These are a few of my favorite things... portable highchairs

I probably have more experience with this one than any of my other posts thus far. I don't usually buy more than one of something and use them both a lot, but my family lives in California and we go visit about twice a year. I can hardly handle packing clothes much less pack carseats, strollers, high chairs, diaper pails, etc. and babies need so much gear! So I ended up buying cheapo versions of stuff to keep there. And thus this post was born!

We take our little man everywhere with us, and even at home it is nice to have a strap to any chair kind of high chair that we can toss in the trunk and go.  He is so squirmy when he eats it darn near impossible to hold him while feeding, so this was a must for us.  We can take it to restaurants, grandma's, play dates, you get the idea.  And its nice to have at home, too, so we can have an extra seat when his little friends come and visit.

We have 2 travel high chair seats. One we use at home and was a little over $50. The other is in California and when I couldn't get one like we had at home off Craigslist (even though I tried for 3 days), I bought this cheaper version new for around $20-25.  The first I got on Amazon, and the second I got at Target, although both are available both places...

The first is the Fisher-Price Space Saver High Chair.

This high chair has a plush looking pad, a sturdy looking tray, a reclining seat, and a booster for when the child outgrows the high chair portion.  It does just what it says, and it looks fancy.  The reclining seat is kind of pointless to me, since I never really bottle fed, but maybe for some it would be useful.  It has shoulder straps, so once your kid is in this thing, they aren't falling out!  However, I feel like even in its most upright position it is reclined back too far, making for bad posture.  The tray is impossible to get on and off with one hand, which can be hard when wrangling a child.  It is a HUGE tray and while it is "dishwasher safe" the only way to get it to fit is to lay it flat across the bottom shelf.  No joke.  Also, it does not collapse at all.  If you want to take it with you, its the same size it always is, and while it fits in our trunk (we have a mid sized sedan) a smaller car would probably be out of luck, not to mention it takes up half the trunk space, then, which means the stroller wont fit...  Good thing we rarely use our stroller...  Needless to say, it has some issues with practicality.

Enter our "cheapo" version, the Fisher-Price Healthy Care Deluxe Booster Seat.

This doesn't have shoulder straps, a sexy looking pad, or a giant slide in tray.  After that, its all pros.  The tray snaps on with little pegs, meaning you can do one side, then the other = one handed.  It has a nifty little lift out tray on top of the tray that has a lid, so if you don't finish your cheerios, you can snap a lid on it and take it with without finding a new container for it all.  All three pieces (tray, food tray and lid) snap together pretty snug so they don't go flying apart.  But that's far from the coolest feature. It collapses.  The back folds down into the seat and the tray snaps on over it facing backwards to make this tiny little high chair cube.  And the strap you use to buckle it to the chair bottom can snap over the top of the tray to act like a handle.  Mind.  Blown.  Its like a parent actually used this one!  It also can be used as a booster seat, the seat bottom is adjustable in height and blah blah blah, but the compact portability is the huge selling feature here.  I would totally buy this one again.  I've considered ditching our expensive one to buy a second one of this for at home, but thus far I've felt too guilty about wasting the moolah.

So there you have it.  Cheaper can be better, folks!  Hope you can profit from my experimentation.

These are a few of my favorite things... zester/grater

A zester beyond all zesters.
The Microplane grater; I love this thing.  It is SUPER sharp, pretty inexpensive at about $12, and is incredibly versatile.  It will grate Parmesan into fluffy mounds (bye bye Kraft cheese-like dust!), grate chocolate into a gorgeous powdery topping, grate fresh nutmeg (WOW!) or ginger (I hate mincing), and zest any citrus to perfection.  Take care when cleaning; the back is very sharp because it is such a thin piece of metal, so don't slice your hand open!

