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.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Softening Brown sugar
Recently, I needed to use some brown sugar to make chocolate covered matzoh. I knew I had some in the cabinet, and I also knew it was probably rock hard by now. It's been months since I last used any of it and sure enough when I found the sugar, it was unyielding and hard. I took a rolling pin and started banging at it until enough chunks came loose to get approximately what I needed.
Today, I came upon some tips on how to keep your brown sugar soft. Common tips suggest putting a slice of bread or slices of apples with your brown sugar and it should soften in a day or two. My favorite suggestion is to use an unglazed piece of terracotta or clay pot. Soak the piece for 10 minutes, wipe it so it's not dripping wet and place it in an airtight container with the brown sugar. I like this method because the clay piece won't rot and is reusable.
However, if you need to soften brown sugar right away and can't wait a day or two, you can place your brown sugar in a covered bowl with a wet paper towel or cloth and microwave it for about 20 seconds or so. I wish I had known of this trick earlier when I needed to make chocolate-covered matzoh, which came out delicious, by the way.
Anyways, the chocolate matzoh recipe I used is from here:
http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2006/04/caramelized-mat-1/
Enjoy!
Today, I came upon some tips on how to keep your brown sugar soft. Common tips suggest putting a slice of bread or slices of apples with your brown sugar and it should soften in a day or two. My favorite suggestion is to use an unglazed piece of terracotta or clay pot. Soak the piece for 10 minutes, wipe it so it's not dripping wet and place it in an airtight container with the brown sugar. I like this method because the clay piece won't rot and is reusable.
However, if you need to soften brown sugar right away and can't wait a day or two, you can place your brown sugar in a covered bowl with a wet paper towel or cloth and microwave it for about 20 seconds or so. I wish I had known of this trick earlier when I needed to make chocolate-covered matzoh, which came out delicious, by the way.
Anyways, the chocolate matzoh recipe I used is from here:
http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2006/04/caramelized-mat-1/
Enjoy!
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Hunting for a home, part 2
So in this part of the saga, I will relate the story of renewing that prequal letter from our bank. It is a story with twists and turns with emotional ups and downs. Our troubles that began here may yet haunt us later, but as there is nothing we can do about it, not sure what we can do to mitigate it. Anyways, we begin the story with us contacting the bank to renew our prequal letter.
Our bank guy is a very nice man and when hubby called him to tell him we've found a place we would like to make a bid on but our prequal letter has just expired, he set forth to expediently send us a renewed prequal letter. It should be no big deal, in our minds, because we were able get one just 3 months earlier. Boy were we wrong!
I get home and hubby calls me to tell me that we can't get a prequal letter because they can't get his credit score. Not that the score was low or anything, just that they can't find it or get it. We came home and tried to obtain it ourselves, but it wasn't available for us either. Hubby tried calling the credit agencies, who were nothing but nasty and unhelpful saying things like, "I can see your score, it's right here in front of me. If you can't get to it, that's not our problem." He called a mortgage broker who advised putting him on my credit cards and going shopping. We got some advice from a credit repair person that our bank guy happened to know, but we didn't need credit repair.
We were very confused and got no real answers, just speculation and things to try. At this point, we figured there was no way we were getting the house. Now, our first priority was getting the credit stuff fixed. As per the mortgage broker's advice, I put my hubby on all my cards and when they came, we went shopping. After a big day of shopping, we came home and found a prequal letter from the bank sitting in our mailbox. Now, we were thoroughly confused.
Hubby calls the bank and the guy we were dealing with was also confused. He says he tried to run our numbers through the program a few times to get us a prequal letter but there was no indication to him that any of them went through but apparently one attempt did. In any case, he didn't say we couldn't use it. Before sending this unexpected letter to the listing agent, hubby goes online to check for his score. Maybe the shopping worked?
It did! There it was, sitting on the screen! Still, we had no idea what happened to make it go away or if the shopping was what brought it back. Still nervous that this could happen again when we apply for a loan, we sent the prequal letter to the agent and contacted our real estate lawyer.
The sellers agreed to sell us the house at our bid price and sent over the bid contract for our lawyer to fill out. The lawyer told us we needed to get the house inspection done before we can move forward. Hubby's boss recommended an inspector and an appointment was made. Thus ends the prequal letter chapter and begins the house inspection chapter!
Our bank guy is a very nice man and when hubby called him to tell him we've found a place we would like to make a bid on but our prequal letter has just expired, he set forth to expediently send us a renewed prequal letter. It should be no big deal, in our minds, because we were able get one just 3 months earlier. Boy were we wrong!
I get home and hubby calls me to tell me that we can't get a prequal letter because they can't get his credit score. Not that the score was low or anything, just that they can't find it or get it. We came home and tried to obtain it ourselves, but it wasn't available for us either. Hubby tried calling the credit agencies, who were nothing but nasty and unhelpful saying things like, "I can see your score, it's right here in front of me. If you can't get to it, that's not our problem." He called a mortgage broker who advised putting him on my credit cards and going shopping. We got some advice from a credit repair person that our bank guy happened to know, but we didn't need credit repair.
We were very confused and got no real answers, just speculation and things to try. At this point, we figured there was no way we were getting the house. Now, our first priority was getting the credit stuff fixed. As per the mortgage broker's advice, I put my hubby on all my cards and when they came, we went shopping. After a big day of shopping, we came home and found a prequal letter from the bank sitting in our mailbox. Now, we were thoroughly confused.
Hubby calls the bank and the guy we were dealing with was also confused. He says he tried to run our numbers through the program a few times to get us a prequal letter but there was no indication to him that any of them went through but apparently one attempt did. In any case, he didn't say we couldn't use it. Before sending this unexpected letter to the listing agent, hubby goes online to check for his score. Maybe the shopping worked?
It did! There it was, sitting on the screen! Still, we had no idea what happened to make it go away or if the shopping was what brought it back. Still nervous that this could happen again when we apply for a loan, we sent the prequal letter to the agent and contacted our real estate lawyer.
The sellers agreed to sell us the house at our bid price and sent over the bid contract for our lawyer to fill out. The lawyer told us we needed to get the house inspection done before we can move forward. Hubby's boss recommended an inspector and an appointment was made. Thus ends the prequal letter chapter and begins the house inspection chapter!
Sunday, April 24, 2011
iPad 2
When the first iPad came out, my hubby was excited. He wanted one, and for a whole year we joked about getting him one but never did. It was too expensive and we had enough electronics to keep us occupied. Still, I must admit that it had definite appeal. We didn't get one because I just couldn't justify buying something so expensive when we really didn't need it. As far as I could tell, it would have been mostly a toy. I never considered getting one myself because I figured I'm pretty happy without one and really don't need one. So, as we were still in recovery from wedding and Christmas expenses, we never seriously considered getting an iPad.
