Three Dog Kitchen

So, I was determined to find a picture of my new salad bowl, and I sort of succeeded.  Biggie at Lunch in a Box took an in-store picture to go with her extensive review.  You can see the salad bowl (oval) and the divided lunch container (rectangle), along with the kid’s lunchbox (that holds a drink), and a larger salad bowl (for picnics, maybe?)

I guess it’s worth noting that the salad bowl isn’t leak-proof.  I can see this being an issue with the lunch container, if you were packing foods with a sauce or something that could leak out.  But it’s not that big a deal (to me) with the salad bowl.  My undressed salads are pretty dry and there’s nothing to leak.  I put the dressing in the little cup and it stays put quite well.  I haven’t had it fall out of the cover.  The fork does sometimes fall out, even when I make sure it “clicked” into place.  The fork itself is sturdier than a typical plastic fork but, of course, not as sturdy as a metal one.  I haven’t measured the sauce cup, but it looks like it holds maybe 2-3 Tablespoons of liquid, which is more than enough to cover my salad.  I pour the dressing over the salad and then shake it all around (no dressing leaks through the cover, either) and any more dressing than that is actually too much for my tastes.

We have a fridge at work, so I don’t have to worry about keeping my salad (or any other food) cold.  I suppose if you didn’t have the luxury of a fridge you would need to find a lunch bag large enough to hold the bowl and an ice pack.

I don’t really have a need for a divided lunch container.  We usually package leftovers in one container (rice + meat/veg and/or sauce) to take for lunches and I find portioning it out into compartments is too much work.  But, I maintain that this salad bowl is the best design for taking salads and dressing to work in one convenient package.  Integrated dressing cups are a pain and often down work.  Having a separate, small container that locks in (and mine really does lock in nicely) is perfect.  It actually makes me want to eat salad, as odd as that sounds.

Never mind that an hour before lunch I was also thinking how tasty a steak burrito would be.

So, we’re going on this cruise to Alaska next week for our vacation.  I’m really looking forward to it, both because it’s a vacation and because it’s a cruise.  I love cruises and I’m glad that our Mexico cruise two years ago went so well (aside from an engine breaking and us missing Puerto Vallarta) because that means T won’t say no on future cruises.  I’m a big fan of unpacking my bags once, not worrying about where to eat, and definitely not being in charge of what time we’ll get to whatever place we’re headed.  My only responsibility is making sure we get back to the ship on time so it doesn’t leave us stranded.  And when we go on shore excursions booked through the cruise ship, they are responsible for returning us on time!  Yes, you pay more to book through them, but it’s worth my peace of mind.

Anyway, everyone knows that when you go on a cruise you are faced with multiple multi-course meals every day.  Plus a midnight snack and round-the-clock room service.  In preparation for this gluttony, I started taking salads to work.  Not only does this save money (I figure I spend $6 every time I go to the deli next door), but salads are good for you.  I actually don’t mind eating salads, as long as there’s a tasty dressing to drizzle over.  For a while, I would make salads with other tasty things: carrots, beets, cheese, hard-boiled egg, etc.  I would put dressing on the bottom of the container, put in the non-lettuce foods, add lettuce and then take it to work.  At lunchtime, I’d turn the whole thing upside down and shake.  Dressing and non-soggy lettuce, ta da!  But then I ran out of other things for my salads and I just never got around to buying more.  So I started relying on communal dressings in the work fridge.  But I got tired of them and then I started thinking of all the preservatives and then the expiration date and at one point I just ate my lettuce plain.  I remembered seeing salad bowls with built-in containers for dressing, so I actually bought one:

The idea is that you pour dressing into the container on top (which doesn’t unscrew from the lid, as far as I could tell) and pop the cover on.  Then you press down on the top, which pushes on a stick inside and pops the cover off (on the bottom, towards the salad inside).  The problem is that the cover doesn’t really stay on, so chances are that your salad will get doused with dressing before you’re ready.  Doesn’t really solve the soggy-lettuce problem, huh?  But, if you’re willing to overlook this minor design flaw, let me tell you that it is ridiculously hard to clean the little dressing container.  It doesn’t come off, it’s really hard to get inside, and… well, it’s lame.  Don’t buy it.  If you see it at Target or The Container Store, step away.  It’s not a good product.  I hear the one by Fit ‘n Fresh isn’t much better, either.

