Recent Posts
- Ask sight loss coach Donna J. Jodhan – A good type of whisk to use, using a hand grater
- A must read! The Monthly News Round Up For world renown Award Winning Advocate, Sight Loss Coach and Author Donna J. Jodhan
- Ask scam watcher Donna J. Jodhan – see what to look out for in October
- A Must-Read – New and Exciting Tips from the Sterling Creations Team
- A Bit of This and a Bit of That from Donna’s “Did You Know, Diary?” – September 2024
Recent Comments
No comments to show.Archives
- October 2024
- September 2024
- August 2024
- July 2024
- June 2024
- May 2024
- April 2024
- March 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- December 2023
- November 2023
- October 2023
- September 2023
- August 2023
- July 2023
- June 2023
- May 2023
- April 2023
- March 2023
- February 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- August 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- August 2019
- July 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- July 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
Categories
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Hello there and welcome to our monthly feature of all kinds of tips. We at the business desk are pleased to bring you our monthly feature of a plethora of tips that cover a wide range of topics. All of our tips are designed to help you save time, cut down on your research, and help you get ahead. So go ahead and read on. This week we bring you our monthly tips. It's what we do for a living! We help you to help yourself! Enjoy! From the business desk team at https://www.sterlingcreations.com. Follow us on Twitter @accessibleworld +++++++++++++++ Helpful tips for April 2022 In this issue: General tips Articles of the day * make it better yourself – homemade coffee creamer From the pages of Donna's travel diary * Using an accessible travel app _________________________ General tips Courtesy of the research team at http://www.sterlingcreations.ca Scams of the month: Before giving you our scam tips of the month, here are some very valueable tips. You need to remember that scams come in the following formats: As emails, as phone calls both recorded and via a live caller, and o yes! It can even show up at your door and in your mailbox. And now they are targeting us through texts being sent to our cell phones. Before giving you the latest scams making the rounds; we have some do nots to share with you. Do not respond to emails that look strange to you. Do not download attachments from unknown senders. Do not share your username and password to your online banking and any other online payments facilities with anyone. Do not give out any banking or personal details on the phone to unknown callers. Do not pay any attention to threats from automated phone recordings or from live persons with regard to your credit card or that you owe money to any revenue agency. Do not entertain any offers either via email or by phone from senders and callers offering incredible service packages as they may pertain to cable and tv services, prizes that you have won, or any sort of any type of service package. Do not answer the door to unknown callers. Take extra caution to make sure that the details of your credit cards and debit cards are fully protected when you make payments at restaurants or at stores, pharmacies, and elsewhere. Do not enter your password for Facebook or Twitter in response to a text request on your cell phone. The same if you are asked for your Apple ID. Do not fall prey to a text message telling you that your banking details have been compromised online. From Melanie mama Peach with huge thanks: 1) Best Of Helpful Hints: The Kitchen Cleanups/For The Drops And Disasters, Plus Some Of The Ordinary Dreary Messes Tea Kettles * To rid of lime deposits, fill with equal parts vinegar and water. Bring to a boil and allow to stand overnight. _____ 2) Best Of Helpful Hints: The Kitchen Cleanups/For The Drops And Disasters, Plus Some Of The Ordinary Dreary Messes Thermos Bottles * Put 1 teaspoon baking soda in bottle, fill with warm water and soak a few minutes before washing in usual manner. _____ 3) Best Of Helpful Hints: The Kitchen Cleanups/For The Drops And Disasters, Plus Some Of The Ordinary Dreary Messes Tin Pie Pans * Remove rust by dipping a raw potato in cleaning powder and scouring. _____ 4) Best Of Helpful Hints: The Kitchen Keeping Food Fresh Lettuce And Celery * Lettuce and celery will keep longer if you store them in the refrigerator in paper bags instead of cellophane ones. Do not remove the outisde leaves of either until ready to use. * Lettuce won't rust as quickly if you place a paper towel or napkin in the storage container. * Line the bottom of the vegetable compartments with paper toweling. This absorbs the excess moisture and keeps all fruits and vegetables fresher for a longer period of time. _____ 5) Best Of Helpful Hints: The Kitchen Keeping Food Fresh – Sprouting Onions * To keep dry onions from sprouting and becoming soft, wrap individually in foil. They will stay firm for some time. _____ 6) Best Of Helpful Hints: The Kitchen Keeping Food FreshToo Many Peeled Potatoes * Cover them with cold water to which a few drops of vinegar have been added. Keep refrigerated and they will last for 3 to 4 days. * Leftover baked potatoes will sour quickly if stacked together in the refrigerator. _____ 7) Best Of Helpful Hints: The Kitchen Keeping Food Fresh Garlic * Garlic cloves will never dry out if you store them in a bottle of cooking oil. After the garlic is used up, you can use the garlic-flavored oil for salad dressing. _____ 8) Best Of Helpful Hints: The Kitchen Keeping Food Fresh: Cheese * To keep cheese from drying out, wrap in a cloth damped with vinegar. _____ 9) Best Of Helpful Hints: The Kitchen