The Modern Housesingle. Topic: Carpet Cleaner

Here is a post from one of my guest writers: Maureen Shinozaki currently living in California.
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Vic and I have been friends for more than 6 years. We have lots of things in common: we studied at the same college and we worked together overseas. Other than that, we share a passion for traveling and living all around the world, and lately, we have been facing similar international job hunting experiences. Therefore, I couldn’t say no to her offer of being a guest writer at The Modern Housewives Blog.

Some may argue that I shouldn’t be consider for this position, as I’m not married at all and don’t have any plans to be a bride anytime soon. However, living on my own since I was 17 gives enough credentials to claim a spot at the modern housewives world. Let’s say that I’m a modern “housesingle”.

As an experienced “housesingle” / guest writer, I could have picked several topics to start my contribution here. So I decided to talk about something very unusual, but very helpful: carpet cleaner rentals. Before you say “what-the-heck is she talking about?”, I explain: when you move from an apartment to another as frequently as I do in my trips through the US, Europe or Brazil, the first thing that comes to mind is the fact that most tenants  normally leave a messy, smelly, totally disgusting carpet in the place you’re now trying to call home.

So before you consider spending US$250 to get a professional cleaner to fight wine, dog poop, mud or other much worse stains or to try to eliminate persistent smoking or curry smell all over the place, check it out a local rental carpet cleaner. Here in the US, you can choose amongst one of the 30,000 stores that rent Rug Doctor. You’ll pay around US$25 for one-day rental, plus $20 for a green formula cleaning kit.

You’ll get a super clean rug, almost as a brand new one. Then just add some nice fresh flowers in fancy vases from Vazu Australia, a couple of family portraits here and there and voilà, you have a homesick-proof home wherever you are.

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Here in Australia Carpet Cleaners can be rented from most Woolworths and Coles and it cost around $50 / day renting.

Black Bean Burger Recipe with Cilantro-Lime Mayo

That recipe comes from CuisineNie

Burgers:

In the bowl of a food processor, pulse 4 slices stale or toasted whole wheat sandwich bread to form breadcrumbs. Pour into a bowl and set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive or canola oil in a large skillet set over medium heat. Add 1 medium onion, chopped, and sauté until soft. Add 2 cloves garlic, minced, 2 tablespoons minced jalapeno pepper (membranes and seeds removed – unless you like more heat), and 1 teaspoon ground cumin. Saute for additional 2 minutes.

Scrape the mixture into the food processor. Add 1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed, 1 ¼ cups cooked brown rice, 2 teaspoon fresh lime juice, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, and ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Pulse until the beans are chopped, but not pureed.

Scrape the black bean mixture into a large bowl. Add ½ of the breadcrumbs and ¼ cup chopped cilantro. Using a wooden spoon, stir the mixture until combined.

Divide the mixture into 4 equal portions and form into patties. If the mixture is too moist to form patties, add more breadcrumbs. Place the patties on a baking sheet lined with plastic wrap and cover with additional plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1/2 hour.

Heat 1 tablespoon canola oil in a large skillet (preferably not nonstick, so a good crust can form) set over medium heat. Add the burgers and cook for 4 minutes per side.

Cilantro-Lime Mayo

In a small bowl, combine ½ cup mayonnaise, 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice, ½ teaspoon ground cumin, 2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro, and ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Stir well.

Lightly toast 4 whole wheat buns. Spread 2 tablespoons cilantro-lime mayo on each bun, and top each with a black bean patty, 2 tablespoons crumbled cotija cheese (found in most supermarkets), 1 slice large tomato, and 3 slices avocado. Serve.

Granola x Muesli – What’s the difference?

I Actually never thought about it, but:
Do you know the difference between Granola and Muesli?

GRANOLA

MUESLI

I made a little bit of research:
Basically Granola and Muesli share some ingredients like a mixture of grains (such as oats), nuts, dried fruit and sometimes bran and wheat germ.
Granola is coated with sugar or honey and then, oven baked. Then, sweeter and usually, more fatening. 
That said: you can imagine that making your own Muesli or Granola is fairly easy and you can choose whatever you want and don’t, mix it up all together and Ta- dah!!!!

