Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Manon, La Traviata in movie theatres near you
Massenet Manon – New Production
Saturday, April 7, 2012 (12:00PM ET / 9:00AM PT)
Expected Running time: 4 hours 8 minutes
Anna Netrebko’s dazzling portrayal of the tragic heroine in Laurent Pelly’s new production travels to the Met from the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Piotr Beczala and Paulo Szot also star, with the Met’s Principal Guest Conductor Fabio Luisi on the podium.
An encore presentation of this performance will be exhibited in select movie theatres on Wednesday, April 25, 2012 at 6:30 PM in all time zones.
4/14 - La Traviata LIVE
5/2 - La Traviata Encore
More :
Fathom Performing Arts offer spectacular one-time events as well as the culture and pure artistry of the one and only Metropolitan Opera in New York City. Best of all, you can purchase affordable tickets for the entire series of Fathom’s exclusive Met Opera broadcasts and see every magnificent operatic performance while seated comfortably in a movie theater just down the street.
It's not the same as the real live theatre. The movie theatre smells of popcorn and you do hear popcorn noise in background (may be right behind or next to you). Also you won't be part of live audience response. But it's more accessible and of course affordable.
Monday, March 26, 2012
Euro / kg to USD / lb --> Iceland
While visiting a new country I feel more comfortable if I have a simple way to estimate how much I pay for my "market basket".
For example, what it costs me to buy bread, milk, cheese, farmers cheese, yoghurt, seasonal fruits and vegetables, fish and meats for 3 days.
Since prices / selection are drastically different in convenience stores and supermarkets in US, I would do basic research to locate supermarkets in designated location. It may works the other way around in the foreign country (family stores are cheaper than supermarket chains), but I assume for simpicity sake that life in Europe is similar to American way.
Let's assume we talk euro. I suppose all I need then is the ability to convert euro-kilos and euro-litres into dollar-pounds and dollar-quarts.
This way according to today's conversion rate 10 EURO / KILOGRAM = 6 USD / LB.
As I read further through pick-up in Iceland, the author suggests that due to high prices for groceries you cook each and every meal at home (in your rental apartment). In such case we mean Iceland Krone.
1000 ISK / KILOGRAM = 17.4 USD / LB.
Grocery stores
Forget dining out for every meal. This is especially true when you leave Reykjavik. There are numerous small towns outside of the capital city and while many of them have restaurants, they are usually more like truck stop cafes with very simple menus. My suggestion is to stock up on supplies at the various grocery stores. The cheapest of which are Bonus and a store called Kronan. Stock up on the basics: bread, cheese, Skyr (an Icelandic dairy product similar to yogurt), deli meats, etc. Buy local greenhouse-grown vegetables like tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce and peppers. Almost everything else is imported. If you have a place to cook your own meals, your options will increase. In that case, I recommend buying fish. It’s fresh, clean, reasonably affordable and doesn’t need any fancy sauces or condiments to be tasty.
Still can't find information on staple food prices.
For example, what it costs me to buy bread, milk, cheese, farmers cheese, yoghurt, seasonal fruits and vegetables, fish and meats for 3 days.
Since prices / selection are drastically different in convenience stores and supermarkets in US, I would do basic research to locate supermarkets in designated location. It may works the other way around in the foreign country (family stores are cheaper than supermarket chains), but I assume for simpicity sake that life in Europe is similar to American way.
Let's assume we talk euro. I suppose all I need then is the ability to convert euro-kilos and euro-litres into dollar-pounds and dollar-quarts.
This way according to today's conversion rate 10 EURO / KILOGRAM = 6 USD / LB.
As I read further through pick-up in Iceland, the author suggests that due to high prices for groceries you cook each and every meal at home (in your rental apartment). In such case we mean Iceland Krone.
1000 ISK / KILOGRAM = 17.4 USD / LB.
Grocery stores
Forget dining out for every meal. This is especially true when you leave Reykjavik. There are numerous small towns outside of the capital city and while many of them have restaurants, they are usually more like truck stop cafes with very simple menus. My suggestion is to stock up on supplies at the various grocery stores. The cheapest of which are Bonus and a store called Kronan. Stock up on the basics: bread, cheese, Skyr (an Icelandic dairy product similar to yogurt), deli meats, etc. Buy local greenhouse-grown vegetables like tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce and peppers. Almost everything else is imported. If you have a place to cook your own meals, your options will increase. In that case, I recommend buying fish. It’s fresh, clean, reasonably affordable and doesn’t need any fancy sauces or condiments to be tasty.
