Recappin

It's been a fun week! Rebby has been home all week, so I have been hanging out with her in the evenings instead of tapping on the computer so much (except when we are nerdin out sitting side by side on the sofa with our laptops. barf.) I don't think I mentioned how we went shopping last saturday, did I? Well, we started the shopping at the farmer's market/strip district, where we picked up our lamb order and some of THE BEST BACON IN THE WORLD. The lamb lady wasn't able to fill our whole order, but we did get a bunch of ground lamb. Yum. Also got some gorgeous light purple eggplants, some lesbian tomatoes, a little watermelon, and some super purple potatoes. We haven't gotten into them yet. Furter down the strip I stocked up on guatamalan coffee and new mexican chile powder, and then we headed home. First stopping at Dozen for The City's Best Cinnamon Roll, which I have to admit I didn't absolutely love but the vibe in the place is so great and I love to give my heterosexual weddingcatering money to the gays as much as possible. It's my personal economic strategy. So we stopped at home to drop off the perishables and then headed out to JERRY'S!!! Where Rebby was so hoping to find some choice Judas Priest on vinyl. That didn't happen, but I found THE BUBBLEMEN RECORD!!! and DISCOVER by Gene Loves Jezebel with the live bonus disc!!! And a NIN remix 12 inch of The Hand That Feeds. Woo. Rebby ended up getting a vast assortment of things, including a couple Queen records missing from our collection. We're gearing up for a visit to Boston for Queen for a Day so we need to catch up. I sat in front of the stereo and sang "Play The Game" at the top of my lungs along with Freddie the other night. I LOVE that song. I am so going to do it at the next kareoke opportunity. Anyhow, Rebby also got the first Mott the Hoople record and some Suzi Quatro. She was seriously jonesin for vinyl.
I, on the other hand, was seriously jonesin for more Priest on CD that I could take to work with me. So we stopped at The Exchange where I got (deep breath) Defenders of the Faith, Screaming for Vengeance, Angels of Retribution(with the DVD, because our copy has gone missing) and Painkiller. I looked at Live Vengeance '82 and put it back, not wanting to go too crazy, but then Rebby insisted. Wee. So I carry my giant stack of Priest to the counter and duder working there goes "So, did you go to the concert last week?" Ha. I really wanted to say "What concert?" but I was too giddy with that huge stack of Priest so I was nice to him instead. Sigh.
Ok, so the other shopping we did was at the WATERFRONT. We got an ice cream making machine!!! And a new hose. It was time. I will tell you more about the ice cream making machine later.
Came home and made lamb burgers wrapped in bacon with eggplant relish. These were just insanely good. You have no idea. Oh! We also stopped at McBrooms and got a case of Warsteiner. Dunkel of course. I'm all about the Dunkel since my two weeks on the continent. Ha.
Later we draped ourselves over the sofa and watched the priest video. It's so much better than the ridiculous concert from the Turbo era that is on Electric Eye. That one is just an embarassment, really. This one is phenomenal. At the end, Rob knocks his bike over and whips it with a fury. Wow.
Sunday I worked brunch and although it was hella buzy, between the Priest and having Pete as my beta it was pretty mellow for us. People were digging my Jamaican Banana Ginger Pancakes. And rightfully so, I might add. They were pretty darn good.
The rest of the week is a blur now, I have to say. I worked extra long days all week, which actually felt good and although I was tired at the end of them, I was mostly able to rally when I got home. Tuesday I think it was I put some pinto beans and a smoked ham shank and some onions and peppers in the crock pot before I went to work, and when I got home it was dinner. The beans became so creamy and amazing and soaked up the chlie flavor and oh! So good. Wednesday I picked up Donovan from daycare because his mom is archivin it up in San Francisco, and we had a really nice walk through East Liberty and then hung out in a booth at Whole Foods waiting for his dad to get off of work. He amused himself for the most part by stepping from the bench to the window sill and back. He's a good kid. I tried to get him interested in a photo shoot but he really wasn't having it. I took a few snaps though.
After babytime Rebby met me at Sharp Edge for beers and food. I got the ole hop devil soup in a bread bowl. Love. Also a serviceable steak salad and a delicious German expensive dunkel. Yum. Thursday, I switched with Jilly and worked breakfast and then at the end of another long ass day, we had BLTs for supper! With the first big tomatoes from our garden. So yummy.
So then Friday was my day "off", except I had a catering meeting and I had to get the cheese for the catering too. I did dishes and laundry and computering in the morning, and then headed to the storm to gather catering stuff and have the meeting. It was a doozy. The client was totally off the wall (not in a bad way, just in a way too many things on her plate way) and I kept having to drag her back to earth. But we worked it all out, and it's going to be a good job. Rebby came to get me for cheese shopping, and then she suggested that we have sushi for supper. Woo! I cut up the cheese while she went to get the sushi and then I made my first batch of ICE CREAM in the ice cream making machine. We figured I should go vanilla for my first time (ha!) and let me tell you, it turned out super good. I used organic, grass fed buttermilk and heavy cream, organic vanilla, and organic demararra sugar. That. Is. It. It comes out of the machine sort of soft-servy, so we put it in the freezer for a while and then a couple hours later it had firmed up quite a bit. I made us each sundaes (hers with bananas and peanut butter cups, mine with butterscotch syrup and candied pecans) and then we went to bed. I really should stop eating ice cream right before bed because I never feel very good when I wake up. But I can't help it.
I can tell that me and the ice cream making machine are going to be best friends. It was so easy! I'll be attempting some salty licorice ice cream soon.
Oh! On Thursday I also watched the DNC. My love and devotion for Obama fluctuated quite a bit over the course of the nasty primary season, but I feel better after that speech. My favorite thing about him is that he talks about stuff that politicians don't usually talk about. I don't even need him to keep all his promises...just the fact that he is willing to say "gay and lesbian brothers and sisters" in front of 38 million or whatever people, is enough. I gotta send that man some money.