Muesli

Granola

Muesli

Granola

Have a good Breakie,

Love
Vic

Salmon and Brown rice recipe

this is a repost from CuisineNie

(photo MS)

• 1 cup brown rice
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 teaspoon finely grated peeled fresh ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon agave nectar (optional)
• 4 teaspoons canola or peanut oil
• 4 salmon fillets (4 to 5 ounces each)
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 head bok choy (1 1/2 pounds), cored and chopped

1. Cook rice according to package instructions. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine soy sauce, lime juice, ginger, and agave, if using. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 2 teaspoons oil over medium-high. Season salmon with salt and pepper and cook until opaque throughout, 1 to 3 minutes per side; transfer to a plate. Wipe skillet clean with a paper towel.
2. In same skillet, heat 2 teaspoons oil over medium. Add garlic and bok choy; season with salt and pepper. Cook, tossing, until bok choy is bright green, about 3 minutes. Serve salmon and bok choy with rice and soy-lime sauce.

"How do Pop Rocks candy work?"

I found that in a post from one of the best food blogs I’ve seen lately:
http://www.melbournegastronome.com/

So How do Pop Rocks Candy Works?

01 April 2000.
HowStuffWorks.com.

Pop Rocks” is an extremely cool candy to some people, but to other people it is just plain weird and they won’t touch the stuff. Regardless of which view you subscribe to, you have to admit that it is definitely a technology candy — nothing in nature works like Pop Rocks do!

So how do they work? One of the amazing things about Pop Rocks is that they are patented. That means that you can go read the patent and see exactly how they work. You can click here to see the patent — this page is a synopsis, and if you click the “View Images” tag at the top of the page you can look at scanned images of the actual patent. Page 4 is the key page.

Here’s the basic idea. Hard candy (like a lollypop or a Jolly Rancher) is made from sugar, corn syrup, water and flavoring. You heat the ingredients together and boil the mixture to drive off all of the water. Then you let the temperature rise. What you are left with is a pure sugar syrup at about 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). When it cools, you have hard candy.

To make Pop Rocks, the hot sugar mixture is allowed to mix with carbon dioxide gas at about 600 pounds per square inch (psi). The carbon dioxide gas forms tiny, 600-psi bubbles in the candy. Once it cools, you release the pressure and the candy shatters, but the pieces still contain the high-pressure bubbles (look at a piece with a magnifying glass to see the bubbles).

When you put the candy in your mouth, it melts (just like hard candy) and releases the bubbles with a loud POP! What you are hearing and feeling is the 600-psi carbon dioxide gas being released from each bubble.

Wording for wedding cards

We’ve got so many cards for our wedding…they are all adorable, but they wont go to recycling…we will keep them in our box of wedding memories.

So that said, I thought that given examples of wording in wedding cards would be a good way of Recycling. If you don’t know what to write for someone’s wedding, or want ideas to DIY art crafted cards, here it goes.

Hope its useful.
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Congratulations in your new home. May your happiness grow as the years hurry past. May each year in turn bring more joy than the last.

Wishing you both a wonderful life ahead. From Mike

Dear Ben and Vic, Mazel Tov on the wedding, Wishing you many years of happiness together. Dave and Amy

Dear Vic and Ben,
Jan and I wish, hope and pray for your future together. We can see the perfect fit that you are together. We are so glad to have had time to know you both and realize that you have the once ingredient to live a life of love, rtrust and compromise together and that is ” Laughter” .

Lots of Love,
Jan & Sol

Dear Ben and Vic
Mazal Tov on such a wonderful occasion and I’m so glad I got to share your wedding day with you. Wishing you success and blessing in your life together
Erez

On your wedding day, happiness and dream come true. That’s what’s in this wish for you.
Congratulations to you both

Dreams come true when shared by two. Congratulations.

To Vic and Ben,
Wishing you much love and happiness on the occasion of your wedding.
Julie and Nigel

How very thrilled we are to be celebrating this very special day with you all. We wish you a hearty mazeltov and wish you a lifetime of happiness together as you embark on the magical journey together as a husband and wife.

Wishing you both endless happiness together, good health and lots of fun,.
With love, Gay

To the happy couple,
May all your days be filled with as much happiness as your wedding night.
With all the hope and prosper for many healthy years together with the families.
Love,
Lee and Esther

Dear Ben and Vic,
So happy for the two of you and so sorry I couldn’t be there on your special day. Looking forward to spending time with you in this new phase of your lives.

