Useful bottle caps

Say bye-bye to those plastic seal clips.

Using a pair of sharp scissors, cut at the NECK of the bottle.

Next, put the plastic bag through the NECK of the bottle which you have just cut off and cap it.

VIOLA.

Simple, effective and more importantly you are helping the environment!!

Source: Chain emails.

Organic Day again!

Covered this in my earlier blurb.

Another activity day is being organized so those who were interested the last time but couldn't make it or got lost, well here's your opportunity.

Am keen to check out the seedling section and maybe start a herb garden. :)

Good chance to grab some 'organic' gifts too for christmas.

Oh yes, mark on your calendar 5 December 2009 and don't forget your own shopping bags/boxes.

Don't know whether you can read but the Alovera pickle looks very interesting? How do you pickle alovera???

On that day I got a couple of lemongrass tea as gifts, it was very fragrant and tasted very refreshing and nice.

Sink facial – it works!

This is a follow-up post from my earlier blurb.

A picture of my sink getting a ‘facial’ – ha ha ha. Looks like one of those bedak sejuk (translated to mean 'rice beauty powder') which I used to play with when I was a little girl. Some still swear by it even until today.

Well I am very happy to let you know that the ‘sink facial’ works. The rust spots have all miraculously DISAPPEARED!!! *so happy and relieved* Only regret is that I didn’t take a before shot to show you the rust spots (was just too annoyed and stressed earlier). When DH saw the sink he was very surprised and kept saying ‘WOW’.

Couldn’t get my hands on hydrogen peroxide from my local hardware shop.

The ‘sink facial’ is made of a simple combination of cream of tartar and vinegar. Didn’t measure exact quantities even though the earlier linked articles suggested a ratio of 3:1 parts of cream of tartar to vinegar.

Just sprinkled the cream of tartar around the sink and then pour some vinegar, about 1 tbsp or so, mix it around with your hands (wear gloves) until you get a slurry white paste. Smear it around the sink, paying more attention to affected areas and then let it dry (left it overnight). Next day, sprinkled some baking soda and then wash it with vinegar (this solution is suppose to be good in clearing your pipes too). Note that baking soda mixed with vinegar will cause some chemical reaction and start fizzing like a bubble bath ball. Don’t worry, wear gloves and wash the sink with the solution rubbing harder on the affected areas – you can use a soft sponge if you wish but I didn’t. Finally, rinse with water and wipe dry with a clean towel. For the ‘final touch’ you may wish to consider rubbing down with some olive/baby oil as suggested by the earlier linked articles.

For more stubborn stains, you may have to do more than one ‘facial’. In total ran through the ritual twice (because it was just so fun, easy and was really amazed with the results)!!

My sink now really looks brand new – well technically it is!! More importantly no more rust spots…yeah! I’ve covered the tap with a plastic bag so as to discourage anyone from using the sink. And to think I was really stressed out earlier about having to replace the entire sink if I couldn’t remove the rust spots, phew!

Btw, didn’t use the imported white vinegar brand. Used locally made white vinegar instead which was a lot cheaper. Must say that while I was doing this, the vinegar smell is pretty strong, even with the windows opened and fans turned on – made me crave for fish and chips and vinegar flavoured crisp, lolz. Anyway, the vinegar smell is definitely less toxic and harsh than the metal polish!! Next time I’m sure if I used lemon, it’ll probably smell a lot more refreshing then.

So there you go, do keep a few extra bottles of vinegar, cream of tartar and baking soda as they are certainly handy in keeping your stainless steel sinks, tops and pipes looking great and clean!!

Now, I wonder if anyone can share with me on how to remove cement spots??

Natural cleaners for stainless steel sinks – some tips

In an earlier post, I shared my angst with some unknown contractors who had soiled my brand new stainless steel sink, resulting (to my horror) rust-like spots.

