Olive Oil, White Vinegar, And Walnuts = Fabulous Wood Repair

 If you Pinterest, or follow all the things that are posted on Facebook like recipes and handy repair tips,  and  you wonder if they really work, I am here to testify that this concoction really, really, really works.  What concoction is that?  A combination of olive oil, white vinegar and the "meat" of walnuts.

I saw a before and after picture of a piece of furniture that this combo had been used on and it looked completely restored.  Well, the skeptic in me was all "yeah, right."  Our friends had rented a condominium that was in need of some good old TLC.  There were some scratches on the wood floors and the pantry door was just abominable.  You know, like no one had EVER wiped it off and it was totally black around the door handle with that gooey residue that happens when the finish starts to break down.  Ever have a piece of furniture that did that?  I have and the biggest dilemma is what will you do to fix it?

 First, Tonya scraped all the black, icky stuff off the door with a putty knife which took it almost down to the bare wood.  Uh oh.  The rest of the door was stained a dark brown color.  One of these things is not like the other.  Hmmmmm.  Now, what were we going to do?  Aha, here was my chance to try the magic concoction I had seen on Pinterest.  All I needed was some walnuts, olive oil, and white vinegar.  First, I rubbed the almost bare wood with the "meat" part of some English walnuts.  It is amazingly magical.  As the walnut began to disintegrate, it began to color the wood a darker color.  No way!  Yes, way!  It was so exciting.  I had made a jar of the magical concoction which is simply 3/4s of a  cup of olive oil and 1/4 cup white vinegar.  Put a lid on the jar and shake, shake, shake.  After I got the wood as dark as it would go, I used a soft cloth and rubbed it with the olive oil/vinegar mix.  Magic!  You could barely tell the difference between the original stain and the place that I had repaired.  Wow! This was more than exciting.

On to the wood floors.  I rubbed all the scratched places with walnuts and then rubbed them with the magic solution.  You could not see the scratches.  Amazing!  Then, I knew I had found the solution to a dilemma I had with a fabulous wood salad bowl that we had gotten for a wedding gift 44 years ago. Yes, it's an antique and more than well used.  It looked very sad.

Now this is not an ordinary salad bowl.  When we opened the gift,  Dan and I laughed hysterically because it was maybe the biggest salad bowl we had ever seen and we could not imagine ever using such a monstrosity.  It was really beautiful and had 4 small salad bowls and a fork and spoon that matched.  Needless to say, those are long gone, but I still use the giant salad bowl for many occasions. Shows you what we knew in those early days.  This bowl is 15.5 inches in diameter and 6 inches high.  I mean you can make enough salad in it to feed an army.  Well, guess what?  We have a small army since we have 4 children, in loves, and grandchildren, plus extended family and friends.  This is what this poor bowl looked like.  It has been well used.

All the beautiful finish was long gone from the center of the bowl.  The sides were more of the same.
After so many repeated washings, the poor beautiful bowl was quite the sad sack.  I did not want to use any chemicals to refinish it since we put food in it.  I knew I had finally found a solution that just might do the trick.  First, I put some walnuts in the bowl and rubbed away.

I only had chopped walnuts at the time.  It would probably be much easier with walnut halves.  I rubbed them into the damaged areas of the bowl until the color got much dark and more even with the original finish. Then, I broke out the magic solution.  Using a soft cloth, I applied it to the center of the bowl and the outside damaged areas.  This is how the sides look now.  Nice.

They are not perfect, but so much better.  At least they are no longer big white shining patches glaring at you like a big sore thumb.  You might even want to eat out of this bowl.   The interior of the bowl looks like this.  Just look at the improvement!

Again, not perfect, but if it had not been left unattended for so long, you might not even be able to see the damaged areas at all.  The best part?  No chemicals - only natural ingredients and it will be super easy to repair again when the finish begins to show wear again.  Now, I won't be embarrassed to break out the giant salad bowl when needed.

I don't have any dark furniture in my house, but if I did, I would be using this on everything.  It really is magic.  So next time you see this on Pinterest or Facebook and wonder if or how it could work, remember my little testimonial and know that it does!  Give it a try if you have dark wood furniture or floors that are in need of some TLC.  It really, really works.

