On or around this day each year Chick-Fil-A
Until the 26th of November only, you can get DOUBLE the free Tupperware with your party!
Yep, you heard me right, DOUBLE your FREE Tupperware!!!
I am SO excited to be able to offer this, that I am offering an extra free gift (on top of the usual host reward gifts) to all hosts for parties held this week.
Heck, I'm even offering a free gift to you if you don't ave a party, and refer someone who does hold one this week.
No worries about time constraints either, I can do a party in 15 minutes for you and 4 of your friends, and I'll even come to your work and do it in the break room if that's all the space and time you have.
Tupperware products, AND the way Tupperware works has changed drastically, even in the past three days, so get in on the newest "next best thing" and be one of the first to get the great extra bonuses!
I can set up a party for anyone, anywhere in the US, so don't be shy.
Let me help you to have a debt free holiday season this year! *smile*
1.888.693.6372 Call now!
News and reporting you need! There's been a lot of debate and argument about what Obama and the rest of the government is trying to do to "make health care affordable and available" to all Americans. Let me start by saying that nobody knows exactly what they're doing behind closed doors, and we have no clue what type of plan they're hammering out up in Washington. Without that knowlege, we can neither approve of the Wasington plan, nor reject it. That bit of reason injected into the debate, let us begin. Many groups would have you beleive that long waits like those that exist in Canada are the only form of so-called "socialized healthcare" available. Fortunately, that's not accurate, as there are four large, wealthy countries just like ours that have a singular, overall government health care plan. Only one has a long wait for specialty doctors or physicians that cover acute conditions, and that's Canada. But we don't have to pick and follow Canada's government health care plan. Others talk about how expensive health care is in our country, and the drastic costs and tax increases that would be manditory to be able to pay for such an expansive plan. And you know what, they're right. But what they're not telling you is that the cost of a country's health care costs overall reduces drastically when there is only one main plan. That means one set of rules, one place to file insurance claims, and a mandatory period (usually just a few days) in which the fees are paid to the physicians. When a doctor or hospital doesn't have to stock up on money so they can stay open until the next insurance claim is paid, spend money on administration, and train & employ folks to handle the avalanche of paperwork that exists in our current system, the costs drop like a lead balloon. If that one plan covers everything but Botox and breast augmentation, then health and quality of life are assured, for less than we're spending right now on health care for the disabled and elderly alone! Of course, folks that want those unnecessary extras are allowed to purchase supplimental health insurance to cover those cosmetic procedures; We wouldn't want anyone going without what makes them happy... You also don't hear about how we could adopt one country's special super-secured health card that carries your encrypted health information in a centralized database. Nope, we don't hear about a card that can keep each and every doctor we see informed about how we're doing, what meds we're taking, our allergies, recent appointments and the like. Of course that card would take the place of all of the medic alert bracelets out there, make sure we got the best treatment possible in the quickest amount of time with no risk of negative drug interaction because we forgot to report a pill we were taking, or our alzheimers parent or grandparent's chart is lost... Not needing to take an updated list of curent medications to the doctor every time you visit sure sounds handy to me. It's all on the card, keeping us healthy and safe, even when/if we can't speak for ourselves. Imagine a land where no insurance carrier is allowed to be a for-profit, there's no price-gouging, doctors get paid right away for their services, costs are down, nobody can be denied health care for any reason, and you never have to drag yourself all over the place in order to get releases for your files from one physician to another... Life is simpler, healthier, and happier. The economy recovers, and we all live better for it. But don't take my word for it. As heard on National Public Radio, earlier today. "Journalist and author T.R. Reid set out on a global tour of hospitals and doctors' offices, all in the hopes of understanding how other industrialized nations provide affordable, effective universal health care. The result: his book The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper, and Fairer Health Care. Reid is a foreign correspondent for The Washington Post — in whose pages he recently addressed five major myths about other countries' health-care systems — and the former chief of the paper's London and Tokyo bureaus. Reid was the lead correspondent for the 2008 Frontline documentary Sick Around the World, which examined five other capitalist democracies, looking for lessons on health-care delivery." Click here to listen to the full interview, and judge for yourself what America, and Americans, could do to create effecient, effective, and complete health care for all of it's citizens at a lowered cost, regardless of their health status or income level. As a other, I tell my children to learn from the mistakes and successes of others. It makes life easier, and more enjoyable. What if we, as a country, did the same? It's a real eye-opener! As an addendum, let me mention this; Everyone pays taxes to keep the fire department running, but very few people ever have a fire. Somehow, nobody complains that we pay that tax. Do you know why? It's because we know that our taxes go to ensure that if our home or office catches fire, for whatever reason, someone will be there to put it out without pause. No questions, no paperwork, no "can you pay your bill", just putting out the fire when it needs to be done. Wouldn't it be nice if health care worked that way too? Instead of figting over the if, let's join together and work out the best possible how.
