I'm kind of surprised this subject and discussion is being tolerated in an organic forum. Alcohol is a disinfectant - meaning it kills "germs," like beneficial bacteria and fungi. The organic approach is to grow healthy plants with a healthy supply of bacteria and fungi that are resistant to the sucking insects. Down here in San Antonio we find that foliar spraying every two weeks with liquid seaweed (3 ounces per gallon of water) strengthens the plants to resist most sucking insects including (if not especially) spider mites. I'm experimenting with a milk spray (3 ounces or less per gallon) to see if it works as well for a whole lot less hassle and cost. I know the organic approach works on aphids. My roses suffered 8 years of aphids before I went organic. Since 2001 I have not seen an aphid on them. Your mileage may vary, but that's the no-kiddin truth at my house. All I do is topdress the rose beds with an inch of compost every spring and fertilize with a handful per plant of ordinary corn meal every month. We had been composting during the years of aphid infestation, but when we added the corn meal, the aphids disappeared. Another example of organic approach working is from a local organic experimenter who gave me a tour of his greenhouse. He pulled out three small plants in 4 inch pots. The three plants were all touching pot rims and the plant canopies were intermingled. He slid the tray out and showed me that only one of the three plants had aphids on it. It was pretty well covered while the other two plants were aphid free. The only difference was the soil. All three were growing in Wal-Mart potting mix but the two without aphids had been amended with compost, greensand, and ground basalt sand. I realize that three plants do not make a very serious experiment, but in the entire greenhouse, there was only one plant with aphids. Before that I had assumed that once a greenhouse was penetrated by aphids, the entire place had to be quarantined. Guess not.

There is a product that is like a non dairy whipped cream. Pastry Pride and Flavor Right are two brands. You whip it up like whipped cream but it has the consistency of icing. It tastes fine on it's own and is extremely low sugar and dairy free. You can flavor it with cocoa powders,pudding mix or custard mix. You can even mix cream cheese into it. I use it more for fillings ( makes a lovely custard) than I do icing since everyone loves my buttercream. But it does taste good and is extremely stable. It pipes well. You can freeze the unwhipped and even freeze it whipped. It can be left out at room temperature even in warm conditions for 24 hours and remain stable.It does tend to crust however after a longer time out. If I can't use buttercream for some reason I use it. It is excellent in hot weather. The only icing I can't stand is fondant. It looks good and you can look like an artist without too much practice creating fabulous "looking" cakes but I prefer not to have to chew my icing. LOL

I have three soups hand written at the top of my shopping list. (it's a simple spread sheet that has room top and bottom for notes) I just jot down what i'm thinking of making over the next weekend. Beef Barley - probably use a mix of grains, maybe some lentils. It is hearty but not quite a stew. Lots of broth for bread, biscuits or croutons. I add extra stock usually. It will thicken overnight. Freezes great. Make a killer top crust/or biscuit pot pie. Thai Coconut Chicken Curry - Also nice and rich but still brothy. I add a bit of tumeric and sweet paprika for color. Very much like a chowder. Not really a bread companion but we like it with thin rounds of toasted baguette. Potato Leek w/garlic and fennel - I use so much roasted garlic it should be called Garlic Soup. (less garlic for gifting). The fennel is some stalks i have frozen i just add while cooking and remove. I have leeks left over from T-day and lots of garlic. I like to use a few whole baby potatoes removed with some of the leeks/onions before stick blending some of the broth. One regular potato diced and half a sweet potato that get blended for some creaminess. Or i could use some squash/pumpkin from the freezer that i roasted a few weeks ago. I made versions of these with a chili and filled a friends freezer after she had her baby. It's a nice gift. If you google any suggestions, you will find many variations of the recipes. For example i just googled the curry to give me a quick reminder of the ingredients... i've never used fish sauce. I might add some shelled edamame. This Beef Barley is similar... Here is a link that might be useful: holiday soups

I bought a 24x24 sized standing stainless steel sink from Home Depot online. it was really expensive. I think it is about 12" deep, but not sure. It still needs to be installed, so I can't report on the product. I wanted stainless steel for my basement laundry area.