At that point of time (probably pure blur furry) I sped to the nearest hardware shop to get the ‘strongest’ rust remover I could find. After some hard rubbings, manage to get rid of some rust spots but the more stubborn ones still remained.

The whole process was rather unbearable, mainly because of the toxic fumes emanating from the chemical even though I opened the windows and switch on the fans. Vaguely remembered that there are alternative ways (after I calmed down a little and satisfied that the rust spots were not permanent, phew) that are safer, gentle and of course more environmentally friendly way. Not surprisingly most of the ‘natural cleaners’ can be found in your cupboard. Its probably cheaper too. The bottle of Stainless Steel polisher purchased from the hardware shop set me back rm33 whilst everyday household items would probably only cost a fraction of that.

There are many great tips I picked up, to read more click on for some great articles here or here or here or here. There are many more great articles, just google ‘cleaning stainless steel sink’.

Main common household natural cleaners are:
- Vinegar: Fill undiluted white or cider vinegar in a spray bottle, spray and wipe. Apparently this is great to remove heat stains on SS cutlery or finger streaks.

- Baking or bicarbonate soda: Sprinkle a little baking soda on sponge and rub sink gently; rinse.

- Cream of tartar: Sprinkle onto sink and wipe with lemon juice. Bring new shine to discoloured pots by bring to boil 2 tbsp of cream of tartar in a quart of water for 10 min before setting aside to cool.

- Olive oil: Rub sink to remove streaks.

- Club soda: Just rub on stains.

For tougher stains, mix 3:1 parts of cream of tartar with hydrogen peroxide into a paste, rub it onto stain and let mixture sit for a few hours or until it is dry before wiping clean with a damp cloth. Alternatively, combine equal parts of bicarbonate soda with vinegar/water into a paste and rub into affected area before rinsing and drying with a clean cloth.

Never use scouring powders or steel wool as they will leave scratches on stainless steel.

Since I am still rather desperate, I’ll probably try all the methods!!! Ha ha ha This time I’ll be sure to remember to wear gloves to protect my hands from unsightly stains.

Still standing

Where to begin.

Money and petrol spent transporting a certain species from far off luscious green lands. Hard physical sweat laboured on the rocky clay grounds, so hard it broke a spade. Tenderly watered daily with great hopes its beauty can be shared, enjoyed and perhaps admired by all.

….only to be disappointed with a rouge vandal uprooting the entire tree and toss onto the side of the street 200 meters away. Left to perish and be decomposed at the side of the road or be picked by Alam Flora the garbage collector.

This is actually the second tree I have planted at the same spot. The 1st tree was a young weeping willow tree and was most upset as I thought someone had stolen it.

Now I realize that both trees planted outside the house have been vandalised, much to my chagrin.

To cut the story short, decided to re-plant the uprooted tree to a nearby park as the pots in my house were much too small. Millions are spent for ‘plant-a-tree’ day as part of efforts to lower global warming. Since this tree managed to survive a week above grounds – nobody bothered to ‘adopt’ the poor abandoned tree during that time – think it really deserved a second chance and a second home.

Have been checking it a few days in a row, seems to be doing well and am pretty certain it will be much safer there. I was very fortunate that I choose a good time to replant it as the grounds were very soft due to the heavy down pour earlier in the day, making the re-planting exercise very much easier.

Not giving up so easily. :) *evil grin*

Last night, decided to plant a pandanus tree in the wide gaping hole. Am hoping whoever is the culprit will give up and leave the plant alone. Haven’t we humans ravage and exploited earth’s natural resources in dangerous extremities? Why can’t we live with a little inconvenience, give back a little and appreciate nature’s beauty; knowing that in fact we will also benefit in return?

Adopt a tree, save earth!

Organic Day

For those who are interested.

CETEM which stands for Centre for Environment, Technology and Development, Malaysia is hosting a 'Hari Organik' tomorrow 3 October 2009, 9-2pm.

