Use A Rice Steamer For Perfect Hard-Cooked Eggs

I tend to overcook hard-boiled eggs.  They're perfectly edible, but they get that green sulfur ring around the yolks.  I tried the baked/boiled egg method, but that didn't work for me, either. 

But here's another kitchen trick I read about in a few different places recently.   A rice steamer makes perfect hard cooked eggs that are a lot less likely to have green rings.  And the best thing is that you can just put them in, set the timer and walk away for a while. 

Just place eggs in your rice steamer.  This is what mine looks like, but I would guess it will work in any kind of rice steamer.  Mine will hold up to 14, depending on size, if I stand them on end.

Add 1 cup of cool water to the reservoir, place the lid on, and set the timer for 20 minutes.

When the time is up, transfer the eggs to a bowl or basin of ice water for a few minutes to cool them quickly, then remove the shells, or refrigerate with shells on for later use.

Self-Control and the Struggle to Stay Productive

What's your Internet Achilles' heal?  For some it's Pinterest.  For others, it's on-line games.  For someone else, it might be eBay.

I don't have a problem clicking away from any of those, but I can't seem to stay away from Facebook.  It can suck the hours right out of my day.  I don't know why I have such a weakness for it.  While I do "get something out of it", especially on my Haphazard Homestead page, I don't think what I get out of it is commensurate with the time I can find myself putting into it.

Worse is that I can't seem to leave it alone on my own.  I'm not normally one who has trouble exercising willpower, but staying away from Facebook is harder for me than cutting back on sugar was last month, or giving up cigarettes cold turkey was ten years ago.  I did give FB up cold turkey a couple of years ago (really, that long ago?) and did fine, but I don't want to give it up entirely now; I think it's a usefully tool for bloggers.

What I have found that works for me is LeechBlock.  LeechBlock is a free Mozilla Add-On for those who use the Firefox browser.  I can choose what sites to block and either block them entirely, for specified periods of time each day, or specified amounts of time within a time period (for example, I can block a site for 45 minutes out of each hour), or I can set up one-time blocking as needed.  There are also tracking tools to show you what sites you spend the most time viewing and other nifty tools.

I've tried a few different scenarios.  Blocking Facebook from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. was a little too stringent, but allowing myself 10 minutes each of those hours was still too lax.  I'm currently allowing myself a half-hour in the early morning, an hour at lunchtime and a half-hour in the afternoon, plus unlimited time in the late evening and on weekends.  That gives me several large blocks of time during the day to get other things done without the Facebook distraction.

I'm sure there are other similar tools on-line for folks who don't use Firefox.  I did a very quick search of "website blocker" and came up with a few.  LeechBlock is free, and others may be as well, but I have seen some that charge a fee for the service.

I think these tools work psychologically as much as they do practically.  In addition to my laptop, we have two other computers in the house that are not blocked.  I could easily hop onto one of them to see FB while mine blocks it, but I don't.   I could also get on Internet Explorer and access it that way, but I won't do that, either.  I guess I just need a small reminder to turn away and stay on-task with other things.

I don't block any other sites at this time, but if one becomes a time-suck for me, I will add it to my list.

What about you?  Do you have a lack of will-power when it comes to certain websites, or the internet in general?  What tools do you use to make your day more productive?


Disclaimer:  I was not compensated in any way for this post.  This is simply a tool that works for me and I thought I'd share it with my readers.

Free Compostable Seed Starter Cups from Citrus

We all know about compost, and how letting food scraps break down can help feed our gardens.  Well, here's another way food can help grow more food.

My friend Sharon passed this on to me via Pinterest several weeks ago.  Isn't it great? 

We ate several oranges and grapefruits in January, carefully cutting them in half across their "equator" and scooping the fruit out.  We let the rinds dry, since we knew we'd not be using them for a little while, then stored them in a glass jar with the lid kept off.

When it's time to use them, just fill the dried cups with potting mix and sow away.  When you water the cups, the rinds rehydrate and smell really good.

Alternately, you could rehydrate them first by soaking them in water for half an hour or so.  They'll be more flexible for handling while filling them.  Whichever way you choose is fine.

When you're ready to plant out, you can try planting the entire thing, rind an all right into the soil.  However, because we've had trouble with commercial peat pots breaking down quickly enough when we've planted them, and because not all plants need acidic food, we suggest removing your seedlings and surrounding soil from the citrus cup.   Plant the seedling and toss the cup in the compost bin.|


This post is being shared at the Hearth and Soul Hop with Premeditated Leftovers.