Food Photos: 365 Days
A man who's taking photos of everything he eats this year...snacks, drinks, cereal, bananas...everything. I feel inspired. I'm going to start taking pictures of everything I eat before the GMAT on Monday. My dear friend Kristen brought me two huge bags of food so I've got lots to eat and not much time before the exam to eat it all.
Wednesday, March 31, 2004
Tuesday, March 30, 2004
The Suits
We just moved back to Kendall Square into that "salmon" colored building near the bridge. My friend Marc used to work in this building and he cringed whenever someone called his building "pink." Perhaps he had political ideology issues with the word "pink," but I think "pink" was just to girly for Marc. There are lots of folks in our new building who wear business suits. Steve refers to them as "the suits." We think "the suits" work for the British Consulate located in our building because some of "the suits" have British accents. Steve has seen "the suits" smoke outside the building. I wonder if they have a tea lady that comes around twice a day. Serena, Marc's missus, worked at a law firm in Australia that had a tea lady who came around twice a day with tea and biscuits. More importantly, I wonder if their tea lady has diplomatic immunity and parks her car willy nilly.
We just moved back to Kendall Square into that "salmon" colored building near the bridge. My friend Marc used to work in this building and he cringed whenever someone called his building "pink." Perhaps he had political ideology issues with the word "pink," but I think "pink" was just to girly for Marc. There are lots of folks in our new building who wear business suits. Steve refers to them as "the suits." We think "the suits" work for the British Consulate located in our building because some of "the suits" have British accents. Steve has seen "the suits" smoke outside the building. I wonder if they have a tea lady that comes around twice a day. Serena, Marc's missus, worked at a law firm in Australia that had a tea lady who came around twice a day with tea and biscuits. More importantly, I wonder if their tea lady has diplomatic immunity and parks her car willy nilly.
Thursday, March 25, 2004
The tale of pgg...a not so sad story about a very old man
I didn't know plasticgreatgramps, "pgg," all that well given he's always living in the tropical island of my ancestors, but the tales of pgg's scampish ways are legendary. pgg recently passed away at the ripe old age of 94, succumbing to the usual culprit...cancer. p.mom^2, always one to chide her pater familias, blamed his cancer on his life of drinking, smoking and gambling...let that be a lesson for us all. plasticmom chortled and pointed out the glaring weakness in p.mom^2's argument; most people succumb to something before they're 94 even if they don't smoke, drink and gamble every waking moment. Then plasticmom and p.mom^2 laughed and laughed and laughed...not at pgg's recent demise, but at the irony of pgg's longevity.
I didn't know plasticgreatgramps, "pgg," all that well given he's always living in the tropical island of my ancestors, but the tales of pgg's scampish ways are legendary. pgg recently passed away at the ripe old age of 94, succumbing to the usual culprit...cancer. p.mom^2, always one to chide her pater familias, blamed his cancer on his life of drinking, smoking and gambling...let that be a lesson for us all. plasticmom chortled and pointed out the glaring weakness in p.mom^2's argument; most people succumb to something before they're 94 even if they don't smoke, drink and gamble every waking moment. Then plasticmom and p.mom^2 laughed and laughed and laughed...not at pgg's recent demise, but at the irony of pgg's longevity.
"Modern And Stylish"
Those were the very words plasticmom used to describe her new N-Gen bottle so there you have it folks, plasticmom is quite pleased with the N-Gen. That should be endorsement enough because we all know plasticmom is a bit of a design savant with her radar like ability to hone in on hip design trends and her natural enthusiasm for form, style and function. plasticmom also predicts that plasticmom^2 or "p.mom^2", mom to the second power, will smile upon the N-Gen. p.mom^2 finds the attached screw cap model of the original Nalgenes to be irritatingly floppy so p.mom^2 might enjoy the N-Gen with its fully detachable cap. Be hip like plasticmom...go get a N-Gen of your own!
Those were the very words plasticmom used to describe her new N-Gen bottle so there you have it folks, plasticmom is quite pleased with the N-Gen. That should be endorsement enough because we all know plasticmom is a bit of a design savant with her radar like ability to hone in on hip design trends and her natural enthusiasm for form, style and function. plasticmom also predicts that plasticmom^2 or "p.mom^2", mom to the second power, will smile upon the N-Gen. p.mom^2 finds the attached screw cap model of the original Nalgenes to be irritatingly floppy so p.mom^2 might enjoy the N-Gen with its fully detachable cap. Be hip like plasticmom...go get a N-Gen of your own!