Still can't find information on staple food prices.
Friday, March 23, 2012
Sieves, sifters, shakers
In old times every kitchen had a sieve in heavy use - flour came from the mill with bran and germ, and sifting was used not just to air the flour (practice long forgotten) but to separate these extras.
Nowadays one will consciously pay extra money for the whole wheat flour.
Great for making something like cauliflower or broccoli cheese quiche or bread (don't take whole as a substitute, just add some) but troublesome when it comes to baking of something that is supposed to be light, white and tender. Why don't skip the desert instead of spoiling your dough or batter? But I digressed.
I see the following principally different kinds of sifters:
a mesh spoon or strainer for powdering (sizes vary), crank-handle flour sifter, drum mesh sieve (also called tamis) and coffee-shop style sifter / dredger one can use for sifting powdered sugar, cinnamon, cocoa etc. over his cappuccino, pancakes, donuts or like.
Here are homemade donuts (milk-eggs-sugar-yeast batter). Sprinkled with powdered sugar dispensed with the shaker.
I own one and you can get one for a few bucks at random store or Amazon.
Won't use it for cinnamon at home since turnaround it low and the spice will loose its flavour.
labels: amazon, consumer review, cookware, de Buyer, dessert, food, gadgets, recipes, sur la table
Nowadays one will consciously pay extra money for the whole wheat flour.
Great for making something like cauliflower or broccoli cheese quiche or bread (don't take whole as a substitute, just add some) but troublesome when it comes to baking of something that is supposed to be light, white and tender. Why don't skip the desert instead of spoiling your dough or batter? But I digressed.
I see the following principally different kinds of sifters:
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| de Buyer® Stainless Steel Flour Tamis @ Sur La Table, $32 |
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| Sur La Table® Stainless Steel Sifter, 5 cup @ $13 |
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| Rösle® Fine Mesh Kitchen Strainer @ Sur La Table, $48 |
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| Donuts (photo credit) |
I own one and you can get one for a few bucks at random store or Amazon.
Won't use it for cinnamon at home since turnaround it low and the spice will loose its flavour.
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| Dredger shaker with handle @ Amazon.com |
labels: amazon, consumer review, cookware, de Buyer, dessert, food, gadgets, recipes, sur la table
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Random on gender and procreation
Awards for reproductive responsibility - perm contraception decisions such as vasectomy or tubal ligation:
golden snip award - if you never had children, silver - if this was an afterthought.
Benjam, 23, Helsinki - - what a guy!
More on fashion.
Bonus: Pick-up in Iceland
Iceland and pick-up (3): "One month into my Iceland stay I forgot what it was like to experience basic human warmth"
Iceland and pick-up (2)
The problem with ordering drinks in a bar is that the serving size is a joke. I estimate it's about half of the "official" serving size in the States...
To combat these problems, my drinking strategy was to knock back some scotch at home while pumping myself up to misogynistic rap music, then moving to beer once I arrived at the bar.
***************************************** What I want you to understand is that good chat is not valued by Iceland girls. They really don't care about your status back home, your vast experience, or your accomplished humor.
The paragraph below made my heart go out for the guy:
The night I went to see a Brazilian singer with a Russian girl about one month into my trip was eye opening. The Russian was chatty about life and travel while the Brazilian singer was charming, smiley and graceful. The fact that the Russian girl asked for my opinions almost blew my mind, because even Icelanders didn't give a fuck what I thought of their country. One month into my Iceland stay I forgot what it was like to experience basic human warmth.
I believe this guy is sincere. He is not talking about many bangs with easy Icelandic girls he got in Iceland. In fact, he got two in two months. So much for apartment near the bar zone, smart afterparties pick-up line, and two months in the dark cold winter with not much of human touch.
The problem with ordering drinks in a bar is that the serving size is a joke. I estimate it's about half of the "official" serving size in the States...
To combat these problems, my drinking strategy was to knock back some scotch at home while pumping myself up to misogynistic rap music, then moving to beer once I arrived at the bar.