These are a few of my favorite things... Dutch Oven

Le Creuset, eat your heart out.
I so badly wanted a dutch oven.  I NEEDED a dutch oven.  I had to have something that I could start on the stove and transfer to the oven to finish without worrying about what temps were okay and handles that might melt off.  Not to mention a large pot that wasn't non stick.  I needed to create a fond once in a while, like for a soup or something, but I just can't bear metal pans that I burn everything to.  I wanted an enameled version instead of the traditional cast iron, so I didn't have to worry about acidic foods reacting with the metal and making an icky taste.  At the size I wanted (5.5 or 6 quarts at least!), a Le Creuset would run me about $300.  Even at the discount "seconds" store. Ouch.  So I did some sleuthing and found another company that has made the cast iron version for a long time, and recently did an enameled version.  I actually bought it at Walmart for $50 (not available there anymore, but amazon has them on prime) and I have fallen in love.  It may not last for 4 generations as the famed french version, but I can afford to buy 6 for the cost of one frenchie.  The Lodge Color dutch oven has worked amazingly well, and I have not been kind to it.  Against the manufacturer's recommendation, I even took it camping and used it over an open fire.  I have had it at least 3 years now, I use it at least once a week, and no chips.   There is some staining and the enamel has crackled inside, but it is only cosmetic.  At first, the cracking of the enamel on the bottom worried me.  I wasn't thrilled at the idea of chunks of enamel coming off in my food.  However, it has had all that for at least 2 years, and it doesn't affect performance at all. I think its just the look of the finish that has cracked and not the actual enamel.  Bottom Line: a must have for every home cook, I swear! (I also broke down and bought a traditional cast iron version for about $30 I think, and it rules, too!)

These are a few of my favorite things... garlic press

My garlic press.
I admit, I stumbled on this one.  I was at a kitchen store and just happened to pick it up.  It RULES.  The Zyliss garlic press has a hinge on it so the garlic doesn't squirt out the sides or the back where there is a gap because of the arc in the pressing motion... If you don't understand what I am saying, go try your grandmother's garlic press.  Then come back when you are covered in garlic juice and still have to mince it, and buy one of these.  Its not the easiest to clean as it doesn't have one of those plug backs that forces the garlic back through all the little holes so you can remove the leftovers, but I just force it out with water pressure by putting it flush with the faucet or use a brush.  I don't care if there are tiny bits left.  It only gets used for garlic after all. Truly this is a staple of my kit hen. Seems like everything I make has garlic in it!

These are a few of my favorite things... cookbooks

It occurred to me the last night as I murdered yet another can with my crappy (and new... and expensive) can opener, that I have some strong opinions about products. Like most people, I'm often dismayed by items that don't perform, and a little put off by the sea of crappy choices in many categories, like appliances (both big and small). Places like amazon are great because you can read product reviews, but reading hundreds of reviews on 10 or 20 items is exhausting and leaves me with information overload, and often no clearer picture of what to buy. Personal references from friends are great but sometimes I don't know anyone to ask or my friends don't have the same needs from a product. So I thought, maybe by listing stuff I like here and why, I can help people who are like me to find reliable products that fill their needs. I am really lame, I know, but I have to try... manufacturers suck...  So here is the first in a series of many (hopefully).

My favorite cookbook.
The New Best Recipe from America's Test Kitchen is fabulous on so many levels.  First of all, it is HUGE (over 1,000 recipes).  There are very few recipes for "normal" food that aren't in there.  Second, it reads like a book, not a cookbook.  Each recipe has an introduction telling a little about their expectations for the dish (which is good because if yours are different you can modify to suit you; ie: spiciness), many have preparation tips or tips on how to choose ingredients, and interspersed are product reviews on the best kitchen gadgets and tools.  If you have ever seen their TV show on PBS, it reads like an episode (if you haven't, check it out!).  Third, it teaches as it gives you the recipe.  I have become SUCH a better cook after cooking with this book because I understand the science of food, I know new terms, and I know new techniques.  Dishes I used to think were hard are commonplace meals for us now, like beef stroganoff or french onion soup.  I will issue one slight word of caution.  If you fall in love with this book, don't buy any more in the series.  I am not sure about the light and 30 minute books, but I bought the baking book and it was all the same recipes as in this one, with maybe a handful of new ones.  This book is all you need.  My friend recommended it to me and she lovingly calls it "the bible" and its kinda true.  Its a reference book as well as a recipe book. I LOVE IT!

Note: I don't get money from these people.  Although I do GIVE them a lot, buying these things for myself and as gifts for people I like...

