Easy Passover Salmon Recipe

I got tired of meat meals so I made dairy for lunch today.  In addition to my husband's awesome matza lasagna, I made a salmon fillet.  This is hardly an original and more of a technique than anything else, but it's fresh tasting and super yummy so I'm including it here.  Here's the recipe:

Celebrate Spring Salmon:
1 piece of salmon fillet
1 lemon, sliced with peel
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced thin
several sprigs of fresh rosemary, stems removed
extra virgin olive oil, probably about 1 Tablespoon

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  You'll be roasting this salmon, baby.
2.  Lay the lemon slices spread throughout your pan.  This is your bed.  Lay the salmon on top of the lemon slices.
3.  Make several slits throughout the fillet and insert the garlic slices into the slits.
4.  Scatter the rosemary leaves on top of the salmon.
5.  Drizzle the extra virgin olive oil over the salmon.
6.  Roast the salmon, about 10 minutes per inch.  It took me about 20 minutes.  The top of the salmon may turn a nice even brown color from the roasting - a total guest-pleaser.  Serve immediately, or at room temperature, which is my preference.


Enjoy!

I haven't started preparing for Pesach

There.  I said it.  I haven't started doing anything for the holiday.

Oh sure - I bought the grape juice on sale.  And we bought some tea that seems to fly off the shelves.  And we committed to a few meals out (woo-hoo!).  But other than that?  Nothing.  Nada.

This - despite that I receive emails daily from various Jewish cooking/mom-related sites with this or that Pesach checklist/prep tip.  Despite that I have my own Pesach binder with recipes from previous years, lists, and fun stuff so I don't have to keep re-inventing the wheel.

Why on this green earth have I not even uttered the word in my house?  First - I'm tired.  I had two large events take place last week that I planned, and I'm just tired of planning.  Second - I'm busy at work.  So unfortunately, Pesach hasn't yet appeared on my radar screen.

The other, possibly subconscious, reason why I haven't yet broached the topic is because I want to go back to basics: I want to re-emphasize the holiday itself, and not go nuts with the meals and the cleaning.  It's time to get back to basics and remember what the holiday is about, which is something I only think about when I sit down to seder, not before.

So here are my thoughts:

• Go through my recipe file and pick out the recipes that are Pesach-friendly.  Salads, chicken, veggie dishes - there's so much out there.  Now's the time to read the recipes again with fresh eyes.
• Go through the Pesach grocery aisles and really consider what I need (which means, don't go shopping with the kids!).  Buy the staples, not the latest and greatest.
• Buy a food processor.  Last year I determined that this is something I need, so I want to invest in a good one that will last me for years.
• I don't bake from scratch during Pesach.  I make fruit salad for dessert, or I splurge and buy the cake-in-a-box.  Pricey...yes, but it really saves me the headache and I allow for it since I don't buy lots of other stuff.
• I love love love this post.  People - this is what it's about.  Back to basics.
• Remember that - no matter what - make it fun for the kids.  A stressed out mommy is not fun.  A tired mommy is not fun.  So - be flexible and keep it simple.

 My indulgence every year?  The muffins-in-a-box.  Don't ask me why.  There's a little piece of heaven with some cream cheese on a muffin, I'm sure of it.


What are your favorite Pesach strategies?

List of Stupid Money Spent

Check out this list from a fellow Houston blogger; it's a rather unique list.

I cannot compile such a list for myself, mostly because it will be painful and traumatic and much longer.

Food waste should definitely be included in this list.  There are so many times I buy food with plans of using ingredients in a specific recipe, only to not make said recipe, and then the food is wasted, and so goes my money.  Shabbat leftovers are a big part of that - making so much food and then wasting it if it doesn't reheat well, or loses its luster after Shabbat.  I am definitely trying to do better in the food waste area, so hopefully this food waste proportion will go down over time...

Clothing is also an issue for me.  I intensely dislike trying on clothes in a store, so I tend to make my purchase with the plan of returning the item if it doesn't work out.  Get this - apparently some stores DO have a return policy where they only accept returns within a specific time period!  Or, even better: Loehmann's near my house closed, so now for sure I will never be able to return a skirt I purchased there (um, I have a brand new knee-length black skirt, if anyone's interested...)

