Happy Pumpkin Wednesday: Holiday Preparation Time!

Hello friends and Happy Pumpkin Wednesday!

Pumpkin and I are waiting until after Thanksgiving to put up our Christmas decorations, but Pumpkin has already started prepping for holiday gift giving!

Bah! Not the holidays again!

Believe it or not, Pumpkin likes to stay organized while she is shopping and she also likes to stay on budget.

What? Do I look like I'm made of money?

So this year she has invested in an App to help keep her on track throughout the holiday season.

Pumpkin is a real fan of the App called "The Christmas List."

It will run you a cool 99 cents at the I-Tunes Store, but offers more features than many of the free apps available.

You can sort your gift recipients into groups, take pictures of your gifts, list the stores your gifts are at, and even track your gifts and plans by budget.  It's a great way to keep track of your gift ideas and your budget simultaneously so you don't overspend.

And don't worry, The Christmas List App also offers a password protection feature to keep prying eyes away from your lists!

Oh you can trust me, I won't sneak a look at your gift list....

Oh and speaking of holiday shopping, mark your calendar for next week's Pumpkin Wednesday when we will fill you in on the details for this year's Small Business Saturday!

Looking forward to a lovely Thursday!

Happy Miscellaneous Monday!

Hello friends! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.  We attended our fifth and final wedding of the 2012 season, and it really couldn't have been a nicer November day celebrating the marriage of two lovely friends....

So it's a true Miscellaneous Monday, where I have a few random notes, thoughts and a recipe suggestion.

First Up, a Visit from My Sibling.

We had the pleasure of having my baby sister, a junior at college, stop by to stay with us for a night.  It's been a while since I was living on campus, but I was reminded of the joys of dorm life when my sister asked whether she could bring her dirty laundry along too...

Besides utilizing our appliances and couch, my sister found time to fill me in on her college classes and told me about her upcoming class project; to abstain from using technology for two whole days.  They were allowed to use electricity, but were not to watch tv, use a computer, use their cell phone, use a credit card and/or an ATM, or even drive their own car.  She sent around an email last night to our family letting us know that she would be off the grid and unreachable until Wednesday. 

How to Survive Without Siri....

As I sat down to think about her project, I realized I couldn't even handle a day without technology.  I certainly couldn't work and my boyfriend would be upset he couldn't watch any sports.  I couldn't blog, couldn't drive anywhere and since I'm terrible about carrying cash would like be unable to make any purchases (seriously, no one wants to take a personal check anymore!)

How long could you survive without technology?

Second Point, Potatoes.

I can't lie.  I am a fan of the potato.  If you know me, you are acutely aware that potato chips are my personal kryptonite.  But during the winter I find myself going to the potato for a delicious starch that fits well with most meals.

To keep the potato respectably healthy, I like to roast them with herbs and spices.  The methodology is simple:

Heat your oven to 425 degrees.  Take a sheet pan and cover with parchment paper.

Cut up some potatoes.  I like to use red potatoes or yukon gold potatoes and leave the skin on.  That said, if you're leaving the skin on, make sure you wash all the dirt off.

Potatoes and Parchment Paper. 

After you cut up the potatoes, place them in a bowl, and add olive oil one tablespoon at time until they are coated, but not too oily.

The necessary seasonings are salt and pepper, but as to what else, the possibilities are endless.  Fresh rosemary is savory and delicious, cumin gives a southwest flavor and red pepper flakes can help turn up the heat.

Place your seasoned potatoes on the parchment paper and place the sheet pan into the oven.  The cooking time varies depending on type of the potato and the size of your chop, but start checking at 30 minutes and every 10 minutes after that.  The potatoes should get nice and golden brown.

Do you have any favorite winter side dishes?

Third: Thanksgiving Preparation

As you are getting ready to plan your Thanksgiving meal (can you believe the holiday is next week, where did 2012 go?), keep in mind that you may be shelling out more dough for the bird.

Turkey Turkey! Courtesy of Alan L.

That's right, because of the droughts this summer, the price of turkey will go up.  While the price differential isn't going to break the bank, you may want to reallocate a few extra dollars out of your Black Friday budget.


With all that said, I'm headed out!  Looking forward to a lovely Tuesday!

Happy Pumpkin Wednesday: I'll Make Room for You In My Schedule

Hello all and Happy Pumpkin Wednesday!

I know she has been gone for a long time, but I promise Pumpkin wasn't avoiding you on purpose, it's just that she was busy...