"we might not agree on same sex marriage, but we can agree that our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters deserve to be able to visit those they love in the hospital, and live lives free of discrimination and hatred."

MY president just said that.

Happy Birthday, Metal God!
He turns 57 today.
There was some metal controversy over the weekend when he was quoted by a Dallas reporter as saying that "no straight man" could do his job in Judas Priest. Ha!
I thought the same thing that Ripper Owens thought, which was that it must have been quoted out of context because that's not the kind of thing that Rob would just come out with unprovoked, and also---Ha! So funny. Ripper thought it was funny too.

Epoisses--- a stinky, runny cheese(haven't had it, probably wouldn't)

Clotted Cream Tea---I think this is having tea and scones with clotted cream?(yes, I would like this)

Phaal---spiciest curry ever(no, I'm not into painfully hot foods)

Fugu---poisonous pufferfish(dumb)

Kaolin---it’s mud, yeah?(dumb)

Baijiu---like everclear, only Chinese and made from rice(probably not)

Criollo Chocolate---rare and expensive south American single origin chocolates(I gotta say I don't seem to have the palate for expensive chocolates. I like chocolate just fine, but I don't love expensive ones enough to warrant the expense.

Rose Harrissa---harissa with rose petals. Ooh!(yes! gimme some now!)

success!

success!, originally uploaded by alienspice.

Here's my beauty.
I was going to follow her up with a Lemon Blueberry Tea Bread from the ole Shelia Lukins omnibus, but then I discovered that I was completely out of all purpose flour. Dang! Nothing deflates a baking boner like running out of flour.

failure!

failure!, originally uploaded by alienspice.

so, my chocolate chile (I added chile to make it more southwestern) zucchini cake flopped. It is DELICIOUS, but I halved the recipe and forgot to halve the buttermilk. So it's super moist and crumbly and not really sliceable. But still you can sort of smear cream cheese on a chunk of it and it's all good.
On the other hand, my brandied peach and blackberry pie is a fabulous success! My lattice sucks, but I was working with very fragile cream cheese pastry and also---I tried. That's more than I can say for some people when it comes to lattice.
This morning I was looking at ice cream machines on amazon and I think tomorrow might be the day I have to indulge. I keep thinking of new and exicting ice cream flavors. I gotta do it. The one I was looking at is 1 1/2 quarts, which seems just perfect for a tiny batch of ridiculous ice cream. I can't wait.