Then there are various late fees, penalties to pay (hello Massachusetts - why do I need to pay a penalty on tax I didn't know I owe until April 15?), and so on.

But like I said, it's painful to think about.  All those donations - I call them donations to make myself feel better - when I really couldn't afford them, but I had 100% control over preventing them.

What would be included on your list of stupid money spent, and what are you going to do differently this year?  Add your comment in the comment box.

How to make your life easier: Tip 1 - Baby wipes aren't just for babies

Wow, that's a pretty presumptuous title up there, the "How to make your life easier".  This series of posts was inspired by an email exchange I had today with one of my college best friends, a working mom herself, exhausted, overworked, and overwhelmed.  I absolutely do not have the answers for her, and there are certainly many times when I am exhausted, overworked, and overwhelmed myself, but I strongly believe that we shouldn't ever feel that way.

I'd like to start sharing some tips I've picked along the way that make my life easier, and hopefully will make your life easier as well.

Enter Tip 1 - the baby wipe.

Lest you think that this tip is just for parents of small children, let me tell you straight on that this tip is for everyone.  It's perfectly ok to be a single guy purchasing baby wipes.

Baby wipes can clean anything.

That's it!  Baby wipes can be used to clean floors, kitchen counters, tabletops, bathroom counters, marks off the wall, hands, grime, precious objects, dust - anything you can think of, a baby wipe can most likely clean it.  I'm not talking about a deep clean here; I mean the "every day" clean where you just need things to be clean.

Think about it: they are gentle enough for a baby so you know there's nothing harsh in there, they don't scratch surfaces, you can get unscented, and they can be eco-friendly (the ones I buy from Costco are made from a renewable material).

How will this make your life easier?  You don't have to worry about fancy cleaning products; just a quick wipe and you're done.

Apparently I'm not the only genius with this idea.

Something Special Tuesday

Welcome to Something Special Tuesday!

Something Special Tuesday is devoted to 4 subject areas: yummy, crafty, spiritual, and financial.  Whether or not I add more to the list is yet to be seen.  I will present to you my favorite posts from the blogosphere related to these subject areas and I hope you enjoy the posts as much as I do, and perhaps even get inspired from them.

Caveat:  since I do have a full-time job and 2 little ones under the age of 3 at home, I cannot absolutely promise that I will stick to this schedule every single week, but I will certainly try.

Of course - I would love to hear suggestions!  So here are my picks for this week:

Something yummy:  I made homemade yogurt last Thursday in my crockpot!  Yes, it can be done!  The result is a very creamy plain yogurt with a fresh, tangy taste.  I made it with 1% milk (my first attempt was with whole milk and that got rave reviews).  Now I need to make some homemade granola to go with it...

Something crafty:  Even though I moved in to my office about 6 months ago, I really haven't decorated it much (and the addition of a dry-erase white board last week got me very excited).  I saw this gorgeous mirror and I really plan on making it, especially since it looks super-easy, so even though I totally don't sew, I just love the idea of the colorful rainbow.  And it will really brighten up my office.

Something spiritual:  I get a lot of my inspiration online - there are so very, very many beautiful stories out there - and since we are now starting the month of Elul and the countdown to Rosh Hashana, when this essay landed in my inbox yesterday I knew I had to share it with everyone.

Something financial:  When it comes to saving money, I can't think of anything easier than clipping coupons.  You don't have to be all obsessive about it, and you don't need to spend a lot of time on it, and there are lots of blogs that do all of the work for you so you can just print the coupon or grocery list and go.  Those few minutes spent gathering those coupons, those several dollars saved with each trip to the grocery store, all of that can really add up.  Right now I am averaging a savings of about 30% on my grocery bill.  NOT BAD AT ALL.  This site is a great place to start for coupons and terrific deals.

Let me know what you think!  Have a great Tuesday!

An unusually good customer service experience

I think it's sad that these days that wireless phone companies/providers are pretty much synonymous with bad customer service.  Everyone has those stories of getting the run-around when they call, of not getting any useful assistance, etc.  So of course I was hesitant to call our wireless service provider, but I had to in order to clear up our bill.

