You are now entering "The Comeuppance Zone"

As a part of my job, I often get to make charts and graphs and tables in Excel. I rather enjoy creating charts because I like decorating. I get to express myself by exercising some of my "creativity". I mix things up a bit by choosing what type of chart (mostly line graphs), certain colors (always blue & red), where to put the legend (always bottom), whether to have grid lines (never gridlines), and what type of font to use (always Univers). I like making charts that look nice and I take pride in producing visually pleasing (and empirically accurate) work. I often repeat a mental mantra of "ROY G BIV" because I like to use primary rainbow colors. Usually indigo gets left out and I go straight from blue to purple so it's more of a "ROY G BV." I try to pick colors that express the significance of the underlying data they represent (blue is good and red is bad).

Given that I work with Excel and spreadsheets a lot (mine and other people's), I've developed a few pet peeves with regards to spreadsheet formatting. I get irritated with spreadsheets that are overly complicated for the purpose of being complicated. I recently ranted about a spreadsheet that contained hundreds of unnecessary "objects" that had been placed in the spreadsheet. That said, I entered "The Comeuppance Zone" last night when I took forever to make a chart because I thought I had to insert text boxes when all I really had to do was use an existing feature in Excel and click my mouse three times. (I was basically reinventing the wheel except my new and improved wheel was really a misshapen oval.) Boy did I feel dumb when my friend Jessica pointed it out, but fortunately she was very gracious.

Free Cone Day

Today is Free Cone Day at Ben & Jerry's. I haven't been able to partake of free cones since I was in college. Back in the day, free cones were a cinch because there was a Ben & Jerry's scoop shop practically on campus. I would stop by on the way to and from class eating several free cones throughout the day. Sometimes I would get back in line with my cone and polish it off before I got to the start of the line and get a second cone. Free cone day isn't the same when you work an office job and the nearest Ben & Jerry's is out of the way. All is not lost, tomorrow is Baskin Robbin's Free Cone Day and there's one down the street from my office so better luck tomorrow.

Yummy Cake

Today is Nina's birthday and we just ate her Lemon Raspberry Cake and boy was it delicious. While the basic design was the same as the last Lemon Raspberry Cake we got, the presentation lost a few points because the proportions of the decorations were a little off and there was a clump of slivered almonds tossed randomly in the center of the cake. We sexistly concluded that a man had decorated this particular cake. Nonetheless, you know the cake is delicious when my boss Greg asks to take home a slice for his wife Helen. I was helping Nina and Greg transfer the leftover slices of cake off of paper plates into plastic boxes when I turned to throw out the used paper plate that once held Helen's slice. Greg subtly admonished me by asking, "Are you throwing that away? Don't I get the frosting?" The amount of frosting left on the plate was truly inconsequential, but then again the frosting was sublime.

Moral of this story: Do not throwaway Greg's frosting, it's an offensive act of blasphemy.

Comemuffins

My friend "Zrad" tells me he's a loyal reader of my blog and it's educational to boot. "Zrad" is a PhD candidate in Chemical Engineering at a nearby university, rhymes with BIT. He's a smart guy, but like most folks he has a back up plan for the future. He hopes to play pro football someday and is always working hard to bulk up for his football career. I like "Zrad" cause he's funny and nice, but also because he likes to eat my cookies and since he's always trying to put on some weight, calories mean nothing to him. The more butter I use, the better in his mind. This is a reconstruction of a conversation at church.

Zrad: I've been reading your blog every morning. It's kind of educational, I learned how to spell comeuppance the other day.
Ann: I'm so honored you read it. I'm a bad speller too, I had to spell check that one since I never know if there's an "e" or not.
Zrad: I tried looking it up in the dictionary, but didn't know how it was spelled.
Ann: How did you think it was spelled?
Zrad: I thought the word "muffins" was in there somewhere.
Ann: Like "Comemuffins?"
Zrad: Yeah...if you say it fast enough and in the right context, no one calls your bluff.

There you go folks, you learn something new everyday

Note: The identity of "Zrad" is very thinly veiled. I think "Zrad" hasn't gotten his "comemuffins" only because he's too smart and talks too fast.

Robert, Jennifer, Ahmad and now Matt

Over the last few months, I’ve gotten to meet some of my neighbors. I’ve never actually met them, but I know they’re my neighbors because our paper delivery person has been delivering their papers to my house.

I decided to get my paper delivered to my work last month because I got a bit paranoid about a neighbor (a.k.a. evil stranger) receiving my paper. The papers come labeled with your full name, address, and conveniently your account number. Just imagine the havoc one could wreak with that information (The number is 1-800-JOURNAL, but you didn’t hear it from me.)