Venue is Section 19 - Jalan 19/15 Padang Petaling Jaya Selangor.

Making your own compost from kitchen scraps and also garbage enzyme are also part of the program activities, at 11 and 12pm respectively.

I suppose flowers, fruits and vegetables will also be sold so.....DO NOT FORGET TO bring your own shopping bags and food containers and do your part for the environment.

For more information do visit their website.


Updated:
Stalls were selling garbage enzyme, fruit enzyme, organic food, organic compost, compost bins, seedlings, plants, vegetables, crafts, books etc. Will update with some pictures later. Went back later to try and get some organic compost but was too late or they had sold out because the stalls were empty by the time I went back. Oh well.....there can always be next year or I suppose I could always knock on the doors of the HQ??

Organic food stall setting up.

Quite a crowd in this section - people selecting vegetable seedlings.

Vegetable plants.


Compost bins. Thought it was a little basic compared to the ones I've seen sold in Australia which taps the organic waste liquid separately so that you can water and ferterlize your plants.

Thought it was a good idea for this stall to wrap the vegetables in used newspapers instead of clear plastic bags, in line with the recycling theme.

Organic garbage enzyme.

Local crafts from East malaysia. Thought the scoop was just a fantastic idea, made of nipa palm leaves/stalk - cute right? So if you are ever on Survivor, this scoop may come in very handly!!

An array of organic fruit enzymes being sold.

Enzymes

Outcome of the brews.

First taste will leave you squinting with hesitation a little but after a few sips, it taste similar to a sweet port or sweet liqueur. Quite nice actually once you pass the initial taste.

Suppose to mix 2 tablespoon in a glass of warm water but it was fun sipping it neat and cold!

*Hic!* DH, who is very sensitive to alcohol, said it is slightly strong (for him) but he enjoyed it – very refreshing wor!? Ha ha ha…

Personally prefer the taste of the dragon fruit and pineapple best.

Its been interesting but have not made up my mind whether to take them daily for the long term.

Fruity brew

All for health purposes of course.

Homemade fruit enzymes are still very popular these days. I can understand why, the many beneficial qualities offered (health wise) is very attractive. Not only that it is simple and fun to make.

So what shall it be?
Apple & lemon
Orange, pineapple & lemon
Dragon fruit, grapes & strawberries
Dragon fruit & lemon
Grape & lemon
Mango, apple & lemon
Other fruits to consider include banana, kiwi, star fruit, papaya, peaches, plums, etc.

Other variations include aloe vera, red dates, wolf berries, dried longan, garlic, ginger, etc. Seems the limitation is as wide as our minds are closed (er, did you get that?)!! ha ha ha

Unless you have a fixed combination, best probably decided with a trip to the supermarket and be dictated by what’s on OFFER!!! I'll elaborate more later.

Making it is simple as long as you remember a few rules.

1. 3 parts fruits and 1 part sugar (brown slab sugar, honey, normal brown sugar or even gula Melaka is fine).
2. Wash container, utensils and fruits. Wipe and air dry them well.
3. Entire preparation process is done without any additional water since everything else is clean. This is to prevent/limit possible contamination, ie mouldiness!
4. In a clean jar, fill 1/3 sliced fruits of your choice, then add a few slabs of sugar.
5. Keep alternating fruits and sugar until jar is about 70% full.
6. End final layer with sugar.
7. Close jar, using some cling wrap at the mouth of the jar if desired.
8. Store in dark cool place giving the bottle a shake every 3 days for 3 weeks. Open the bottle to let out some gas once every 2-3 days. Note some bubbles will be evident in the early days. If the entire process is done right, the mixture will not get mouldy (hence, probably not 'safe' to consume??).
9. When ready (after 3 weeks or 21 days), sieve and bottle them. Keep in cool area or in the refrigerator to stop/retart it from turning into alcohol.
10. WAIT, don’t throw out the fruit remnants – be eco-friendly and either: a) use as compost/fertiliser for your plants or b) even exfoliate the body.
    Personally, I would go for (a) but your choice if you wanna go with (b).

