Vegetarians in Paradise/Healing Cuts/Home Remedies

We're delighted to share our Aunt Nettie with you. She's agreed to answer any questions you might ask about food, its preparation, and even clean-up tips. But we have to prepare you. She just might want to come right over to your house and help you fix dinner.

To send any questions to Ask Aunt Nettie, .

One day this past month Aunt Nettie received an S.O.S. email from a fan named Suzie, who was chopping veggies with a very sharp knife and cut her hand. She asked Aunt Nettie for any helpful hints in healing the deep cut that was causing a great deal of pain.

Here's Aunt Nettie's reply:

Help is a-comin' right quick, Suzie. Nature gives us some healin' plants that you probably have right there in yer own li'l country shack. First, squeeze some aloe vera gel inta the palm of yer hand, 'bout the size of a quarter. Then take 'bout 1/16 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper, yes, yes, I do mean cayenne pepper, an' rub it inta the aloe vera gel til it gits all red and blended in. Then add a drop 'er two of tea Aloe tree oil, an' mix that in. If ya don't have tea tree oil on hand, jes' leave it out 'n' don't worry none. Here's the good part, darlin'. Rub this potion right inta the cut, really pushin' it in. Cover it all up with a nice clean bandaid, an' keep it dry fer two days.

Now I know it's hard keepin' yer hand dry fer two days, but it's important. Jes' cover it up with a rubber glove when ya takes yer shower, and git that someone special to do the food fixin's fer a couple days.

If the cut still isn't startin' ta heal in a couple days, jes' give it another bit o' the potion and keep the hand dry fer another day 'er two.

Now, I'll let y'all in on a little secret. This magic potion recipe came from a chiropractor friend who used to be a butcher. After cuttin' his hand up a heap o' times, he came up with this healin' salve that worked magic fer him, an' I hope it does fer you too.

If You Haven't Met Aunt Nettie. . .

Our Aunt Nettie has a head like a hard disk. It's filled with megabytes of information about food and cooking. And she's just itchin' to share her learnin' with city folk who live in mortal fear of the stovetop.

Aunt Nettie grew up on the farm. She did not eat out of a can or reach into the freezer. There was no microwave to pop her food into. Everything she made was from scratch. All the food she ate was natural, without pesticides. It was grown right there on the family farm, and she had to cook to survive. At eighty-three years young she still leaps and bounds around the kitchen and can shake, rattle, and roll those pots and pans with the best of them.

Nowadays, Aunt Nettie just shakes her head and complains, "Nobody cooks anymore. They have no idea about puttin' a meal together." She's on a mission. She wants to help those younguns eat better so they can grow up healthy like her own eight kids.

Click here for past Ask Aunt Nettie Columns