***************************************** What I want you to understand is that good chat is not valued by Iceland girls. They really don't care about your status back home, your vast experience, or your accomplished humor.
The paragraph below made my heart go out for the guy:
The night I went to see a Brazilian singer with a Russian girl about one month into my trip was eye opening. The Russian was chatty about life and travel while the Brazilian singer was charming, smiley and graceful. The fact that the Russian girl asked for my opinions almost blew my mind, because even Icelanders didn't give a fuck what I thought of their country. One month into my Iceland stay I forgot what it was like to experience basic human warmth.
I believe this guy is sincere. He is not talking about many bangs with easy Icelandic girls he got in Iceland. In fact, he got two in two months. So much for apartment near the bar zone, smart afterparties pick-up line, and two months in the dark cold winter with not much of human touch.
Monday, March 19, 2012
Iceland and pick-up (2)
Iceland and pick-up (1)
Icelandic girls are extremely shy, boring and cold (I'd describe American girls as annoying, abrasive and cold).
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
(1) The girls are poor conversationalists (2) they love to overdrink (3) they love no-strings-attached sex. ==> Next
Bonus: Twitter.
Icelandic girls are extremely shy, boring and cold (I'd describe American girls as annoying, abrasive and cold).
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
(1) The girls are poor conversationalists (2) they love to overdrink (3) they love no-strings-attached sex. ==> Next
Bonus: Twitter.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Iceland and pick up
Reading "Bang Iceland" by Roosh V.
So far so good. This guide is meant for straight men. No advise whatsoever for straight girls. Or for not-so-straight people. Though Reykjavik is the famous capital for gay clubbing. You've been warned.
...cold rain or fat snow...brutal wind...Summer is better. The average high temperature rises to the 50s, and around the solstice you get to experience nearly twenty-four hours of sun per day
So, let's settle for the summer trip. College girls go away for summer but this is even better.
English is widely spoken,...so there is no need to bone up on your Icelandic (the girls won't even give you bonus points for saying a few words in their language)...free lessons http://www.icelandiconline.is ====> Next
So far so good. This guide is meant for straight men. No advise whatsoever for straight girls. Or for not-so-straight people. Though Reykjavik is the famous capital for gay clubbing. You've been warned.
...cold rain or fat snow...brutal wind...Summer is better. The average high temperature rises to the 50s, and around the solstice you get to experience nearly twenty-four hours of sun per day
So, let's settle for the summer trip. College girls go away for summer but this is even better.
English is widely spoken,...so there is no need to bone up on your Icelandic (the girls won't even give you bonus points for saying a few words in their language)...free lessons http://www.icelandiconline.is ====> Next
| GÍSLI | Halló! Ég heiti Gísli. Hvað heitir þú? | ||
| KATE | Ég heiti Kate. |
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Cafe Kiraz
Warm nice day, slightly intoxicated youth in green, pipers in plaid skirts at Kendall Square...
Me bumping into this random place. I don't expect pleasurable food experience in plain places with plastic tables and obvious take-out ambiance. Therefore I try to avoid them. Life is too short to waste it on obviously bad food. But something attracted my attention - and I went in: grilled peaches and grilled plums salad.
I asked it "for here" and it was served on a ceramic plate - in a plastic box... Utensils are plastic. Espresso is served in paper glass and is bad. They won't deny you a glass of water though (paper glass, of course). Which is better than their coffee.
But the salad - oh, my. It was positively made to order.
I thought I won't be able to finish it. Which is not a compliment. It was humongous, densely packed in aforementioned plastic box - and as I thought mostly made of mesclun greens.
But I happened to be wrong. The salad had peaches and plums on top and dry cherries and almonds and blue cheese all over the place. So I put good size portion on my plate. And then some more. And then I had some cheese crumbs and almonds left on the plate, so I had to add more greens. And eventually I finished it all, no single leaf left. Which is a compliment.
This salad - great for your diet.
And there are few more I'd like to try.
Vegan: grilled tofu salad.
Vegetarian:
People rave about their sandwiches, so may be one day.
It's a strange place, really. It's extensive and interesting selection and reasonable prices ($8 tops for most salads and sandwiches but for simple ones it's $6) along with pretence to be Mediterranean or Turkish... But something tells me it's ethnic favour is from elsewhere. What is the secret here?
