Around your house 7/25/07

Garden

Anyone who successfully cans knows it's a matter of safety first and taking no shortcuts. The threat of deadly botulism lurks beneath every loose lid or improperly sealed jar cover. The poisonous bacterium Clostridium botulinum can survive even in cooked foods, so it's best to use a large pressure cooker for scientifically determined periods, which will vary with product and chunk size, altitude and container volume, among other things. Temperatures should be taken to 240 degrees or more. Most fruits and pickling vegetables high in acid or with a pH value of 4.6 or above carry less risk because their acidity prevents botulism spores from germinating.

-- AP

Kitchen

There's a new contender in the nondairy milk world, and it looks to be a winner. First there was soy and rice milks. Then almond, even hazelnut. Now there is hemp seed milk. Living Harvest's Hempmilk is rich, thick and creamy in a way that other milk alternatives only wish they could be. While it still never will be confused for the real thing, it's a great option for those who don't want or can't have cow's milk. Hempmilk is fine to drink on its own, but is splendid in smoothies and over cereal. Sweetened with a bit of rice syrup, vanilla-flavored Hempmilk tastes naturally sweet with no lingering aftertaste. It also has 3 grams of fat and 4 grams of protein, and is jammed with omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. And one cup has almost half your daily calcium. Hempmilk also is available in chocolate and original flavors.

-- AP

Home

Q. I tested the water heater pressure-relief valve and it seems to work OK, but the pipe outside seems to drip a lot, especially if we don't use hot water for a day or so. Is this normal or a problem that needs to be fixed?

A. The drip you see may be the result of several different problems:

• The problem could be as simple as a leaking pressure-relief valve. The valve may turn on and off normally, but if the water doesn't completely stop running then you should replace the valve.
• If water continues to drip after the installation of a new pressure-relief valve, then you may have the temperature of your water tank set too high. But be careful not to turn the temperature below about 125 F. At lower temperatures dangerous little critters can grow in the water heater. They can make you seriously ill.
• Another possible cause for the leaking is excessive water pressure. You can test this condition with a water-pressure gauge at one of the outside faucets. The optimal pressure is at about 50 PSI (pound-force per square inch), so if your PSI is 70 or higher, this could be causing your leak.
• If all else fails, ask your favorite plumber to install an expansion tank onto your existing water-heating system. Then, when slightly excessive heat and pressure buildup cause excess water to expand, it ends up being stored in the expansion tank rather than on the ground.-- AP