Calzone vs. Stromboli

It is always interesting when you have long conversations with people about what the differences are between similar things. The first blog entry I did on this topic covered sausage, bratwurst, and kielbasa. This entry is about the differences between a calzone and a stromboli.

Traditionally, a calzone is made using bread dough that is covered with the ingredients, folded over, edges sealed, and cooked. It is made in a single serving size (easier to walk and eat) in a half-moon shape. A stromboli is made by cutting bread dough as a square, covering it with the ingredients, it is rolled up and cooked. Typically made in a multiple serving size (so you can share it).

Now this is where you say "BUT THAT'S NOT HOW THEY DO IT NOW!" Exactly. Time changes a lot of things. In the U.S.,  both are typically made from pizza dough instead of bread dough, and are about the same serving size. The calzone is still folded over, but the stromboli isn't rolled. The ingredients are put down the middle and the 2 sides are folded up so the seam is down the top middle or they are folded in half like the calzone.

This is where I also step in to say that this isn't necessarily true of how the are made EVERYWHERE. Different regions of the U.S. and even all over the world may vary. Above is just what the majority of the people agreed on and what I found in the research that is similar. Below is where it got a lot greyer about the differences.

	Calzone	Stromboli
Origins	Italy	U.S
Cheeses	Mozzarella, Ricotta,  Parmesan, Provolone	Mozzarella
Tomatoes	Yes	No
Sauces	On top or on the side   for dipping	Rolled Inside
Meats	Yes	Yes
Veggies	Yes	Yes
Cooking	Baked or Fried	Baked
Shape	Half Moon	Half Moon or Squared

So what does it all come down to as the differences? Just like the sausage, bratwurst, and kielbasa entry, whatever you want to call it and how you want it made, is a personal choice. They thing to keep in mind today is when you are reading a menu, read what ingredients are used. Other than that, just get eating and enjoy...

Apartment Living - Part V

You've used the criteria in Part I to choose a community, you used the info in Part II to fine tune your criteria, used Part III to actually read the lease and decided to communicate with the office, and perused Part IV about dealing with letters (especially eviction notices). So where are we now? Deciding how much we like where we are going to living somewhere...

Christmas 2010

Can you hang drapes? Probably, check the lease or contact the office and ask. Can you paint the walls a different color or put a mural? Check the lease or contact the office. Can I have a pet run or let them run free (because they are so good and loving)? Check the lease or contact the office. Can I use a fire pit/bowl or barbecue? Check the lease or contact the office. Can I hang holiday lights above my front door/garage door/barbecue grill or have a live-cut Christmas tree? Check the lease or contact the office.

See where this is going? It is all about understanding the lease you signed, and what the office can share about polices that lead up to getting a notice. There is a LOT of latitude allowed to the residents, as long as they COMMUNICATE with the office, know the lease, and can rectify it when moving out. That will be the next part of this series, how to get most of the security deposit back. But that is another topic.

Congrats on moving to a new place, reading the current lease, complying with the policies, and just reading this series...

Apartment Living - Part IV

This is the 4th part the Apartment Living series. Part I was about what a person should decide when looking for an apartment, Part II was my sharing my experiences in several different places, and Part III was a strong recommendation that you closely read the lease signed, and communicate with the property manager. This entry is about dealing with a eviction notice, and how to move forward. Getting an eviction notice can scare the bejeebies out of you, but it can be dealt with if you take a deep breath, and follow these suggestions.


First, after you took a deep breath, read the notice you received completely. The details of it were the issue, how long allowed to take action, and what options exist. This may vary depending on what community you moved into, so read it.

The most common reason for an eviction notice, is for Past Due Rent. Typically there is a period of time to stop the eviction by paying the past due rent.  This time period is short, it can be a few days or a week, but not typically longer, so pay attention to the allotted time on the notice. Most often, the eviction is turned over to the court system if no action to remedy it by the date on the notice. Make sure to read all of the terms carefully.

If it is for Past Due Rent, compare your records with the information in the notice.  It’s not often that the office misapplies a payment, but it happens in today's dependence on computers. Get the bank records and statements together and find out if maybe something happened on your side or theirs. If you pay with a money order, make a copy of it before submitting it. My neighbor got an eviction notice for Past Due Rent, took his bank statement in for a discussion with the manager, and it turned out that someone transposed his apartment number when typing it into the accounting software. Showing his bank statement got his eviction notice immediately shredded, and the adjustment was made.