Further evidence my paper delivery person ignores the address- I received two copies of the WSJ every morning for a full month after I changed my delivery address. One at work and one at home. I’ve been giving my extra papers to Nina, but my paper delivery person must have wised up last week because I stopped getting them at home. I thought I was in the clear, but lo and behold I got a paper this morning. That's how I "met" Matt.

CAKE

At work, we each get to celebrate by ordering a cake when our birthdays roll around. Today is Steve's birthday and next Monday we get to celebrate Nina's. Nina had a specific cake in mind for herself earlier this week and refused to unveil her choice until Steve had picked his. A couple of us knew what the mystery cake was, but kept our traps shut and didn't tell Steve. Nina didn't want Steve to steal her cake idea since her cake came later, but she didn't want to tell him he couldn't get her cake so she figured if Steve came up with her cake on his own, she wouldn't begrudge him for choosing the same one. Yesterday at lunch, their cake choices were unveiled which was very exciting because we were now privy to what sorts fun snacks we had in store for us. The following is a reconstructed dialogue. As usual, names have not been changed.

Nina: So Steve, what kind of cake are you getting tomorrow?
Steve: I ordered a Strawberry Shortcake.
Nina: Whew...I'm glad you didn't pick the cake I wanted. I'm getting the Lemon Raspberry cake.
Steve: I wouldn't have wanted Lemon Raspberry cake anyways. You had nothing to worry about. Lemon Raspberry isn't very manly.
Mark: And Strawberry Shortcake is really masculine.

We all had some laughs and Steve started constructing alternative scenarios such as, "What if I didn't order a Strawberry Shortcake, but ordered a 'Strawberry Shortcake' character cake instead and what if I inadvertently ordered the 'My Little Pony' cake because it was next to the 'Strawberry Shortcake' cake. Wouldn't that be hilarious."

I'm personally very excited about the cakes. We've been getting these flourless chocolate cakes for the last few birthdays. They're delicious, but they're so rich you can only eat half a slice which is kind of unsatisfying. With the two upcoming fruity cakes, I'm looking forward to the option of eating two slices of cake.

My Very Own Daylight Savings

I got up this morning feeling a bit tired, showered, got dressed and commuted to work. When I walked into the office, I thought it was odd that the lights were off because I'm usually late and everyone else is already here. I glanced down at my watch and it read 8:15am. “8:15” my mind screamed. I didn't think my watch was wrong and I knew Daylight Savings was a few weeks ago. I got to my office and checked my phone clock 8:10 (it's a little slow). I realized my alarm clock must have gone off at 8:00 and I hadn't been home to turn it off. I called home and woke up one of my roommates and asked her what time it was. She said it was 8:15, my alarm clock had indeed gone off fifteen minutes earlier and she was wondering what I was doing when she ran into me getting ready this morning. Why didn't she tell me it was 7:00? I had NO CLUE it was that early until I walked into work. No wonder I’m so tired. Good thing coffee is free here and I'm sure I'll get some laughs when those "slackers" finally get here. Hee Hee!

Everyday FOOD

After buying an issue at the supermarket, I decided to start subscribing to Martha Stewart's Everyday FOOD. I think I'm going to really like it because the recipes are all very simple and consist of household staples or very few special ingredients. I got Martha Stewart Living, her flagship magazine, last year and never tried any of the recipes. They were too complicated, too involved and required too many ingredients. All in all, it was too much. Whereas MS Living would insist you made your own puff pastry, MS Everyday FOOD says buy frozen puff pastry. That's what I like to hear! Most of the recipes take half an hour or less and there are lots of great tips for basic cooking which is helpful for me. Lastly, the graphics design and photos are great and definately up to snuff as far as Martha Stewart standards.

Baking and only about Baking- skip if your name is Michelle or if you don't like baking

I’ve really enjoyed baking cookies over the last year. I used to never bake cookies because I wasn’t very good at it, my cookies tasted horrible and it was too much trouble. I was a master at making cupcakes from boxed cake mix and making rice krispy treats in the microwave, but never cookies. Now, having acquired the proper equipment and tools, I love baking cookies. I’ve also discovered that people like to eat cookies especially if they don’t have to bake them. Here are some of my favorite things:

Kitchenaid six-quart stand mixer: My mixer is a lovely yellow refurbished unit from ebay. Adam suggested I buy myself one after spending a frustrating afternoon baking sugar cookies with me. Adam likes to eat cookies, but doesn’t like to bake. Suggesting baking as a fun activity is a sure way to bring down his spirits. He likes to cook instead which works out because I don’t really like to cook “real food.” I love my mixer. It weighs a lot and is unwieldy, but I dream of creaming butter whenever I look at.

