Kristin van Ogtrop's Blog, page 350
April 15, 2011
Recipes to Help You Celebrate Grilled Cheese Month
Believe it or not, April is Grilled Cheese Month (yes, there really is a holiday for everything). Think about it—warm, gooey, savory cheese paired with toasted, buttery bread—why shouldn't it get its very own month? And best of all, that means there's plenty of time left for you to celebrate. To help you kick things off, here are some recipes and ideas for making the ultimate grilled cheese.
Grilled cheese can be as fancy or as simple as you like it to be. I'm not a fan of slices of Kraft singles melted on white bread, but give me some quality sharp cheddar sandwiched between thick slices of fresh sourdough and I'll be a very happy girl. Check out these four creative ways to upgrade your grilled cheese (mozzarella, roasted peppers, and pesto? Yum!). Or think about mixing up your bread—in this recipe, you can swap in waffles for a creative take on a favorite. And grilled cheese can even be elevated into elegant and fun party fare; try these Mini Grilled Cheese Sandwiches With Chutney at your next shindig. It's virtually impossible to mess up a grilled cheese sandwich, so have fun mixing and matching different breads with a variety of cheeses and delicious add-ons (it's also a great way to use up leftover odds and ends, so dig around in your pantry and refrigerator for creative things to throw in).
And if you need even more inspiration, check out this blog devoted entirely to the grilled cheese sandwich, grilledcheesesocial.com. The mouthwatering photos will make you want to run home immediately and break out your skillet and butter.
What's your favorite way to make a grilled cheese sandwich?
(image: Con Poulos)
How to Recycle Aluminum Foil
Here's an easy tip for your Friday night. Aluminum foil, once you're done using it to it's fullest potential (check out some new uses for it here) can be recycled with along with your soda cans. Just make sure you clean it off before tossing it in the recycling bin.
Related:
The Ultimate Guide to Going Green
Friday Find: Goldenink
I absolutely love the whimsical and artistic jewelry by Goldenink. They remind me of tiny works-of-art...which they basically are.
Katherine Wheller and Abby Seymour are the talented duo that create the collection of 100% hand crafted, painted and kiln-fired jewelry. They don't mass produce any of the pieces and nothing is made from a cast or transfer. So impressive!
Although the company is based in Australia they offer FREE worldwide shipping---so don't be afraid to start ordering! And--they welcome commission pieces.
What do you think?
Happy Friday!
Cool Apps to Help Save on Gas
Yipes! I spent $53 to fill up my Kia Optima this morning. Last fall a fill-up cost the reverse of those figures ($35) -- and New Jersey offers one of the best deals at the pump because of lower gas taxes. Back in January, I wrote a post on how to save on gasoline. This one focuses on eight cool Iphone Apps to help keep gas costs down, suggested by TrueCar.com.
1) GasBuddy: This app from Gasbuddy.com maps or lists gas stations in the area, which can be sorted by price or distance to you. Listings are updated by users, who earn points toward prizes with each update. It's free and compatible with iPhone iOS 3.0 or later, Android 1.5 and up.
2) Carticipate: This app facilitates ride sharing within your network of family, friends and co-workers. Post your ride and the app will match you to local participants who are going your way. It's free, and compatible with iPhone iOS 3.1.2 or later and available on Facebook.
3) Route4me: This app is ideal if you're constantly running around (work appointments, school pickups, soccer drop offs, playdate deliveries, community meetings, grocery shopping...you know the drill). The app optimizes your route when traveling to multiple destinations, allowing you to enter up to 200 addresses per route. Route4me claims that routes are usually 25 to 35 percent shorter after being optimized.
4) Gas Hog: You may think your sporty little economy car gets 35 miles to the gallon -- but how is it really performing? This app allows you to track fuel economy with each fill up, shows historical fuel economy statistics and gives you tips for getting more miles to the gallon. The app costs $.99, and is compatible with iPhone iOS 3.0 or later.
5) iGasUp: This app offers pricing data on 110,000 gas stations, derived from credit card transactions that are updated in real time. When you launch the app, the ten cheapest gas stations closest to your location show up in order of lowest to highest price. It's $.99, and compatible with iPhone iOS 2.2.1 or later.
6) TripTik: I wish I'd had this app when the fanbelt flew off my minivan at 5am on a Jersey-to-Chicago road trip with the kids. TripTik helps you locate gas stations and seeing pricing information, but also shows AAA members like me where to find repair stations. It also offers route maps, AAA office locations, restaurants and AAA approved hotels (so you can grab any available discount). It's free, and compatible with iPhone 3.0 or later.