Other reasons that notices are issued: other residents have complained about excessive noise, bad odors, insects, pets, and they all come from your suite. Remember what was mentioned in the other parts of this series? Eyes are everywhere. If you have pets, they are always loud, aggressive when walked, or a violation of the pet addendum; other residents will let the office know what they saw. When the office has enough complaints filed about a particular resident, they can be evicted for violation of the lease. For violating the pet addendum, they may not evict you, but can evict the pet. That is why you need to read the entire lease and addendum, to know what is not allowed.

Okay, you've taken a deep breath, read the details of the notice, gathered your records, what next? As explained in the other parts of this series, communication with the office as soon as possible. No, midnight is not the right time, call the next morning if you can't have a face-to-face conversation. The notice gives a short time to reconcile, but that won't happen if it is just ignored. Most managers are willing to "work" with residents about the notice, if the situation that caused it is explained.

Whether on the phone or in a face-to-face conversation, keep things civil. Sure, there will be tension on both sides of the table, but being accusatory or nasty with the office people can come back with a bite. Managers are less likely to work things out if they feel attacked. Remember, there is a reason the notice was delivered by the maintenance specialist. Discuss it, don't argue. It could come back as a haunting if you apply to another apartment community, and they call the current one as a reference. Just like the fact that there are eyes everywhere, the grapevine is still alive and strong, especially with computers and cell phones.

Hopefully by communicating, the resident and manager can come to a resolution to an eviction notice. But, once in a while, it has to go to the court system, especially if the resident does NOTHING. Key thing if it is going to court, show up and have records to prove the case against it. State and local laws may allow some extra time to move out, set up a payment plan that saves paychecks from being garnished, or even the items in the suite from being seized.

Example of failing to comply for Dozer
(no leash)

Instead of writing a part about my experience with notices, they are included here. First, a warning notice about voiding the pet addendum. While I feel that I have one of the most loving, best trained, always smiling, people-friendly dog, I neglected to follow the leash law in my community. Neighbors saw (out their windows and while at the mailbox) that he wasn't on a leash, and complained to the office. Dozer was almost evicted because of it. I had a discussion with the manager over a cup of coffee, and we straightened it all out. It doesn't matter how wonderful I feel my pets are, if other residents feel "threatened," they register complaints with the office. Enough were collected that I got a notice. But, we reviewed the pet addendum, and I comply with it completely now. It isn't always about how you feel, but how neighbors feel in the community.

A 3-day eviction notice for Past Rent Due (that is what they call it here) because I took Dozer for a walk over to the office to pay my rent, he decided to do his business on the front lawn, and I forgot to submit my rent check into the mail box. I was distracted by picking up after him, and forgot the check in my pocket. It ended up in the washing machine, and I was late on my rent. I again went to the office the next morning with the washed check and a new blank one. Within seconds, my eviction was shredded, and my account updated.

Approaching the notice in a civil way, carries a lot of weight. Reading the entire lease and complying with it helps. Reading the notice in detail and being able to present a case preventing it, helps. Being willing to have a conversation with the office helps. When moving into an apartment community, the residents need to make sure they know what the boundaries are. The managers know what the policies are, and they have to enforce it.

And please, don't bite the head off of the maintenance tech that delivers a notice from the office to you, they are just performing a task, and can't rewrite lease policy...

Apartment Living - Part III

Based on the basic criteria in Apartment Living Part I, you've decided on an apartment community that you want to reside in. You've listened to my experiences in Apartment Living Part II, and signed your own lease. This entry is about some basic common sense things you need to pay attention to after you move in.

First and foremost, make sure you read the entire lease you signed. There are things you agreed to when you signed, even if the leasing agent didn't read it to you completely. Some tasks you may be responsible for, like changing burnt out light bulbs, changing furnace filters and batteries in the smoke alarms. Some things you aren't expected to do (landscaping, mowing the grass, snow plowing, fixing a leaky faucet), but the lease spells things out. When in doubt, simply call the office and ask.

Pets on leashes

Your lease also contains specific items about having pets and what your responsibilities are. Chances are, if they aren't in the apartment lease, you signed a "pet addendum" that explains what you are liable for, like keeping them on a leash, cleaning up after them, etc. Read that one closely, because if you violate anything in that, you may get a notice that you have to get rid of the pet, may be evicted or the property manager may decide to not renew your lease.

When living in an apartment, most people do not watch soap operas, because they live in one by simply paying attention to what is going on around them. There are eyes everywhere observing what is occurring in the community, so if you do violate the lease (especially with pets), chances are that someone saw it and will report it to the office. Once reported to the office, the complaint becomes a hard copy piece of paper, and it goes in your file folder. With enough paper, you can be evicted or your lease is not renewed.