To the happy couple,
Best wishes for a happy future.

Congratulations to you both – May you have a long and happy marriage together.

Wedding – How to " trick" the overpricing

I’ve seen these videos in another website and I NEED to publish them.
they are awesome and that unfortunately doesn’t go very far from the truth.
Enjoy!

Mushroom and Parmesan Risotto

That’s one of Ben’s favorites recipes and it’s fair easy to make.
Here it goes, with my comments.

For 4 People:
Ingredientes:
2 litres of vegetable stocks – ready – hot
2 tbsp of olive oil
100g butter, chopped
1 brown onion – chopped
2 garlic cloves- finely chopped
250g of mushrooms – Swiss brown or cup (or any regular) sliced
2 cups of arborio rice (Raw)
3/4 cup of a dry white wine
1/2 cup of shreded parmesan cheese
3 sprigs of fresh thyme (Just the “leaves”  – when I buy a bunch, I freeze the rest so can be frozen as well)
2 tbsp parsley – chopped (again, when I buy a bunch, I freeze the rest so can be frozen as well)
1 tbsp of lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Method:
1 – if you have ready Stock, bring to a low simmer and leave it aside. If you have powder or other type of stock, prepare it and leave it aside.
2 – Heat the oil in a large saucepan in a medium heat. Add chopped onion, the garlic, and the thyme, and cook it for 2 minutes, or until the onions start to get tender, but not brown.
3 – Add the rice and coat it in the oil, stirring all the time, for around 30 seconds. Stir in the wine, and cook for around 3 minutes.
4 – Now add the stock: You gonna add ladle by ladle, stirring all the time. You have to keep adding more stock when it gets almost dry.  That process will go for around 20 minutes and not necessarily you will use all your stock. The rice should be ” Al dente” .
5 – Add your sliced mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes.
6 – Remove the Pan from the heat, and immediately add the Parmesan and butter. Stir well to combine
7  – Add parsley and lemon juice, and season to taste.
 8  – Serve and you can add more Parmesan if you wish.

Yum Yum

Love,
Vic

Mushroom Strudel

I made this for Rosh Hashana and people liked it.
The recipe is for 10, and it is really for 10.

Here is the recipe with all my comments.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1.5kg cup mushrooms, sliced- ADVISE: mushrooms absorve a lot of water when washing, and you will need to dry this water while cooking so better squeeze them with your hands 
• 100g butter, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 large brown onions, finely chopped
• 1/3 cup Beef stock (PARVE) (Could be chicken)
• 2/3 cup thickened cream -Check out for Gelatine in the ingredients, Gelatine is “meat” 
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar or red vinegar
• 1/3 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped
• 50g parmesan cheese, finely grated
• 2/3 cup fresh white breadcrumbs
• 12 sheets filo pastry – THAWED
• olive oil cooking spray or Regular Olive oil and a brush

METHOD
Have all the ingredients separated in bowls before you start.

1. start melting butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Once is Melted, add the garlic and onions. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until feels soft. Add the mushrooms. Unless you have a very huge saucepan, you will need to put them in batches.  Cook, stirring often, for 10 to 15 minutes or until juice evaporates. or at least most of it. You can also take a little bit of the juice with a cup. 
2. Add the stock and cook for 2 minutes. then add the cream and vinegar. Simmer for 3 minutes or until sauce thickens. If it doesnt, you can add a little bit of flour to make it thicker. 
3. Transfer mushroom mixture to a bowl. Add parsley, parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs. Season with salt and pepper. Mix well. Set aside to cool completely.
4. Preheat oven to 190°C. Place 1 sheet pastry on a workbench. be sure is thawed. Spray with oil. Top with another pastry sheet and spray with oil. Repeat using 4 more pastry sheets. Spoon half the mushroom mixture along 1 long edge of pastry. Fold ends in and roll up tightly to enclose filling. Place strudel on a flat, lined baking tray. Repeat with remaining pastry, oil and mushroom filling to make a second strudel. be sure you have a long enough baking device and it fits your oven. alternatevily you can cut the pastry in half. 
5. Spray strudel tops with oil and you can add some sesame or poppy seeds. Bake for 40 minutes or until golden and crisp. 

Let me know how it goes.

Love,

Vic