Minty S'mores

Caution: Very Messy

Spread some marshmallow fluff on two graham cracker squares. Break two Andes Mints in half and place on cracker. Make a little sandwich and microwave for 10 seconds. Arm yourself with a napkin before proceeding to eat.

Baby D*&%$#

The following reconstructed conversation happened on the way to the Phantom Gourmet Food Festival.

plasticann: I was joking around with Wheezy last weekend. I was telling her how I was going to need a break after grad school so I was going to put my MBA to work by becoming a "hausfrau." Wheezy said I should start my own business as a "hausfrau." I told her I could start "Baby Doofas" like "Baby Einstein." Wheezy says she'd put her baby in a "Baby Doofas" shirt.
Adam: [long pause] I guess that's mildly funny.
plasticann: Mildly funny! Harumph! Wheezy even came up with a logo. [plasticann makes a face with her tongue sticking out the side of her mouth.]
Adam: [silence]
plasticann: I guess you wouldn't put our kids in "Baby Doofas" shirts.
Adam: Nope.

I suppose Adam is right afterall. Dressing your helpless baby in a mocking shirt is probably not the best way to start out in life since it would only doom the baby to become a writer for The Onion, but I can't help it, I still think it's hilarious. Good thing I've got Wheezy to hang out with because Adam would never go to Urban Outfitters just to mock the merchandise.

Candle Cake

I brought some homemade lemon pound cake to my team meeting yesterday.

Zamir: [Sniffing] Is someone burning candles in here?
plasticann: Um...[glancing around the small conference room]...no. Do you think it's the lemon cake you're smelling?
Zamir: That's it. My wife loves candles she's been home in Houston while I've been here and I was thinking it's been a while since I smelled candles.
plasticann: I did not put candles in the cake.
Zamir: No, it smells like good candles.

A Bi-Annual Tradition

After lunch yesterday, I dragged Nina to the Tannery in Harvard Square to look at clogs. I was considering the black ones since I've worn out two reddish pairs over the last four years, but I needed Wheezy's opinion. The following is a reconstructed conversation about clogs.

plasticann: [wearing the black clogs] I just don't know. I don't want to get the reddish colored ones again, I've already gone through two pairs of the same color. I think I need a change, but I just don't know.
Wheezy: I don't know...the black ones look nice, but something's not quite right.
plasticann: I know, the black ones look nice on other people, but they seem weird on my feet.
Wheezy: When I think of plasticann, I think of the reddish clogs.
plasticann: Didn't I drag you down to the clog store two years ago for this exact issue and we ended up going with reddish over black?
Wheezy: Yeah and I still feel the same way. Maybe you should try the reddish ones.
...A few minutes later...
Wheezy: [watching plasticann open up the pair of reddish clogs] I have a good feeling about this already.
plasticann: [wearing the reddish clogs] Yeah, you're right. These are it. I'll probably drag you clog shopping in another two years and we'll have to go through this whole process again.

Therefore, I walked out with my third pair of reddish Dansko clogs. The lesson learned is don't mess with your signature shoe.

Pizza Burrito

I experienced some of Adam's creative culinary resourcefulness a few weeks ago when he made lunch out of a slice of pizza, a piece of calzone, cheese and some tortillas. "Pizza Burrito" was born. Past excursions into "burrito-land" have included stir fry. The following is a reconstructed conversation.

Adam: [looking at a portion of leftover tortellini] There isn't much of this pasta left for lunch.
plasticann: I didn't eat any, I ate the chicken.
Adam: I know, but do you know what this means?
plasticann: [with hesitation]...Umm..."Pizza Burrito?"
Adam: That's right...pasta burrito! It's going to be GOOD.

Upper Crust

Now that I'm a student [again], schoolwork is omnipresent. I suppose, now is not the time to be obsessed with enjoying certain foods that are inconveniently located. Unfortunately, I succumbed to my irrational craving for a slice of Upper Crust pepperoni pizza last night. Granted the pizza was sublime, but this little culinary excursion cost me a precious 30 minutes. That's about 10 pages of reading in my Accounting textbook. Ironically, I was motivated to trek across the river and down Charles Street was because I was famished. My low blood sugar levels messed with my analytical abilities and I was convinced that the only food I could eat was a slice of Upper Crust pizza. I wanted to propel myself over the Fanueil Hall for a Beard Papa Cream Puff to top off the pizza, but at after I'd eaten, my mental faculties had returned.

The I-zone

Excerpts from last week's marketing class.

