Sunday, January 13, 2019

The Tell-Tale Stain

The last time we talked I told you about the snowstorm in my area. By the time it was over we had a foot of fluffy snow at the house, which was on the high end for the metro area. Hubby Tony and I shoveled twice-once on Friday night and again on Saturday morning. By the afternoon the temperature rose just above freezing, which helped melt the dregs on the shoveled areas. The roads looked pretty clear, so we drove to church and a nearby restaurant for dinner.

This afternoon I ventured out again to run some errands, including a produce run. One of the things I brought home was some fresh beets. My plan was to roast them and have them on hand for snacks. I carefully peeled the two pounds of beets, chopped them into pieces, and put them into the oven.

I didn't have any rubber gloves to wear, but I thought that if I was careful I wouldn't get beet juice on my hands. I thought wrong.  By the time I was done my hands were red. The cutting board was red. There were red spots on the counter, and even a blob on the floor where one piece of peel fell.

Yuck!
I washed my hands thoroughly with soap and water, but the stain remained so I turned to my friend Google for advice. The first site I visited suggested I rub the stain with a raw potato. I didn't have any potatoes in the house, so I moved on. The next one recommended a combination of lemon juice and salt, which helped a little. The third site told me to use a paste of cornmeal and lemon juice. Bingo!

All better
As an added bonus, the cornmeal also did a good job of exfoliating my hands.

Five years ago today: You're Only As Old As You Feel

18 comments:

  1. glad you found something that works, I should remember that.

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  2. Hi Kathy ... beetroot is delicious ... but a nightmare to sort without some rubber gloves - I wonder if roasting in the skin would do it - and then peel it off before eating ... or even eating ... you'd have to wash it well ... but it wouldn't bleed. Thanks for the cornmeal tip - though I'd be out buying gloves!

    Cheers and have a good week ahead - Hilary

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    1. Hilary, next time I might experiment with roasting before peeling. The Google jury was out as to whether beets needed to be peeled at all, so my third experiment could be eating the roasted skin.

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  3. Yes, put rubber gloves on you shopping list. Probably the surgical kind.

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    1. Wouldn't be a bad idea to have a box on hand, hmmm?

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  4. I'll have to remember that for pomegranates. If you want to eat one the regular it's impossible to not get stained.

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    1. I've learned to submerge the pomegranate in a large bowl of water when I'm working with it. The juice dissipates into the water without getting on your skin.

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  5. Yes they do stain. I am allergic to fresh beets. I can eat them canned, but fresh is not pretty.

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  6. I love beet-roots. Try boiled beets and boiled potatoes (small pieces cubed) with mayonnaise. A few olives to taste.

    God bless.

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  7. Plus, I bet your hands smelled good!
    Haha, "caught red handed!" ...funny

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    1. I didn't think about it at the time but you're right-they did.

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  8. Corn meal and lemon juice? Wow! I wonder if it would work on red Hawaiian dirt.

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    1. The only way to find out is to try it. If it does let us know.

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