I kept thinking that someone should just make a salad bowl with a tiny dressing container that snaps into place.  Even my smallest plastic containers are just a bit too big for salad dressing, and who wants to keep track of a tiny container anyway?  I was actually at the point of wondering if perhaps I should invent such a container when I went shopping at Target.  And if I could find my salad bowl on Target’s website, I would totally show you a picture because it is a genius product.

If your Target is like mine, there is a seasonal aisle that gets filled with Christmas decorations, chocolate hearts, Easter candy, and Halloween costumes.  Apparently, my mom’s Target Greatland is not like this because we couldn’t find such an aisle.  But!  My Target had their aisle decked out in summer goodies, picnic totes, and lots of other cool stuff.  Next to picnic tablecloths, summery plastic cups, and horseshoe sets, I found this awesome shelf with lunchboxes, small divided plastic lunch containers, and my salad bowl.  So, because I don’t have a picture, I’m going to describe it to you:  It is a transparent, oval container with either a blue or pink lid.  There is a green plastic fork that snaps onto the lid, as well as a small, round, green “sauce” container that also snaps into place on the lid.  It is just perfect and exactly what I was looking for.  I bought two.

I also bought this pretty flatware caddy.  There are woven ones in bright colors, but I also found this stainless steel one for the same price.  When we have parties, I stick the plastic utensils in plastic cups and one (or all) of them inevitably gets knocked over.  Now I have a pretty container to hold the utensils AND napkins!  I love Target.  So, go check out your summer aisle before it’s all picked over!  you should have seen the tablecloth weights I managed not to buy (so cute!) and the floral placemats.

When I’m bored, I mill around Chowhound. I’ve gotten pretty good at not reading posts with titles that I know will annoy me. I now ignore them. Sometimes I get tricked and read a post only to discover that it’s a stupid question (yes, there are stupid questions AND stupid answers in this world) or completely unrelated to the title. These days, Chowhound is most useful to me for providing insight on new restaurants in the area. Of course, I don’t trust chowhound praise outright. No, typically I’ll see a few restaurants named and I’ll read about them and try and get an idea if the reviews are balanced enough to believe. I don’t trust gushing at all. Especially if it’s accompanied by PRAISE in CAPITAL LETTERS. So, I make a mental note of these places and then if I see it pop up on a couple local blogs it triggers a “hmm..” moment. At that point, I probably write it down somewhere and tell T that I want to try it. Or Cami. And then a few months go by before we ever get to where it is we’re craving. So, I’m totally not a trendsetter when it comes to new restaurants. Except for places in Poway, I guess.

My actual point, however, was to say that I don’t actively try to annoy myself with Chowhound. I feel like I’ve been on that site long enough for the vast number of topics to actually start repeating themselves. What to make for V-Day. What to cook to impress a first date. What to do with leftover ham. What’s your favorite cheese. OMG - Greek yogurt rocks. How long do I roast a chicken. Where to eat during Comicon. No car in SD - what food is bearable. And on and on.

What I don’t understand is what people think the site is for. I see questions pop up that make me wonder if they think they’re having live conversations*. Like, there’s a chicken burning in the oven and the dinner party starts in half an hour - what should they do? If I had a dinner party in half an hour and my food was burning, my first instinct would not be to consult a message board for an answer (and then wait for said answer to eventually appear). I would turn on the vent hood, stick the food outside, and either run to Costo for a roast chicken or make a frantic call to Joey’s Smokin’ BBQ. But, I also plan my dinner parties very carefully, so the chances of this happening to me are small. Also, for small get togethers, I don’t tell people what I’m cooking. For all they know, I was planning on having take-out all along!

Or someone will pull out chicken, a pepper, cheese, and couscous and ask what they can make for dinner that night. In half an hour. Do you really think people are sitting at their computer, constantly hitting “refresh” to see what last-minute disasters they can solve?

My latest favorites, however, involve broken appliances. My oven sometimes bursts into flames - should I worry? My refrigerator is leaking water - what should I do? Weird noises, odd smells, random flames, and puddled liquids are not questions for a message board. That’s when you start calling repair people. Some problems don’t get better the longer you wait to fix them (actually, I don’t know of any problems that do that). The concept boggles my mind.