The backstory:  In December, I called the company to drop one of the phone lines on the plan.  I distinctly remember the rep telling me that the line will be discontinued as of the 27th, and on top of that she switched me to a lower cost plan, based on my usage pattern (how nice of her).

Cut to now:  My husband pays the phone bill online, so (now) I believe that he hasn't actually been looking at the statements.  Which would have been fine, except that last week when I happened to look at the bill, I noticed that the phone line that was SUPPOSED to be discontinued was not only NOT discontinued, but the primary phone line on the bill.  Hm, that wasn't supposed to happen!

So I made the call.  After I explained the situation to the rep, she put me on hold while she looked through the history of the account.  Amazingly enough, she did not find any notes related to my call in December asking me to remove that specific phone line.  Great.  Now it was my word versus the rep-in-December's word, and I didn't have her name or a confirmation number or anything.  But here's where the "good experience part" comes in: not only did she believe me and discontinue the line, but she credited my account for 2 months the portion of the bill attributed to that line.  AND she lowered my plan again (apparently, I don't use my cell phone all that much).

I was really surprised that the outcome was in my favor.  I thanked her profusely, and I told her that this was the best customer service experience with a wireless company.  It really was!

And that company is:  Verizon Wireless.

What's going on in my kitchen right now...

Just as an FYI, this is what is happening in my kitchen:

I have homemade challah doing its second rise, ready to go into the oven soon.

I have milk slowly turning into homemade yogurt in my crockpot.

I have homemade jam (three. different. kinds.) in a cabinet.

I have homemade granola in the freezer.

I make my own salad dressing, I make my own pizza dough (and pizza), I frequently bake my own bread.

When did I turn so kitchen-capable?

My personal Grocery Game

Remember the Grocery Game?  Even though my free trial ended, I am determined to continue saving money at the grocery store.  We've fortunately reached a point now where this week we only had to buy milk, eggs, and bread and fruit, and we've been able to reach into the pantry, fridge, and freezer for yummy meals.

This past Saturday night I had my best score to date.  Check this out:
I went to Walgreens and bought 4 Dove products at their 4/$15 sale. I had 2 $2 Dove coupons, plus I spotted that Finesse was "buy 1 get 1 free", and I had a $1 coupon for that, PLUS a mail-in rebate for Finesse for the purchase price. So - here goes:

4 Dove @ $15

2 Finesse @ $3.99

= $18.99

- 2 $2 coupons

- 1 $1 coupon

= $13.99

- $5 register rewards for the "buy 4/$15" Dove sale

= $8.99

- $3.99 mail-in rebate for Finesse

= $5 for 6 products

= $0.83 per bottle and I got 2 body washes, 2 shampoos, 2 conditioners
 
Ridiculous, right?  Do you have a favorite coupon story to share?

Floor 1, Humans 0

Sad news for moms everywhere as children continue to fling food onto the floor with glee.

The five-second rule is no longer valid.

Jam I am

Yes, what you are looking at right now are the fruits of our labors to date (see, I'm not counting children here). Let me explain this image to you:

The top jar with the RED STUFF is homemade strawberry jam.

The bottom 3 jars with the BLACK STUFF is homemade blackberry jam.

Let me repeat for you: HOME. MADE. JAM.

And to answer your question - no, it doesn't get much better than this.

We went strawberry picking back in May and made jam, and we thought that it was good. But then we went blackberry picking last Sunday, and we made jam, and man oh man, that stuff is good. Not to mention our jam-making technique improved so we think the quality of the jam improved. We consider the blackberry jam to be liquid g-o-l-d. Yes, it's that good.

Sometimes we share it with the kids.

Next up is blueberry picking, and I'm sure we'll make jam again.

Oh my gosh, don't you wish you lived near me now so you could try some of it...

The Grocery Game: Where are my savings?

My friend, the one who got me into this Grocery Game, just finished her first month in this game and this month's grocery bill is $300 LESS than last month's.

That is just awesome.