Fresh vs. Powdered Buttermilk

I hate buttermilk. It smells and it's expensive and I can never tell when it's gone bad. But it's an essential acid in lots of baking recipes, like in quick breads. As an acid, the buttermilk reacts with baking soda and baking powder to create gas bubbles that leaven without yeast. But I am not always a great planner and I often find myself without this critical ingredient in the house when I need it, or if i do get it for a recipe, I have to get a mega sized container because that is all they have and I end up pouring the remainder down the drain. If there is one thing I hate, its wasting food and money!! Okay that's 2 things, but work with me :)

Then I found out about powdered buttermilk. I was really skeptical. I mean, reconstituted anything is worse than its fresh counterpart, right? But for baking, would it do the trick? I decided it was worth a try.

I made some cornbread and Irish soda bread with it. Although the rise was a tiny bit lower than with fresh, especially with the heavy cornmeal in the cornbread, the taste was fine and it was still very acceptable. I'll admit, I didn't do any side by side tests (who needs that much cornbread) but the bottom line is that it makes palatable results. The small container seems like it will last a long time, and it's reasonable in cost, especially compared to buying fresh and wasting half every time.

Bottom line: Try it for yourself! I certainly think it works! Just remember to add it to the dry ingredients and add the water in place of the buttermilk when the recipe calls for it.

Ordering fabrics and craft supplies online

This is not a how-to post, I know, but I feel like crafters everywhere are struggling with the move to web based shopping.  I know it is something that plagues me.  I have so many items I need for many of my projects, and inevitably, something is out of stock.  Brick and mortar stores used to be the only option, and getting rare or large quantity items was basically impossible.  Well, that is not the case so much with the interwebs, but what things are good to buy online and what things aren't?  Is it okay to buy cut yards, sight unseen?  What about trying to save money?  What if I hate what I have ordered?  What about coupons, sales, etc?  So many questions...  I have tried to tackle some of that here, and most of what I say applies to fabric specifically, but applies to other craft supplies, too.

Delving into the true unknown: internet based retailers.  There are lots of different flavors out there from amazon and ebay sellers that might actually be that crazy lady down the street selling the crap in her garage to true internet-only retailers without a store counterpart, to the website of common chains like Joann's.  Each handles things a little differently, and it is hard to lump them together, but I will do my best to represent all the above.

Pros:
1) Selection and availability.  There are so many options out there for things like fabric, where the quantity of items produced could never possibly be held in a store.  There are specialty fabrics made out of organic cotton, bamboo, and unbleached or untreated fibers, a variety of prints that would swamp any normal retailer, and uncommonly used notions like hook and eye tape, which I discovered a few months ago is basically unfindable.  I love the selection on the internet.  You can find darn near anything!

2) Cost.  Shopping around can really pay off.  Because they do not have the overhead of a brick and mortar store or the hassle of distributors (if you are buying wholesale), online shops can be a whole lot cheaper, and it is so easy to let your keyboard do the shopping.  Especially when you consider buying bulk (usually by the bolt or in large quantities of cut yards), the cost of fabric can come down substantially compared to in store purchases.  Many chain stores run the same sales online as in store, and you can capitalize on that, too.  Also, you can buy things on clearance at drastically reduced prices as they clear warehouses of a particular item that a manufacturer is no longer making or has a defect (usually a minor thing like selvages are messed up or something you can still use).  I have done this several times and been SO glad for it!

3) Quantity.  For large projects, finding an adequate amount of fabric is tough in stores.  Bolts are small, generally under 10 yards each, and rarely do you find a brand new bolt.  But online, you can find large, CONTINUOUS bolts of fabric that don't leave you with 9 yards in one piece and three in another.  I wanted to make 5 bridesmaids dresses.  I ended up getting the fabric at 7 Joann's locations over 4 months of time.  An online purchase of a few bolts of fabric would have been VASTLY easier, if only I had known then what I know now.