But, just so I don’t end this post on a grumpy note, I will tell you about a cookie from Trader Joe’s (I know, surprise, surprise!) that I bought and didn’t like that later grew on me to the point where I took the bin to work so I didn’t eat them all. In one sitting. They are like Nilla Wafers, if Nilla Wafers were made with butter and vanilla beans. They’re called Ultimate Vanilla Wafers. They come in the plastic tubs, like the chocolate chip cookies that are also addictive. The cookies are crisp-soft. Not as hard as Nilla Wafers, but not as soft as a chewy cookie. You can definitely taste the butter, but sometimes you can also feel the vanilla bean seeds (some people don’t like that). It’s kind of nice to know that you could use a more natural cookie in place of Nilla Wafers (remember making mini cheesecakes with the wafer as the bottom crust?), but I also take comfort know Nilla Wafer are always on grocery store shelves. For all I know, the vanilla thins are “seasonal” and will disappear once summer is over. All in all, it’s a good butter cookie, with just a hint of vanilla.

* Some message boards really are like real-time chatting. I know friends who frequent boards like this and they form their own little odd community. This comes in handy if, say, your car is stolen and you need hundreds of eyes keeping a lookout until it’s spotted, at which point they band together, block said stolen car in until police arrive, and help you get your car back. I’m just saying.

I still love our Handi-Vac.  It’s been almost six months and I still love it.  I think we’re also finally getting to the point where we might need to replace the batteries.  I think that’s pretty good for this little vacuum sealer!  I’ve been reading on Chowhound that a lot of people are having trouble with their Handi-Vac bags.  They say some bags aren’t sealing properly and they’re getting discouraged with the Handi-Vac and dismissing it as a cheap gadget.  The last time I bought bags was probably a few months ago, so I have no idea if the “new” boxes have quality issues.  However, I sealed up some filets and corn and cheese just last week and my bags are still holding their seals just fine.  I’m wondering if people are trying to fill the Handi-Vac bags too much and that’s why they aren’t sealing well?  When you seal meats, you have to be very careful not to get meat juices near the “valve” or in the latticed part of the plastic.  Obviously, the bag can’t hold a seal if there’s liquid between the layers of plastic.  With dry food, you can’t fill a quart bag as full as you could with a regular zip-top plastic bag.  You need clearance space so the bag can seal properly.  It’s kind of a disadvantage, since a quart-sized bag doesn’t really hold a quart of food due to the sealing area, but you’re getting more time before the food goes bad, so perhaps it’s just a trade off.  Anyway, without knowing exactly how other people are using their bags I can’t really evaluate if their bags are defective or they’re just using them wrong.

The Reynolds website has a coupon up for the Handi-Vac.  You fill out their little form and then you can print a coupon from your computer.  It’s only a 55-cent coupon, but you can use it for the bags, too.  And if you take it to Vons or Ralphs, they’ll double it.  I think that makes a box of bags practically 50% off.  I’ve also seen the Handi-Vac wand on sale at the grocery store for about $8.  I don’t know if that’s because the product is not selling well and they’re trying to move it or if it’s just becoming more mainstream so the price naturally settles downward.  I hope it doesn’t get discontinued, because I’d have to go stock up on bags before they’re all gone and where would I store them?

In other news, I’m off to Vegas for a short trip.  T has been there for his hockey tournament (they tied their first game!) and by the time I get there they’ll either be done with games or headed to the playoffs.  They won the championship (in their division) last year, so I guess anything’s possible! 

Because I am lazy, I am going to make you sign up for your own $10 coupon.  It’s supposed to be a Refer a Friend type of link, but what if you want a coupon and I don’t know who you are?  So, go here and fill in your information like you’re referring yourself and Sonicare will send you a $10 coupon for a toothbrush.

