New York Renovator

I am an American. Worse, I am a Northeasterner American. Which means that I CANNOT COOK TASTY RICE. The rice I cook tastes DISGUSTING. I admit it! I have finally faced reality! That, or the family may finally mutiny unless I do. My rice was always too soft, mushy, and bland. I tried Basmati rice for a while, and that turned out nicer (i.e., it was edible), but it took a lot of time to wash, rinse, soak, cook, and wash all the dishes I used. Ugh.

People, I have seen the light.

GET A RICE COOKER.
Oh my word, why did I never get one of these before?!?!? Why have we suffered all these years?!?

I got a Black & Decker Rice Cooker and I urge you to do the same! Seriously, the thing is amazing. I’ve always been a real miser when it comes to buying small appliances. I never got a microwave unti lI was 35, never got an electric can opener until last year, never got a bread machine until a few years ago. Wow, what a difference in my life. Well worth the money. But the rice cooker, which I always thought was a silly fad, an expensive fob for “rich” women, is by FAR my favorite appliance. I use it several times a week, and it always makes the best rice. I am a rice cooker convert!

And they are not expensive, not at all! There’s a sweet Black & Decker rice cooker on sale right now at Buy.com for around $20. And the shipping is FREE! Get one for you, for your daughter, for your friends, for your sisters, for your mailman! The price is so low, and these things are totally cool! Rice is an inexpensive meal, so there are savings on that end, too. I love my rice cooker!! And best of all, ME, the Northeasterner– I can finally make edible, tasty rice!

By the way, while you’re at Buy.com, don’t forget to be a good Frugal Hack and check out their sale page. They have weekly sales and daily sales, stuff for very low prices. Buy.com has “everyday” stuff, too– household supplies, appliance parts, software, cooking tools, bedding, etc. It’s a phenomenal store and I love shopping there and grabbing deals. Check it out! You never know what great stuff you’ll find, and better yet, it’ll be stuff on SALE!

I found this very cool photo site devoted entirely to houses of old: 50s Pam’s Photosets on Flickr. This one startled me, because it looks something like my kitchen here… well, before the cabinet doors fell off and the drop ceiling came down… and before the orange laminate countertops warped from age (yes, we really need a new kitchen!).

Pam has loads and loads of really neat photos, not just kitchens! There are photos of older houses, old promotional items, vintage appliances, old advertisements, and more. It’s a fun (sometimes scary) trip down memory lane.

About a year ago, I blogged about my plight with can openers. They hate me! When I married, I got three can openers as wedding gifts. Before my first anniversary, they were all dead. I have tried buying various models, only to see them defunct within a few months. I reverted to my very old hand can opener, something my grandmother gave me when I was single. Her can opener has lasted me years– decades! But last year, it started to fail. The spinner wasn’t spinning. I bought another hand-cranking can opener (all made in China, now), and it broke within a month. Again, I bought another, and it broke. I was at wit’s end!

My sister read my post and came over one day, carrying her can opener. She said she had two, and I could have one of them. (Ain’t she sweet?) She showed me how to use it and treat it real nice (remember I said can openers hate me). But this was a can opener like no other– it didn’t have any flowery names like “Sunbeam” or “Can Opener Delight.”
This was a honking towering big black monster with a growling blade. It was a BLACK & DECKER can opener!! The father of all can openers!

Nonetheless, I had a pretty bad track record with can openers. But I was reminded that although can openers hate me, my power tools do love me. I immediately bonded with this can opener because it has the same name as my jigsaw and my screwdriver set (very reliable). Black & Decker make monster power saws– a can opener by them has got to be good, right?!

Well I’m happy to say that the Black & Decker has performed exceptionally well. It tolerates my nuances, my quirks, my sloppy can-holding technique… and still the B&D bites through my canned corn like it’s a stick of butter. I’m pretty impressed. I think the end of this story just may be “and they lived happily ever after.”