Choice Goods Wednesday!

It's been two weeks since I last posted a choice good. But I've got a good one for you. I try to vary them, but as I spend a lot of time in the kitchen, I tend to find things that make my time the most productive and efficient in there. Now, while today's good is found on your kitchen counter or wall, its uses far exceed that room of the house. You'll find a need in every room, your car, camping, automotive work, everywhere. What is it?

Paper Towels!! But not just any paper towels. Viva paper towels are our towel of choice. In our house, the only thing worse than wimpy paper towels is wimpy toilet paper. Because nothing ruins your day like a finger going through the paper when you're cleaning up your business. Am I right? Yeah, I thought so. But that's for a different post on a different Wednesday.

Do you know what brand of paper towel any of your friends use? If you have spent enough time in our company, at some point or another you would know our brand of choice. When we find something of great quality, we are rather vocal about it. We've converted friends, family and even strangers in the store to Viva paper towels.

What is it that puts Viva up on that pedestal? Quality. Unadulterated quality. These babies can go through the wash, the dryer and come out the other end ready for work. They are strong and soft. They are absorbant as all get out. A small spill is no problem for a Viva paper towel. For a large mess, you can clean up part of it, rinse the paper towel out, squeeze dry and continue cleaning with the same one. You can blow your nose or wipe your bum* and you won't get scratched to pieces by those lesser-quality towels.

Now, I'll be completely honest. You can't have all this goodness with zero drawbacks. There are two things that keep Viva from divine perfection (although I wouldn't be surprised if God used Viva for wiping up his milk and honey spills): lint and price.

In order to be so soft, the trade-off is lint. They have a bit more lint than, say, those brown industrial things they pass off for paper towels at businesses. So when you're cleaning glass, i.e. mirrors, windows, monitors, you'll have some lint hanging around. Not enough to notice, but if you're lint-o-phobic you just have to make a choice. Do you want soft and absorbant? or lint-free and scratchy as a briar patch? I choose soft absorbancy.

As for scientific proof, I give you Zach R's science project. Here he proves that Viva is the most absorbant paper towel! What further evidence do you need?

Issue #2: price. These are not your bargain-basement specials. If I can find them under $1/roll, I stock up. There are some things in life quality doesn't matter, like tomato paste. You never eat tomato paste plain, it's always in recipes with other stuff added in. You might as well go cheap since you won't be able to taste it specifically. But there are other things where quality matters. For us, paper towels matter. When you need to wipe up a spill, we want to know that we just need one paper towel, not the whole roll. (And believe me, we have a lot of experience in this matter.) Now, the issue of price gets tricky. Spend less per roll on crappy cheapness, use more towels. Pay top dollar for quality, use less towels. In the end, are you really paying less for those cheap rolls?

Here's how we deal with the problem. I buy Viva and then I buy super cheap napkins. If someone spills a little tiny bit, we use the cheapo napkins. We don't waste our beloved Vivas on insignificant messes. That would be like sending an Army Ranger in to deal with a shoplifting teenager. No, we conserve the royalty of the paper towel world. But when there's a mess worthy of a Viva paper towel, we're ready. We are not afraid because when messes make their appearance, Viva wipes them off the face of the planet. Boowah!

Viva paper towels...they're choice!

*If you choose to wipe your bum with these excellent paper towels, please do not flush them down the toilet. Their strength is too much for your pipes.

Murphy's Cookies Ice Cream Recipe Test *or* How Many Times Can Tricia Screw Up a Recipe and It Still Taste Good?

As I posted earlier, today was the last day for Ice Cream Ireland's Ice Cream Party. In order to test out the recipes for their up and coming book (hooray!), Kieran of Ice Cream Ireland asked for help from the world of bloggers. I answered his call. (Trumpets blaring, I stand with arms akimbo upon a skyscraper, my cape flapping in the wind.)

The first challenge was to pick the flavor. I was going to try the Cardamom Honey, but when it was time to print out the recipe, it had been removed from the testing list. (Kieran updated the list so too many people didn't do the same flavor.) Perhaps if I wasn't the most talented procrastinator in the known universe I could have tried that one. Oh well. If only the sky wasn't blue or the grass green...

I looked over the list and saw the deliciousness that would be my own: Cookies ice cream. (That's Cookies 'n' Cream for us Americans.) Mmmmmmm...yummy.

Second challenge: gather the ingredients. It took me three stores and two separate trips, but I managed to obtain the whopping six ingredients. Interesting to note, this was my very first purchase of a vanilla bean. I have to admit the glass test tube holding the shiny, black beans made the experience all the more special. Seriously, my whole family was impressed by that glass cylinder. I was more impressed with the price. ($11.99 for only two beans! ouch.)