Maintenance staff are typically the ones that deliver messages from the office. If it is a warning letter or even an eviction notice, don't bite the head off the messenger. They did not write the policy, they are just doing a task they are responsible for, delivering the letter. If a warning notice is issued to you, chances are that you violated the lease in some way. If you dispute it, call or visit the main office. The maintenance person is not able to resolve the issue, they are just bringing it to your attention. I hate being the "harbinger of doom," but am required to do it.

Understand that employees of the property reserve the right to enter your apartment for any reasonable reason. They are not "violating the right to privacy," they have a reason to enter the property they own if it is an emergency (such as a fire, smell a gas leak, or water leak) or if it has been reported to the office of a violation of the lease (excessive noise, tremendous odor, bugs, etc.). Typically if there is going to be an inspection, you will receive a notice a few days before explaining what is going on and when it will occur. Yes, you may have the right to refuse entrance for something like that by contacting the office in writing, but there may be things that you cannot refuse entry for. I do have master keys that give me access to over 300 apartments in the communities that I cover. Again, it comes back to contacting the office.

Communication is the key to apartment life. If you don't talk to the property manager, don't be surprised about what happens. Remember, their company OWNS the property, you are just renting the space. Hate to say it, but is like living in a storage unit, you don't OWN it, you are just existing in it.

I am fortunate to live in a community where I can grill on my patio, have a fire bowl, am allowed to have 2 pets (even a horse if I can stable it), and have a lot of latitude. But, that is why I agreed to live here; I chose the community based on my criteria, read the lease, understand what is expected of me, and keep in constant contact with the office managers. Communication is the key to human life...keep the channels open, and everything will work itself out...

Apartment Living - Part II

It was discussed in Apartment Living Part I about the things to consider when trying to select an apartment. This part is just some sharing of my experiences in some of the apartments I've lived in and some suggestions of things to keep in mind.

The first apartment was the second floor of a house. It had 1 bedroom, living room, 1 bathroom, and a large eat-in kitchen. Parked on the street, came in the front door, up a set of stairs, and then accessed the apartment. Owner lived on the first floor, and someone lived in a studio apartment above me (the 3rd floor). Mailbox was on the front porch, bags of garbage out to the curb every week, and down the back stairs to the basement to do laundry. We all shared 1 washer and 1 dryer, included in the rent, so the only tricky part was "scheduling" when you could do laundry. Also included in the rent were cable TV, heat, electricity, and water. The only bill in the mail was the telephone (land line, didn't have cell phones or internet then). Weren't allowed to use the yard or have pets. I was working and attending school, so was rarely there except to eat and sleep. The house was well insulated, so I didn't hear the other people that lived there too. Parking outside in the winter meant scraping snow and ice off of the windshield, and dig the car out after the plows went by.

Cliffside Manor Apartments

The next apartment was at Cliffside Manor Apartments. First floor, 2 bedrooms, living room, dining area, kitchen, 1 bathroom, balcony, and storage cage in the basement. Parked in the lot in front of the building (not shown in pic), and in the first available spot because they were not assigned. No, couldn't "reserve" one by putting a folding lawn chair in it. There was someone above, below, and on both sides. Building was not well insulated, so you heard EVERYTHING, especially loud music (guy upstairs played the blues on his guitar at 2 AM when he got back from work, liked to stomp around, and everyone slammed their doors). The mailbox was a bank at the entry to the building, garbage bags went in the dumpster at the end of the building, and 4 coin-operated washers and dryers in the basement. Since it was a true apartment complex, all utilities were billed directly to the tenants. Still didn't have internet access. But, I was traveling a lot for work and wasn't around much. Still had to scrape snow and ice, dig out the car, and make sure I got back from work early enough to get a space near the door.

Redwood Management

Now fast forward. After Cliffside Manor Apartments, I lived in a couple of houses. But life changes, and I had to move back into an apartment. Using the points in Apartment Living Part I, I chose a Redwood Management community. Based on the identified criteria, I chose a single story, pets allowed (Dozer has 6 steel pins in his hips), end unit (to remove 1 neighbor), with an attached garage and laundry hook-ups in the apartment (no more laundromat). Was fortunate to get one across the street from both the mailbox and trash compactor. All of the utilities are metered directly for usage, but since the internet is available, they are paid online. Sure, the rent is a little more than in a multi-level building, but I chose to live here because of the list of what I desired in an apartment community. I have a patio where a grill or fire bowl is allowed, plenty of space to walk 2 dogs (as long as I pick up after them), do laundry whenever I want, am close to all the shopping, no neighbors making strange noises at all hours of the night, park in an attached garage, and even have an attic.

