indeed had one) to dry their clothes. It's not necessary when living in the UK. Although I had a tumble dryer when I lived in England, I very rarely used it. I, like most other people, dried my clothes outdoors.

I still do dry my clothes outdoors when I can. Obviously it's not possible during the winter, but once the temperature warms up, I place my clothes airer outside. While I can't say that there are no downsides to line drying, it's still the best way to dry clothes, not only from an environmental perspective, but from a clothes perspective too. Line drying is kinder to your clothes as well as to the environment.

For instance, the average tumble dryer gets pretty hot. Hot temperatures aren't kind to clothes and can damage the fibers in some items such as panties and bras, causing them to lose their shape quicker than they would if they were dried naturally.

Not only is the sun kinder to clothes, but it also comes complete with a few add-ons: It's a natural bleaching agent helping light colored items to stay that way. The sun can also help to remove stains in clothes: Place a few drops of lemon juice on a stain you want to shift and then place the item outdoors in the sun to dry. Another good thing about the sun where laundry's concerned is that it's also a natural deodorizer, so if you've got some clothes that don't smell too good, drying them in the sun should help to get rid of their odor.

Even though it's referred to as line drying, you don't really need a line to do it. Go to Ikea and pick up one of their clothes airers (or two depending on how much laundry you need to do at one time). Actually, you don't even need good weather to dry clothes naturally: Fix up a clothes airer somewhere in your house and leave the clothes to dry there - no worry about having to rush out and bring your clothes indoors when it starts to rain then.

The one drawback to line drying, for me anyway, is that I sometimes find I need to iron clothes, whereas if I've tumble dried them, having given them enough space to move freely in the dryer, I usually don't need to. But then a lot of this is personal. One man's creased shirt is another man's shirt that "looks fine to me."

Lastly, yes, a little more effort is involved in line drying (you've got to transport your clothes from machine to line and back indoors again - and have to rush to do so if it starts to rain), but we're not talking triathlon training here. And what are we using our bodies for nowadays anyway...?

Cup of char...?

Nigella’s Madeira cake is baking in the oven, and I’m looking forward to a slice with a cup of tea. I'm not going to write about Nigella now; I will save that for later, when I can post photos of her party popcorn here. This blog is about tea…

I’ve come to the conclusion that as we get older, we take more pleasure from the simple things in life. These are often the least expensive things, too. Tea isn’t free, of course, but it feels that way to me at the moment because the last time I was over in the UK I brought three huge cartons of Twinings Assam tea back with me, and am slowly working my way through them. It’s possible to buy Assam tea here in Edmonton, but not in tea bags: you have to go to one of the city’s fancy tea shops and buy it loose – for a pretty penny, too.

Talking of loose tea, my friend recently introduced me to Oghab tea, which is similar in taste to Assam although not as "malty." I’ve no idea what Oghab actually means – if it’s place or name of a tea company. I searched online but the results were in Persian and I didn’t glean a great deal from them. My friend is Iranian, and when we drink this tea in her house, she serves it in pretty glass cups – without milk. I don’t usually drink tea without milk but I’m content to do so in S’s house as when she hands me the tea, there miraculously appears small trays of delicacies to be eaten with our tea, which more than makes up for any absence of milk. And anyway, adding milk to the tea would mean I wouldn’t get to see the lovely dark amber liquid twinkling through the cut glass of the cup. The delicacies S serves up include a sort of Iranian trail mix. There are none of the rubbishy bits you get in the average trail mix such as Smarties and chocolate chips (nor are the nuts coated in salt); in this trail mix there are pistachios and these lovely soft berries that have a hint of caramel to them. Delicious.

The Oghab tea is loose tea and I’ve discovered that there’s no need for a tea strainer or to place the tea in one of those charming looking infusers when you make it. Just pour a couple of teaspoons in the pot and away you go. The leaves settle on the bottom of the teapot which means that you’re not forever having to pick them off your tongue.

Few people actually know how to make a decent cup of tea. I’ve even heard some people talk about using a microwave in which to “boil” the water. There was mention of this method on englishteastore.com’s website, but so was the word “inferior” in the same sentence, so let’s move on.

I’m not convinced that you can make a good cup of tea without boiling water. I tend to steer clear of tea that’s made with hot water from an urn. Water boils at around 210 degrees Fahrenheit and I’m pretty sure that hot water in an urn is kept at around the 190-degrees-Fahrenheit mark. Not a lot in it maybe, and not enough to deter someone who’s desperate for a cup of tea in Starbuck’s or wherever. But if you can boil the water, then it’s best to do so.

