Event: Great American Bulb Swap

I spent part of Friday with a friend at the Great American Bulb Swap at Eastern Market in Washington DC.  I had heard about the event from the blog Gadgeteer and planned to go, then I received an invitation to attend as a blogger-- yay!

If you've read other posts in this blog, you know that I can be cheap frugal. So while the idea of spending $15/bulb is unappealing, I am certainly interested in bulbs that last 20+ years.  I also found myself with a lack of good energy efficient options for the fourteen recessed lights in our kitchen and living room.  I've bought many CFLs for these fixtures and relegated each one to little used fixtures because the light was so unpleasant.  We stuck with halogen floods for these constantly used fixtures...  not cheap at $5/bulb and VERY hot, but at least I like the light.

In a fit of energy efficiency, I broke down and bought six LED bulbs for the kitchen in summer 2013. They were a mere $10/bulb at Costco (gulp!).  They are slow to come on, and two of the six have had intermittent flickering, requiring a warranty claim and return to Costco.  Not the best experience, but the light is pleasant and they're not as hot as halogen.

Enter Cree Bulbs.  I first encountered Cree bulbs at a local energy conservation event this past summer.  I used one Cree bulb when the kitchen LED bulb started blinking, immediately noticing that it came on faster than the ones from Costco and gave off an equally appealing light.  When the other company came through with replacement bulbs, I put the Cree back in the closet in order to have a matching set in the kitchen.

Me, Bulby and Elaine at Eastern Market DC

At this event, I learned that my Cree bulb is behind the curve compared to the new ones.  The newest ones are plastic, which makes them shatterproof and less expensive to make.  They dim better than previous versions, and kept the instant-on feature I noticed in the first one.  If there's a problem, Home Depot will swap them out under warranty.  And, drum roll please.... they are only $7.97 at Home Depot.  That's 20% savings over the ones I got at Costco, and they are better bulbs.  Score!


The price is right, the energy savings is there, and most importantly, the light looks right in my house.  Time to head to Home Depot and switch to Cree!

Disclaimer: I received Cree bulbs and gift cards as a part of this event, but was not asked to write about the event or the bulbs. All opinions are my own.

MEAT!

Meaty goodness!

My dear friend (the one who taught me to can) just posted on FB that she thinks my Pot Roast recipe is the best ever.  I have to agree, although I will give credit to Alton Brown for the bones of the recipe.  I am reminded that I never posted the recipe online.... this post corrects that egregious error.



This photo doesn't hurt either :-)







Even when cooking for four, I double the recipe and freeze the extra.  And yes, you MUST allow the meat to rest overnight before serving.  Alton Brown explains the impact of the heat/cooling cycle on the connective tissue in his Good Eats episode on stew

Pot Roast
2 lbs blade cut chuck roast/cross rib roast/cross rib steak
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp cumin seeds
1 medium onion, chopped
10 garlic cloves, chopped
1 cup canned tomatoes (chopped or diced)
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar or red wine
1 cup black raisins

1.  Trim excess fat from the outside of the meat and cut it into a few pieces.  Place in crock pot with remaining ingredients and cook on low for six hours, or until a fork can shred the meat.

2.  Remove the meat from the crock pot and place in a stove top safe dish.  Place in fridge overnight.

3.  An hour or so before serving, remove from fridge and skim chinks of fat from the top of the dish (this is the saving grace of using a fatty piece of meat- so much is removed in this step).  Warm the whole dish over medium-low heat on the stovetop.

4.  Prior to serving, remove the meat from the pan and place on a serving dish.  With an immersion blender, puree the gravy in the pan (it can be removed to a blender, although working with hot sauces in a blender requires skills I don't have.  If you don't have an immersion blender and don't want to blend, then skip this step-- it's all about the aesthetics, but won't affect the flavor).

5.  After blending (or not) turn up the heat to medium high and reduce the gravy by half to concentrate flavors.  Serve gravy on top of the pot roast, or pass it on the side.

Gravy goes great over mashed potatoes.

Delicious.  Time to go buy some pot roast meat!


Photo Credits:  www.lauravidlerphotography.com

Spy Gear

Last week, I scored an invitation to a Spy Gear event for me and the kids at the International Spy Museum in Washington DC.  The invitation came from my friend Elaine (blogger and parent extraordinaire!) who was unable to attend.  She knows my kids well, and was certain that this event would be right up their alley.... boy was it!

The event was sponsored by Spy Gear, a kids toy maker.   With the kids wrapping up third grade, I don't find myself buying a lot of toys anymore-- mostly the kids want books, apps or games/accessories for the Wii.   I was curious as to what Spy Gear offered and what the kids would think.  And the Spy Museum is always a hit!

The event was fun- upon arrival, we were each given a pair of Night Goggles.  These glasses have battery powered lights, which helped when we snuck back into the house after the event, hoping the scare the cat or Mr. Unwired.  I can confirm that a child wearing these while climbing into your bed  in  the morning will certainly cause you to wake up... and fast!  The kids had a chance to check out the table of Spy Gear stuff, while I chatted with a spy (actor) or two.  After a presentation by EvanTubeHD, dinner and instructions, we were off on a scavenger hunt through the museum. 

After the scavenger hunt, we came back into the event space and collected our swag.  From the presentations earlier, the kids were very interested in the door alarm and Video Glasses. I was pleased that instead, of those toys, they received a pair of Walkie-Talkies, which they tested all over the house and through the neighborhood the next day.  I can confirm that they reach 1/4 miles- we look forward to testing them further soon. The packaging says 2 miles!

Each kid also received a Spy Recording Pen.  One of my boys immediately started recording everything said in or around him.  The other had trouble with the buttons, so we'll keep working on that.  I was impressed with the heft and build of the Spy Gear toys; they are not flimsy!  With that in mind, I expect that the toys will last through multiple adventures!

Kids wearing Spy Gear Night Goggles, en route to the moon in their cardboard spaceship.

Disclaimer: I attended an event hosted by Spy Gear at the International Spy Museum. My children received Spy Gear toys during the event. I was not asked to write about either the event or the toys. All opinions are my own.