Kiraz salads
YELP reviews (146 as of March 17, 2012 - a lot)
Cambridge, MA 02139
Neighborhood: Inman Square
Me bumping into this random place. I don't expect pleasurable food experience in plain places with plastic tables and obvious take-out ambiance. Therefore I try to avoid them. Life is too short to waste it on obviously bad food. But something attracted my attention - and I went in: grilled peaches and grilled plums salad.
I asked it "for here" and it was served on a ceramic plate - in a plastic box... Utensils are plastic. Espresso is served in paper glass and is bad. They won't deny you a glass of water though (paper glass, of course). Which is better than their coffee.
But the salad - oh, my. It was positively made to order.
I thought I won't be able to finish it. Which is not a compliment. It was humongous, densely packed in aforementioned plastic box - and as I thought mostly made of mesclun greens.
But I happened to be wrong. The salad had peaches and plums on top and dry cherries and almonds and blue cheese all over the place. So I put good size portion on my plate. And then some more. And then I had some cheese crumbs and almonds left on the plate, so I had to add more greens. And eventually I finished it all, no single leaf left. Which is a compliment.
This salad - great for your diet.
Grilled peaches and grilled plums salad
Dried bing cherries, blanched almonds, blue cheese over mesclun mix. Grilled peaches and plums on top. And there are few more I'd like to try.
Vegan: grilled tofu salad.
Vegetarian:
Grilled beets salad
Red & yellow beets, sweet corn, goat cheese & pumpkin seeds over mesclun mix.
Autumn salad
Toasted pecan, fresh sliced pear, cranberries, blue cheese, mesclun mix. People rave about their sandwiches, so may be one day.
It's a strange place, really. It's extensive and interesting selection and reasonable prices ($8 tops for most salads and sandwiches but for simple ones it's $6) along with pretence to be Mediterranean or Turkish... But something tells me it's ethnic favour is from elsewhere. What is the secret here?
Kiraz salads
YELP reviews (146 as of March 17, 2012 - a lot)
Café Kiraz
119 Hampshire StCambridge, MA 02139
Neighborhood: Inman Square
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Sherry Bar in NYC - Palo Cortado
I want to tell you about my favorite place to drink Sherry in NYC, a tapas bar called Palo Cortado. Palo Cortado is actually a restaurant with a full menu, and it serves a wide and interesting selection of wine and beer. You can go there and have a "normal" restaurant experience, with an appetizer, an entree, and dessert. But I'm going to talk about Palo Cortado in the way that I experience it, as a tapas bar.
Let me start by saying this: Palo Cortado has as good of a by-the-glass Sherry list as anyplace I've seen. There are about 20 Sherries on the list at any time, and wines rotate in and out.
Read more @ Brooklynguy's Wine and Food Blog: My Favorite Sherry Bar in NYC - Palo Cortado
This is a great report . And a recipe for a nice evening. Should try this place for "getogether with friends" next time I come to NYC. Thank you, Brooklynguy.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Listmania! Kate Middlesex: my list is here
Do I like to put things in order? Not quite.
Do I like wish lists for my kitchen items - or just spontaneously buy them? The latter.
Do I like to share my experiences - absolutely yes!
So no wish lists here.
This is the list of recent acquisitions for my kitchen with brief reviews:
9livesofkate kitchen: kitchen gadgets, cookware, dinnerware
I'll be adding to the list as I go.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Friday, March 9, 2012
Fashion twit: AllSaints denim
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| Premium denim, sewn and washed in Los Angeles, USA. Slim fitting, 5 pocket jean made from 11oz stretch, light grey bleached out denim with tinted 3D whiskers. The Lovatt drainpipe jean features AllSaints signature rusty metalwork and a brown leather patch. |
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| Five pocket hot pant shorts with a mid indigo colour level and a vintage worn-in wash, raw edge finish and 3D creases. This style features a brown leather patch and rusty metalwork. |
I somehow engaged into no-win game with AllSaints Spitalfields.
Ordered an item, didn't like it or it was not a good fit, returned. With their rediculous return policy of 14 days I was late. So I got a very nicely packaged gift card - store credit. Ordered much more and way above the stored credit amount. Liked none of it. Returned. Got charged for shipping. Got delta back. The gift card which I saved because of nice design was back to it's original $68.50.
