Tuesday, August 21, 2012

ONEWRAP, 100 WAYS?

This product is right up there with duct tape and super glue in its usefulness in the house and yard.  Oddly enough, I couldn't find a compilation anywhere, of all the useful things you can do with it. So, in the spirit of "Inspiring Serendipity", I've started a list of the way our family uses Velcro® Brand ONEWRAP,  QWIKTIE, and Bundle Tie straps around our house and yard.
Product information for the various types of these straps available are available from the corporate site:
http://www.velcro.com/Products/Ties-and-Straps.aspx
You can purchase these straps at many stores, including Home Depot, Staples, JoAnn Fabrics, and Lowes. Send me a message if you're having trouble locating some, and I'll point you to a few on line sources as well.
I'll add photos, and more ideas, as I can. For those of you on a tighter than tight budget, simply re-use the printed bundle tie wraps from your lettuce and other vegetables - they last quite a while!
Do you have another use of this great product that's not listed?  Add a comment - include a picture, if you can - let's see how far this goes!

#1 - Cable Management -Ethernest cords
#2 - Cord Control - Stereo equipment
#3 - Pant leg control for bicyclers
#4 - Teething ring keeper
#5 - Herb drying tie
#6 - Cat proof cabinet lock
#7 - Christmas tree light storage
#8 - Emergency car repair
#9 -  Securing wires on trailer hitch
#10 - Keep a roll in the car to "tie down things"
#11 - Keep lock pin close by to where it will be needed again
#12 - Cord Control -Travel Electronics
#13 - Drape tie back
#14 - Cord control - Ironing
#15 - Cord control - Desktop electronics
#16 - Camping - suspend a lantern
#17 - Camping - tent pole management
#18 - Bike carriers - help secure bike to rack for less vibration
#18 - Plant management - Tomatoes
#19 - Plant management - Grapes
#20 - lettuce / romaine wrap 
#21 - Biking - attaching grocery bag to bike

Monday, August 6, 2012

Tomato Pie

Fellow foodee Dayle inspired tonight's dinner main course, Tomato Pie.  Her version sounded delectable, and involved mixing some mayonaise and cheese to coat the top of the pie.  I may try that version soon, as the tomatoes are starting to ripen in the garden.  Today, I was in the mood for a slightly more quiche-like version:

Wildwoods Tomato Pie

Start with a large deep dish pizza pan or oversized pie plate, and preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Make up a pie crust, to your preference.  For my recipe, I mixed in my mixing bowl:
2 cups of flour,
1 teaspoon salt,
1 teaspoon garlic powder,
Once this was mixed, I cut in
1/4 cup of margarine
and finally, mixed in about
1/4 cup of water, until I had a nice dough.
In my deep dish enameled pie pan, I started with a smear of olive oil, then patted the dough onto the pan directly.  I used a small round glass to help roll it out so that the bottom of the pan was uniformly coated with the dough, and some of the dough I hand pressed onto the side edges.
I baked the crust for about 10 minutes, then removed from the oven.
Still hot, I coated the bottom with
pesto sauce, and a
sprinkling of cheese (I used cheddar)
and baked another 5-10 minutes, so that the cheese melted, creating a protective layer for the crust.
To this yummy crust, I stacked up
sliced tomatoes,
fresh spinach,
garlic,
a few dollops of pesto, and
more cheese.
In a small mixing bowl, I beat
1/2 cup heavy cream, with
4 eggs
.and poured over the whole pie.
Final back took about 1/2 hour.  I let the pie set for 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

It's a double win....was an excellent main entree, and there was enough to pack for lunches too!