Isn't it time we took some action to make sure the government does the right thing, the right way for once?
I am hosting this Online Party to tell you about all of the new great products Tupperware has to offer to simplify your kitchen, home, and life GET FREE TUPPERWARE!
Tupperware is the only lifetime guaranteed, environmentally sound, green solution to saving food and money.
Please click this link to begin browsing through the geat products and special offers available only through my online party.
The best part of hosting or attending a party online is that you never have to leave your house, or even get dressed! Browse and order from home, and get your new Tupperware delivered right to your door, no matter where you live in the U.S.!
Thanks for participating in my Tupperware Online Party!
Feel free to tell all your family and friends too, and let them in on the great goodies and special deals that you can only get at an online party! Everyone's invited!
Imagine life on your terms; more time for family, friends and fun, more flexibility and true financial freedom.
Stop asking yourself why you don't have the time, happiness, health, and money you desire. Instead, ask yourself; "Why not? Invest two minutes of your time; call toll free 1-866-376-7518 to hear about the Tupperware opportunity, then call a consultant toll free at 1-888-693-6372. They'll be happy to answer any questions you may have, and help you get started on the path to your dreams!
The lifestyle of Tupperware leaders is nothing less than wonderful! Trips, diamonds, cars and cash bonuses are just a few of the perks you can find in Tupperware.
Hello, my name is Kryistina, and I'm a Tupperware addict.
One of my favorite toys as a child was my precious Tupperware rolling pin and pie-crust sizing mat. I used it all the time in my little toy kitchen that my mother had set up in the alcove just off of our real kitchen when I was five years old. I used that little set long after the toy kitchen was sold at a yard sale. Into my late childhood, I used that rolling pin, mat, my mother's orange peeler, and the adorable little cookie-cutters to augment my only piece of Play-Dough equipment, the creative press. You remember, that thing you could make real pasta in if you honestly wanted to? Yeah, I loved my sculpting tools, even at an early age.
I was also in love with my mother's Tupperware pitcher. A relatively ugly textured thing in some odd shade of powdered gold nearing to off-white, and a strange frilly design stamped in the side and painted that iconic color of the 1970's, harvest gold. Most people these days call that "baby poop yellow", but the rich brown, avacado green, harvest gold, and nearly neon orange were the shades of the era, and since Tupperware lasts forever... She had that pitcher for a long, long time. It never spilled when it was closed, it held your drinks fresh for what seemed like forever, and it was easy to spot in the fridge as always containing some treat that I was allowed to have without asking permission first.
I used that pitcher in my very first-ever business venture too. A Kool-Aide stand at the edge of the road. Now, my stand was different than everyone else's by far. Not just because I had more than one flavor of beverage, but because I had to pay for my own overhead like a real business. Now, my mom mixed the drinks for me and made the ice cubes, but I had to pay for the sugar and packet of fruity flavor out of my gross income. At 6 years old, I knew the basics of running a business, and at fifteen cents a glass, my profits were impressive. The income really soared, however, when I hired my best friend, a petite blonde girl, to wear her frilliest dress and stand by my little table curtsying at the passing cars. We had a profit-sharing deal, and she earned five cents for every cup of drink i sold while she was working with me... I've got business in my very genetic structure.