Keeping Food Fresh Milk * Don't pour milk from the pitcher or glasses back into the carton. The room temperature milk may cause the colder milk to sour. _____ 10) Best Of Helpful Hints: The Kitchen Keeping Food Fresh Brown Sugar * Store in plastic bag. Wrap tightly. Place in coffee can with snap-on lid. _____ 11) Best Of Helpful Hints: The Kitchen Keeping Food Fresh Cocoa * A glass jar is an ideal container for storing cocoa products. It keeps the flavor in and unwanted odors out. Be sure to store in a dry cool place. Moisture will cause cocoa to lump. _____ 12) Best Of Helpful Hints: The Kitchen Keeping Food Fresh Cake * Place one-half an apple in the cake box. * Placing a slice of fresh bread fastened with toothpicks to the cut edge of a cake will keep the cake from drying out and getting stale. _____ From Donna – Some very useful tips on using Alexa: 3) Hey Alexa A.) Alexa can help recommend local businesses by hours of operation, delivery, rating, and more. Just say, "Alexa, find restaurants that are open now." B.) You can now choose between Alexa's original voice and a new voice option in Alexa's default voice settings. Just say, "Alexa, change your voice." C.) Speaker groups allow you to play music, podcasts, and news on multiple Echo devices at once, providing a multi-room audio experience. In the Alexa app, you can create custom speaker groups, such as "Upstairs," "Bedrooms," or "Downstairs." Just say, "Alexa, play music everywhere." _________________________ Articles of the day Chosen by the Business Desk team make it better yourself: homemade coffee creamer Cream. It’s coffee’s perfect mate. And when that creamer comes flavored in a handy bottle from the dairy case, even more perfect, right? Oh, but so pricey! Generally, popular brands like Coffeemate, International Delight, Dunkin Donuts Extra Extra and Natural Bliss retail for $.10 to $.30 per ounce. Ouch! But you can make it yourself for a fraction of the price—and it is so easy. The hard part will be not using it all at once. Bonus: You’ll know exactly what’s in it and you can control sweetness and the flavors, too. Stored in the refrigerator in a glass bottle or similar container with the tight-fitting in the refrigerator, homemade coffee creamer is good for at least 10 to 14 days. Generally, homemade coffee creamers start with a base to which you add sweetener and flavor. There are two ways to make coffee creamer base—one that starts out sweet (Base Recipe #1) and one that is not sweet to start (Base Recipe #2). CREAMER RECIPES USING BASE RECIPE #1 Creamer Base Recipe #1: This recipe uses sweetened condensed milk. The most popular national brand is Eagle Sweetened Condensed Milk. Another is La Lechera Milk Condensed Sweetened. I use my store brand, Kroger Sweetened Condensed Milk, which is exactly the same as Eagle brand, but half the price of Eagle and often on sale for even less—about $1.59 for a 14-ounce can. Here’s the deal with sweetened condensed milk. No matter the brand it contains are only two ingredients: milk and sugar. Ingredients include: 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk 1 3/4 cup whole milk Directions: Pour ingredients into a one-quart canning jar. Apply the lid. Shake well until ingredients are fully combined. From here you simply add whatever flavorings (below) to create your favorite sweet, flavored coffee creamer. Each recipe the follows assumes you are adding the stated ingredients to one full recipe of Creamer Base #1. Start with the flavoring amounts below, then you may want to adjust to match your taste. If you want a sweeter creamer, add sugar, blue agave or other sweetener of choice. Want it creamier? Substitute half and half or even heavy cream for the whole milk in Creamer Base #1. Just realize this will increase the fat content substantially. Note: If a recipe calls for a dry ingredient, such as cocoa powder, a spice cinnamon or a thick ingredient like honey, heat a small amount of the base along with these items in a small sauce pan to dissolve those Ingredients so they will be absorbed into the base. Pour the finished creamer through a fine sieve to remove any tiny solids or bits of spice that main remain. Now you won’t have them floating in your coffee. 1. French Vanilla Ingredients include 2 teaspoons (more or less to taste) pure vanilla extract Vanilla Bean 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste Mocha 2 to 3 tablespoons chocolate syrup, to taste 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract Chocolate Almond 1 tablespoon cocoa powder 1 teaspoon almond extract Strudel 1 tablespoon cinnamon 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon almond extract Vanilla Caramel 2 tablespoons caramel ice cream topping 2 teaspoons vanilla extract Chocolate Raspberry 2 teaspoons cocoa powder 2 tablespoons raspberry syrup 2. Irish Cream Ingredients include 2 tablespoons chocolate syrup 1 teaspoon instant coffee 1-2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 teaspoon almond extract Coconut 2 teaspoons coconut extract 3. Samoa Ingredients include 2 teaspoons coconut extract (or sub coconut milk or cream of coconut, heated & strained, for the milk/cream) 2 tablespoons chocolate syrup 2 tablespoons caramel ice cream topping 4. Peppermint Patty Ingredients include 2 tablespoons chocolate syrup 1 teaspoon peppermint extract Cinnamon Vanilla 2 teaspoons cinnamon 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 5. Pumpkin Spice Ingredients include 3 tablespoons pureed pumpkin 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice 4 tablespoons maple syrup 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 6. Honey Vanilla Ingredients include 1/4 cup honey 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 7. Almond Joy Ingredients include 1 to 2 teaspoons