A camping Stove that Charges phones?

Found this beauty today. It is a camping stove that can power USB devices. 

From the reviews I have seen this is another must have product.

It is a campfire stove that burns small pieces of branches or sticks. As it gets hot, a fan blows and creates a  cyclone.  This airflow forces the fire to get hotter.  This heat in turn gets turned into electric energy which charges your USB devices.  Current prices I have seen are around $129.  For something this functional it is well worth the price.  Can be found here.

Another day at the farmers market

We went out for a ride.  On the way home I decided we should check out the weekend farmers market.  We ended up seeing a vendor who deals in solar cooking appliances.  During the interview she told us that she saves 30% on her electric bill.  She had a few portable units and she sells the plans as well.  The one in the lower left pictured is just foil and cardboard.  I should make one of these to make my coffee when I am out and about.  With just a few minutes and some sunlight you can cook.

http://www.mainstreamsolarcooking.com/

This is her home versions which she cooks with regularly.  

BullHead

Some guys having fun making music for all to enjoy for free.

Fresher, bigger and nicer looking then what you can get at the grocery store.

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Puppy Biscuits

A nice treat for the kids.

Canada targets food to feed the hungry.

Canada goes after food to feed the hungry.  Everyday people are starving.  The government does little to feed these people.  

Many cities have come up with a way to combat hunger,  by supporting local grown community gardens.  Free for anyone to eat from.  

Many volunteers spend their time and money developing these plots.  Now these remedies are coming under attack by their city officials.  

In these days of a world gone out of control, is it really necessary to worry about some silly permits or bureaucracy when so many can benefit from the community gardens?  We need more people of all walks of life coming up with these types of common sense solutions.  

Season 3 Master Chef Winner Revealed!

Congrats to Christine Ha,  The 2012 Master Chef Winner.  She has won the coveted title of MASTERCHEF, her own cook book and the $250,000 grand prize.  Great Job! She has been my favorite on the show the entire time.  I am glad she won it.  It is quite the victory considering she had the handicap of blindness.  She did not let that stop her.  She fought hard and earned it.  Great job.  

She looked so speechless and overwhelmed.  Everyone had tears in their eyes.  The room was thick with emotion. :)

Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich Made on a BBQ Recipe

C: This recipe looks like it makes them how I used to eat them when I was a little.  These really do look tasty. I used to make these on a hot plate flat surface and they never came out this nice looking.

Something like this is my dream.

I would love to get a small house somewhere and have a backyard farm with solar power as they have in this video.  Would perhaps take it a few steps further with aquaponics. That is raising fish in series with the plants.

after shopping we got hungry

Spent the evening shopping in the north hills mall.  Before going home we realized it was  past dinner time so we agreed we should grab something to eat while we were there.  We had a few choices on where to eat in the plaza.We chose "Five Guys" since we had previous experience with this place.  The previous time we really enjoyed our meal.  This time something just wasn't right.

C:  Rewards and mentions in magazines cover their walls.  They get rave reviews often and in many states and cities they are voted in the top 10 restaurants to get a $5 dollar burger.

C:  The old man pictured seemed to either be in no hurry or lost while getting his ketchup.  He stood there moving things back and forth for at least 5 minutes.

C:  The food comes in a brown paper bag.  Novel idea.  Rip the bag open so you can lay out the food. When picking it up the server told me that he had made it a large fries instead of the regular like we had ordered.  This was a bonus.

C: Ordered a large bacon cheese burger with mushrooms, tomato, jalapeno and grilled onions.  Nice to see they use fresh jalapenos with the seeds still on them.

C: Visually it is not fine dining at all but it does pass for food made fast.

D:  Ordered the same bacon cheeseburger but without tomato.

C: Free servings of peanuts.  Have not seen this before in other restaurants.  Think this is a good idea.