How the Omnivore's 100 works:
1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.

2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.

3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating. (I'm gonna italicize em since it's easier on blogger ;)

4) Optional: Post a comment at Very Good Taste, linking to your results.


MY OMNIVORE'S 100 (75 76 out of 100):

1. Venison(not a huge fan, but I do live with a huntress!)

2. Nettle tea (good for something---cramps, maybe?)

3. Huevos rancheros (heart!)

4. Steak tartare(I haven't ever had the traditional preparation, but I have, you know, eaten raw steak....)

5. Crocodile

6. Black pudding(same as haggis basically, right? no thanks)

7. Cheese fondue(I've made cheese fondue! with the kirsch and everything!)

8. Carp (eh)

9. Borscht(love it, but not something I'd eat every day)

10. Baba ghanoush(yum!)

11. Calamari(had it and HATED IT!!! tentacles, ick)

12. Pho(probably, but I can't swear)

13. PB&J sandwich(prefer PB and honey on whole wheat)

14. Aloo gobi (my Krishna jam)

15. Hot dog from a street cart(french style! in sweden!)

16. Epoisses(I dunno...)

17. Black truffle(not yet)

18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes (plum, elderberry)

19. Steamed pork buns(love)

20. Pistachio ice cream(it's in spumoni, right?)

21. Heirloom tomatoes Z(with a vengeance)

22. Fresh wild berries

23. Foie gras(nope, and I don't know if I would or not. well wait...I'd taste it and then make an ethical decision)

24. Rice and beans(vegetarian days!)

25. Brawn or head cheese(maybe I have, but I wouldn't ever again)

26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper(can I count habanero?)

27. Dulce de leche

28. Oysters(not raw)

29. Baklava(yum)

30. Bagna cauda (at the stinking rose in san francisco. I didn't know there were anchovies until way later)

31. Wasabi peas(yum, but I prefer wasabi rice crackers)

32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl (I've had clam chowder, and I've had stuff in a sourdough bowl, but not at the same time I don't think.)

33. Salted lassi(I am very controversial in this regard, says mike bonello.)

34. Sauerkraut (I make my own with juniper berries! love)

35. Root beer float(olden times)

36. Cognac with a fat cigar(I will save this one for when I'm hanging out with Rob Halford)

37. Clotted Cream Tea(I don't like the sound of it, but I guess I'd try it)

38. Vodka Jelly/Jell-O (Ummm...I don't think so? probably wouldn't remember if I did)

39. Gumbo(made it for the LUPEC ladies!)

40. Oxtail(thanks to madorange!!!)

41. Curried goat (I probably should do it, but I don't know if I could)

42. Whole insects (not on purpose!)

43. Phaal(not sure what it is)

44. Goat's milk (I'm learning to love it)

45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth $120 or more(not that I know of, but someday....)

46. Fugu(that's blowfish, right? dumb)

47. Chicken tikka masala(love)

48. Eel(HATED IT!)

49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut(I may have had enough for my lifetime already)

50. Sea urchin(ick! I guess I'm pretty squeamish when it comes to the sea)

51. Prickly pear(grew up in arizona, man!)

52. Umeboshi(superlove! I used to take umeboshi vinegar for headaches, and it works)

53. Abalone(nope)

54. Paneer(love!)

55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal (I'm done)

56. Spaetzle(love!)

57. Dirty gin martini(that's all I did for about four months. now I prefer vodka)

58. Beer above 8% ABV (Piraat baby!)

59. Poutine (thanks jilly!)

60. Carob chips (love em in banana muffins)

61. S’mores(not a fan---three great tastes that don't belong together in my mind)

62. Sweetbreads(I tried it---not again)

63. kaolin (don't know what it is!)

64. Currywurst (super berlin love!!)

65. Durian (not worth it. I think I *might* have had something durian flavored once, which is a cop-out I know)

66. Frogs’ legs (ick. no.)

67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake(three of four!)