coconut extract 1 teaspoon almond extract 2 tablespoons chocolate syrup 8. Sweet Cream Ingredients include Use 1 3/4 cups heavy cream in please of the whole milk in the base recipe 2 teaspoons vanilla extract OR the inside of a vanilla bean, scraped 1 teaspoon almond extract Chocolate Orange 2 tablespoons chocolate syrup 1 to 2 teaspoons orange extract 9. Hazelnut Ingredients include 2 teaspoons hazelnut extract Chocolate Hazelnut 2 tablespoons chocolate syrup 2 teaspoons hazelnut extract 10. Cinnamon Cake Ingredients include 2 teaspoons cinnamon 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 11. Salted Caramel Ingredients include 2 to 3 tablespoons caramel ice cream topping 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste 12. Eggnog Ingredients include Replace milk in base recipe with equal amount of heavy cream 1 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 teaspoons rum extract 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg 13. Toasted Almond Ingredients include 2 teaspoons almond extract CREAMER RECIPES USING BASE RECIPE #2 Creamer Base Recipe #2: This base is unsweetened which gives you a lot of control for how sweet you wish your homemade creamer to be—and the type of sweetener you prefer. Choices include sugar, stevia, blue agave and even maple syrup, for starters Ingredients: 1 cup heavy whipping cream 1 cup whole milk Directions: Whisk together until fully combined or pour into a Mason jar, apply lid tightly then shake to combine. Store in the refrigerator. From here you simply add whatever flavorings (below) to create your favorite sweet, flavored coffee creamer. Double even triple this recipe as you desire. Curiously, this may appear to be a complicated way to make half and half, and you’re partially correct. However, starting with heavy whipping cream makes a creamier, slightly thicker result, which I prefer and you may as well. Note: If a recipe calls for a dry ingredient, such as cocoa powder, a spice like cinnamon or a thick ingredient like honey, pour all ingredients into a sauce pan and head over medium heat to dissolve those ingredients so they will be absorbed into the base. Pour the finished creamer through a fine sieve to remove any tiny solids or bits of spice that may remain. Now you won’t have them floating in your coffee. 1. Strudel Ingredients include 2 cups Creamer Base #2 4 tablespoons maple syrup 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 teaspoon almond extract 2. Chocolate Almond Ingredients include 2 cups Creamer Base #2 2 tablespoons cocoa powder 4 tablespoons blue agave, sugar or maple syrup 1 teaspoon almond extract 3. Pumpkin Spice Ingredients include 2 cups Creamer Base #2 3 tablespoons pureed pumpkin 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice 4 tablespoons maple syrup 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Whisk together creamer base, pumpkin, pumpkin spice, and maple syrup in a medium saucepan over medium heat. When mixture begins to steam, remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Strain through a fine mesh sieve, pour into a glass bottle and store in the refrigerator. 5. French Vanilla Ingredients include 2 cups Creamer Base #2 4 tablespoons blue agave (or maple syrup) 1 vanilla bean Whisk together creamer base and maple syrup in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cut vanilla bean in half, and scrape out seeds. Add seeds and vanilla bean to milk mixture. Turn off heat, cover the pot and steep for 30 minutes. After mixture has steeped, strain through a fine mesh sieve, pour into a glass bottle and store in the refrigerator. 6. Peppermint Mocha Ingredients include 2 cups Creamer Base #2 4 tablespoons sugar, blue agave or maple syrup, to taste 3 tablespoons cocoa powder 1 teaspoon peppermint extract Consider all of these flavoring ideas to be just the tip of the delicious coffee “iceberg!” The possibilities are endless. As you come up with new flavor pairing and delicious options, please share! Enjoy! www.everydaycheapskate.com _________________________ From the pages of Donna's diary Using an accessible travel app I can tell you that there are several of these out there to choose from. From those that will tell you what's in your immediate area or surrounding to those that can help you to navigate your area. Each of these apps comes highly recommended. They are jam packed with details for your pleasure and there are even those that go beyond the call of duty. For example, the one that I am thinking of enables you to interact with live agents who can help you to identify objects, documents, and so much more. Heck, there are those that can help you to do such things as identify colours, help you find your hotel room when used correctly, and those that will give you approximations of distances between you and a specific location. You can even use some of these apps to help you navigate the contents of your suitcase, your room, and so much more. All of this has helped to make travel more enjoyable for a blind/vision impaired person. I'm Donna J. Jodhan enjoying my travels. To learn more about me as a sight loss coach and author visit http://www.donnajodhan.com On your next trip you could enrich your down time with some of my audio mysteries. Take them with you wherever you go! In the car, on the plane, on the bus or train, at the beach, anywhere! Affordable, portable, (computer or i device) and you could either purchase or Subscribe for unlimited access to my library at www.donnajodhan.com/store.html and you can now take advantage of our free downloads here. Follow me on Twitter @accessibleworld and at author_jodhan And like me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/donnajodhan and at www.facebook.com/authordonnajo dhan
Posted in Uncategorized
Leave a comment