Cons:
1) Untouchables.  The most obvious drawback to buying anything online is that you cannot see what you are buying.  This is a major downfall for creative types.  Imagine trying to compare two pieces of lace trim without having them in front of you or being able to lay them across the fabric you are working with?  Tough call.  Many retailers (ones without a brick and mortar store in particular) do a great job combating this with item descriptions and photos, giving examples of projects that are suitable for that kind of fabric and showing a scale when displaying prints to give the buyer an idea of what it looks like in person.  Some even describe the drape and feel of the fabric and/or include a thread count or gram weight when referring to the fabrics.  A select few offer free swatches, and many others offer swatches for a fee that usually includes shipping cost, generally about $1 or so each.

2) Shipping.  Shipping costs can often eat up any sale or price incentive you found to buying online.  Because fabric is both bulky and heavy, it can be a bear to ship.  Some stores offer free shipping for orders over a certain dollar amount or flat rate shipping promotions, but that forces the shoppers hand on how much to buy and when, and if you want to take advantage of something on sale or clearance, well that pretty much NEVER lines up with a free shipping deal.  Also, the ecological impact of shipping has been cited many times in the argument for buying locally.  Now if it isn't manufactured locally, well, that kind of opens a whole new can of worms, but I am not really willing to get into that here... :-)  And of course, if it has to be shipped, you cannot have it immediately for a short deadline.

3) Couponing and promo codes.  Remember the crafter's creed, Never Pay Full Price!  Some stores never offer sales or coupons (most notably for me, dharma trading co.) which means you can never bring down your materials cost.  Others (like joann.com) only allow one coupon or promo code per transaction, which means you can't use a free shipping code with a percent off code.  What gives?!

4) Yardage increments.  Most sellers online will not sell less than 1 yard, and will only cut in increments of 1 yd.  This is hardly an issue for me, since garments almost always use more than 1 yd, but sometimes getting 6 instead of 5 1/8 is a little annoying, especially for those REALLY expensive items like faux furs or silks.  I am sure this is horrible for quilters, though, who commonly need only a fat quarter of something for a project.

5) Returns.  What do I do if I hate it?  Probably the scariest con when combined with #1, not being able to touch the item before you buy.  Return policies vary widely from store to store, as does the quality of the merchandise.  The biggest problem I have with returns is that the .com affiliates of the brick and mortar stores are actually separate entities entirely and I cannot return items to a store (such as joann's and joann.com).  That yanks the security net right out from under me.  (Why they chose that business model is beyond me).  I recently bought from hancockfabrics.com and they sent me 4 yards of defective flannel.  Even though it was their fault the fabric was defective, I had to pay shipping if I wanted to return it.  Shipping was around $11, and the cost of the fabric was about $14, so I opted to keep it so I didn't have to spend $11 and still have no fabric for my project.  I'm certainly not happy with the return policy there!


Bottom line: Buying craft supplies online is a great way to save money, price compare, and find exactly what you are looking for.  However, protect yourself the best you can as a consumer.

1) Do copious research on their return policies BEFORE you buy.  Some will not accept returns at all (especially for cut yardage), some will under certain circumstances but you pay shipping, some are great about returning items, and there is every other shade of grey in between.

2) Have a good idea of what you want before you buy, and if you can, scope it out in person somewhere.  If you are unsure about the look and feel or drape of a fabric, try going to a store and handling similar items.  You can always order a swatch, but make sure you allow yourself enough time to have the swatch shipped and then order the item.  And keep in mind that dye lots may change the appearance slightly from the swatch you receive.

3) Sign up for email coupons for chain stores and newsletters for the online-only retailers to keep up on sales and shipping promotions as well as new products.  Always take a look at the clearance bin before you place your order - you just may find something to love.

4) Only buy from reputable sources you trust.  There are lots of shops out there on the interwebs and not all of them are good.  If a site is questionable, place a small order to "try them out" before going $300 deep on that gorgeous satin you think you want.  Try not to learn costly lessons if you can avoid them!

Happy online shopping!

Food slicer fun

I think I mentioned that I like kitchen gadgets.  Well, the newest one in my repertoire is my food slicer.  It is a totally fluffy, unnecessary kitchen gadget, but holy crap has it proven its usefulness.  I was a little skeptical at first, driven away by high prices and bad reviews.  But hubby and I were at JC Penney the other day and I decided to go ahead and take the plunge (on sale of course) for around $55.