68. Haggis(I am not that strongly identified with my scottish heritage)

69. Fried plantain(ripe and green!)

70. Chitterlings or andouillette(nope)

71. Gazpacho(LOVE!)

72. Caviar and blini(I've had crap caviar. I'm not really interested)

73. Louche absinthe (I've had crap absinthe. I am interested in good stuff tho!)

74. Gjetost or brunost(SKI QUEEN! I Love You!)

75. Roadkill(not unless I was starving)

76. Baijiu(don't know what it is)

77. Hostess Fruit Pie(loved the lemon. a sad HFCS casualty)

78. Snail(tried it. not a fan)

79. Lapsang Souchong(good stuff! haven't had it in years though)

80. Bellini(eh)

81. Tom Yum (probably, but not sure: see Pho. I usually go for rice in the thai places)

82. Eggs Benedict(damn yes!)

83. Pocky(even mens pocky!)

84. 3 Michelin Star Tasting Menu (someday)

85. Kobe beef( I think I've had fake kobe beef. I'll hold out for the real thing)

86. Hare(sssshhhhh!)

87. Goulash(yum! can't get people to eat it at the restaurant, though)

88. Flowers(I grew nasturtiums for the purpose of putting them in salads this year, but I have yet to eat a one. maybe tonight!)

89. Horse (why?)

90. Criollo chocolate(what is?)

91. Spam(grew up in Elyria! trailer park, no less)

92. Soft shell crab(probably, but not sure)

93. Rose harissa (not sure)

94. Catfish(not a fan)

95. Mole poblano(love!)

96. Bagel and lox(yum!)

97. Lobster Thermidor (not sure? I would though.)

98. Polenta(yum)

99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee(bliss)

100. Snake(yeah, I would)


Whew! how about you?

Man am I having a great day off today! I've been little suzi homemaker all day and it's pretty freakin sweet. Of course, I've been little Suzi Homemaker who listens to thrash metal, but still. And actually, Pantera-comparisions notwithstanding, this isn't really super thrashy. I really like this album, whereas I am not too keen on Fight's first one. This one is very lyrical and actually closer to the whole industrial 2wo thing than to Painkiller. <<<-----Metal God digression.
So yeah, I did some dishes, tons of laundry, cleaning, made pesto, took care of emails, vanquished the recycling beast (well, strapped the recycling beast into it's container anyhow) and now I'm taking a little break before diving into the baking and bathroom cleaning portions of the day off. I've got towels hanging on the line and I'm starting to get worried by the impending gray even though there's no sign of rain in the weather report. I happen to know that it's rained mightly every Thursday for a month---can't imagine it will stop now just because of my towels. But maybe I'll get lucky.
I'm gearing up to bake some chocolate zucchini cake. It's from a southwestern cooking book I got recently, though I don't think it's a terribly southwestern recipe. I guess it's got chocolate and cinnamon so that counts. If it goes well maybe I'll embark on some kind of pie too. I've got blueberries and blackberries and peaches that I promised myself I would not let go bad this time.....

I hate to say it, especially after just getting this from my sisters, but I think it is officially over between me and Jimmy Page. I just can't believe what a manwhore he is lately. I mean, I got over the P Diddy thing. It was hard, but I did it. This is just too, too wrong.
I understand that he has a lot of starving children in Brazil to take care of, but still. He can't need money that badly.

And with Russell Brand alternately dating the lady from The Grudge 2, and all but proposing to Britney Spears, I guess I'll just have to settle on being Rob Halford's boot slave. Or something.