I am frustrated! I am not seeing such savings! In fact, my grocery spending is pretty much in step with last month's spending (and average monthly spend). ARGH! This is frustrating. However, I do know that I don't follow the game 100%, but who does?? I see a bit of savings, but overall, not like my friend. Not even close.

Instead of discouraging me, this is just inspiring me to do better. The monthly spend just has to be trimmed! I would be beyond thrilled if we spent $300 less....there is so much we can do with an extra $300...wow, I am practically fantasizing about it now...

The Grocery Game: Round 3

This is becoming obsessive. I now visit certain websites daily to scour the 'Net for coupons. I study the weekly grocery store circulars. I even created a new email address for myself where I direct all of the manufacturers' newsletters and promotions so that they don't clog up my inbox which is full of real mail.

Of the grocery trips that I have logged into my little spreadsheet, I have saved 37.6% of my grocery bill. NOT BAD. The only downside is that I haven't logged every shopping trip of mine...because I make a lot of little trips to buy things that I suddenly run out of, or foods for Shabbat that aren't on the Grocery Game lists, or other items (like kosher meats and cheeses). Nor did I log our trip to Costco (yes, we are members of that giant wonderland; that's another post). And Shavuot took place last week, so I feel like that has put a kink in our numbers.

But still. Hopefully the 37.6% that I saved officially was spent wisely somewhere else. :-)

Best deals to date:
Buy one, get one free of Renpro organic shampoo or conditioner at Walgreens, and if you pick up a bottle with the free trial tag (where you send in the tag and they send you a check for the purchase price), then it's really getting 2 bottles for free. NOT BAD.
Free barrettes at Walgreens. NOT BAD.
$10 gift card for sending in a receipt that showed that I bought $20 worth of Swiffer products.

Really - who wants to pay full price for anything anymore??

The Grocery Game: Round 2

I went to Randalls this past week at the start of the second week of the Grocery Game and I saved 39% off my bill. NOT BAD AGAIN. So far, my average is 34.6% saved on my grocery bill.

But here's the kicker. I am not counting the several run I had to Beldens and HEB. Beldens I go to because the eggs I buy are cheaper there, I buy my kosher meat and cheese there, and they have a few products that I can't get at other stores (like my fave brand of margarine). HEB I go to because it's right by my house, the bread flour and yeast I use are super-cheap there, and I pick up other staples.

The other problem I ran into this past week is that Shavuot hit in the middle, so I bought a bunch of items for meals that didn't fall into the Grocery Game budget. If I was smart, I would have kept all of those receipts, but that would be too painful. Not that I went crazy (and in fact, I would like to return some of the non-perishable products I ended up not using and not opening), but still, a 2-day holiday calls for nice meals. Now Sunday is upon us and once again I need to restock the fridge. Time to start making food from pantry staples again and get creative.

In hindsight, I probably should not have signed up for the Grocery Game trial when a holiday would hit, but oh well.

I also go to Target and utilize coupons there. The best coupons are for household and beauty products, and the best part about that is that Target's coupon policy allows for stacking a Target coupon with a manufacturer's coupon, so sometimes you can get a GREAT deal.

Another thing I do is scour the 'Net for coupons straight from the manufacturer's website, and these coupons don't show up on the coupon aggregator sites. My plan for this week is to come up with a list of all of the products that I use and their manufacturers (like Proctor and Gamble, Kikkoman, etc), and then I'll just go down the list and print out coupons as they appear.

Just trying to save money wherever I can...

The Grocery Game: Round 1

Heard of the Grocery Game? I was just introduced to it a few weeks ago. A friend of mine was using the free trial because her friend saved around $1000 over 3 months using this online resource. After saving coupons for a few weeks, I finally signed up for the free 28-day trial yesterday.

Here is how the Game works: A list is generated of all of the grocery deals, by store, that can be had for the week. The deals are advertised deals and un-advertised deals, and who knew, the best deals are Sunday - Tuesday. The magic of the Game is with the coupons; the List tells you which coupons to use to combine with the grocery sales so that you end up paying super low prices, or sometimes you get the item for free!

Can't beat that.

