Caring for wooden spoons and other wooden kitchen tools

This post was so informative I had to repost it.

Caring for Wooden Kitchen Tools

Here is the link to the original post: http://www.3191milesapart.com/?p=1533

Happy New Year! I do love a fresh start (it’s why I love mornings too). Right now I feel energized to change and to try new things, while at the same time, to simplify and to focus my energies. I know that I can’t possibly keep up with all that I have swirling around in my head, but it’s great to start the year out so earnestly, with all the best intentions. January is a time when I really love to clean up, pare down and develop new rhythms and habits.

Last weekend I gathered all my wooden spoons, bowls, cutting boards and serving pieces and polished everything with spoon oil. Spoon oil protects the wood from drying, cracking, staining and collecting unwanted bacteria. It was a really relaxing activity and would be safe and fun for even small children (the making of the spoon oil would be for adults-only, but the polishing is totally kid-friendly).

Spoon oil is a blend of beeswax and mineral oil and is completely food safe and non-toxic. I made my own, but you can also buy it bottled. I developed my spoon oil recipe after lurking around a few woodworking message boards when we were installing our wood countertops in our kitchen (which are also finished with spoon oil). All you need is natural beeswax (check craigslist or your farmer’s market for a local supply) and mineral oil  which is sold in the laxative section of the pharmacy or supermarket (right there next to the milk of magnesia). For every 16 ounce bottle of mineral oil, I used about a quarter of a pound of beeswax (that’s a one pound brick in the photo). This makes a quart jar of spoon oil which should last you quite a while if you’re just treating kitchen items.

In a large sauce pan of boiling water, I placed a quart mason jar with my beeswax (a quarter of a pound) cut into small chunks. Once the wax was melted, I placed another jar with the 16 ounces of mineral oil in the water to gently heat. Then I poured the mineral oil in with the beeswax and allowed them to continue to heat and emulsify, gently stirring until smooth and even. Take your jar out of the water bath, allow to cool and it’s ready to use.

To treat the wood, you may want to sand surfaces that are stained or nubbly with fine grit sandpaper, then simply dip your hands into the spoon oil (it’s a thick consistency) and rub into the wood. Any spoon oil left on your hands can be just massaged into your skin (it actually makes a great moisturizer for weather-beaten winter hands). Allow the wood to sit and absorb the oil for anywhere from a few hours to a few days, then buff dry with a clean cloth. That’s it!

Wishing everyone happy new routines for the new year, whatever they may be.

Vole trapping

I had some luck baiting mouse traps with peanut butter and locating them at the entrance to vole networks.  I placed a pot over the trap upside down and put a rock on top to keep other animals or birds from injuring themselves trying to get to the peanut butter.  I did manage to kill several.  And I did have a possum or raccoon discover one.  I will be repeating in the future.

Voles-My new nemesis

So last year in early spring I found one of my rose bushes laying on the ground.  It looked like it had been chewed off at the base by a miniature beaver.  I proceeded to lose three dwarf nandina, another rose, some iris rhizomes,  and about half of a decorative grass.  I also recalled an Autumn Joy sedum that looked as if it had been eaten from the ground up the previous summer.  I had no idea what was eating my plants but I had suspicions.  As spring progressed to summer I did not find any more eaten plants.  And I hoped I was in the clear.  Well just a couple of weeks ago I noticed one of my rose bushes leaning over and when I touched it, it was not attached to any roots so I knew my pest was back.  I've come to believe the culprit to be meadow mice or voles,  I know they are in my yard since my cat Max has brought me one as a present.  But I'm surprised at the extent of the damage they have caused.  The nandina they killed last year were 10 year old plants and not easily replaced because of their size.  I'm currently considering making wire boxes to place in the ground in which to place my roses, in hopes this will prevent further damage.  In the meantime I've been dumping coffee grounds around the base of my roses in hopes it will change the taste since they seem to really love these particular plants.

Where have all the Japanese Beetles gone

So I wanted to get a photo of a Japanese beetle.  But since I've been looking for then they seem to have all disappeared.  I'll keep looking and maybe I'll finally get a photo.

Four O Clocks

I have some wonderful Four O clocks growing at the back of my garden.  They are fairly prolific and I make sure I pull seedlings up when they appear where they are not wanted.  Here in middle Tennessee they reappear each year as a perennial. They can be planted from seed very easily and will produce a nice size plant within a single growing season.  And I have passed along transplants without any trouble.  They produce a carrot type root and the older the plant the bigger the "carrot".  I have been trying to identify the variety I have growing.  These were plants I enherited with the purchase of our home.  I thought I had seen the pink and yellow variety referred to as Kaleidoscope at one point  but after some additional research it appears Kaleidoscope may include some additional color variations that my plants do not. My plants may be Marbles red and yellow.  My plants seem to have no fragrance though fragrance is mentioned in many descriptions of Four o clocks.  My boys call the seeds grenades since they are black and seem to be shaped like miniature grenades and even have similar markings.  They make a great color splash when they start opening in the late evening and I occasionally even get to see hummingbirds visiting for a lated evening meal.

June Bug in Tennessee

I have commonly spoken to people who confuse Japanese beetles and June bugs.  I can understand the confusion since both are a dark green beetle.  But the Japanese beetle is much more prolific and does a great deal more damage.  These beetles are typically half the size of our native June bug beetle and appear very metallic where the June bug has a much more velveteen appearance.  I have seen very few June bugs since becoming an adult and moving to a less rural area.  But I have a privet bush, that's more like a tree, that seems to leaking sap and I have seen a number of interesting insects and butterflies enjoying this food source including several June bugs.  I'll add a photo of a Japanese beetle later for a side by side comparison

Siamese/Double headed Shasta Daisy

I had noticed one clump of shasta daisies has been exhibiting siamese or double headed flowers.  As I was walking through my gardens after a late afternoon rain shower I found a triple headed flower in one of my other clumps.