Best Way to Remove White Heat Marks from Wood (Even Old Ones)

Image from Better Homes & Gardens

Have you ever set something hot (or even just warm) down on a wood table, and then discovered that it left a white mark behind that wouldn't wipe off? Welcome to the club. These marks are caused by the heat causing moisture to be trapped in the wood, and they can ruin the look of a table. Luckily they can be fixed.

My sister inherited our parents' dining room table, and over the years it ended up covered in these stains (I'm kicking myself for not taking photos, but I didn't think about posting about it until it was too late). After I accidentally contributed a new mark, I decided to see if I could fix it.

Four solutions are consistently suggested:

1. A hair dryer

2. Toothpaste and baking soda

3. Petroleum jelly

4. An iron and a towel

It turns out my sister doesn't have an iron, so that option was out. For the toothpaste you need a plain white, non-gel kind, and we didn't have any on hand (which is fine because I don't trust this option anyway). We did try petroleum jelly, putting a generous coating on one of the spots and leaving it overnight, before wiping it off. It did nothing.

Photo by Andrea Donato on Unsplash

 But the hair dryer was a winner!

The instructions say to start on low heat, keep the dryer a few inches away, and gradually turn the heat up. This helped, but it took forever. So, my sister set the heat to high and moved it as close to the spot as possible without touching it. Within minutes, all the marks were gone, including ones that had been there for over a decade. The table looks amazing now.

If you're going to use high heat up close, please test it somewhere less noticeable first. We might've just been lucky that it didn't scorch the finish. The more cautious approach also works--you'll just need a lot of patience.

Have you had luck with any other methods? Share your experiences in the comments. And if you need a break from household chores, download my books (links follow)!

Bleeding Heart

Love Lies Bleeding

*Blood Magic

*Tooth & Claw

(Links take you to all available stores. Books marked * are free everywhere other than Amazon. Love Lies Bleeding and Bleeding Heart are also available in paperback.)

 

Cheers,

Aspasia

PS: Follow me on my official site: AspasiaSBissas.com. 

 

Recipe: Lentils with Tomatoes

 Easy, healthy, cheap, delicious: this recipe has it all! 

Lentils with Tomatoes 

1 quart (4 cups) water

1 cup dry green or brown lentils, picked through and rinsed

3 Tbs olive oil

1 large red, orange, or yellow sweet pepper, chopped

1 medium-large onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped 

1 can 540 mL (approx 18 oz) canned diced tomatoes

salt and pepper to taste

crushed chilies to taste (optional)

 

Bring water to boil and stir in lentils. Lower heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions, peppers, and garlic; cook, stirring until softened. Mix in tomatoes, salt, pepper, and chilies, if using. Stir in lentils, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes, or until lentils are tender. 

Serve with rice or bread, if desired. (Tip: Cook rice while mixture is simmering. When rice is ready, stir in about a teaspoon of butter. Mix well and serve.)

Serves 3 to 4 as a main dish 

 

Our local store had these small sweet peppers, so I used the equivalent of one large bell pepper.

Canned tomatoes are a good choice because they tend to be on the acidic side, and lentils love acid.

 

 

Feel free to share any questions in the comments. And if you make this, let me know how it turned out. And don't forget to get my books (links follow)!

Bleeding Heart

Love Lies Bleeding

*Blood Magic

*Tooth & Claw

(Links take you to all available stores. Books marked * are free everywhere other than Amazon. Love Lies Bleeding and Bleeding Heart are also available in paperback.)

 

Cheers,

Aspasia

PS: Follow me on my official site: AspasiaSBissas.com. 

All photos by Whimsy Bower/Aspasia S. Bissas

 

Autumn Beauty 2

Maple tree

I finally got this year's covid and flu shots, so now I can go out without worrying. I know a lot of people like to argue that these viruses are no big deal, but even if that were true, who wants to get sick? Even a mild cold is a miserable experience--I'll pass, thanks.

Apparently we're going to get snow tomorrow, which is a bit soon for my liking. It's still autumn, but as soon as we get snow it feels like winter. I'd like to hang on to my favourite season a little longer, so I'm sharing the last batch of photos I took on recent walks...

 

Milkweed with pods

 

Raindrops on a Silky Dogwood

 

The Etobicoke Creek, looking more like a pond here, thanks to the local beavers. You can't really see it in the photo, but there was some lovely mist hovering over the water in the distance.

 

The moon this morning

My sad attempt at getting a good moon photo

Are you ready for winter? Share your thoughts below...Don't forget to get my books (links follow)!

Bleeding Heart

Love Lies Bleeding

*Blood Magic

*Tooth & Claw

(Links take you to all available stores. Books marked * are free everywhere other than Amazon. Love Lies Bleeding and Bleeding Heart are also available in paperback.)

 Cheers,

Aspasia

PS: Follow me on my official site: AspasiaSBissas.com. 

All photos by Whimsy Bower/Aspasia S. Bissas

Autumn Beauty

Maple, just starting to change colour

 Who doesn't love being outside this time of year? The weather is usually beautiful, and the colours even more so. I've been going on plenty of walks lately, and always find something to snap a picture of...

Silky Dogwood

Purple Loosestrife: Beautiful, but invasive here.