OXO Cookie Scoops (big & small): My aunt has been baking for years and makes a great carrot cake. She imparted a few words of wisdom, “cookie scoops.” They’re like ice cream scoops or melon ball scoops and they make your cookie balls uniform in size and shape so they don’t burn or undercook due to uneven cookie sizing. Uneven cookie sizing is a real issue for me because I’ve never mastered dropping teaspoonfuls of cookie dough on a cookie sheet.

Air Bake Pans: “I used to burn my cookies a lot, but now I don’t because my beau bought me some Air Bake Pans. Now my life is perfect and my friends love my unburned cookies. You too can own this revolutionary new product for just one installment of …..” I know I sound like an infomercial sometimes, but these pans are great. I’m so happy Adam bought them for me. I was too parsimonious to buy them for myself.

Silpat: I got this for my roommate for her birthday because she used to bake a lot, but I’ve used this more than she has and I have to remind myself not to claim it as my own when I move out. I don’t bake with it, but I do roll out my sugar cookies on it. No need to flour your work surface, just roll the cookie dough out on the Silpat, use cookie cutters then pick up the edge of the flexible Silpat mat peeling the cut cookies off the Silpat. No need to dig fingernails into cookie dough to pick up cut cookies ruining their shape. It’ really great and since you don’t need to flour your surfaces for rolling, the cookies don’t taste floury.

Parchment Paper: Martha Stewart always insists on lining pans with parchment paper. I skipped that part of all her recipes for a long time because I figured it was one of those unnecessarily complicated “Martha Stewart” tips. One day I tried it and found out what the big whoop about parchment paper was all about. I used it to line my Air Bake Pan and baked some cookies. The cookies slide off the paper and I can transfer an entire pan of cookies for cooling by transferring the large sheet of parchment paper rather than each individual cookie. The best part is clean up is nonexistent with the parchment paper. Certainly no scraping of burned cookie parts. Now that I’ve seen the error of my ways, I no longer ignore Martha’s directions and I always use parchment paper. A note of caution: Be sure to hold on to the parchment paper when you pull the pan of cookies out of the oven. Using parchment paper means the cookies don’t stick to the pans and even the slightest downward angle of the pan could result in an avalanche of cookies sliding off the pan and onto the oven floor.

Silicone spatula: Mine is pink. It’s not necessary for baking, but I like it because it’s a nice happy color. It’s heat resistant for really high inferno type temperatures so sometimes I like to stick it in a hot frying pan just cause I can.

Pastry Pixie Apron: Also not necessary for baking, but I like it because it lends some legitimacy to my baking and because Adam gave it to me. :+)

Lastly, another great tip from my Aunt is freezing the cookie dough balls on waxed paper on a tray. Then throw the frozen cookie dough balls into a freezer bag for later. With the parchment paper and Air Bake Pans, pulling cookie balls out of the freezer and baking them is a breeze and it's more impressive than Pillsbury ready made dough.

Fresh Fruit Pies

One of my favorite summer treats is Fresh Fruit Pie from Marie Callender's. Fresh strawberry or fresh peaches piled high in a buttery crust topped with a sugary glaze. The fruit was always sweet and ripe and the crust was flaky. Growing up as an only child, my mom and I always had this tense standoff when it came to bulk food or really even regular sized food, hence a morbid facination with bulk food. Let me explain, since I was the only one who ate Oreos I would have to buy snack packs of Oreos rather than a normal one pound package.

Tensions would rise each summer when it came to the Fresh Fruit Pie. When they were in season, the pies would go on sale for under $10 and one had the option of purchasing a whole pie or just a slice. My mom would always insist I get the single slice while I would always insist the whole pie would be more economical and because I would get to eat so much more yummy pie. For four to five dollars more, I could buy the other 75% of the pie. On the other hand, my mom had a point, a whole pie is a lot of pie. Whenever I got my way and got the whole pie, I would be eating fruit pie at least 2-3 times a day for the next day or two. Now I'm never home in the summer to buy Fresh Fruit Pies. I get misty eyed just thinking about it.

A Dangerous Habit

Last week I got to try Laurel’s rich chocolate cake filled with chocolate mousse enveloped in chocolate ganache. She e-mailed me saying we should meet up around noon to exchange “the goods.” I love how she really lends a sense of danger and deviancy to our mutual pursuit of butter, sugar and chocolate. We’re like dessert junkies with a habit. Watch Out, next week it'll be Russian Roulette.

“No Comeuppance”

As a “team-building” exercise, my office has compiled a list of our individual answers to ten questions that are asked at the end of every episode of Inside the Actor’s Studio. My boyfriend, Adam, was grilled during a recent excursion to Baja Fresh. Turns out his two favorite words are comeuppance and smack. Talking “smack” as in trash talking, not “smack” the street term for heroin.[Keeping it clean for all those moms out there. Here’s a gratuitous shout out to my favorite mom from A-Town, Gloria-registered Democrat.]

