adventures in laundry

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So, with this whole “let’s try and be more responsible with my money” thing, I decided to make another change. Since I moved to New York, I have not done my laundry (in the city) a single time. I mean, laundry has been done, but I’ve been taking it to the nice people right next door for wash and fold. Meaning they do it, not me. It’s not the most expensive thing in the world and I had told myself that, with as much as I make hourly, spending my time sitting in a laundromat was not cost effective. (I like to trick my brain into thinking that my justifications are very sound and logical, but the truth is, the time I would be doing laundry is not time I’m “missing” work…so my logic is crap.)

Which brings us to today and me sitting in a laundromat for a little under two hours doing my laundry. And all it took was one time for me to realize that I should really be doing my own laundry. First of all, it’s about half the cost of sending it out. Second of all, I can hang dry what needs to hang dry without paying an extra $2 per article (which, just so you know, I didn’t do…I would just wait to wash those things until I was in Utah or Arizona or Indiana…). Third, it’s some quality reading time. Fourth, my laundry smells good as opposed to smelling like the industrial laundry chemicals it is washed in I send it out. Fifth, I met some really nice people. And finally, because I was at the laundromat and there are places to conveniently fold my laundry, I actually folded it while I was there, so all I had to do was put it away when I got home.

One of my concerns was how crowded it would be and how long I’d have to wait for a machine, but apparently, my new workout regime is paying off in more ways than one since my new bedtime is usually before 10pm and I’m lucky if I can sleep past 7am, so no crowds. And my nice, new laundromat friend informed me that if I’m there early on Saturday, there’s never a wait. So, looks like that will be part of my new routine. And not only am I saving money by doing it myself, I think I’ll also be saving money by not having to replace certain things quite as often as I would given the wear and tear of industrial cleaning.

Look at me making fiscally responsible choices. And it only took me thirty some years to get here.

a resolution

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If you follow me on Twitter, you may know that I have been a little obsessed with food trucks lately…because they are amazing! Just around the corner from my new office is a food truck lot and every day there are three different trucks, usually two food and one treat. And I have been taking full advantage of the trucks. Just one more reason to love living in a big city. Here’s a little look at the delicious treats:

Kimchi Taco
VanLeeuwen
Desi
Je and Jo

Rickshaw

And then, the other day, I realized that I was eating out breakfast (okay, it doesn’t really count because I just buy a banana from the fruit guy by my building for $0.25, but I’m still eating out), lunch, and dinner. Almost every day. Almost every meal. Not only is this not the best idea for my waistline…it’s also not the best idea for my bank account. I have a weekly budget and I was blowing it. Every. Week. And then this whole hurricane thing happened and I thought about food storage, and how I need to keep on top of it and rotating through the food…which would require me eating that food.

So, an idea was born and a resolution was made. For the month of September (well, really from yesterday until I fly to Utah the first week of October) I am not going to eat out. At all. (Although the fruit in the morning after my run I’m not counting because it’s as cheap as the grocery store.)

I went grocery shopping Monday night, and even with shopping at Whole Foods and purchasing organic whenever possible…I was well under my weekly budget. I know I’m only on day two, but already I feel better and I’m less stressed about money. It might put a little bit of a wrench in my social life this month, but it also means I’ll be a little more creative when it comes to time with friends.

I realize that this would not be a big deal for some of you…but until you’ve lived in New York as a singleton, I don’t know that you can understand just how dependent you can become on restaurants for your survival (okay…maybe that’s a little dramatic, but you get it is kind of dramatic). So, don’t judge me or think that this will be easy. Just wish me luck. It’s going to be…interesting. And at the end of the month, maybe I’ll have a new plan. One that’s a little less extreme, but that helps me stay on track, both physically and financially. Maybe?

Oh, and I’ve also cut out Diet Coke. Now do you feel concerned for my survival?

emergency preparedness (aka i can’t live without technology)

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As mentioned in the previous post…I was in Rhode Island when Hurricane (or Tropical Storm, as she became by the time she actually landed on RI) Irene hit. We knew she was coming and, technically, we were in a mandatory evacuation zone. We chose not to evacuate. The good news is this ended up being fine. Not really the point of my post, though.

Over the past few years (decade? few decades?) my church has been talking about emergency preparedness (ETA: it’s actually been something like 75 years). But when an actual emergency is imminent, suddenly all this stuff that’s just been words and theories becomes very real. Suddenly the crank flashlight/radio my grandma gave me for Christmas (the one that I kind of rolled my eyes at) became the best gift ever known to man. Especially when I realized that I had never purchased batteries for my Maglite and every store was out of D batteries (epic fail on the parts of Energizer and Duracell if you ask me).

And then there’s the case of the iPhone. I had actually been thinking about this the other day, when I pulled up a map on my phone for the 20th time that day. What if the world was really ending? What if I actually needed a real map, you know, the kind on paper that does disappear when the power goes out and I couldn’t recharge my cell phone?

And then, with Hurricane Irene, these what ifs became very real questions and they led to more questions. What am I going to do if I need money and can’t pull it out of the bank because ATMs are no long operational? What if I need to call someone on a non-digital land line (do those even exist anymore?) and I can’t because I don’t know any phone numbers…well, almost. And what if I wasn’t in Rhode Island with all of these people who are much better prepared than I am and I hadn’t realized how much water I needed? Or food? Or realized that when power leaves, so does your water because electricity runs the pumps. And so on and so forth.