Which all explains why I am now your Tupperware lady. Not only do I get to make really good money having fun, meeting new people, and sharing my passion and love for Tupperware, I also get to give away FREE Tupperware and get great discounts on it myself for my own kitchen.
And boy how Tupperware has changed over the years! Just the other day, I had a party where we made mixed alcoholic drinks and cracked jokes. There are all sorts of Tupperware party formats these days, and if there isn't one that appeals to you personally, I can work with you to create something that is truly original and all your own.
Even joining our happy Tupperware family is customized! To start with, there are two kits you can pick from when joining the Tupperware family of independent consultants. One is a very basic set with some of the necessary goodies to get you started and a few pieces so you can have your first couple of parties, and the more executive set is much lovelier, containing about $500 in Tupperware alone (not counting the cost of all the promotional materials that come with the kit). And you can join the team for any reason, from wanting a discount on your own Tupperware, to being serious about building a thriving business of your own. it's fun,, easy, and the perfect fit for anyone who loves Tupperware! *grin*
Can you guess which kit I bought? Can you guess why?
It's probably not the reason you might think, knowing me as well as you do.
It wasn't because it is the better deal, or because it saves me money in the long run. Both are true, but not the real, deep-down reason I picked it.
Nope, the pure and simple fact is that the executive kit is the one that had the pitcher that I loved so dearly as a child.
And I just HAD to have that pitcher.
So go check out my Tupperware website, see how things have changed, and contact me to schedule a party so I can give you free Tupperware too!
Oh, and that lifetime guarantee? It's still in effect, and still covers everything that has ever been sold since the company started. If you have something broken, cracked, or melted due to over-love and constant use through generations contact me about that too, and I'll get you a free replacement.
And when you decide you want to join the Tupperware family and achieve your dreams with the Tupperware business opportunity.... Well I can help with that too. *smile*
A commenter asked me about starting tomatoes in a container this late in the season.
Since we share similar interests, I thought I'd share my answer with you as well.
To get a tomato producing if you plant it now, you will have to pick an "early" type of tomato, and water the first three days with hydrogen peroxide to speed sprouting. You will still be able to get a good harvest, and if you fertilize weekly with vermicompost tea, and bi-weekly with organic fish emulsion, milk, Epsom salts, and randomly stick spent match heads around the root system, you will get a plentiful harvest.
As long as the tomato has 5 gallons of soil, it will be fine and produce well. I use 10-15 gallon planters, and plant a ring of herbs around mine.
I have frilled purple oregano, onions, and basil, planted alternately in a circle around each of my potted tomatoes. I am also starting flowering garlic chives for height and visual interest so the planters will be highly decorative as well as useful, and thus, not offensive to the neighbor's potentially delicate aesthetic sensibilities.
On the other hand, if you aren't particularly set on tomatoes, there are many other food plants that thrive in containers and produce very quickly, as well as the cooler-weather plants that it is already time to plant in time for fall production before the frost such as Brussels sprouts, lettuces, broccoli, cabbage, spinach, and cauliflower to name a few.
Among the many plants that can be grown in containers successfully, there are beets, peppers herbs of all sorts, potatoes, tomatoes, bunching onions (the tall ones), radishes, lettuce, rhubarb, celery, dwarf fruit trees, chard, zucchini, squash, corn, any vining fruit or vegetable, beans, peas, cucumbers, greens, gourds, turnips, lettuces, strawberries, and blueberries.
Pretty much anything can be grown in a container if the soil area is large enough for the roots of the plant. That said, however, most plants can be planted twice as close to each other as the seed packet recommends for higher yields. Frequent natural fertilization and reliable watering practices can decrease the area needed even further, depending on the plant type.
Most herbs, short-rooted root vegetables, and vines with smaller (1lb or less) produce can be plated high in hanging containers, and simply trail their fruit downwards in a beautiful cascade of greenery, flowers and food. Some strawberries also trail quite nicely.
