No more fingerprints

I suppose it's appropriate that I post this today, seeing as I am no longer the newspaper adviser at my school, but a few weeks ago Matt and I cancelled our Washington Post subscription and nothing has made me happier around our house for a while.

The discussion with Matt, the primary reader of the paper-version of the Post, centered on the fact that all the content in print can be read online for free (and then some) but also Sunday's paper was staying out on our coffee table until at least Tuesday, and there were lots of black fingerprints on our walls, outlet covers and white cabinets. So, he eventually agreed this is something we can do without.

I called the Post -- they are sneaky and let you do everything with your subscription online except cancel it. So when I called I had this funny epitomizes-me-perfectly conversation with the customer service rep:

Post: may I ask why you are cancelling your subscription?

Me: yes, my husband leaves the newspaper out on the coffee table for too long and he gets black fingerprints all over our house.

Post: I'm sorry, could you explain that again? (I imagine her searching for the button to press to enter the cancellation explanation)

Me: it's making our house dirty.

Post: I'm sorry, do you mean you're not reading the paper anymore?

Me: sure, that's why.

Regardless, I have to say that we are now saving a little more money and we have one less item to recycle each week. And I am saving time not having to wipe up smudges! Like Matt says, he'd be happy to pay to read the newspaper online, but that's not the route the Post has chosen as of yet.

Everyday Food fairy

Last month we received a copy of Everyday Food magazine in the mail. You know how much I love that mag, but I had let my subscription expire many months ago. I can't remember renewing it.

So unless I was sleep walking and my over-productive mind logged on to the computer and renewed my subscription, someone else bought this for us. The question is: Was it you??? I've been asking around and can't figure it out.

Fess up, Everyday Food fairy! And, thank you! Now I have a number of new recipes to add to the recipe notebook, which has been hungry for some new dishes.

Recipes: Everyday Food and Lindsay

One of tonight's activities included grocery shopping that we did not accomplish on Monday (our typical grocery day) or Tuesday (because we were both dead to the world). We also watched not just one but two of my absolute favorite shows -- Lost and Glee! All I need is to watch Modern Family in the same night to make it the ultimate triumvirate.

Dreamy? (and mysterious!)

Dreamy?? (also, is it weird that I love Emma's clothes? Is it too librarian of me?)

Dreamy??? (also probably my favorite episode)

Tonight also involved a new recipe: Pad Thai from our latest edition of Everyday Food. Now, if you read my good friend Lindsay's blog, you'll notice that she made this last night. This was a fairly insane coincidence, seeing as it was on our menu for tonight before I read her post, and I got a chance to read about her experience before we tried this out ourselves. She forewarned us that the recipe would not be terribly spicy, so of course that meant my husband, he-who-loves-Native-Hot foods (a nickname he picked up on his trip to Thailand), had to kick things up a notch with our various hot sauces in our house.

Oh, and, tonight we used the scallions I planted (or perhaps it's more accurate to say replanted) in our garden last month. Somehow we managed to unintentionally cook food this month that did not require scallions until now, so we haven't brought scallions into our house for a while. 

So, while Matt cooked, I filed recipes from this month's Everyday Food in our recipe notebook. Although this was not my original Thursday night dinner plan, I did make the executive decision that we'll be having the fish taco recipe from this magazine, another dish my friend Lindsay tried out before me.

I could get used to this....Lindsay, perhaps the best cook among all my friends (though she and my friend Sam may tie for that title), can just tell me what to eat each week, and I can stay just one step behind.

Tip 21: Magazine ideas

The March issue of Martha Stewart Living arrived in our mailbox the one day we've gotten mail in the last five days, and it is ironically the gardening issue. I don't want the good ideas to go to waste in the spring when I'm ready for them, so I save them for later...

Tip 21: Cut out ideas from your favorite magazines and glue them in an idea book.


It used to be I would read magazines, get inspired, put the magazine back on the shelf and never think of it again. Then I took an empty scrapbook I found in my closet and started pasting pictures and articles into it.

My idea book includes tips for:

• decorating
• gifts
• crafts
• party themes
• funky gadgets
• hair and make-up
• health and fitness

You'll notice that I keep my recipe ideas separate in my recipe notebook.

Now when I read a magazine, I dog-ear the pages I like. Sometimes I'm even inspired by an advertisement or something small inside a larger photo. Then I break out the scissors and use minimal glue (magazine pages are thin!). When I want an entire article that's several pages long, I'll glue along the left-hand edge of the pages and turn it into a miniature book.