The point? I am completely and totally dependent on technology. I mean, I could survive (physically) without it, assuming I had a source of food and water, but that would be it. The world has automated and electrified so much of my life that I don’t really have to “know” a lot of stuff I used to have to know…like how to get from point A to point B without Google Maps.

Now, this is not some sort of post about how I’m going to turn over a new leaf and be less reliant on technology. I’m not a crazy person. But maybe I will go purchase myself an atlas and maybe I’ll write down important phone numbers on a piece of paper and put it in a ziplock back…and perhaps I’ll even start saving putting some cash away for a rainy day (you know, the kind of rain that comes with hurricanes).

endorphins

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A couple of weeks ago, Jenna (you should visit her blog…she’s hilarious) and I started running together in the mornings. What this means is that I am up every morning at 5:15 so I can get out the door and meet Jenna for our morning run. And by “run” I mean I run the 1.5 miles to meet her…then we walk and talk (sometimes we jog) for about 30 minutes, and then I run home. 

Initially, the getting up in the morning thing was a little rough. And Jenna, bless her heart, does not have to get up nearly as early as I have to, and yet she does. But now, it’s like my morning coffee (or Diet Coke, in my case). It wakes me up. It starts my day off exactly as a day should start…with a body pumped full of endorphins. And I get to work out all of my little issues (anxiety, stress, whatever the issue of the day might be) before I do anything else.
Jenna’s in Utah this week. I’m super sad. But I’m determined to continue the exercising, because not only has it benefited me in all the ways I’ve listed, I have found that my weird mood swings have stabilized quite a bit. And I have fallen in love with exercise again. I mean, in LOVE. And it has become my go to medicine. 
Case in point. Yesterday, I got back from a lovely trip to Rhode Island (same as last year with some new and different people, oh and a hurricane) and I was seriously depressed for a multiplicity of reasons. Like, lying on my bed, crying into my pillow depressed. Let’s be honest, I was pretty tired, too. Anyway, I was going to just lie there crying, but then I had this lovely vision of a bike ride and off I went. And two loops around Central Park later, I was fine. 
Now, I just need to not forget this. Somehow, when life gets busy and stressful and I need exercise the most, it’s the first thing to go. I’m hoping between Jenna and playing on two soccer teams this fall that this will not happen. The question is, will she still be willing to meet me at the butt crack of dawn when the world is freezing and covered in snow/ice. (I’m thinking probably not, since she basically told me as much, but a girl can dream, right…?)

pancetta, leek, and goat cheese tartlets

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They taste even better than they look

Remember once upon a time when I used to cook a lot. Not sure what happened or when it happened, but I just kind of stopped…and then recently, the baking bug has bitten again. It started with cookies. And then the tartlet pan (total impulse buy) was just sitting in the box, unused, whispering to me from beside the couch where I was storing it. So, I got online and found a recipe for delicious little tartlets (mini quiches, if you will). And tonight, I baked. And I had people over to my apartment for the first time in a while. And it was lovely. And the tartlets? Amazing, if I may be so bold.

The recipe isn’t mine, but I did improve the crust because, well, I’ve got some serious pastry skills (tart pastry anyway). So, without further ado, here’s the recipe (as posted on epicurious–originally seen in Bon Appetit):

Crust
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
3 ounces chilled cream cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
Ice water to texture

Filling
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
2 cups chopped leeks (white and pale green parts only; about 3 large)
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
4 ounces thinly sliced pancetta, chopped
2/3 cup half and half
2 large egg yolks
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 ounces soft fresh goat cheese, crumbled

Fresh parsley leaves (I didn’t use the garnish)

For crust:

  • Blend flour and salt in processor 5 seconds. Add butter and cream cheese. Using on/off turns, blend until moist clumps form. Gather dough; shape into 6-inch-long log. Wrap and chill at least 1 hour and up to 1 day.
  • Cut log into 24 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Press 1 round into each cup of 2 nonstick 12-cup mini muffin pans; freeze 30 minutes.

having the right equipment is key

And what I did: 

  • Put the flour, cream cheese, and butter in a bowl and place the bowl in the freezer for 10 minutes (assuming you started with cold cream cheese and butter–if not, freeze it longer). 
  • Using a pastry cutter–this is imperative for keeping all the ingredients chilled which is what will give you the lovely, light, flakey crust you want–cut the butter and cream cheese into the flour until you have pea-sized balls of dough. 
  • Slowly add ice-cold water (a tablespoon at a time) until the dough just comes together to form a ball. 
  • If the dough feels at all greasy (like the butter has started to soften), refrigerate it for 5-20 minutes. 
  • Roll the dough out to 1/4″ thickness and cut circles (I use a cutter) large enough for whatever pan you are using (muffin tin, mini-muffin tin, tartlet pans), place the rounds in the pan and then freeze for 10-20 minutes. 

Meanwhile, prepare filling: (No changes here–except the parsley garnish)

  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add leeks and sauté 10 minutes; cool. Heat oil in small skillet over medium-high heat. Add pancetta; sauté until crisp, about 6 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer pancetta to paper towels. Whisk half and half and next 3 ingredients in medium bowl to blend. Mix in goat cheese, then leeks and pancetta.
  • Spoon filling into shells. Bake until filling is set and crust edges are golden, about 25-30 minutes. Cool in pans 5 minutes. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool, cover, and chill in pans. Rewarm uncovered in 350°F oven 12 minutes.)
  • Using small knife, cut around tartlets to loosen. Turn out tartlets and arrange on platter; top each with parsley leaf