Thanksgiving Recipes: Stuffing and Spiced Candied Pecans

If you are a frequent reader of this blog, you likely saw Jason’s post on Halloween-themed recipes. Jason is LPG’s office coordinator and is also an exceptional (and professionally trained!) chef. We asked Jason to share a few of his Thanksgiving recipes for our San Francisco residents who are cooking Thanksgiving dinner this year. Enjoy!

Spiced Candied Pecans

What you’ll need:

• 1 egg white
• 1/2 cup Sugar
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. fresh ground nutmeg (pre-ground is fine too if that’s all you have around)
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 lbs. Halved Pecans (you can use other nuts, but these pair well with pumpkin pie)

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 300F
2. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper (or grease pan with oil or butter)
3. Whisk egg white in a bowl until foamy. Add sugar, spices and salt. Whisk until mixture becomes thick and syrupy. Toss nuts in mixture. Pour nuts onto cookie sheet. Bake for about 30- 35 minutes. Cool completely. Store in container for up to 7 days.

Stuffing

What you’ll need:

• 1 Sourdough Baguette (see notes)
• 1 1/2 Cans low sodium chicken broth
• 1 yellow onion
• 2 Stalks celery
• 2 Carrots
• 2-3 Cloves of garlic
• 5-6 Strips thick cut bacon
• 1/2 C. Parmesan cheese
• Salt & Pepper

Notes:

• It’s best to use a baguette that is 2-3 days old that has started to get hard. If using a fresh loaf, toast it after cubing it. Make sure to use a serrated knife or your bread cubes will crumble as you cut them. You can also just use pre-cubed stuffing crumbles sold at the supermarket but they may have extra salt, check the label if you go with those to adjust your seasonings to your taste.
• The amount of liquid used will vary depending on how crispy you like your stuffing. For softer stuffing use more liquid and cook less.

Directions:

1. Pre-heat Oven to 375F
2. Cube baguette into approximately 1 inch pieces. If using fresh bread, toast in oven at 325F for about 15 minutes or until crunchy and golden.
3. In a skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon. Place bacon strips on plate and discard all but 2-3 tablespoons of the drippings.
4. Dice onions, carrots and celery. Smash garlic cloves. Saute onions, carrots and celery in bacon fat until translucent. Add garlic at the very end so as to not burn it. Season with salt and pepper.
5. In a large bowl; combine vegetables, bread cubes, crumble and add bacon and Parmesan. Pour enough liquid to moisten the mixture.
6. Place in oven safe container and bake until crunchy.

Variations:

• Add jalapeño peppers to vegetable mix.
• Use uncased sausage instead of bacon. It is really good with mushrooms.

LPG Featured in Fortune Small Business for Use of DocuSign: What this Means for Residents

Today, Lightner Property Group was featured in Fortune Small Business for its use of electronic signature software, DocuSign. We are very excited about this piece, and want to share it with our readers.

The article in essence describes how LPG uses electronic signature software for every facet of its business (in addition to managing apartments, LPG also manages commercial office space, does real estate development and expert witness work) to reduce time and money spent, and also to reduce hassle for its clients (residents being one of our “clients”) and also to be green (we save a whole lot of paper using this technology).

So, how does using this service make our resident’s lives easier?

• Resident’s can sign leases from the comfort of their home or office.  Also, if at the time of the lease signing, they are living in a separate state, it makes the paperwork a lot easier for both the resident and LPG.
• Have you ever signed and faxed a document only to later find out that you by accident forgot to sign your name one place, and then have to fax it all over again? We have too. DocuSign makes sure that you do not miss any places where you need to sign.
• DocuSign is a binding contract. Yes, it offers all that convenience and it is binding, so you don’t have to worry about the legality of the document.

