Heather Solos's Blog, page 58

Back-to-School and Back-to-Work? with a Tupperware Giveaway

Heather says:

Did you know that I’m currently looking to re-enter the whole 9 – 5 world? It’s true, I’ve been sending out applications, going to interviews and while nothing has happened, yet, I’m sure at some point I’ll find a good fit.

Don’t worry, Home-Ec101.com isn’t going anywhere. Home-Ec 101 represents more than 5.5 years of work, that’s not something I’m willing to just drop. Did you know that it was just in March that I mentioned that 3 million people have visited this site? Hang on to your hat, because we crossed the 4 million mark earlier this month. A million people in 5 months? Consider this mind, blown.

My kids have all started school and the plan is to pack lunches four days a week. For me it’s less about the cost savings than knowing that they are getting whole grains (and not popcorn style -has anyone else seen the whole “Made from whole grains” label on popcorn and chuckled?) and fresh fruits and vegetables (I’m sorry, ketchup will never count as a serving of vegetables in this house, not today and not ever). I’m trying not to be uptight, but I find it weird that my youngest seems to come home with more food than I sent with her, seriously the food I send is gone and in its place are Cheetos, Goldfish and other random things. I sort of wish I could see what’s happening, her explanation is “They just give it to me.” Weird.

When I finally land that gig, that’s not in a restaurant, I will also be packing my own lunch. We’ll be up to four lunches each day. That’s a lot of packing and a lot of potential waste, if we’re not conscientious about how we pack.

I was contacted by Tupperware earlier this month, they wanted to know if I had heard of their new Crystal Wave Meal  and Healthy Salad Lunch Solution Sets. I hadn’t. Tupperware hasn’t been on my radar for years.

I do have vague memories of my mother hosting a couple of Tupperware parties. Mostly, I remember playing in my room with other kids and some moms sitting in the living room and telling us to go play. I also know that it was *cough* a longlongtimeago *cough* and that some of those pieces are still being used. A few were tossed before we knew that avocado greens and harvest golds would have a kitschy, retro appeal, but there was nothing wrong with them. And really, that’s the difference between a brand like Tupperware and much of what’s available in big box stores today.

 Currently, I do have a lot of glass storage containers because I worry about things like BPA and pthalates. However, I learned that in the USA and Canada, Tupperware products do not contain BPA or pthalates. NICE.

I hear you, I understand that Tupperware products are not cheap, but they are not purchased with the intention of using a few times and then being tossed into the recycling bin. You are aware that recycling isn’t without its own environmental costs, right? Recycling IS less wasteful than throwing away, but it’s not exactly a panacea. When done with thought, investing in items that will be used for years may not only be the most cost effective, but least wasteful option.

In my book -heh that still feels weird to say- I talk about socioeconomic unfairness as described in Terry Pratchett’s Men at Arms: “But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that’d still be keeping his feet dry in ten years’ time, while a poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet” ~ Samuel Vimes. Sometimes it’s hard to spend more when there are inexpensive options, but sometimes you get what you pay for.
Do you have any memories associated with Tupperware?

I’m giving away a Healthy Lunch Salad Solution which retails for $55 to one lucky commenter. All you have to do is leave a comment with your favorite item to pack for lunch at work, school, or heck, even a picnic. 

I’ll close the comments at 9pm Eastern on Sunday September 2, 2012 (if I have to work, I’ll just stop counting those that arrive after 9pm) and I’ll announce the winner sometime Monday morning.

Good luck!

Tupperware is providing one Healthy Salad Lunch Solution Set, all opinions are my own, especially the neurotic weird ones. 

Pin It

Click here to leave a comment on Back-to-School and Back-to-Work? with a Tupperware Giveaway . We'd love to hear your say.

