Do you ever have one of “those days?” The only thing you look forward to is getting home and eating dinner. You even plan out the menu. In the tradition of Mondays (see Jim Davis:1978-present), today fell into that category of days. Let me share with you a quick, cheap, tasty meal that is fast becoming a salve for these looong days. Here’s what you’ll need:

1/2 pound steak, pre-seasoned

1 pound baking (Russet) potato

1/3 cup sour cream

1 1/2 tbs of butter

I buy my seasoned steak from QFC, because it is easier and cleaner than seasoning my own, which means less work. I believe that you can buy these pre-seasoned steaks at other stores, I just go to QFC, because it is close, and I did not see them when I went to Safeway.

Use a fork to poke holes in the potato four or five times. Wrap the potato in a damp paper towel and set aside.

I use a small “George Foreman Lean Mean Fat Reducing Grilling Machine!” to cook my steak. Plug it in and wait for the orange light to go off. Put your steak on and let it cook for about five minutes.

While the steak is cooking, start the potato in the microwave for five minutes.

When the potato stops, check the steak, and turn if needed. Then check the potato. Use the fork to cut into the potato and see how done it is. If the potato is still kind of solid in the middle, re-dampen the towel and microwave the potato two or three more minutes. Mine usually take a total of eight minutes.

To check the steak for doneness use a meat thermometer if you have one, or just cut into the steak to see if it is done to your liking. Be careful not to overcook the steak, because I think when you pull it off the Foreman it cooks just a little more due to retained heat.

The steak and potato should finish cooking around the same time. Plate the steak and potato. Cut the potato in half lengthwise, and cut the butter into each side of it a few times with the fork. Then put the sour cream on the potato.

Serve with your favorite beer.

This is a ten minute meal from start to finish, that costs under seven dollars (including the beer). If you have never had a microwave potato, you will be surprised how good it is. The wet paper towel keeps the potato skin from drying out.

I bought my George Foreman at Value Village for under ten dollars. They had lots of them!

I hope you enjoy this meal as much as I do.

Tastefully yours,

Ben

Sometimes there is nothing better than a movie at home. Watching movies at home is a relatively inexpensive, low key way to spend the night. Below I have compiled some information and ideas that I hope you find useful and enjoyable.

Where to get movies:

As a  general rule of thumb, try to stick to independent, local video stores, and avoid big chain stores.

My favorite store is Broadway Market Video. The counter help there is always very helpful, and they never look at me like I’m an idiot when I ask for a movie where this dude does this thing. They just try to help me. They have great weekday and late-night* deals. There is also a daily movie trivia question. I don’t remember if it is for a free or discounted rental, but the questions are always so insanely hard and esoteric, that I have neither won, nor witnessed a winner, since I began renting there years ago. Good luck!

School Movies:

Also, I was pleased to learn that I have access to many movie titles, through my college’s DVD collection. These movies are free to check out, and if a certain movie I want to watch isn’t at my school, they can order it from another college and have it in a few days. It’s kind of like Netflix, but free, and not really that much like Netflix.

UW Libraries

Computer Genius?

Of course, if you are computerologically inclined, you need not even leave the house to rent. Anyone with a credit card can rent many movies from Amazon or iTunes. The rates are reasonable, and selection is good. I like to rent online when I travel, so that I can just download the movie to my iPod or computer, and I don’t have to worry about keeping up with a DVD. This is also the way I watch Mad Men. I purchase, rather than rent, each episode to my iPod, and watch it on the bus ride to school. The cost is $1.99 per episode, or $2.99 for HD, but regular D is fine. Also important to know: you have 30 days to watch rentals, and 24 hours to finish them once you click play.

www.itunes.com

www.amazon.com

Thanks for reading, and I hope you find this information helpful. See you at the movies!

Buying and salvaging used objects could just be your ticket to being a happening chick or a way cool dude. Conspicuous consumption is out, and nothing is hotter than going green.

Check out these incredible finds, and maybe you will be inspired to do a little plant-saving of your own!

This is the ipod-capable stereo that I found in the laundry room of my apartment. The iPod was not with the unit, but what a find. It also plays DVDs if hooked up to a television.

COST $$$: FREE

This is an interesting picture of my living room. I paid almost nothing for everything you see.

COUCH:FREE from upstairs neighbor

PICTURE: $1 Value Village

CAT: FREE Craig’s List

SIDE TABLES:FREE (left) and $10 (right)

This coffee pot is from Value Village, and was $7. It’s stainless stee,l and the lid screws on so you can take the whole pot with you.

