A couple of times, on the way to the train station from home, hubby and I noticed parents walking with their kids to school. Seems okay so far, right? What is shocking is that the kids, passing by someone's front garden filled with flowers, was picking the flowers - right in front of the parent! The first time, the parent sees us coming and tells the kid to hurry up and finish picking. The second time, the parent simply didn't even care. I find it shocking that parents condone this. Although this kind of theft is relatively harmless because it is not like money was lost and that the owner needed plants in their front yard, it is still theft. The fact that these parents aren't even teaching their kids right from wrong is even more shocking because you then have to wonder what other instances of right and wrong are they not teaching?
Anyways, here's the article that spurred this post. The comments section is also worth reading.
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/boston/stop-thief-dealing-with-stolen-garden-plants-the-gardenist-150171
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Cooling necklace
Summer is upon us! In celebration of that, I found a really wonderful craft project that I'd like to try out:
http://dollarstorecrafts.com/2011/06/make-a-cooling-summer-necklace/
http://dollarstorecrafts.com/2011/06/make-a-cooling-summer-necklace/
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Weekend cooking
Last weekend, I spent almost all my time cooking. Actually, the cooking part was easy. Most of my effort was spent on prepping and chopping the vegetables and then washing the dishes repeatedly so I can re-use them. What's so sad about it is that in the end, my arms and hands were so sore, they could barely move and I have little results to show for it.
So what did I make? I made veggie stock, lentil soup, chickpea cutlets and seitan roast. The chickpeas needed to soak for at least 8 hours, but the mashing of them by hand was hard. Also, I am not good with knives and chopping. So dicing all the veggies into tiny cubes was probably not the best on me either. The seitan roast was a crockpot roast, so very little effort there. Honestly, I don't know why I was so incapacitated after a weekend of this. Looking back, I feel like I did very little. There was so much more I wanted to do but didn't get around to it. So anyways, the veggie stock is now frozen, as is most of the chickpea cutlets. The seitan roast and the veggies from the veggie stock will be eaten this week
In retrospect, I could have done things differently and will do so when we move into the house. First of all, I will cut down on veggie chopping by hand and let some machines do some work, like the food processor. For veggie stocks, it shouldn't matter if the food processor processes the veggies too fine since I'll be straining the stuff anyways. I'll also use the food processor for processing the chickpeas to bits. Mashing by hand is hard work! As for the dishes, that's what the dishwasher is for!
This past weekend, I did another big round of cooking. I made my favorite egg and potato salad, cucumber salad, cabbage soup, pita chips, onion dip, deviled eggs and a casserole. My hubby and I polished off the pita chips, onion dip and deviled eggs before the weekend was over. I froze some of the cabbage soup and half the casserole.Even so, I think we have enough food to last us a few days.
These past couple of weekends have left me eating very well and feeling very satisfied. If you'd like to try to make some of the foods I made, here is the list of sources:
- chickpea cutlets - Post Punk Kitchen
http://www.theppk.com/2010/11/doublebatch-chickpea-cutlets/
- lentil soup - Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything
http://markbittman.com/7-ways-to-make-lentil-soup
- seitan roast - Vegan Planet
http://veganplanet.blogspot.com/2008/03/slow-cooker-seitan-pot-roast.html
-cabbage soup - Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything
Couldn't find it posted online, but it's in the cookbook and the iPad app
- pita chips
Just split the pitas, brush with oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and toast in the oven at 400 degrees for 5 minutes.
- onion dip - Alton Brown
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/onion-dip-from-scratch-recipe/index.html
- deviled eggs
Cut hard-boiled eggs in half and scoop out yolks. Mash yolks with prepared horseradish, mayo, salt and pepper. Then pipe or spoon yolk mixture back into egg whites.
- egg and potato salad
Steam cook 2 potatoes, 2 carrots, 2 eggs and dice them along with a fresh, small cucumber, de-seeded. Mix with mayo, white pepper and salt to taste
- cucumber salad
Slice cucumber very thin and toss with salt and vinegar. Let it sit for a couple of hours, then drain. Mix in sour cream. Add mayo and pepper to taste.
- casserole
Saute tomatoes, celery, carrots, mock duck, scallions, garlic and whatever leftover veggies you have until tender and starting to brown. There should be about 2 cups of this. Beat 5 eggs and add lots of grated parmesan cheese. Then mix in the veggies and 2 cups of cooked rice. Put into baking dish and bake at 350 degrees F for about an hour.
You'll notice a lot of mayo and sour cream being used this past weekend. This is because I really wanted to make onion dip and the egg and potato salad and I ended up with some leftover sour cream and cucumber. So I made a couple of other things to use up these ingredients. Although there is no excuse for the deviled eggs other than the fact that I just wanted to make them for me and my hubby to snack on. Despite all the cooking work, these past couple of weekends have been very enjoyable and I have eaten very well. I do love it when my cooking adventures turn out well!
