Contrary to Popular Belief, Mayonnaise Doesn’t Spoil Easily

It’s been drilled in our heads since childhood: Mayonnaise spoils easily, especially during the summer. According to the Association for Dressings & Sauces – yes there is such an organization – nothing could be further from the truth. When packing your picnic basket, mayonnaise is one of the safest and most health-friendly products you can bring, and according to the association, here's why:

More than 60 years of research has proven that commercially prepared mayonnaise does not cause foodborne illness.

Commercial mayonnaise and mayonnaise-type dressings contain pasteurized eggs and are prepared under strict quality control guidelines.

Additional ingredients such as vinegar and lemon juice create a high-acid environment that slows or even stops bacterial growth.

Commercial mayonnaise is perfectly stable when stored at room temperature; however, refrigeration ensures the mayonnaise maintains its fresh flavor for a longer period of time.

With so many varieties available, including light and low-fat, mayonnaise can be part of a well-balanced diet, meeting anyone's dietary needs. The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends increased use of oils to replace solid fats, where possible. Mayonnaise was highlighted as a food that contains oil. Commercial mayonnaise is made with healthy oils such as soybean, canola and olive. Mayonnaise also contains Omega 3 fatty acids and is free of trans fats.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture offers these tips to ensure your next picnic is a success:

Clean. Most foodborne illnesses are related to improper hand washing. If facilities are unavailable, wet wipes or a hand sanitizer will reduce germs. Wash your hands before cooking, after touching raw meat, fish, or chicken; and after visiting the restroom.

Separate. Cross-contamination during preparation, grilling and serving is a prime cause of foodborne illness. Wrap raw meats securely, and avoid raw meat juices coming into contact with ready-to-eat food. Wash any dishes that held the raw meat or poultry before using again for cooked food or to handle vegetables. Make sure all produce used in salads and sandwiches are fresh and properly washed.

Keep cold foods cold and hot foods hot. Transport cold foods in an insulated cooler with ice packs. Cook meat and poultry completely at the picnic site to prohibit bacteria growth. Refrigerate leftovers within two hours when the temperature in the food serving area is below 90 degrees F, and within one hour when the temperature is above 90 degrees F.

The Association for Dressings & Sauces is an international trade association representing salad dressing, mayonnaise, and condiment sauce manufacturers and suppliers. Visit www.dressings-sauces.org to learn more about mayonnaise and to download the brochure, "Make Mine Mayonnaise!"


SOURCE The Association for Dressings & Sauces via PR Newswire

Create With Paint

Just in time for Memorial Day, here’s an idea for rustic bird house. I’m not much of a birdhouse fan, but when I find something irresistibly cheap, I grab it and stash it away. I never know when I might come up with a use for it.

When I created this piece, I didn’t set out to create a patriot piece, it just turned out that way. I was more interested in trying out some new painting techniques, so let’s talk about what I learned doing this piece.

I wanted to experiment with staining over paint. With masking tape, I striped off a wide columns on the sides and back so I could compare the painted stain against the stain over the unfinished wood. I painted the untapped sides a bright red. Just for contrast, I painted the front a bright blue. I put down three coats and let the paint dry between each layer. When the paint was completely dry – about 24 hours, I rubbed in the stain, a cherry wood, with a terry cloth rag. Again, I applied three coats, waiting a day between each coat. (Note: make sure to wear rubber gloves when working with stain. It’s sticky and doesn’t come off easily.)

I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome: a convincingly weathered look. Still it didn’t look finished. I glued down some unfinished pre cut wood stars to the front. Once glued down, I applied the stain. Unfortunately, the stars are light balsam wood, a different wood from the birdhouse, and would take the stain. I applied a couple of coats before giving up and painting the stars white. It was more difficult painting the stars after they were already fixed to the birdhouse, but I couldn’t pry them off either. After the paint dried, I layer stain on top of that.

I’m pretty happy with the end result, considering I didn’t have an end result in mind. Sometimes, you just have to experiment. Who knows what you’ll come up with. I’m likely to repeat this technique for something for fall or Halloween.

Patriotic Picture Frames

Shortly after Christmas, I picked up several wooden frames just because they were on clearance cheap. They were destine for craft stash, but ended up in the floor of my craft room. This week, I got tired of tripping over them and decided to create something for my summer decorating theme.

There’s all sorts of summer decorating themes… beach and fruit are two of the most popular. I go a different direction. From Memorial Day to Labor Day, my interior decorating them is patriotic. By decorating around a patriotic theme, I cover all of the major summer holidays – Memorial Day, Fouth of July and even Flag Day.
For this framing project I drew inspiration from my Texas Star and Rustic Valentine. I also was able to use a lot of the crafting supplies leftover from those projects, including the paint, the small star cut outs and the wooden lettering, which coincidently are patriotic colors. I had a pile of kid and grandkid photos that would fit into the theme as well.

First I match the frames to the photos. Then I matched the paint to the colors or theme in the photo. For the baseball photo, I painted the frame Texas Ranger red. The other photos seemed to work best with the bright blue. I painted all of the frames at once, and allowed them to dry.

While the frames dried, I sorted through my leftover letters to spell out something that made sense. “Made in Texas” and “My Airman” were obvious – and I was lucky enough to have all the letters I needed. “USA” was easy as well, but picking out something baseball-y, well that required the assistance of John. For two or three days, we struggled with words. John desperately wanted to spell out “Slugger,” but I didn’t have all the required letters – and I was determined to use up what I had rather than buy more. Then we tried “First Base,” and “Coach.” Finally John pieced together “Homerun” and that fit!

