What To Do With Too Many Carrots!

I don't know what came over me when I saw that ten pound bag of carrots on sale for six bucks.  I do love a good deal, but I'm smart enough to walk away if it isn't practical.  I'd love to take advantage of all the advantages of buying in bulk, but with the limited storage space that I have at my disposal... whatever can't be used within a week and a half ends up down the disposal.

So, why was I so giddy, as I lugged that ten pound bag over to my grocery cart?  Maybe it was the idea of slipping some weight training into my day.  I would, after all, have to carry it out to the car, along with the other fifteen loaded plastic bags.  Then into the house, and lift it up onto the counter, and then over to the fridge.  Whew, I'm sweating already.  Just kidding... that's what husbands are for.

So, yesterday, I wrangled that bag out of the crisper ... how did we even get it in there?  It was like trying to pry Austin Powers' Fat Bastard out of a Volkswagen Beetle.  I mean, do you have any idea how much a single carrot weighs?  Now imagine ten pounds worth!  Since I was on my knees anyway, I said a little prayer that Bugs Bunny and Roger Rabbit would show up at my door, with the brims of their fedoras pulled down low, Tommy guns in hand, demanding a protection payment.  I ended up on Google learning how to freeze carrots.  Oh well... God works in mysterious ways.

Did you know that there's more to freezing carrots than just tossing them into the space between the ground beef, and the Hot Pockets?  Strap on your step counter, because there are steps.

Step 1:  Peel and cut the ends off of your carrots.

 

Step 2:  Chop them up however you like them.  I like the little circles.  Depending on the size of the carrot, you get little penny, nickel, and quarter sized pieces.  Some of my carrots were so big,  I had to stop chopping halfway through, or it would've been like eating half dollars.  I put those chunks aside for later.

Step 3:  Blanch them.  No, that doesn't have anything to do with The Golden Girls.  It means immerse them in some rapidly boiling water for no more than three minutes.  Then take them out and immerse them in some ice water to immediately stop the cooking process.  Then drain, and maybe even pat them down with some paper towels, just to remove a little excess water.

Step 4:  Pour them into some sort of storage container, like a ziplock freezer bag.  My zipper bags aren't freezer proof, so I wrapped them up in one of those Debbie Myer produce bags first, and then zipped them up.  Now they can be stored for up to six months.

So, what did I do with those huge carrots chunks that I set aside?  I cut them into sticks, and stored them in the fridge in several Glad food containers.  The kids like to take them in their lunch bags.  They also make good snacks in the evening.  It's healthier than all that microwave popcorn I typically munch on during Desperate Housewives.

Maybe I was channeling Bree Van de Kamp yesterday.  I wish I had her cookbook.  I still have about six pounds of carrots left in the crisper.  I wish that Barred Owl hadn't eaten that cute little bunny, that used to feed in my back yard last Spring.  I need him now.

The Best Things Are Free!

After spending weeks refurbishing an old run down dining table, it has become one of my most favorite things... that I acquired free of charge.  In honor of my new blessing, here is a top ten list of some other things that I've collected ... at little or no cost to me.  The best things in life are definitely free!

shaving mirror

1) This is a wood framed tri-fold shaving mirror from either the 1930s or 40s. About fifteen years ago, an old man in my community had passed away. After his family had taken all they wanted, my husband was hired to clean out the rest of his belongings, and I went along to help. The family had left so many things behind, and as we cleaned up, we also spent the afternoon learning so much about the old man. Although I had seen him everyday, walking his little dog, I had only met him once. He had stopped to talk to the group of kids playing in the courtyard (my daughter included), and we struck up a conversation. I knew he was a Jewish-Italian-American, that he had been in the Navy, and that he had gone through WWII. What I learned that afternoon was that he was quite distinguished, and had collected some very fine things throughout his life. I saw the hospital photographs and court documents, after he had been the victim of a hate crime. I took with me some beautiful antique furniture, an Italian newspaper from 1944 with articles about the war, and two old Time magazines, each dedicated to the murder of a Kennedy.  I also took with me a new and deep respect for the man I never really knew.  I talk to him sometimes, and thank him for all the things he unknowingly passed down to me.  I think he appreciates that I appreciate them.

bar cabinet

2) This is the solid wood cabinet that I also acquired from the old man.  It has been used as a dining room buffet, a TV stand, among other uses, and now it serves as a printer stand.  It was originally intended to be a bar cabinet, but we don't drink very often so it stores batteries, plastic grocery bags, miscellaneous electronics, and pet supplies.

Uncle Charlie

3) This is a faux carved wood wall hanging, depicting one of my most cherished ancestors:  Emperor Charlemagne (aka Uncle Charlie). We know about him from school, of course, but we know about our relation because of my grandmother who spent her life researching our family genealogy.  This carving had hung on her wall for as long as my brain can remember, and when she passed away several years ago, it was handed down to me, to hang on my wall for the rest of my life.  Those are two reasons why I love it dearly.