Edit: Madorange gave me a tutorial. Thanks J! xoxo

I'm still not recovered from being in the presence of the METAL GOD. I screamed my throat RAW and woke up yesterday with no voice. I don't know how he does it every night.
It was incredible and I think I need another day to process it, so hopefully I'll give you a real review later. For now you can look at my flickr pics and imagine me bouncing up and down and screaming ROB I LOVE YOU over and over. I really do fiercely love that man. And KK I love too. I screamed at him every time he came on the screen. And I screamed along with every lyric that I knew (which was most of them, but not all.)
So here's one little tidbit to mull over....I'm having a really hard time with it. Before PRIEST took the stage, this yinzer guy to my left said to his drunken buddies "It really BROKE MY HEART when I found out he was gay." As he said this, his super drunken girlfriend was grinding all over one of his buddies. (there was no music playing at this point besides what was in her head) I just couldn't let it go.
BROKE YOUR HEART? Really? I mean, I could see it breaking your heart if you were a girl and realized you would never have a chance with him. I could see it making you feel uncomfortable and causing you to question your own sexuality if you were accidentally aroused by all the shrieking and metal and hot leather. I could even see it enraging you if you were a filthy homophobic idiot. But breaking your heart? I don't get it.
Speaking of Rob Halford being gay and wearing a lot of hot leather, they performed Eat Me Alive I chose to take that as a personal gift for me. And "Angel" from Angel of Retribution which is one of the most lovely songs ever, metal or no. Sigh.

Ah-ha!
That explains a few things.

(more or less confidential to Jennie, though other readers who know us might just pick up on it. ;)

It's a lovely Friday afternoon. All the paella is ready. All that's left for me to do is cut the cheese(literally!) I've got to get myself motivated to do it, but I just can't stop watching russell brand coming down out of a headstand. Crikey x 12. (it's at the very end---but the whole clip is great!)

Mother Nature Loves Me Pt2

Again today......not even 5 minutes after I walked in the door with two giant sacks of cheese and a giant sack of chorizo.....massive downpour. I am really happy about it as the garden will love it and it's cool and breezy. So long as the power doesn't go out.
Now on to the cooking portion of the day!

OK, where was I? oh yeah...Sunday. So we did the recycling and the co-op and then came home for a little downtime. Also, we had a fantastic grilled out dinner of smoked beef roast, potatoes with rosemary and garlic and balsamic, grilled yellow squash, and a few exquisite scallops brought to us from Cape May by Kate and Buck. Oh my goodness were they good. There is very little that rebby loves as much as a grilled scallop FROM THE SEA, so it was nice that she could have a little bit of that joy. You can see pics of the whole thing on the ole flickr.
Sunday night we ate our ginger snap peach& blueberry cobbler with organic vanilla ice cream in bed while watching The Princess Bride. It was a lovely end to a lovely weekend.
This week has been all about the caterin, and trying to keep up with an absurdly busy middle of August at the restaurant. What is with 40 person breakfasts, 70 person lunches, and 40 person dinners during the DOG DAYS?!?! I don't get it. Of course, it's great from a business standpoint, but from an Ive got 30 pounds of red beans and rice to make and I'm short a dishwasher standpoint, it's frustrating.
Consequently, I had my first official nervous breakdown in the kitchen, at least for a very long while. I am pretty sure there are some hormonal factors involved as well, but a lot of it was exhaustion and feelings of hopelessness. There I was, weeping hysterically over 12 quarts of white rice. It's funny now (and honestly, it was a little funny then too, though I couldn't stop sobbing) but after everyone was shocked (I'm not typically one to display dramatic emotion at work, you know) and tried to think of ways to help, and after I got a ride home and decided that I wasn't going to clean the kitchen or make the chutney or go out to the rockshow at all, but instead was going to eat roast pork and potato tacos and ice cream with chocolate chips and watch Russell Brand show clips and new wave videos on the couch all night---I felt much better. Today I feel capable again. Huzzah. I slept in until almost 9am and got up and had toast and coffee and ran the dishwasher and collected the laundry. In a few minutes I'll take a trip to TJs for cheese and chorizo and then I'll get crackin on the non-vegetable portions of my paella. It's all gonna be alright. And soon enough, it's all gonna be OVER, and I'll be laying on the grass with Rob Halford towering over me on the video screen. I can't wait.