At LPG, technology is central to our success. In addition to DocuSign, LPG also uses the following technology services to offer convenience to our residents:

• FixIt: Residents can e-mail their repair requests instead of having to fill out a written form. Written forms are still available to residents, this is just another option.
• Central Desktop: LPG uses this Web-based, secure service to streamline key elements over the course of residency such as fix it requests, notices to vacate and more.  
• Comprehensive Web site: If you are a resident, you can register for our Web site and have access to tons of information that is helpful over the course of your residency.
• Vertical Response: This is helpful for both potential new residents who are looking for apartments and also current residents. Potential new residents can sign up to get weekly e-mail alerts about apartments that have just come onto the market for rent, and current residents get e-mail notifications regarding their building or LPG-specific promotions.

Let us know in the comments section if you have any questions about any of the technology LPG uses to provide convenience to our residents.

Energy Saving Tips Every San Francisco Renter Should Know

For many renters, saving the environment is a key concern. Lightner Property Group shares this concern and wanted to share great tips for renters who want to preserve energy and resources. Practicing Green living not only helps Mother Nature, but can save you money.


Energy Efficient Lighting Tips:
Many of you already use energy efficient light bulbs, below are a few additional lighting tips:

• If you have a fixture that has multiple bulbs, remove some of the bulbs to reduce the amount of energy you are using. This can help reduce the amount of lighting energy by as much as 50%.


• Many of our apartments feature beautiful bay windows and lots of natural light, instead of turning on a light, open your shades and let natural light fill the room. Also, remember to turn off the lights in rooms that are not currently in use. We actually heard a myth that leaving lights on rather than turning them off uses less energy – don’t be fooled, you always conserve more energy by turning off the lights.


• If you have a light dimmer, you should exercise the ability to control how much energy is being used to light a room.


• If you use night-light, try using a 4-watt mini-fluorescent or electro-luminescent night-light, which are much more efficient than your typical low-wattage nightlight.

Energy Efficient Dishwasher Tips:
If you are lucky enough to have a dishwasher in your charming San Francisco apartment, be sure to check out the tips below to understand how you can use less water and energy.

• Be sure to check your dishwasher drain regularly for items that may be clogging the drain. When objects clog the drain it can cause the dishwasher to work a lot harder.


• Reduce the hot water temperature by setting the water heater to the normal setting or 120°F. You can check with your property manager to find out if the dishwasher requires a higher setting.


• What some of your may not know is that every dish has an appropriate place in the dishwasher. In order to maximize the cleaning capabilities of your dishwasher, be sure to place your dishes in their appropriate locations. Check out this helpful link, which explains how to load a dishwasher.


• Try to avoid running your dishwasher when it is only partially full as this will result in wasted water and energy.


• Instead of washing off your dishes with water before putting them in the dishwasher, try scraping off the additional food. This simple change in habit can save up to 20 gallons of water.

Energy Efficient Laundry Tips:
Most of our buildings have laundry on site. Below are a few tips to help you reduce the amount of energy used each time you do laundry:

• Before you start the dryer, be sure to always clean out the lint tray. This will ensure that your clothes dry better and consequently reduce the amount of energy needed to dry your clothes.


• Line dry clothes whenever possible. Keep in mind that certain fabrics should be line dried anyway such as gym clothing. This will save close to 5% of total energy used. If you are looking for a great line dryer, Bed Bath and Beyond carries a few that are sturdy and cost-effective.


• Keep in mind that certain fabrics require different drying temperatures. Try to separate these fabrics ahead of time and dry similar fabrics together.

Take a room-by-room tour of ENERGY STAR @ home and learn what you can do for a more comfortable home that saves energy, money and our environment. Launch the room-by-room tour in a popup window

View more Green tips, like our Car Share program for all residents, on the official Lightner Property Group site. Have more tips? Share them with your fellow renters in the comments section below!

Proactive Residents: Saves Time, Money & the Environment

It’s hard to always know when to pipe up to your property management team. You may think that it is only necessary to contact them when there is an emergency, or you have an apartment repair request that needs immediate attention.

