CityMama™

Why I ditched my iPhone and AT&T and got a Blackberry

For almost two years now, I've had my iPhone 3G. Before that, I had a Blackberry Curve which I loved. It was compact and light and allowed me to do the two things I most needed to do to be productive:

1. Make calls.
2. Respond to emails in a timely fashion.

I was happy as a clam.  Then I got the iPhone and, not so much with the happy anymore.

I DON'T CARE WHAT THEIR ADS SAY—AT&T SUCKS

Raise your hand if you have an iPhone and have suffered dropped calls.

(Wow, that's a lot of you!)

For two years now, I've suffered through dropped calls (multiple times a day) and failed calls when I tried to call those dropped people back.

I've even not answered calls, because I knew I was in a place where the coverage was bad. Like inside my house.

I learned to text--not call people--if I needed to communicate.

I've had to deal with lack of coverage in puzzling places, like, literally right in front of Steve Jobs' house. (I'm serious, he lives in Palo Alto and I went to an event at someone's house who lives next door and I parked in front of his house and had zero bars. Can't he do something about it? Shoot, Cheney built his own cell tower out in the Wyoming brush. Not that Jobs is Cheney, but they are similarly robotic now. Can't he put up some towers in the heart of Silicon Valley? )

And worse—this is the clincher—I've put off responding to emails because it was easier to wait until I got back to my home office rather than hen-peck out my response on the touch keyboard. If I can't respond on the go, what is the point of having a "smart" phone?

Why do we put up with this nonsense? I've been on the phone with AT&T many times over the past two years complaining about the lack of coverage and dropped calls and have never been able to get a straight answer about what they are doing to fix the problem. I live in the heart of Silicon Valley, for cryin' out loud. There is no excuse for this.

Knives back from the professional sharpener

Every six months to a year, depending on use, you should have your knives professionally sharpened. Take it to a cutlery shop—not to your local supermarket butcher who sharpens while you shop—because different knives require different sharpening tools.

These puppies just came back, and once washed and dried, will be ready again for service. That reminds me, never ever put your knives in the dishwasher—it dulls them.

Sharp knives are also safer because a sharp blade will slice easily through whatever you are cutting without much effort. You won't have to press hard or saw back and forth which increases the chance of the knife slipping and possibly cutting you. Ouch!

So go! Get those knives sharpened so you're ready for summer cooking. Your tomatoes will thank you. 

Electric Griddle [Inspect Her Gadgets]

I'd been wanting an electric griddle for, like, ever before my mom gave me one for Christmas. (Thanks again, Mom!)  I seem to recall we had one when I was little and we used it for everything from making pancakes to even things like sukiyaki.

I'd often go to Target kitchen section and covet the electrics, but could never justify buying one.  I don't know why because now that I have one, we use it all the time. It would have paid for itself in the first six months of ownership for sure.

It is great for making the aforementioned pancakes.  The even heat ensures that they are nice and even and fluffy, and I love having all the extra room for flipping. (I am a messy flipper.)  But it's also fab for making French toast, veggie fritters, latkes and sweet potato pancakes, grilled sandwiches (anything but cheese, my weird kids hate them), quesadillas (3 or 4 at a time depending on size of tortilla), and for griddling bacon and sausages. But the thing I like making the most are "bulls-eye" eggs. You've had these, right?

You use a glass or cookie cutter in my case, to cut the center out of a slice of bread. Butter it, and put it on the griddle. Crack an egg into it and when it's set, flip it and cook to desired doneness. I like mine over easy and I use the cut-out for dipping into the salty, runny yolk. (Don't throw the cut-outs away, butter it and toast it on the griddle, too!)

My griddle has separate heat zones so one side can be hot and the other warm. It also has a grease catcher (that slit in the surface of the griddle) so you can move grease or burned bits off the griddle and everything is caught in a container that slides out for easy emptying and cleaning. It also has a protector shield thingy so you don't splatter your whole counter when frying bacon or other messy items.

So that's my electric griddle, one of my favorite kitchen appliances, and one I didn't expect to love so much.