Overall, what you can see, is that the criteria for finding an acceptable place to live changes over time. But it will make your life easier if you take a few moments to figure out what you are looking for...happy hunting...

Apartment Living - Part I

I've lived in several apartments in my lifetime, experienced a lot of things in them, and currently am a maintenance specialist for 3 luxury apartment communities for Redwood Management Company. Just thought I'd share some perspectives as advice if you are living in an apartment or if are considering moving to one. This is going to be a series of blog entries because there are so many things that need to be shared and I didn't want you to have to scroll down for the next hour to read them all.

This one is about living in an apartment and what leads to which one you choose. The first recommendation, is to make a list of what you are looking for, what is acceptable, and what you do not want to experience in your life. Some basic things like:

• How much does it cost (rent, utilities, security deposit, fees)?
• How close do I need to be for work/family/friends/school?
• What amenities need to be close by (grocery store, gas station, library, restaurants, parks)?
• How quiet of a space do I need? Could I tolerate people above/below/beside me?
• What about animals/pets? Are they allowed or would being near them bother me?
• How many people live in the community?
• Where do I take my garbage, get my mail and do laundry?

Answering some of these question UP FRONT helps you filter all of the places available to you before you have to call the office or set up a tour. If it doesn't meet you needs, don't waste  your time. Because of the internet, you can learn a LOT about an apartment community before you have to show up to take a tour. Time is precious, don't waste it. Yes, doing some work with a keyboard and mouse requires time, but it is a lot less than making a phone call, driving to the community, walking around, asking questions, etc.

Bottom line, approach moving to an apartment community like you would approach buying a house.

Sausage vs. Bratwurst vs. Kielbasa

An Irishman, a German, and a Polish guy are standing in a garage, each enjoying a cocktail and cigars... Yeah, it sounds like the beginning of a good joke, but it describes how my evening started. We had a very heated conversation about what the differences are between sausage, bratwurst, and kielbasa. Fortunately I had my HP tablet with me, so we searched the web. Turns out that they are all the same. We all had to come to the conclusion that we were all right, toasted, and have some suggestions on how to prepare them.

"Bratwurst" is best explained by Wikipedia as:

from brät-, which is finely chopped meat and Wurst, or sausage.

 "Kielbasa" is best explained by Wikipedia as:

in Polish “kielbasa” simply means “sausage“

 "Sausage" is best explained by Wikipedia as:

made from ground meat (normally pork or beef), mixed with salt, herbs, and other spices with a tough skin around it

The only true "differences" between all of them are the meats and herbs/spices that are used in them. The process is the same. I'm not going to make you scroll down a lot to see any of the differences, use the links if you are interested. Now read on for the suggestions we all had for you in dealing with sausage/brat/kielbasa links:

Care / Prep
✔ Put the links in the fridge as soon as you get back from the store.
✔ Use them within 2 days or simply freeze them for future use.
✔ Eat cooked links within 4 days and put them in the fridge within 2 hours of cooking them.
✔ The internal temp of a cooked link should be above 165 F / 74 C. Use an instant thermometer.
✔ Never thaw frozen links on the counter. Fridge overnight, microwave or use a Hot Water Bath.
✔ Use a different cutting board for your veggies, never chop them on one where you've cut raw meat.

Cooking

✔ Use a medium or medium-low setting to prevent the casing from splitting open.
✔ NEVER boil a link, poach it instead. Bring the water to a boil, turn it down to simmer. Put the links in and let sit for 30-45 minutes. Boiling will cause the links to shed their casing. Make sure you turn them every 10 mins.
✔ Poach links before grilling. That insures that they are cooked, the grilling just adds flavor.
✔ Do NOT pierce the casing while cooking, as it lets all of the moisture out, causing them to be dry.
✔ If the casing does split, use tongs to remove the casing before serving.

Side Thoughts

✔ Poach the links, Spiral Cut them, marinade, then grill.
✔ Blood pudding (my FAVORITE breakfast side) is nothing more than sausage made with the addition of animal blood.
✔ The butcher offers ground (non-encased) versions of the meat that can be used like ground beef. This adds flavor to the dishes you make. Purchase it in bulk instead of just "ground beef."
✔ Serve on a steak bun, to allow room for the extra veggies you grilled.

Bottom line, save a bite or two to give to your dog... they'll appreciate it deeply...