Home and Hearth Calendar, Spring is here!
Crocuses
The Northeast is having an early Spring. We know this from phenology, the study of nature’s seasonal patterns. 4/11/25.
I noted the dates that flowers bloomed near me on my mobile phone calendar, and within a few days annually, it is mostly consistent every year. Other places with Long Island’s latitude (and sun’s intensity), 41° North, will likely bloom near the same date. 3/20/25.
This is the percentage of days with daylight hours less than today’s number of daylight hours (for the hemisphere nearing summer time).
| Flower | Expected L.I. Bloom |
| Crocuses | March 9th |
| Forsythia | March 27th |
| Daffodils | April 6th |
| Magnolia | April 14th |
| Last date we feed the birds | April 29th |
| Azaleas | May 9th |
| Rhododendrons | May 20th |
| Biltmore Hawthorn | May 22nd |
Home and Hearth Savings
Ooma is a VoIP phone service (Voice over Internet Protocol). There’s a one-time charge of $79 to $129 for a dedicated phone appliance that hooks up to your router, and to your portable (not mobile) handset. Your credit card is charged a flat fee of $6 to $9 a month in taxes. Not bad, eh? (Other Letter does not make any money in promoting goods and services. I haven’t made a dime plugging stuff. This is only a public service.)
Have at least a rudimentary understanding in managing your money. You can start by visiting the websites of your banks and financial institutions, and familiarizing yourself there with their offerings.
You might also want to auto-pay your utility accounts, such as electric, oil heat, Internet, among others. This way won’t require any postage stamps, and you’ll never miss a payment. Just be sure to keep enough money in checking.
Learn how to balance your checking account’s checkbook against the bank’s statement (your checkbook version is more current — and possibly less accurate — than your bank’s monthly statement).
How can you save a lot of money on your heating oil bill? When it’s time for the annual tune-up, ask your water boiler repairman to lower the thermostat down to 120° F. from 140° F. (as is typical). Less heating oil used, more money saved. I did this, and the oil deliveries are significantly less frequent.
Another money-saving tip regarding your home-heating bill, is lowering the thermostat on a part of the house you don’t use, or rarely use. The best solution is to have an electrician install a programmable thermostat. Then when you occupy a section of your home, it’s already heated to a comfortable level. A programmable thermostat delineates the day into four time periods: wake, leave (for work), return (from work), and sleep. A higher-end version has workday versus weekend scheduling. (The water heater has to be turned off temporarily, so exercise caution installing for the elderly in winter... I have a Honeywell model for which I do not receive any promotional compensation.)
Yet another way to lessen heating oil consumption: Move the bedspread, bed-frame, and nightstand, two to four inches away from the baseboard heating. They shouldn’t impede the heat from circulating around the room. If they block the heat, the thermostat won’t trip, and it’ll keep the heat on for too long.
PSEG, and likely all American utilities, charge more for peak electrical usage. This means, do not use the dishwasher or laundry machine, from 3 to 7pm, weekdays.
Instead of using insecticides, or hiring an exterminator, remove insects with a plastic cup, and paper-board, marketing insert. Slide the direct mail card over the insect, and escort him into the cup. Toss the critter outside. There’s no mess, no fumigation, and the insect is food for birds. Of course, if you have an infestation, you need more than this, you might need an exterminator.
Want an exercise bike at a discount? If you already have a bicycle, mount it on a Saris bike trainer. This quality equipment cost me approximately $180. Requires slightly involved assembly, but it’s just a bike mount. (I don’t receive commissions for anything I recommend.)
Really Great Eats
What says gourmet better than a Michelin-rated meal? In Manhattan, there’s seventeen of great distinction, such as Two-star, Aquavit, or Three-star, Le Bernardin.
PBS broadcasts a very interesting cooking show, Dooky Chase’s Kitchen: Leah’s Legacy. The Chases are a Louisiana family whose matriarch is known as the Queen of Creole Cuisine. Today, they run a gourmet, New Orleans, dining establishment, Dooky Chase’s Restaurant.
Their values are: Pray, work, and do for others. This is probably not even worth mentioning (or maybe it is), but the family is African American. They fully defy the stereotype for their race.
I just watched an episode with the making of a family feast, replete with: pork fire-roasted for eight hours with onion, celery, catchup marinade; pineapple cole slaw; and steamed crayfish — plus, strawberry, pineapple juice. It must have been absolutely delicious.
An Other Diner
I used a microwave oven for the first time in my life today. I have reached stasis with the culinary universe. I held off using one, because of unfounded disease fears, not backed by any statistical measure. I will say this: Microwaves meals (like ones from FreshDirect) are fast, easy to prepare, and have little (or no) pots and pans to clean up.