As for the word comeuppance, Adam is referring to a great Simpsons episode where Homer Simpson moonlights as the Springfield Shopper food critic. Because Homer loves all food, he initially gives very generous “thumbs up” to all the restaurants he reviews. The other critics at the paper (TV critic, farm critic) pull Homer aside one day and chastise him for being too generous because who’s ever heard of “nine thumbs up.” As an aside, cartoon characters only have four fingers per hand so Homer doesn’t even have nine fingers, much less nine thumbs. Homer gives into peer pressure and starts giving maliciously bad reviews to all the restaurants in town since he’s the most powerful food critic in town and he’ll never get his comeuppance. Poor Marge gets his lowest rating; seven thumbs up for her shake and bake chicken. The restaurants in town plot to assassinate Homer because he’s out of control. They try to kill him with a heart attack inducing éclair full of butter and sugar and a large dose of poison. Their murderous assassination plot is foiled and the episode ends with Homer and Lisa running away from the pack of irate chefs chasing them with Homer screaming, “No Comeuppance.”

The word comeuppance immediately brings to my mind Orson Welles’ second film, The Magnificent Ambersons. While everyone thinks Citizen Kane is the world’s greatest film, I’ve got a soft spot for the slightly obscure Magnificent Ambersons. I first viewed it for class and I ended up writing my final paper on the film. I took the class pass/fail and I ended up getting an A for the paper, go figure. The film follows a prominent family over several decades documenting their gradual social and financial decline. The young scion of the family is a very arrogant and spoiled George Amberson Minafer. He’s nasty to everyone and eventually gets his comeuppance at the end of the movie when his once upper class family has lost all their fortunes and he’s living with his old maid Aunt Fanny in a sterile looking boarding house. Tah Dah, there you have it…one of Adam’s favorite words…comeuppance or more specifically, “No Comeuppance.”

I just might be a Genius

Sometimes I get a big head and my chest swells with pride when I think of something brilliant. [This is usually a revolutionary craft idea.] Sometimes I tell my friend Michelle about my brilliance because she's very encouraging and doesn't judge me for not having enough humility. After I tell her about my brilliant idea, we usually end these conversations with the following exchange:

Ann: I just might be Genius
Michelle: COOL! That makes me a friend of a Genius. Maybe I want to be famous someday.
Ann: Then I could be a friend of a famous person.
[Then we bask in the glow of our self-congratulations]

I actually could be a genius given I have an above average IQ, but I've never figured out what genius level IQ entails. Knowing that you may be a genius, but not really knowing if you are is not really helpful. You can't really put on your resume or tell people, "I may or may not be a genius, but the votes are still out there." [Not that I'm advocating putting on your resume that you're a member of MENSA. That's in poor taste and indicates high IQ, but low EQ or some sort of "Q" like that. As the recruiting coordinator for my office, I would frown upon such practices so heads up prospective job candidates.] My mom comforts me sometimes by reminding me that I'm still pretty darned smart given a childhood car accident where I was knocked unconscious. I'm not sure if knowing you could have been smarter had your brain not suffered some sort of trauma is much comfort. However, I like to think maybe the accident made me smarter so I really lucked out in the end by not wearing a seat belt when I was three.

Moral of the story: wear a seatbelt...it's the law.

Mon Oncle

One of my favorite movies is Mon Oncle directed by and starring Jacques Tati. I first encountered this French film during my film architecture class in college. I watched it in one of those typical "language lab" rooms with little stations and headphones, but dark with TVs instead. I kept cracking up while I was watching it and the girl sitting behind me kept shooting evil glares. I glanced over at one point to apologize for my uncontrollable peals of laughter and noticed she was watching a very serious and humorless documentary about irrigation and farming in some third world country. I would be crabby if I had to watch a documentary about digging ditches.

Mon Oncle is this hilarious film about a hapless Frenchman, Monsieur Hulot, and his disastrous collisions with modern life. He wears narrow pants that are too short, a trench coat, smokes a pipe and often trips or falls down. There's a lot of physical humor, which is fun. There isn't much dialogue so the film can be a bit slow at times, but the slapstick aspects of the film make up for it. The film is "educational" because it's Tati's commentary about modern architecture, modernity in general and conformity. I can justify watching movies as homework because my professor assigned it. The automated modern house in the film basically goes nuts and causes a bit of a ruckus for the folks who live in it.

Tati's character, Monsieur Hulot, appears in another film (Playtime) that also critiques modernity. Playtime is set in Paris among modern glass skyscrapers. The Paris that appears in Playtime is indistinguishable from any other city. Famous Paris monuments, such as the Eiffel Tower, only appear only as a reflection in the glass. To drive this point home, Tati features a travel agency in his film that had posters of world destinations hanging on its walls. Each poster features the same modern glass skyscraper and the only distinguishing difference in the poster is the person standing in front of the building. For instance, for England it's a glass building with a Buckingham Palace guard standing in front, but for Japan, there's a Japanese woman dressed in a kimono standing in front of the same building.

