Recycling Uncycled

I saw an interesting item on Sky News recently – in England a huge quantity of paper that had been prepared and sent abroad to a recycling plant, was returned to England as the plant had no more recycling capacity available. In England apparently the situation was the same and the program spoke about incinerating the paper.

Surely this is the moment to take stock of what we are producing: huge unnecessary packaging for small goods, newspapers that no-one can finish reading before the next day's paper arrives, journals containing more advertising than articles – in particular here I point to the different women's journals. Worth thinking about and taking stock.

Labeling

Are you like me, tucking away in the freezer some small carefully packed leftover or a single schnitzel or fish, and then when it has frozen solid you cannot tell the difference between one item and another? If so, then I suggest you go out and buy a packet of self-adhesive labels and every time you put a package in the freezer stick on one of the small labels, writing in ink what it is and also the date. Don't try to put such a label on something already frozen – it won't stick. I also do this with a lot of my tinned goods – writing the date of purchase - as I tend to buy quantities when the particular items I need are on a discount sale.

Baking a Cake Hint

If you want to know if your cake is really ready to come out of the oven, the best method I have found is not only to check the center with a wooden spill but also to see if the sides of the cake are starting to pull away/shrink from the baking tin.

Rubber Bands

Among my important accessories in the kitchen are the small rubber bands (no.22) for resealing all kinds of packaged foodstuffs such as rice, pasta, coffee, flour, where I have used only a quantity of the goods. I purchase these bands by the box for about 4 shekels per 100 grams. (which will keep you going for ages) obtainable at Office Depot and almost all other office supply stores.

Pillows

I needed to change my pillows from those holofill ones that, after about six months, turn into small balls and bought a new pillow consisting of 80% down and 20% feathers. Very nice and very soft. However after fitting them into the corresponding size pillow case i.e. 50 x 70 cms, the softness disappeared as the pillow had nowhere to expand. Why don't manufacturers of pillowcases take into account that pillows have different thickness sizes as well as width and length?

By the way, for those interested, Kitan has opened a factory outlet at 85, Medinat Ha'Yehudim Street, Herzliya Pituach, tel: 09 958 9047. Opening hours: Sun. – Thurs. 10.00 – 21.00, Fri. and Holidays 10.00 – 15.00, Saturdays 10.00 – 22.00.

The goods are the same excellent quality – mainly export rejects and they also have some American size sheets. This is where I bought my down pillow. Definitely worth a visit.