Fast forward to "the making of". Challenge #3 - Follow the directions. Yeeeaaah. Right. Sounds simple enough. But then again, it always sounds simple, because it normally is simple, to everyone else that is. Okay, cut the vanilla bean, check; milk to simmer, i think so, check; beat sugar and egg yolks, check; beat milk in, check; mixture into pan, stir until 60C, check; let custard cool; check. Problem! Tricia apparently can't read instructions. I was supposed to stir the custard until it was thickened. On the recipe it was noted that the temperature would probably be around 60C, not that I was supposed to cook it only until it reached that temperature. Okay, now what do I do?

My choices were as follows: do nothing and hope all goes well or reheat and hope it thickens. It hadn't cooled too much so I popped it back on the burner. As I was stirring I realized that it really was thicker than before and I didn't really know enough about custardy things to know if reheating would even work. Sooooo...I took it back off the burner and hoped for the best.

Next, I was instructed to whip the cream a bit. As far as ice cream recipes go, this was the first time I had seen that. No big deal, just another step that I could somehow mess up, yet amazingly didn't. After folding the custard and partially-whipped cream together, I put it in the fridge to get nice and cold. Note: that's not part of the recipe, that's just something we always do.

The next step was by far the easiest. I put the mixture into the ice cream maker, turning the switch to 'on'. Woohoo! Success! About thirty minutes later there was one last ingredient to add: the cookies. I put four Newman-O's (Think Oreos without the hydrogenated oils.) in a baggie and beat the poor little guys with my rolling pin. Poor them, happy me. I dumped the little chocolatey pieces into the machine, watching them follow the river of ice cream flowing around and around.

There it was, a frozen bucket filled with the perfect mixture of cookies and milk. The heavens opened up, a beam of light flooded the room as it rested upon the evening's creation. Angels sang and a loud voice resonated for all to hear, "This is Cookies Ice Cream, in which I am well pleased." Well, maybe it didn't happen quite like that, but it sure felt like it.

The fourth and final challenge was putting the finished product into the freezer for a couple hours so it could firm up. I failed, my husband failed, my kids failed. Don't give me any of your talk of patience, you would have been a failure, too if you had been there.

We all got a bowl with a scoop of ice cream. It was delicious. Smooth, rich, creamy, and did I mention, delicious? I'd pay money for a scoop of that stuff. (Well, I guess technically I did.)

So what do I have to say about the recipe? (Remember, this was all for testing purposes.)

1. As far as the recipe goes, it's pretty straightforward. The only tricky part is determining custard thickness. I would put a section in the book dealing with that specific aspect of the process, just for clarity's sake, since most, if not all, recipes use the custard method.
2. It tastes a little different from a standard tub of store bought cookies 'n cream. But that is mainly due to the fact that we are talking grade A quality home made ice cream. I doubt anybody is adding a vanilla bean to their mass-produced varieties. You can definitely taste it. The recipe mentions that the bean is optional, which I'm sure would lend a more generic flavor to the ice cream (something worth noting). But would omitting that delicious bean be wise? I think not.
3. The whipping of the cream is an excellent addition to homemade recipes. The final product was smoother and lighter (not in the caloric sense, mind you) than any other recipe we've tried. It lacked that almost butter-like texture that a lot of homemade ice creams have.(You know, that tongue-coating feeling. Blech.)
4. All in all, excellent and, need I say it again, delicious! Thank you, Kieran for Cookies Ice Cream!

As I am finishing this, I just realized that the deadline of the 25th is technically over in Ireland. Darn it! One more aspect of this entire ordeal I've screwed up on. Oh well. Maybe Kieran will be merciful. I mean, I finished with twenty-one minutes to spare here in Oregon, USA! (That's early, according to the Procrastinator's Handbook!) And that's one more thing going for this recipe. If I can do it, anybody can!

Choice Goods Wednesday!

It's the second weekly Choice Goods Wednesday! Hurray! Today I have another item (actually items) that I wonder, "What did I ever do without you?"

Pictured at right are Adjustible Measuring Spoons from Pampered Chef. Mine are an older model and don't have the liquid-proof rubber. But even though I can only use mine for dry measures, they are sooo worth every last cent of their $7.25 asking price.

Imagine, if you will, you are making some spaghetti sauce. You know, that one from your great-grandmother Fortunella who immigrated from Sicily. The one with forty-seven herbs and spices. Well, just pick up your adjustable measuring spoons and with a little flick of the thumb, 1/2 tsp oregano. Another flick, 1 tsp basil. Flick again and you've got 3/4 tsp garlic powder. I could go on forever (or at least long enough for the other forty-four ingredients). It's all right there. One spoon goes from 1/8 teaspoon up to 1 teaspoon. The other picks up from the 1 teaspoon and continues up to the big daddy, Ol' Tablespoon himself.

These little guys are a huge time- and space- saver. Not only is every measurement available (including the 3/4 tsp and the ever-elusive 2 1/2 tsp), but it is literally right at your fingertips. No more searching around, finding the spoon and then realizing you grabbed the 1/2 Tb instead of the 1 tsp. Nope, not anymore. Plus you get all the measuring spoons you need only taking up the space of two, albeit bulky, spoons.