This is a post from: Home-Ec101 ©Home-Ec 101.com 2007 - 2011

Removing Fabric Softener from Baby Clothes

Dear Home Ec 101,

OK, Heather, help me out here! I’m about to have a baby, and while I’m loving all the hand-me-downs we’ve gotten, but I’m at my wit’s end tryng to get the stench of fabric softener out of them. I have really severe skin allergies, and all the laundry soap I use is non-scented, and I use vinegar for softener. I’m pretty sure that all the allergy-causing chemicals are out of them, because I can handle them just fine, but they still SMELL like fabric softener and fabric softener smells gross to me.

Signed,

Heather says:

Part of the problem may actually be that you are still pregnant.

Pregnant women are often much more sensitive to odors than non-preggos. Seriously, if you think about it, it makes evolutionary sense. If you’re more sensitive to the smell of bad meat, you’re not going to eat it and put the baby at risk. Isn’t biology marvelous? When I was pregnant, I couldn’t handle the smell of cooking poultry. Heck, thinking about it can STILL make my stomach flip and I haven’t been in that condition in 5 years.

That said, since you’ve already gone the acidic route, it’s time to go the basic route. Yep, we’re back to chemistry in the laundry room. Give the clothing another wash, but this time with Borax. Adding borax to the wash water will raise the pH and improve the solubility of some of those molecules clinging to the baby clothes. Additionally, wash the clothing in the hottest water tolerated by the fabric.

If you can, allow the clothing to dry outside, unless the pollen count is really high or you’re not allowed to have a clothesline. The sunlight and fresh air will do wonders, too. Or hang the clothing outside in the fresh air for a few hours and THEN wash with borax before drying in the dryer. The order is up to you.

Good luck and congratulations!

Submit your questions to helpme@home-ec101.com.

Click here to leave a comment on Removing Fabric Softener from Baby Clothes . We'd love to hear your say.

This is a post from: Home-Ec101 ©Home-Ec 101.com 2007 - 2011

Why Does My Cabbage Taste Bitter?

Dear Home-Ec 101,

I’ve cooked cabbage a few times. I sautee some garlic in olive oil and add the cabbage in. I add a little water with a little chicken cube for seasoning. It has always tasted good. But why is is for a couple of times, I’ve done the same thing, my cabbage tasted so bitter that I couldn’t eat it at all.

What went wrong? Is the cabbage not ready yet to be cooked? Still too young?

I didn’t overcook it. Actually, it took awhile before it softened.

Please advise.

Signed,

Curious about Cruciferous

Heather says:

The bitterness in cabbage and other cruciferous vegetables is due to organic compounds known as  glucosinolates. These compounds contain sulfur, which has a distinctive odor and flavor. I remember as a child the well water at girl scout camp was high in sulfur and we all called it the rotten egg water. It funked up the kool-aid and the sweet tea. Even taking a shower was rather unpleasant. (Good thing everything else we did made up for the funky water)

If you look at the structure of the molecule to the right, you’ll see an R hanging off the bottom, that R represents a side group or chain that varies depending on the exact compound.  Cruciferous plants are notorious for containing these molecules and the more bitter the plant, the glucosinolates they contain.

What can you do to reduce the impact of the bitter flavor of cabbage?

You can use three tactics to reduce the perceived bitterness in your cabbage and other cruciferous vegetables:

Pick the cabbage after a frost. Most cruciferous plants grow best in cooler weather and are known for being frost tolerant. In my area, we tend to not eat collard greens until after the first frost, the cold weather triggers the creation of sugars in the plant that reduce the bitterness.
Cook the cabbage with sugar. Am I suggesting you dump sugar in your cabbage willy-nilly? Not at all. Taste the cabbage before cooking and if you notice a sharp or bitter taste either cook it with other ingredients that are sweet: yellow onions, red or orange bell peppers, shredded carrots, or apples or add a small amount of sugar to the cooking liquid and taste before serving. This is why many coleslaws contain a bit of sugar.
Don’t omit salt. Salt reduces the perception of bitter and a small pinch of salt can do wonders for bitter greens.

I hear some of you saying, but I have high blood pressure and I’m on a low salt diet. Then by all means, use the first two tactics. Just keep in mind that if you have a “Standard American Diet” the bulk of your sodium consumption probably comes from sources other than your own cooking. Processed foods contain insane amounts of sodium. Putting away the salt shaker, but chowing down on tv dinners isn’t what your doctor or nutritionist meant.