Great Blue Heron

Sunrise

 

 

Chrysanthemums for sale

Queen Anne's Lace

Switchgrass

Just a dead branch with unidentified fungus

Round-leaved Bittersweet

Maple leaves

Red Osier Dogwood

What are your favourite things about autumn? Have you seen any interesting plants or animals lately? Share in the comments. Don't forget to get my books (links follow)!

Bleeding Heart

Love Lies Bleeding

*Blood Magic

*Tooth & Claw

(Links take you to all available stores. Books marked * are free everywhere other than Amazon. Love Lies Bleeding and Bleeding Heart are also available in paperback.)

 Cheers,

Aspasia

PS: Follow me on my official site: AspasiaSBissas.com! 

All photos by Whimsy Bower/Aspasia S. Bissas

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

 

Photo by Autumn Mott Rodeheaver on Unsplash 

 

Autumn is my favourite time of the year: the weather, the colours, the leaves, the crispness in the air, cozy sweaters, the food, and the holidays! Halloween rules, of course, but you can't go wrong with Thanksgiving, either. We had our dinner yesterday at my sister's house. I thought I'd share a few photos of the feast (I came early and helped with the prep)...

 

The massive charcuterie board that went the entire length of the table--it was impossible not to snack! There was a variety of crackers, cheeses, deli meats, pepper strips, baby carrots, grapes, fresh figs, and dried apricots. One end had a bowl of hot pepper jelly (excellent on a cracker with brie) and the other end had a bowl of hummus, homemade by my niece. 
 

The platter in the background is full of homemade spanakopita, which is a Greek spinach-cheese pastry made with filo. Everyone agrees my sister has perfected the recipe.

This was my dinner (starting at the bottom and going clockwise): mashed potatoes; homemade cranberry sauce; green beans with almonds; roasted cauliflower; mixed greens salad with beets, apples, and goat cheese; and glazed carrots. There was also a butternut squash soup.

I meant to take more photos, like of the soup and the dessert table, but I was distracted and forgot (oops). The food was all excellent and I'm looking forward to leftovers. The company was also good, which is really what it's about. I hope all who are celebrating this weekend are having a fantastic time!

What I'm thankful for: getting to enjoy another beautiful autumn.

Are you celebrating Thanksgiving this weekend? What are you thankful for? Share in the comments...

Cheers,

Aspasia

Don't forget to follow me on my official site: AspasiaSBissas.com, and  if you're looking for your next read, I've got you covered!

 

Love Lies Bleeding

Bleeding Heart

*Blood Magic

*Tooth & Claw

(Links take you to all available stores. Books marked * are free everywhere other than Amazon. Love Lies Bleeding and Bleeding Heart are also available in paperback.)

 

Happy New Year

 

Photo by olia danilevich on Pexels.com

I don’t think it’s too much to hope for a better year in 2022, so I’m sending you all my best wishes for good things ahead!

There are a few different New Year’s traditions in my family that come from our Greek culture. The one I’ll be indulging in tomorrow is making Loukoumades, or Greek doughnuts. These were a highlight of the holidays growing up, and I thought I’d share my mom’s recipe. Enjoy!

Loukoumades (Greek Doughnuts)

This recipe makes enough for at least 6 people. Feel free to halve the amounts to make less.

Like with clouds, it can be fun to try to figure out what the different shapes remind you of

(Apologies for the lack of precise measurements– my mom was one of those cooks who just knew how to make things. Luckily the recipe doesn’t need to be too precise.)

2 highball glasses/tall drinking glasses of warm water

3 soup spoons yeast

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 soup spoons vegetable oil (or olive oil, if you want to be authentic)

2 to 3 highball glasses/tall drinking glasses all-purpose flour

Mix together water, yeast, salt, and oil in a large bowl. Add flour, mixing in thoroughly. Batter should have a similar consistency to pancake batter (not too thick nor runny). Cover the bowl with a clean tea towel and let sit until mixture has doubled in bulk.

Once the batter is ready, pour vegetable oil several inches deep into a saucepan (don’t fill the pan more than halfway). Heat oil over high heat. To test if it’s hot enough, carefully drop a small amount of batter in; if the batter floats and oil bubbles around, you’re ready to start making the loukoumades. (If the batter immediately turn brown, the oil is too hot. Turn it down and test again in a few minutes.)

Lower heat to medium-low. Carefully drop in scant tablespoons of batter (the loukoumades puff up, so you don’t want to make them too big). Don’t crowd the pan. Fry loukoumades, turning them until they are lightly golden and crispy. Remove them with a slotted spoon and place them in a bowl or large dish lined with paper towels. Continue until you’re out of batter, adding more oil to the pan, if necessary.

SYRUP

2 cups unpasteurized honey

3/4 cup to 1 cup water (depends on whether you prefer a thicker or thinner syrup)

Simmer water and honey together in a small saucepan for 3 to 4 minutes. Lower heat to minimum and keep warm.

TO SERVE:

If you prefer crispy loukoumades like I do, pour some syrup into an individual bowl, sprinkle with ground cinnamon, and dip loukoumades into the syrup as you’re eating them.

If you prefer softer/sweeter loukoumades, place them in a serving bowl. Pour the syrup over them and sprinkle with cinnamon. Eat while still warm.

You can also reheat loukoumades in the oven at 350F (175C) for about 15 minutes. Loukoumades are best eaten the same day.

How to Pronounce:

 

Wishing you a sweet 2022,

Aspasía S. Bissas

[Follow me on my official site: AspasiaSBissas.com]