I can't keep track of such off-the-bitten-path matters in the world of shopping. So I decided to spend the AllSaints money and not to go above the limit this time.
So I shopped at AllSaints Archive.
Bought 2 items for summer: grey almost white jeans and shorts, $40 and $20.
With $8.50 remaining I feel very good about myself: I'm expecting 2 items I need, I still have AllSaints credit, I didn't overspend, and if these denim items fit, I'll look good wearing them. This is my thing with AllSaints - whatever fits, fits me really really well, the reast doesn't work at all, no middle ground here.
Curious about these viscose tops - pretty colors and designs but cheap idea for fabric...
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Plain food is best: ribeye steak & last meal requests
Been following my smart diet tips?
So, which one won you heart?
Port and pickles diet?
Or scratchy grains and soup diet?
Between one thin soup and another and these gigantic bowls of diet popcorn you should enjoy food as much as people who order their last meal do. I doubt they'll go for buckweat. But plain food is best for your tats buds - and for your diet. As a bonus you don't have to part with your life once you are done with your meal.
1. Ribeye steak.
Made it yesterday with the griddle similar to this one.
Medium to mediaum-rare, definitely pink all way inside.
Some salt.
Green salad.
May be a glass of red wine?
That's all you need.
2. Sea bass in coconut flakes
***
Gerald Mitchell, who was executed in 2001, requested a bag of assorted Jolly Ranchers hard candy. Jonathan Wayne Nobles, executed in 1998, ordered the Eucharist sacrament.
In Florida in 1989, Ted Bundy had steak, eggs, hash browns and coffee, according to the Last Meals Project, an online archive of famous inmates' last meals. Timothy McVeigh, executed in Indiana in 2001, ordered mint chocolate chip ice cream.
***
When Lawrence Russell Brewer, a notorious white supremacist murderer, placed his order for his final meal earlier this month...
Brewer, in one last attempted act of defiance, had supersized his request, ordering two fried chicken steaks, a triple-meat bacon cheeseburger, fried okra, a pound of barbecue meat, three fajitas, a meat lover's pizza, a pint of ice-cream and a slab of peanut butter fudge with crushed peanuts. But as he was led off for his lethal injection, he hadn't eaten any of it*.
"It was too much for Senator John Whitmire, chairman of the Texas senate's criminal justice committee. He halted the state's tradition of granting a prisoner facing execution the right to request their favourite food." September 2011.
So, which one won you heart?
Port and pickles diet?
Or scratchy grains and soup diet?
Between one thin soup and another and these gigantic bowls of diet popcorn you should enjoy food as much as people who order their last meal do. I doubt they'll go for buckweat. But plain food is best for your tats buds - and for your diet. As a bonus you don't have to part with your life once you are done with your meal.
1. Ribeye steak.
Made it yesterday with the griddle similar to this one.
Medium to mediaum-rare, definitely pink all way inside.
Some salt.
Green salad.
May be a glass of red wine?
That's all you need.
2. Sea bass in coconut flakes
***
Gerald Mitchell, who was executed in 2001, requested a bag of assorted Jolly Ranchers hard candy. Jonathan Wayne Nobles, executed in 1998, ordered the Eucharist sacrament.
In Florida in 1989, Ted Bundy had steak, eggs, hash browns and coffee, according to the Last Meals Project, an online archive of famous inmates' last meals. Timothy McVeigh, executed in Indiana in 2001, ordered mint chocolate chip ice cream.
***
When Lawrence Russell Brewer, a notorious white supremacist murderer, placed his order for his final meal earlier this month...
Brewer, in one last attempted act of defiance, had supersized his request, ordering two fried chicken steaks, a triple-meat bacon cheeseburger, fried okra, a pound of barbecue meat, three fajitas, a meat lover's pizza, a pint of ice-cream and a slab of peanut butter fudge with crushed peanuts. But as he was led off for his lethal injection, he hadn't eaten any of it*.
"It was too much for Senator John Whitmire, chairman of the Texas senate's criminal justice committee. He halted the state's tradition of granting a prisoner facing execution the right to request their favourite food." September 2011.