Then the iPad 2 came out. Again my hubby was drooling and dreaming. Our finances were looking healthier, but it was still too expensive. My attitude had not changed towards it either. It was still nothing more than a really, super expensive toy. I just could not justify spending this much money all at once on something that seemed so frivolous to me.
Then my coworker caved and bought an iPad 2. He brought it to work and every so often, would run over to me and our boss and excitedly show us something it could do. That was when I really fell in love with it. Financial conservatism be damned! I want one! I really, really wanted one!
After checking our accounts and calculating that hubby and I could, indeed afford one each if we remained frugal for the rest of the year, I decided to take the plunge. I went to hubby and said, "Let's go get them!" Hubby first looked at me a bit incredulously. After all, I'd been saying no to a lot of frivolous spending for a good loooong time. He didn't hesitate long, however, before looking up the locations of Apple stores we can check out.
So we went to the Apple store that day and made our purchase. For a few days, I was embarrassed that we had caved and tried to hide the device or refrain from telling anyone what we had done. It was like a dirty secret and I was ashamed. Eventually, I realized it was silly to be acting this way and hid it no longer. What a wonderful feeling it was to be able to talk about the iPad with other iPad owners! We haven't been iPad 2 owners for long, but here are my impressions so far:
- They're purty!
- Love the multitasking feature!
- Lotsa games look great on them and some are free
- I downloaded a free finance app and have been tracking our expenses there. So far, it's been good to have
- It's also an e-reader, which is great because getting new books doesn't take up actual space in our apartment!
- Unlike the iPhone, you can actually type on the touch keyboard, which is perfect for emailing
- Google Maps is a hundred times better on the iPad than on my very old iPhone
- It has made me impatient and frustrated when using my out-dated iPhone
- My recipe application is so much easier to read off the iPad. No more squinting at my iPhone to find out what the next step or ingredient is in a recipe
- Web browsing on the iPad is better than it ever was on my iPhone
- Did I mention the games?
- Am thinking of getting a stylus to use with a sketch/note-taking app so I can draw/write directly onto my iPad. Saves paper!
- You can actually remote into a desktop PC and do work while away from work, which is only handy if you're a workaholic
- You can show people your photos and they'll look nice on the screen!
That's all I have so far. There's lots more that can be done. It's all about downloading/using the right app. So really, yes it's a toy, but it's not just a toy. It can be a personal organizer, a video blogging device, an e-reader, note-taker, task manager, GPS, research tool, music player, video player and so more all at once. Cool, right?
Then the iPad 2 came out. Again my hubby was drooling and dreaming. Our finances were looking healthier, but it was still too expensive. My attitude had not changed towards it either. It was still nothing more than a really, super expensive toy. I just could not justify spending this much money all at once on something that seemed so frivolous to me.
Then my coworker caved and bought an iPad 2. He brought it to work and every so often, would run over to me and our boss and excitedly show us something it could do. That was when I really fell in love with it. Financial conservatism be damned! I want one! I really, really wanted one!
After checking our accounts and calculating that hubby and I could, indeed afford one each if we remained frugal for the rest of the year, I decided to take the plunge. I went to hubby and said, "Let's go get them!" Hubby first looked at me a bit incredulously. After all, I'd been saying no to a lot of frivolous spending for a good loooong time. He didn't hesitate long, however, before looking up the locations of Apple stores we can check out.
So we went to the Apple store that day and made our purchase. For a few days, I was embarrassed that we had caved and tried to hide the device or refrain from telling anyone what we had done. It was like a dirty secret and I was ashamed. Eventually, I realized it was silly to be acting this way and hid it no longer. What a wonderful feeling it was to be able to talk about the iPad with other iPad owners! We haven't been iPad 2 owners for long, but here are my impressions so far:
- They're purty!
- Love the multitasking feature!
- Lotsa games look great on them and some are free
- I downloaded a free finance app and have been tracking our expenses there. So far, it's been good to have
- It's also an e-reader, which is great because getting new books doesn't take up actual space in our apartment!
- Unlike the iPhone, you can actually type on the touch keyboard, which is perfect for emailing
- Google Maps is a hundred times better on the iPad than on my very old iPhone
- It has made me impatient and frustrated when using my out-dated iPhone
- My recipe application is so much easier to read off the iPad. No more squinting at my iPhone to find out what the next step or ingredient is in a recipe
- Web browsing on the iPad is better than it ever was on my iPhone
- Did I mention the games?
- Am thinking of getting a stylus to use with a sketch/note-taking app so I can draw/write directly onto my iPad. Saves paper!
- You can actually remote into a desktop PC and do work while away from work, which is only handy if you're a workaholic
- You can show people your photos and they'll look nice on the screen!
That's all I have so far. There's lots more that can be done. It's all about downloading/using the right app. So really, yes it's a toy, but it's not just a toy. It can be a personal organizer, a video blogging device, an e-reader, note-taker, task manager, GPS, research tool, music player, video player and so more all at once. Cool, right?
Friday, April 22, 2011
Watering your plants
I have a black thumb. Every plant I have ever tried to keep alive has somehow died at my hands. Currently, I am struggling to keep alive two little moss terrariums at my desk and a little mini bamboo stalk at home.
One of the big mistakes I repeatedly make is either over-watering or forgetting to water my plants. I over-watered my moss terrariums and they've started turning yellow. I forgot to water my bamboo and the leaves started to dry up and fall off. Going forward, I can either shore up my memory buckets and find a better way figure out my watering schedule per plant, or set up reminders somewhere.
The other option is to set up a kind of hands-off irrigation operation. I found some really cool ways to water your plants without having to remember to check on them every day:
http://tipnut.com/garden-irrigation/
http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2009/07/how_to_create_a_simple_housepl.html
http://radmegan.blogspot.com/2011/02/coke-bottle-watering-globes.html
The buried clay pot method outlined in the first link seems good for outdoor gardens and the other two sound like they would be good for houseplants. Currently, I don't have an outdoor garden nor do I have any glass bottles I can use as a watering globe. The cotton wicking method is appealing to me though. I could definitely try that with my bamboo.
One of the big mistakes I repeatedly make is either over-watering or forgetting to water my plants. I over-watered my moss terrariums and they've started turning yellow. I forgot to water my bamboo and the leaves started to dry up and fall off. Going forward, I can either shore up my memory buckets and find a better way figure out my watering schedule per plant, or set up reminders somewhere.