If you wish to hang a plant that has up to 3lb fruit, use a larger container, strong hooks, sturdy hanging material, and hang it just below shoulder-level, under smaller hanging plants to add visual interest. Bulky hanging plants should be part of a full living arrangement instead of stand-alone to avoid them looking clunky and unwieldy.
On hanging tomatoes; Cherry or smaller-sized tomatoes can do exceedingly well hanging upside-down as well to conserve even more space. A few tips; Mulch the top of the tomato's soil, or plant herbs at the top of the container to reduce evaporation and the need for constant watering. Be sure to hang tomatoes out of a breezeway, as they can spin in a wind, and too much spinning leads to a broken plant. Larger tomato varieties don't produce as well when hanging inverted, as the weight can easily become too much for the plant, which may sense it's difficulty and slow flowering, ripening, and potentially decrease your overall harvest.
A bonus: container gardens can be brought indoors when it begins to cool off in order to extend the harvest throughout the winter if desired.
There are a lot of great books out there on container gardening for food, and growing in cramped quarters. Visit Amazon.com
Happy Harvests!
We are moving, and having one heck of a time getting it all done on time, so we need help. LOTS of serious help. So I put my head together with a couple of my friends and we came up with some resources that I had forgotten about in my "old age". See, I've used these types of resources before, but had seemingly forgotten about their availability in my time of stress. I'd only ever used these techniques when I wasn't stressed.
So here it is, 8 steps to a moving party!
1. Find that extra food you don't want or need, that you aren't in the mood to move to your new place.
2. Find your hungry friends; Folks who don't have the money to eat really good food, or those that don't have the time or means to cook for themselves most of the time.
3. Load up on flattened boxes and tape.
3. Offer your friendly square kids a gourmet meal and food to take home with them in exchange for helping around the house.
4. Badger your friends in a friendly manner for several days after the agreement is made to get them to actually come over.
5. Start cooking your meal and send them word that food will be ready in about an hour if they want to come over right then and get to helping out.
6. When they arrive, set the helpers to work while you finish dinner. Let the food cool a bit after it's done until you get at least 1/2 hour's work out of them to make sure they are geared up and set into the work frame of mind for the next few hours.
7. Feed them really well, and with food they haven't been able to afford for themselves. (I used shrimp kabobs, venison, and bison from my freezer that I got on clearance or gifted to us during the past year, and that I didn't want to have to move to our new place, and macaroni & cheese.)
8. When they day is done, send each person who helped home with at least one bag full of food for their own home.
That's it! Soon your house will be nearly swarming with folks just itching to work, and more stuff will be done by the end of the night that had been done on your own for over two weeks.
Optional step seven: Ask them to come back the next day and help some more for more food and happy helping goodness.
We're getting down to the wire for moving, and very serious about getting rid of all the things we no longer need or want. The pets also have to go due to space constraints.
We're shopoing around for a flea market booth to sell most of the goodies in, and have located a storage unit for the few small things that we plan to keep.
There's a Really, Really Free market in Springfield, Missouri!
What is a Really, Really Free Market, you ask?
A Really, Really Free Market is sort of like a FreeBee...
Okay, it's exactly like a FreeBee.
Bring usable stuff you no longer want and take away things you do, while meeting new people in the process.
Save the planet, recycle, upcycle, reuse, share, or whatever you want to call it, it's a totally free event, with totally free stuff, and totally great people.
There will be toys, books, clothes, and more, in all sizes, and for all ages when the event begins, and more variety guaranteed as the day goes on and items begin to rotate through with the attendees, so come one come all!
This Saturday between 7am-7pm at 818-822 West College in downtown Springfield. Parking available across the street.
The community center hosting the event has asked that there be no furniture, televisions, microwaves, or computer monitors brought in due to space and storage constraints. Please bring only clean, and reusable items, as the center does not have laundry or repair facilities.
Repairable bicycles in any condition, folding tables, and functional bookshelves are welcome, and will be accepted as donations to the center for current and ongoing projects.
Be there, or be... well, bored.
Did I mention that it's Free?