Friday, March 2, 2012
Killer marketing tool
Target figures out 16-year-old is pregnant before her father & details on how they push your spending buttons
Wow! Data mining along with personal data in your database make a killer marketing tool.
Wow! Data mining along with personal data in your database make a killer marketing tool.
Friday menu: orange soup, eggplant with pesto
Orange & green vegetable soup
Start with cubed beets (I had carrot-colored), and while they are boiling, grate and sauté carrots, put them aside and sauté chopped onions. Add both ingredients to the pot. Cut orange squash (butternut squash or like) and add as well. Chop celery and add it too. Drop few whole tomatoes into the boiling soup and removed them in few minutes. Remove the skin (it's easy now), smash and return to the pot. Add chopped garlic at the end.
Serve garnished with crambled feta cheese.
It all smells good. But something is missing. Fish or beef tonight? This will define the choice of wine...
Update: pasta tonight. Baked aubergine (eggplant) with tomato and pesto goes with pasta. Which dictates the choice of wine as Chardonnay.
Start with cubed beets (I had carrot-colored), and while they are boiling, grate and sauté carrots, put them aside and sauté chopped onions. Add both ingredients to the pot. Cut orange squash (butternut squash or like) and add as well. Chop celery and add it too. Drop few whole tomatoes into the boiling soup and removed them in few minutes. Remove the skin (it's easy now), smash and return to the pot. Add chopped garlic at the end.
Serve garnished with crambled feta cheese.
Aubergine with pesto
Slice
eggplant to make oblong strips (as opposed to rounds), dip in water,
bread in flour and briefly fry on oiled skillet, salt as needed. Arrange
layers on a baking tray, pour diced tomatoes (I used canned) mixed with
chopped garlic. Bake till the dish looks almost done. Mix some homemade
pesto with few spoonfulls of tomato juice from the tray and spread it
on top. Bake for few more minutes and then leave in the oven while it's
cooling down.It all smells good. But something is missing. Fish or beef tonight? This will define the choice of wine...
Update: pasta tonight. Baked aubergine (eggplant) with tomato and pesto goes with pasta. Which dictates the choice of wine as Chardonnay.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
February 2012 statistics
10 most popular posts for the month of February
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Butter crock
I like to make Amish butter from time to time:
That is - buy the best and most natural heavy cream. Shake heavy cream till it becomes butter, strain, rinse with cold water, put curds together with spatula.
Otherwise I buy Kate's Homemade butter.
So, take the butter from the fridge and keep it at room temperature for half an hour... Never works this way.
Recently I used butter from butter bell crock at my friends' house and fell in love with the idea. The idea actually belongs to our grand-grands who lived without the fridge or electricity.
Below is a helpful review as how to use the crock. I found it on Amazon (Credit):
I make homemade butter from fresh raw (unpasteurized) milk and the butter bell keeps it fresh on my counter top. The butter bell works well in cooler months but when summer sets in, it is possible for the butter to slide into the water --butter is still good, just scoop it out of the water. In winter months, change the water every few days; in summer months, use very cold water and change it everyday. Use around 1.5" of salted tap water in your butter bell to make the seal. The purpose of the water is to seal the butter off so it will not oxidize as quickly. The purpose of the salt is to stop mold in the summer months. It sounds like a lot work but it doesn't take 10 seconds. For those of you who buy retail butter, it is pasteurized and usually salted so it keeps longer than homemade butter. In Summer, place your butter bell in the fridge after retiring for the evening. First thing in the morning, take it out for the day. In winter, if changing the water regularly your butter will stay fresh on the counter for several weeks; however, in summer, your butter will only stay fresh for a week. If using raw butter in the butter bell you can only leave it out for a week in winter and a few days in summer. You must wash your butter bell in hot water and soap when all butter has been used before putting in more butter or it might mold (especially if you don't use salt in your water). Again, it may seem like a lot of time spent but it is not once you do it a few times it only takes seconds.
Can't decide though whether I should buy Le Creuset or a plain one. 10 bucks vs. 30 bucks.
That is - buy the best and most natural heavy cream. Shake heavy cream till it becomes butter, strain, rinse with cold water, put curds together with spatula.
Otherwise I buy Kate's Homemade butter.
I like to spread my butter on bread by itself or to underline cheese, jam, honey, fish row...