The other option is to set up a kind of hands-off irrigation operation. I found some really cool ways to water your plants without having to remember to check on them every day:
http://tipnut.com/garden-irrigation/
http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2009/07/how_to_create_a_simple_housepl.html
http://radmegan.blogspot.com/2011/02/coke-bottle-watering-globes.html
The buried clay pot method outlined in the first link seems good for outdoor gardens and the other two sound like they would be good for houseplants. Currently, I don't have an outdoor garden nor do I have any glass bottles I can use as a watering globe. The cotton wicking method is appealing to me though. I could definitely try that with my bamboo.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
DOT issues new rules to airlines
Sometimes, you read the news and you think this world sucks and is going down the drain. Then there are times when a sliver of light shines through and makes you go, "Yes!" Today, I saw a sliver of light in this article:
http://www.cnn.com/2011/TRAVEL/04/20/passenger.rights/?hpt=Sbin
Air travel has become, in many ways, a punishing experience with little or no sympathy offered from the airlines or their staff. I understand that grumpy, grouchy people are difficult to deal with, but people are grumpy and grouchy because the airlines are trying to treat them like farm animals on a factory farm. Where's the human kindness, the empathy and compassion? How can airlines pretend to be non-evil if they think it's okay to leave passengers on a tarmac for over 2 hours without food, water, working bathrooms or medical attention? The fact that an official regulation is needed to force airlines to treat us with basic human decency is pretty outrageous.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/TRAVEL/04/20/passenger.rights/?hpt=Sbin
Air travel has become, in many ways, a punishing experience with little or no sympathy offered from the airlines or their staff. I understand that grumpy, grouchy people are difficult to deal with, but people are grumpy and grouchy because the airlines are trying to treat them like farm animals on a factory farm. Where's the human kindness, the empathy and compassion? How can airlines pretend to be non-evil if they think it's okay to leave passengers on a tarmac for over 2 hours without food, water, working bathrooms or medical attention? The fact that an official regulation is needed to force airlines to treat us with basic human decency is pretty outrageous.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Hunting for a home, part 1
So late last year, my hubby and I started house-hunting. We really didn't know what we were doing and got lots of advice from different people, many of which conflicted. The running theme of everyone's experiences was that buying real estate in NYC sucks.
We started hunting late last year and then stopped because the market was totally dead during the winter. Throughout the fall and winter we were hoping to buy a condo next door that had gone up for sale. The couple that owned the condo was getting a divorce and supposedly, selling the condo was part of their settlement. The condo was big enough for a family just starting out and it was sunny. In the end, I think a big reason we both really liked it was because we didn't want to leave the neighborhood we already lived in. Moving next door would mean we stay in our comfort zone and the move itself would be more convenient.
In any case, we made our first bid 10 percent below asking price. According to the selling agent, it was a terribly lowball bid and the sellers were very unhappy and wanted to throw our offer away and wait for another one. The agent claims that she talked them into making a counteroffer by explaining to them that we're negotiating and this is how it's done. So they moved their price lower by almost nothing percentage-wise, which in turn irritated us. Hubby really wanted to move quickly and buy the place. He was willing to offer them the asking price if need be. I originally was very excited, but as time passed, I became less enthusiastic about the place and after each interaction with the selling agent, the less I wanted to negotiate with them. Anyways, so our next number was much higher to show that we were willing to move. They moved almost nothing again. Seeing as they have no had any other bids, I convinced hubby to wait a month before making our next bid. If there was no competition, they either had to sell to us at the price we're offering or not sell at all. I thought it was unreasonable of them to expect that someone would just walk in and immediately buy the place at their asking price. The selling agent conveyed that despite the fact that the couple had only moved their number lower by almost nothing, percentage-wise, they were pissed because they felt like we were trying to get them to sell for "way below market value." It seemed to me that they were pissed all the time and were pissed at us a lot because they had no other offer and didn't like ours. Anyways, we made our last and final bid and our number was again much higher than the previous number. We don't hear a reply for a long time and when the selling agent finally called us back, it turns out that they decided not to sell it.
The story, as far as we can glean from the selling agent, was that the husband wanted to sell it but the wife didn't. So despite all the fighting between me and my hubby on the negotiation process, it was possible the wife put it on the market to please the husband, but never intended to follow through with a sale. The selling agent hinted at them fighting a great deal throughout the process and often mentioned how the husband would be angry at how low our number was no matter how high we moved it. This made me angry because I felt like if they wanted the asking price, they should have just said from the start, "no negotiation" or something to that effect instead of throwing a temper tantrum every time we gave a new number that wasn't their asking price. I was unhappy with the couple because I really felt like they jerked us around and that we really had no chance of getting the place.
Meanwhile, the condo upstairs also went on sale for a much higher price, which was immediately reduced a week later by a sizable amount. We considered briefly buying the upstairs one, but the charm of possibly living in the building next door has been mostly lost. The one we bid on was pulled from the market, probably because the wife was more than happy to keep the place, and the one above is still trying to sell, even at the reduced price.
So then I found a small house a little farther away from Manhattan. Yes, the commute would have been longer, but the neighborhood, I think, is nicer and the schools are better. Plus, it's a small house! It's not a condo where you have to worry about how your exercise routine might irritate the neighbors downstairs. You don't have to worry about your building-mates messing up the common areas or have stuff on their terrace overhang and block the view on your terrace. Of course, having a house also means you have to do your own snow removal and all the maintenance. Still, it would be nice to have a house.
So anyways, we went to see this house and although I rather liked it, my hubby was only okay with it. He said there was too little living room and too much dining room. Also, there was no back yard, which I didn't really like. The good thing was that it came with a much-coveted garage. Parking is a real pain in NYC. Overall, it was a pretty nice house. The agent that showed us around sounded like she thought we'd be in pretty decent standing since I mentioned we were already prequalified. She said that the owner had previously accepted an offer but it fell through when the buyer could not secure a loan. In the end, we decided not to bid on this house.
A few days later, another house came on the market. This house had everything we were looking for. Apparently, it appealed to many others as well because when we went to see it 4 days after it was listed, 3 or 4 other prospective buyers had already seen it and there were more viewings scheduled after us. There was definitely a lot of excitement around this house! After checking out the place, we fell in love with it. It had a back yard, a garage, a front porch and a furnished basement. It's a small, modest house, only 2 blocks away from the subway station and a block way from a decently sized supermarket. The schools are good and the area is quiet.