Tati didn't really make very many films because he was a bit nutty about the details in his films. For Playtime, he built a skyscraper city set in the outskirts of Paris at 80% the size of real building. He then created perspective for all his streets by lining up real cars in the front and lining up other cars that gradually got smaller and smaller until the last car being a matchbox toy model car. It took him forever to make his movies and I think was a bit depressed in the end. I'm not sure what the lesson here is, but nonetheless, "let that be a lesson for us all."

Chicken Fingers at the Ratty

I drove down to Providence last night with my friend Michelle because she was speaking at a student group we were a part of while in college. She did a great job, by the way, but this posting is about Chicken Fingers. Our cafeteria at college was called the "Ratty," [don't think about the name too much] and I just loved the Ratty. Kellie and I were what we called "Ratty Lifers," which meant we were on highest meal plan all four years of college clocking in at 20 meals a week. We personally think we should be able to eat at the Ratty free for life. Like most students, Kellie and I loved Chicken Finger day at the Ratty. By our senior year, Chicken Finger day occurred on a fairly regular basis, every other Thursday at lunch. Chicken Fingers were always served in conjunction with Cheese Ravioli which was a bit of a bummer because both were such tasty hot lunch options.

The Pact
At the start of our senior year, Kellie and I made pact to never miss Chicken Finger day that entire year. We wouldn't always eat lunch together, but we would hold each other accountable to this and ask each other if we had had chicken fingers. We missed chicken fingers for lunch maybe once or twice and the guilty party would almost always get mild scolding about keeping our promises and the importance of not missing the wonderful chicken fingers during our last year of Ratty bliss. Our friend Corinna always ate cheese ravioli on those days which seemed odd. If you're going to stand in the really long line for hot lunches and not eat chicken fingers, but eat cheese ravioli...what's the point of waiting in line, you might as well just eat a sandwich or burger from the much shorter sandwich line. Corinna would always chuckle at our delight over our plate of chicken fingers while she ate her cheese ravioli. Turns out she doesn't like chicken fingers which I find odd, but seeing how I try hard to be open minded, I'm now OK accepting Corinna for what she chooses not to eat. Maybe she just really likes cheese ravioli.

Why are they so darned tasty?
I'm not sure why the Ratty's chicken fingers are so good. Everyone (except Corinna) loved them in college. They must have been processed and frozen, but maybe the fryolaters were at just the right temperature. Maybe it was the little plastic cups you filled with sweet and sour sauce or BBQ sauce or my favorite, honey. Maybe it was because you could eat as many chicken fingers as you wanted granted you were willing to wait in line. I've almost given up trying to find a chicken finger as good as the Ratty's.

The Lines
There would always be huge lines for chicken finger day and the lunch servers usually served up fairly precise portions of chicken fingers, 4-5 per person. Chicken Finger day would always spark lively counterculture anti-establishment discussions about the injustice of the Ratty's policy for seconds. One could cut in line for seconds if they brought their plate with them. Normally this practice was not really a problem, but on chicken finger day...the sight of football players cutting in line for their thirds and fourths of chicken fingers further delaying a crowd of hungry salivating students their first plate of chicken fingers...it's a powder keg ready to blow. We also speculated that if one was large and played football, one would be granted more chicken fingers per serving than the regular sized folks.

The Motherlode
Not having a linebacker physique, I can't attest to whether this rumor was true. However, there was one chicken finger day I hit the motherlode when I was served a pile of chicken fingers, 9-10 to be exact. I've never figured out why they thought I would eat that much of a good thing, but my large plate of chicken fingers provoked another round of lively banter at the lunch table. "Why does Ann get 10 chicken fingers, I only got three which is less than the usual serving size." I generously shared my bounty of chicken fingers with my lunch friends which made them happy because they didn't have to stand in line. As much as I love chicken fingers, I never eat more than the normal portion. I usually have no qualms throwing away food and I have no hopes of ever becoming a member of the "clean plate club," but chicken fingers are a different story. I wasn't going to eat all 10, but I didn't want to throw them away. They're such a valuable commodity, I could conceivably be socially ostracized for wasting chicken fingers.

An Oral Folk History
If you are currently a college student and my comments seem oddly familiar, I just may be an alum. If you looking for a thesis topic and would like to do some research on the Ratty's Folk History from 1996-2000, I am a repository of knowledge when it comes to the dining halls, the intricacies of the meal plan system circa late 1990s including the flex point system, introduction of certain menu items and the introduction of certain food service apparatus such as milkshake machines. I try to keep my mind sharp by engaging fellow alums in lively conversations regarding favorite menu items, snack bars, and a chronology of dining services events include special dinners.

