mccormicky – Page 26

Changed homepage_product_functions.php For WP Shopping Cart plugin 3.6.12

example of 3 product categories in one page

Revision!
When I was checking the file I noticed a few minor mistakes and un-needed HTML. I also wanted to show an example image from my shop which is installed on this website but is not in production,yet. The example image shows that I have inserted 3 product categories into a WordPress Page. This is not the default WPSC Products_Page but a new page I made just for this purpose. The products are displayed as if I had Grid View even though I deleted my Gold Cart files when I last upgraded to wpsc version 3.6.12 and never had Grid View installed on this server.

Changes to version 5 of my homepage_products_functions.php:
Removed div.goddamn
Replaced class=”product_image” with class=”center”
Removed div.clear
Removed a division id that would render pages invalid

Download the changed file here

[download id=”3″]

New CSS
.homepage_products{overflow:hidden;width:100%;position:relative;}
/* Adjust for your product images w+h & if using variations and want them visible in the product box*/
.homepage_products .category_view_product{position:relative;width:200px;height:205px;float:left;margin:8px 3px; text-align:center;}

/* styles the product title I’ve left it blank*/
.homepage_products a.wpsc_product_title{}

/* centers the product thumbnail image*/
.homepage_products .center{padding:4px;text-align:center;margin:0 auto;display:block}

/*styles the product price-I’ve left this blank*/
span.pricedisplay{}

Disclaimer

In case anybody cares I am not providing this file as a way to rob the plugin authors. The changes I have made to the file do not give you anything but a product thumbnail image that links to the single product page instead of to a thickbox pop up image. Buying the Gold Cart allows you to have more payment gateways,multiple product images and other great stuff.

The rest is all simple CSS and not using “full display” when inserting a wpsc category id into a Page or Post.

I myself have purchased the Gold Cart and have encouraged all my clients to purchase it as well. I fully support the WP-Ecommerce plugin authors. I began working on this file as a way to perfect SEO for shopping cart pages because being able to use one’s own WordPress Pages along with the venerable All In One SEO Pack plugin vastly improved the SEO for my client’s carts. Not to mention the fact that if they have Grid View they ought to be able to have Grid View site-wide not just on the plugin’s pages.

10 Minute Vegan-Friendly Pasta Salad

I’m sorry I don’t have a picture but they ate it before I could take one.

To provide something for our vegan dinner guest I had to whip up an extra entree for this dairy and meat avoider.
Anyone with either religious,moral and ethical food rules or food allergies must be respected and careful pains must be taken not to feed them bacon cheeseburgers. Actually it is quite easy not to accidentally feed someone a bacon cheeseburger because these don’t just fall in the food as you are preparing it. Believe it or not!

We don’t have many dietary requirements around here. Our problems are usually that one bar of chocolate is not as good as 2 bars of chocolate and why cook 3 Rib eyes when you can cook 4. I would normally add Pancetta or ham with along with a bit of Parmesan, Asiago & Romano to this pasta salad. If you really have to have “cheese” you could try to find some sort of non cheese soy based extrusion. It’s a mystery how they get along, these vegans. I suspect they eat a lot Quinoa, Bean Curd and Tofu but I didn’t have any lying around. And “cheese” ? I draw the line!

Ingredients
1 Shallot,chopped fine
2 Scallions,chopped
1 sprig of Basil, chopped
Many ripe Cherry Tomatoes, cut in half
Garlic powder (one dash) or fresh garlic – one clove, chopped fine.
Salt and pepper
Olive Oil
1 box of pasta, any kind really, even spaghetti.

I used Barilla Medium Shells because that is what I had, cooked al dente (not a pile of mush) about 6 to 7 or 8 minutes,depending. Please remember to add a generous amount of salt to the water for the pasta before you bring it to a boil. Salt in the pasta water makes a huge difference.

Once the pasta has cooked drain it and add to a large bowl and immediately add the other ingredients while the pasta is hot.
This will make them “cook” a little with the heat of the pasta and bring out more of their flavors.
Refrigerate for 1 hour.

It isn’t what I would call a complete entree and I don’t think it would sustain a hearty eater but it makes a tasty side dish and I will definitely make this again even when there aren’t any attending vegans.

Revised File For Fake Grid View

how to get grid view wordpress shopping cart — a shop page suing my fake Grid View:

Very happy to report that you can still “fake” Grid View in Posts/Pages using version 3.12.6 of the WordPress Shopping Cart as the paid for Grid View Module. Most times upgrading a plugin will mean I will have to work very hard to re create the desired effects with the new code. But this time I caught a break and the changes were minimal.

CSS for Grid View-esque Styled Shop Pages in Posts or Pages
These are my suggested styles. You can do what you like just remember that float:left is the main element of Grid View.

/*makes sure things look ok in IE and floats don’t get wonky*/
.homepage_products{overflow:hidden;width:100%;height:auto;position:relative;}

/Product title. !important will override link styling */
.homepage_products a.wpsc_product_title{color:#000!important;font:bold 11px arial!important}

/*adjust widths and heights to fit your product thumbnail */
/* Add padding for more “air” in the boxes, add a border or background color,too. Go crazy!*/
.homepage_products .category_view_product{position:relative;width:155px;height:350px;float:left;margin:8px 8px 2px 6px;}

Download homepage_products_functions.php
*Note* This file was edited April 21st,2009 to correct a validity issue.
[download id=”3″]
FTP to your WordPress Shopping Cart plugin folder and rename the current file: homepage_products_functions_old.php,
if there is a disastrous error you can delete my file and rename the other one, no harm done.
Then upload the edited file, tweak your stylesheet and enjoy!

Tomato Basil and Mozzarella Pie

We eat too much meat. I always say we will cut back but we are backsliders. I seem to have to do most of the cooking and I am more used to planning a meal around a protein so it’s just easier for me to grab beef, chicken or lamb or bacon and get going.

Well now that it is getting close to spring more vegetables are coming into the market that don’t look like they were exhumed last year which makes the idea of planning meals around vegetables more appealing somehow. And it was looking at the much improved fresh vegetable display in my local market that gave me the idea for a Tomato Basil and Mozzarella Pie. No meat. Not even Bacon!! Dear dear bacon.

Preparations & Ingredients
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
1 pie shell either home made or store bought
2 large, firm tomatoes
1 ball of mozzarella
1 bunch of basil
3table spoons of tomato sauce
1 drizzle of olive oil
Sprinkle of dried oregano
Salt and pepper

Drizzle a bit of olive oil in the pie shell and brush it around the edges,too.

Slice the tomatoes and then slice them again in half and arrange one layer of tomatoes in a circular pattern in the shell. Add salt and pepper and oregano and a tablespoon of sauce.

Slice the cheese thinly and place on top of tomatoes. Wash and dry the basil and arrange leaves on top of cheese. Add one or 2 spoons of sauce. Repeat all of this one more time (except the spices unless you like a lot of oregano).

Try not to use too much sauce because the bottom of the pie crust will get soggy. Also mozzarella can be a “wet” cheese.
If soggy crusts disgust you you can consider cutting out the bottom of the pie shell and just using the sides.And if you want to skip the crust altogether it’s a free country.

Bake for 30 to 45 minutes or until the top of the pie is browned. Tastes as good as it looks since it’s basically pizza, after all.