Some people have complained that the time needed to clean them negates any time saved by them. Here, I must disagree, and divulge a little secret in the process. Are you ready? I only wash mine when they get dirty. And I mean dirty, not just dusted with a little with cinnamon. But what about contamination?! I'll be honest with you. I have measured chili powder and cumin for chili and then turned around and made a cake with the same measuring spoons. Could anyone notice? Nope. (Although, I might have discouraged any of you from ever wanting to come to dine with us.) So my answer to the "they take too long to clean" people is this: You wash them too much. Throw them into the dishwasher with the dinner dishes after you're done cooking for the day. One thing to mention, I only use mine for dry ingredients. If I used wet ingredients in them, I would wash them more.

Since I'm raving about these, I wanted to inform you that I don't sell Pampered Chef, nor do I know anyone who does. I just happened to have bought these and love them. I also found a couple other spoons on the web here and here, if you're interested. Just keep in mind that I haven't tested the other brands. So their performance might vary.

Adjustable measuring spoons...they're choice!

Heaven is filled with sushi!

On Saturday I had a baby shower in Hillsboro to attend with our two girls. Daddy and the boys hung out with our friend, Trenton. After we were done, we went back to Trent's house for a few hours before it was dinner time. Trent took us to a little sushi place on Hawthorne in Portland, Mio Sushi. Even though we made reservations for six o'clock, we didn't get seated until almost 6:30. It's a little restaurant and we had seven in our party!
Here's Dodge outside the restaurant. It ended up being a delicious dinner. But then, again, it was sushi, what else did I expect?

Review time! I decided to go out on a limb and order the Salmon Roe. One word: disgusting! I had so hoped to like it. Although I did eat both pieces that came with my order, I didn't enjoy it. I hate not liking food. I grew up on the north Oregon coast near a fish packing plant. If you can imagine the smell that eminated from that place and then concentrate it into a little orange ball, then you would have Salmon Roe! My kids didn't mind eating them one egg at a time, though. Which quiet honestly surprised me.

This was my favorite, Unagi or eel. It is smoked or something and it is delicious. Oh my gosh. I'm closing my eyes and imagining it one more time. I get Unagi every time we go to a sushi place and I'm never disappointed. Sure it's not much to look at, but I find it to be a lot like an ugly friend. At first you don't think they're good-looking, but when you realize how wonderful a person they really are, they become more attractive. Oh, Unagi, how I wish I could have you tonight!

Above, is the Spicy Tuna roll. This was a sad disappointment for me. Aomatsu, our local sushi place, has a delicious Spicy Tuna roll. This one, albeit gorgeous, was of mediocre flavor. I was so sad. Our friend, Trent, warned us, but I was hoping that he didn't like Spicy Tuna in general and I ordered anyway. But no, that proved not to be the case. Trent spoke truth and I should have listened. Oh well. That happens when you live on the adventurous side of food. Sometimes it just isn't very good.

Now we come to the end of our meal. For me, I'm always a little sad when it's over. I just really love food. I was exceptionally sad this night because I forgot to take a picture of the spread before we ate it. It was beautiful. In the foreground, you can see the tray we have filled with plates, chopsticks and paper. That entire tray was filled with delicious, little sushis. I was too hungry and excited and so I dove right in. I'm sorry. Just know that the sushi chefs created a little bit of heaven for us that night. And I ate it all up.

Choice Goods

I've decided Wednesdays are for posting things that I have found that I love. Things that make my life easier, happier, funner, whatever. (Yes, I know 'funner' isn't a word, but I'm working hard to make it so.)


Today my first "Choice Good" is Mrs. Meyers Clean Day All Purpose Cleaner. I love it. They use naturally derived ingredients as much as possible and their products are environmentally friendly and cruelty-free. But my favorite part is that it is aromatherapeutic. Sure, I want my cleaner to work good (and this does) but how much better is life when it smells rockin'?!

There are three fragrance choices for the All Purpose Cleaner: Lavender, Lemon Verbena and Geranium. They also have seasonals. Since it's starting into the holidays, Gingerbread is available! Delicious! (disclaimer: Mrs. Meyer's products are not intended for consumption.)

I currently have lemon verbena. You know how lemon is associated with clean? Well, this has a lemony aroma that rises to the next level. I spray it and mmmmmm...life is good. My favorite of all time is the spring seasonal Sweet Pea.

A little bit of advice: The fragrances are a bit strong, so don't wash your dining table with this stuff just prior to eating. Unless you want your mashed potatoes to taste like you added geraniums to the bowl.

Mrs. Meyers Clean Day All Purpose Cleaner. Don't have it? Get some!

p.s. Here's a shout out to my home slice Mej for turning me onto this stuff in the first place. Peace!