The Alumni Network
I may not know all the answers, but I am a part of a network of alums who may be able to help with your research. My coworker Steve enjoys the chicken fingers as well. My boss Greg enjoyed chicken patty sandwiches at the Ratty in the 1980s. I have several friends in the area such as Michelle who ate two ice cream cones a day her freshman year, loves Magic Bars and enjoys mini pumpkin loaves from the Ivy Room. My friend Marc who was a "Ratty Lifer" and used to sound off his opinions by provoking me to write inquisitive, but utterly obnoxious letters to the Ratty dietician. Incidentally the Ratty dietician is very nice and very informative. She once patiently informed me that we could not have a petting zoo during the carnival themed special dinner because the presence of livestock in close proximity to the food was in violation of USDA food guidelines. She would often encourage me to tell my "friends" to return items stolen from the Ratty or stop pilfering food from the Ratty.

Donuts and Cambodia

There are two things that have become part of my shtick, talking about California (Southern) and how much I just love it and how nice the weather is and talking about food, often donuts. Given any new audience who hasn't heard my limited backlog of stories, I like to talk about Southern California, Donuts and my favorite newspaper, the Wall Street Journal. I like to wow them with a double header of WSJ reporting.

"I once read in the WSJ that there are more donut shops per capita in Southern California than anywhere else. I also read that most donut shops in Southern California are owned by Cambodians. Apparently there was one person who immigrated and started working at Winchell's Donuts. He opened his own donut shop and has now become a supplier of donut shop equipment and supplies to other Cambodian donut shops. As each new person in the community immigrates to Southern California, they often open small businesses and many open donut shops because there are lots of resources available within the community on 'How to open a donut shop?' They initially work at Winchell's Donuts and receive training and then they leave and open up their own shops. They've been able to push Winchell's out of many neighborhoods and having grown up in Southern California, I've personally witnessed the diminished presence of Winchell's. Since many independent donut shops are owned by Cambodians, you get the multipurpose donut shop. 'Donuts and Chinese Food,' is a classic example of this culinary multitasking. The funny thing is most Cambodian donut shop owners interviewed don't like donuts because they're too sweet, but I like donuts so it's all good."

Actually, when I talk I don't sound like a well researched thesis and I sometimes say "like" so this dialogue may not give you the full taste, but you get the gist and you learn something new everyday.

Molten Chocolate Cake
Today's edition of the Wall Street Journal-Personal Journal section has an article on chain restaurants going gourmet titled "Nachoes, Wings, and Ceviche: Haute Cuisine Hits the Mall." Featured is a thumbnail sized color photo of Chili's molten chocolate cake. I've had that molten chocolate cake and mines looked just like that photo thanks to chain restaurant conformity. While I enjoy the cake, my friend Kellie LOVES that specific dessert. She will request going to Chili's, order a healthy FRIED chicken salad so she'll have room for her own order of molten chocolate cake. Once I asked if she'd like to share a dessert and she hemmed and hawed until she requested I should order my own because she wanted a whole cake to herself. These cakes are not small so even Kellie couldn't finish a whole cake.

Dunkin Donuts and Kellie
I'll take this opportunity to share with you all that when Kellie and I were in college, we would go hang out at Dunkin Donuts on a Saturday night. We would always intend to go to Ben & Jerry's, but the draw of Dunkin Donuts would be overwhelming. You may be wondering why given that Dunkin Donuts are inferior to Krispy Kremes, because donuts were $1.99 a dozen in the evenings and there's no greater fat for your dollar ratio. You can't even buy one small cone at B&J's for $1.99. We would aspire to, but could never ever eat the whole dozen between the two of us. Kellie would accuse me of wimping out after donut number two. She could eat three because she rowed varsity crew and burned about 3000 calories each day. We would take our leftover donuts back to the coed fraternity we were in and share with our tipsy neighbors. I probably did my econ homework or something nerdy like that after these late night runs.

Last note on donuts (for today)

A reconstructed conversation on donuts between me and two friends, let's call them Brownsyne and Abina (those are their real names)

Ann: I love donuts
Brownsyne: They're so yummy
Abina: They're the worst thing ever for you
Ann: No they're not
Abina: Name one thing that's worse for you
Ann: Lard
Brownsyne: Heroin

Update on Chocolate Bar

All four participants of the recent Chocolate Bar excursion reported that they consumed sugary desserts of a chocolate nature within a day after the Chocolate Bar Buffet.