I'm just skeptical that there isn't so much for us on these lists; we don't buy nonkosher meat or cheeses, we don't buy a lot of packaged products, and we don't buy snacks. But - with a free trial, I have nothing to lose.

So Round 1 was today with the kids (not the best idea). I picked my store and with coupons in hand, I saved a total of 32% on my bill. And yes, these are all items that we need. Most of the savings are from toiletries, and there were a couple of items I bought not on sale (turkey meat, grapes), but almost everything else had some coupon or sale attached to it.

Stay tuned.

A tip: the micro-clean

You're probably wondering what the heck a "micro-clean" is. It has nothing to do with a microwave. It's my new method to cleaning happiness!

I like to keep my house clean (as opposed to the person who doesn't?) and I like to set goals like, "Today I will clean the bathrooms" or something like that. However, what I've noticed is that I will get all motivated, pull out the cleaning supplies bucket, and be halfway through a project when a child will wake up from a nap or there will be some other distraction that makes me stop. Then I get all frustrated that I didn't finish and then it's just a downward spiral.

One day as I whipped out the cleaning bucket to clean some jolly area of the house, I told myself that it would be great if I cleaned just this one shelf. And when that was done, I told myself that it would be great if I cleaned just the next shelf. And so on. And eventually a child did wake up from a nap, but instead of feeling irritated that I couldn't finish another cleaning task, I actually felt great! Because I accomplished those little goals that I set for myself! And it wasn't a one-time feel-good moment. I tried this method when I mopped the floor. Usually, I want to "mop the floor" which includes the entire kitchen/living room/dining room/front entry way floor. This time, I told myself it would be great if I did the living room. Children still asleep. It would be great if I did the entry way. Children still asleep. And so on. I didn't get to reach the kitchen, but no matter - I did what I set out to do with the micro-cleans! And I felt great!

So that's my tip. You may actually have the time to accomplish the micro-clean instead of a big, comprehensive clean. Each accomplishment makes you motivated to complete the next task - if time permits - but if time runs out, no worries! You completed your goal!

The letter P

Today was brought to you by the letter P. P starts many words, but I will point out only one word, and that word is poop. Not only did the son somehow manage to get poop onto three outfits (and his carseat, and the nursing pillow, and my arm), but my daughter decided that in lieu of taking a nap, she would poop in her diaper, take her diaper off (it's full of poop), smear it on the bed sheet and crib railings, and then throw it (full of poop) onto the floor (which is carpet). It was lovely.

Here's a random tip: Clorox wipes quickly clean a mirror, when you're out of glass cleaner. I didn't notice much streaking, so that's good to know when in a pinch.

Hidden money found!

I found over $60 in a closet today!! WOOHOO!!

It wasn't really $60 in cash, and it did take a bit of effort on my part (went to store #1 with one kid, went to store #2 with both kids). See, we are cleaning out the guest room/storage room/third bedroom in order to convert it into our son's room, and we are moving very slowly. Today I decided to take two never-been-opened items to their originating stores to see if I can return them.

And hurrah! I was able to return both, netting me over $60 in store credit. Fortunately, we shop frequently at each store (Walmart and Home Depot) so the store credit will surely be used soon.

The moral of the story here is to return items on time and reclaim your money - no need for the stores to keep it if you want it back!!

Cheap and easy wood polish

Mix a bit of lemon juice with a bit more of olive oil. Apply. Use immediately and don't make it in advance. Stand back and look at your polished wood in all its glory. Sure beats buying the expensive stuff.

Gift bag galore

I am now in the midst of nesting (just a few more weeks to go until baby #2 arrives!) and have discovered a treasure trove of baby gift bags I didn't throw away that were given to us with presents for our daughter. They are good gift bags that can be reused. The question is - what do I do with them? I am reluctant to throw them away because they can be reused and they are nice; the only problem is that I have so many and I don't think I have so many baby gifts to give in the near future! We are talking about several dozen gift bags here. What do I do with them?? Any ideas??

Update on Belden's bananas

Belden's has caught up with the rest of the stores in the area when it comes to banana prices. Today I went in there today intending to buy bananas and there they were, those beautiful bananas staring at me at 49 cents a pound.

Oh well - I enjoyed the party while it lasted.