What you may not know is that reporting small problems can sometimes be just as important as reporting emergencies or apartment repairs. We thought that showcasing a couple real-life examples below would be helpful to you. You may have experienced one of the following small problems and did not even realize that it could be detrimental to you, the property management team and the environment.

Garage Door/Keypad Malfunction:

Having a garage opener is like a little slice of heaven that you can only really appreciate if you have ever had to manually open up a garage door, especially on a soggy day in San Fran. If your garage door opener or keypad begins to “cop an attitude,” you should report it to your property manager as soon as possible. This may sound like a minor problem, but if you don’t the following scenario could play out…

An emergency call was made on a holiday morning when the office was closed (Lightner Property Group has a staff person on-call 24-7) because the resident’s key pad no longer worked and the garage would not open. As the resident waited for help to arrive they were forced to be late for an important appointment. While these situations are sometimes unavoidable, it is best to report situation like this to the team so you don’t find yourself in a similar situation. Lightner Property Group works hard to fix problems while you are at work, on errands, at a community event, etc. (if you cannot meet the repair person yourself) as a convenience to residents and to fix them in a timely manner.

Just a Little Drip:

Many of us will just let small drips go for awhile before reporting them, but little drips almost always become big drips, which means big problems for the resident, the property management team and possibly the environment. If you notice a small drip, it is best to alert your property management team so a situation like this does not occur…

A resident had a pipe below the sink that had been dripping for weeks. To alleviate the situation they placed a bowl under the drip, which was a great temporary situation. When they left for work one day they did not realize that the hole in the pipe had grown larger overnight and was spilling over the bucket they had been using to collect the dripping water. The water flowed over the bucket, through the kitchen floor and into the three units below them. The resident and each of the residents in the three units below could not use their kitchens for a week while repairs were had to be made.

While placing a bucket under a leaky pipe can be a great temporary solution, it is best to alert your property manager immediately to avoid a situation like this. Proactively reporting an even minor leaky faucet can save some major inconvenience, not waste a boat-load of water, and avoids soggy Cheerios (Yuck!)

We hope these scenarios have been helpful to you! If you have anything you think might need to be reported to your property management team, feel free to leave them in the comments section below!

4th of July Activities – ‘Ol Faithful, the Splurge and DIY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4th of July is just around the corner which means hot dogs, flip flops, friends and family and dressing up in full 4th of July regalia. We have gone ahead and put together a quick list of things to do in San Francisco regardless of your budget – from ‘Ol Faithful to the Splurge and DIY (do it yourself).

‘Ol Faithful: We’ll start out with ‘Ol Faithful because let’s be honest, 4th of July is not complete without a full fireworks show. If you are in the city, you can pretty much view the show just by looking up, but Fisherman’s Wharf puts on a celebration each year with food, drinks, activities, and of course a full Fireworks show. If you want to check out more information about this show, visit the official site Fisherman’s Wharf Official Site

The Splurge: Holy cow, when we came across the plethora of 4th of July cruises on the bay, we were blown away. If you are looking to view the fantastic fireworks show from arguably the best seats in the house, we recommend checking out the 4th of July Bay cruises. Many of the cruises serve food and drink and also incorporate dancing. We have put together a list of places where you can check out 4th of July cruises that really run the gamut in terms of cost.

• Commodore Events.com


• San Francisco Party Charters


• Events West


• Blue and Gold Fleet

DIY: It doesn’t take much to throw an awesome party. All you need to do is incorporate a grocery run and a great group of friends. With the many Bay area beaches that we are lucky enough to live near, you have your choice of spots to stake out and celebrate. Just be sure to bring lots of layers, it can get nippy down by the beach! If you are a Lightner Property Group resident, many of the properties we manage are in close proximity to the beach including 140 20th Avenue and 3800 Scott Street.

We went ahead and checked the weather report, and it appears to be sunny skies.



However you decide to celebrate, make sure to be safe and responsible!