Packing for our big move;

I'm in your boxes, cushioning your valuables

Napping in preparation for the big move; 

Can you please turn off the flash

Unpacking

I helped carry in this chair, seriously

and napping to recover from the big move.

New couch, new nap zone

Oh, and don't worry, even with the power outage, she was able to dress up for Halloween...

Pumpkin wearing a pumpkin shirt...hilarious

So Pumpkin is back, and ready to share with you all her household tips, tricks!  Please send her any questions/comments/suggestions for future posts!

Looking forward to a great Thursday!

Vote Early, Vote Cat

Vote Dog,

Vote Cat,

Doesn't matter, just get out and vote!

Happy Election Day!

Miscellaneous Monday, Back in Business

Hello friends!  Welcome back to the wonderful world of Everyday Domestic Diversions!  Instead of making promises or telling you why I haven't been blogging (I really have no good reason besides general life things like work and weddings and family and such)....but instead, I'll do what I am supposed to do...write.

Unless you were under a rock last week (and you might have been in terms of your access to news media/internet/power in general) Hurricane Sandy caused havoc throughout the United States.  We knew things would be bad on the east coast, but I couldn't believe that the tail end of the storm caused so much damage here in Cleveland.  We along with over 200,000 of our closest friends and neighbors in Cuyahoga County lost power for anywhere from one day to over a week.

Cuyahoga County was in the red, which means bad. 

We were without power from Monday night to Thursday afternoon.  Although we were mildly inconvenienced, our house was in one piece, we were safe and had enough blankets to stay warm at night.  There are many people still hurting in New York and New Jersey, and I encourage anyone who is looking to help out but can't make a trip out east, to make your donations to the Red Cross, here.

In the aftermath of the storm, we lost a downspout and a few pieces of our fence, but the major loser was the refrigerator.  Because we lost power for nearly two days most of the food was not safe.  According to the USDA, a refrigerator can maintain its temperature for about 4 hours if it is not opened.  Because we were without power for over 48 hours, I ended up pitching most everything.

As you might know, I hate wasting food.  I try to be creative to use all the produce and other items in the fridge/pantry before they go bad, but I am by no means perfect.  Tonight I made some red beans and rice (recipe to follow) but for Miscellaneous Monday wanted to highlight a product that helps reduce the amount of "stuff" you throw away and that gets left as a refrigerator orphan.

One of my major pet peeves is tomato paste.  It sounds silly, but it's called for in lots of recipes, especially winter soups, stews and crock pot creations, and you never have to use more than 2 or 3 tablespoons.  Even if you buy the smallest can you use about half and then end up throwing the rest away, or attempting to store in in the fridge where it inevitably becomes a petri dish.

Insert tomato paste in a tube!  

Find it at your local grocery store in the dry goods aisle by the other tomato products.

No seriously, its tomato paste in a tube that can be stored in your fridge after opening.  It allows you to use only as much as you need and store the rest in an appropriate airtight container for future uses.  I found it at my local supermarket  It's great to have on hand for adding to recipes and for cutting down on the amount of waste.

As for the red beans and rice, this is by no means an authentic New Orleans dish, but it's great for an easy Monday night meal that's guaranteed for Tuesday leftovers.

What you'll need:

• 1 cup dry rice (white, brown doesn't matter)
• 1 14.5 oz. can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• one or two bell peppers chopped
• 3/4 onion chopped
• 3 cloves garclic, minced
• 2 tsp. smoked paprika
• 1 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 2 tsp. chili powder
• 2 tsp. cumin
• 1 tbsp. tomato paste 
• chicken stock
• tabasco sauce to taste
• kosher salt
• fresh ground pepper
• *optional* chicken sausage or other sausage

Make the rice according to the directions.  While the rice is cooking get started chopping the onion, bell pepper and garlic.  Put some oil in a skillet and when it's hot, throw in the onion and cook it down, about 5-6 minutes.  Then add the bell peppers and cook down about 3-4 minutes.  Then add garlic and saute until fragrant, 30 seconds or so.   Next add in the tomato paste and chicken stock (use just enough chicken stock to cover the veggies and to combine with the tomato paste.  Add in your spices, adjusting to your taste.  Stir and incorporate then add in the beans.  Add more chicken stock to help cook the beans and let simmer for about 10-15 minutes.

While the bean mixture is simmering, cook your sausage if you would like.  When everything is complete, add the bean and veggie mixture to the rice and then add your sausage and enjoy!  An easy Monday night meal!

What are your tips to reduce waste?

Looking forward to an exciting Election Tuesday!