Cooking: Where Did Mealtimes Come From?

I have always wondered why we eat dinner at 6pm. Especially in the summer when most of us are still active until after 9pm. I didn't realize that at one time we didn't even eat dinner til 2am!

Boing Boing!, one of my favorite blogs, recently had an article exploring the history of mealtimes. Seems the super-rich of the 1800's radically changed mealtimes from the common folk. Staying up all night (using expensive candles and oils that common people couldn't afford) and sleeping all day.

An interesting look at why we eat at the times we do.

Click here for the full article

Cooking: All Hail the Egg!

I love eggs. I really love scrambled eggs for breakfast. We do so many classes in Community Education about fun and exotic food, I thought I would write about SCRAMBLED EGGS!
Found a great article on the Wine Lovers Page about cooking the perfect eggs. The first paragraph sums up an eggs battered existence (did I just make a pun?) :

"Pity the poor embattled egg. The target of occasional criticism for its high cholesterol content and occasional reports of salmonella contamination, a lesser product might have disappeared entirely from our larders."

Alas, we have no scrambled egg classes for Spring. We do have lots of other cool classes so don't forget to take a peek at our schedule.

Business: Even Small Business Owners Have Green Options

Small business owners are often big on passion and drive, but short on time and money. Because of this, being "green" in business isn't even an option, as small business owners don't have the time to research environmental practices, or the money to implement them.

However, some local utility companies are trying to help business owners be more environmentally responsible without driving them out of business. This new trend is called "on-bill financing." It works like this:

A business signs up for funds from a utility company to upgrade to more energy efficient equipment. These funds become an interest-fee loan, which is paid off as a line item on the monthly utility bill. However, the monthly bill stays the same, because the amount is scaled to match how much the business is saving by using the energy efficient equipment.

On-bill financing is becoming a trend throughout the country, and similar incentives exist right here in Whatcom County. To read the full article about on-bill financing at businessweek.com, click here.

To read about Puget Sound Energy's energy efficiency programs and rebates, click here.

Home and Garden: Living Lighter

Having just celebrated Earth Day, you might be wondering how you can implement more sustainable and earth-friendly practices every day of the year. A good place to start might be the Lighter Footstep website, which lists 10 easy ways to reduce your impact on the planet. The very practical energy and money saving suggestions listed there include switching to compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs), monitoring your thermostat, unplugging idle electronic devices, using a low-flow shower head with a shutoff valve, and getting regular tune-ups on your car. For all ten suggestions, visit Lighter Footstep.

Travel: 36 Hours in Portland

Most people in the Pacific Northwest don't think of Portland as a weekend travel getaway. For many of us its just another crowded city "on the outskirts of Bellingham!

According to this great article from the travel section in the New York Times, Portland is actually a great weekend travel destination. Unlike Seattle, Portland has less traffic, less downtown congestion and less caffeine. With 5 distinct neighborhoods you will find arts, shopping, entertainment, and plenty of sightseeing opportunities.

Personally, I like to escape to Portland on occasion. I find the downtown exciting and it's a great destination when your looking for a big city adventure.

Personal Finance: Tricks of The Retail Trade

The world of retail is a tough place to have a business. Lot's of competition, shrinking margins, changing trends, and cyclical buying habits of the average consumer. Grocery stores have it even harder relying on large volumes ("turns" on each product type) to produce net profits averaging 1%.

It's even worse being a consumer and avoiding all the tricks used by stores to get you to buy more product. I spent twelve years in the retail/food business and every product is placed where it is for a reason. Every department, every aisle, and every free standing display has a hard and fast rule of how it will get you to purchase more stuff.

In this article from The Consumerist Blog, they discuss the 15 most common tricks of the trade. From narrow aisle that make you slow down to look at product and placing generics products at foot level while high-margin items are at eye level. One of my favorite tricks, which The Consumerist missed, is the aisle ends in stores. In a well run store "end caps" will have high-margin items displayed. Even if the item is on sale, it's probably got a cheaper counterpart somewhere else in the store. Many times there will be a shelf of like products on the end-display that is not on sale. These are always premium items and shoppers tend to automatically up sell themselves to those items... and end up spending money not saving.

Take a moment to read the article and think about how you shop. You just might save yourself a few bucks.

Home and Garden: Your Own Little Herb Garden

Fresh herbs have a much more robust taste than the dried seasonings you usually buy at the store. Why not try growing your own herb garden?

With just an 18 inch diameter pot, you can grow a variety of fresh herbs to last through spring, summer and fall. By choosing the more colorful varieties of herbs, you can add some color to a boring porch or window sill at the same time.

The National Gardening Association article I was reading suggests fast growing herbs like Sage, Rosemary and Parsley. They also suggest experimenting with something unusual like Lemongrass and French Tarragon.

Checkout our Spring Container Gardening class on May 5Th for more ideas for gardening in small spaces.

Travel: Being Green is Responsible AND Fun

While many people practice being "green" while at home, there are also many opportunities to travel in a way that is environmentally friendly. This article offers tips and resources on how to travel green, from the obvious--walking or biking instead of renting a car at your destination---to the more obscure---some airlines will offset the carbon emissions used in flight by paying companies to work on solutions to environmental problems. Some of the green travel tips are also just plain good travel tips: learn the local language, eat the local food, and stay on the trails.

To read the full article on Green Travel Tips, click here.

Food and Wine: The Bar is The Place to Be

Whenever I go to a nice restaurant, I like to sit at the bar. It's fun to talk to the bartenders, or see the chefs prepare my food, or make up stories about the other patrons of the restaurant.

It's also fun to sit at the "bar" at the back of Pacific Chef and take a cooking class. It feels like I'm in the chef's kitchen, and I can get a great view of every preparation that leads to the piece de resistance.

