Simple Makes

Since I launched Simple Makes on September 14, 2008, I've played around with different post formats, page layouts, topics, post frequency, and content. I've blogged recipes, book reviews, printable how-to guides, links to craft tutorials, photos from my home, and thoughts on simplicity.

As I write and look at the response (both mine and that I see in visits & comments), I've finally settled on what you can expect when you come to Simple Makes:

Tuesdays, I will blog about simple & green living for families, based on what my family's been doing together. Posts on family activities, travel, and crafts for kids fit in this category.

Posts I've written that would fit into this category include:
* Puzzle People Game
* Enjoy your Family... without Spending a Cent!
* Packing Light Tips

Thursdays, I will blog about simple & green living for homes, based on what we've been doing in our home. Cleaning tips, composting, and recipes fit in this category.

Posts I've written that would fit into this category include:
* Energy & Air Leaks
* Shower Supply Simplification
* Apartment Composting

Saturdays, I will blog short posts on any simple or green living topic, mostly using photos & links. Weekend snapshots, announcements of giveaways or special deals, and link love-type posts fit in this category. I'll also reserve posts like "On Simplicity" for Saturdays.

Posts I've written that would fit into this category include:
* Weekend Snapshots #1, 2
* Top 10 Craft Tutorials
* Simple Living or Giving Up?

Tuesday & Thursday posts are my content, based on what my life's been like, written in a way that you can use what I've done and learned, too!

For Saturday posts, I need your help. What'd you blog about this week? What's your Etsy store got on sale? What nifty link did you run across this week that I'd love, too? The best way to get my attention is to tag it for:simplyla on delicious. If you're delicious-less, try email: send your idea to me here.

Hope you're enjoying the way Simple Makes is going; comment to share your thoughts & ideas!

Thanks to some talented and creative chefs, my husband's desire for great taste and mine for simple prep & clean-up don't have to clash when we go to our cookbooks. Check out our "top 5" and share your own recommendations.

Our Cooking Story

My husband loves to cook: he grows herbs and knows the difference between various seasonings and spices; he scours Allrecipes.com, Recipezaar, and subscribes to Taste of Home in his reader. Whatever it is, he's willing to cook it so long as it produces delicious results.

As for me, I stick to baking, which I find relaxing; homemade rice-a-roni-like mixes, which are ready in just minutes; and recipes which call for dumping a few ingredients in the crockpot and eating it several hours later.

Here are the only 5 cookbooks we have; our "must-haves" when it comes to simple ingredients, simple prep, and even simple clean-up! Though we have delicious cookbooks, we reference these paper copies constantly and highly recommend at least the first 4 on the list for every simple chef (don't worry, the resulting dishes & flavors are anything but simple). Share your favorite cookbooks in the comments.

Note: Unlike some lists I write, these ARE ranked in order of how useful they are / how often I reference them. My husband would rank # 5 as # 1, but I don't consider it truly simple or worth buying unless you know (or are!) a serious chef.

1. Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day - I could write a whole post on this one, but let me just say this: a) I love baking, b) I even love kneading, but c) I don't have a lot of time for doing so. Enter Artisan Bread in 5, flour, yeast, water, and salt, and I get to give my husband the french, wheat, and even flatbreads he misses from back home without having to wash anything but a glass measuring cup, a plastic bowl, and a spoon. And it really does take just minutes. Simple.

2. The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook - As the book's subtitle says, it's not just white, brown, and wild rices; pilafs, risottos, polenta, chilis, soups, porridges, puddings, and more all come from simple recipes in this great buy. Of course, you'll need a rice cooker for this one, but if you use it for this book's recipes plus those you can find online, a rice cooker's really a bargain home appliance.

3. Top Secret Recipes books - We have the out-of-print "Classics," but I hear the others are just as good. Often called "copycat" recipes, we're often looking these up online: how do I make french fries like my favorite fast food chain? How about "The Soup Nazi"'s famous soups? Todd Wilbur, who authors the Top Secret Recipes books, puts out very complete collections of well-done imitation recipes, many of which allow us to make our favorites with 'normal' ingredients we can get here.

4. George Foreman Grill recipes - I haven't actually bought the cookbook, but the paper booklet that came with our grill has several tasty, simple, healthy recipes I cook again and again. We have the smaller grill, though with the popular removable plate grill currently $50 off on amazon (comes with a grill, griddle, waffle iron, sandwich maker, and baking plate), I'd sure like to upgrade!

5. On Cooking - Literally a textbook. 1440 pages. On sale for $80. It's linked if you're interested, but truly, this is the cookbook for the serious chef hobbyist. Nonetheless, my husband uses the book all the time, so I couldn't leave it out (plus, who's ever heard of a "top 4" list?). It is simple in its own way - diagrams and tutorials carefully explain how to use each cut of meat, herb, and piece of produce, so you won't be stuck with a "1 can of this, 2 packages of that" type recipe. If you want to understand the significance of each item you put in a dish and make recipes of your own, this may be your book. I have to admit to having read the baking chapter to get a better grasp on what goes on with the yeasts and leavenings and to troubleshoot some problems I had at our new high-altitude home. But let me repeat again... you'd better be serious about cooking for this one to be a good investment!

6, 7, 8, 9, 10? Your Turn!

What "simple" (in whatever way you define that word) cookbook do you reference all the time? Don't keep the secrets to yourself; let us know what we may be missing out on! Links to reviews of cookbooks on your blog are welcome as well. Just please, share!

Those weighty words jump out at me from the instruction page for a stimulating simulator webgame, ElectroCity. Why?

Though the game is targeted to school students, the idea behind it plus the fact that real-world sustainable living, too, is "easy to play, hard to master," stirred my interest enough to send me reading through the how-to and starting my own town, Coziville.

What's the big idea?

“We recognise the importance of sustainable energy generation, energy efficiency and environmental management. We want to help people think about these subjects laterally, and what better way than to experience them first-hand and see the impacts of your decisions,” says Genesis Energy Chief Executive Murray Jackson, whose company funds ElectroCity.

That is a big idea!

My Review

While definitely not the fast-paced game play you'd expect if you're a veteran of popular city simulator games (partly because, realistically, you start with little money so it's a bit hard to get going), this game does a lot for critical thinking and helping players think about the result of their choices. From the how-to: "You need to balance your city’s growth with its environmental impact. Your citizens need electricity and jobs, but they also love their clean green image. So you get to decide whether that forest should be made into a national park or logged and turned into an aluminum smelter." Sound realistic? It is.