I’ve written about our Sonicare before, and even though ours was free (yay Bzzagent!) I really love the Flexcare toothbrush.  I was skeptical about really needing to change the brush head every 3 months, but I recently did put a new one on and it makes a noticeable difference.  So, I would say think about doing so every 3 months (more or less).  I haven’t seen the compact brush heads in the stores so I’ve been using the standard size head which seems to fit my small mouth just nicely.  I’m curious whether or not the compact head would fit even better…

So, because I am adhering so well to my reduced shopping agenda (ha!), I just ordered 3 pairs of shoes.  Two of which were kind of on sale.  If we’re being honest, I also just ordered a cast iron reversible griddle and skillet handle covers on Amazon.com, but I don’t feel guilty about it because a) no new cookbooks were involved and b) I was able to use gift certificate money to cover the cost so it was all, like, free.

The shoes, though, I paid for.  There was a link on the Bargain Shopping Lady about a discount for Crocs sandals.  And then I found out that Crocs makes wedge sandals, which sounds odd and against the point, but I like wedge sandals so I was pretty excited!  Then I figured that if I’m buying shoes and getting 20% off and then another 10% off for registering an account, why not buy a pair of Mary Jane-type Crocs?  These are cute and have a strap on top to keep your foot in place.  And then I decided that I didn’t want teal or bright purple shoes.  So I went looking to see who had a pair, in my size, in sensible black.  I did check Amazon.com, because I had the gift certificate money I could use, but they only had too-large sizes.  So I went to my trusty standy, Zappos.com.

You may remember that I bought my fancy purse from Zappos.com.  I’m a fan of that site, as they sell just about everything I ever look for (purse and shoe-wise).  They did have my black slipper-Crocs, although at a higher price.  But, if faced with more expensive shoes that I would actually wear outside or cheaper ones that would probably only be worn at home, I think my decision is justified.  So I bought that one pair at Zappos.com.

Now that I’m waiting for my shoes, I have to tell you that I am still a huge fan of Zappos.com and I’m not sure how often I’ll go to Shoebuy.com.  See, Shoebuy.com gives you  a 10% discount the first time you purchase something from them and then 10% if you make another purchase within 6 weeks (I think).  Plus, their prices are often discounted here and there.    It’s hard to find Zappos.com coupon codes and their prices are often higher.  But!  Here’s why I love them: you often get your purchases the next day or within 2 days, and that’s using their free shipping!  I discovered that Shoebuy.com sends their shoes via Ground, which means my shoes will not be here for another week.  You can argue that free shipping on Amazon.com often takes that long, too, but I’m not buying shoes or splurgy purses on Amazon.com.  And when I want new shoes, I want them now!  I was actually a little disappointed that my shoes were going to take so long to get to me.  Perhaps I have been spoiled by Zappos.com.

Of course, frugal-minded folks will say that patience is worth saving money.  If you want to save a considerable amount of money just by using the site that takes longer in shipping, it’s better in the long run.  To those people I say go to Shoebuy.com.  For the impulse-buying, instant-gratification folks like me, Zappos.com is your friend. 

I get enough hits from people looking for information on Trader Joe’s detox kit that it piqued my curiousity.  So, the next time I found myself in Trader Joe’s, I picked one up.  You get 3 containers of pills - fiber, liver, and a “digestive” formula.  The plus side is that you only have to swallow pills; no drinking of funny powders.  The downside is that you may find yourself swallowing up to 8 pills, twice a day.  This may not be a problem for those of you who can swallow more than one pill at a time, but I found it to be a lot of capsules to gulp down.

Now, I admit that I didn’t alter my diet for this “detox”.  I didn’t give up red meat, dairy, sugar, coffee, etc.  Is this why I didn’t feel “cleansed” and totally energized?  Who knows.  I will say that this must be a pretty gentle detox, which is nice if you don’t want to worry about your bathroom schedule.  ‘Nuff said?  Okay.

I also did a little Googling and found claims that people heard other people lost 10 pounds doing this detox (or any detox) for just a couple of weeks.  I didn’t find too many first-person proclamations.  I’ve also come to the conclusion that if you spend 2 weeks eating only vegetables and water and maybe some bread, it’s not far-fetched to except weight to drop off.  You’re not eating much!  If I did that I could drop pounds even without detox pills.  I’d also be hungry and cranky and not much fun to be around.  I don’t buy the hype that you shouldn’t eat solid food while detoxing to give your system a break.  I think your digestive system works whether you’re eating raw carrots or drinking carrot soup.  I’m also skeptical that all the weight you drop with a “proper detox” wouldn’t just come right back after eating your first real meal.  You know, water weight explanation and all.  You certainly couldn’t exercise while on a detox - you’d pass out from lack of calories!  Of course, what do I know.  I’m no expert. 