Tuesday, March 23, 2004
Dispatches from Sunny California:
Zreg reports on SF's homeless population's geography prowess:
This morning, I was walking along the Embarcadero (the road that goes along the waterfront) wearing my Brown sweatshirt. I passed two bums sitting on a bench. After I went by, one of them shouted, "Hey, isn't Brown in Providence, RI?" It's good to see that Brown is well-known amongst bums.
Followed by Steve's quip:
I thought your story was going to end with "I graduated there" or "I got my Ph.D. there" or "I was tenured there."
Zreg reports on SF's homeless population's geography prowess:
This morning, I was walking along the Embarcadero (the road that goes along the waterfront) wearing my Brown sweatshirt. I passed two bums sitting on a bench. After I went by, one of them shouted, "Hey, isn't Brown in Providence, RI?" It's good to see that Brown is well-known amongst bums.
Followed by Steve's quip:
I thought your story was going to end with "I graduated there" or "I got my Ph.D. there" or "I was tenured there."
Confessing My Furniture Commitment Phobia
For years, I've been reluctant to acquire any furniture that wasn't "disposable." Before purchasing a Kitchenaid mixer, I mentally performed a cost-benefit analysis to determine whether the mixer would be "worth" the extra poundage. I likened the 25 plus pound kitchen appliance to a "small piece of furniture" and my coworker Steve had to help me get the cumbersome box home. Ironically, my aversion to acquiring large items, such as furniture, is offset by my absurd willingness to acquire and collect what Adam likes to call, "useless crap": books, scraps of paper, pieces of lint or random junk.
Most of the furniture my housemates and I share fall within the following categories: parental castoffs, gleaned off the streets prior to trash day and some combination of the first two categories. We've done a lot with relatively little and I like to think our home is pretty warm and hospitable. Our frequent houseguests don't seem to mind our decor given that they continue to request accommodations, but then again free lodging with mismatched decor is, after all, free.
Lately, the housemates and I have been echoing the following sentiment, "we want real furniture." Maybe it's because we're hitting our mid-twenties. Maybe it's because we've been working for a couple of years and life is no longer a post college experiment. I'm realizing that this is my life and I haven't purchased a major piece of furniture save the dresser I finally broke down and purchased after my wardrobe resided in boxes for months. We've been sitting on the same random couches we picked up off the street for years. Our dining room table, found in the basement of our house, is perpetually wobbly and I managed to strip off some of the paint when I accidentally spilled some peppermint extract. Pure peppermint extract is not only an excellent flavor additive, but is also a paint stripper.
We're not actually poor, but we've chosen to not buy furniture because we actually like our free stuff. We've also been blessed to find functional free stuff for our house. We have a "bed-couch" that's essentially a twin bed with big pillows on it. It's comfortable, not horrifically unsightly and our guests definitely appreciate sleeping on a real bed when they stay over. I'm so used to thinking in terms of not buying anything permanent because who knows when I'll be moving and do I really want to lug furniture back to California, it's almost unnerving for me to think about purchasing a couch. I'm puzzled why I'm seriously considering furniture when I've already been here for nearly four years and why the heck did I not simply buy something four years ago so we could have enjoyed it for longer. I guess I simply didn't care about furniture and I didn't actually want to own any.
All that said, I think this Ultralight Sleeper Couch would be perfect given my furniture commitment issues because it's "ultralight" and I could actually move it myself. My housemates are game, but we'll have to wait until we move into a new apartment next year. At this rate, it is highly unlikely I'll actually buy furniture because whenever I think of the hassle and cost, parsimony ends up winning my battle with apathy and I'm back to square one...a room with boxes.
For years, I've been reluctant to acquire any furniture that wasn't "disposable." Before purchasing a Kitchenaid mixer, I mentally performed a cost-benefit analysis to determine whether the mixer would be "worth" the extra poundage. I likened the 25 plus pound kitchen appliance to a "small piece of furniture" and my coworker Steve had to help me get the cumbersome box home. Ironically, my aversion to acquiring large items, such as furniture, is offset by my absurd willingness to acquire and collect what Adam likes to call, "useless crap": books, scraps of paper, pieces of lint or random junk.