Howdy campers!
It's almost 11pm, and I smell like frying and am covered in batter. But, the 200 or so jalapeno corn fritters are done! As are the 160 or so spinach salmon cakes. I feel a great sense of accomplishment and victory. Russell Brand helped with his hilarious podcast---for some reason I always choose the podcast when I have to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. Sometimes I try to get something highbrow like NPR but that only works for so long. Then it's back to the crass humor and shouting and victorian nonsense I love so well.
So, still remaining on my list for Saturday's wedding from h e double hockeysticks is a whole heap of paella, a whole heap of red beans and rice, a whole heap of fruit and cheese, and mango papaya chutney. The thing that all of these things have in common is A WHOLE HEAP OF CHOPPING. It's times like this that I really wish I had "prep" people in the true sense of the word....like come in at 5am and chop 20 onions style prep people. Instead I will be doing most if not all of the chopping myself. And then, the wedding. And then, the Judas Priest concert. And then, I collapse. It will all be worth it in the end, of course...but the build up is always just so stressful!
But let's not dwell on that. Let's dwell on the great weekend! Friday night rebby came home and after being told by all pizza delivery people that my neighborhood is too dangerous, we went and got slices at Sola. They were playing Motorhead, so we decided it was definitely the right thing to have done. I had some catering stuff to do Friday night as well, and then we went to bed and slept until 8:30! I didn't set the alarm for the farmer's market as I had already gotten an email that the people with the delicious bacon wouldn't be there, and really we needed sleep. So we slept, then got up and had coffee and migas and homemade sausage. I finished up the last bits of catering and then took off for the QS where I met Jilly and we went to the Night In the Tropics at the Aviary. This event was so well organized and smoothly run that it was an absolute dream! We had what we thought might have been a crap location but turned out to be an awesome location (and right next to the veterinary room as well!) and people loved loved loved our food. The thing that we do that really sets us apart---besides being vegan and vegetarian, and trying as best we can to echo the theme of whatever party we are catering---is provide an assortment of things. All the other tables had two items at the most...sure some of them were great, but we pride ourselves on having a whole bunch of little bites to try. People really dug it. We got rid of all our catering brochures and all our business cards, and I even ended up giving one of the labels to an Indian woman who said she really wanted to come to the restaurant but was afraid she would forget the name. Her husband gave me the compliment of the night when he asked me if my mango and papaya chutney was imported. Hee.
We had a couple extra tickets, so Jill and I each invited a friend to come and "help" (mostly eating free food and drinking free drinks and checking out the birds and people watching) Our friends hit it off so well that we barely saw them once they met! It was nice, though a bit funny. In any case, we all had a great time and the event was a rousing success! (even if Jennie didn't get a photo op with the penguin)
Sunday rebby and I slept in till almost 9:30am! Unheardof. We debated what to do about breakfast until she uttered the magic words: pancake house. My eyes apparently lit up like firecrackers in the early morning light. We got dressed and threw our bag of Cds to trade in in the truck and headed out to McKnight Rd. Pancake house was hoppin, but we only had to wait about 20 minutes. Rebby had the pigs in blanket and I had the 49er flapjacks with a side of canadian bacon. The flapjacks were TOO big, but delicious. Then we headed to Gabes so she could look for sweatbands and I could investigate the world of TOPS. I have such a hard time buying TOPS. Skirts, pants, shorts, overalls....no problem. I'm also pretty good at tank tops and sweaters. But something lightweight to wear on the weekend that doesn't have stains or holes or show a little too much in the area of "cleve-land"---not so much. So I set myself the task of finding some nice ish tops, or at the very least a lightweight longsleeved shirt to wear over the skimpy tank tops. I ended up getting 6 total tops--all for under $24. I heart Gabes a lot. Hopefully I can get myself in the habit of wearing them now. A couple of them are very simple and nice.
After Gabes we dropped some things off at the Goodwill, resisting the urge to enter. Huzzah! We did enter the Record Exchange, though...and got only $13 store credit for our big bag of Cds. So we decided to save it till there's something we really want. We keep our store credit slips in the glove compartment for the next time we're out there, along with our east end brewing beer card.
So, back to the home, then out again to recycle and hit the co-op.


(this post was interrupted by my connection going out. luckily I was able to save it to notepad. unluckily I don't have time this morning to finish it, but I will when I get home!)
Have a great Wednesday!

