Another item we've received lots of from our CSA is cabbage. I like cabbage as a side dish, sauteed or boiled with some seasonings. I also like cole slaw, but I had never made it before this year. I do NOT like kimchi or sauerkraut, so I refuse to make those!
I realized a few days ago that we were up to two large heads of cabbage in the fridge, and really needed to do something with them before they went bad. So earlier this evening, I searched online to see if I could freeze cabbage. Turns out you can! I followed the advice here and here.
The best part was using one of my KitchenAid mixer attachments: the slicer/shredder. I've only used it once before, and when I made cole slaw a few weeks ago, it didn't even occur to me to use it. I slaved away with a chef's knife to cut the cabbage down to the right size then.
But today, I was prepared! With DH's help, I cut the two cabbage heads into chunks and ran it through the shredder. It cut it down into smaller pieces than we expected, but I guess it is more cole slaw like: it almost has a soft and fluffy texture. And there's lots of it! The shredder attachment kind of has a wide area of where the food comes out. Even though I was using a large bowl to catch the cabbage, it still got all over m countertop. I think we'll be smelling cabbage for a few days. Oh well.
After shredding, I dumped all the cabbage into a pot of boiling water for about a minute, then drained and rinsed it with cold water. I packaged it into a few different sized containers and stuck them in the freezer. Now I can reach in and grab some shredded cabbage anytime I want to make a side dish or cole slaw, or throw some cabbage into a pasta or casserole dish. That's a lot better than letting it rot in the fridge!
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Pot Roast & Dried Kale
Today we made pot roast in our crock pot. My husband had bought a pound of roast beef yesterday, and it came with a container of au jus. So for lunch yesterday, we had French dip sandwiches. Today, we threw a beef roast, some onion, potatoes and carrots, and the leftover au jus in the crock pot and let it cook until mid-afternoon. It turned out great!
We also added some kale to our pot roast today. We have been receiving vegetables all season from a local farmer through a CSA program. The excitement of opening our box to see what we get is the best part of our Sunday afternoons. Except for the kale. For all but about two of the last 18 weeks or so, there has been a large bunch of kale topping off our produce selection. I have made kale chips (pretty good: try this recipe), we've put kale in every soup or stew we've made, we've sauteed it in stir fries, etc, etc. We're sick of it!
But we don't like to waste food. So a couple weeks ago, we took our kale selection and strung it up across the kitchen. We got the idea from a living history museum in Wisconsin we had visited a few weeks before. After about a week and a half, the kale was crisp-dry, and ready to be stored for awhile. Today, we added it to our pot roast. It got soft fairly quickly, and tasted a lot like fresh. Since it worked so well, I think we'll be drying any other bunches we get over the next few weeks.
We also added some kale to our pot roast today. We have been receiving vegetables all season from a local farmer through a CSA program. The excitement of opening our box to see what we get is the best part of our Sunday afternoons. Except for the kale. For all but about two of the last 18 weeks or so, there has been a large bunch of kale topping off our produce selection. I have made kale chips (pretty good: try this recipe), we've put kale in every soup or stew we've made, we've sauteed it in stir fries, etc, etc. We're sick of it!
But we don't like to waste food. So a couple weeks ago, we took our kale selection and strung it up across the kitchen. We got the idea from a living history museum in Wisconsin we had visited a few weeks before. After about a week and a half, the kale was crisp-dry, and ready to be stored for awhile. Today, we added it to our pot roast. It got soft fairly quickly, and tasted a lot like fresh. Since it worked so well, I think we'll be drying any other bunches we get over the next few weeks.
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Burt's Bees Natural Skin Solutions for Sensitive Skin
I have been trying out a new product from Burt's Bees: Natural Skin Solutions for Sensitive Skin. I received a few free samples from BzzAgent.
I have been an Aveeno girl for quite some time, but did use a few Burt's Bees products from time to time. In fact, I love their lemon butter cuticle cream. I keep some in my car and apply it at least once every time I drive somewhere.
Anyway, about the new stuff! I have pretty sensitive skin. It can get very dry/red/splotchy, and I've struggled with eczema and psoriasis before. However, I still have oily skin at times, and without fail, I have an acne problem around that special time of the month! When I look for skin products, I want something that won't make my face feel like it's been scraped off with a harsh cleanser, but that also doesn't leave me with a greasy forehead later in the day.
I can say that so far, the Burt's Bees for Sensitive Skin seems to be a good fit for me.
The face wash is very creamy, and at first I thought I wouldn't like that. I guess I need to see something get foamy or scrubby to believe it's really working. But I guess that doesn't always fit with products for sensitive skin. Despite the Burt's Bees for Sensitive Skin not getting foamy, I do think it works just fine. It takes off makeup, oil, and dirt from my face, and comes off easily itself with just water. My face feels clean, but not squeaky-clean (read: dried up!) after using the face wash.
