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Hi Reader,

I'm glad you're a part of the Oregon Cottage community - it's a great one that rallied around me after I shared my first burn in more than 30 years of canning from a freak jar break.💜 (Missed it? You can read about it here.)

I received so many well-wishes, as well as commiseration over kitchen burns and disasters. 😀 In fact, I got so many burn and pain recommendations that were different from the aloe remedy that I used (which worked great, btw) that I thought I'd list them for you. You can copy and paste them somewhere you can find them for any future burns - not that I'm wishing that on you, lol!

Tried and True Burn and Pain Remedies From An Oregon Cottage readers:

• Aloe - slathered and covered as long as possible.
• White vinegar for pain
• Honey - slather with honey and rub it in, keeping on as long as possible
• lavender oil - high quality
• Gaia Goo
• Unguentine ointment (hard to find now, though, when I looked it up)
• Egg white - separate and egg and use the white to coat the burn. Let each application dry and if it still hurts add an additional one.

Update on my hand: it didn't hurt at all the next day except when something brushed it and there was only a tiny blister that went away on it's own on day 3. Now a week later, there is only a little discoloration so I feel that the aloe did a good job of healing. I would've liked to try one of the remedies for the pain in the few hours after the burn, though, so I will be keeping this list handy!

September Dinner Menu Ideas

It's a new month this weekend!! Back-to-school, fall, finishing up the preserving and summer crops - all reasons to make an easy menu for your dinners.😀 You can find 4 weeks of dinner menu ideas (mains and sides) for September right here - below are a couple of menus that will be on my plan:

• ​Sausage & Corn Stuffed Zucchini (this FOR SURE - I always forget how much I like this until it's zucchini season 😂), Artisan Bread, sliced tomatoes (just put them right on top of the toasted bread - ahhh, sweet summer tomatoes...)
• Bacon, lettuce & tomato sandwiches on easy 100% Whole Wheat Bread (yep - gotta get a few more in before those delicious heirloom tomatoes are gone), corn on the cob
• ​Chicken, Spinach (or chard or kale) & Feta Frittata (I'll be making this with the abundance of kale I still have), green salad
• ​Chef’s Salads (this is a great way to use up the bits and pieces of the garden that is still coming in!), Easy Baguettes made quickly in a food processor - I'll toast the slices and load them up with fresh tomato bruschetta while I still can - so good!

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In My Kitchen

Last year I shared that I purchased one of those food choppers that I had seen all over the internet. My initial reaction was that I didn't think I'd bother getting it out for routine daily salads and recipes where you only need to chop a few things, but that I could see it being a time saver during the preserving season.

Well, I'm here to say it is!! Look at this bowl of diced veggies all ready to pickle:

This huge bowl took me less than 30 minutes which saved me at least half the time of a knife and cutting board. (This is for a refrigerated Italian giardiniera that I'm recipe testing!).

I've also used it for dicing onions a lot and it would make any type of relish preserve go quicker, too. Since it's not expensive, it's definitely worth it to me just for these times and the other few times I make large amounts throughout the year.💜

​Here's The Food Chopper I Use​

From The Blog

​Easy Chocolate Cupcakes with Zucchini and Whole Wheat​ I updated this classic, moist cupcake recipe with some new photos and formatting. Now is the time to make some to keep in the freezer! ​ RECIPE HERE! ​

​Easy Canned Tomato Bruschetta - Summer in a Jar!​ Eat the fresh bruschetta while the tomatoes are coming on but be sure to put up this canned version for the winter. One reader said "this is the best thing I've ever canned." I agree! ​ RECIPE HERE! ​

A Few More Things

While I use this tinted mineral sunscreen all year around, I really appreciate it in the summer months. It goes on light, never looks heavy or cakey and spreads easily so I don't have to worry about a separate sunscreen or foundation.💜 (Check out the 65k+ reviews - I'm not the only one!)

I listened to two audiobooks last week that both may make my best of 2025 list:

• ​Good Dirt, a look at both a modern well-to-do black family and their slave ancestors that deals with grief, trauma, healing, and family.
• ​Practicing The Way, a book about what it means to be with Jesus, become like Him, and do as He did, with practical, real-world advice on how to do it.

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Thank you for reading along - I won't be in your inbox next Saturday for a vacation we're taking to Glacier (!), but look for me after that with more good things and recipes!

Have a wonderful couple of weeks!!

PS- Remember to tag me on Instagram so I can see what you're making!

Remember it's easy to save recipes on An Oregon Cottage! Just click the heart when browsing to save your personal favorites! TIP: when you click on the link, it will take you to my site - click the heart like you see here to the left - it will be on the bottom right on the site. A pop up form will come up for you to create an account (or sign in if you already have). You need to create a password for this account (no info is kept besides your email) and then you can save all recipes and articles to this account and access it anytime to remember what you want and choose what to make!

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