Most of the furniture my housemates and I share fall within the following categories: parental castoffs, gleaned off the streets prior to trash day and some combination of the first two categories. We've done a lot with relatively little and I like to think our home is pretty warm and hospitable. Our frequent houseguests don't seem to mind our decor given that they continue to request accommodations, but then again free lodging with mismatched decor is, after all, free.
Lately, the housemates and I have been echoing the following sentiment, "we want real furniture." Maybe it's because we're hitting our mid-twenties. Maybe it's because we've been working for a couple of years and life is no longer a post college experiment. I'm realizing that this is my life and I haven't purchased a major piece of furniture save the dresser I finally broke down and purchased after my wardrobe resided in boxes for months. We've been sitting on the same random couches we picked up off the street for years. Our dining room table, found in the basement of our house, is perpetually wobbly and I managed to strip off some of the paint when I accidentally spilled some peppermint extract. Pure peppermint extract is not only an excellent flavor additive, but is also a paint stripper.
We're not actually poor, but we've chosen to not buy furniture because we actually like our free stuff. We've also been blessed to find functional free stuff for our house. We have a "bed-couch" that's essentially a twin bed with big pillows on it. It's comfortable, not horrifically unsightly and our guests definitely appreciate sleeping on a real bed when they stay over. I'm so used to thinking in terms of not buying anything permanent because who knows when I'll be moving and do I really want to lug furniture back to California, it's almost unnerving for me to think about purchasing a couch. I'm puzzled why I'm seriously considering furniture when I've already been here for nearly four years and why the heck did I not simply buy something four years ago so we could have enjoyed it for longer. I guess I simply didn't care about furniture and I didn't actually want to own any.
All that said, I think this Ultralight Sleeper Couch would be perfect given my furniture commitment issues because it's "ultralight" and I could actually move it myself. My housemates are game, but we'll have to wait until we move into a new apartment next year. At this rate, it is highly unlikely I'll actually buy furniture because whenever I think of the hassle and cost, parsimony ends up winning my battle with apathy and I'm back to square one...a room with boxes.
Monday, March 22, 2004
Cautionary Note On Freeze Dried Fruit
Here's a tip (mostly for Adam's benefit) from one of my favorite blogs, good old "LJC." She does not recommend eating the freeze dried fruit in cereal straight out of the box. You should let the fruit soak up some milk and eat the cereal the way cereal was intended to be consumed...in a bowl with some milk.
Here's a tip (mostly for Adam's benefit) from one of my favorite blogs, good old "LJC." She does not recommend eating the freeze dried fruit in cereal straight out of the box. You should let the fruit soak up some milk and eat the cereal the way cereal was intended to be consumed...in a bowl with some milk.
Edible Arrangements
I reap all the benefits from Adam's habit of methodically going through supermarket circulars and value coupons. Along with the usual buy one get one frees (i.e. Big Cheese Nips), I've also enjoyed the 25 cent chicken pot pies he purchased using a rain check slip. The other day, Adam discovered and ad for Edible Arrangements, "floral" arrangements created using fresh fruit. Imagine that! How does one eat all that fruit in one sitting. Do you keep your "floral" arrangement in the fridge overnight or do you just keep it out all week for snacking?
I reap all the benefits from Adam's habit of methodically going through supermarket circulars and value coupons. Along with the usual buy one get one frees (i.e. Big Cheese Nips), I've also enjoyed the 25 cent chicken pot pies he purchased using a rain check slip. The other day, Adam discovered and ad for Edible Arrangements, "floral" arrangements created using fresh fruit. Imagine that! How does one eat all that fruit in one sitting. Do you keep your "floral" arrangement in the fridge overnight or do you just keep it out all week for snacking?
Friday, March 19, 2004
The Office Sweater
If you happen to have yesterday's Wall Street Journal, check out the Marketplace column "Not Too Good-Looking But a Good Cuddler: The Office Sweater." A sociological conclusion regarding men and women and their office sweaters drawn by a Mr. Ritter: "Women clean them, men don't, especially engineers who take the term "everyday wear" literally. Your average engineer doesn't give two hoots and a holler how he smells and what he's wearing in the office." Barf!