7) Waze: Imagine how much fuel is gobbled up in traffic jams. Waze helps you avoid them using real-time traffic updates from other users, who report accidents, traffic jams, police traps and road hazards. Similar to check-in sites and apps, Waze offers badges and discounts for reporting. It's free, and compatible with iPhone iOS 3.0 or later.
8) Google Maps Navigation (beta): Google maps has updated its Android app to offer alternate routes to avoid traffic pileups. (The old app could tell you where the pileups were, but couldn't guide you out of the mess.) No download necessary, Android will push the update to your phone automatically.
I'll be honest -- I have a Blackberry, not an Iphone. So instead of using these apps, I'm saving on gas by riding my bike more. How are you dealing with rising gas prices?
April 14, 2011
Henrietta Lacks, Part 3: Immortality
Hi, Bookies:
Welcome back! Before we dive into this week's discussion, I'd like to share some exciting news: Rebecca Skloot has agreed to answer questions! If there is anything that you would like to ask the author, please post your questions in the comments section by Thursday, April 21, at 11:59 p.m. EST.
In this week's reading, Skloot introduces us to Mo, another cell line of both medical and financial importance. John Moore was diagnosed with hairy-cell leukemia in 1976 and, as a result, had his spleen removed. Moore's doctor David Golde recognized that his patient's cells produced rare proteins that would make them valuable to pharmaceutical companies. As a result, Golde started using Moore's tissues to develop the cell line Mo. After the surgery, Moore flew from Seattle to Los Angeles every few months for seven years for "follow-up exams," unaware that Golde actually needed these meetings to obtain more tissue samples for cell culture. Moore eventually sued Golde, and the case went through various trials and appeals before it landed in the Supreme Court of California. Though the court acknowledged that Golde was wrong for both failing to obtain informed consent and for taking advantage of his position as a doctor, Moore did not receive any financial compensation. According to the court's decision, Moore no longer had rights to his tissues and cells once they were removed from his body. Giving patients' property rights to their tissues, the court argued, would "destroy…economic incentive" and "hinder research."
This decision doesn't sit well with me. A blood test or biopsy needle, such as Henrietta endured, is a far cry from making someone believe that he needed to fly to a specialist multiple times a year, as Golde did with Moore. Gey also developed HeLa for medical research; neither he nor John Hopkins ever profited from the cell line. Golde, on the other hand, was purposely misleading his patient for the sake of developing a cell line that he would sell to a pharmaceutical company for a hefty profit. I think that Moore deserved compensation. Do you agree? Or do you find the court's ruling to be fair?
Back in Baltimore, Deborah and Skloot have finally joined forces and are delving deeper into Henrietta's life and legacy together. I was impressed by Deborah's terms when she agreed to take part in the research: Deborah made Skloot promise to use Henrietta's real name and to reveal the truth about Henrietta's institutionalized eldest daughter, Elsie. There is something noble about Deborah's conditions, especially when you consider that her siblings were unsupportive of Deborah's decision to help Skloot without a financial incentive. After a lifetime of being kept in the dark about her mother and her sister, Deborah thought that learning about her family would be its own reward. Though Skloot couldn't pay the Lacks family for their story, she did promise to set up an educational scholarship for Henrietta's descendants if the book ever sold (a promise Skloot kept, according to the afterword). Do you think this was a fair bargain? Should Skloot have done more?
The last thought that I want to leave you with is about health insurance. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 50 million Americans were without health insurance when surveyed between January and September of 2010. Henrietta Lacks was peppered with the hardships of living without health coverage (Day's gangrenous feet and Sonny's $125,000 debt for bypass surgery are both stirring examples). Skloot presents the reader with both sides of the debate around whether Gey had a right to take Henrietta's cells in the first place and, once the cell line was created, whether the Lacks family had a right to the HeLa fortune. However, I think that Deborah cut right to the heart of this issue when she said:
"When people hear about my mother cells they always say, 'Oh y'all could be rich! Y'all gotta sue John Hopkin, ya'll got to do this and that.' But I don't want that. . . . Truth be told, I can't get mad at science, because it help people live, and I'd be a mess without it. I'm a walking drugstore! I can't say nuthin bad about science, but I won't lie, I would like some health insurance so I don't got to pay all that money every month for drugs my mother cells probably helped make."