I've also used the facial moisturizer. I like the pump container it comes in. I have had to learn to use less than other kinds of face lotions I used before: a little goes a long way with this lotion. But that little bit leaves my face feeling good and moisturized. It's impossible not to feel some greasiness by the end of a hard day at work, but I think that on the days I've used Burt's Bees for Sensitive Skin, the greasy forehead situation is just a little bit better. I think the lotion protects my face from not only getting too dry, but also from being too oily later in the day. The acne situation might also be a little better, but I'll have to update you on that after trying it for a couple more months!
The verdict: if you have sensitive and/or dry skin, or even combination skin, give Burt's Bees Natural Solutions for Sensitive Skin a try!
I have been an Aveeno girl for quite some time, but did use a few Burt's Bees products from time to time. In fact, I love their lemon butter cuticle cream. I keep some in my car and apply it at least once every time I drive somewhere.
Anyway, about the new stuff! I have pretty sensitive skin. It can get very dry/red/splotchy, and I've struggled with eczema and psoriasis before. However, I still have oily skin at times, and without fail, I have an acne problem around that special time of the month! When I look for skin products, I want something that won't make my face feel like it's been scraped off with a harsh cleanser, but that also doesn't leave me with a greasy forehead later in the day.
I can say that so far, the Burt's Bees for Sensitive Skin seems to be a good fit for me.
The face wash is very creamy, and at first I thought I wouldn't like that. I guess I need to see something get foamy or scrubby to believe it's really working. But I guess that doesn't always fit with products for sensitive skin. Despite the Burt's Bees for Sensitive Skin not getting foamy, I do think it works just fine. It takes off makeup, oil, and dirt from my face, and comes off easily itself with just water. My face feels clean, but not squeaky-clean (read: dried up!) after using the face wash.
I've also used the facial moisturizer. I like the pump container it comes in. I have had to learn to use less than other kinds of face lotions I used before: a little goes a long way with this lotion. But that little bit leaves my face feeling good and moisturized. It's impossible not to feel some greasiness by the end of a hard day at work, but I think that on the days I've used Burt's Bees for Sensitive Skin, the greasy forehead situation is just a little bit better. I think the lotion protects my face from not only getting too dry, but also from being too oily later in the day. The acne situation might also be a little better, but I'll have to update you on that after trying it for a couple more months!
The verdict: if you have sensitive and/or dry skin, or even combination skin, give Burt's Bees Natural Solutions for Sensitive Skin a try!
Swiffer Duster
I got a Swiffer Duster to try out a few weeks ago. It now has the honor of being one of the first products I write about on this blog.
I like the way you have to shake it out when it comes out of the packaging. It made quick work of dusting spaces that have lots of shelves and crevices, like bookshelves. It's all feathery and it picks up more dust than the one I had been using - something with no feathers, but some kind of white cottony stuff.
I grew up with a Pledge-using mom. There wasn't a piece of furniture that couldn't be sprayed down with that stuff. But since being married, I've tried to cut back. DH seems to have an aversion to all things lemon-scented, and only coats his fancy coffee table (one of a few furniture investments he made as a bachelor) with a special, expensive polish he bought at Restoration Hardware. So, I like all the choices for dusting without polish that are available nowadays, including the Swiffer Duster.
I'm concerned that it's not environmentally friendly. Just throw it away when you're done. Convenient, but I would prefer it to be re-usable. I generally try to buy things that are re-usable, recyclable, or at least easily degradable. Maybe I'll try washing it anyway?
That said, it does hold a lot of dust before you have to throw it away.
First post: done!
About Me
On the day I created this blog, I was walking past a coffeeshop and overheard a little boy say, "Daddy, what's free wifey?" The father replied, "That's free wi-FI, son. It means free internet access." I thought this was hilarious. So I named my blog after it.
When I search the internet for product reviews or advice on shopping or cooking, it seems many fellow bloggers write because of the fact that they are a wife and/or mother. I am, indeed, a wife(y), but that doesn't define who I am. I am not (yet) a mother, but I am still willing to try out the latest juice box flavor and share my thoughts about it. I want my blog to be not about raising kids or being married (not that there's anything wrong with those blogs), but still about the domestic, housewife-y things I do.
I grew up in a small town in Illinois, and now live in Chicago. I loved reading while I was a kid, and still do. My parents were strict about what they let me read, so I usually filled my time poring over historical fiction. My favorite authors wrote about surviving as a woman before the invention of the dishwasher. I used to imagine my life ending up like the heroines in those books - happily married, but working hard to keep their families happy. I don't necessarily dream about quite that life anymore, but I know those dreams influenced the things I enjoy now. What do I enjoy? Cooking, baking, trying new things, shopping, talking to family and friends, surfing the web, good books, wine, coffee.
I'm part of a few websites that help me try new things: VocalPoint and BzzAgent. Many, but not all, of the posts on this blog will be written about products I try via those sites. I'll also be writing about other new products I try, recipes I've found, tips that might be useful around the house, and just random experiences I think are worth sharing.
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