So what did I make? I made veggie stock, lentil soup, chickpea cutlets and seitan roast. The chickpeas needed to soak for at least 8 hours, but the mashing of them by hand was hard. Also, I am not good with knives and chopping. So dicing all the veggies into tiny cubes was probably not the best on me either. The seitan roast was a crockpot roast, so very little effort there. Honestly, I don't know why I was so incapacitated after a weekend of this. Looking back, I feel like I did very little. There was so much more I wanted to do but didn't get around to it. So anyways, the veggie stock is now frozen, as is most of the chickpea cutlets. The seitan roast and the veggies from the veggie stock will be eaten this week
In retrospect, I could have done things differently and will do so when we move into the house. First of all, I will cut down on veggie chopping by hand and let some machines do some work, like the food processor. For veggie stocks, it shouldn't matter if the food processor processes the veggies too fine since I'll be straining the stuff anyways. I'll also use the food processor for processing the chickpeas to bits. Mashing by hand is hard work! As for the dishes, that's what the dishwasher is for!
This past weekend, I did another big round of cooking. I made my favorite egg and potato salad, cucumber salad, cabbage soup, pita chips, onion dip, deviled eggs and a casserole. My hubby and I polished off the pita chips, onion dip and deviled eggs before the weekend was over. I froze some of the cabbage soup and half the casserole.Even so, I think we have enough food to last us a few days.
These past couple of weekends have left me eating very well and feeling very satisfied. If you'd like to try to make some of the foods I made, here is the list of sources:
- chickpea cutlets - Post Punk Kitchen
http://www.theppk.com/2010/11/doublebatch-chickpea-cutlets/
- lentil soup - Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything
http://markbittman.com/7-ways-to-make-lentil-soup
- seitan roast - Vegan Planet
http://veganplanet.blogspot.com/2008/03/slow-cooker-seitan-pot-roast.html
-cabbage soup - Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything
Couldn't find it posted online, but it's in the cookbook and the iPad app
- pita chips
Just split the pitas, brush with oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and toast in the oven at 400 degrees for 5 minutes.
- onion dip - Alton Brown
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/onion-dip-from-scratch-recipe/index.html
- deviled eggs
Cut hard-boiled eggs in half and scoop out yolks. Mash yolks with prepared horseradish, mayo, salt and pepper. Then pipe or spoon yolk mixture back into egg whites.
- egg and potato salad
Steam cook 2 potatoes, 2 carrots, 2 eggs and dice them along with a fresh, small cucumber, de-seeded. Mix with mayo, white pepper and salt to taste
- cucumber salad
Slice cucumber very thin and toss with salt and vinegar. Let it sit for a couple of hours, then drain. Mix in sour cream. Add mayo and pepper to taste.
- casserole
Saute tomatoes, celery, carrots, mock duck, scallions, garlic and whatever leftover veggies you have until tender and starting to brown. There should be about 2 cups of this. Beat 5 eggs and add lots of grated parmesan cheese. Then mix in the veggies and 2 cups of cooked rice. Put into baking dish and bake at 350 degrees F for about an hour.
You'll notice a lot of mayo and sour cream being used this past weekend. This is because I really wanted to make onion dip and the egg and potato salad and I ended up with some leftover sour cream and cucumber. So I made a couple of other things to use up these ingredients. Although there is no excuse for the deviled eggs other than the fact that I just wanted to make them for me and my hubby to snack on. Despite all the cooking work, these past couple of weekends have been very enjoyable and I have eaten very well. I do love it when my cooking adventures turn out well!
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Hunting for a home, part 4
After the inspection was done and we've decided to move ahead with the purchase, we had to finalize the details of the contract and hand in the earnest money. Once that's done, we had to apply for a loan.
The contract negotiations were, for the most part, handled by our lawyer, who I am very thankful to be working with. As luck would have it, our real estate lawyer is very good. He is not only attentive, but readily available when we or our bank have questions. He proactively negotiated to remove parts of the contract that would have been detrimental to us, which makes me feel like he making his best effort to represent our interests.
Eventually, the contract was finalized and our closing date was set on a date later than we would have liked. It was because of this late closing date that we decided to pay extra to lock in our mortgage rate in case it rises. In any case, we had to bring a mountain of paperwork to the bank mortgage guy to apply for the loan. It went smoothly, but it took a long time.
A while later, we get an email from some other bank dude that does the nitty gritty for bank loans and he informed us that our loan was approved to be underwritten. Yay! Now all we have to do is liquidate some funds so that we can prove we can cover the down payment. So far, so good (knock on wood!)
The contract negotiations were, for the most part, handled by our lawyer, who I am very thankful to be working with. As luck would have it, our real estate lawyer is very good. He is not only attentive, but readily available when we or our bank have questions. He proactively negotiated to remove parts of the contract that would have been detrimental to us, which makes me feel like he making his best effort to represent our interests.
Eventually, the contract was finalized and our closing date was set on a date later than we would have liked. It was because of this late closing date that we decided to pay extra to lock in our mortgage rate in case it rises. In any case, we had to bring a mountain of paperwork to the bank mortgage guy to apply for the loan. It went smoothly, but it took a long time.
