Save money by mixing your own household
cleaners. Spray bottles from Liquid Fence.

As we were cleaning out a cabinet, we came across an empty Windex spray bottle that had been stored, awaiting repurposing.

Shortly before that, we’d come across Grandma’s recipe for an all-purpose household cleaner. In the early part of the 20th century and for centuries before that, housewives bought the basic ingredients—baking soda, borax, rubbing alcohol, soap (liquid soap was patented in 1865), vinegar and washing soda (a laundry ingredient)—and made their own cleaning products.

Try this simple all-purpose cleaner, which we’ve been using on counters and appliances:

 
Not only does it work; the ingredients cost about fifty cents, compared with $3.69 to buy a name-brand bottle.

If you like the idea of making your own household cleaners, here are recipes for everything from floor cleaner to non-scratch scrubs.

We never start a diet without loading up on these favorites from our Diet Nibbles Section. Each is so delicious yet low in calories.

When was the last time you used the wok? Time to start woking or give it away. Electric wok from Aroma.

Now, how about those kitchen gadgets, pots and pans? It’s a great weekend task, and other household members can join in, help and vote: what stays, what goes.

Last weekend we went through our two overstuffed gadget drawers and found three lemon zesters, eight corkscrews, an electric uncorker we haven’t used in the two years since we received it as a gift, six vegetable peelers, a mango slicer that didn’t work for us and a manual egg beater we haven’t used in decades. Oh, and a gadget that turns radishes into roses for crudité platters.

Elsewhere in the kitchen were grungy spatulas among newer ones. Two sterling silver cake servers from a past life of lavish entertaining. Seven bowl scrapers (we don’t use them, but companies keep sending them to us). Plastic containers piled so high, the stacks keep falling over.

If you’ve got a similar situation, this Tip Of The Day will solve it.

 
Enjoy the extra space you’ve freed up. We live in a small apartment with no storage lockers or other storage space.

But even if you live with a luxury of space, someone else can enjoy your white elephants.

Sandeman, the world’s leading Port producer, has created a hearty winter sangria.

This Winter Spice Sangria recipe celebrates the flavors and colors of the season: fragrant cinnamon and clementines plus tart cranberries, which complement the rich red-fruit flavors in Sandeman Founders Reserve. The ruby Port is available just about everywhere Port is sold, but should you be unable to find it, substitute another ruby port.

Port is also delicious served alone at the end of the meal, with the cheese course or accompanying a rich chocolate dessert or chocolate candy.

It’s easy to mix up a pitcher:
 
 
SANDEMAN WINTER SPICE SANGRIA

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. Combine Port, cinnamon schnapps, clementine pieces, cranberries, cranberry juice and cinnamon sticks in a large pitcher. Cover tightly and place in refrigerator for at least 8 hours.

2. Right before serving, add sparkling clementine juice/soda and sprinkle allspice on top, to taste.
 
 
PORT vs. PORTO & TYPES OF PORT

Port in English, Porto in Portuguese, and sometimes written as Oporto, combining the article (“the Porto”), is the second largest city in Portugal. Located along the Douro river estuary in northern Portugal, Porto was an outpost of the Roman Empire. Port wine is produced in the region.

Port is made in several expressions: Crusted, Colheita, Late Bottled Vintage (LBV), Ruby, Single Quinta, Tawny, Vintage, Vintage Character and White. Here’s an explanation of each type of Port.

[2] Miso paste in Japanese packaging (photo courtesy Nagano).

[3] Miso paste (photo courtesy Steamy Kitchen)

Miso, a thick paste most often made from fermented soybeans,* is a traditional Japanese seasoning with which most Western cooks are unfamiliar.

If you’ve eaten at a Japanese restaurant, you’ve likely enjoyed a bowl of miso soup. If you make fish recipes, you may have tried a variation of the exquisite miso-glazed cod that chef Nobu Matsuhisa made so popular in New York, Los Angeles and elsewhere.

But miso rarely finds its way into American home kitchens. This is a shame, because it is a versatile and complex ingredient that can add depth and flavor across the culinary spectrum.

Savory and salty, miso paste is low in calories and fat yet rich in protein, vitamins and minerals, making it an important part of Japanese cuisine. This healthy ingredient was a favorite of the Samurai, the noble warrior class that existed from the 12th century until pre-industrial times.

It endures as a common ingredient in Japanese dishes, from pickled foods, sauces and spreads to the dish Americans know best, misoshiru or miso soup.

But miso can be an important culinary tool beyond Japanese cuisine. Chef Johnny often uses it simply to add umami to dishes that would otherwise lack that certain something.
 
 
MISO & UMAMI

The most common characteristic of miso, and arguably its defining attribute, is that elusive fifth taste: umami.

Umami refers to that taste in foods that is often described as a “brothiness” or earthiness on the palate. Mushrooms and meat are the best-known ambassadors of umami. Here’s more to help you understand umami.

Despite the difficulty one may have in describing it, umami plays an important role in cooking. Often you taste something and notice it lacks “strength” or seems “flat.” That absent quality you can’t seem to put your finger on is, quite often, umami.
 
The umami in miso can play an important role in perking up just about any world cuisine, requiring only cooks who are bold enough to try it.

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*In addition to soybeans, rice and barley can be used. Salt and the fungus kojikin complete the recipe.

TYPES OF MISO

Miso is available in different forms or flavors, such as red or white miso paste.

The differences depend on exactly which ingredients were used in its fermentation (such as rice or barley), the amounts of such ingredients, and how long they were fermented. Red miso paste, for example, is often fermented for a year or longer, whereas white miso paste is fermented for a much shorter period.
 
 
HOW TO USE MISO PASTE

You can make your own homemade miso soup, of course, but try it in American recipes. The beauty of miso is its versatility. It can be the star, providing its own unique flavor out front, or it can be one of many ingredients, lending that umami quality to a dish in need.

 
 
JUST DO IT!

The flavor and umami from miso can be unbelievably satisfying, which makes it a great tool to have on hand. Yes, its sodium levels can be high; but compared with salt, you get far more flavor and complexity with less overall sodium, as well as bonus healthy minerals, beneficial bacteria and protein. You’ll even pick up some antioxidants.

So the next time you are at the grocery store, head to the international foods aisle and locate the miso paste. There may be several varieties to choose from; choose any one to start. Different brands and types will have different levels of salty and/or sweet.

Then, add it to anything you feel could use a boost of umami flavor and won’t hurt from a bit of saltiness.

Get to know miso as more than just the soup you eat before the sushi. It may just be the secret ingredient you’ve been looking for: You just may become mad for miso—and that’s a good thing.

[5] Miso soup with tofu and garnishes (photo courtesy Sun Basket).

[6] Shrimp with miso grits (photo courtesy Silk Road Tavern [closed]).