Mar 30, 2010

Raw Deal

Last week I went to Ralph's and came home with all this:


For only this:



And saved this:


What does one do with all that pasta sauce and black olives and over ripe bananas? Make pizza! And banana bread!

Actually I planned on making banana bread but made Banana-Walnut Chocolate Chunk cookies instead, and they were great. And the rest of the bananas got sliced up and stuck in the freezer.

I mean $11 doesn't even halfway fill up my crappy car's tank. Was that a score or what?

Mar 29, 2010

Fish and Chips

Fish and Chips



Ingredients:
  • cod fillets
  • olive oil
  • potatoes
  • buttermilk (same amount as cornmeal)
  • cornmeal or masa (same amount as buttermilk)
  • lemon wedges
  • malt vinegar or apple cider vinegar
  • salt, pepper, paprika
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Wash and cut potatoes and transfer to baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper. Toss and bake until crispy, about 30 minutes.

Dip fish in buttermilk until coated. Then dip in cornmeal. Season with salt, pepper, paprika.

Heat skillet on medium with a couple fo'drizzles of olive oil. Place cod fillets in and cook until crispy, about 1 minute each side.

Add a splash of vinegar and serve with tarter sauce. Perfect dish for St. Paddy's. Cheers!

(and yep, I did say "fo' drizzles" shout out to my homeboy Snoop!)

Mar 26, 2010

Grout Out

I scrubbed the grout in the powder room. It was not fun. It pretty much sucked. And I didn't see a huge difference, but enough.

Before


After

Have you done this before? If you know of a less sucky way, please let me know!

Mar 25, 2010

Changing Motor Oil

Here's a tutorial on how to change your motor oil. It should be done routinely, every 3,000-5,000 miles (check your owner's manual). It's the best thing you can do for your vehicle and a great way to save some mula. I also find it kinda fun.


First, gather your supplies:
  1. New motor oil (my car takes just over 4 quarts, so I find 1 big 5 quart jug is perfect - again check your manual)
  2. New oil filter (go to Pepboys or Auto Zone and there will be something hanging at eye level that resembles a phone book, use it to find your car's make, model and year to determine which oil filter to use)
  3. Disposable gloves (this is optional, but used motor oil is thick stuff so this makes clean up much easier)
  4. Oil drain pan (this technically is optional as well, you just need something with the capacity to catch the old oil, but I recommend investing in this they are about $10. If you plan on future self oil changes, it's a much cleaner process when you are pouring out the old oil - I have done it both ways and this is best)
  5. Oil filter socket with corresponding wrench in correct size (after you find your oil filter, open it and test it on different oil filter sockets to see which fits best)
  6. Socket and corresponding wrench to the size of the drain plug on your car (mine is 17 mm)
You should have plenty of rags on hand as well. This can be a messy project.


Now that you have your supplies ready, make sure your engine is not hot. Pop open your hood and locate the oil filler cap. When you are ready to drain the oil, removing this will allow air flow to help draining go a lot faster.



Here is a view from underneath my car, where you'll see the oil drain plug and the oil filter. If you don't know where it is located on your car, check the manual.


Loosen the drain plug with your socket wrench and have your drain pan close and ready to slide under once you remove the drain plug.


When it is loosened, make sure you hang onto the bolt. If you drop it in the pan it will be a giant pain to get out. If you drop it on the floor, it will be an annoying mess that will leave permanent stains. Once you remove the drain plug, also make sure you catch the gasket as well (it looks just like a metal washer).


It should drain out rather slowly into your drain pan. Make sure the little air cap on top of the drain pan is open to allow air flow so it can keep up with the oil draining so it won't bubble out.


Now slide out from underneath the car and remove that oil filler cap to speed things up. Hopefully your aim into the drain pan is better than mine...


Here is the drain plug. It will get covered in oil, just give it a wipe down. Same goes for the gasket (not pictured). Inspect both and see if they need to be replaced. Then put the gasket and drain plug back in once the old oil is completely drained.


Next, use your filter socket and place over the oil filter to remove. Have drain pan ready.


Next, open new oil filter. Lubricate the rubber gasket with new oil using your finger (I prematurely tossed my gloves). This will help form a tight seal. Then place new filter back where you removed the old filter. Hand tightened is great, don't need to over tighten with the wrench or else you'll have a hard time getting it off next time you do this.


I didn't mention a funnel in the list of materials but it will make this next step go faster. If you don't want to buy one or don't have one, just cut an old milk jug in half like I did. The spout happens to be the perfect size, and you can use the bottom half of the jug as a holder for the top half so you won't drip motor oil everywhere. If you are not using a funnel of any kind, just pour straight from the bottle. It will just take a steadier hand and a little bit more time.


