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The Joe behind the dough

16. Dec, 2011 0 Comments

Every morning before the sun rises, employees at Pelham’s Donut Joe’s are busy handcrafting and preparing what they see as edible works of art.

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Italian and so much more

16. Dec, 2011 0 Comments

When Charlie Vatella and his family moved back to the Birmingham area from Long Island, N.Y., in the early 1990s to open their restaurant, Vatella saw a prime opportunity sitting on U.S. 280.

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Fresh food with a family tradition

05. Nov, 2011 0 Comments

From the time you walk into Mikey’s Grill in Hoover, you can sense the familial atmosphere.

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Cake baking: A family tradition

05. Nov, 2011 1 Comment

Inez Sawyer grew up in Montevallo and spent time in the kitchen learning how to cook from her mother.

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Michael Bertolone’s memories of his childhood revolve around food. When he was a child, his parents brought a wooden stool into the kitchen for him. He could reach the counter and roll out the pizza dough with his family. Those treasured times prepared him for his culinary future.

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The Simple Life

Powerful pockets of time

By Lisa Phillips

Those “lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer” are here along with high humidity, no school bus traffic and endless hours of sunshine. When you heap all of that together, you get long hours that need our energy in many places other than behind a desk or dishwasher. We yearn to be outside pulling weeds, pulling for the home team, or pulling skiers during an afternoon on the water. Family members demand and deserve more of our head, heart, and wallet, so it is important for you to get a grip on what can be done in “powerful pockets of time.” Here are a few ways to simplify your daily routines. Although they may sound very simple, ask yourself how many of these things did you did today.

Grocery list:

: Keep an on-going list where all family members can add to it.

Cleanup:

Load the dishes in the dishwasher as soon as you are done cooking and eating.

Laundry:

Fold each piece as it comes out of the dryer. This one tip can save you a ton on time versus heaping clean clothes in a pile to be dealt with later. Have a basket for each person and put the folded clothes in there for one trip to be put away.

Never go empty-handed:

Take something with you on your trips to the basement or up the stairs. Unload a car the same way.

Buy a Ninja:

This one appliance does everything from kneading pizza dough to making soft serve ice cream. (The infomercial is amazing!)

Mail:

Open the mail in the same spot every day, preferably over a trash can or shredder. Think iRAFT. Make a decision on each piece of paper: Deal with it Immediately (within five minutes), have a place for things you need to Read, Action (bills, RSVPs, etc.), File and Toss.

Email:

Check and respond three times a day. You will process it faster than checking it every time a message appears.

“Do it now, later is already booked.” What a great concept to remember when you are feeling like “I’ll do it later.” Work in the moment. When you take the time to do it now, you will have used those “powerful pockets of time” that you didn’t even know you had. It’s that simple.

Lisa Phillips in the owner of SimpleWorks. She can be reached at lisa_phillips@bellsouth.net or 981-7733.

The Joe behind the dough

Italian and so much more

Fresh food with a family tradition

Cake baking: A family tradition

Food that binds a family

Shelby Living magazine

The Simple Life