So, I have come to the conclusion that the most practical way to lose weight and be healthy is: eat less and exercise more!  Stunning, isn’t it?  Eat a couple of salads, maybe you don’t indulge in a double cheeseburger at every lunch, have some fish (non-fried) for dinner!  Honestly, I find that when we do eat at home, it’s quite often pretty healthy.  I don’t tend to make a lot of fried foods or heavy cream sauces.  I leave those to the restaurant folk, which is why I tend to order those things when we do go out for dinner.  I also tend not to eat salads when eating out because I find them to be boring and if I’m spending money on a meal I want to really enjoy it.  I think an exception to this is the tri tip salad at Joey’s Smokin’ BBQ.  It’s a salad, so you can feel like you’re eating healthy, but it has a good amount of tasty tri tip on top.  Plus, the beans and corn and whatnot sprinkled throughout make it a really tasty dish.  Would I rather have the brisket plate with mac ‘n cheese?  Yes!  I’m just saying that their salad doesn’t make me sad and wishing I had ordered something else.

Those are my new toys (obviously, my garage does not look like that) and I don’t know if I ever thought I’d be so excited about a washer and dryer.  Our old set wasn’t dying, wasn’t on its last legs, wasn’t ancient.  But I’ve been wanting a front-loading washer since they came out years ago.  The San Diego County Water Authority is still offering rebates for high efficiency washers, but some cities have already run out of them.  I figured at some point we would get one, so why not do it when the rebate is still available?  Plus, these suckers are supposed to be really water and energy efficient!  We’ve saving the planet, one load of laundry at a time!

I’ve been watching the sales ads on and off for a couple of years, so I knew what range of prices to look out for.  I also did some research on Consumer Reports to see how they rated the different brands and fancy features.  They really liked the LG TROMM Steamwasher, but that one is $1400 while the TROMM non-Steamwasher was only $900.  I figured that steam technology is not worth the extra $500 and that performance and such was probably the same between the models.  I also talked to a Sears guy and he also recommended the LG brand for front-loading washers.  The LG washers have one of the largest capacities at 4.2 cubic feet, but I do admit that I don’t think there’s much of a difference once you get above 3.8 cubic feet.  Don’t get me wrong, this was a total splurge purchase, but I did have some logical reasons for wanting it and it was most definitely not an impulse buy.  I’m most excited about the new washer because I think it’ll be easier to wash big things (like dog beds) without that big center agitator arm in the middle.

So, the washer and dryer finally got delivered and they are even cooler than I thought they’d be.  All sorts of buttons and dials and they sing a little song when the loads are done, much like the Roomba.  You turn the dial to choose a wash setting and it defaults to temperature settings, spin speeds, etc.  Plus!  The washer detects how large the load is so you can figure out how much detergent to use.  So fancy!  The only downside I see is that you can’t stick clothes in for an extra spin cycle like on the regular washers.  Of course, I guess you shouldn’t need to because the load won’t ever be unbalanced and end up soggy at the end of the cycle.

Because I am a total dork. I actually sat in front of the washer during a wash cycle because I wanted to see how it worked.  Maybe I was expecting it to look like the commercial laundry washers, water sloshing all around against the glass window.  So, I sat there.  And I heard water spraying somewhere (and it wasn’t leaking so I assume the water is in there somewhere) and then the tub spins a few times.  Eventually, the clothes get wet.  Then the wet clothes slosh around, but as far as I can tell there’s not much standing water.  The tub certainly doesn’t fill with water like a top-loading washer.  Then it goes through 2 rinse cycles, with a little more wetness, but still no water level against the window.  If this is how it’s supposed to work, I can totally see how it uses 75% less water than a conventional washer.  It’s crazy!  But the clothes come out smelling and looking clean, so I’m inclined to trust it.  When the washer drains, I seriously didn’t understand where all that water was coming from.  My high tech washer has confused me!