Copper Gift Tags

Another thing I'm into is gifts and also wrapping gifts. I have to admit I'm a bit of a Martha Stewart elitist when it comes to gift tags, but I'm working my issues. Sticker tags with Santas printed on that say "To: From: " are not my favorite. They have their own charm and I do appreciate them when I receive gifts with sticker tags, but I prefer to use other mediums for expressing my "To: From: " sentiments. A few months ago, my friend Jess and I split a box of copper plant tags from Lee Valley Hardware. The tags come with copper wires you tie to your plants identifying what type of plant it is and when it was planted. However we've used them not for plants, but for our gifts and we've both received nice compliments from our gift recipients. I've even been asked if I hammered in the greeting onto the tag. Nope, simply engrave the tag by writing firmly on soft malleable tag with a ballpoint pen. Rub off any residue ink and you're ready to go. Skip the card and just go with these very "shabby chic" tags.

Another fun gardening item appropriated for other uses is Velcro Plant Tie also from Lee Valley. I've used it to bundle up my ribbon, to keep my wrapping paper rolled and keep cords and other wires bundled together. It's inexpensive, it's a lovely celery color and you can also use it to keep your dying daffodil plant standing up.

Fried, Sugary and Flipflops

my general compulsion
I have to first confess that I'm a sucker for many things including new snack foods and new fast food restaurants. I read about it in the Wall Street Journal and feel compelled to tell everyone around me and finally I compulsively decide that this is a "movement" I want to be a part of.

pollo campero
Case and point...Guatemalan Fried Chicken. I read about Pollo Campero in the Wall Street Journal and how the first branch of the famed Guatemalan Fried Chicken Restaurant in the US is opening in LA. First I talk it up to anyone I see. I haven't had any of their chicken, but seeing how I love fried chicken and that millions of Latin Americans enjoy the Pollo Campero fried chicken devoting themselves to bringing duffle bags full of it into the US, I decide that I instinctively trust these fried chicken loving folks and I want to now be a part of their cause and movement. I tell anyone who will listen about the Guatemalan fried chicken phenomenon (especially my boss Greg), I enlist my friend Laurel (see Chocolate Bar Buffet posting) to drive us there when we're both home for the holidays. How the chicken was when we finally ate it is beside the point.

Krispy Kreme, Hot Dog on a Stick, Baja Fresh and more
Somehow, the thought of deep fried, sugary and or fatty foods puts a ghastly grin on my face and I feel the urge to proselytize and evangelize about it. This has happened more than once: Krispy Kreme Donuts, Hot Dog on a Stick, Baja Fresh, Meeting Street Cafe Cookies, and more. I'm even going on an excursion to the newly opened Baja Fresh this weekend on a pilgrimage to eat my favorite...the grilled chicken Baja Burrito. The first time I spotted a Baja Fresh outside of California was in DC while visiting my friend Corinna. It was across the street from the movie theatre in Dupont Circle. I very nearly ran into oncoming traffic and I don't think Corinna had the heart to refuse my imploring request to eat breakfast/lunch there. Good things she now enjoys the Baja Fresh in her own right.

Now don't get me started on the flip flops
As for the flip flops, I experience a similar fervor when it comes to flip flops. The first flip flop I felt devoted to was the Sensi flip flop. Double layer sole, the top layer has small holes and an ergonomic footbed. The small holes are a bit odd, but the brilliance of this shoe. Sand and water filter through the holes through and out the upper layer and out the sides between the upper and lower layer. My description doesn't do it justice, but it’s beside the point.

Ann's Sensi Chronology
Spring 1993--- I purchase my first pair of Sensi flip flops. I love them. I wear them to school daily and drag them all around Japan that summer. As with all good things, the flip flops fell apart since I wore them nonstop for 8 months. Here's the chronology
Fall 1993--- flip flops being out of season, I switch to Tevas, which is OK, but not the same.
Spring 1994--- I purchase more flip flops, two pairs to be exact. These two pairs last a while longer given my high school decides to ban flip flops as appropriate footwear given the heavy construction at the school. I wear them whenever I can, but by the fall of my freshman year of college, my shoes are shot.
Spring 1997--- I track down the Sensi distributor for North American and mail order myself 7 pairs of Sensi flip flops. I have this paranoid fear that the best flip flop ever created will cease to exist and whatever shall I do. I'd be stranded with sub par flip flops for all ages. I figure I’ve got enough to last me through the year 2010.

Needless to say, I still have about five pairs of Sensi flip flops leftover from my youthful urge to stockpile flip flops in case of Armageddon. I did actually contemplate it being 2010, me being 32 and the world having not created a flip flop as great as the Sensi. They're still at the top of my list of world's best flip flops, but now I have a few contenders. For a few years I switched to Reefs, which I highly enjoy. They offer the nice fabric strap and some funky designs.