Fixed my laptop the other day by replacing the broken LCD screen, and a friend of mine did a photo shoot during the repair process. I just got the email with the photos yesterday, and not only is my neck wobble diminished, my HANDS are thinner!
We all know how hard it is to loose that stubborn pudgy-fingeredness (yes I know it's not a word, but I like it anyway, so there!), that one gets when exceedingly overweight, but I've done it. My hands are looking better now in addition to the rest of me!
As you well know, our family celebrates Buy Nothing Day. That is the holiday of anti-consumerism that takes place on the day after Thanksgiving, called by eager shoppers; "Black Friday" or "Blitz Day", and marketed as the biggest shopping day of the year. Businesses have taken advantage of this, and in an attempt to boost their sales on the unholy grail of shopping days, offer huge discounts in order to entice customers to come buy from their store instead of all of the others.
Of course items that usually cost $400 dropping in price to a mere $100 is terribly tempting, and this entices people so much that they awake at 3am so they can fight for parking places, jostle for a place in line, and wait in the freeing cold for hours, just so they can have a chance (yes, that's right, a chance, there's no guarantee here folks), of getting the one thing they want most. Some people even go so far as to bring a sleeping bag and camp outside of the store with friends, sleeping in shifts to be assured one of thes magical and elusive first spots in line, and thus, first dibs on spending money. This past year it was so bad that there were several injuries and even a death as customers stormed into the store in a rush to get to the gifts they most coveted.
This lunacy is brought to you by the idea that spending lots of money and getting really fancy gifts for your friends and family around the holidays is the best way to let them know you care. Of course it is also helped by the advertising industry, and people who seem to think that teaching their children the joy of giving is not an important part of the season, which leads to excessive cases of the gimmies, and creates the vicious circle of consumerism.
Some businesses are cluing into the fact that there are a lot of people refusing to buy on "Black Friday", and have created new ways to take advantage of the consumerist rush, and many internet companies have made the day after black Friday another big shopping day, in the hopes that more people can be drawn to shop at online retailers.
Amazon.com for example offered special deals and sales, with all the pricing of the unholy shopping day, but starting on Nov 27th, and going on for several days of special deals, with one deal each day. It's the same concept, but a little more innovative. I have to give them credit for thinking outside the box like that, and I'm sure that their creativity got some of those who celebrate Buy Nothing Day to indulge in a little extra shopping too.
With the bad economy, and the prevalence of gift cards
This last year was extra-special!
This year, we attended our very first zombie walk!
At the Battlefield Mall at 1pm, zombies invaded Springfield, trudging through the mall and mumbling things like "consume" and "buy" instead of the typical "brains", then when they were kicked off of mall property, moved over to the dark lord WaldeMart for a bit more fun before shambling back to their dens to sleep out the cold. Little known fact, zombies really dislike cold weather.
The zombie walk was an open event, and all were welcome to join in the fun. Shredded clothes and special effect makeup were not necessary, but they did make things a lot more amusing.
Magic Reindeer Food
Oats
Honey
Water
Edible glitter flakes in white
Lustre dust in silver
Mix honey and water 1/2 & 1/2 in a small spray bottle, and spritz lightly onto oats while tossing oats gently. After oats are slightly moist, add in a little lustre dust and edible glitter and toss again until lightly coated in shimmer.
Snowtmeal
Oats
Water
Edible glitter in white
White sugar to taste
Whole cream/milk/non-dairy creamer
Powdered sugar for color
Make oatmeal as usual with cream/milk/non-dairy creamer and plain white sugar. Serve into bowls and sprinkle lightly with powdered sugar, then top with edible white glitter flakes.
Snowy Treat Balls
Marshmallows (get Vegan marshmallows here)
Honey
Puffed rice cereal
Uncooked oats
Lustre dust in silver, white, or pearl
Edible glitter flakes in white
Butter
Melt marshmallows and butter, then mix in honey, oats, and cereal slowly until all is well mixed. Butter hands and roll into balls. Set on a plate or other serving dish, and sprinkle lightly with lustre dust and top with edible glitter flakes.