I have a Panasonic model (via Consumer Reports rating) that I mothballed, thinking it may have not been working properly (the package directions called for a refrigerated entrée, not a frozen one like I had). If you haven’t already, get a microwave for yourself, folks, and enjoy a wonder of the modern world! (Follow all directions.) 1/20/25.
This is a listing of fairly simple recipes for yourself, as well as perhaps someone else, that taste rather good, especially considering that their preparation is not so involved.
As a guy, with the kitchen pedigree typical of my gender, I can make these recipes — and I’ve made each one at least several times.
These recipes assume at least some familiarity with the kitchen, and I skip over every little detail. This is a kind of shorthand, it’s notes for making really tasty food.
While not vegan, they are conscientiously sourced to shellfish (such as scallops and shrimp), and poultry. Hogs and cows are awfully large animals to slaughter for your lunch, or dinner. They are fairly far up the evolutionary ladder.
- Even if this isn’t Friday sweets night, make a Demi, half of a PBnJ sandwich, an open face, one-slice, peanut butter and jelly sandwich. A Demi is a nutritious and delicious, near-dessert, lower in calories than its two slices of bread counterpart.
- With the wintry weather, make yourself a cup (or two) of Postum, or Chamomile tea, and avoid caffeine keeping you up at night. I like mine light and sweet, with a teaspoon of honey, and (sometimes) milk.
I went to mac-and-cheese, my go-to for an easy-to-prepare dinner (or as they say in Canada, “K.D.,” or “Kraft dinner”). I don’t like to have any cold leftovers, so I finished the entire box. Then, I carefully put the container in the recycle bag, without looking at the “Nutrition Facts.” I figured this could get ugly, I kinda overate.
Surprisingly, I’m at goal weight, not because of eating boxes of mac-and-cheese, though. I also had a salad, so I’m ahead of the game there. (Fill a salad bowl with a head of rinsed romaine, and cover with plastic wrap for the refrigerator. Wash the tomatoes when having a salad.)
- Here’s a dinner worthy of a blog post: Soup and sandwich; heated, canned soup, and an open-face tuna melt. Toast a bagel, or sandwich bread, with sliced cheddar, in the toaster-oven until the cheese melts. Mix a can of tuna with a tablespoon of mayonnaise in a bowl (can add piccalilli, pickle relish). Add the tuna to the bread. Enjoy!
- Do the pots and pans while you’re waiting for something to cook in the oven.
- Here is a great recipe, scallops with spaghetti and marinara. Boil six cups of water in a medium-size pot, then put spaghetti into this pot for ten minutes. Melt two pats of butter, about two tablespoons, into a large frying pan. Sauté a half-pound of defrosted scallops (best not frozen) for fifteen minutes, seven minutes a side (leave them on the counter-top, if nothing can get at them, like the cat). Drain spaghetti in a colander, pour a quarter of a 24-ounce jar of marinara into the pot. Pour spaghetti back into pot. Put scallops in with spaghetti and marinara. Make sure you have enough marinara to taste. Enjoy!
How about this classic? Egg-battered shrimp with rice, seasoned with Old Bay Seasoning. Melt two pats of butter in a large, ten-inch frying pan. Scramble an egg with a fork. Take each defrosted shrimp (a half pound fully serves at least one), douse in egg, and coat with prepared bread crumbs. Cook each side for seven minutes. In a second frying pan, follow directions of prepackaged rice mixture to make side dish (such as Seeds of Change).
Alter this recipe so the shrimp are cooked without batter. After cooked on both sides, pour the shrimp into the rice side dish. Season with seafood spices (I like Old Bay Seasoning).
More comfort food: How about some franks and beans for dinner. Boston baked beans were a staple of my Dad, especially during the Great Depression. Heat beans in a sauce pan. Boil water in a second, sauce pan. Place turkey franks in boiling water, boil again, take off heat for seven minutes (pork franks are for pigs). Drain franks, cut into fifths. Mix with heated beans. Don’t forget the mustard. Boston brown bread makes a good side dish.
Vary the above to serve franks on a bun, or conveniently, on a slice of bread. Complete the dish by squeezing mustard, and a tablespoon of piccalilli (pickle relish in Boston).
- Another meal idea is a grilled cheese sandwich. Melt a pat of butter on a frying pan at medium-high heat. Take a bar of cheddar, and slice six, eighth inch pieces off the end. Place the cheese slices on a slice of bread, cover with a second slice of bread. Put in frying pan for four minutes, cover with pie tin. Uncover, use spatula to grill other side. Cover again with pie tin. Grill for another three minutes. Bon appetit!