Still looking for that perfect Father’s Day gift? Our new fire hose belt ($38) & wallet ($36) are made from actual fire hoses that were used by firefighters in Colorado. Give Dad a handmade belt or wallet with a unique texture and history, and let him know he’s a hero to you.
Designer Lori Burley talks a bit more about the collection and her inspiration below:
Got a good story about why your Dad is a super hero? You can enter to win a fire hose belt by Thursday, June 16.
Is your dad a super hero? Does he offer sage advice just in the nick of time? Is he always ready to come to your rescue?
Let us know why your dad’s a hero, and you’ll be entered to win a fire hose belt— a perfect gift just in time for Father’s Day.
Customer Service representative Meya made some colorful fruit and veggie mango pops with the new Quick Pop Maker, and a recipe she found in Perfect Pops. But will her teething daughter find them as tasty as they are healthy?
1) Product Name: Quick Pop Maker & Perfect Pops
2) Background Research:
Summer’s coming and as a parent to a teething infant, I know the best thing to help sooth them is something cold for them to crush on. So my goal was to find an ice pop recipe that I can make in a jiffy that my teething 8 month old could enjoy as well as the rest of the family.
3) Hypothesis:
I will no longer have to worry that I forgot to pop the teethers in the freezer when the moment hits.
4) Experiment:
My mission: Use the book to find a pop that my whole family will love and with the magic of the Quick Pop Maker create instant ice pops in a flash.
I unpacked, washed, dried and immediately stuck the quick pop maker in the freezer. Then I set out to find the perfect pop recipe. My criteria for my recipe was a pop made of fruits/vegetables, with no added sugar (natural sugars are okay) or salt. A recipe on page 60 caught my interest>: watermelon-beet juice and carrot-apple juice striped pops.
But going over the ingredients I thought, “I must have lost my mind.” Beet juice stains are no joke, and even with the small amount required (2 tbs) I wasn’t willing to risk it. I decided to omit it from the recipe. In the end I also omitted the agave nectar because I couldn’t find any that was pasteurized. I tasted the carrot and apple juice mixture and it really did need something to sweeten it up so I added some mango puree. While it succeeded in sweetening up the mix, it also really changed the color.
Here’s what I did next:
1. Remove Quick Pop Maker from the freezer. Insert sticks and pour about ¾ ounce of 1st mixture or Puree; allow layer to freeze completely.
2. Pour ½ ounce of next mixture or puree into each cavity directly on top of the 1st layer; allow layer to freeze completely.
3. Pour another layer, fill the base up to fill line in each cavity; allow layer to freeze completely.
4. Remove the pops with the Super Tool.
Pretty easy!
5) Results: From start to finish the whole process took about 20 min. I decided to juice or puree fresh fruit, so that added to my time. As did making the striped pops, because I had to wait for each layer to set.
6) Conclusion: I was surprised at Leya. She really loved these popsicles. I took this first picture thinking that I had sometime while she ate her way through the pop.
Little did I know! By the time I texted my mother a picture of Leya eating the pop, she was 2/3 done. As for her sore gums, I had a very happy baby on my hands. So much so that I decided to make her another the very next day (this time it was only an apple-carrot puree). Okay, so I guess I’m not that great at following a recipe but these pops were so good and were quick and easy to make. I can’t wait to try some of the other recipes. If you don’t think your infant can handle the pop stick or you just don’t want the mess, you can always cut a piece off and put it in a mesh feeder.
The Quick Pop Maker is $50 and comes with everything you need to make a batch of pops in just 9 minutes. Pick up a copy of Perfect Pops, $16, for some fun recipes to get you started.
May 16-20 is Bike to Work Week, and it’s the perfect time of year to give your bike a tune-up, and start pedaling.
I checked in with Mindy, our HR manager, who has been biking regularly in 2006. She’s been testing out our new Cycle Care Kit, $15, to see if it helps her keep her bike in great shape.
Made in Atlanta, the Cycle Care Kit has a selection of bike care products, along with bug repellent, to make sure your daily bike commute, or weekend bike trip, goes smoothly.
We sometimes grumble about the same old lunch options around the UncommonGoods offices in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. You do too, right?
This week, we’re putting that back into perspective. We’re pretty lucky around here. We have plenty to eat, plenty of great restaurant choices, and there’s even a farmer’s market nearby, where we can pick up fresh fruit and produce every week.
But millions of New Yorkers are not so lucky. 1.5 million New Yorkers live below the poverty line. Many more can’t afford to buy good healthy food for their families, much less go out to eat. During the summertime, when many kids stop receiving subsidized school lunches, child hunger really becomes apparent.
We’re joining City Harvest’s Skip Lunch, Fight Hunger campaign on Wednesday, May 11. We’re donating the cost of a lunch at our favorite taco joint, neighborhood sandwich shop, or delicious pizzeria to City Harvest’s campaign to provide food for 300,000 children, women and men every week. Every $10 we raise can feed 43 children in New York City.
You can join us too; you can make a donation to our fund raising page, or select City Harvest at checkout every time you make a purchase.
It’s the end of the school year, and time to say congratulations to favorite grad. But don’t forget the teachers that made it all possible. Here are a few gifts to let your teachers (or your kids’ teachers) know the impact they’ve had on your life.
When we saw Kiel Mead’s new His and Her Heart Necklaces, we knew we had to get the full story. Here’s a look at Kiel’s studio, and how he came up with the idea of giving your heart to another on the end of a pendant.
“Anything that needs to be made, I’ll try and make it.”
All this week, you’ve been telling us about your gardens, yards, and dreams for greening up your community. Here are six lucky winners who are getting a pack of seed bombs to get started:
Kay, when your wildlflower wonderland takes off, be sure to send us pictures!
I hope your father gets a kick out of his new garden!
Ashley, we’d love to see any art you do inspired by these wildflower seed bombs.
I’m guessing there’s a good story there. Terry, can you share it with us?
Enjoy the spring everyone. Happy planting and Happy Earth Day!