I have long had a v-slicer (a cheapy version of a mandoline) which essentially does the same thing, but did not have an adjustable blade, has a much narrower blade, and takes a lot more muscle.  The v-slicer faced some serious limitations.  For one, I had to cut things down to make them fit the limited width of the blade.  One of my favorite dishes is French Onion Soup, and slicing 3 lbs of onions into 1/8" slices with a knife with ANY kind of consistency is near impossible, not to mention the strain on your tear ducts.  A v-slicer makes this much easier, but large red onions are too big to fit in the handle or over the blade, forcing me to cut them in half, which ruins the aesthetics of my soup (I never claimed to be sane), not to mention, an onion cut in half tends to pop out its inner rings, making wrangling the things even harder.  Another, more significant limitation was its inability to cut things like meat and cheese.  For anything that caused major friction across the blade, it took more force than I was able to give it to get a slice, and even if I did manage, they came out all wrinkled up and uneven.  And of course, because I did not have a true mandoline, my slice width was not adjustable.  Rather than spend $70 for a nice mandoline that still suffered from the first two limitations, I decided to try a cheap version of an electric slicer.

I got the Cook's brand from JC Penney (their house brand I believe) because it was on sale and I saw it on display and it looked reasonably sturdy and useful.  It adjusts from about 1/8"-5/8" slices, and is on a dial, so although each number on the dial corresponds to a 1/8" increment, it can do anything in between as well.  I think if I tested it with something a little more sturdy I could even get less than 1/8", but I have not tried with success yet.  To test it out, I made French onion soup which requires the aforementioned sliced red onions as well as sliced swiss cheese for the yummy broiled topping. I didn't try slicing the baguette that is also used for the soup since it is cut on the bias and would be a pain to keep even in the slicer and I only needed 4 pieces, but bread is supposedly sliceable as well.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so here are my results:

Beautiful, even slices.  Quick, simple operation.  It worked like a champ.  I had all the onions done before the butter foamed in my dutch oven.  I had all the cheese done before I even thought about it.  And of course, I was jumping up and down, squealing with joy at how cool it was the whole while.  Poor hubby... Intrigued, I tried it on some provolone I had wanted to slice for sandwiches.

Cutting the round food was a little harder, but other than some slightly jagged edges, I couldn't see any fault with them, either.  I wanted to try it on some meat, but I didn't have anything handy, so I will have to post again with some ham and roast beef.

All was not perfect, though.  There is some waste for each item you cut, because the slicer cannot get in that last slice very well (that's the one you lose fingers on with a knife).  Also, because the back of the slicer is made of silver plastic and not metal, it flexes under pressure and can make some uneven slices, although it was well within the limit of acceptability for me.  This did result in awkward shaped rinds left over though.  The v-slicer has the same issue, so I wasn't too dismayed.  I also did have a little problem keeping even pressure on the pusher so that it fed evenly without bending that plastic piece back too much. I needed an extra hand almost so that the food stayed in place and slid back and forth correctly.  I did manage to wedge a piece of swiss down into the mechanism once when I tried to get that one last slice.  It was easy to retrieve, but I felt like an idiot for getting it stuck.  (of course I turned the blade OFF before sticking my hand in there!)

Oops.  Stuck cheese.  Luckily that front part flips toward you for easy retrieval.

As for everything else, it was pretty great.  The blade comes off for easy cleaning, as does the plastic pusher,  and everything else just required a wipe down with a washcloth or sponge.  The cheese left a little film of cheesy goodness on everything, but unless you let it dry on there, I don't see it being an issue to wipe off.  All in all, it outperformed my expectations.  I half expected it not to cut through cheese without leaving a mangled mess.  I am sure it works better on harder cheeses than the softer ones I tested it on, so I am glad to report even the softer ones held up pretty well.

My main motive was to save money by slicing my own lunch meat and cheese with this machine (and make it myself since I am not allowed to have deli food during pregnancy.  Stupid food-borne illness).  At $55 it will take a while to pay for itself, but the simplicity of the design makes other kitchen slicing tasks less of a bear and much faster, so it was totally worth it.  And then of course there is its inherent coolness.  I mean, who doesn't want to use a power tool?  As Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor would say, "More power!"  Oh, and grunt grunt.