Supplies ready to go...

 

Pretty pages (these ones are from the summer...Fourth of July sundaes and picnic ideas)

Several pages from a longer article all glued together...(this one is about an artist named Darcy Miller who creatively froze her favorite memories with her daughters in shadowboxes and then turned the project into a gallery exhibit. Seems like a cool idea for parents!)

I could have thought ahead and organized the book into sections in advance, but I actually kind of like the random nature of my book because it's full of pretty things I get to flip through each time I'm looking for an idea.

As you cut down on your magazine clutter, don't forget to recycle your old magazines! I had one heavy recycling bin over the summer when I started my book.

Here are my favorite additions to my idea book from the March issue of Martha Stewart Living:

• Homemade garden pots -- these look so cool!
• Paw-print pet treats -- yes, this makes me a crazy pet owner. I have never cooked for the dogs, but maybe I'll try this.
• Tower of herbs -- I can't find a link to this online, but the basic idea is to take five planters, turn two of them upside down inside two others and create this planter tower that's three planters high. Sounds like a great idea for people who want to grow herbs in small spaces. The finished product looks something like this.

Tip 8: Best food magazines

I am not from a family of chefs. There are no recipes passed along from generation to generation, except for maybe Grandma's potato salad recipe. As a young adult, I've struggled with trying to find new items to cook. Enter, food magazines: a cheap source for inspiration, and a way to encourage recipe organization. I recommend you...

Tip 8: Subscribe to several food magazines for at least a year.

As I read my food magazines, I rip out recipes and organize them into my recipe notebook. I know that if I don't do it immediately, it will never get done, and why waste time reading the same magazine twice?

Here are my favorites, in order:

1. Everyday Food -- I cannot sing its praises enough. This magazine is made for people like me -- people with limited cooking skills, limited time and limited funds. Many recipes are healthy, too. And, the magazine is perfectly organized into segments with recurring features. Here's one of my favorite recipes: chocolate pecan pie bars.
   
2. Cooking Light -- As the name implies, all recipes are geared toward healthy living. Recipes are more complicated than Everyday Food recipes because they usually require more time and ingredients, but it's a useful resource for helping you get out of your routines and become a more advanced cook. Here's a good weekday dinner: chicken souvlaki.
   
3. Martha Stewart Living -- This magazine is my overall favorite magazine, but it only ranks third in my list because many recipes are just more advanced versions of what I find in Everyday Food. But, I have to highly recommend this chicken enchiladas verdes recipe.
4. Wegmans' Menu magazine -- Here you'll find the ingredients list and step-by-step instructions for repeating many of the items you'll find in the prepared foods section. I look at this magazine because I get it for free in the mail. One observation: you can get the same information by asking the people who work in the prepared foods section of Wegmans or any other grocery store to give you an ingredients list for the foods you like. We did this at Wegmans for our favorite Greek pasta salad (which also happens to have its full ingredients list online!).
   

If you can only afford or only have time for one food magazine, stick with Everyday Food. It's by far the most practical. And, if you have the time to browse online, you'll find almost all the same recipes. I just like reading magazines!

Next up....canisters.

Tip 7: Organizing your recipes

Maybe you're one of those people who can whip up a recipe out of thin air. A little of this, a little of that, presto! I, on the other hand, cannot, and I have found this effective means of organizing my recipes...

Tip 7: Make your own recipe notebook.

Here's what you need:

• a three-ring notebook, at least 1.5 inches thick
• a box of plastic sheet protectors (I got this box of 200 sheets at Office Depot)
  
• tabs or notebook dividers for dividing into sections (I am partial to these Post-It Durable tabs. You can also get a free sample in the mail and a dollar off coupon here. I found mine at Office Depot for $3.50)

Next, you need an organizational system that makes sense for you. My notebook sections are:

• Drinks
• Appetizers
• Soup and salad
• Sauces and dressings
• Side dishes
• Main dishes
• Pasta
• Desserts
• Breakfast
• Cooking class (for recipes collected at cooking classes...I've taken them at Sur la Table and L'Academie de Cuisine and 2941)
• Take-out menus

To maximize space and minimize cost, don't forget to put at least two recipes in each sheet protector.

Finally, you have to stay on top of your recipes. Anytime I see anything I like in a magazine or online, or I get a recipe from a friend, I file it away in a little plastic sheet inside my binder. This organizational system works well also when you're trying to plan a weekly dinner menu or you're bringing food to a potluck. Need a dessert? No problem, check the Dessert section!

Next up....food magazine recommendations.