Some Tips for maintaining cooker!

I use Pressure cooker every day at least once and sometimes twice. Here are some things I follow to maintain my pressure cooker

Do Not release pressure manually

I have seen people release pressure manually to reduce waiting time. But this affects the durability of the gasket and it normally expands in size. This will lead to longer cooking time and replacement of gasket. If you want to release pressure, run cool water on the cooker and allow pressure to release quickly

Use a slice of lemon

I slice a lemon into an inch size piece every other day and drop it in the cooker and use the cooker as usual.. This ensures that there is no water/burnt marks that is left behind  in the cooker. It also makes the cooker smell great. (Also see  When Life gives you lemons post)

Washing a cooker
remove the gasket from the cooker. This is important because food gets accumulated under the gasket and its important to remove that wash it before we store it away.

Storing cooker

At the end of the day, drain water from the cooker, wash and let  all the parts  dry (cooker,lid and gasket) before assembling and storing it.

When life gives you Lemons!

                                 

When life gives you Lemons you do do a whole lot with them! :)

I love lemons for so many reasons like  their color, smell, health and functional benefits!

I always have 2-3 lemons at home!

We all know lemon juice is the most refreshing drink and my favorite is cucmber-lemon - mint juice, try it if you haven't. Its the real thirst quencher and loads u with enough vitamins.

Today am going to talk about the other things we can use lemon for other than   food.

For the Skin 

1. Mix 1 spoonful of  white/Brown sugar with 1 spoonful of lemon and 1 spoon- honey and use this as a scrub on your face, hands, feet atleast once a week to remove dead skin. This makes the skin well nourished and soft. The nibbling feeling is normal when lemon touches any part of the skin. But like always just do a patch test to make sure its not allergic to your skin.

2. cut a wedge from a lemon and after a warm shower slightly squeeze and rub it in the underarm area, this lightens the skin color and also works as a natural deodorant. Again,the nibbling feeling is normal when lemon touches any part of the skin. But like always just do a patch test to make sure its not allergic to your skin.

For Deodorizing

1. I do this every other day. I cut a  slice of a lemon and  drop it in the sink and run hot water while I have the garbage disposal on. This takes of any odour that comes from the sink.

2. If  you get an unpleasant odor from your refrigerator, Take a small plate squeeze out some lemon juice and leave a fairly big piece of the lemon with the juice inside the fridge and the odor will be reduced considerably.

For vessels/surfaces

1. If you have hard water marks or any scotch marks on the inside of your vessel. Then, fill the vessel with water, squeeze a piece of  lemon and drop the piece in the water and let it boil well. This will help remove stain/grease(from pans) easily.
2. Squeeze and rub a cut lemon on stainless steel sink/taps to remove white deposits. Wash and wipe dry with a paper towel. They really shine!

Beetroot is my favorite lip-tint!

Am a minimalist when it comes to makeup. I normally use  a light weight moisturizer, eye liner and a lip balm for every day wear and when I want to look a little more dressy, I use foundation , blush and lipstick for a pop of color.  I always have a feeling that am eating lipstick when I ever I eat or sip on a drink after wearing lipstick. When I was looking for organic alternatives, I came across several you tube videos of DIY lipsticks and this one is my favorite. Remember how the hands turn pink when you cook beets? It works the same way on your lips too!  Its so simple and gives your lips a glamorous pop of color.

All you need
An Inch size of Beetroot , I cut it into a flat disc just for the convenience of holding.

Method:
using the cut piece of beetroot just go along your lips just as you would do with your lipstick and viola! You have a beautiful pink lip tint.

You  could use  moisturize your lips with your regular lipbalm/chapstick or any organic oil to have a nourished glossy effect. This can be used as eye shadow and a blush too! Let me know what you guys think and share your pictures if you try it out!