Selling Clothing: Tradesy Experience

A reader asked for a report on Tradesy selling. Tradesy is a site through which you sell clothing, shoes, accessories. You send a picture, set the price, and cross your fingers. As with Ebay, you keep the item till it sells. Unlike Ebay, your listing remains indefinitely. Listing is free.

Tradesy is a pure middleman. They take 10% of your selling price and charge a fee if you choose Paypal rather than credit. The buyer's price INCLUDES shipping and the 10% fee, so there is a spread between what you get and what the buyer pays.

I hate selling on Ebay, way too stressful in many ways.

Miss Em and I listed about 30 items, mostly shoes. We set the prices lower than suggested. So far we have sold 14. The lowest price was for some Susana Monaco stretchy stuff. The highest prices were for some Frye boots and some Uggs. We've netted about $350, for Miss Em's return to USA clothing fund.

Luckily, all items except the Uggs were thrifted--and even the Uggs were vastly on sale--so we haven't lost any money.

Tradesy is EASY. You get an email when your item sells; a few days later you get your selling kit, which consists of a pre-addressed Tyvek envelope. You stuff the stuff in and that's it. EASY.

More tips to follow.

Stretch Cooking: Tortilla Soup

An obvious stretch from Ina Garten's chicken chili (see previous post).

Tortilla Soup

a few blobs of chicken chili
some stock made from the rotisserie carcass
another small can of tomatoes
some of the kidney beans I made by accident

Voila: soup!

I also added a can of hominy (or try corn), some crumbled chips.

Top with cheddar

Hot sauce to taste

Time: 5 minutes????

I got another idea after I made this. Luckily, I had a bit of chicken chili left. Can you think of something else?

Stretching Your Food: Chicken Chili

I am convinced that getting your food budget under control is the key to financial well-being. Everyone has to eat. I pointed out to Miss Em's friend that he $1500 plane ticket to Serbia (soooo expensive for someone in med school) can be "paid for" by spending $30/week less on food than his classmates. To that end, I email him the good deals from Publix every week.

Another way to save money on food is to stretch it: turn something into something else. This is not a dreary endeavor, based in necessity. It's actually fun and saves a ton of time.

To wit: I had a rotisserie chicken that I ate with the couscous recipe I posted a few days ago. There was a ton of chicken left. So I made Ina Garten's chicken chili.

Chicken Chili
Recipe courtesy Barefoot Contessa Parties!, 2001, All Rights Reserved

Prep Time:15 minInactive Prep Time: -- Cook Time:1 hr 45 min
Level:
Easy
Serves:
6 servings

Ingredients
4 cups chopped yellow onions (3 onions)
1/8 cup good olive oil, plus extra for chicken
1/8 cup minced garlic (2 cloves)
2 red bell peppers, cored, seeded, and large-diced
2 yellow bell peppers, cored, seeded, and large-diced
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more for chicken
2 (28-ounce) cans whole peeled plum tomatoes in puree, undrained
1/4 cup minced fresh basil leaves
4 split chicken breasts, bone in, skin on
Freshly ground black pepper
For serving:

Chopped onions, corn chips, grated cheddar, sour cream
Directions
Cook the onions in the oil over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the bell peppers, chili powder, cumin, red pepper flakes, cayenne, and salt. Cook for 1 minute. Crush the tomatoes by hand or in batches in a food processor fitted with a steel blade (pulse 6 to 8 times). Add to the pot with the basil. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Rub the chicken breasts with olive oil and place them on a baking sheet. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast the chicken for 35 to 40 minutes, until just cooked. Let cool slightly. Separate the meat from the bones and skin and cut it into 3/4-inch chunks. Add to the chili and simmer, uncovered, for another 20 minutes. Serve with the toppings, or refrigerate and reheat gently before serving.

Well, of course, mine was easier. Not only did I have the chicken all set, but I threw in chunks of those frozen caramelized onions and bell peppers I'm always haranguing you about. So all I had to do was open canned tomatoes, throw in frozen chunks, add a few spices (omitted basil), and throw in some meat. 10 minutes?

I forgot that this chili was meatless, so I cooked a pound of kidney beans. Oops! Well, there was my side dish.

We've had this twice and there's a fair amount left over. What would you do with it?
P.S. I can't believe how cheap this book is if you buy it used.

Scoff If You Will: Chico's Code $25 off $50

Chico's elicits scoffs even MORE than Eileen Fisher: middle-aged women in beaded polyester prints screaming cheeeeeeep. I even scoff at most of it. Nonetheless, I like their ponte pants, leggings, and long tanks. I sort by color so I only look at items available in black and red and a few other colors. They have super sales and also send codes to the lucky few that you can use ON TOP of sales. The current code gives you $25 off $50! That's the best. 11232. Not sure how long it's good for. Scoff away.

P.S. 22 year old Miss Em, very tall and very thin, ALSO wears the leggings, ponte pants, and long tanks. Scoff if you dare!

If Eileen Fisher is What You Want; If 25% Off Retail is Good Enough

Eileen Fisher is on the radar once more. There was a New Yorker article, which I am going to read one of these days. Duchesse wrote an interesting post on why the line doesn't suit her, and got many passionate comments. As my students say, "Why all the hatin'" I remember reading an article years ago called Good-bye ???, Hello Eileen Fisher. Can't remember the identity of ???, but the point was good-bye sexy clothing, admiring glances, hello middle age. From an essay in a British paper: One off-Broadway show even had a character sighing: “When you start wearing Eileen Fisher, you might as well say, ‘I give up’.” Duchesse did not say these things, by the way. But comments included words like crone, aging hippie and so on.