Considering all the interest in the house, we were worried about getting into a bidding war, but decided that we'll try for it and if we don't get there, there is bound to be another house in NYC for us. When hubby called the agent to make a bid, it turns out that there was already a bid on the house. Hubby made a competing bid for slightly higher, promising at least 20% down payment and mentioned we were prequalified. Apparently, the agent said that puts us in better standing because the other bid wasn't going to put as much down and did not have a prequal letter. He asked us to send him our prequal letter, but unfortunately for us, it had just expired.
So we sent in our old one and started the process of renewing it. This led us to a great deal of misery, excitement and confusion. I think I'll leave that part of the saga for my next post on hunting for a home.
We started hunting late last year and then stopped because the market was totally dead during the winter. Throughout the fall and winter we were hoping to buy a condo next door that had gone up for sale. The couple that owned the condo was getting a divorce and supposedly, selling the condo was part of their settlement. The condo was big enough for a family just starting out and it was sunny. In the end, I think a big reason we both really liked it was because we didn't want to leave the neighborhood we already lived in. Moving next door would mean we stay in our comfort zone and the move itself would be more convenient.
In any case, we made our first bid 10 percent below asking price. According to the selling agent, it was a terribly lowball bid and the sellers were very unhappy and wanted to throw our offer away and wait for another one. The agent claims that she talked them into making a counteroffer by explaining to them that we're negotiating and this is how it's done. So they moved their price lower by almost nothing percentage-wise, which in turn irritated us. Hubby really wanted to move quickly and buy the place. He was willing to offer them the asking price if need be. I originally was very excited, but as time passed, I became less enthusiastic about the place and after each interaction with the selling agent, the less I wanted to negotiate with them. Anyways, so our next number was much higher to show that we were willing to move. They moved almost nothing again. Seeing as they have no had any other bids, I convinced hubby to wait a month before making our next bid. If there was no competition, they either had to sell to us at the price we're offering or not sell at all. I thought it was unreasonable of them to expect that someone would just walk in and immediately buy the place at their asking price. The selling agent conveyed that despite the fact that the couple had only moved their number lower by almost nothing, percentage-wise, they were pissed because they felt like we were trying to get them to sell for "way below market value." It seemed to me that they were pissed all the time and were pissed at us a lot because they had no other offer and didn't like ours. Anyways, we made our last and final bid and our number was again much higher than the previous number. We don't hear a reply for a long time and when the selling agent finally called us back, it turns out that they decided not to sell it.
The story, as far as we can glean from the selling agent, was that the husband wanted to sell it but the wife didn't. So despite all the fighting between me and my hubby on the negotiation process, it was possible the wife put it on the market to please the husband, but never intended to follow through with a sale. The selling agent hinted at them fighting a great deal throughout the process and often mentioned how the husband would be angry at how low our number was no matter how high we moved it. This made me angry because I felt like if they wanted the asking price, they should have just said from the start, "no negotiation" or something to that effect instead of throwing a temper tantrum every time we gave a new number that wasn't their asking price. I was unhappy with the couple because I really felt like they jerked us around and that we really had no chance of getting the place.
Meanwhile, the condo upstairs also went on sale for a much higher price, which was immediately reduced a week later by a sizable amount. We considered briefly buying the upstairs one, but the charm of possibly living in the building next door has been mostly lost. The one we bid on was pulled from the market, probably because the wife was more than happy to keep the place, and the one above is still trying to sell, even at the reduced price.
So then I found a small house a little farther away from Manhattan. Yes, the commute would have been longer, but the neighborhood, I think, is nicer and the schools are better. Plus, it's a small house! It's not a condo where you have to worry about how your exercise routine might irritate the neighbors downstairs. You don't have to worry about your building-mates messing up the common areas or have stuff on their terrace overhang and block the view on your terrace. Of course, having a house also means you have to do your own snow removal and all the maintenance. Still, it would be nice to have a house.
So anyways, we went to see this house and although I rather liked it, my hubby was only okay with it. He said there was too little living room and too much dining room. Also, there was no back yard, which I didn't really like. The good thing was that it came with a much-coveted garage. Parking is a real pain in NYC. Overall, it was a pretty nice house. The agent that showed us around sounded like she thought we'd be in pretty decent standing since I mentioned we were already prequalified. She said that the owner had previously accepted an offer but it fell through when the buyer could not secure a loan. In the end, we decided not to bid on this house.
A few days later, another house came on the market. This house had everything we were looking for. Apparently, it appealed to many others as well because when we went to see it 4 days after it was listed, 3 or 4 other prospective buyers had already seen it and there were more viewings scheduled after us. There was definitely a lot of excitement around this house! After checking out the place, we fell in love with it. It had a back yard, a garage, a front porch and a furnished basement. It's a small, modest house, only 2 blocks away from the subway station and a block way from a decently sized supermarket. The schools are good and the area is quiet.
Considering all the interest in the house, we were worried about getting into a bidding war, but decided that we'll try for it and if we don't get there, there is bound to be another house in NYC for us. When hubby called the agent to make a bid, it turns out that there was already a bid on the house. Hubby made a competing bid for slightly higher, promising at least 20% down payment and mentioned we were prequalified. Apparently, the agent said that puts us in better standing because the other bid wasn't going to put as much down and did not have a prequal letter. He asked us to send him our prequal letter, but unfortunately for us, it had just expired.
So we sent in our old one and started the process of renewing it. This led us to a great deal of misery, excitement and confusion. I think I'll leave that part of the saga for my next post on hunting for a home.
Friday, April 15, 2011
The slow road towards change in diet
I do believe that certain things are bad for you to eat. Things like processed food, fast food and frozen food, for instance, are known to have lots of sugar, salt, preservatives and things that just aren't good for your health. Over the years, I have made a conscious effort to eat healthier. Many of my efforts didn't last but there are a few things that have stuck.
One of the things that stuck is giving up soda. Soda no longer has any hold on me. I never crave it, even if it is sitting in front of me in a vain effort to tempt me. I'll drink it if it's there and there is nothing else to drink, but I don't generally enjoy soda. So even after a taste of its fizzy sweetness, reminding me of how I loved savoring its cold, bursting bubbles on my tongue as a child, I don't have the urge to have more. I just don't miss it and when I do have it, I don't enjoy it all that much.
The same goes for candy. I don't mean chocolate because I consider chocolate to be its own food group. I mean gum, hard candy, gummy candies, licorice candies and the like. We have some in the house, but I almost never indulge. If I do pop one in the mouth, it's usually not because I really wanted it or craved it. I can't even say, when I do have one in my mouth, that I really enjoy it anymore either. I loved candy as a child and I still generally like candy, but I don't really care to have it. I might pop a lemonhead for the sake of nostalgia, but to buy a box would be a waste because I would never finish it.
