Vinegar

TIP 37 Save on cleaning supplies by making your own The ingredients are probably all right there in your kitchen or bath cabinets - baking soda, ammonia, vinegar, rubbing alcohol. Know what to mix with what and you could make your own household cleaners and save money at the grocery or drugstore. Be careful and make sure you follow all the directions to be safe. Instead of paying extra for Pine Sol, Windex or Tilex, make your own floor, window and tile cleaners, suggests Web site www.creativehomemaking.

In India, we offer fennel seeds after meals. This helps avoid flatulence. Fennel is also good for sore throat and sinus problems. I use the following recipe for my sinus trouble: Combine 1 tablespoon fennel seeds, 1/4 teaspoon powdered ginger, 1 clove, 1/2 -inch piece of stick cinnamon and 1 teaspoon brown sugar in 2 cups of water. Boil it until there is 1 1/2 cups of liquid left, strain it and drink it hot with a little milk. You can substitute honey for the brown sugar. In India, we use many such home remedies from our grandmothers to avoid overusing antibiotics.

A few weeks ago, Emily Bell, one of my long-time assistants, called to tell me about a new recipe she had created. I knew from the excitement in her voice that this was something special. She had taken a retro appetizer from the '80s -- baked Brie -- and updated it. A small, 8-ounce round was topped with a glaze prepared with apricot preserves, sauteed onions, a splash of red-wine vinegar and some country Dijon. Then sliced almonds were sprinkled over the wheel before it was baked. Served warm with thin crackers and sliced fruit, the cheese had been a huge hit with her family.

Steak with onions and balsamic vinegar cooked to a sweet glaze is a perfect dinner. Linguine with fresh basil and tomatoes makes a colorful side dish. Balsamic vinegar is made in Modena, Italy. To be sure you are buying good-quality vinegar, check the labels; grapes should be the only ingredient. Lesser-quality vinegars have brown sugar added. Top-quality balsamic vinegars are aged 25 to 50 years and are used drop by drop. Choose a medium-priced one for cooking. Wine suggestion: Hearty steak with powerful balsamic vinegar is an occasion for a powerful Italian barolo.

I have a 3-year-old and am expecting a new baby in a few weeks. I hate to use harsh chemicals to clean our house and usually rely on good old soap and hot water, sometimes with vinegar or baking soda. I use bleach or Bon Ami sparingly for some things. I found a recipe for a home cleaner spray -- a simple mixture of white vinegar, water and a few drops of essential oil for fragrance. I spray this mixture everywhere, confident that I could eat it if I had to. It does a great job on the stainless kitchen sink, microwave, countertops and bathroom sink.

I would like to try the cinnamon, lime juice and vinegar combo mentioned in your column for weight loss. What is the recipe? My husband is diabetic, so we just started using cinnamon extract made in the drip coffee-maker. How much lime and vinegar do we need to add? How much should we drink? And is the (shudder) vinegar necessary? Many readers want this recipe, and the person who came up with it agreed to share it in detail. Here is Lisa's Weight Loss Elixir: Put five decaffeinated green tea bags in 5 cups of water and bring to a full boil.

There's a lot of hoity-toity food around these days, and we like a lot of it. On the other hand, there is much to be said for voluntary simplicity. Consider the good, old-fashioned Yankee pot roast. Here it is, a meal (almost) in a pot. The pot roast includes a little cider vinegar to tenderize the beef and add a teensy tang. Robin Mather Jenkins writes for the Chicago Tribune, which provided the recipe analysis. Old-Fashioned Pot Roast Makes 8 servings -- Total time: 8 hours and 15 minutes 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon salt freshly ground pepper 1 beef chuck roast, 2 1/2 to 3 pounds, trimmed 3 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 cup beef or chicken broth 2 tablespoons quick-mixing flour, such as Wondra 8 red potatoes, halved 8 small carrots 2 yellow onions, quartered 1/3 cup apple-cider vinegar Combine the all-purpose flour, salt and pepper to taste in a large resealable plastic bag. Add the meat; seal.

How do good old dishes get forgotten? In our chop-chop-steak world, we often forget about the fine flavors that come from something long marinated and slowly braised. We also forget about whole families of meats, especially game. I know more men who hunt than any of my colleagues, but that's largely because my husband comes from a family of hunters. Venison, duck, pheasant, quail and various fish are commonplace at family gatherings. No matter. The man of the house doesn't need a shotgun for you to make this old German standby, hasenpfeffer ("pepper(ed)

I am about to fall into the Medicare Part D "doughnut hole" and would like to buy my drugs from Canada to save money for the remainder of this year. How do I know which online pharmacy to select? Many senior citizens who signed up for the prescription-drug benefit from Medicare are shocked when they hit the so-called doughnut hole. When drug expenses come to a total of $2,400, patients must pay 100 percent of their medication bill. If drug expenses eventually exceed $5,451, Part D kicks in again with catastrophic coverage until the end of the year.

Several years ago, I noticed that gum irritations healed more quickly after I used Listerine. I decided to try it on facial blemishes. If it is applied as soon as a blemish begins, the spot fades quickly. You are the second person who has told us that Listerine mouthwash can speed blemish healing. We cannot explain why it might work, but it seems like a benign approach. Months ago, I heard about a new prescription drug for weight loss that also lowered cholesterol and blood sugar levels.