Around the house 11/24/04

In the garden: Mulch leaves instead of raking

Mulching yard leaves instead of dumping them into bags headed for the landfill can actually add organic matter to your yard. Mow the leaves into fine pieces so that they can decompose and enrich the soil's topmost layers. A report from Purdue University says that mowing the leaves doesn't introduce disease or weeds and won't degrade lawn color or quality. But leave mulching isn't a substitute for fertilizing.

-- From wire reports

In the kitchen: Fresh cranberries brighten tables and taste

Cranberries grow wild in many northern states and Canada. The most important thing is to balance the natural sourness of the cranberries, says food columnist and author Amy Topel. Here is one of Topel's recipes for using fresh cranberries:

Whole Cranberry Sauce

4 cups fresh cranberries

Juice of 1 orange

1 to 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, to taste

Place cranberries in pot with 1 cup sugar and orange juice. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring frequently, for 5 to 10 minutes, depending on desired consistency. Allow to cool a bit before tasting; add more sweetener if desired. Makes 2 cups.

Around the house: Tips for gluing

It never fails. You get everything ready. You mix up your epoxy glue and start spreading, and about halfway through your project you are straining to pull the spreader out of the glue. A few seconds later it's stuck there for good, and your glue job isn't quite finished. Here's a tip for those who glue. To slow the setup time of epoxy glue, take a cold can of soda, turn it upside-down unopened, and mix the epoxy ingredients in the recessed bottom of the can. Contact with the cold aluminum will slow the chemical setup process. Don't set the can down till the epoxy ingredients harden.