Fast food was a bit more difficult to give up. I remember when I stopped going to McDonald's and really didn't miss it until 3 months later. At the 3 month mark, I had serious cravings for McDonald's food. I tried to resist but eventually did give in and bought a Big Mac. After the very first bite, I realized that McDonald's will never be able to satisfy my burger cravings ever again. For you see I had, by then, experienced some really awesome, juicy, heavy, flavorful burgers partnered with fresh vegetables and homemade buns. Fast food burgers just taste like flavorless cardboard after that. I still liked the "special sauce" but it was no longer worth it to me to buy a burger just for the sauce. The fries, on the other hand, are a different story.
Yes, I still eat lots of fries. I don't eat much fast food fries since I pretty much never go to fast food restaurants anymore, but I still love fries at restaurants. I know they're really bad for you. I console myself by saying that I don't eat them every day, but I sure do love 'em!
Fries are not my only weakness and I have given up on eating other foods that are considered bad for you. Today, I try to maintain a vegetarian lifestyle, which has been hard at times. The truth is, it's been a long road to get to this point. My relationship to food is partly tied to my relationship to my body image. It is also a psychological relationship. When I am stressed or unhappy, I often crave "naughty" foods because it makes me feel like I'm being decadent. I guess in order to consistently choose the healthier or principled option, I have to keep reminding myself why I should choose to eat the way I do. Every time we are faced with a choice to eat this or that is a juncture in the road. At the moment, one choice does not make much of a difference, but if you look at the long view, you see that all those choices add up to a very distinct direction. For me, vegetarianism feels right and I plan to continue down that path.
One of the things that stuck is giving up soda. Soda no longer has any hold on me. I never crave it, even if it is sitting in front of me in a vain effort to tempt me. I'll drink it if it's there and there is nothing else to drink, but I don't generally enjoy soda. So even after a taste of its fizzy sweetness, reminding me of how I loved savoring its cold, bursting bubbles on my tongue as a child, I don't have the urge to have more. I just don't miss it and when I do have it, I don't enjoy it all that much.
The same goes for candy. I don't mean chocolate because I consider chocolate to be its own food group. I mean gum, hard candy, gummy candies, licorice candies and the like. We have some in the house, but I almost never indulge. If I do pop one in the mouth, it's usually not because I really wanted it or craved it. I can't even say, when I do have one in my mouth, that I really enjoy it anymore either. I loved candy as a child and I still generally like candy, but I don't really care to have it. I might pop a lemonhead for the sake of nostalgia, but to buy a box would be a waste because I would never finish it.
Fast food was a bit more difficult to give up. I remember when I stopped going to McDonald's and really didn't miss it until 3 months later. At the 3 month mark, I had serious cravings for McDonald's food. I tried to resist but eventually did give in and bought a Big Mac. After the very first bite, I realized that McDonald's will never be able to satisfy my burger cravings ever again. For you see I had, by then, experienced some really awesome, juicy, heavy, flavorful burgers partnered with fresh vegetables and homemade buns. Fast food burgers just taste like flavorless cardboard after that. I still liked the "special sauce" but it was no longer worth it to me to buy a burger just for the sauce. The fries, on the other hand, are a different story.
Yes, I still eat lots of fries. I don't eat much fast food fries since I pretty much never go to fast food restaurants anymore, but I still love fries at restaurants. I know they're really bad for you. I console myself by saying that I don't eat them every day, but I sure do love 'em!
Fries are not my only weakness and I have given up on eating other foods that are considered bad for you. Today, I try to maintain a vegetarian lifestyle, which has been hard at times. The truth is, it's been a long road to get to this point. My relationship to food is partly tied to my relationship to my body image. It is also a psychological relationship. When I am stressed or unhappy, I often crave "naughty" foods because it makes me feel like I'm being decadent. I guess in order to consistently choose the healthier or principled option, I have to keep reminding myself why I should choose to eat the way I do. Every time we are faced with a choice to eat this or that is a juncture in the road. At the moment, one choice does not make much of a difference, but if you look at the long view, you see that all those choices add up to a very distinct direction. For me, vegetarianism feels right and I plan to continue down that path.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Buttermilk with juice
I recently discovered that I like drinking cultured buttermilk. The rich, tangy flavor will often hit a spot that no other drink can hit. However, it's a rather thick drink and I can't have more than a few sips at a time. Sometimes, I also want to jazz it up a bit.
Enter fruit juice! I may have mentioned before that, but before, I only added just a little bit of juice. Last night, I mixed 1/3 Welch's white grape juice (very sweet stuff!) to 2/3 culture buttermilk, and it was delicious! The grape juice is super sweet and the buttermilk is thick and tangy. Mixing them together yields a sweet and tangy, gulp-able substance to delight in. I love it!
Enter fruit juice! I may have mentioned before that, but before, I only added just a little bit of juice. Last night, I mixed 1/3 Welch's white grape juice (very sweet stuff!) to 2/3 culture buttermilk, and it was delicious! The grape juice is super sweet and the buttermilk is thick and tangy. Mixing them together yields a sweet and tangy, gulp-able substance to delight in. I love it!
Monday, April 11, 2011
Spice rack
In our household, we have a lot of spices. They're a great way to add flavor to anything without adding tons of salt and butter. I use them extensively in my leftover veggies soups and I love making my own chai. Recently, I bought a small jar of a spice blend by Sugar Mountain Herbs in Sugarloaf, upstate NY. It was called butter herbs because the recommended use was to mix it with butter to make the butter more flavorful without adding salt. It was heavenly! I enjoy using it in cream cheese, soups, omelets and a whole variety of savory foods. Anyways, with all the cooking and baking projects, we have a lot of spices.
Storing spices in a way that keeps them out of the way, yet easily reachable has been a bit of a dilemma. I have never been a fan of those turntable shelves and I am too lazy to spend time and effort to install a magnetic spice organizer. I just want to be able to buy a spice and put it somewhere.
That's why I was very happy to see the Spice Stack Rack:
http://www.stacksandstacks.com/super-spicestack?id=175&sku=18558
If you look closely at the picture, you can even label what spices are in each drawer. I actually really like this organizer but it looks like it's made of plastic, which makes me wonder about its durability. Anyways, we have no need for it now. We're hoping to move soon and I am keeping an eye out for things we could use to better organize our new home.