Cabbage recipes on Home-Ec101:

Sauteed Cabbage

Vegetable Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

Coleslaw

Short Ribs Braised in Beer

Ground Beef and Cabbage Skillet Bobbie’s version

Ground Beef and Cabbage Skillet Heather’s version

Simple Autumn Skillet

Submit your questions to helpme@home-ec101.com.

 

Click here to leave a comment on Why Does My Cabbage Taste Bitter? . We'd love to hear your say.

This is a post from: Home-Ec101 ©Home-Ec 101.com 2007 - 2011

Shrimp Gumbo Recipe, Cajun Comfort Food

Heather says:

If you’ve been around here for any length of time, you probably have noticed that I have a strong affinity for Cajun and Creole food. What can I say? I live in the South and I love garlic and shrimp and when they simmer with trinity, then life, at least at supper time, is good.

I didn’t take any pictures of the shrimp gumbo making process, but I do have a decent final shot and since many of the ingredients and steps are similar to that of my shrimp etouffee, which is my eight year-olds favorite dinner, in the “whole wide world, next to Taco Johns,” which he has had exactly once on a trip to Minnesota, but apparently made an impression. You can make your own judgments on his tastes, just know that I try to take that mixed compliment as gracefully as I can. (He also told his grandmother that she makes the best chili ever, while she was opening a can of Hormel’s) I had to leave the room after that little gem.

Now these ingredients are flexible (except for the file which you shouldn’t omit) Sure, you can omit it, but it just won’t be the same.

Everything else, except the roux, substitute to your heart’s content. Got it? (Just keep the liquid to roux ratio the same. Alton Brown, one of my culinary heroes, has a great show on gumbo, in which he demonstrates how to make a roux in the oven)

Good gumbo is a great cool or rainy weather meal, it has plenty of vegetables, so just serve over rice and call it done.  Personally, I find leftover shrimp gumbo even better than the first time around, maybe the flavors meld better, maybe it’s that it’s almost as good as when someone else makes it for you. (The best food is always magically appearing, but leftover gumbo is a close second). As written this recipe will make about 3 quarts of soup, so unless you’re feeding a big crowd, you should get at least 2 or 3 meals out of it.

I highly recommend using enameled cast iron, and you don’t even have to spring for Le Crueset. A stock pot will certainly work to make roux, but you’re going to have to be diligent with stirring to avoid scorching, and a thin pan may invite frustration. If you don’t have a large (6 quart enameled cast iron) and only have a small one, by all means, make the roux in the small pot and transfer to the stock pot to finish. You’ll thank me when your roux doesn’t scorch.

And on to the recipe, yes, you can totally substitute chicken or vegetable stock for the shrimp stock, if you MUST.

 

: Shrimp Gumbo

: Cajun comfort food

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 pound andouille sausage, cut into coins
2 quarts stock
2 medium onions, diced
3 ribs of celery, diced / chopped
3 bell peppers, diced – you can go all green if you want, but red ones are sweeter, even if they are so dang spendy
4 cloves of  minced garlic
3 bay leaves
1 lb okra pieces, I use frozen. . . judge me if you must.
1 tablespoon file powder
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste





Make roux by heating the oil and flour over medium low heat, when the roux is peanut butter colored, you may stop as you’ll have a good flavor (for a full roux tutorial look at the Shrimp Etouffee recipe). If you really want a more authentic Cajun gumbo, turn down the heat to low and keep on keepin’ on until your roux is brick or chocolate colored. DO NOT USE BURNT ROUX, there is a distinct difference, even though the line from awesome to ruined is thin, proceed with caution.
While the roux is working, brown the andouille sausage in another pan (if you’re going to use a stock pot for the gumbo go ahead and use that).
Personally, I like to get my roux where I like it and set it aside for a few minutes while I cook the onions, bell pepper, and celery with the andouille sausage over medium-high heat. Alternately, you can cook the roux just under where you want it and finish it mixed with vegetables. It’s up to you, but cook the trinity until the onions are translucent, somewhere in the 7 minute range, a little over or under depending on your pan. Add the garlic and stir to combine.
Grab your whisk or favorite wooden spoon.
Slowly add the 2 quarts of stock, stir constantly to ensure the stock is fully incorporated into the roux. Turn the heat to low.
Add the bay leaves, salt and pepper (I go with about 2 tsp salt, and a few good grinds of pepper)
Add the okra, stir.
When the stew has reheated from the addition of the okra, add the shrimp cook until the shrimp is nearly done (becomes opaque).
Add the file powder, stir thoroughly, cover, and allow to sit for 10 minutes to thicken.
Serve over rice.

Preparation time:

 

Cooking time: 1 hour(s)

Number of servings (yield): 12

Culinary tradition: USA (Southern)

Enjoy!

Pin It

Click here to leave a comment on Shrimp Gumbo Recipe, Cajun Comfort Food . We'd love to hear your say.

This is a post from: Home-Ec101 ©Home-Ec 101.com 2007 - 2011

The Really? That Happened? Personal Aside and Back to School Nightmares, Share Yours

Heather says:

Yesterday I stood at my children’s bus stop for over an hour, eagerly waiting for their bus to drop them off. I was excited to hear about their first day.  Dripping sweat and with my phone battery dying I paced at the edge of the road, out in the sun.

Finally there was the bus.

There were a few kids, but I was confused because my children were. not. there.

The bus driver noted my obvious concern and distress and asked, “What bus are you waiting for?”

I told her.

She said, “That’s not this bus, that’s an entirely different route.” (For clarity: I had obtained the information from the school’s website.)

Controlling my panic, I asked the bus driver how I should locate my children (who have now been misplaced for well over an hour) and I immediately followed her recommendation to go to the school.

I showed up at the school, jumped out of the car, and went into the office which had the usual chaos of first day confusion (remember this is my first experience as a parent with kids in school).

My children were located, I was told to go home to wait, and that the other bus would drop them off at our house. This finally happened, a little over 2 hours after the children had been dismissed. Remember unairconditioned buses, in August, in the Lowcountry of SC?  The bus driver was kind and told me I should have gotten the information from the Open House. I let him know that I had attended and stood in the long bus line, only to be told, by a school employee, to get the information from the website. At that point he was irritated, too.

Naturally I called the bus office the moment they opened and I’m sitting here waiting on that return call. . . The bus driver who finally brought my kids home to me also let me know that I could request a more convenient stop, since the closest is more than 0.4 miles from our house. (The neighbor child’s mother and I are both quite relieved as the closest stop was on a highway that includes a walk on a busy road with no sidewalk and two blind corners. Yay rural life).

That phone better ring soon.

While I wait, and breathe, and try to remember it’s not the person I’ll be speaking to’s fault, entertain me with your back-to-school nightmares.

Click here to leave a comment on The Really? That Happened? Personal Aside and Back to School Nightmares, Share Yours . We'd love to hear your say.

This is a post from: Home-Ec101 ©Home-Ec 101.com 2007 - 2011

First Day of School Jitters: Sunday Confessional

Heather says:

It’s just about time for me to head to work for Sunday brunch… I enjoy this shift, because even if we are incredibly slow an eggs benedict (sub out some regular bacon, sorry my notoriously-nice-Canadian friends your bacon just doesn’t do anything for me) and a bloody mary or a Smithwicks afterward is one of my life’s simple pleasures. Hollandaise can make almost anything better, you know. Yes, even the: Am I making the right decision to send my kids to school jitters.

::deep breath::

It’s been a long week of clothes shopping, open house, work, more work, the great school lunch stuff grocery shopping trip, etc. Throw in a virus someone picked up and shared from football practice and I’m just about done with it all.

Whenever I mention that all three of my kids are going to school for the first time and that I’ll have the house to myself during the day people say, “You won’t know what to do with yourself.”