Variation: For lighthearted adult parties where the adults share a wry or dark sense of humor, add in unsalted sunflower seeds and sprinkle some of the "snowballs" with yellow and gold edible glitter flakes.
After rescuing a small potted tree this fall that didn't quite make it despite all our loving attention, and having very little time for crafts, this year we went a whole new route with the thanksgiving tree, and stapled construction paper leaves to a real "tree" for our thanksgiving tree.
Celebrate Christmas with Chick-Fil-A. Make crafts, and happy memories, and even score a free meal!
Monday, Dec 15th ~ Decorate a stocking (all day)
Tuesday, Dec 16th ~ Christmas stories with Santa Cow (5-8pm)
Wednesday, Dec 17th ~ Free hot cocoa & candy canes (all day)
Thursday, Dec 18th ~ Make reindeer food (5-8pm)
Friday, Dec 19th ~ Dress up like Santa, Get a free meal* (all day event)
Saturday, Dec 20th ~ Breakfast with Santa Cow (8-9am or 9-10am)**
Monday, Dec 22nd ~ Decorate Christmas cookies (all day)
Tuesday, Dec 23rd ~ Design Christmas placemats (all day)
* Head to toe dressing like Santa gets a meal, dressing in something with Santa on it, or Santa-like gets you a free sandwich.
** RSVP required by Dec 18th. $5 for breakfast.
Mediacom Ice Park near Jordan Valley Park in downtown Springfield is having it's annual free ice skating again this year for the holiday season.
The schedule of remaining free skates are as follows;
Saturday, Dec 13th 9-10pm
Friday, Dec 19th 5:30-6:30pm
Thursday, Dec 25th 3:30-4:30pm
Friday, Dec 26th 5:30-6:30pm
Saturday, Dec 27th 6-7pm
Free ice skating includes rink usage only, skate rental is extra; $2.50.
Address: 635 East Trafficway, Springfield, MO. Phone number: 417-866-7444
The fourth in our inexpensive recycled autumn & winter crafts series for 2008 is the spiced candle.
Instructions:
The third in our inexpensive recycled autumn & winter crafts series for 2008 is leaf rubbings & prints.
Ages 2+
For this you will need paper, leaves, tempura paint, and a box of crayons.
Make your own greeting cards, place mats, pretty art presents, photo frame matting, and/or gift wrap with freshly fallen leaves and a little creativity.
This one is quick easy fun that can last a good long time. Simply place your leaf on the table, put the paper on top, then rub the side of a crayon across the leaf to make a rubbing.
For a print, brush a small amount of paint onto the bottom (veigny part) of the leaf, then place the leaf where you want the design printed. Gently roll a rolling pin (or soda bottle, or can of food) over the top to make the print. You may use a paper towel or piece of scrap paper to prevent paint mess getting on the rolling device.
Photo copyright Just Another Family
Fusion cooking has been around for thousands of years. When people travel far from their homelands, they crave the native flavors from their places of origin. Most times the spices, cooking methods, or ingredients are not available in their new homes, so cultural explorers must improvise with what is available in their new homes.
Using the familiar recipes and changing some, or even most of the ingredients and/or cooking methods, chefs of all stripes try to come up with a similar dish that will taste or look close to the original ethnic dish.
This is fusion cooking.
The other day, I had a homeschool event to go to, and everyone was bringing a snack.
It was near the end of the food budget and we're running low on food in the pantry, so I had few options for anything for my family to present.
I had a package of nori, some Greek caviar spread my family didn't really like (too bland), rice, and various odds and ends like cans of vegetables we don't like and so forth.
A friend who was going to be at the event had just been diagnosed with celiac disease, and couldn't have gluten, and is also allergic to milk. I had promised to make something for an event sometime, as it is rare for anyone to bring something that is both gluten and milk free. I really hadn't expected to keep my promise so soon after making it though, especially without any research or special shopping! *chuckle*
So, armed with little to make a "normal" snack with, and some of the supplies for the perfect gluten and milk free snack, I hunted my kitchen and discovered a frozen container of smoked salmon we'd purchased a while back and not had a chance to use, and a package of rice ball seasoning with fish roe that I had honestly, been a bit apprehensive about trying (it's really tasty).