Storing spices in a way that keeps them out of the way, yet easily reachable has been a bit of a dilemma. I have never been a fan of those turntable shelves and I am too lazy to spend time and effort to install a magnetic spice organizer. I just want to be able to buy a spice and put it somewhere.
That's why I was very happy to see the Spice Stack Rack:
http://www.stacksandstacks.com/super-spicestack?id=175&sku=18558
If you look closely at the picture, you can even label what spices are in each drawer. I actually really like this organizer but it looks like it's made of plastic, which makes me wonder about its durability. Anyways, we have no need for it now. We're hoping to move soon and I am keeping an eye out for things we could use to better organize our new home.
Friday, April 8, 2011
What a week of food costs
I found a neat link that showcases families around the world with how much they pay for a week's worth of food and how much food they get. Each family is shown in a photo with their week's worth of groceries displayed in front.
http://www.ireallylikefood.com/744873689/culture-shock-the-rising-cost-of-food/?ref=xn
http://www.ireallylikefood.com/744873689/culture-shock-the-rising-cost-of-food/?ref=xn
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Rising price of food
This year, food prices are going up. You may have already noticed that you are getting less food for the same money. The cheapest foods are still the most unhealthy, such as soda, chips and Spam. That continues to leave the lowest income earners with fewer healthy choices. It's not a pretty picture and there appears to be no sign that food prices will be going back down anytime soon.
The truth is, as much as I hate to see rising food prices, I think this is actually good for me personally. I eat too much and have gained quite a bit of weight these past few years. If food prices go up and I end up eating less, then I'll end up losing some this excess weight. Not necessarily a bad thing since I'm not starving, just dieting. Lol!
Aside from that, rising food prices are bad. It's particularly bleak for people who are barely able to afford food in the first place. As the situation worsens, food riots will occur. Until extreme weather stops destroying our food crops all over the world, I'm not seeing food prices going back down. Like I said before, it's not a pretty picture.
The truth is, as much as I hate to see rising food prices, I think this is actually good for me personally. I eat too much and have gained quite a bit of weight these past few years. If food prices go up and I end up eating less, then I'll end up losing some this excess weight. Not necessarily a bad thing since I'm not starving, just dieting. Lol!
Aside from that, rising food prices are bad. It's particularly bleak for people who are barely able to afford food in the first place. As the situation worsens, food riots will occur. Until extreme weather stops destroying our food crops all over the world, I'm not seeing food prices going back down. Like I said before, it's not a pretty picture.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Mushroom mug
This is the COOLEST, BESTEST mug EVER!
http://www.japanesegiftmarket.com/Decole-MushroomMug.aspx
http://www.japanesegiftmarket.com/Decole-MushroomMug.aspx
Food containers
I can't get enough of hunting for a good food container. The obsession started with the whole BPA craze, when people wanted to stop using plastic. So originally, I purchased containers to replace our plastic ones. As I explored and purchased more containers, I realized that I enjoyed using my new containers much more than I ever did with plastic containers. Sure, plastic is less breakable and lighter, but there is just something satisfying about putting food in a glass or ceramic or metal jar. The solidness and weight of my containers make me feel sure that I have a quality, long-lasting item in my home. Also, I have no more problems with staining and pocking when storing tomato sauce!
My very first non-plastic container obsession were the glass containers from Anchor Hocking:
http://www.anchorhocking.com/prodd_4963_cat_300_bake_n_store_2_cup.html
I liked them because they came with glass lids, so there was no plastic or plastic coating touching my food. I also liked them because they are oven and freezer safe. I really wanted to be able to freeze foods without plastic. Unfortunately, my Anchor Hocking containers were not airtight, which means the food would get freezer burn in the freezer.
Then I went on the hunt for non-plastic, airtight containers because freezer burn is caused by dehydration and exposure to air. In my search, I came across Sanctus Mundo:
http://www.greendepot.com/greendepot/product.asp?prod_name=Watertight+Food+Storage+Containers&pf_id=SANCTUSSTEELRND&dept_id=4800&s_id=0&
Sanctus Mundo containers are made of stainless steel and currently, the rims of the metal lids are lined with silicone to make them airtight. The ones I bought years ago were lined with rubber, which eventually dries out and doesn't last as long as silicone. Although silicone is not natural, I'm willing to use it if it lasts a really long time. The Sanctus Mundo containers are probably my most oft used containers. Not only do I used them to store food at home, I also use them to bring lunch to work. Because they are airtight, I never have to worry about food liquids leaking into my bag. Thus far, they have been extremely durable, standing up to my carelessly rough treatment without so much as a dent to show for it. They are freezer safe and supposedly, they (without the lids) can be used on the stove and in the oven. I've never used them on a stove or oven, but I might try that one day. Still it would be nice if they were also microwaveable.
So my next obsession pointed back to glass containers. This time, I fell in love with Pyrex:
http://www.amazon.com/Pyrex-12-Piece-Glass-Serve-Store/dp/B002PEVOR2/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1300373585&sr=8-4
Actually, I've always loved Pyrex, but the particular set I fell in love with came with both plastic and glass lids. Like the Anchor Hocking containers, they are freezer and oven safe. Also like the Anchor Hocking containers, they are not airtight. What I like about the the Pyrex set I got is the price, size and shape. They are also not as heavy as the Anchor Hocking containers. Lately, I've been reaching for my Pyrex containers a lot to bake desserts, roast garlic and store leftovers.
However, I still need a good freezer container. The only freezer safe, airtight containers I have are Sanctus Mundo containers. Unfortunately, I only have a few and they are already in use ferrying my lunches to and from work. That means I have to get more. Luckily, I found out that there is a store called The Green Depot in the Village that sells them. I haven't tried them out in the freezer yet, but rest assured, it is on my list of things to try!
In the end, my favorite food containers are my Pyrex set with the plastic and glass lids, and the Sanctus Mundo containers. Currently, I'm considering obtaining some hermetically sealed glass containers, but I'm not sure if I'll get them yet. I have a good amount of food containers now and I feel like I should stay away from getting more until I figure out exactly what my current needs are. It's hard not to get all excited when I hear a rave review about a food container. I just love that stuff!
My very first non-plastic container obsession were the glass containers from Anchor Hocking:
http://www.anchorhocking.com/prodd_4963_cat_300_bake_n_store_2_cup.html
I liked them because they came with glass lids, so there was no plastic or plastic coating touching my food. I also liked them because they are oven and freezer safe. I really wanted to be able to freeze foods without plastic. Unfortunately, my Anchor Hocking containers were not airtight, which means the food would get freezer burn in the freezer.