Pardon me, but I know exactly what I’m going to do with myself. I’m going to write and catch up on Home-Ec 101 without children perching on my shoulders. I’m going to clean, because oh my, working nearly full time at the pub has taken its toll, too. (There’s the confession -working two jobs makes taking my own advice really dang hard.) I’m going to cook and take photos -see above about writing and catching up on Home-Ec101. Keeping busy has never been a problem for me. Learning how to relax? That may be.

I followed @MindyWinn’s advice and purchased three of these hanging closet organizers for the kids. Thank goodness for Amazon Prime -which I’m sure you’re tired of hearing about, but kept me from running out to Target, again and the organizers will be here on Tuesday. I spent yesterday afternoon washing and folding laundry -at what point do you condemn loner socks to the rag bin?- and sorting the kids’ clothing into outfits. Right now the outfits have grocery bags for the socks and underwear looped around the hangers which are hanging from the curtain rods in my bedroom. It is CLASSY, I tell you.

I spent most of the afternoon doing this, while watching my own personal Torchwood marathon on Netflix. Let’s face it, being kept company by a handsome Captain Jack Harkness can even make matching socks better.

Since it’s Mindy’s fault I spent yesterday holed up in my bedroom with laundry -no she didn’t give me the virus, but I still blame her- she gets the digital copy of Home-Ec 101: Skills for Everyday Living I promised. If she already has a copy, she can tell me (in email) who she would like to give it to.

So for the TL/DR crowd this week, I confessed:

I have a weakness for hollandaise, I don’t like Canadian bacon, I haven’t been good about taking my own advice, I’m nervous about school starting tomorrow, I’m tired of people telling me I’ll be lonely during the day,there are 15 hangers with plastic grocery bags and outfits currently hanging in my bedroom, and I like a weird British Sci-Fi series.

Oy. Off to work I go.

What have you got to get off of your chest?

Click here to leave a comment on First Day of School Jitters: Sunday Confessional . We'd love to hear your say.

This is a post from: Home-Ec101 ©Home-Ec 101.com 2007 - 2011

Method and Pattern Maker Orla Kiely

Heather says:

So, I know this post is out of my normal scope of coverage, but as you know I’m working with Method ( #CleanHappy) and this is their news for this month*.

Transparency: I know very little about style and fashion -home or otherwise. I tend to make things up, ask other people if I look ridiculous, and if given the right feedback I stick with it.

This is why I have the whole retro thing here and in my closet. I know I look kind of cute in A-line dresses and no one has ever pulled me aside and said, “Heather, you really need to stop wearing that.”  Related, I got to do a photo shoot with Skirt! Charleston not too long ago and here’s what they published. So that’s enough about me and how I muddle through trying to be trendy and cool. . .

Method products simply are trendy and cool. It’s part of their strategy, they know consumers want beautiful, effective products and they want consumers to use ecologically friendly stuff.  To accomplish this Method has teamed up with Pattern Maker Orla Kiely for an exclusive, limited edition product line only available at Target and the MethodHome website. Orla Kiely is very eco-conscious and strives to share her sustainability values, so this partnership is a win for everyone.

If the patterns don’t catch your eye, perhaps the scents will catch your nose.

(Did I seriously just write that? Yes, and quit with the parenthetical asides, some people hate them, you know. Fine, whatever.)

Bay Leaf
Pear Ginger**


Primrose
Vanilla Chai

Pretty, right?

Quite. And just like all the other Method soap products, they are free of dirty ingredients like: parabens, pthalates, triclosan (y’all know I rant about there being no need to kill every germ out there), and EDTA. The bottles are made from 100% recycled plastic (and oh, I can’t wait to tell you about some really cool stuff they have coming up later this year) AND the formulas are biodegradable so you don’t have to worry about the water supply. Hey, some of us do.

Did you know you can talk to Method on their Facebook Page? Seriously, they’ll answer your questions. I’ll also be happy to answer your questions, too.