The stage was set, and it was time to begin.
To make a potentially really long story short, after a bit of meddling and measured experimentation, I had created a deliciously thick and robust tangy-sweet sauce for dipping, and some delightfully airy and mild fish sushi.
Fusion Salmon Sushi
1 cup uncooked American white rice
3 cups water
1 packet roasted nori (seaweed) sheets
1 small container moist smoked salmon (6-12 ounces)
3 teaspoons dried parsley
Put 1 cup regular rice in 3 cups water and bring to a rapid boil. Top with lid and remove from heat. Skillet toast salmon on low heat, in a covered skillet for 5 minutes. Prepare sauce (recipe below), then lay out a single nori sheet. If rice has absorbed all water by this time, set pot next to nori sheet on an oven mitt.
Carefully spoon sticky rice into one edge of the nori sheet in teaspoons until entire length is covered in lumps, then place thin strips of salmon on rice, end to end. Roll nori, tucking to make a firm roll, and roll up completely to use up the rest of the nori. Place on a plate. Roll subsequent sushi until salmon is gone, and place on the plate, not touching the other rolls.
After all sushi is rolled and the salmon is used up, place rolls in refrigerator for 20 minutes to firm.
If you wish, you may stir 2 cups rice into the fish juice in the skillet until lightly covered and make more sushi with this rice until the nori sheets are used up. It will taste the same, but have a slightly different color and texture.
For a non-squished appearance, cut sushi rolls with a straight (not serrated) knife by stabbing through the center half-way and cutting downwards, being sure to slice through the bottom completely. To finish, turn the roll on it's side and finish cutting.
For the final touch, set the slices prettiest side up and sprinkle lightly with dried parsley.
Fusion Sushi Dipping Sauce
1/2 jar Krinos brand Taramosalata greek-style caviar spread
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/2 teaspooon honey
1/2 teaspoon sorgum molasses
2 packets omusubiyama yaki-tarako roe seasoning
1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon nutritional yeast
3 sprays Braggs liquid aminoes (or 1 teaspoon soy sauce)
Simmer 10 minutes, constantly stirring and smushing lumps.
To serve, arrange artfully on a plate. May be garnished with leftover fish rice over sauce, a sculpted cone of wasabi, or three pickled ginger slices, or serve sauce in a cup on the side.
Prettiest served on a plate drizzled with the dipping sauce, and with both wasabi and pickled ginger on the side.
For an even healthier version, use whole grain brown rice instead of white in the sushi, and in the dipping sauce, substitute one raw egg, 2 tablespoons plain sushi (rinsed twice), and 1 tablespoon olive oil, well blended, in place of the 1/2 jar Greek spread before simmering.
Enjoy!
Makes about 48 pieces sushi and 1 cup dipping sauce. Time: about 1 hour.
Freezes well, thaw naturally in refrigerator in covered container.
* Most ingredients can be purchased at either your local grocery store or eastern food market. The Greek caviar spread can be found at a European specialty market if you want your sauce to be a bit oily when it is done, otherwise, just save time and buy the healthier, substituted ingredients for the sauce.
Some of the nice party-crazy college kids next door have come to supply us with their empty cans after most of their parties so that we can recycle them for extra monies for the girls' educational supplies. We're managing to get about $7 a month or so out of aluminum, and every little bit helps in these troubled financial times.
Soon we plan to set out fliers in the nearby neighborhood advertising recycling pick up twice a week. Hopefully that will increase our income a little more, as more people in the area learn of our project. *smile*
You've likely heard me talk about saving money vs saving time and what the difference is, as it's a somewhat common subject in my conversational repository. I can talk for hours on the benefits of making your own things when it comes to recycling, reusing, and saving cash, and I nearly always manage to work in that if you are spending more time making it yourself than what it would cost to go out and buy an item, it's not really a frugal option. But how do you figure out how much your time is worth?