C:  Eating at a restaurant or fast food is not what frugal people do often.  They know that it is a waste of money when they can make the food and more of it at home cheaper.  I know this, but I never had the feeling of regret after finishing my meal and looking at the bill as I did tonight.  "$22:16 for 2 burgers, fries and 2 soft drinks?!"  Even with the extra fries, option for free peanuts and the free refills for our drinks, I think they charge too much.

we got there near 8:30 at night.  It was a typical burger joint. ordered 2 burgers, fries and drinks. the price was a little ridiculous for the meal we got. $22.16. the presentation was lacking but not uncommon in a burger joint. the taste was not consistent with other times we have eaten here. this time it was of less quality taste. we had no wait time when placing our order. the staff were friendly and fast with delivering our food. the service was just right. the restaurant was clean.
would rate it 3 stars this time. The extra fries were the high and the low was actually the high bill.


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We wanted something light and fresh...

After D got her hair cut we decided to get lunch.  In the shopping center we had a few choices.  There was a sushi bar, pizza place and a Mexican restaurant. We choose to go to "La Carreta" the Mexican restaurant.  

salsa sampler made for our special order. each time I eat at a Mexican restaurant I order the 4 types of dips/salsas.  nice variety to chew on while awaiting the meal.

never ending chips basket.  these were bland and perhaps a little stale but once they are dipped in the salsa or cheese dip its hard to stop eating them.

had 2 $2 dollar draft beers was the daily special.

pollo crema

C: a welcomed treat of a spicy chicken covered in a creamy cheese sauce with rice and beans.

fajita toppings/salad

Chile Reales

C: was my first time eating this and I will try it again someday.  it was a battered pepper deep fried and had a spicy sauce over it. really tastey.

2 chicken fajitas

art and stonework fireplace

reminded me of south of the border

La Carreta

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with tip $30  The server seemed new maybe a little scared, but gave pretty good service. The food came out quickly and I would rate the over all experience a 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Day trip to the Farmers Market

We found this gem here in Raleigh NC.  We spent a good  2 hours browsing and shopping in the late afternoon.  The sellers still had plenty to offer us.  All of the food was fresh and locally grown.  The available selection often depends on what is in season.

C:  I found them to have a nice selection of pork products and farm cheeses that would typically be found in a country town.  Nice to see some products that have minimal processing.

D: I thought there was a nice supply and everything looked fresh.

 C:  I enjoyed the selection of canned vegetables, relishes and sauces.

D: Not shown in this picture was a large stock of dehydrated fruits and home made candies.  They had every sort of fruit that you could want.  We bought some dehydrated kiwi, trail mix, bananas and pomegranate.  All of which were reasonably priced.  Will be back again to get more.

C:  Seen this at one of the vendors counters. Think this "good health recipe"  was a type of snake oil that is a gimmick.  Doubt this stuff works.

D:  We didn't stop to eat that day. Although, the tables looked clean and well maintained.  Nice spot for the locals to bring their families for a light healthy lunch.

C: There was plenty of parking available right near the vendors. Can easily drive by to see if something catches your eye.

 C:  Someone had a fantastic looking arrangement of cacti and succulents.

 C:  Maybe a few of these will keep the kids out of my yard. :)

D:  They also offer some fruit bearing trees for sale.

D: It is a large open air market with many vendors which result in competitive pricing and that equals lower price for the customer.

C:  There were barely any lines at all. Step right up and tell them what you want, pay and take your purchase.

D:  Bought some blueberries and zucchini.  All was clean and fresh.

C: The best looking strawberries I have ever seen.

C:  Hope to find this guy again the next time we go to the farmers market.  Will pick up a few containers from him.  The stuff they sell in the grocery store is not real honey, most of has additives and is watered down.  Real honey like this is a real treat.

D:  That's fresh, beautiful garlic.  Have not seen bulbs this size before.  Anyone doing real Italian cooking knows that the freshest garlic makes the difference.








Raleigh Farmers Market
We went in late afternoon. It is an open air market for locals to buy locally. We bought some dehydrated fruit and some vegetables.  Everything was offered at a low price. The presentation was pleasant and there was plenty to choose from.  We both enjoyed the food. There was no wait time. The staff and management were friendly and helpful, over all service was good. Was very clean and maintained.
highs and lows: Could have had more places to sit down. Offered good quality products for great prices.
Would give it a rating of 4 stars.

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