If you have a griddle what do you cook on it?

Tempura was a little ambitious for a Monday night dinner

A sunny kabocha squash. I feel more awake already.

...especially when I only got about 5 hours of sleep the night before. All day long my planned chicken karaage and vegetable tempura dinner loomed ominously. Whattheheckanutcrack was I thinking?

Once my visiting sister and I got home from errands and picking up Bunny from school, I didn't even want to think about making a complicated dinner. We lazed the afternoon away but then, around 4:00 I got a second wind. I decided to suck it up and get dinner going. And once it got going, it just rolled right along.

See?

The veggies are channeling Bell Biv Devoe saying, "Do me, baby." Kabocha doesn't need to be peeled before cooking. (I ended up using only about half of the veggies I cut. I'll do something with the rest of them later in the week. The kabocha lends itself to miso soup, so that will be lunch one day this week.)

Fry Me to the Moon

My brother got me a DeLonghi Roto Fryer for Christmas.  I am excited and, yes, a little scared. Excited because what's better than fried...anything? Scared because what if I loved it so much I wanted to use it all the time? That is something I really do not need to do.

So this weekend, we're going to have a little Fry Party and everyone is going to bring something to huck into it. I stopped by the Korean market this morning because Koreans know from frying. I got special oil (which promises minimum absorption) labeled "crispy and crunchy," and some stuff to make tempura batter. I also picked up GIANT jalapeños to make jalapeño poppers and ingredients for fried wontons (Hawaiian-style), one of them being Spam (of course). I also have kabocha squash and asparagus to make the vegetable tempura. But beyond the usual tempura, french fries, and onion rings, I'm not sure what else to use it for.

Do you have a favorite deep fryer recipe? If so, lay it on me!

The end of an era

• 5 years of trusted service
• 2 children (sometimes carrying both at once)
• 5 different houses in 3 different cities
• 5 trips across the Pacific and back
• solid as a rock and not a rip or tear on it
• sold on Craigslist today for $20

There was a time when we owned four strollers and three different kinds of baby carriers. But now, for the first time since 2002, we are officially strollerless. (Sob!)

Impulse Buy of the Week: Goofy Egg Cups

I bought these purely for my children, but I admit I love looking at these silly guys first thing in the morning. These are a bargain on Amazon right now (a set of 4 for $5.39).

Creamy Dreamy Broccoli Soup

I love creamy veggie soups of all kinds, especially on cold nights. For tonight's dinner, I whipped up a warming batch of cream of broccoli soup.  It took about 30 minutes from prep to plate.  My preschooler ate two bowls but I'm convinced it was mainly because (her observation) it "looked liked mint chip ice cream."

CREAMY DREAMY BROCCOLI SOUP

I use a lot of broccoli in my soup.  It gives the soup a vibrant, green color that I can't quite capture with my (non SLR) camera (at dusk) even though I push it to the limit.  If you don't have a stick blender (get one!) puree the soup in batches in a blender BEFORE adding the half-and-half, then add the half-and-half to the puree.

• enough olive oil to just coat the bottom of a soup pot
• a pat of unsalted butter
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, smashed
• 6 cups of broccoli florets (I buy the giant bag from Costco and used about 1/3 of the bag)
• 1 large russet potato, peeled and chopped or 5 new red potatoes (what I had on hand, I didn't bother peeling them)
• 1 box organic free range chicken broth
• 2 cups half-and-half or milk (I used the former)
• a grating of nutmeg
• salt and *white* pepper

In a soup pot, heat the oil and butter over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, and a little salt, and cook until onions are soft and translucent.

Add the broccoli, potatoes, broth and bring to a boil. Don't worry if broth doesn't completely cover broccoli. Turn heat to low, cover, and simmer until the broccoli and potatoes tender, about 20 minutes.

Add in half-and-half and stick blend the entire mixture off heat until a smooth puree is achieved.  Return to low heat and warm through but do not boil. Add nutmeg and adjust salt and pepper.