45 things to do with salt

26. Salt can be used as a skin softener. Throw 1/2 cup Epsom salt or sea salt into your bath water and you'll be smooth as a baby's bum when you get out.

27. For a crispier skin on your baked potato, slather with olive oil and salt before baking.

28. Make scented bath salts with a mixture of 1 cup Epsom salts, 1 cup baking soda, and 3-4 drops of your favourite essential oil.

29. Sore feet? Soak them in a salt bath: 12 cups warm water, 2 tablespoons of salt, and 2 tablespoons of baking soda.

30. Fill a nail hole with a mixture of 1 tablespoon of salt, 1 tablespoon of corn starch, and 2 teaspoons of water to make a thick paste. Fill hold. Let dry and sand if necessary.

31. Wash dirty green vegetables such as spinach in a sink of mildly salted water to make them easier to clean.

32. When adding flour to a recipe for thickening, stir flour with a pinch of salt to prevent lumps.

33. A greasy pan will wash easier if you rub a little salt on it first. Wipe with a paper towel and then wash pan in hot soapy water.

34. Toss salt on a grease fire. Never use water.

35. Stinky thermos? Add salt and a little hot water. Cap, shake, and rinse. No more smell.

36. Remove blood stains by soaking item in cold salt water, then wash in warm, soapy water and hope CSI doesn't knock on your door.

37. Soothe aching muscles in a hot bath with some Epsom salts.

38. Make your skin glow by rubbing it with equal parts olive oil and salt. (Please do this while standing in your bathtub.)

39. Back in the day, Roman soldiers were paid in salt. So take a satchel of salt down to the store and see if it will buy you groceries.

40. Pour salt into a vase to hold dried or artificial flowers in place.

41. Salting water does not make it boil faster, but it does make it boil hotter, so your cooking time can be reduced.

42. Soak older, wrinkled apples in mildly salted water to revive them.

43. Keep sliced potatoes, apples or pears from browning by placing them in a bowl of mildly salted cold water.

44. Salt can repel fleas, so dunk your dog in the ocean before you head home from your walk or give him a bath in some salt water.

45. If you spill salt, throw a pinch over your shoulder to hit the devil in the eye.

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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.