Then I went on the hunt for non-plastic, airtight containers because freezer burn is caused by dehydration and exposure to air. In my search, I came across Sanctus Mundo:
http://www.greendepot.com/greendepot/product.asp?prod_name=Watertight+Food+Storage+Containers&pf_id=SANCTUSSTEELRND&dept_id=4800&s_id=0&
Sanctus Mundo containers are made of stainless steel and currently, the rims of the metal lids are lined with silicone to make them airtight. The ones I bought years ago were lined with rubber, which eventually dries out and doesn't last as long as silicone. Although silicone is not natural, I'm willing to use it if it lasts a really long time. The Sanctus Mundo containers are probably my most oft used containers. Not only do I used them to store food at home, I also use them to bring lunch to work. Because they are airtight, I never have to worry about food liquids leaking into my bag. Thus far, they have been extremely durable, standing up to my carelessly rough treatment without so much as a dent to show for it. They are freezer safe and supposedly, they (without the lids) can be used on the stove and in the oven. I've never used them on a stove or oven, but I might try that one day. Still it would be nice if they were also microwaveable.
So my next obsession pointed back to glass containers. This time, I fell in love with Pyrex:
http://www.amazon.com/Pyrex-12-Piece-Glass-Serve-Store/dp/B002PEVOR2/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1300373585&sr=8-4
Actually, I've always loved Pyrex, but the particular set I fell in love with came with both plastic and glass lids. Like the Anchor Hocking containers, they are freezer and oven safe. Also like the Anchor Hocking containers, they are not airtight. What I like about the the Pyrex set I got is the price, size and shape. They are also not as heavy as the Anchor Hocking containers. Lately, I've been reaching for my Pyrex containers a lot to bake desserts, roast garlic and store leftovers.
However, I still need a good freezer container. The only freezer safe, airtight containers I have are Sanctus Mundo containers. Unfortunately, I only have a few and they are already in use ferrying my lunches to and from work. That means I have to get more. Luckily, I found out that there is a store called The Green Depot in the Village that sells them. I haven't tried them out in the freezer yet, but rest assured, it is on my list of things to try!
In the end, my favorite food containers are my Pyrex set with the plastic and glass lids, and the Sanctus Mundo containers. Currently, I'm considering obtaining some hermetically sealed glass containers, but I'm not sure if I'll get them yet. I have a good amount of food containers now and I feel like I should stay away from getting more until I figure out exactly what my current needs are. It's hard not to get all excited when I hear a rave review about a food container. I just love that stuff!
Friday, March 11, 2011
Vegetarian dumplings
I love dumplings. I can't tell you how much other than to say that I believe my life would be poorer if I have never had a dumpling. One my most cherished memories was when I was 4 or 5, watching my mother make dumplings. Back then, she would make her own skins and it was mesmerizing to watch her hands work with the rolling pin and dough. Nowadays, she usually goes for the pre-made, store-bought skins, which can also be quite good. After all, as long as the skins are serviceable, the flavor is in the filling. My mom makes really delicious pork dumplings. When I lived at home, we would sit together in the kitchen and chat while we filled dumplings. Unfortunately, I'm trying to eat more like a vegetarian these days so pork fillings for my own dumplings are not ideal.
In my search for a good vegetarian dumpling, I've had some really bad ones. Most of the store-bought ones I've had fall apart when boiled, which actually angers me a little when I see it. To me, it's a sign of a poorly made and poorly sealed dumpling skin. The vegetable dumplings at restaurants are usually much better, but they always seem rather anemic. Restaurant dumplings tend to be more skin and less filling, and the fillings are generally not very hearty. Maybe this is because my mom always made ginormous dumplings and super-sized wontons. Anyways, I decided to make my own vegetarian dumpling fillings.
I combined leftover seitan (Mark Bittman's recipe) with softened mung bean vermicelli (chinese vermicelli or glass noodles), scallions, reconstituted dried mushrooms, eggs, sesame oil, soy sauce and corn starch. The seitan and mushrooms were supposed to give it a hearty, meaty flavor and texture. The problem with chopped up seitan and mushrooms is that they don't have the sticky elasticity of meat. So adding the egg and corn starch helps to bind the filling together. I may consider adding bread crumbs in the future to add to the effect of the eggs. I don't have any measurements handy since I eyeballed everything.
Once everything was chopped up (I used a food processor) and mixed together, I put the mixture in front of the TV along with store-bought skins, a bowl of water and an empty plate. While watching TV, I spooned the mixture onto the skins, dipped my finger in water and traced the edge of the skin to wet it. Then I sealed the dumpling and placed it on the plate. Don't stack dumplings on top of each other. Make one layer and put in the freezer. Once they're frozen through, you can toss them into a bag and they won't stick together. There are many ways to seal a dumpling. The simplest is to fold the skin in half and press. There are fancier ways of doing it, but I won't go into that here. Just make sure you're pressing as much air out as you're sealing. Lots of air in a dumpling can cause it to fall apart when boiled.
To boil dumplings, boil some water and drop them in. Turn the heat down to medium and wait for the water to boil again. When cooking meat dumplings, it is important to make sure the dumplings are cooked thoroughly, so once it's boiling again, add some more cold water to the pot. Wait for the pot to boil again and repeat with the cold water. Add water 3 times to be safe. I probably don't have to be this careful with veggie dumplings but I do it anyways out of habit. Cooked dumplings should float and look slightly wrinkly.
To pan fry dumplings, heat up a thin layer of oil in a pan. Place dumplings in the oil and let it fry for about a minute or so, then add some water. Don't drown the dumplings. Add enough that all the dumpling bottoms are boiling in a layer of water. Cover the pan and let it steam cook. I think for meat dumplings, it needs to steam cook for about 20 minutes. Add more water if the water boils away. If you added a little too much water, it's okay. Just keep boiling until the water boils away. Once the water boils away, uncover the pot and let fry for another minute or two. That last bit of frying is to get the bottoms crispy. The dumplings shouldn't stick too much to a well-seasoned wok or cast iron pan, but don't be surprised if some sticking occurs. They're not called potstickers in chinese for nothing!
Putting the initial effort into making a large batch of dumplings is totally worth it. Once frozen, they keep for many months and there's no need to defrost them to boil or pan-fry them. Having a stash of frozen dumplings means you'll always have an easy meal at your fingertips for those days when the most cooking you want to do is boil water. A well seasoned dumpling doesn't even require dipping sauce, but if you really want to, you can make an easy dipping sauce with vinegar, soy sauce and sesame oil. The main ingredient is really the vinegar so I always pour the vinegar first and then add the soy sauce. Add enough soy sauce to get it to the salt level you like, then add a tiny bit of sesame oil. Sesame oil is very powerful, so use sparingly. There are lots of dipping sauce recipes online, but the one I just outlined is the one I grew up with.