If you happen to have yesterday's Wall Street Journal, check out the Marketplace column "Not Too Good-Looking But a Good Cuddler: The Office Sweater." A sociological conclusion regarding men and women and their office sweaters drawn by a Mr. Ritter: "Women clean them, men don't, especially engineers who take the term "everyday wear" literally. Your average engineer doesn't give two hoots and a holler how he smells and what he's wearing in the office." Barf!
Thursday, March 18, 2004
This just in from Sunny California...
...the intrepid food explorer, Zreg, reports on the bagel situation...
"...today I discovered that every Wednesday at N%$#-SF is "bagel day" except that there aren't just bagels, but also muffins, scones, and cinnamon rolls. And they are
from a high quality bakery type place."
Living it up with the missus in the land of plenty, Zreg and his lovely Zelen deserve the good life. Summing up the bagel situation and what was once "Bagel Fridays" here in Snowy Boston with Fred Willard's "Hey, wha' happened?" would be appropriate.
...the intrepid food explorer, Zreg, reports on the bagel situation...
"...today I discovered that every Wednesday at N%$#-SF is "bagel day" except that there aren't just bagels, but also muffins, scones, and cinnamon rolls. And they are
from a high quality bakery type place."
Living it up with the missus in the land of plenty, Zreg and his lovely Zelen deserve the good life. Summing up the bagel situation and what was once "Bagel Fridays" here in Snowy Boston with Fred Willard's "Hey, wha' happened?" would be appropriate.
Tuesday, March 16, 2004
Anything for a Laugh
by MGDub, daughter of "G." Stay tuned for MGDub's take on Dweezil & Lisa in two months.
by MGDub, daughter of "G." Stay tuned for MGDub's take on Dweezil & Lisa in two months.
Friday, March 12, 2004
Tattoo the word "Sucker" to my forehead...
...mirror image in the style of Memento. I've been feeling a bit snooty about Nalgene's blatent pandering to our consumeristic tendancies to collect with their "seasonal bottles." Then I noticed their slick new bottle, N-Gen. (Let me take a straw poll on the name, is it or is it not so 1990's dot.com?) Most bottles are recommended for "drinking" or "liquids," but the N-Gen is recommended for "Gym, office, trail, wall, etc." I especially appreciate that the bottle multitasks for the "office." Gotta get plasticmom hooked up with a N-Gen of her own.
...mirror image in the style of Memento. I've been feeling a bit snooty about Nalgene's blatent pandering to our consumeristic tendancies to collect with their "seasonal bottles." Then I noticed their slick new bottle, N-Gen. (Let me take a straw poll on the name, is it or is it not so 1990's dot.com?) Most bottles are recommended for "drinking" or "liquids," but the N-Gen is recommended for "Gym, office, trail, wall, etc." I especially appreciate that the bottle multitasks for the "office." Gotta get plasticmom hooked up with a N-Gen of her own.
I [heart] Photocopying
Having just filled out a Church survey of ways we, as members, were able to help, I was ruminating about my bizarre enthusiasm for all things related to photocopying: photocopying, collating, folding paper and stuffing envelopes. While my current relationship with my pater familias consists of sending bi-annual shipments of nutritious and delicious sources of "fiber" by way of Harry & David, I have many happy memories of running my own little Kinko's type copy shop operation as a kid. A professional grade photocopier was ubiquitously present in our household growing up, as was the presence of other office equipment such as the spiral binding contraption. Somehow this was "normal" for me. My dad would often have these meetings and he would require copy shop services. This was before the prevalence of Kinko’s so I would spend days during school vacation completing these tasks. I would watch TV and eat my pineapple pie all while keeping an eye on the progress of the photocopier. I would put the packets together and bind them up real nice with clear covers and color coordinated opaque backings. I think I was all of nine and I'm sure I did a very professional and detailed oriented job because I took pride in the quality of my work and I certainly didn't get any complaints from the "customer" (aka Dad).
