JamieO2's Profile

Find a cooking class in your area, if you can, and go to it- or if you have some patient friends, ask to help them out in the kitchen and learn-by-doing.

Get a copy of "Gear for your Kitchen" by Alton Brown. He generally has some good no-nonsense information about what a well-stocked kitchen needs. Also, don't be swayed by high price tags. More expensive doesn't always mean better quality.

At a minimum, find some knives that feel good in your hand and fit within your budget. A chef's knife and a paring knife will do most of the things you'll need to do. Get a 10-12" cast iron skillet. They are relatively inexpensive and will last essentially forever. You can use them in the oven as roasting pans or on the stovetop. A boxed-set of cookware will also be a good place to start- once you learn more you can get some better quality pots and pans (as recommended in the "Gear" book).

Good luck, have fun and don't be afraid to experiment- you will fail a lot, but don't let that bother you. Everyone fails at cooking at one time or another.

I can't agree with this statement:
"Money spent on professional staging is never wasted and will most likely pay for itself (and more) with a quicker and higher offer"
If you don't live in a desirable area or your home isn't priced correctly, all of the "professional" staging in the world isn't going to help you a whole lot. ;) And, in a market where the selling price is a million dollars, a few thousand on a "professional" stager isn't a whole lot. However, in a market of $100,000 or so, that's a large price to pay and you're unlikely to recoup that cost.

I do agree on the photos, however. I've seen far too many photos on realtor.com and craig's list that look like a toddler took them with a mobile phone. You don't have to hire a professional, but do put a little effort into the photos. Real Estate Agent's should be a little smarter about this also.

The Farmers' Markets here are open from April until the end of October (well, the big ones are... there are a couple of small ones that are open throughout the year) and I manage to buy probably 90% of my food there in season. The one closest to my house is open Monday through Saturday and the other large one is open only on Saturday morning, but it's downtown (25 miles from my house) so I only go there once a month or so. Since the nearby one is open throughout the week, I can stop by if I need something during the week and can't wait until Saturday. It's nice :D
They both have a variety of fruits, vegetables, fish, shrimp, beef, pork, chicken, cheese, bread and other things. In the off season, I rely on a locally-owned super market and Costco with some things from Target that I can't find at the other two places.

I prefer them savory also... shrimp and grits is one of my favorite dishes ;)

I do buy some things in bulk, it just depends. I do it mostly for convenience and to take advantage of good pricing. I have a Costco membership and it's been great.

I would not go as far as to say "most Americans" ... I had never heard of this guy. Even after I looked up his biography I didn't know who he was. hahaha

LawyerMel- something else to consider is the impact of transportation. In some cases, it might be better from an environmental perspective to purchase conventionally-grown vegetables from a local farmer rather than having organic vegetables shipped from hundreds or thousands of miles away (you're also more likely to get fresher and higher quality products that way). You may also find a local farmer that uses minimal (or no) pesticides & non-organic fertilizers but isn't "certified organic". It would be a good idea to read "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan as you look at alternatives. You will find zealots on either side of the discussion, but from what I have determined, the real answer to the question of "where do I buy my food" lies somewhere in the middle.

I considered it, but decided against it this year. Maybe next year, however, I'm a little picky about the fruits and vegetables I buy and don't want to get stuck with a bunch of things that I won't eat- like beets. I'm not eating beets under any circumstances :)

If it's not "Certified Organic" then you can't "officially" say that it's organic. If the farm is certified, then you can feel secure that you are, indeed, getting organic products. Farms that use that label have to go through an inspection process and meet specific requirements before they can legally call their products "Organic". Of course, that doesn't mean that farmers can't produce organic produce without being certified. It just means that they can't use the "Certified Organic" label. Talk to the farmers if this is important to you, find out how they produce their products and decide if you can trust them.

haha, I do things like this all the time- the most common is to bake my own bread. I made pitas a few weeks ago for a party I was hosting with friends and they thought I was crazy for going through all of that trouble hahahaha