Stains in the Country

Blood stains can ruin clothing (and linens). Here's a list of 5 DOs and DON'Ts regarding blood stains:







1. DO NOT wash in HOT water; hot water will SET the stain.
2. DO NOT use chlorine bleach; this chemical will only turn the blood stain brown.
3. DO rinse as soon as possible in COLD water; even if you rinse only the stained area.
4. DO pour a small amount of hydrogen peroxide directly onto the stain; you don't even have to dig out your oxy based laundry product.
5. DO let the stain+water+hydrogen peroxide set for a few minutes then rinse and hang to dry.
Now you can launder as usual.
This process works on all types of fabrics that are washable.
Let the professionals handle blood stains on Dry-Clean-Only products.

© 2015 Cat Brennan

Cakes in the Country

Making a good cake GREAT can be simple.  

For a chocolate cake, add a couple of handfuls of chocolate chips. Substitute part (or all) of the liquid with a favorite liqueur such as Creme de Cacao or Creme de Menthe ..

Just the other day, I made a Rum Cake from my niece's recipe. The original recipe calls for making it in a bundt pan.  In talking with my niece, Maria, we agreed that this makes a deep cake, resulting in huge slices, so she sometimes makes it in two, single layer cake pans, then finishes with the rum syrup dipping.  I like the look of a bundt pan - it's just pretty. So, I made the best of two worlds. I baked and thoroughly cooled the cake. THEN, I sliced it in half, and continued with the rum-syrup dipping.
You can use this method with any bundt or angel food pan. Using an electric knife, you could slice an angel food cake into three layers and fill with raspberry jam, topping it off with raspberry icing; maybe jazz it up a bit with a shot of Chambord (Raspberry liqueur) in your icing. Yummy.

all rights reserved © 2015 Cat Brennan