Having just filled out a Church survey of ways we, as members, were able to help, I was ruminating about my bizarre enthusiasm for all things related to photocopying: photocopying, collating, folding paper and stuffing envelopes. While my current relationship with my pater familias consists of sending bi-annual shipments of nutritious and delicious sources of "fiber" by way of Harry & David, I have many happy memories of running my own little Kinko's type copy shop operation as a kid. A professional grade photocopier was ubiquitously present in our household growing up, as was the presence of other office equipment such as the spiral binding contraption. Somehow this was "normal" for me. My dad would often have these meetings and he would require copy shop services. This was before the prevalence of Kinko’s so I would spend days during school vacation completing these tasks. I would watch TV and eat my pineapple pie all while keeping an eye on the progress of the photocopier. I would put the packets together and bind them up real nice with clear covers and color coordinated opaque backings. I think I was all of nine and I'm sure I did a very professional and detailed oriented job because I took pride in the quality of my work and I certainly didn't get any complaints from the "customer" (aka Dad).
The Pru Is a Happening Place These Days
If the new Krispy Kreme opening in the Prudential downtown late March/early April wasn't enough to cause heart palpitations, check out the new song store, "It's a store that thinks it's an airplane." How awesome would it be if the store was actually an airplane?
If the new Krispy Kreme opening in the Prudential downtown late March/early April wasn't enough to cause heart palpitations, check out the new song store, "It's a store that thinks it's an airplane." How awesome would it be if the store was actually an airplane?
Thursday, March 11, 2004
I dream of waking up...
I had this weird dream the other night. My watch battery has been low so it's been ticking once every four seconds to conserve power, but it's still keeping time because it jumps four slots every four seconds. In my dream, I woke up realizing I was really late because my watch and clock didn't match. Then, when I really woke up later that morning to my alarm clock beeping, I was clutching my Bose radio remote control in my hand. I usually grab the remote control when I wake up to turn on npr so I can hear the weather report. Maybe I'm sleep waking up and I go through routines thinking I'm awake, but I'm really asleep. Bizarre! On that note, I'm going to go get my watch fixed.
I had this weird dream the other night. My watch battery has been low so it's been ticking once every four seconds to conserve power, but it's still keeping time because it jumps four slots every four seconds. In my dream, I woke up realizing I was really late because my watch and clock didn't match. Then, when I really woke up later that morning to my alarm clock beeping, I was clutching my Bose radio remote control in my hand. I usually grab the remote control when I wake up to turn on npr so I can hear the weather report. Maybe I'm sleep waking up and I go through routines thinking I'm awake, but I'm really asleep. Bizarre! On that note, I'm going to go get my watch fixed.
Tuesday, March 09, 2004
Best Bang for your Buck
Being the sucker that I am, I got all excited when I spotted the Burt's Bees Lip Shimmer Tinted Lip Balm at Harnett's in Harvard Square. Ignoring the salesperson's verdict that "nutmeg looks good one everyone," I chose a darker "raisin." I had to go back the next day and purchase the "nutmeg" and she was right, it's much better. I received my copy of Real Simple recently only to find the Burt's Bees awarded "Best Bang for your Buck" in their tinted lip balm feature. I'd like to think that I have cool taste and I'm not a tool. I feel vindicated for my impulse buy.
Being the sucker that I am, I got all excited when I spotted the Burt's Bees Lip Shimmer Tinted Lip Balm at Harnett's in Harvard Square. Ignoring the salesperson's verdict that "nutmeg looks good one everyone," I chose a darker "raisin." I had to go back the next day and purchase the "nutmeg" and she was right, it's much better. I received my copy of Real Simple recently only to find the Burt's Bees awarded "Best Bang for your Buck" in their tinted lip balm feature. I'd like to think that I have cool taste and I'm not a tool. I feel vindicated for my impulse buy.
Monday, March 08, 2004
square root of 256=16
Update on plasticmom and her 256MB JumpDrive...she broke it. She bought herself a new one last weekend and splurged for a whole 16MB, or merely the square root of the amount she requested. Adam's original suggestion of 20MB was pretty generous after all. Oh well, the sad thing is her broken one looks way cooler than her new one. I think she's learned her lesson to be kind to the JumpDrive.
Update on plasticmom and her 256MB JumpDrive...she broke it. She bought herself a new one last weekend and splurged for a whole 16MB, or merely the square root of the amount she requested. Adam's original suggestion of 20MB was pretty generous after all. Oh well, the sad thing is her broken one looks way cooler than her new one. I think she's learned her lesson to be kind to the JumpDrive.