AND later this month there’ll be a sweepstakes on the Facebook page. Here are the details (Yes, just stopped myself from writing deets. Apparently I’m channeling a 20-something this morning and not stopping with the parenthetical asides.)

When: August 22 – August 31

What: US residents may enter to win 5 grand prizes of an Orla Kiely handbag filled to the brim with the limited collection Method + Orla Kiely line. 30 runner-ups will receive various Method + Orla Kiely products.  (If you don’t know what her stuff looks like, I googled it for ya. Muy cute!)

Where:  Facebook.com/method

*yes, that’s called disclosure, folks.

**My favorite -I’ll be stocking up on the dish soap for my kitchen sink.

Click here to leave a comment on Method and Pattern Maker Orla Kiely . We'd love to hear your say.

This is a post from: Home-Ec101 ©Home-Ec 101.com 2007 - 2011

Happy Birthday Julia Child

Heather says:

It wasn’t until this morning that I realized that my youngest child shares a birthday with Julia Child, who is still my favorite tv chef. How appropriate is that?

I spent some time poking around on the old Internetz this morning, while trying to figure out where to take Ellie for her girly-girl day and while wearing her new plastic tiara, at her insistence. (I kind of fail at the girly-girl thing, I’m thinking the cosmetology school for a pedicure and a “fancy” lunch at a tea room, but if you have ideas, I’m open.) While looking I found this remix of Julia Child that had me giggling:

I also found that you can watch some of her shows on PBS.org and if you have Amazon Prime, you can stream many of her collections like

Canning Chicken Stock

Dear Home Ec 101,

My wife and I made chicken stock and usually put it in plastic bags or plastic freezer storage. However, we canned tomatoes last year and we were wondering if you can do the same thing with stock, put the stock into clean jars and then water bath for 1 1/2 hours? Will it last on the shelf for a year like the tomatoes did? We also used a method for peaches were we placed the peaches in clean jars, poured the cooled sugar water over it and then froze the jars — did’t think it would work, thought they’d explode in the freezer, but low and behold it worked and we had fresh peaches all winter.

Signed,

Curious in Currituck

Heather says:

To can chicken stock safely, you need to use a pressure canner rather than a water bath canner. What’s the difference?

And this is a pressure canner which is needed for foods with low acidity, like the chicken stock you would like to can.

Unfortunately, pressure canners aren’t cheap, but they are an investment that will last for years. You will need to inspect the seal before each use and carefully follow the directions.

I’ve written about pressure canning in the past and you’ll find some great resources in that post.

To specifically answer your question about canning stock:

To pressure can chicken stock you’ll need to process the jars with one inch of headspace -that’s the gap between the liquid and the lid- at 10lbs pressure for 20 minutes for pints and for 25 minutes, if you’re canning quarts.

Good luck on your home preservation adventure!

Submit your questions to helpme@home-ec101.com.

Click here to leave a comment on Canning Chicken Stock . We'd love to hear your say.

This is a post from: Home-Ec101 ©Home-Ec 101.com 2007 - 2011

Share Your Best Back-to-School Tips / Ideas

Heather says:

Here’s a little transparency for you.

This is the first time my children are going to school and frankly, I think I’m more nervous and excited than they are. I have once mentioned that my oldest child is on the autistic spectrum (Asperger’s) and that he needed a couple of extra years at home to mature before he could adapt to a classroom environment. We used a virtual charter school system mostly because I needed the structure. My middle child also used this program, because I couldn’t wrap my brain around schooling one at home and not the other. This year all three will be school-age and now, with my working outside of the home, as well as here at Home-Ec101.com something had to give. Thankfully, everyone seems ready for next week. My house quiet after having three marauding minions stampeding around for the last 5 years 9 years in all) is mind-blowing.

As I usually do around the time change, I’ve begun moving their bedtimes to a more respectable one 15 minutes at a time. (This seems to cut down on the whining and bickering after lights out).

So today, since I’m the n00b, I ask you:

What is your best back-to-school tip or idea?

Just for fun, I’ll randomly select and send a digital copy of