Thank you all for reading along with me! I've enjoyed both Henrietta Lacks and being a part of the No Obligation Book Club more than I can say. I'll be reading any comments you leave about Part 3, so please post your thoughts, feedback, and questions for the author—I look forward to reading them!
—Erin
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Use Newspaper to Clean Your Mirrors and Windows
The next time you go to clean your toothpaste-spattered mirror, pull a piece of newspaper from the recycling bin instead of reaching for a paper towel.
Even though it has been printed, newspaper makes a great lint-free option for cleaning glass surfaces. Plus, you're not wasting paper towels. Get more ideas for ways to reuse recyclable items.
Do you have a new use for newspaper or other recyclable?
Related:
New Uses for Compostable Items
What Eco-Friendly Changes Have You Made?
How To Make Your Blowout Last for Four Days
We've discussed how I wish I could blow dry my own hair exactly the way my hair stylist does, but as of yet I haven't figured it out. Until that day comes, I had stylist Paul Cucinello give me the secrets on how to make my blow out last four days. Yes, you read right: four days.
Paul, salon Creative Director and former Shear Genius participant, created a simple recipe for us to follow. I promise it works! Since meeting with him a few weeks back, I've tried it over and over again. I'm getting my hair done tonight and have full intention of using these tips to keep my hair look fabulous long after I've left the salon.
What you'll need:
- 1 satin pillowcase
- 1 cloth scrunchie
- a cotton scarf or bandanna
- a plastic shower cap
- dry shampoo
- large barrel curling iron (2 inches in diameter)
- 2.5-inch self-hold curlers
- your favorite perfume
Day 1 Night: Before bed, make sure your satin pillowcase is on the pillow you lay on. For the first night you will be letting your settle a bit, so try to be careful while sleeping. Pull the back of your hair into a really high ponytail on the very top of your head at the crown and secure with your scrunchie. Leave the front and frame out. This way your ends will be undisturbed, but the front and sides should remain some what intact.
Day 2 Morning: Flip your head over, pull your hair into a loose high ponytail (use your scrunchie, again) and put a bandanna around your hairline so your frame stays protected under the shower cap. Shower and then shake out your hair to let it resettle.
Day 2 Night: Repeat the original ponytail routine from the night before.
Day 3 Morning: Today it probably doesn't look as good when you let your hair down, so here are a couple ways to spruce it up: Take two inch sections and lightly spray the dry shampoo at the roots. Then take big sections and wrap around the self-hold curlers (following the same direction as the original blowout). Once all your hair is up, put the bandanna around your hairline to protect against a leaky shower cap. Once out of the shower, shake out your hair and let it resettle. Use a little hair spray for additional hold.
Day 3 Night: Pull all your hair into a really high ponytail with your scrunchie and then twist it into a loose bun on the very top of your head at the crown. Secure with bobby pins, where you need to.
Day 4 Morning: Heat up your curling iron and while it's heating take 2-inch sections and lightly spray dray shampoo at the roots. Then take big sections and use the curling iron to give volume and shape; make sure to use the curling iron in the same direction of the blowout like the previous day. Do the same with the self-hold curlers. Then secure the curlers and use the bandanna to cover your hairline, put on your shower cap and shower. After your shower, shake your hair out and use a little more dry shampoo or hairspray for some more hold. Spritz your favorite perfume on the underside of your hair to give you a long lasting scent for the rest of the day.
Paul's Favorite Products To Use:
Tresemme Dry Shampoo Oribe Royal Blowout Heat Styling Spray
To buy: $5, target.com To buy: $42, oribe.com
What are some of your tricks to keep your blowout going? Many people I've spoken to had some version of this. Share your own beauty tips below!
How Much Should You Tip the People Who Work the Hardest?
This week's reader question was posted recently on Real Simple's Facebook page. It comes from Denise LaPlant Carbone, who asked:
My husband and I disagree about how much we should tip the hotel staff who clean the rooms/make the beds, etc. With vacation season on the horizon, what does everyone else recommend?
Tipping is not an exact science. Consider this. How much do you tip a bellhop who lugs your bags to your hotel room, $2 or $3...or $5? The amount probably varies, depending on some combination of factors that include the number of bags he has to haul, how speedily he delivers them and how many singles you happen to have in your wallet.