All I have to say is: I like pants with wide elastic waistbands. And I need items that will keep my students paying attention to what I'm saying. None of the comments on Rate My Professor refer to me as a crone.

I do hate the prices and have not found Ebay a good source, even though it's often recommended. I usually wait till Nordstrom has a good sale. In fact, they have a lot marked down right now.

Another idea: go to Garnet Hill Facebook. Click through and you can get 25% off anything full-price. Full disclosure: I am way too cheap to buy EF at 25% off. You can get anything, not just EF, but Garnet Hill has a good selection.

Vegetable Couscous: Easy, Fast, Frugal

A friend of Miss Em's who started med school this fall asked what recipes he should have. I said, Forget the recipes. Start by buying 10 cans of beans, 10 cans of tomatoes, and some grains. He listened too!

So I would similarly say to Pseu, seeking a more vegcentric diet, Lucky you in SoCal. Get to Trader Joe's and buy the above. In particular, you can get some canned chickpeas and some couscous. (Not having a TJ's, Miss Em's friend got his from Amazon.)

And this is what you can make. Being lazy I copied this from another blog. She in turn copied it from Jeanne Lemlin's book. The blogger eliminated the little bit of sauteeing oil Lemlin recommends. It adds so much flavor! I say, saute in oil.

Vegetable Couscous

Serves 3 to 4

If couscous is not available, this easy dish can be served over whole grains, such as millet, quinoa, or brown rice.

2 Tbs. water
2 Garlic cloves, minced
1 medium Onion, diced
2 tsp. Ground Cumin
½ tsp. Turmeric
1 tsp. Paprika
1/8 tsp Cayenne pepper
2 medium Zucchini, cut into ½-inch cubes
1 15-oz. can Chick-peas, rinsed and drained
1 16-oz can Tomatoes, finely chopped, with their juice
½ cup Raisins
1 ½ cups Vegetable stock (or water, with broth powder added after it boils)
½ tsp Salt
1 cup Couscous

Heat the 2 tbsp. water in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and onion and sauté 2 minutes. Sprinkle in the cumin, turmeric, paprika, and cayenne and cook 2 minutes more, stirring often.

Stir in the zucchini, chick-peas, tomatoes, and raisins. Cover the pan and lower the heat to medium. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the zucchini is tender, about 15 minutes. Add salt to taste.

While the vegetables are cooking, prepare the couscous. Bring the vegetable stock or water to a boil and stir in the salt and the couscous. Cover, remove from heat, and let sit 5 minutes, or for up to 20 minutes. Fluff with a fork before serving.

Serve the couscous with the vegetable mixture mounded in the center.

Adapted from Quick Vegetarian Pleasures: More than 175 Fast, Delicious, and Healthy Meatless Recipesby Jeanne Lemlin.





If you have some meat eaters, buy a rotisserie chicken for them. DONE!

Pork and Potato Hash and Some Snippets from Serbia

I want to write about some easy veggie-centric recipes for the busy Pseu, but I MUST GET RID OF THIS PORK. I am sick of it. Here's what I'm having, from another favorite cookbook: Jacque Pepin's Cuisine Economique. Isn't that a great title? This is copied from an appearance in the New York Times.

TOTAL TIME50 minutes
COOK TIME 30 minutes PREP TIME 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 3/4 pounds all-purpose potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/4-inch slices and washed in cold water
1 1/2 cups water
3/4 pound onions (about 2 medium-size onions), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
A few tablespoons of juice left over from the pork roast, if any remains (see recipe)
3 to 4 cloves garlic, peeled, crushed and chopped (about 1 tablespoon)
1/3 cup minced scallion (3 to 4 scallions)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
10 to 12 ounces leftover pork roast (see recipe), cut into 1/2-inch dice (about 2 1/2 cups)
1 fried egg, for garnish (optional)
PREPARATION

1.
In a 12-inch nonstick skillet (or 2 smaller nonstick skillets), place the sliced potatoes with the water, onion and juice from the pork roast. Bring to a boil, cover and boil over medium heat for 10 minutes. Then add the garlic, scallion, olive oil, Tabasco, salt, Worcestershire sauce and the leftover pork roast. Mix well and cook, uncovered, stirring over high heat for about 5 minutes.
2.
Most of the moisture will have evaporated by now and the mixture should start to sizzle. Since the hash will begin to stick at this point, use a flat wooden spatula to scrape up the crusty bits sticking in the bottom of the pan and stir them into the uncooked mixture. Continue to cook over medium heat for about 20 minutes, stirring every 3 or 4 minutes. The mixture will brown faster in the last 10 minutes of cooking and should then be stirred every 2 or 3 minutes.
3.
At the end of the cooking time, the mixture will stop sticking to the pan. Press on the mixture to make it hold together and fold the solid mass into an oval omelet shape. Invert onto a large platter. Serve immediately as is or with one fried egg on top.
YIELD 6 servings


The book is neat: Pepin explains that his classical French training has been jazzed up by the influence of his Puerto-Rican born wife. Yay Gloria! Love the hot sauce. Another book that can be had for a penny plus shipping.

In the doting mom department: take a look at Miss Em's snippets from Serbia. I think they are charming, but then, I'm biased.