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Those coffee stains in a used pot look gross, but they also change the way fresh coffee tastes. Rinse the pot out with warm water and dish soap. Scrub away any stains with a sponge, taking care to eliminate any coffee grounds you notice. Remember to rinse out cups and other pieces of equipment. Clean them out each time you use them to prevent buildup from ever forming. If you’re using an electrical grinder, unplug it and take it apart. Rinse off the plastic and rubber parts in soapy water. Most grinders come with a soft brush, so use it knock loose debris in the blades. Wipe them off with a dry cloth to finish removing the old grounds.  Avoid washing the blades and motor on an electrical grinder. Water is safe to use on a handheld grinder. Clean the grinder out after each use. The old grounds could affect the quality of the next pot of coffee you brew. Drain the water reservoir, then pour an equal amount of water and vinegar into it. Set the coffee maker to brew a single cup of coffee. After letting it sit for about an hour, pour clean water into the emptied reservoir and run 2 more brew cycles. While you wait, wipe off the outer surface of the machine with a cloth dampened in clean water.  If you drink coffee every day, give your machine frequent deep cleanings. You won’t need to do this as often if you don’t make coffee daily, but it’s still a good way to eliminate bitterness from old grounds. If you use a device like a pour over filter or a French press to make your coffee, wash them out with soap and water after each use.

summary: Rinse out the coffee pot with soap and water. Brush coffee grounds out of a grinder after using it. Wash out the coffee maker with vinegar about once a week.


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You can use whichever type of apple you like, but the tartness of Granny smith apples goes well with the sweetness of chocolate. Remove any produce stickers that might be on the apples’ skin, then rinse them under water to remove any chemicals or germs that might be on the surface. Dry them with a clean towel. This will allow you to eat the apple like a lollipop once it’s been dipped in chocolate. You may have to press firmly, but you should be able to ease a stick into the apple fairly easily. If you can find good quality chocolate in chocolate chip form, skip this step. However, if you bought a bar of chocolate, you’ll need to cut it up into smaller pieces. If you bought a chocolate bar that snaps easily into bite-sized pieces, break it up along the suggested lines. If it’s a solid bar, use a sharp knife to break the chocolate bar down into very small chunks.  If the pre-portioned pieces of chocolate from your bar are too large, run your knife through those, too. The smaller the pieces, the more quickly and easily the chocolate will melt down into a sauce. If you try to melt chocolate over high heat too quickly, you might burn the chocolate and ruin your whole sauce. To guard against that, use the double boiler method to steam the chocolate gently from below, warming it evenly and preventing it from burning. To create a double boiler, you’ll need a large saucepan; a double boiler pan that fits over the saucepan, but does not touch the bottom of it; and a stirrer.  Fill the bottom of the large saucepan with water, making sure that the water does not touch the bottom of the double boiler pan when it’s in place. Place the saucepan, water, and double boiler pan combination over medium-low heat on the stove. Place the chocolate pieces in the double boiler pan. As the steam from the hot water rises up to the double boiler pan, the chocolate will begin to slowly melt. Stir the chocolate to speed up the melting process and ensure an even texture to the sauce. When the chocolate has melted through, turn off the heat source. Hold each apple by the skewer, and dip it into the chocolate in the double boiler pan. Roll it around to make sure that the apple is completely covered by chocolate sauce. If you want to add any other toppings to the chocolate apples, do it immediately after rolling the apple in the chocolate sauce, while it’s still wet. You can top the apple with anything that strikes your fancy. Some common toppings include chopped hazelnuts, sprinkles, crushed candy canes, and so on. You can dip the apple into a bowl of the topping, or you can sprinkle the topping over the apple. Place a sheet of wax paper over a cookie pan, then place each apple upside down on the wax paper. The skewer should be sticking up toward the sky. Place the cookie pan in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes to allow the chocolate to harden once more, then you’re ready to serve your chocolate apples!

summary: Wash and dry your apples. Push a wooden skewer into the core of each apple. Cut 16 ounces of chocolate into small pieces. Melt the chocolate over a double boiler. Dip the apples in the melted chocolate. Garnish the apples. Place dipped apples on wax paper and refrigerate to harden.


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One simple and classy addition to your own stationary is the addition of letters, such as your initials, or maybe just the first letter of your first or last name. Using a linoleum block, you can make a nice stamp with your initials. You should be able to find all the tools for this stamp in a craft store.  Sketch out your monogram or design it in a word-processing program. Trace a pencil over your printed monogram, then lay it face down on a linoleum block. Scribble over the block to transfer those pencil lines to the block. Use a linoleum knife to cut the shape into the block (deep, but not all the way through), then cut the monogram out of the block to create a stamp. Placing a picture or photograph on the front of a card can make more personal, especially if the picture has some meaning to both you and the recipient. Print out a picture of your choosing, and glue it to the front of a card.  Your picture can be on any type of paper you would like, though you may want to avoid high quality glossy photo paper, especially if you are making a lot of cards, as it can be quite expensive. You can also add the look of a frame to your pictures by cutting out some colored paper and placing that underneath your picture. Different colors or adding more than one border gives you some flexibility in designs. Just make sure your picture doesn’t take up the entire front of your card so there is room for the border. Using bright green leaves you can find in nature, you can add a natural look to paper. Place the leaf on your paper with a lightweight white paper towel on top. Gently hammer the spot where the leaf is until you see the green soak through the paper towel. Pull off the towel, gentle remove the leaf from the paper, and let it dry. There are many different leaves out there which will give you many different kinds of greens. Go ahead and experiment with different types until you get a shade and shape that you like. To add a touch of color, you can add small squares of fabric to the front of your cards. Cut out a square of fabric, making sure it is not bigger than your actual card. Stich it to the card using  sewing machine or  sewing by hand. This will probably give you a bunch of cards that all look slightly different, rather than being uniform, unless you have a lot of some kind of fabric. This can also be a good way to get rid of excess fabric without just throwing it away. You can also add some slight scents to make your card stand out and be a pleasant surprise for the recipient. Take some cotton pads, and add a few drops of a scent you like, such as scented oils or perfume. Put the cotton pads at the bottom of a plastic container, then cover the pads with a piece of cardstock. Spread your stationary on top of the cardstock and close the top for 24 hours. You can repeat by adding more oil to the cotton pads to get a stronger scent. The cardstock is important because you don’t want the oils to get directly on your paper and damage it. All you want is the smell, not the liquid.
summary: Use a monogram. Put on pictures. Make a leaf stamp. Sew on fabric. Add scents.