Mother Nature Loves Me

I walked in the front door not 10 minutes ago.
Just two minutes ago the sky opened up and now delightful rainy breezes are blowing in my window! Thank you for not pouring down on me while I walked around in the strip district in my dress and sandals without an umbrella.

Had a lovely day! First stop was Bradley's Books to get something to read while I had lunch. This has been my day off in the strip tradition for years. This time I got a pretty comprehensive southwestern cooking cookbook, and a book called Hidden Kitchens about the Kitchen Sisters' NPR show. Both for $12! Can't be beat.
I went to Chicken Latino for lunch and made a pig of myself. It was all so good though! I got a grilled chicken platter with fries, coleslaw, rice, beans, and tortillas. Also an Inka golden cola, which is really not that good. It was fizzy though, so there's that. Next I made my way down to Fortunes for my Guatamalan Coffee fix. Having that delicious aroma wafting up at me the rest of the way around the strip was intoxicating. From there I headed to Lotus to see what I could see. I had a request for sushi ginger, and "something fun". So I got the sushi ginger and some really gorgeous vegetable noodles in spinach and tomato varieties. Nothing else was really jumping out at me though. I went in to the In The Kitchen shop to see if they had one of those new fangled safety edge can openers but you know what? those women were SO RUDE that after walking around the whole store while all four of them had a conversation amongst themselves, I just walked out. And no one said hello or goodbye to me either. I really miss the nice folks who worked there when I was Balcolny Cookware.
So then I hit Penn Mac for the goods: papaya spears and spices. I got whole cloves and nutmegs and cardamom and ground coriander. I also got some plugra butter for baking as it is more than a dollar cheaper there than at TJs. What? It's true. I didn't believe it either.
At that point I was having a bathroom issue, so I decided to stop in Leaf and Bean. On the weekends the place has a pretty Parrothead vibe to it, but during the week it is full of tatooed cigar smoking heavies. I liked it. I got a double cappucino and (shhh) a box of nat shermans naturals. I smoked one fine brown cigarette while sipping my cappucino and felt very continental and cool. Then I headed to the bus stop and hardly had to wait! It was a long and crowded ride, but I got home just in time to avoid the raindrops. Now it's dishes, baking, cooking, and putting away the laundry. Happy days!

Hello and welcome to a glorious day off!
I am really excited about this day off, I have to tell you. So far I've slept in until EIGHT AM!!!!! made myself some delicious coffee with cream, some migas and toast, and sat out in the sun to enjoy my breakfast with my copy of Mother Earth News which I had to literally scrape off the floor of the den after I spilled an iced coffee on it yesterday. Some of it stuck but I got most of the magazine off.
So anyhow, for some reason I was drawn to looking over the ads where I found this. I've been looking all over for one of these things and no one sells them anymore. Seriously, when you ask at Lowes or Home Depot they look at you like you are from Mars. So thank you Mother Earth News! I am placing my order first thing Saturday morning after my paycheck gets in there.
Meanwhile, I'm doing laundry the new fashioned way---using the dryer. Our utility bills really haven't been that enormous over the course of the year we've been here, and of course the fact that we curb scouted the washer and the dryer in the first place means that they've already paid for themselves. Still, I can't wait to have that sundried fresh clean smell, especially on the sheets. What a happy night that will be!
Also on the agenda for today is a trip to the strip district, ostensibly to get dried papaya for catering but really so I can just walk around and look at and smell a bunch of stuff. And of course I'll stock up on the ole guatamalan coffee. Alexandria said it was going to be cloudy and stormy today but so far she's been dead wrong. I hope it continues that way.
I've got a bunch of plums and peaches that want to be turned into baked goods today as well. AND, I do have to make black bean cakes and jamaican sweet potato patties for the Aviary party on Saturday. And, I should really clean the bathrooms and put away the last loads of laundry that are all sitting on my office chair waiting to fall over. But for the most part, today is about being a first world hedonist. Ha.
Hope you have a good day with whatever you are doing.

They said it couldn't be done.
But after just two months, I bring you THIS.

Perhaps now I can get back to blogging on the regular.