A while later, we get an email from some other bank dude that does the nitty gritty for bank loans and he informed us that our loan was approved to be underwritten. Yay! Now all we have to do is liquidate some funds so that we can prove we can cover the down payment. So far, so good (knock on wood!)
Monday, June 6, 2011
Hunting for a home, part 3
This part is about the home inspection. Once this part is done, we can either re-negotiate the bid price or go ahead and move forward with the contract. The entire inspection was done in 2 hours and it was quite expensive. However, considering the amount of money the house itself costs, the amount spent on the inspection is negligible.
Anyways, we arrive at the house at the appointed time and the inspector is already there waiting. He meets us out front and we chat while waiting for the real estate agent. The sellers are out, but their nanny is home with the kids and they planned to head out into the city once the inspection starts. So basically, we're all waiting for the real estate agent to let us in and put everything in order. The inspector eventually got impatient and then irritated as we waited and waited, so he started the inspection of the exterior of the house and whatever we could see from the outside perimeter. It's an old house and it's clear that maintenance work has been kept up with over the years.
As we were chatting about the back of the house (we still couldn't enter the premises, so we were chatting about what we could see over the back gate) the real estate agent arrived. She was about 30 minutes late, never introduced herself, made any apologies nor any excuses as to why she was late. When she finally did let us into the house and the nanny left with the kids, she spent most of our time there screaming on the phone using the most mean and rude language. She was so loud and nasty on the phone, that we were hearing her in the basement and the inspector made a comment that she has "some mouth" on her. As we continued the inspection of the basement, it was clear that she was screaming on the phone making actual business calls. I don't understand how anyone can do business with her.
Anyway, the inspection itself was pleasant. The inspector was thorough and explained what things may need work soon and often would include approximate cost of the work. We walked away with the overall impression that the house is in decent shape and has been lovingly maintained by the family living there. There are, however, some important concerns.
For me, the first major concern is the likely presence of lead-based paint. Most of the interior of the house has been painted over several times so whatever lead-based paint there was has been covered up. However, there is evidence of some peeling paint and hollow areas where the old paint has separated from the walls, increasing the risk of lead dust coming out and contaminating the rest of the house. The previous owners never got the house inspected for lead, so they can't tell us much about the risk other than that all the old paint has been painted over at least a couple of time. We will have to get the house inspected for lead and start taking action to get rid of it. Lead abatement via contractor is very expensive and I think for us, would cost at least $30,000. The other option is to do it ourselves. It sounds risky, but I think it can be done since there are tips on what precautions to take on nyc.gov.
In any case, for some reason, hubby is not as concerned with lead abatement as I am. The idea of lead dust getting into me or my future baby really makes me nervous and uncomfortable and just really, really unhappy. Hubby has promised to help remove the lead once we've gotten the house. I just hope it gets done sooner than later.
Anyways, we arrive at the house at the appointed time and the inspector is already there waiting. He meets us out front and we chat while waiting for the real estate agent. The sellers are out, but their nanny is home with the kids and they planned to head out into the city once the inspection starts. So basically, we're all waiting for the real estate agent to let us in and put everything in order. The inspector eventually got impatient and then irritated as we waited and waited, so he started the inspection of the exterior of the house and whatever we could see from the outside perimeter. It's an old house and it's clear that maintenance work has been kept up with over the years.
As we were chatting about the back of the house (we still couldn't enter the premises, so we were chatting about what we could see over the back gate) the real estate agent arrived. She was about 30 minutes late, never introduced herself, made any apologies nor any excuses as to why she was late. When she finally did let us into the house and the nanny left with the kids, she spent most of our time there screaming on the phone using the most mean and rude language. She was so loud and nasty on the phone, that we were hearing her in the basement and the inspector made a comment that she has "some mouth" on her. As we continued the inspection of the basement, it was clear that she was screaming on the phone making actual business calls. I don't understand how anyone can do business with her.
Anyway, the inspection itself was pleasant. The inspector was thorough and explained what things may need work soon and often would include approximate cost of the work. We walked away with the overall impression that the house is in decent shape and has been lovingly maintained by the family living there. There are, however, some important concerns.
For me, the first major concern is the likely presence of lead-based paint. Most of the interior of the house has been painted over several times so whatever lead-based paint there was has been covered up. However, there is evidence of some peeling paint and hollow areas where the old paint has separated from the walls, increasing the risk of lead dust coming out and contaminating the rest of the house. The previous owners never got the house inspected for lead, so they can't tell us much about the risk other than that all the old paint has been painted over at least a couple of time. We will have to get the house inspected for lead and start taking action to get rid of it. Lead abatement via contractor is very expensive and I think for us, would cost at least $30,000. The other option is to do it ourselves. It sounds risky, but I think it can be done since there are tips on what precautions to take on nyc.gov.
In any case, for some reason, hubby is not as concerned with lead abatement as I am. The idea of lead dust getting into me or my future baby really makes me nervous and uncomfortable and just really, really unhappy. Hubby has promised to help remove the lead once we've gotten the house. I just hope it gets done sooner than later.
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