"Then You Take Your Dollah..."

If you recall a few posts back, I shared a bargain I found on eBay for iPod accessories.  [There should be a law against tHese tYpes of wOrds, and what happens if they're at the start of a sentence?]   Well that same eBay seller has a great deal on mini flashlights.

I don't know exactly why, but I love mini flashlights.  I dunno, maybe they give me this sense of power or security to have them in my purse.  The mini's I ordered, however, are not as tiny as I prefer--they're over 3 inches long--and they take THREE AAA batteries, but wow, they are powerful with 9 LED bulbs.  They're awesome to have for power outages because one of these little guys can light up a room better than a conventional flashlight.  

Ready for the price?  $6.99 for 5!  The batteries cost more than the flashlights themselves.  And hello....SHIPPING IS INCLUDED....and they arrived in FOUR DAYS counting Sunday!!!  

Okay, as I promised earlier, here are more money-saving tips.  Keep in mind that I try to list suggestions I came across on my own, not just copying off other lists.  For more ideas you can probably google "money-saving ideas."

1) Whenever we go to Honolulu, we rent a car.  I reserve something as soon as possible because I learned the hard way last Christmas that you can't always count on finding the "usual" prices even two months ahead sometimes.  The great thing about reserving a car is that you can always cancel it (and please have the courtesy to do so).  So okay, you reserve the car early, but a week or two before your trip, look for a better deal.  If you're willing to pay in advance, you can find super good deals such as $11 a day at Priceline for a major rental agency (Alamo, Avis, etc.).

2)  I don't like using laundry softeners too much because it makes towels less absorbent plus we don't care for too much scent.  I found that cutting dryer sheets in half or even thirds will still cut down on static cling plus save you money!

3) My mom, sister, and I are loyal long-time Long's customers.  I was sad, of course, when CVS took over, but now--not so much.  Why, you ask?  Because I've discovered--ok my mom discovered--the wonders of the CVS card.   It's free, of course, but I usually balk at getting yet another card.  They've redeemed themselves by immediately giving me a $4 off $20 coupon, then a fifty cents coupon within just two visits.

4) Doublecheck this one because I bought them over a year ago, but Kukui Grove Cinemas gives a little bonus with the gift certificate tickets you buy.  You pay $8--the regular price--for a gift ticket and the user gets a free small popcorn.  If you buy these in advance and use them yourself, you save on popcorn!  (Okay I don't want to hear "But I gotta have a LARGE!"  Didn't you hear how bad that stuff is for your health?  Pssst, get the free small and buy another small or medium...you still save!)

5) This saves on electricity/gas:  Don't believe the instructions on the pasta box.  You don't have to boil the pasta for 9 minutes or whatever.  I just boil pasta for a couple of minutes then turn it off and cover for 5-10 minutes (check occasionally so they don't get soft). 

As Ellen says, "You're welcome!"

I want to add that it's great and even fun to figure out ways to save money, BUT please don't go overboard to the "point of no class".  This means no mooching, no ziploc bags on the buffet line, and no stealing toilet paper from public toilets (or 20 bags of catsup from McD's, etc.).  Besides, haven't you learned anything from watching "True Beauty"?  Do not dishonor your fellow penny-pinchers!

Drive-In Movie Bento Night

To celebrate July 4th, we did something nostalgic:  We went to a drive-in with our bento dinner.  Remember those days?  Waialae Drive In Theater was our family's favorite.  The best part was going in our pajamas.  I wish I could remember at what age I stopped wearing pajamas to the drive-in.  Ok I'm kidding, the best part was my mom's bentos.  So very simple, but so delicious: musubi, fried rolled eggs, spam or vienna sausages, potato salad, celery/carrot sticks, etc.  Usually something like teriyaki or chicken, but the aforementioned were the staples.

You're saying, "Waaait a minute!  First of all Hawaii doesn't have any more drive-in theaters and Kauai never had any!  How could you go to a drive-in theater on the 4th?"  Ok so it wasn't exactly a theater, but like a drive-in theater, it WAS a parking lot (Ace Hardware's) and there WAS a performance: the "Concert in the Sky" fireworks show.  And, there was bento!

Perhaps because of the recession, the parking lot was more crowded than ever before, full of people who didn't want to pay the $10 entrance fee to the nearby Vidinha Stadium. It's not that we're cheap (well ok maybe we are--see blog post below), but honestly, we just didn't care to deal with the parking issue, walking to the field, possible rain, etc.  This way we could simply sit in our car, eat our dinner, and enjoy, then easily drive off as soon as the show ended.  [Ok everyone who did the "freebie" route like we did, please make a donation to Kauai Hospice!]

I made a LOT of musubis because they're my favorite part of the meal.  If that's all there was I'd still be happy!  They have to be almost fully covered with nori, of course, and have an ume in the center.  Tuna mixed with mayo/salt/pepper is also a delicious filling--try it if you haven't.  My second favorite part of a homemade bento is the egg omelet roll:

3 large eggs
1/2 t. Bragg's or soy sauce
1/2 t. sugar
1/8 t. salt
1/8 t. pepper
1/4 c. minced chives and/or green onions
1/2 c. tuna (optional)

Mix eggs with seasonings.  Read the following carefully for best results:

If using a 12" pan, 3 eggs should make a nice thin layer.  If using a smaller pan, you'll be able to make 2 omelets.  Heat the oiled frying pan and pour enough egg to form a thin layer covering the whole pan.  You're going to roll the egg, so determine which is your starting edge ("front half").  Immediately lower the heat and work fast.  (You don't want the egg to cook too fast, especially on the "back" half of the pan.)  I move the pan so that the back half of the pan is off the burner and cooks more slowly than the front half.  Working quickly, sprinkle the green onions/chives all over the egg except for the very back edges.  Sprinkle tuna.  When front end is firm enough, start rolling, carefully loosening the egg from the pan with a spatula.  You'll probably need two spatulas if using a 12" pan to properly roll the omelet.  Hopefully when you reach the end of your roll the egg on that back edge will still be a little "tacky" so it will stick and seal the roll.  Remove the roll from the pan and cool.  Slice diagonally about 3/4 " wide or as desired.

Rather than make the usual potato salad, I used Okinawan sweet potatoes to make a simple salad.  I guess the demand for these potatoes went up--Costco now sells them in a box--because supposedly they're the secret to longevity in Okinawa.  I don't really have a recipe, but more or less this is what I used and it turned out pretty good:

3 medium sweet potatoes (cooked in the microwave for about 8 minutes, but test with a toothpick.  I then place a stainless steel bowl--or foil--over them to steam a bit more for a few minutes.  Cut into cubes and then cool in the refrigerator.)

3 T. mayonnaise

1/4 t. pepper

1/2 t. salt

1 t. vinegar (I use Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar)

1/2 t. sugar

1/4 c. minced onions

1/2 c. minced celery

Because potato sizes vary, you may have to modify measurements.  We don't like too much mayo in ours.

We also had some of Foodland's fried chicken (yum!!) and that was pretty much it!  Not the healthiest meal, but not the worst, either. 

The weather was great and the fireworks were beautiful.  If only we could've worn pajamas it would've been even more perfect!