In conclusion, I can say that this mix of ingredients for veggie dumplings was pretty successful. I enjoyed eating these more than many other dumplings. I am also glad to say that the hubby enjoyed them too! It's not quite where I'd like it to be yet so there will probably be an updated version of this in the future.
In my search for a good vegetarian dumpling, I've had some really bad ones. Most of the store-bought ones I've had fall apart when boiled, which actually angers me a little when I see it. To me, it's a sign of a poorly made and poorly sealed dumpling skin. The vegetable dumplings at restaurants are usually much better, but they always seem rather anemic. Restaurant dumplings tend to be more skin and less filling, and the fillings are generally not very hearty. Maybe this is because my mom always made ginormous dumplings and super-sized wontons. Anyways, I decided to make my own vegetarian dumpling fillings.
I combined leftover seitan (Mark Bittman's recipe) with softened mung bean vermicelli (chinese vermicelli or glass noodles), scallions, reconstituted dried mushrooms, eggs, sesame oil, soy sauce and corn starch. The seitan and mushrooms were supposed to give it a hearty, meaty flavor and texture. The problem with chopped up seitan and mushrooms is that they don't have the sticky elasticity of meat. So adding the egg and corn starch helps to bind the filling together. I may consider adding bread crumbs in the future to add to the effect of the eggs. I don't have any measurements handy since I eyeballed everything.
Once everything was chopped up (I used a food processor) and mixed together, I put the mixture in front of the TV along with store-bought skins, a bowl of water and an empty plate. While watching TV, I spooned the mixture onto the skins, dipped my finger in water and traced the edge of the skin to wet it. Then I sealed the dumpling and placed it on the plate. Don't stack dumplings on top of each other. Make one layer and put in the freezer. Once they're frozen through, you can toss them into a bag and they won't stick together. There are many ways to seal a dumpling. The simplest is to fold the skin in half and press. There are fancier ways of doing it, but I won't go into that here. Just make sure you're pressing as much air out as you're sealing. Lots of air in a dumpling can cause it to fall apart when boiled.
To boil dumplings, boil some water and drop them in. Turn the heat down to medium and wait for the water to boil again. When cooking meat dumplings, it is important to make sure the dumplings are cooked thoroughly, so once it's boiling again, add some more cold water to the pot. Wait for the pot to boil again and repeat with the cold water. Add water 3 times to be safe. I probably don't have to be this careful with veggie dumplings but I do it anyways out of habit. Cooked dumplings should float and look slightly wrinkly.
To pan fry dumplings, heat up a thin layer of oil in a pan. Place dumplings in the oil and let it fry for about a minute or so, then add some water. Don't drown the dumplings. Add enough that all the dumpling bottoms are boiling in a layer of water. Cover the pan and let it steam cook. I think for meat dumplings, it needs to steam cook for about 20 minutes. Add more water if the water boils away. If you added a little too much water, it's okay. Just keep boiling until the water boils away. Once the water boils away, uncover the pot and let fry for another minute or two. That last bit of frying is to get the bottoms crispy. The dumplings shouldn't stick too much to a well-seasoned wok or cast iron pan, but don't be surprised if some sticking occurs. They're not called potstickers in chinese for nothing!
Putting the initial effort into making a large batch of dumplings is totally worth it. Once frozen, they keep for many months and there's no need to defrost them to boil or pan-fry them. Having a stash of frozen dumplings means you'll always have an easy meal at your fingertips for those days when the most cooking you want to do is boil water. A well seasoned dumpling doesn't even require dipping sauce, but if you really want to, you can make an easy dipping sauce with vinegar, soy sauce and sesame oil. The main ingredient is really the vinegar so I always pour the vinegar first and then add the soy sauce. Add enough soy sauce to get it to the salt level you like, then add a tiny bit of sesame oil. Sesame oil is very powerful, so use sparingly. There are lots of dipping sauce recipes online, but the one I just outlined is the one I grew up with.
In conclusion, I can say that this mix of ingredients for veggie dumplings was pretty successful. I enjoyed eating these more than many other dumplings. I am also glad to say that the hubby enjoyed them too! It's not quite where I'd like it to be yet so there will probably be an updated version of this in the future.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Macaroni meal, part two
My mom makes something similar, but much better. I haven't figured out what mine is missing compared to hers but even so, I love this meal. I call it a macaroni meal cause it has macaroni in it. Unfortunately, I eyeball all my ingredients so I can't give any exact measurements. What you see below are approximate measurements.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup elbows pasta, uncooked
- 4 small baking potatoes, cut into small cubes
- 1 bag or box frozen peas and carrots
- 1 or two bunches of scallions, chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
Directions
In a nice big pot, salt and boil the water for the elbows pasta. Once the water is boiling, add the pasta and cook until pasta is almost ready to eat. Then add potatoes and frozen peas and carrots. Add water if necessary to cover and boil for a few minutes more, then drain. Heat up your wok and then add some oil. Once the oil is heated up, add the scallions and cook until fragrant. Then add the drained mixture and toss with salt and pepper.
This makes way more than two people can finish, which is great cause then I can take some to work for lunch. To me, this makes enough for 4 people with healthy appetites.
The original recipe post didn't have the boiling everything step. These days, I find that if you boil everything first, the potatoes cook faster and the veggies defrost without being torn apart when I'm shoveling them in the wok. Sure it alters the taste a little, but adding the boiling step makes life a lot easier.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup elbows pasta, uncooked
- 4 small baking potatoes, cut into small cubes
- 1 bag or box frozen peas and carrots
- 1 or two bunches of scallions, chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
Directions
In a nice big pot, salt and boil the water for the elbows pasta. Once the water is boiling, add the pasta and cook until pasta is almost ready to eat. Then add potatoes and frozen peas and carrots. Add water if necessary to cover and boil for a few minutes more, then drain. Heat up your wok and then add some oil. Once the oil is heated up, add the scallions and cook until fragrant. Then add the drained mixture and toss with salt and pepper.
This makes way more than two people can finish, which is great cause then I can take some to work for lunch. To me, this makes enough for 4 people with healthy appetites.
The original recipe post didn't have the boiling everything step. These days, I find that if you boil everything first, the potatoes cook faster and the veggies defrost without being torn apart when I'm shoveling them in the wok. Sure it alters the taste a little, but adding the boiling step makes life a lot easier.
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