For any of you who enjoyed my PB AND B SMOOTHIE, this is what I use. This is another find from Value Village that only set me back $8.

Remember, buying used objects is often more fun than buying new ones. Whenever I go thrift shopping, I always picture myself on Antiques Roadshow saying, “Well, I never would have thought that this would be worth anything. I just picked it up at a thrift store.”

So hit the thrift store and breathe through your mouth! Don’t worry though. That mothball smell goes away.

These are a couple of empty jelly jars that I have used to store Q-tips, and cotton balls (note: by Q-tip, I mean Q-tip, not generic cotton swab. There is a difference, and it’s definitely worth the extra price). I think the jars look really cute, and they make me think of a country doctor’s office. Maybe I’ll add a jar of popsicle sticks to compete the look.

This is a jar a friend gave me, and I’m not sure what it was used for. Possibly mustard or mayonnaise. I bought a jumbo container of dish soap, and since I didn’t want the huge bottle taking up my limited counter space, I poked a hole in the top of this jar with a corkscrew and started using it do dispense dish soap. I don’t necessarily recommend this method, because it might damage your corkscrew or self, but I don’t not recommend it either. It has worked well for me.

Not all of the jars have glamorous jobs to perform, such as holding cotton swabs or soap. As you can see this humble peanut butter jar has been transformed to hold the quintessentialest of Southern cookin’ ingredents: Bacon grease. Most likely, because I needed something to put bacon grease in, in a hurry, I didn’t bother to take the label off of this jar, which I probably rescued from recycling. However I think leaving the label on is befitting of the lowly work this jar performs.

And, of course, the classic: drinking jars. As you can see these jars are in various states of label-degradation. They are also of various sizes, which is handy, because sometimes I want a really big glass, especially of sweet-tea, for some reason.

These are just a few applications for empty jars. I bet you can come up with some great uses on your own! The choice is “clear.” Reuse ‘em!

Haircuts are highly personal. They are our way of telling the world who we are and who we want people to think we are. Where you get your hair cut is an important decision, and should not be taken lightly.

I like to get my haircut at Ace barber shop on Denny for a number of reasons.

1. It is so close to my apartment, that I can easily go home and wash off the little icky hairs that like to stick to the back of my neck

2. The people there are always nice, but don’t expect me to talk. I don’t like to talk to people cutting my hair. At some places the silence while you are getting your hair cut can be deafening.

3. They have these little cards you get stamped every time you get your haircut. I am TWO STAMPS away from my free haircut. This means that Ace barber shop is one of the longest, and possibly most committed relationships I’ve ever been in.

4. They do a fantastic job. Of course I always have to re-style it when I get home, but the cut itself is fast and flawless.

5. They’re cheap! $17 for a good haircut.

6. No wait. No appointment necessary.

If you are one of those people who need an Egyptian cotton robe and a glass of wine with your haircut, this may not be the place for you. However if you are looking for a reasonably priced, good quality cut, done incredibly quickly then Ace is the place!

Yelp Reviews of Ace

Tonight I got a hankering for one of my favorite things: a peanut butter and banana smoothie. While these easily cost four dollars at your local smootherie, you can make this healthy treat at home for mere pennies. Here’s what you need, and what you need to do with it:

Blender

1.5 cups of milk

1 normal size banana

1/2 to 1/3 cups of smooth peanut butter

2 tablespoons of agave syrup (Honey may be used to substitute, but if you can, use the agave syrup)

3 or 5 ice cubes

Cut the banana into half inch wide, quarter-circle pieces. put the pieces in a single layer on the bottom of a bowl, and try not to let them touch too much.  Put the bowl in the freezer. Pour the milk in the glass you will be using to serve the smoothie and put it in the freezer as well. Wait for the banana to freeze and the milk to get just a little icy on top. This usually happens simultaneously and takes about fifteen minutes, depending on your freezer temperature.

While those are freezing, add the agave syrup and peanut butter to the blender. If you like peanut butter a lot, use 1/2 cup, if not only use 1/3.

When the banana pieces are frozen and the milk is just starting to get icy, remove them from the freezer. The banana will be frozen to the bottom of the bowl. To easily remove the pieces, place the banana-bowl in a shallow bowl of hot water, just until the banana pieces loosen from the bottom of the frozen bowl.

Put the frozen banana pieces, ice-cold milk, and pieces of ice in the blender

Blend until smooth enough to suck through a straw with a little resistance. It’s o.k. if there are still a few chunks of ice floating around in the smoothie. It’s better to have it a little icy.

Serve in ice-cold glass you used to chill the milk.