Personally, I think the hotel housekeepers, who clean toilets and attack stains on the carpet, have a harder job than bellhops. But they often get overlooked because they're not standing in front of you, with their hands out, waiting for a tip.
I may in fact never see the cleaning staff during my stay. But I use my bellhop tipping standard as a threshold —and leave the maids more.
How much more? If you're a neat freak traveling alone, a dollar or so extra per day may be sufficient. But if you're on vacation with your kids, be generous. The cleaning staff has to spend more time tidying your room. And if one of those children spilled orange juice on the rug and another vomited on the sheets last night? Tip $10 for cleaning up the next day.
As for me? I typically calculate a $5 tip per day for the cleaning staff. I add a $10 bonus, at the end of the stay, for exceptional service. But unless someone in my group throws up, I don't dole out the tip money every day, because unless you write a note each time, the housekeeper won't know it's for her. I leave the total amount in the room when I check out.
What's your strategy? Do you tip the cleaning staff more or less than other hotel employees? How much do you leave?
(image courtesy of Realsimple.com)
An Organized Approach To Yardwork
The weather is finally starting to warm up here in the northern hemisphere, and now is a great time to start cleaning up your home's exterior spaces. This winter was hard on many landscapes, and there may be more work than usual for you this spring. Try to keep an organized approach to the work ahead of you to keep from feeling overwhelmed.
Make a plan. You don't have to tackle all of your yard's to-do items in one weekend. You can draw a map of your yard and section it into pieces, like a puzzle. Then, on your calendar, schedule three or four hour blocks of time for when you can focus on each section. Or, make a to-do list of all the work that needs to be completed and schedule the tasks on your calendar.
Talk with your neighbors. See what everyone has on deck this year and see if you can collaborate on any projects. Our old neighborhood would go in together each spring to pay for the rental of a wood chipper. We'd then use the wood chips for mulch and save money a second time.
Start with sticks and leaves. Simply clearing sticks and dead leaves from your yard can make a huge difference in its appearance. Once these items are gone, you can get a good look at all the work you'll want to do.
If you plan to pay a service or neighborhood kid to mow your lawn, make this reservation now (if you haven't already). Schedules will fill up quickly the warmer it gets. If you plan to mow your lawn yourself, block this weekly time commitment on your calendar now.
Kill unwanted plants now, plant new ones in the fall. A layer of newspaper covered with mulch over the top of unwanted plants will kill the plants and keep you from having to weed and water this section of your yard this summer. In the fall, plant new foliage in this area so it will all be ready to go next spring.
As plants, trees, and shrubs begin to bud, you'll be able to tell which ones survived the winter and which ones didn't. You may wish to hire a professional tree removal service for large trees and bushes. Smaller plants can often just be removed by hand and thrown in the compost bin or trash.
Make a date to weed once a week. Block off 15 to 30 minutes each week to attend to weeding your yard. The pesky blokes poke up in sidewalk cracks, the middle of your garden, and even the center of your lawn without any previous indication. Giving yourself time each week to address the weeds will keep them from overwhelming your yard.
Know your limits. If you aren't into yard work, hire someone else to tend to it. If you have a green thumb and love to spend time outdoors, be realistic about what you can tend to with your other responsibilities. Although I would love a beautiful English or Japanese style garden, I know I wouldn't be able to give a garden like that the attention it deserves. So, I visit the arboretum and keep things low-key at home.
What is your plan for your yard this summer? Share your ideas in the comments.
April 13, 2011
What Are Volatile Organic Compounds?
When it comes to paint, you hear a lot about low-VOC and even no-VOC paints. But what does that term actually mean?
VOC stands for volatile organic compound, and it refers to certain chemicals that release gases into the air and contribute to indoor air pollution. Most commonly, you'll find VOCs in paints, lacquers, and wood stains, but they are also present in some cleaning products, aerosol sprays, and bug repellents.
To reduce your exposure to VOCs in your home, try these tips from the Environmental Protection Agency:
- Use adequate ventilation if you have to use a product that contains or might contain VOCs.
- Don't mix cleaners or other household chemicals unless he instructions specifically say it's okay.
- Properly dispose of any chemicals or cleaners that you no longer need. Or if you must store them, make sure they are in an appropriate container.
- Keep all potentially harmful cleaners, paints, etc away from children and pets.
Read more about volatile organic compounds from the EPA.
Do you make an effort to use low- or no-VOC products?
Related:
Make Your Home More Eco-Friendly
66 All-Natural Cleaning Solutions
