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“Tea and Scones”
Our Plumbing Blog
Lemon Scones with Lemon Glaze
Serves/Makes: 16
Ingredients:
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons grated lemon peel
1/2 cup butter (cut into 1/2-inch pieces)
2 eggs, beaten
2/3 cup milk
1 cup dried cranberries are a nice addition to this recipe
Directions:
Preheat oven to 450degrees F. Grease and flour baking sheet.
Sift flour, sugar and salt in bowl. Stir in peel. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Blend in eggs and just enough milk to form soft but not sticky dough. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface. Gently roll or pat dough to about 1/2-inch thickness, lightly flouring as necessary to prevent sticking.
Cut out rounds using 2-inch floured biscuit cutter. Set 1/2-inch apart on prepared baking sheets. Brush with cream or milk for a rich sheen. Bake until scones are golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes.
Lemon Glaze -After baking add glaze as desired
In small bowl: add 1 cup powdered sugar and lemon juice to desired consistency. Drizzle over lightly cooled scones.
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MacRosemary Mini Scones
February 2010
This small batch of savory scones are very biscuit-like and taste best warm with a generous dab of butter or margarine.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups unbleached flour
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon dried rosemary
2/3 cup milk
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease and flour a baking sheet. Sift together dry ingredients (flours, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda) in a large bowl. Using a pastry blender or a fork, cut in the butter or margarine until it is evenly distributed in the flour mixture and resembles cornmeal.
Add the rosemary, honey, and milk; and mix to form a soft dough. Add more milk one tablespoon at a time if the mixture is too dry and does not come together into a ball of dough. Roll the dough out onto a lightly flour surface and pat it into 1/2 inch thickness. Using a small cup or cookie cutter about 2 inches across, cut the dough into shapes and place them on the baking sheet. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.
Does vinegar and baking soda unclog a drain?
We’ve heard of a lot of people attempting to use a mixture of vinegar and baking soda to unclog a slow drain, but unfortunately, we haven’t heard of much success using this method. And as the expert drain cleaners we are, many people have asked us for our opinion on this mixture.
From a scientific standpoint, it really doesn’t make any sense that a mixture of vinegar and baking soda would unclog a drain. When you mix the two, the acetic acid in the vinegar reacts with the sodium bicarbonate in baking soda, and this acid-meets-base combination creates the sudden surge of bubbles to form that we’re all familiar with (remember your 6th grade science experiment of making the volcano?).
The reaction is known as a “double replacement” reaction. The acetic acid and sodium bicarbonate form carbonic acid, which is a very weak acid and sometimes used in soft drinks. But the carbonic acid is unstable, and immediately falls apart into carbon dioxide and water in a decomposition reaction. The bubbles that form in the reaction come from the carbon dioxide being created- and if you’ve ever mixed vinegar and baking soda together, you’ve noticed how quickly the bubbles form… so the carbonic acid doesn’t last very long and is too weak to break down any materials in a clog such as hair or soap.
Some of the leftover baking soda is usually left in the pipe, which can actually make an existing clog worse if the reaction turns it into a sludge that doesn’t rinse away easily. The Scottish Plumber usually recommends Bio-Clean to most homeowners who are looking for an environmentally friendly and safe way to clean their drains. Bio-Clean uses natural bacteria and enzymes that break down organic material like hair and soap. Contact The Scottish Plumber for more information on how to get Bio-Clean, or visit the Bio-Clean page on our site.
The Frozen Pipes Are Calling…
The Chicago area has had some cold weather lately- with temperatures averaging around 10-20 degrees Fahrenheit and wind chill factors bringing it below zero in the last couple weeks. And with cold weather and especially chilling winds, comes frozen pipes.
It’s important to keep the water pipes in your home from freez
ing: frozen pipes can burst and cause thousands of dollars of damage in flooding and destroy drywall, furniture, flooring, and can even harm the foundation of a home. If you turn on your tap and water does not come out or it’s in a very slow trickle, your pipes may be frozen. If they have already burst and you have flooding, shut off your water main immediately and all gas or electric water appliances, such as a water heater, washer, or dishwasher, and call The Scottish Plumber immediately.
Do not attempt to thaw the pipes on your own- many fires are started in homes every year by attempts to thaw pipes with open flames or unattended electrical appliances. Licensed plumbers have specialty pipe thawing equipment that is safe and more effective.
Follow these tips to prevent your pipes from freezing when temperatures get as low as they have been this winter:
1. Close outside vents that can let in cold air: check your crawlspace, laundry room, and under the kitchen sink for open vents.
2. Make sure pipes along an exterior wall have access to the heat in the house. For example, if the water pipe for your kitchen sink is along an exterior wall of the house, keep the cabinet door open so heat from the house can enter the cabinet and warm the pipe.
3. When insulating pipes, make sure you insulate them between the cold outside of the house and the warmth from the inside of the house. Don’t put the insulation between the pipe and the indoors, which will block the heat from reaching it.
4. Check to see if you have water pipes on walls or ceilings/floors that are attached to the garage. The garage can get just as cold as the outside, so make sure these pipes are well-insulated.
5. At night, when temperatures drop and everyone is asleep and not running the faucets, pour a little table salt down the drain to keep the drain from freezing, and let a slow drip or trickle of water flow out of the faucet to keep the water moving.
6. Keep doors to crawlspaces open so heat from the rest of the home can enter the crawlspace and keep a pipe from freezing.
7. If you’re going on vacation or leaving the home for an extended period of time, don’t turn the heat completely off. Keep it from 55-60 degrees, and open all of the kitchen and bathroom cabinets, crawlspace doors, and make sure the basement also has access to the home’s heat.