It's easier to pour less than you think and check the level and add more, than it is to drain out the excess. Look at the the nice light color of fresh new oil...

How do you check? Well once you're done pouring, give it a second to settle in the crankcase. And pull out the oil level stick (also known as dip stick) and wipe the tip with a clean rag. Then reinsert the dip stick, wait a second, and pull out and see where the oil level is. It should be between the 2 notches. You can see from my photo above, that mine is on the high end but still falls between the notches (I have an old car that burns oil more than newer cars).

Put the oil lever check back. Close the hood. Take the car for a spin around the block and then check the level again, it should go down a tiny bit.

Tips:
  • Do not attempt this unless you have the supplies. You don't want to be stuck without your supplies and a car with no oil. A good way to permanently kill your engine. Motor oil = car's lifeblood.
  • I chose not to jack up my car because I'm small enough to slide under the car. Plus it's quicker that way. And less work. But from now on, I may just start jacking up the car. The visibility will be so much better. Remember to use stands and engage your emergency hand brake if you do this.
  • Put a cardboard box down (or tarp) to catch any little drips and dribbles. I failed to do this.
  • I prefer rubber or plastic oil filter wrenches to metal ones. I have a metal one because that's all that I could find at my auto parts store. If your metal filter wrench can't get a good grip on the filter, place a piece of sandpaper (grit side out) inside and insert over the filter for a better 'bite'
  • Pour old oil back into empty oil containers.
  • Old motor oil and old oil filters can be recycled. Check your local waste facilities for household hazardous waste collections (my city does it once a month) or check with local auto shops to see if they accept.
  • Most oil grades are 5W/30 or 10W/30 depending on your climate. Since I live in a climate where it doesn't ever get really cold either will work. Ask your auto parts store guy about your climate.
  • You can use regular or synthetic motor oil but do NOT mix the 2 types. And if use synthetic, use that for the remainder of that car's life. 
You're done! Now go wash your hands and pat yourself on the back!

Mar 24, 2010

T Time

One of my favorite things to do is enjoy a little tea time every so often. It can be at a tea house, a friend's house or at my house. It can include music in the background, a movie, or a book. There can be pastries and sandwiches and finger foods or none. Caffeinated tea or herbal tea. Several pots to share (or not share) or just one cup. A crowd of friends or just me. There are no rules in my book.

So here's my tea time today:


Simple but does the job.

Reese's pieces in a tea cup instantly brings it up a notch and makes it tea time worthy, right?

Cheers and have a good week!

Mar 23, 2010

VD

I know I'm really late in posting this but this is what I found outside on Valentine's day (aside from dog poo):


Fascinated? Need a close up?


Where's it's head? What's wrong with it's face?


Oh, that explains it. It's part of it's skull.

And to answer any possible questions, yes I found this fascinating. But still gross. So I didn't save it like I did the katydid, hummingbird or mouse skeleton. Would you?

Mar 21, 2010

Over the Hill

Today I went running up a hill and puked before I got to the top. That hill kicked my butt. That is all.

Mar 18, 2010

Cut From the Same Cloth


And remember when I recovered the seat?


I just spotted the same fabric on a fun project here (second to last photo). And it was just some clearance remnant fabric from Jo-Ann's. Cool huh?

Mar 9, 2010

Interrogating Interrogative Pronouns

I'm no master of the English language (and some joke that I'm still learning). So I'm not sure why this overused term sorta irks me: anywho.

Image from here

It's used in place of 'anyway' and 'anyhow' but not in place of the other w's: what, when, why.

No one says anywhat, anywhen, anywhy.

But to be fair 'anywhere' is correct. And 'anyhow' as well, since 'how' is the unofficial member of the interrogative pronouns. Like 'y' is an unofficial vowel.

Here's some info on it:
http://onlineslangdictionary.com/definition+of/anywho
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=anywho (please note that I don't feel as strongly about this word as some people who posted there)

Anyway. How did this word catch on? What do you think about it? Do you use it? Do you hear/see it as much as I do?

Mar 4, 2010

Baked Beans

Baked beans describe the process in which they are prepared*. But what kind of beans are they? Do most people know this? I am going to google it right now.

Image from here


*and are they actually baked? Aren't they stewed or simmered?

Mar 1, 2010

Tax Break

If you get a refund during tax season, it means you gave the government extra money throughout the year. Technically it sounds like a loan. Shouldn't we receive interest on that? At the very least, shouldn't we be able to have our taxes done for free?

Image from here

And if you owe, then you pay to get your taxes done for you (or do it yourself). I don't know about the interest part because maybe you didn't know you owe until after you did your taxes.