We used silver metatic acrylic craft paint on the pre-cut wood letters and some of the small pre-cut stars and bright red on larger pre-cut stars I purchased at Michael’s. Once dry, about six hours, I glued the letters stars to the frame using wood glue. When the glue had set up, about two hours, I sealed the whole thing by painting it with a layer of white craft glue and let it dry overnight.

Once the frames were dry, I trimmed the photos to fit inside the frames and then using masking tape, sealed the backsides so the photos could be handled without falling out.

Made in the USA Cotton

Over the 4^th of July holiday Cotton Incorporated – the cotton industry association - and local Florida radio station got folks to wear cotton red, white, or blue tee shirts and stand in the shape of a U.S. flag.

Normally, I’d blow past yawn-invoking publicity stunts, but this one happens to fall into the realm of one of my crusades – driving awareness for products made in the U.S.A. According to the news release, the t-shirts were made in the U.S.A. by North Carolina-based TSDesigns from cotton made in the U.S.A.

From the news release: “Cotton Incorporated, famous for its ‘The Fabric Of Our Lives®’ advertising campaign, cites its ongoing Lifestyle Monitor™ survey as an indicator that cotton is the fabric of our lives in the United States.”

According to the survey:

83 percent of consumers agree that cotton and cotton blends are the fibers best suited for today's fashions

Nearly six out of 10 consumers (58 percent) are bothered that brands and retailers may be substituting synthetic fibers for in denim jeans, followed by tee shirts (56 percent), and sweatshirts/hoodies (53 percent); and

58 percent of consumers say they would be willing to pay a slightly higher price to keep cotton from being substituted with synthetic fibers in their tee shirts, followed by 57 percent saying the same for denim jeans, and 50 percent for sweatshirts/hoodies.

The Monitor survey shows that 60 percent of respondents feel that clothing made in theU.S.A. is of higher quality than clothing imported from other countries. Interjecting a personal thought here – I tend to agree. Even fabric made in the U.S.A tends to feel and wear better than imports. When shopping for sewing projects, I try to find fabrics made in America, but it’s hard.

"Today, less than five percent of apparel sold in the U.S.A. is actually made in the U.S.A.," said Eric Henry, President of TSDesigns. Based in Burlington, N.C. TSDesigns is a sources local cotton for its apparel products, which are then made – and sold – within the United States. "Seeing a U.S. flag made up of citizens wearing our tee shirts, which are made in America, is inspiring for all of us at TSDesigns. Hopefully the image of it will inspire all Americans to look more locally for their apparel needs.”

Source:  Cotton Incorporated via PR Newswire (http://s.tt/1h41m)

Mother's Day Ideas

Fun Mother's Day Fact: The U.S. Congress officially designated the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day in 1914.

John and I were watching Suburgatory the other day, the Mother’s Day episode where each of the husbands with reluctant kids in tow try to outdo each other in making mom feel like a pampered queen. That would NEVER happen in my household. I’m lucky if I get text message.

I don’t want much… In fact most mothers don’t want anything more than quality time with their kids. According to a Wakefield Research study (conducted for Godiva Coffee), “87 percent of Americans (moms included) believe it's the quality of time spent with Mom, not the quantity of time, that's most important.”

Godiva Coffee has three under $15 gift ideas that go along with spending time with Mom:

Surprise her with breakfast in bed: Nothing shows your love for Mom like waking up before she does to prepare her a delicious breakfast. Of course Godiva Coffee needs be in the coffee pot. Oh and clean up the kitchen afterwards.

Work yourself into her schedule for a day: Help Mom run her errands or be her chauffeur to enjoy the great conversation that comes while driving around together doing everyday things. This might be a good time to find out who your mom is.

Stroll down memory lane: Sit down with Mom and view old photo albums and/or videos to reminisce. Find out who Mom was before you came along. If you’re a good kid, help Mom scan them onto a computer to share on Facebook.

The Godiva Coffee Mother's Day Survey was conducted by Wakefield Research among 1,000 American adults, ages 18 and older, between April 6 and April 12, using an email invitation and an online survey. Quotas have been set to ensure reliable and accurate representation of the U.S. adult population 18 and older. Wakefield Research is a global market research consultancy that advises clients throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia Source: Godiva Coffee via PR Newswire (http://s.tt/1aAeL)

The Serious Teddy Bear Company also has some Mother’s Day idea, particularly for those who live to far apart to visit on that day. The first suggestion is the obvious: cards, flowers and chocolates. Not very creative, but still suitable.

Then there’s the greener, cheaper version: Personalized message online e-card services . Free versions of video animation software also are available that allow kids – and spouses - to upload family photos and even brief video clips.

The next best thing to visiting mom on Mother's Day is to talk with her face-to-face on a live video chat. Take advantage of online services that offer free computer-to-computer video calls. The news release says “This experience will blow her away, especially if she gets to see her out-of-state grandkids for ‘the first time in ages.’” (I guess they’re assuming moms aren’t that technology savvy – shaking head.)

Source: The Serious Teddy Bear Co, via PRnewswire http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/make-mom-feel-loved-on-mothers-day-even-from-hundreds-of-miles-away-147786575.html

How about these ideas:

Buy her a flat of flowers and plant them

Frame a picture of yourself, yourself and your siblings and/or the grandkids

Make the frame for the above pictures

Lunch

Make a cement cast of your hand or your foot, yeah even if you’re grown.

Wow! I need to get to posting some how to’s, don’t I?