Well, my time is usually worth about $10/hr. It's a set rate based on everything I do in the home and in my business, what it would cost per hour to have somebody else do it for me, then divided by my waking hours each day.
Everyone's value will be different, and for each activity there may be mitigating circumstances such as whether you like the activity or not, that can raise a particular activities value for you personally.
For example, if it costs less money for supplies to make it yourself than buying it at the store, is it really less expensive in the long run? Let's see shall we?
I'm going to use the laundry detergent I made a few years back as a good example, but with modern pricing.
We've already stated that it costs less for the supplies than it does for the detergent straight across, so let's just estimate that to fill a 5 gallon bucket half-way with powdered detergent, it costs about $15 for the supplies. Not bad, considering that it would cost about $20 for even the cheapest chemical-filled detergent to fill that much space, and our detergent is higher quality, raising the store-bought price to nearly $40 for that much natural, eco-friendly, phosphate-free detergent with good cleaning power.
So far we have a great deal!
Now for the time factor. It takes me about 2 hours to grind down two bars of Fels Naptha by hand, or 10 minutes in the food processor, which ads the electrical cost of about a penny and a clean-up time of about 25 minutes to wash all the soap remains off of it so that it will be ready for food prep again. By hand, we have a cost of $20 just for grating, and $5 if we use the food processor.
Already our make-it-yourself detergent is raising in price!
Now let's take the time to open and dump all the boxes of goodies like borax, baking soda, and generic oxy-clean we've purchased for this little endeavor. That takes about 10 minutes on it's own, and these powders are heavy.
We take about 12 minutes in the store to buy these ingredients, if we go to a store that carries them all instead of having to go to a couple of different stores to buy it (wasted gas money). It takes 2 minutes to just buy detergent. 10 minutes spent.
Mixing takes yet more time, and to make sure that everything is mixed evenly, it takes about 20 minutes more, as shaking is by far the most effective method of mixing, and for that we have to snap the lid on tight, heft the thing, and shake for a good 5 minutes, then take the lid off and stir and repeat until it is good and mixed, or do the same thing without lifting and kick the sealed bucket around the house, chasing it, then stirring, again, repeating a few times to ensure a great mix.
Every time we do the laundry, we have to spend two minutes opening and closing the bucket (we'd hate to get moisture in it and waste all our hard work, right?), and since 2.5 gallon bucket of detergent washes about 105 loads, that adds up quick to 205 minutes, or 3 1/2 hours just fiddling with the container on wash days.
So we've spent nearly $60 on our detergent if we've made it by hand, or $45 if we've used the food processor to speed up the work.
Best case scenario, we're spending about $5 over what it would cost for equally green detergent if we just bought it at the health food store. Not looking like such a good deal now, is it?
Of course, if we get into the fact that this is mind-numbingly boring work, we bought all those separate things, all of which had their own packaging that we now have to find an eco-friendly way to dispose of, and that we now have a pickle bucket taking up a bunch of room in our laundry room instead of a smallish box, it gets even more ridiculous to make your own.
We get some of our detergent for free, from sampling sites and the like, so our actual costs are even less than what we would spend if we went out and purchased all of our detergent at the store. Making our own detergent makes no sense, at least for our family.
Of course, if you are taking your laundry to a laundry-mat and sit waiting for your clothes to finish, it might just be a valuable way to spend that time instead of just reading a book and waiting. See what I said about every circumstance being different?
So you really need to consider all of the costs related to a money-saving activity in order to be able to properly decide if it will actually save you anything by doing it. Already doing some things by hand to save cash, but unsure if they are really saving you money? Decide how much you are worth per hour, then time yourself. You might just be surprised at how much your frugality is costing you.
Thinking of a new project to save a little on the side? Involve the kids in the experiment, and use it as a life lesson and homeschooling opportunity. You'll be glad you did!
Kacper Wrzesniewski from Poland, wrote a really good piece explaining your personal time's hourly value in his article "How much is your hour?". Go give it a read, it's good stuff.
Are you doing something to lower costs that's not actually saving you anything?