Exact recipe??
Well it really depends at the end of the day what expectations you have in consuming the fruit enzyme. Just remember the above rules and the 3 parts to 1 part combination.

How to consume?
1-2 tbsp a day mixed with some tepid water.

The benefits?
Depending on the combination of fruits used – apparently the benefits are aplenty!!

Here are some that I came across in my reading:
Digestive aid, cleanse our body digestive system, stimulate blood cells production, rejuvenate the skin, reduce fat and many more.

Sounds like a real miracle cure-all doesn't it????

The brew....

Since dragon fruits were also on sale at the supermarket - got them for a dollar each, why not start with them. Btw, I’m not a fan of dragon fruit (find them somehow lacking in taste) so perhaps they might fare better as a slightly alcoholic enzyme drink, you think?

Dragon fruit, lemon and aloe vera.


Test Bottle #1 - The lemon smell is very refreshing.

The next day, star fruits were on sale - rm1.20 for 3 in a pack and couldn't resist. And so I bottled my 2nd. At this stage my family are a little concerned that I might have gone enzyme crazy - why so many bottles and even without any certainty that they will turn out properly!!

Star fruit, orange, aloe vera and wolf berries.


Bottle #2 - Was a little surprised that the star fruit smell was much stronger than the orange!

Since I had a few pineapples around which I got from a friend’s farm recently, decided to concoct a 'tropical' brew - if only I could add in some kahlua or coconut milk, I'm sure that would make a very 'refreshing' Malibu drink indeed!!

Tropical mix - Pineapple, papaya and lemon.

Test Bottle #3.

If you are wondering why there is an aloe vera stem in every brew, the reason is that I have a big pot of it and have always wanted to do something with it since it purportedly has many beneficial qualities.

Jotting down some observations on the experimental brews.

After one day, some bubbles are visible.

After 2 days, noticed that as the fruits have reduced a little, with more room at the top.

See how much the fruits have reduced by so I suppose its ok to pack the fruits full to the top (well at least in my case). Just make sure you open the cap to let out any gas after the 1st day.

The 'precious' fruit enzyme being cultivated! Note that if you are successful, there will be lots of bubbles like a fizzy can drink. *claps hands - a little excited with my dragon fruit and lemon brew*

Err, a little gross but just to share that the presence of mould may appear. If so, discard and press on ahead with fingers-crossed that it will come together at the end.

Actually, not too sure how this one will turn out at the end. Marked 'possibly contaminated'!! Ha ha

Anyway, happy experimenting and brewing. I still got at least 2 more weeks before I can taste anything. Apparently it is suppose to taste slightly alcoholic, hopefully not too fermented or yeasty! Will report back which it is. Finger crossed no one gets food poisoning ;p

Garbage enzyme formula

Apparently there are useful uses for this enzyme - noteably to clean floors and keep away insects! I'm hoping it will keep ants and cockroaches away!!

Just sharing (if any one is interested).

Ingredients (Ratio is 1:3:10 (sugar: fruit: water))
200g raw/brown sugar
600g fruit skin, raw vegetables
2 litre water

Source: picture obtained from reading source referred below.

Method:

1. Mix sugar with water.
   
2. When sugar fully dissolved, put in fruit skin, raw vegetables etc. (Cut into small pieces first).



3. Make sure there is room at the top of the bottle for fermentation.
   
4. Don't fill it too full (leave some space/gap at the top).




5. Close cover.
   
6. Every day open the cover to let out the 'smell or gas'. Repeat until no further 'smell or gas' comes out. Give the compost a turn or quick mix.
   
7. Keep covered for 3 months. If there is mold, don't worry, continue to stir and mix it up.

For further reading including uses, click here.

I am going to start my first 'brew' soon, will report back later (3 months later that is!!).