It’s claimed that loose tea makes a better tasting cup of tea, but I won’t hear a bad word said about the tea bag. Convenient, clean, and compostable. If you do use loose tea, the teapot should be warmed beforehand as this helps to maintain the brewing temperature thus extracting more flavor from the tea during the brewing process. Regardless of whether you use loose tea or a tea bag, it’s important to let the tea actually brew. Some people’s idea of making tea is to wave the tea bag in front of the boiling water and have done with it. You need to leave the tea to brew for at least three minutes. And there’s no need to fuss with it during this time; don’t keep squeezing the tea bag or stirring the pot. Go away and do something less boring instead. Like slice the cake…

Baking soda plus elbow grease = clean dishes

Sodium bicarbonate, or baking soda as it's more commonly known, is a pretty versatile item. Not only it is useful in baking, but it can be used in so many places around the home. It’s inexpensive and non-toxic – it doesn’t contain any nasty, harsh chemicals, and won’t leave you gagging for air when you use it unlike many other commercially produced cleaning products. You do need to employ a little elbow grease when using baking soda to clean, though. But with an abrasive cloth, a bit of effort, and a little time, you can clean off baked-on food from cooking pots and pans without too much fuss.

When using baking soda to get rid of stubborn stains, sprinkle it on and then dampen it with a little water and just leave it for a few hours. You may need to repeat the process, but eventually you’ll get your pot or casserole dish clean.

The photos show the stages of cleaning a glass dish with baking soda. The top photo shows the original application of baking soda; the middle photo shows how the dish looked after the baking soda was rinsed off the first time; and the bottom photo shows how the dish looked after the second application of baking soda was washed off. Admittedly, the cleaning process may not have removed every single last stain, but you can look on those as reminders of great meals gone by!

Cans, buttons, and bottle tops

Going green is a little like dieting; in order for it to be effective, it has to be a lifestyle change rather than just a quick-fix action. And anyone who wants to fully embrace the concept of "living green" has to develop their imagination and start looking at everyday household objects from a slightly different perspective. It's an approach that can reap dividends though, and you can save money on your weekly spending as well as reduce the amount of space you would otherwise be taking up at your local landfill site.

Before you place any household item in the garbage or recycling bin, consider its potential uses. Below are a few examples of how you can turn ordinary household items into useful objects that come with absolutely no price tag.

Cans: Repurpose cans and tins as individual plant pots. Pierce the bottom of the can to allow water to drain and then fill with soil and seeds. The plants can be transplanted into bigger containers or directly into the soil in your back yard at the appropriate time. Similarly, plastic fruit containers (punnets) can be used as plant pots.

Cans can also be used as storage pots for pens and pencils.

Bottles: Attractive bottles can be repurposed as vases for flowers. These can look great when filled with one or two striking looking flowers. Dot these around your home when you're having friends to dinner and you're guaranteed a topic of conversation at the dinner table!

Newspaper: Keep pages from newspapers to clean windows and glass. Wipe the surface with a mixture of water, liquid soap or detergent, and a little vinegar and then dry with scrunched-up newspaper.

Buttons: Before throwing away an item of clothing, remove any attractive embellishments such as pretty buttons. Re-use them to add a unique and interesting look to an otherwise drab looking bag or jacket. Store your buttons in large plastic can lids.

CDs: Hang your old CDs over the areas in your garden that you want to protect from birds. Or use your old CDs as coasters.

Bottle Tops: Recycle colored bottle tops into an attractive "bead" curtain. Thread the bottle tops onto pieces of string and then hang these pieces of string across a cane: attach the cane to the horizontal top section of a door frame.

Shower Curtain: Clean an old shower curtain by leaving it to soak in water and vinegar for a couple of hours, and then re-use as a table cloth when having a picnic. You can also use it as a ground sheet under sleeping bags when camping, or to protect surfaces around the home when painting.

Magazines: Cut out colorful and attractive pictures from magazines and use them to decoupage an old table or piece of furniture. Or decoupage a wall of a room with photos cut from magazines.

The possibilities are endless! All it takes is a little imagination and then you'll be hooked on finding uses for your everyday household items.

You say beet, I say beetroot

When I told people that I was relocating to Canada, most, at some stage, commented, "At least you won't have to learn a new language." In most respects they were right; but not all.

Beetroot is called plain beet over here. Rutabaga is a turnip; mangetout is called snow peas. My neighbour asked me the other day why I don't call a carrot a carrotroot, if I call a beet a beetroot. There is no answer to that. Or not one that I could give if I still want to be on the receiving end of the tomato plants he so generously donates to me every summer.

Having taken a leaf out of my neighbor's book, I attempted to grow my own veg this year. The growing season is relatively short here in Western Canada. Unfortunately, I couldn't start sowing indoors this spring as I was away for the month of April, so I had to sow straight into the ground - once I could see it that was (for six months of the year, it's mostly covered in snow).

Growing your own vegetables is a pretty satisfying process. Pulling the first beets up out of the ground, or gently picking off the first tomatoes from your plant, can induce a feeling of real self-sufficiency and capability. However, my vegetable patch isn't particularly big, and, as my neighbor had earlier pointed out, I only have enough veg for one or two meals. Which means that not only will I be eating the beets, but I'll need to find out what I can do with the leaves so I don't go hungry...