reheat lasagna tip

if you're reheating a giant piece of lasagna, before throwing it in the microwave, cut it up some so the inside isn't cold.  otherwise the outside will be hot and the inside will still be refrigerated.

fortune cookie tip

fortune cookie + peanut butter = yummy

burger tip

know what's good on a burger?  cream cheese and peppers!  who knew?

marathon runner tip

just learned yesterday that hardcore marathon runners will just pee themselves while they run so they don't have to stop to use a toilet.  beware!

hammock tip

even better than a one person hammock?  a 3 person hammock!  you're more slingy in a 3 person one.  one downside is you need a super ginormous hammock stand.  the one person stand is already pretty freaking big.

other people's tips

http://cockeyed.com/lessons/figured/figured_menu01.shtml

 

http://ask.metafilter.com/158740/You-were-doing-it-wrong

corn cutter

anyone have a corn cutter?  we have this one:  http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?SKU=11078893 any tips on how to use it?  do you use it when the corn is raw or when it's already cooked?  do you really need a nail to use it?

language

if you want to learn a language, don't just go "teach me [insert language here]!!"  have certain words or phrases in mind that you want to learn. 

weekend tip

Pirate Festival is this weekend--June 19 and 20 from 10-6 PM in Vallejo.  It's a free event and the people who go are fully decked out in pirate gear.  I went last year and it's a blast!  You can find parking if you get there early.  There was a recreation of a pirate ship and even a nurse who talked about medicine.  Look out for the puzzle ring booth!  I haven't seen them at any other fair.  Great place to take a ton of pictures :o)

ice cream maker tip

say you have two batches of ice cream to make in an ice cream maker.  the first batch you do ice, salt, ice salt, ice, salt, etc.  then for the second batch you can reuse the same ice, but you have to layer more salt between ice layers. 

yesterday for the 2nd batch of ice cream, i didn't add more salt and after 40 minutes, the ice cream hadn't frozen at all!  i think all the salt got dumped out when i drained it.

good habit tip

my friend's husband was taught to try everything when eating a meal.  now, even if he HATES a particular food, he will eat at least a little bit to be polite.  i don't know anyone else who does this, but isn't it magnificent?  it's so open-minded and somewhat inspiring.

 

still, there's no way i'm going to eat durian again :o)

smell tip

know what smells hella good?  the inside of a bag of m&m's.

bathtub plug tip

the plug for the bathtub isn't that great.  after a few minutes, a significant amount of water drains out of the tub, but there's an easy fix!  take a small square of saran wrap and put it between the plug and the drain.  that will slow the flow of water leaking out.  hello, longer bubble baths! 

reheating fries tip

i have a big styrofoam container of leftover red robins fries from yesterday.  to reheat leftover french fries, heat up a skillet to medium high and lay a single layer of fries in the skillet.  shake the skillet a bit and when the bottom of the fries are lightly golden brown, turn them over.  heat some more until the underside is lightly golden brown as well.  dump them on a plate and eat with honey mustard dressing! you don't have to add oil to the skillet because there's already a ton of oil from the fries themselves. super good, super fresh and way faster than reheating them in an oven.

mango tip

eat mango at night so you're not walking around with fibers stuck in your teeth all day.

flat tire tip

when you have a flat tire and you're changing a spare, put your parking brake on so you'll be able to un-lugnut your tire without it spinning around and around.

charlie horse

jolted awake with a charlie horse this morning.  instead of doing my usual "AAAAARRRRRGHHHHHHH!!!!  IT HURTS!!!  AAAAUUUGHHHHH!!!" i just started massaging my calf.  it helped!  i wasn't in pain for nearly as long as my usual charlie horses and when my leg was done cramping, i could walk rather effortlessly.  normally after i have a charlie horse i'm really limpy.

ticket tip

oh my gosh, i'm looking into buying tix for an event in san jose.  i saw two places to buy tix--ticketmaster and usastarimage.com.  for ticketmaster, they effing charge you a $10 convenience fee!  usastarimage doesn't have any fees at all. 

chinese restaurant tip

don't sit by the fish tank.  if the workers are netting out a fish, the water could splash onto you and (audible gasp!) your food.  happened twice last night.

bread tip

at andersen bakery, aka grain d'or, you can buy a half loaf of bread for just half the price of a full loaf.  usually places will charge you for more than half price for a half loaf.  their fig and pecan bread is delicious--so much better than freaking raisin bread!

reheat lasagna tip

heat oven to 350. 

poke holes all over lasagna and pour 2 tablespoons of milk in the holes. 

cover lasagna tightly with foil. 

bake for 20 minutes. 

take it out and stab it with a fork and leave it in for 10 seconds. 

take fork out and see if it's warm.

if yes, then eat right away.  if not, recover with foil and bake for 10 more minutes and if it's still not hot, 10 more minutes after that, etc.

 

last night it took 40 minutes to reheat the leftover lasagna.  for pete's sake, just microwave it.  it's just as good.

brown rice tip

if you're using a rice cooker to cook brown rice, after the little tab pops up indicating that the rice is done and is now in the warming phase, leave the top on for 15 more minutes.  that gives the rice a chance to absorb more of the water.  if you eat the rice right when the tab pops up, it's still going to be hard.  also, the ratio of brown rice to water is 1:2.5, ok?

giftcards

say you have 2 giftcards for the same place, but with different amounts.  use up the one with less money first so you'll sooner end up having to tote around just one card.  then when you get home, use a sharpie to write the new amount that's left on the card.  that way you're not left thinking, "dude, i could have sworn there were twenty more dollars on this card."

bathtub tip

i asked a random stranger what she uses to clean her bathtub floor and she said that scrubbing bubbles works great.  she just uses scrubbing bubbles and a sponge.  she said to leave the bubbles to work for about 10 minutes. 

kaboom

a homeless looking couple comes in and wants temporary passes for internet use.  neither has picture id, which they say they lost during a car explosion.

sick tip

when you have phlegm, spit it out.  don't swallow it.  if you swallow phlegm, you might have a prolonged itchy throat.

shark tip

read this in the book of secrets.  don't pee or poo in the ocean.  sharks can smell it from miles away.  if you are attacked, scream underwater, hit back, change directions while swimming.  don't play dead.  and of course don't wear jewelry because you'll look like a yummy shiny fish.  also, don't swim near fishing nets.

door stop tip

the "real" doorstop is too short for the bottom of the door.  right now there's a bowling bag by the door to prop it open if needed.  it's a bit bulky but we don't have any sand or heavy stones to fill a smaller container.  bowling bag works just fine, thank you very much.

fridge tip

if your refrigerator dies, lowes has next day delivery for in-stock fridges.

mirror tip

it's really hard to clean a mirror covered with dried goop if all you have is water and a cloth or newspaper.  once the stuff dries, it's hard and you almost have to chip away at it with a chisel.  best to clean it up right away when the "goop" is still soft and wipable.

visit tip

had a lovely visit from pt this week.  oh, he's such a delight to have over.  he paid many many compliments about the house and was ever so gracious about eating our humble food.  i especially liked how he didn't make me feel like my cooking was subpar :o)  hooray for good visiting-friends manners!

yogurt tip

best yogurt?  trader joe's maple!  you can get it in a big tub and eat it for a week. 

persimmon tip

they say you're not supposed to eat persimmon with crab because it causes abdominal pain.