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The Uncommon Life

Amazing Alfresco

June 13, 2010

I get it. I’m a little obsessed with it being “summer” even though summer doesn’t technically roll around for another couple of weeks. However, in my world (and I’m pretty sure the minds of most) this season hits the minute pools are open and the grill is lit.

In honor of this splendid time of year, I will be posting a series of alfresco dining recipes 5 in all — one for each course.

This week we will start with the sun-dried tomato, olive and basil bread. This crusty piece of heaven is referred to as “cake” in France and is a Parisian favorite.

bread

 

What you need:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

3 extra large eggs

6 tablespoons milk

3 1/2 oz. Gruyère cheese, grated

3 1/2 oz. sundried tomatoes in oil, drained and finely chopped

2 oz. pitted black olives

a small handful of basil leaves, roughly chopped

sea salt and ground pepper

a 12×4 inch loaf pan, greased and floured Continue Reading…

The Uncommon Life

A Smashing Success

June 12, 2010

Brooklyn is just too cool. Last summer there were swimming pools made of old dumpsters and this year there is “cathartic” glass smashing. 

glass

 

David Belt, Creative Director of Macro Sea, has created free therapy and loads of fun for type-A New Yorkers. Participants chuck empty glass bottles from Brooklyn breweries into the recycling cage, filled with lights and fist-pumping music. Had a bad day at work? Maybe watching these bottles explode will ease your stress!  Check out Eco-Chick for the video and details.

The Uncommon Life

For the Love of Dad

June 8, 2010

Ask anyone what comes to mind when they think of Father’s Day and I’ll bet you a shiny nickle that at least one of these five things will be the answer: ties, grills, sports, watches and/or cufflinks and potato salad. Alright, so maybe I’m the only one who constantly thinks about potato salad.

But you get my point. While Mother’s Day is filled with tears, touching cards and over-the-top gifts, poor old dad is usually stuck with a hideous tie. Not this year! Dads, hold on to your grills because this year UG is gonna shake things up!

For the boozer:


On The Rocks Drink Chillers

On the Rocks Set


cognanc glasses

Cognac Glasses


 Continue Reading…

The Uncommon Life

Bottles Ahoy!

June 4, 2010

plastiki

While a lot of us dream of setting sail for a few weeks, few people would dare to do it on a plastic boat! Last March, a crew of brave souls set sail from San Fran to Sydney, Australia. Plastiki, the vessel made of 12,000 reclaimed plastic bottles, took 38 days to make the voyage  but arrived safely at Christmas Island on April 27th.

Read more about the day-to-day life, hardships and adventures of the crew here on the NY Times.

The Uncommon Life

Compostapalooza — It’s Feedback Time!

May 28, 2010

compostapalooza

With 94 brilliant entries, the Compostapalooza challenge is off to a great start! Now we just need your input. Vote for your favorite composter idea (you get up to three votes), submit comments on how ideas could be improved or just take a peek at the competition. Hurry– get to Quirky and start influencing!

The Uncommon Life

A New Kind of Corporation

May 27, 2010

UncommonGoods has been a proud member of B Corporation since back in 2007. But lately, it seems the whole world has been catching on to this sustainable, economical and just plain remarkable trend! Click on this Forbes article to see what the experts had to say about this shift in the way corporation leaders view their responsibilities.

Bcorp
The Uncommon Life

Gift Lab #3: Joanna Gets Grabby

May 26, 2010
Gift lab

1) Product Name: Grab and Dry Terry Dishtowel Gloves

2) Background Research: The day I was tall enough to reach the kitchen sink, my mother made it my responsibility to wash and dry the dishes. Occasionally, I could use a crisp dollar bill to bribe my little sister to dry, but usually it was a one-woman job and one that I loathed. Fast-forward 10 years and even though I now reside with my boyfriend instead of my mother, I’m still the dish girl. Fun (not so much for me) fact — I’ve actually never lived in a house or apartment with a dishwasher.

3) Hypothesis: I’m making a bet that these dish towel gloves will max out after drying 10 items (a mixture of glasses, plates and bowls).

gloves

4) Experiment: While preparing for a house guest to arrive last Monday, I had to quickly get rid of the heap of dishes sitting around my kitchen. Now, unlike most people, I only have a countertop as wide as a cutting board and therefore have create a designated “dish drying area” by placing a towel over the stovetop. It’s a little lumpy, but it does the job. However, it takes a couple of hours for the dishes to dry and I only had 30 minutes. Behold the bright orange dish drying gloves! This time I used the lure of extra Modern Warfare II playing time to bribe my boyfriend to wash so that I could try out the newly acquired cleaning helpers.

washing
dry

5) Results: At first, I was in love. With my little mittens, I could actually keep up with his washing speed! The dishes weren’t as dry as if I had used a towel, but it was good enough for me. Yet, soon enough I realized that while I was removing water, I was actually adding tiny bit of orange material to every dish.

The gloves lasted until about 10-12 items before they became soaking wet. I tossed them over the sink and in a couple of hours they were dry and ready for more action.

finish

Conclusion: 1) For optimum results, take the time to wash the gloves before using them. When I used them the second time to dry a sink full of dishes, the pilling was significantly less frequent. 2) Bribery is always the best policy. 3) While the grab and dry gloves are cute (in a blindingly bright, hunting glove kind of way) and pretty fun to wear, nothing beats a dishwasher.