Fell on my GM
Slick weather conditions resulted in me slipping on the Davis T escalators and sliding down the stairs bouncing on my glutinous maximus at each step landing safely just before I was about to cause a human avalanche. I survived relatively unscathed, but I did ice my sore wrist when I got to work. Steve, upon seeing me ice my wrist, asked me if I was pitching. Because I'm not a baseball aficionado, I had to ask him to explain. I thought about telling Nina about my fall since she would probably think it was funny, but then I didn't actually think it was very funny since my tailbone is still a bit sore.
Slick weather conditions resulted in me slipping on the Davis T escalators and sliding down the stairs bouncing on my glutinous maximus at each step landing safely just before I was about to cause a human avalanche. I survived relatively unscathed, but I did ice my sore wrist when I got to work. Steve, upon seeing me ice my wrist, asked me if I was pitching. Because I'm not a baseball aficionado, I had to ask him to explain. I thought about telling Nina about my fall since she would probably think it was funny, but then I didn't actually think it was very funny since my tailbone is still a bit sore.
Friday, March 05, 2004
Girly Girl
I would never have guessed funky fresh Lisa Loeb was such a girly girl. A group of us viewed two episodes of the Dweezil & Lisa show last night and offered our opinions and reactions to MGDub for her article. I enjoyed the show, but I've discovered my standards for food shows are quite low since I don't have cable and PBS supplies me with my quality food oriented programming. For instance, I find Cooking Around Town amusing and a must see, but even I have to admit Ron Della Chiesa is downright corny with his opera references. Since beggars can't be choosers, I'll take what I can get. One day, I'll have my Food Network...you'll see. What's mysterious is why Adam doesn't watch Food Network...he has cable at home, but I guess he did give up TV for lent.
I knew Kristen and Dave were Food Network fanatics especially since most conversations I have with Dave center around the following topics: Good Eats, my six quart Kitchenaid and Dave's woodworking projects. I enjoy chatting with Dave because he displays extreme patience and actually engages me with thoughtful questions when I go on and on and on about my six quart Kitchenaid, which is a sunny yellow by the way. Even MGDub is a Food Network fan despite her general lack of interest in food, but I think we're winning her over to the dark foodie side. The surprise of the evening was my friend Zerry. Who knew Zerry would be the perfect foil to Dave, Kristen and MGDub with her enthusiasm for all things Food Network and her savant like ability to accurately "name that show" prompted by somewhat vague descriptions from the others. Zerry chalks it all up to unemployment, but I'll bet she'd still be keeping up with the Food Network even if she were fully employed.
Getting back to the girly girl comment on Lisa Loeb. Here are a couple of observations gleaned from the two episodes we viewed last night. Lisa is extremely afraid of hot oil, but enjoys the fruit of hot oil namely fried foods. Everytime she and Dweezil were in a kitchen with a chef, Lisa would jump back and comment about the hot oil and how she didn't want to get burned. Perhaps Lisa, with her enthusiasm for all things fried, had a traumatic experience frying up god knows what and is now petrified by hot oil. Lisa also likes to eat desserts and I approve. My favorite part of the show was a montage of Lisa chowing down on cupcakes, whoopie pies, s'more bars, ice cream and whatnot. You go girl...enjoy your diabetic free sugar laden lifestyle, but stop with the Dweezil twirling Lisa bit...it getting old.
I would never have guessed funky fresh Lisa Loeb was such a girly girl. A group of us viewed two episodes of the Dweezil & Lisa show last night and offered our opinions and reactions to MGDub for her article. I enjoyed the show, but I've discovered my standards for food shows are quite low since I don't have cable and PBS supplies me with my quality food oriented programming. For instance, I find Cooking Around Town amusing and a must see, but even I have to admit Ron Della Chiesa is downright corny with his opera references. Since beggars can't be choosers, I'll take what I can get. One day, I'll have my Food Network...you'll see. What's mysterious is why Adam doesn't watch Food Network...he has cable at home, but I guess he did give up TV for lent.