You got it - I need to be able to spread it. So, take the butter from the fridge and keep it at room temperature for half an hour... Never works this way.
Recently I used butter from butter bell crock at my friends' house and fell in love with the idea. The idea actually belongs to our grand-grands who lived without the fridge or electricity.
Below is a helpful review as how to use the crock. I found it on Amazon (Credit):
I make homemade butter from fresh raw (unpasteurized) milk and the butter bell keeps it fresh on my counter top. The butter bell works well in cooler months but when summer sets in, it is possible for the butter to slide into the water --butter is still good, just scoop it out of the water. In winter months, change the water every few days; in summer months, use very cold water and change it everyday. Use around 1.5" of salted tap water in your butter bell to make the seal. The purpose of the water is to seal the butter off so it will not oxidize as quickly. The purpose of the salt is to stop mold in the summer months. It sounds like a lot work but it doesn't take 10 seconds. For those of you who buy retail butter, it is pasteurized and usually salted so it keeps longer than homemade butter. In Summer, place your butter bell in the fridge after retiring for the evening. First thing in the morning, take it out for the day. In winter, if changing the water regularly your butter will stay fresh on the counter for several weeks; however, in summer, your butter will only stay fresh for a week. If using raw butter in the butter bell you can only leave it out for a week in winter and a few days in summer. You must wash your butter bell in hot water and soap when all butter has been used before putting in more butter or it might mold (especially if you don't use salt in your water). Again, it may seem like a lot of time spent but it is not once you do it a few times it only takes seconds.
Can't decide though whether I should buy Le Creuset or a plain one. 10 bucks vs. 30 bucks.
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| Norpro Stoneware Butter Keeper (Amazon) |
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| Le Creuset Stoneware Butter Crock (Williams-Sonoma) |
Vegan cosmetics: castor oil Hot Mama Lip Gloss
We here, at The All Natural Face, care more about our customers than we do the bottom line. Our mission is to provide you with truly pure cosmetics. We use the purest form available for each ingredient in our products. We use organic whenever possible...but do not throw around words for sales like a lot of companies do. The word Vegan is used on tons of products. All that really means is that it doesn’t contain animal products. If you are striving for purely vegan products please read the labels carefully. Just because it is vegan does not mean they can’t put chemicals in there…just not those derived from animal sources.
For all you vegans out there….did you know that carmine is ground up African cockroaches!? Love that tube of bright red lipstick? Read the label. If it contains carmine….that is what you are ingesting. To bring that a little more into the light….the average woman ingests 6-10 lbs of lipstick over their lifetime.
We then formulate from there, making stuff from its purest, simplest forms... We then test it on human guinea pigs…no animal testing here! Our products and raw materials are not tested on animals...
Many people have converted from Bare Minerals, Everyday Minerals, Bare Escentuals, Physicians Formula, and many, many more. The secret is that we use pure natural ingredients here. No bismuth oxychloride, parabens, talc, carmine, silk powder, d &c lake dyes, just to mention a few!
7) Lake lake (lac) dyes: those contain lac, which is rubbery secretion of some insects.
6) Silk powder: obviously non-vegan, comes from cocoons of larvae of silkworms.
5) Carmine: carmine is a pigment of a bright-red colour obtained from the aluminium salt of carminic acid, which is produced by some scale insects, such as the cochineal scale and the Polish cochineal (wiki).
4) Talc: how this is non-vegan? Dolomite and silica is one way to compose talc. They contain bio materials from long long ago.
3) Parabens: parabens are found naturally in plants, nothing non-vegan about them. The rumour is they cause breast cancer. Scary! Because no matter hat you do in regards to cosmetics, they are still everywhere, like in blueberries!
2) Bismuth: unuasually low toxicity for a heavy metal; used all over the place, in pharmaceutics (Pepto-Bismol etc.), cosmetics. Formerly used to treat syphilis, nowadays used to treat gastric ulcers and like. Vegan!
1) No animal testing: I protest. Humans are also animals. No vegan or vegetarian will eat a human or even drink his blood.
Non-vegetarians do eat other humans as pictured in 400+ Cannibal movies.
 Price: $4.60 | Ingredients: Cold pressed castor oil, Candelillia wax, Mica, Oxides |
| Red Hot Mama Lip Gloss |
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