The Guardian

4) This black stone lion was brought home by my husband about seven years ago. He found it in a vacant apartment, abandoned by the previous resident. He came to me just around the time that I was studying the art of Feng-Shui. I named him The Guardian, and wherever we live, he is perched on the porch, beside the front door, protecting us from negative energy. I painted his eyes, to give him a sense of life... and his toenails, to give him a sense of style.

painted mirror

5) Here we have a four foot long, heavy as hell, silver framed mirror that likely hung in some restaurant restroom. It was collected by my late father in law, who was a retired apartment maintenance man, who likely found it abandoned in a vacant apartment. He gave it to me nearly two decades ago, and I gave it a face lift. I sponged the frame in pale yellow and blue, and then stenciled on some ivy in mixed greens, and some leafy vines in blue. 

crystals

6) Aaaah, some of my most prized possessions. These three crystals came into my life nearly three decades ago, when my ex-husband found them while cleaning and painting his bosses daughter's apartment. They became the very first stones on a long and beautiful path into a world of deep spirituality, and an interest in ancient Celtic mysticism ... crystal healing, candle and incense burning during prayer and meditation ... which led me to a deep respect for the natural world, and it's sciences.

sofa

7) This sofa was an unexpected gift from the universe! Seven years ago, I had spent weeks trying to find one just like it ... searching newspaper ads, Craig's List, used furniture stores, and thrift shops. They were all either too expensive, or already sold. Just when I was ready to give up, this sofa appeared on the curb in front of my neighbor's house, while they were moving out. I introduced it to my carpet and upholstery cleaner, and it took up residence in my living room. It couldn't be more perfect for those long Saturday afternoon naps.

kitchen cabinet

8) This white kitchen cabinet was a gift from an old neighbor. She was an employee and a resident of the complex where we lived after arriving in NC. We only knew her for about six months before she found a new job, and moved out. Before leaving, she offered us this great country style kitchen cabinet, among other pieces. It was already white, with pine surfaces, but I painted the door and drawer pulls in Hunter Green. We used it for a microwave stand, and food storage cabinet until we moved to this rental house. The kitchen is much too small, so it became a TV stand and bookshelf for my daughters. We have since moved and it has returned to its original position in the kitchen.

Bamboo Shelves

9) When we moved to NC, the apartment beneath of ours was the designated "guest suite". A short term rental unit for residents to house their out of town visitors, like a big beautiful hotel room. Well, when some of the student residents began using it for all night parties, the management decided to turn it into a regular unit. All of the model furniture inside was offered up to the employees. I jumped right on it. I walked away with this bamboo and glass entertainment unit, a long white wicker dresser, and two matching white wicker nightstands. Yay me! Yay free!

Table

10) And the piece de resistance ... without any further adieu... (I have no idea if I've spelled those correctly, but the spell checker didn't highlight them, so I'm going with it) ... the dining room table that was found on the curb after some neighbors vacated, about a month ago. Has it been a month already? Yeah I guess it has. I sanded it, I stained it, I coated it, and turned it into the beauty that it has become. If you'd like to see the photos of the table in it's original state, just look through the recent previous posts (on the right sidebar) for one called "Trash To Treasure".

If you have a cherished freebie, post a pic in the comments!

From A Trashy Table To A Treasured Piece

There had been a pile of trashed out furniture on the curb in front of a recently vacated house for a few days. I kept trying to get a view of it, but every time we drove by my husband would speed up and say something like, "nothing to see here, folks". Well, I did catch sight of a huge dining table, that just reeked of ugliness, but also of pure potential.

The finish was dirty, chipping and peeling. There were several water marks and scratches. It was a medieval monster, but after a thorough examination I convinced Hubsy to help me lug the thing home.

It took up residence on our back porch, which slowly began to resemble the set of This Old House, with sawhorses, orange extension cords, sanders and sandpaper, foam paint brushes, plastic sheeting, a pile of old rags, and various cans of wood finishes. Feeling much like Norm Abram, I set to work. (Yes, that's a Christmas coffee mug, that I use year round).

Hubsy disassembled it, and Punkin and I began to scrape and sand ... and sand and sand. Even Hubs and Princess joined in occasionally, while The Boy watched. It took a solid week to remove the old finish and get down to the beautiful bare wood. And that's when Hubsy really began to believe that we could make something out of this thing.

Using a Colonial Maple stain, something we had left over from our coffee table years ago, I started adding some color to each piece. Believing that the table top was a solid piece of oak, like the base, we were surprised to find that it was covered with a pine veneer, which was peeling in several small sections. So, we peeled up the loose sections, and sanded down the uneven edges. During a brief lapse in brain function, I filled in two of the spots with wood filler, which didn't take the stain well. While the peeled and sanded sections took the stain differently, but nicely. Oh well, a mistake I can live with, because it was still definitely not the same table that we had hauled home. The sides of the tabletop were a beast of their own.  Again, I had used a wood filler to seal some gaps, and it didn't stain well. I ended up having to paint the sides in a brown color that matched the darker knots in the pine. It soaked up the stain like a sponge, and needed four coats of poly ... but it came out beautiful in the end!