I knew Kristen and Dave were Food Network fanatics especially since most conversations I have with Dave center around the following topics: Good Eats, my six quart Kitchenaid and Dave's woodworking projects. I enjoy chatting with Dave because he displays extreme patience and actually engages me with thoughtful questions when I go on and on and on about my six quart Kitchenaid, which is a sunny yellow by the way. Even MGDub is a Food Network fan despite her general lack of interest in food, but I think we're winning her over to the dark foodie side. The surprise of the evening was my friend Zerry. Who knew Zerry would be the perfect foil to Dave, Kristen and MGDub with her enthusiasm for all things Food Network and her savant like ability to accurately "name that show" prompted by somewhat vague descriptions from the others. Zerry chalks it all up to unemployment, but I'll bet she'd still be keeping up with the Food Network even if she were fully employed.
Getting back to the girly girl comment on Lisa Loeb. Here are a couple of observations gleaned from the two episodes we viewed last night. Lisa is extremely afraid of hot oil, but enjoys the fruit of hot oil namely fried foods. Everytime she and Dweezil were in a kitchen with a chef, Lisa would jump back and comment about the hot oil and how she didn't want to get burned. Perhaps Lisa, with her enthusiasm for all things fried, had a traumatic experience frying up god knows what and is now petrified by hot oil. Lisa also likes to eat desserts and I approve. My favorite part of the show was a montage of Lisa chowing down on cupcakes, whoopie pies, s'more bars, ice cream and whatnot. You go girl...enjoy your diabetic free sugar laden lifestyle, but stop with the Dweezil twirling Lisa bit...it getting old.
Tuesday, March 02, 2004
Chocolate Hearts
I baked and decorated a birthday cake last night in my new favorite color combination, pink and dark brown. I even subconsciously dressed to match the cake in a pink sweater and dark brown vest, but unfortunately no one got the reference because the cake went with Adam this morning and without the cake, my outfit was no longer in context.
Frosting a layered cake is always a bit of a challenge for me. My usual tactic is to use the frosting as adhesive to camouflage a flawed frosting job with sprinkles, candy, cookies or pretty much anything that will distract from the less than perfect frosted surface. A bag of toffee bits will generously cover a chocolate frosted cake and create a pretty shimmer that requires zero frosting skill.
I was having a particularly difficult time frosting the cake last night. Unable to first frost a "crumb" layer of frosting, the surface of the frosting was hopelessly marred with bits of cake crumbs mixed in. My attempts to glob on more frosting only made matters worse as increasingly larger pieces of cake detached from the surface onto the knife.
The cake was spared by the grace of the chocolate heart decorations I had made. First I melted down chocolate chips and spread a thin layer of chocolate on a piece of parchment paper. After the chocolate hardened, I cut out chocolate hearts with a cookie cutter and decorated the cake with the thin chocolate hearts. I was able to cover up most of the flawed pink frosting surface and what I didn't cover with the chocolate hearts, I later gingerly spackled with more pink frosting. Tah Dah! Pink vanilla frosted vanilla cake decorated with chocolate hearts...a very hip color combo indeed…or at least I think so.
I baked and decorated a birthday cake last night in my new favorite color combination, pink and dark brown. I even subconsciously dressed to match the cake in a pink sweater and dark brown vest, but unfortunately no one got the reference because the cake went with Adam this morning and without the cake, my outfit was no longer in context.
Frosting a layered cake is always a bit of a challenge for me. My usual tactic is to use the frosting as adhesive to camouflage a flawed frosting job with sprinkles, candy, cookies or pretty much anything that will distract from the less than perfect frosted surface. A bag of toffee bits will generously cover a chocolate frosted cake and create a pretty shimmer that requires zero frosting skill.
I was having a particularly difficult time frosting the cake last night. Unable to first frost a "crumb" layer of frosting, the surface of the frosting was hopelessly marred with bits of cake crumbs mixed in. My attempts to glob on more frosting only made matters worse as increasingly larger pieces of cake detached from the surface onto the knife.
The cake was spared by the grace of the chocolate heart decorations I had made. First I melted down chocolate chips and spread a thin layer of chocolate on a piece of parchment paper. After the chocolate hardened, I cut out chocolate hearts with a cookie cutter and decorated the cake with the thin chocolate hearts. I was able to cover up most of the flawed pink frosting surface and what I didn't cover with the chocolate hearts, I later gingerly spackled with more pink frosting. Tah Dah! Pink vanilla frosted vanilla cake decorated with chocolate hearts...a very hip color combo indeed…or at least I think so.
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