1. Rubbing salt in your wound is only an expression. Don't do it.

2. Enhance the flavour of your food -- duh.

3. Use as an abrasive. Toss some salt onto a stubborn kitchen counter stain and scrub with a damp dishcloth.

4. In the winter, de-ice the sidewalk when it freezes by tossing some salt on top of it. Wait 20 minutes and shovel your walk with ease.

5. Sprinkle salt in areas where you have ants and watch them flee.

6. Put a few grains of rice in your salt shaker to keep your salt from sticking together.

7. If you've burned your food, scrape as much of the burn off as you can, cover with water, and add 1/2 cup of salt. Bring to a boil and continue boiling for 20 minutes. Remove pan from heat and let stand for 30 minutes before scrubbing.

8. Add a pinch of salt to fresh-cut flowers to help them last a little longer.

9. To remove the smell of garlic from your fingers, rub them with lemon juice and salt, then rinse and wash with soap.

10. Fresh piercing? Use a simple saline (salt) solution of 1/2 cup warm water + 1 teaspoon of sea salt to soak your piercing in. It will speed up the healing process.

11. Too many bubbles while you're doing the dishes? Sprinkle them with a pinch of salt and watch them disappear.

12. Run out of toothpaste? Use equal parts of salt and baking soda (with a drop of peppermint extract if you like) instead. Dip your wet toothbrush in and brush away!

13. If wine is spilled on a tablecloth or rug, blot up as much as possible and immediately cover with a generous amount of salt, then leave until dried. Vacuum up salt and rinse with cold water. The stain will (cross your fingers) be gone.

14. A mixture of lemon juice and salt will remove mildew.

15. Wet a bee sting immediately with water and cover it with salt.

16. If your dish boils over onto the oven floor, sprinkle salt on top to stop smoke and odour. Once oven is cool, wipe spill away.

17. Always salt your pasta water before cooking. It will enhance the pasta's flavour and you won't have to salt your dish when it's served. Adding oil to pasta cooking water is unnecessary as it will make your pasta slippery and your sauce won't stick.

18. Remove stains from old teacups by rubbing with salt and a bit of water.

19. Salt enhances sweetness, so add a pinch when making sweets like kettle corn or hot chocolate.

20. A mixture of lemon juice and salt will remove rust stains.

21. Remove odour from a cutting board by pouring a generous amount of salt directly on the board. Rub lightly with a damp cloth. Wash in warm, soapy water.

22. If the juice from a fruit pie overflows while you're baking, sprinkle some salt onto the spill. It will burn to a crisp, making it easy to remove once the oven has cooled.

23. For a sore throat, gargle with 1/2 cup warm water and 1/4 teaspoon salt.

24. Stuffed up nose? Snort a solution of 1/4 cup warm water and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and then blow!

25. Draw the bitterness out of chopped eggplant by salting. Let stand a few minutes and then rinse before cooking.

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Excerpted from La Dolce Vegan: Vegan Livin' Made Easy by Sarah Kramer. Copyright 2005 by Sarah Kramer. Excerpted with permission from Arsenal Pulp Press. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced except with permission in writing from the publisher.