In order to make room for the table, we had to turn our office space back into a dining room. In order to do that, we had to rearrange the furniture in the living room to make room for the computer desks. Then we had to paint and patch the walls in both the living room and the dining room! 

Next week will lead me into a whole new project. We've had to take down Hubsy's Star Wars collection from the living room, so now I have make room for it in the bedroom.  Of course, when I rearrange the shelves for that collection, I'll have to patch and paint!  ... and then...

Efficient Grocery Shopping

Grocery shopping is inevitable. Unlike Santa Claus, and the Tooth Fairy, the Grocery Fairy is indeed a myth. (Even though your family continues to open and close the refrigerator and pantry doors, expecting something enticing to magically appear each time). Occasionally we have to restock the kitchen of those basic food staples. Also, for those specific ingredients needed for the spectacular meals that will will earn your family's respect and admiration, and will induce praise and gratitude for the time you've spent slaving over a hot stove. (That's actually another one of those myths I was talking about). But just rushing off to the market without a game-plan is a guaranteed way to (1) to spend more money than you intended to, and (2) to forget important items, that you'll have to send your husband back out to the store ,grumbling and groaning,to retrieve. So here's my tip list to help make your shopping more efficient, and more productive.

Create a menu.
Make a list of the meals you plan to make for the week: entrees, side dishes, desserts, breakfast and lunch, too. It helps to bring your menu to the store with you, because items unexpectedly on sale may inspire an amendment to the menu.

Make a list.
Look over your menu and, one by one, write out the items you'll need to buy at the store. Look through your freezer, fridge, pantry, and closets for staples you may be running low on. This includes paper products, toiletries, cleaning supplies, spices, and such.

Grab a bite to eat.
Never shop hungry! An empty stomach will cause you to drool over every cupcake, and toaster pastry you see. Your cart will fill up, and your wallet will empty, before you've even gotten the items on your list.

Bring a sweater.
Foof conglomerates are not stupid. They know that the cooler temperatures in the store tend to make you feel hungry, and thus buy more. Not to mention the added effect of flourescent lighting that causes sleepiness, which may make you move a little slower, and stay in the store longer. The longer they have you, the more they can sell you.

Bring a calculator.
Stop and do the math. Sometimes the store brand is cheaper by itself than the name brand with a coupon. Also, the deals may not be deals. Example: sometimes it may be cheaper to buy two 5 lb packages of sugar, than one 10 lb package. Also, use your calculator to keep track of your spending.

Check out the store brands.
Most of the time, store brand items are exactly the same as the name brand, but cheaper, because the packaging is simpler, there's no toy, prize, or copyrighted television character involved and there's no expensive ad campaign Take note that I said most of the time.

Clip those coupons.
A coupon organizer makes things much easier. I've recently realized that the best organizer is a three ringed binder filled with those clear plastic baseball card pages. Divide your sections according to the aisles of the store, to make finding the right coupon easier. I recommend using divider tabs that you can attach directly to your pages (regular notebook divider pages are too small to see between those card pages). If you have a 50 cent coupon for any size item, pick the smallest (cheapest) size, and you might just get it for practically nothing. But if it's an item you generally keep in stock anyway, like toilet paper, pick a larger size. Sometimes all it takes is a coupon to get you to try a new product that may thoroughly enjoy.

Find a store that doubles those coupons!
Why save nickels and dimes, when you can save quarters and dollars! Stores that double coupons daily, will often have triple coupon bonus days!

Read the circulars.
Check out your store's circular ads to see exactly what's on sale that week. Sign up to have the ads delivered right to your email inbox. You can match up your coupons to the current sales to increase your savings. You can also plan your menu around those ads. Remember: not ALL sale items will be on that list. Sometimes the store will surprise you with other sale items when you get there!

Don't have any coupons, forgot to get that Sunday paper, or just desperately seeking more? You can print them right from your own home printer! But wait, before you do, let me give you a head's up...

Every coupon site seems to offer the same coupons as all of the other sites every month, so there's no need to waste your time browsing around, and signing up for fifteen different coupon sites. Also, the money that you'll save with the coupon will undoubtedly be spent on the cost of the printer ink and paper that will be wasted on all of the advertising and recipes that print with each coupon. For me, it's just not worth it. But I've given you the info anyway, so that you can decide for yourself.

Here are some printable coupon sites:
Coupons.com, CoolSavings.com, CouponBugs.com, CouponSurfer.com, CouponMountain.com, SearchGroceryCoupons.com, MySavings.com