Little did I know it, but this is more than just a personal preference--it's becoming a national trend. In The New York Times Diner's Journal, blogger Pete Wells discusses how hip it is to belly up to the bar and eat a full meal, rather than waiting for a table. In fact, some of the most expensive restaurants in bigger cities, such as l'Atelier (pictured here) are now completely bar seating.

Blog readers, on the other hand, are more divided on the issue of eating at the bar. Some enjoy the casualness, the service, and the possibility of getting foods that aren't on the menu. One person even said it made communication with his wife better. Others firmly feel that a bar is for drinking a cocktail while you wait for your table, period.

What are your feelings? To read all of the compelling arguments for and against eating a full meal at a bar, click here.

Personal Enrichment: 17 Items You Should Stop Doing

Do you still lose your keys, fill your gas tank halfway and manually deposit your paycheck? What about commuting in heavy traffic and writing checks for bills?

These are all activities that consume time. According the productivity501.com website, just depositing you paycheck manually instead of having automatic deposit will consume 65 hours over the next 10 years of your life. This list of 17 items touches on one of the major themes in many of our productivity and time management classes. A lot of the little things we do in life can consume an amazing amount of time. Reclaiming that time time goes a long way to making time for those things you want to do in your life.

Many of our classes offered in our class schedule work along those same lines. Learning to use your Outlook email program better, make high quality meals faster, or solving conflicts in the workplace all can help you save time in your daily life as well as enrich your life.

So take a look at the list, add some of your own, and see how much time you can save in the coming months!

Business: Made to Stick

This is a great new book getting a lot of talk around the Internet.

Made to Stick by Chip & Dan Heath explores why some ideas stick in people's minds and some don't. According to the Buy.com review, this book is an incredible lesson on human nature and how to get your goals and ideas to succeed.

Made to Stick explores why urban legends work, viral marketing and the history of some of the best accepted ideas and why those ideas were accepted. For anyone who has read Tipping Point, this is a great follow-up book.

Recreation: The Grand Daddy of Golf Tournaments

The Masters Golf Tournament begins Thursday, April 5th, at the Augusta National Golf Club...and you may be asking--"Why should I care? I'm not a golfer!" I say, if you have a bit time, try experiencing this grand daddy of golf tournaments--all four days will be televised so check your local TV listings. I haven't taken up the sport myself, but still find this yearly telecast riveting. Steeped in ritual, a stunning setting, a lesson in etiquette, history, you name it--it's all there. And, if you love flowers and beautiful landscapes, that alone is a reason for tuning in because this golf course is breathtaking! Add to that HD television reception and the experience becomes jaw-dropping--every blade of grass, azalea blossom and water feature dances before your eyes as you follow the tournament play. Then, if these world-class golfers end up inspiring you to take up the game, look to our golf classes as your first step at breaking into this sport--a game you can play for the rest of your life. So, tune in this coming weekend for what has become one of my favorite sporting events all year long.

Behind the Scenes at Community Ed: Fall Is In the Air

Well, sort of. Even though spring quarter classes are just beginning and summer is still ahead, for some staff members at Community Ed the focus is already on fall. That may be surprising until you realize just how much work goes into planning over 200 classes each quarter, many of them never before offered. We are on timelines similar to some national magazines, which are working on their holiday issues as we speak. At least we don’t have to carve jack-o’-lanterns and decorate Christmas trees in April and May for photo spreads! Nonetheless, all of our fall classes have to be planned and scheduled by the third week of June in order to be proofed, laid out, and sent to the printer by August 1. All so that we can deliver our fall schedule on-time to homes like yours when fall really IS in the air.

Cooking: The Best Way Yet to Peel an Egg

All of us can peel an egg. But I bet you can't do it like this. It's so simple I can't believe we all didn't try it long ago. Crack both ends and blow on the egg. It slides right out of the shell. Watch this great video from the Lifehacker blog and give it a try.

Egg Peeling Video

Travel: Baseball Roadtrips

Don't tell my staff about this trend!

Baseball road trips are becoming more and more popular with many major hotel chains teaming up with ballparks to put together travel packages that include baseball and travel.

In a recent NY Times article titled All The World's a Road Game author Fred Bierman explores traveling to view stadiums and watching your favorite teams play a game. In one recent survey 60% of travellers who took two or more domestic round-trip flights a year were found to be Major League baseball fans.

Hotels across the United States (and Toronto!) are putting together packages with tours, tickets, access to players, and other amenities to provide unique vacation opportunities to baseball....ummm.... fanatics.

Just don't tell my staff. We need to get some work done.

Personal Finance: 11 Myths About Credit Reports

One of the things you learn about in our Managing Your Money workshops is to keep an eye on your credit reports. Your credit report and your credit score can make or break whether you get a loan or mortgage. Do you really know what affects your credit score? Do you really know how to make your credit report look better?

This article from Bankrate.com explores some of the more popular myths about credit reports. Many common beliefs about credit reports are just not true. For example:

• Paying your debts early does not make your credit report look better.
• Bad news on your credit report does not necessarily come off in seven years.
• You can't really pay someone to fix your credit report.

So take a quick peek and get the real dirt on what your credit report has in store for you.

Back to the Dark Ages for Gardening Ideas

Seems that apothecary gardens are making a comeback. In the dark ages, no self respecting monastery would be without a large and thriving healing garden. Doityourself.com explains that most healing plants grow really easily and are fairly common. The article goes on to explain how to arrange plants for easy care and maintenance. A great idea as the sun starts to peak out, the temperature gets warmer and thoughts of planting your gardens become more urgent.

Click here for the complete article