Better Shopping, Better Giving

Posted on November 22, 2011 by pete

A little blurb on Amazon Wishlists. This is a feature of Amazon.com that I poo-poo’d for quite a while, until I started shopping more seriously on Amazon. Some credit to Matt Solar, too, who really helped promote them to me.

The most obvious use for them is near the Buy button on Amazon, is the “Save to Wishlist” button; this is great if you are not quite ready to buy something, but want to save it somewhere conveniently for later. You can then access that wishlist next time you hit Amazon, or even from your phone via one of their apps. Ok, nothing revolutionary here, but still very handy, especially when you start considering Amazon Prime (I’ll get into that later).

Another great feature of Wishlists – privacy options. Last year I began using a private wishlist for my Christmas shopping – and dumped gift ideas there until I could figure out my shopping plan. I have started one for this year as well.. I just haven’t quite started the shopping part of it. Of course, public is the other side of this coin.  For instance.. if you wanted to make shopping easier for other people at the holidays, you could just dump all the things you want on a wishlist – kind of like being a kid again.

“But what if the thing I want is not on Amazon?” you might ask. No problem – Amazon now has an extension for Chrome, which adds a little button into the browser. If you are on any site, looking at any product, you can click the button, and add that item to your wishlist. I don’t care if its a fridge at HomeDepot.com or a coat at Backcountry.com – you can add them. And I should mention, you can add these things to your private lists too – for instance your “Xmas 2011 shopping”  list. Nice.

What was that thing about Prime? Oh, how I love Amazon Prime. Pay one $80 annual fee, get free 2-day shipping on almost anything you want, and just $3.99 for overnight. And that’s just the tip of an ever-enlarging iceberg. You also get access to Amazon Instant Streaming - thousands of movies and TV shows, free. For instance, Kim and I just streamed Horrible Bosses through our TV (in HD). FIOS wanted $7 for the rental, and Amazon was charging $3.. but it ended up being free, courtesy of Prime. Love it.

As you can imagine, the shipping deal suddenly has you buying many, many things from Amazon. You’ll kill a few less cardboard trees if you use the Wishlist and pile things up. If you feel like being responsible, at least. I keep forgetting to buy napkins at the grocery store, and joked last night that I am going to have to end up “Priming” them. And.. sadly I probably will.

At some other time, I’ll go into the beauty of Amazon’s mobile shopping apps. Combine an app with wishlists and Prime, and you are an online shopping maniac pro.

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Buy Local Honey to Make Sure You’re Really Getting Honey

Posted on November 9, 2011 by pete

 

You probably never thought about it.. but in this day and age, buying local honey is very important. Here’s a good writeup from Lifehacker, including links to more official and compelling articles.

This weeks report by Food Safety News sampled honey at grocery stores around the country, and found most of it has been filtered to the point where it has no pollen at all. The World Health Organization WHO, the European Commission, and the US Food and Drug Administration FDA all state that in order for a product to be called honey, there has to be some pollen content. The industry group that represents honey manufacturers and importers, the National Honey Board, says this is misleading, and says theyre just doing what their customers want.

via Buy Local Honey to Make Sure Youre Really Getting Honey, and Support Local Beekeepers.

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Pesto-Rubbed Chicken with Panzanella

Posted on September 12, 2011 by pete

Last night, Kim and I whipped up Pesto-Rubbed Chicken with Panzanella, from Saveur.

One of the top motivators in this one was simply to get rid of some of our tomato crop – several bowls of the fruit are around the kitchen in various stages of ripeness. As an added bonus, the garden also sourced the pesto and cucumber for us.

Not the prettiest shot from my phone.

 

The only real variations to the recipe – we used baguettes and chicken thighs, rather than a large loaf of bread and a whole bird. Everything was prepared on the grill, which makes for a pretty fun cooking session. Grilling bread, the whole pepper, chicken parts, roasting the tomatoes and garlic really puts your skills to the test.

The recipe produced an awesome end product. At a brief glance it sounds somewhat simple.. but once you are eating it, the deep flavors from the roasted garlic, charred bread and pesto really stand out. Black olives add an almost exotic flavor and consistency, as well. It has a bright edge courtesy of the the lemon – and the red wine vinegar helps as well. While I normally prefer balsamic, this gave it that lighter touch.