Havaianas
My current favorite is the Havaiana rubber flip flop. This all ties back to the diatribe on foods that will give you a heart attack. I read about these Brazilian flip flops in the Wall Street Journal how they're a commodity item in Brazil, but have snuck their way onto Parisian runways and Hollywood. I'm fascinated by these flip flops and my fascination is fueled by more mass media attention paid to the comely flip flop. I find them at Urban Outfitters promptly purchasing a black pair at $12. Thankfully Nina, who shares my love for the flip flop, buys herself a pair and I feel a little less dumb. Together we embark on a quixotic quest for flip flops. We read that the flip flops have appeared in this year's Oscar presenter baskets. We think to ourselves...how cool are we? [really cool or real suckers] Last month, I happen upon a Brazilian supermarket near my house. I walk in...there next to the door is a wall of flip flops, many of them Havaianas. It's like hitting the holy grail of flip flops. I bought myself another two pairs at $5.99 each...red and pool blue. NICE! Nina has since been back and purchased four pairs for herself. They're quite comfortable and the footbed is squishy and resilient due to their super secret rubber recipe.

The Pie Lady
I recently read a really fun road trip book devoted pies. American Pie--Slices of Life (and Pie) from America's Back Roads by Pascale Le Draoulec. book It's a really fun book about a food writer who travels across the country looking for a good slice of pie. They go through small towns meeting the locals, collect recipes, and even visit Pietown USA all in search of some pie. It's about pies & it's funny...what's not to like.

Chocolate Bar Buffet
Last Saturday, I went to the Le Meridian Chocolate Bar Buffet with my good friend from home Laurel and two women from the lab she works in. I've always been morbidly facinated by the prospect of a chocolate dessert buffet. I was on one hand excited about the prospect of eating chocolate for lunch, but on the other hand thought I was physically going to be ill from consuming all those chocolate desserts. I started my morning with some protein for breakfast anticipating a super sugary lunch...I had some leftover pork chops that nicely lined my stomach. The buffet was really fun and not too overwhelming. Lots of chocolate, but the level of chocolatisity ranged from not chocolaty at all to all chocolate. I survived the chocolate buffet and really did enjoy it. We were anticipating not wanting to eat chocolate for a while after making a meal out of it. The funny thing is that very night I proceeded to make a flourless chocolate cake and the next day I stopped by Laurel's with some dessert leftovers from the party I'd been to. I had some Dr. Pepper cake and some of the flourless chocolate cake as well. Thinking that Laurel would be sick of chocolate by now, I asked her if she wanted some more of the flourless chocolate cake and she responded with an enthusiastic "yes." I asked her what she'd been up to that weekend and she said, "I made this chocolate cake with a chocolate cinnamon filling and a chocolate ganache topping." We've both concluded our foray to the Chocolate Bar has not diminished our cravings for chocolate, but have increased our tolerance. Good news...we can eat more chocolate now than ever before.

After a very long hiatus, here's another try at my blog. I've really been enjoying my mini muffin pan from Crate & Barrel. I've made the cutest mini cupcakes and these pecan tassie desserts courtesy of my coworker Jessica's mom. Jessica's mom is an awesome baker and makes these beautiful decorated sugar cookies that surpass the artistry of anything one finds on Martha Stewart. Another fun recipe from another coworker's, Nina, mom are these delicious brownie bites. Both the Pecan Tassies, Brownie Bites and Mini Cupcakes have been a hit at the office and both Nina and Jess have assured me the mini treats taste "just like mom's" or so they politely tell me.


Pecan Tassies-They're like mini pecan pies you can pop in your mouth
Crust:
3 oz. cream cheese
1/2 cup butter
1 cup flour

Filling:
1 Tbs Butter (melted)
1 egg
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp Vanilla
2/3 cup chopped pecans
dash of salt

Mix cream cheese and butter
Mix in flour
Chill dough for crust 1 hour

Divide dough into 24 small dough balls (I used my small cookie scoop which was approx the right amount)
Use thumb to press dough balls into mini muffin pan creating small pie crusts. (Do not grease pans)

Whisk egg and mix with melted butter
Mix in all ingredients except mix in only 1/3 cup pecans (reserving remaining 1/3 cup)p)
Fill mini crusts with filling
Top filling with remaining 1/3 cup of chopped pecans
(Don't overfill, or they will explode and stick to pan)
Bake at 350 degrees for 25 min or until filling sets and cracks
Cool and Remove from pan

Brownie Bites
1 box brownie mix
Miniature Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
Foil Mini Cupcake Liners for the Medium size (not super small and not the usual cupcake size)
Note: Be sure to use the Foil Liners rather than the usual paper. The candy may burn into the paper liners, but foil should do the trick

Make brownie batter according to the box directions. I opted to add an egg for cakier brownies which turned out quite nicely. Line muffin tins with the foil liners and place an unwrapped peanut butter cup in each foil liner. Fill and cover with brownie batter and bake according to box instructions. There you go..."Brownie Bites." Thanks Sheila T.