Everyday Donna

Things To Remember:

If  you have a complete set of salad bowls and they all say Cool Whip on the side, you might be a redneck.  Jeff Foxworthy

Waldorf Salad With a Twist

One of my childhood favorite salads is Waldorf Salad.  You know, apples, celery, walnuts and mayonnaise.  Simple.  Easy.  Delicious.  Sweet.  Fresh.  Crisp.  Mom didn't make it often, but I was so happy when she did.  It's such a nice change from lettuce salads, or jello salad, or broccoli salad or cole slaw (what we always referred to as the Indiana state vegetable).  It's super good in the fall when beautiful, crisp, fresh apples start coming in - Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Gala, Honey Crisp, Jonathan - just to name a few varieties.

Here is a little history on Waldorf Salad.

The salad was first created between 1893 and 1896 at the Waldorf Hotel in New York City (the precursor of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, which came into being with the merger of the Waldorf with the adjacent Astoria Hotel, opened in 1897).^[1]

Oscar Tschirky, who was the Waldorf's maître d'hôtel and developed or inspired many of its signature dishes, is widely credited with creating the recipe. In 1896, Waldorf Salad appeared in The Cook Book by 'Oscar of the Waldorf'; the original recipe did not contain nuts, but they had been added by the time the recipe appeared in the Rector Cook Book in 1928. The salad became popular enough that Cole Porter featured it in his 1934 song "You're the Top".  Wikipedia

As you can see, Waldorf Salad has been around for a long, long time.  Thank you Oscar Tschirky for a recipe I have loved since childhood.

I add a few extras to my Waldorf Salad to make it even crisper and crunchier.  I add grapes and raw broccoli.  YUMMMM.  It is so good, I could eat an entire bowl at one sitting.  Here is what you need.

3 large crisp apples (Dan and I are Golden Delicious fans)
3 ribs celery, diced
1 cup walnut pieces
as many grapes as you like (I used several hands full, cut in half - we have little ones eating and don't want them getting choked on whole grapes)
1 cup broccoli florettes
a pinch of salt
3 Tbsp Mayonnaise (I like the kind with olive oil)

After washing and drying the apples, put the apple bottom on a cutting board and cut the apple away from the core on 4 sides.  Lay the apple pieces flat side down, cut long ways about 1/2 inch apart and then crossways to form bite sized pieces.

Wash the celery ribs.  Cut each rib in half longways, then cut crossways into 1/4 inch pieces.

Add the apple pieces and celery pieces to a salad bowl.  Add the walnut pieces.

Wash grapes and cut in half long ways.  Use as many as you like.  Add to the bowl.

Separate the broccoli florettes into small pieces and add to bowl.

Add a pinch of salt and mix.  Add 3 Tbsp. mayo to the bowl and mix, making sure all pieces are coated.  If you like more mayonnaise, feel free to add as much as you want.

Traditionally, Waldorf Salad is served on a bed of salad greens, but is not necessary.  That is your choice.

I made a huge pan of Waldorf Salad at the CoOp last week using a 1/2 bushel of apples plus all the other ingredients.  All of our clients LOVED it.  It makes an excellent side dish for fall recipes because it's a nice contrast to the heavier food items we start to serve after summer grilling and lighter fare.  There is nothing like the sweet/tart/crunchiness of fresh Waldorf Salad.  You can keep it for several days if it is covered tightly.

If you've never tried Waldorf Salad, now is your chance.  It is super delicious and kids love it.  You might even convince them to eat some broccoli.  If no one in your house likes broccoli, simply leave it out and add all the other yummy ingredients.  Since Dan doesn't like mayonnaise, I take his out of the bowl before adding the mayonnaise.  He loves it with just a little salt.  Now, you have options.

Maybe it's time to go apple picking if you have an orchard near where you live.  Me, I like to get my apples in a basket at the Farmer's Market.  It's just easier that way.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

Mr. Hamilton: Would you make me a Waldorf Salad? 
Basil Fawlty: [having never heard of it] I beg your pardon? 
Mr. Hamilton: Get me a Waldorf Salad. 
Basil Fawlty: Well, I think we just ran out of Waldorfs! 
Fawlty Towers, Movie, 1975