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Cheesecake Factory.. is why America is growing.. horizontally

Posted on August 18, 2011 by pete

The team went out for lunch at Cheesecake Factory today. Renowned for its giant menu, I noticed a new section in the ad-filled piece of glossy literature.. the “Weight Management Salads” section. This section promotes salads that are “under 590 calories”.

590 calories. In a salad? What do you suppose the “normal people” salads come in at? Well.. for one, (according to the internet) the lunch portion of a Ceasar Salad rocks a cool 860 calories. Oddly most others appear to fall under 590 anyway, which is somewhat relieving.

Back to this “Weight Management” idea though – what the hell kind of weight are you managing if just-shy-of-600-calories is a light meal? Not to mention the bread/butter starters and half gallon sized, bottomless beverages. It was mentioned that the iced tea is unsweetened, at least.

I went with the Cuban Sandwich – which, halved, is literally two full sandwiches on the plate. With fries. I downed half of it and a bunch of fries – the whole sandwich weighs in at 1140 calories. That side of fries? 570 calories. Dang. Add two refills of a Coke and you’d blow past the standard 2000C RDA. Amazing. Then throw some cheesecake in there for kicks, and you are officially a fatty.

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How to Prune Basil to Make Pesto Sauce

Posted on July 27, 2011 by pete

Yeah, Danny’s usually all about home repair, but this one came up at the right time! Kim whipped up a similar recipe the same day.

Tip:

As you know, basil doesn’t taste as good when allowed to flower. To keep them from blooming, and to keep the plants bushy, regular haircuts are in order. Haircuts mean harvest; harvest means basket full of basil; and basket full of basil means pesto! It’s a tough job, but somebody’s gotta do it.

Recipe:

  • 4 cups basil leaves
  • 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
  • 2/3 cup pine nuts (or one small package)
  • 3-4 garlic cloves (1 teaspoon minced)
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 2/3 to 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
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Bacardi Dragon Berry Strawberry Basil Lemonade

Posted on July 27, 2011 by pete

Got Basil? It’s summer, so why not try something new with it, besides delicious Pesto. Karen shared this one. Haven’t tried it yet, but it sounds great.

Ingredients
2 part Bacardi Dragon Berry Rum
1 part Lemon Juice
1 part Simple Syrup
3 piece Basil
3 Strawberries Hulled and Sliced
Sprite or Tonic

Instructions
In a shaker, muddle 2 basil leaves, fresh lime juice, simple syrup and 2 strawberries. Fill with ice. Add Bacardi and lemonade. Shake well then strain into a glass filled with ice. Garnish with a strawberry, lemon wedge and basil leaf.

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a fantastic little WordPress theme – mmminimal

Posted on July 21, 2011 by pete

Looking to show off just a few photos? Like your own photo-a-day site? Check out this free minimalist photography theme – very sharp. Now live on my new project at www.yettas.com.

mmminimal Free WordPress Themes | mmminimal.

 

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Chinese Spareribs | Serious Eats

Posted on April 19, 2011 by pete

I’ve never thought about trying this at home – but I will soon. Recipe and info from Serious Eats..

serves Serves 4 to 6, active time 15 minutes, total time 1 1/2 hours (plus overnight marinade)

  • 1 tablespoon Chinese five-spice powder
  • 1 full rack St. Louis-style spareribs, cut into individual ribs (about 3 pounds total)
  • 1/2 cup hoisin sauce
  • 1/4 cup shaoxing wine or dry sherry
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • Read on at: Chinese Spareribs | Serious Eats : Recipes.
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Ramen Hacks: 30+ Easy Ways to Upgrade Your Instant Noodles

Posted on March 22, 2011 by pete

Thanks Serious Eats!

via Ramen Hacks: 30+ Easy Ways to Upgrade Your Instant Noodles.

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Stop Junk Mail, Opt-out of Unwanted Mail with Catalog Choice

Posted on March 17, 2011 by pete

Getting a few too many catalogs or credit card applications these days? Catalog Choice is a terrific free service to unsubscribe from many of these companies. It is incredibly satisfying to hit the “No Postal Mail and No Name Sharing” option for garbage like Capitol One.. and I can say, it makes a huge difference in junk mail delivery over time.

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