The dryer supposedly has a sensor to detect the moisture levels in the clothes.  The first load I did with sheets came out a tad bit damp, so I don’t know if the sensor is off or the setting is.  I think it’ll take some fiddling to get used to how the dryer settings work, but I’m sure it’ll be fine.  Both have digital displays that tell you how many more minutes are left until the load is done.  The dryer even has sensors that check to see if the exhaust is blocked.  Very cool.

We’ve had the washer and dryer for one whole day, so I can’t comment on anything other than my first impressions.  But, so far, I do love them!

Okay, so I’m kind of glad there’s a kid out there with enough conviction to tell the Smithsonian they’ve made a mistake.  However, this article brings up a few things I would like to point out:

• If the musuem paleobiology department knew the sign was wrong 27 years ago, why didn’t anyone at the museum listen to them?
• His last name is Stufflebeam?  Really?  Does he get ridiculed a lot considering he comes off as a nerdy kid and he has a wonky last name?
• This kid is totally going to grow up to be that guy in college who asks a bazillion questions in class and corrects the professor all the time.
• Seriously.  Stufflebeam?

I’ve noticed that people are finding my site on a weekly basis by Googling “gruesome death pics”.  I have no idea why this site would come up, especially because I can’t get here running the same Google search.  It’s very bizarre to me. [edited to add: maybe they come here because I keep putting that phrase up wondering how they're finding this site...]

Also, someone is looking for who is selling Trader Joe’s kitchen cloths.  Umm, that would be Trader Joe’s. 

To the person looking for vegetable shumai, Trader Joe’s sells one with an edamame on top and it is very tasty.  However, be forewarned that their vegetable shumai is not going to save you many calories or fat grams compared to shrimp shumai.  You’d think the vegetable version would be healthier, but it kind of isn’t.  It’s still really good, though.

See those plates (first spotted at Mighty Goods)?  It’s a special set from Target to hold a bowl of soup and a sandwich (because nothing goes better with tomato soup than a grilled cheese sandwich).  I usually don’t like single-use dinnerware, but I do love that concept.  The soup bowl has its own little indentation and that square is just begging for a sandwich, cut on the diagonal of course.  What I’m not a fan of is the price.  Target is selling a set of 2 for $30.  Oh, wait, it’s “on sale” for $26.99, but it’s not even in stock for another 2-3 weeks.  The site also says that it’s an online only item and can’t be found in stores.  I fell in love with this idea so much that I seriously considered buying a set and just waiting indefinitely for it to arrive.  But, I am trying to curtail my retail purchases, so I waited.  This turned out to be a good thing.

On Friday I met friends for dinner at Joey’s Smokin’ BBQ (so good - I’m currently loving the tri tip salad, which is tasty and extremely filling), which is located right next to Pier 1.  It’s also close to Sears Essentials where we witnessed the long, drawn out process of some guy getting handcuffed and eventually (I’m guessing) hauled away by the police.  I got to Joey’s early, so I thought I’d just wander through Pier 1 so I didn’t have to sit in my car or wait outside in the cold.  I had no intention of buying anything, really!  I was even on my way out of the store when I happened to see plates for sale.  Or platters.  I’m not really sure what they are.  But, they look like 2 square plates joined in the middle (with some decorative indentation in the middle to divide the space).  They were on sale for $5!  The round bowls were not on sale, but I ended up with a set of 2 for $17.  Now, I have a soup+sandwich plate, soup+salad plate, or a salad+sandwich plate, as the plate doesn’t have a round indentation for the soup bowl.  All for the price of what 1 Target plate would have cost!  I was quite pleased with myself.

Incidentally, I also bought these melamine divided plates at Target (the store, not online) and we use them a lot.  I bought them for T because he likes divided plates - foods don’t have to touch other foods this way.  But it’s also a fun way to present food without getting all artsy and fancy.  It’s convenient for eating in front of the tv, too, because we can each pick up our 1 plate and carry it to the family room in one trip.  Otherwise, someone has to stay and guard food from the dogs.  It works well when you have a meat, starch, and a couple of veggies since everything gets its own spot on the plate!  They’re pretty sturdy and don’t scratch easily, plus they’re dishwasher safe!  Very highly recommended by me, if you’re looking for something like that.