Prof: Who here has seen one of these [holds up an I-zone] camera?
Class: [many hands go up.]
Prof: Good good...it's a camera that takes small poloroid pictures. Now, how many of you have one of these cameras?
plasticann: [starts raising her hand and notices a marked decrease in hand raising from the audience.]
Prof: [not having seen plasticann's half raised hand] Nobody, that's good because they're marketed for 12 year old girls. You shouldn't have one.
plasticann: [sadly and to no one in particular] But, they're wicked cool.

Baker's Joy...

and boy oh boy what a joy it is for the baker. The Original No-Stick Baking Spray with Flour is simply wonderful. My intricate bundt cakes come out beautifully intact and my loaf cakes are loving the special flour grease formula. I was initially wary of the Baker's Joy, but I'm now a convert. The sprayed on flour grease can look a little dubious since it looks like you've coated white foam on your baking pans and I think it smells not bad, but a little "funny. However, trust me, there is no aftertaste and no visible residue. Couple that Baker's Joy with some parchment paper and you'll be a happy baker too.

Awesome---sia

Shaw's new gourmet private label brand, Essensia, is simply Awesome---sia. Everything we've purchased has been great: chocolate chips, balsamic vinegar dressing, Parmesan cheese, crackers and today I even bought some frozen cheddar broccoli baked potatoes because I had a coupon for a dollar off. I'm a die hard fan and I'll try anything with that lovely gray metallic label. Now, the coupon brings all my meandering to my second point, I've become like Adam. I purchased the superfluous potatoes mostly so I could use the coupon. However, the dollar off coupons are great. Shaw's has stacks of coupons for Essensia products near the circulars and the coupons are for $1 any Essensia product. I grabbed a bunch and I plan on stocking up on chocolate chips using these coupons over the next month.

My Fed Ex Guy

I was chillin' outside waiting to meet up with my team when I saw my Fed Ex guy burst out of one of the Sloan buildings. He's a memorable fellow with a handlebar mustache, but when you've worked in the same vicinity for five years, the Fed Ex guy is part of your routine. I wanted to stop him and say, "Hi...it's so good to see you. I didn't know you delivered to this building. How are you doing? Have a great day." However, I restrained myself since he doesn't actually know me and plus, in the five years I've signed for packages from him, I've never actually caught his name. However, I laughed and smiled to myself as I watched him dash from the building and scurry into his parked truck. Some things never change.

Who Knew!

Adam and I hopped on the bus last weekend for a jaunt out to the suburbs. We took the 77 all the way to Arlington Heights where we found a Panera, an awesome cookie bakery...Lakota, a Brigham's Ice Cream Store and not to mention, a fabulous spice store just outside of Arlington Heights. We chowed our way down Mass Ave all the way home splitting a Asiago Cheese Bagel with Sun Dried Tomato Cream Cheese at Panera, picking up a baker's dozen of cookies at Lakota before we bought a bagful of spices at Penzeys. We worked our way down Mass Ave from Arlington Heights toward Arlington Center stopping by a party favor store where Adam marveled at the bulk institutional food available and I enthusiastically checked out the various cardboard cake rounds they stocked. We finally got to Blue Ribbon BBQ where we split a sandwich with cole slaw and the basil garlic smashed potatoes. We were planning on splitting a burger at Not Your Average Joe's if we were still hungry, but alas, our appetites failed us and we ran out of time. The following reconstructed conversation occurred several times on our modest day trip.

plasticann: [marveling] Who knew the 77 had so much to offer!
Adam: You just like saying that.
plasticann: It is not true?
Adam: It is true!
plasticann: See, the 77 does have a lot to offer.

The Depository

As our good friends MGDub and Laurel have moved away from Beantown on to bigger and better things, Adam and I have become the depository for their stash of leftover food. We're still working through the various frozen food items from MGDub, but we did polish off the delicious Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches she left behind. Laurel dropped off boxes upon boxes of food and pantry items last Saturday before she left town on Sunday. As much as I enjoyed the loot from MGDub, Laurel's stash was the motherload. We had a blast going through the edible remnants of Laurel's life here in Boston. Not much of a surprise, but Laurel's pantry was that of a master baker and a foodie. I inherited her entire pantry of baking supplies which included pounds of chocolate, bags of powdered sugar, a variety of nuts and even food coloring. I haven't even finished cataloging the lot of goods, but last weekend, Adam and I enjoyed wrapping up all of our random leftovers in her Vietnamese spring roll wrappers and I made a huge vat of curry. This morning, I used her collection of nuts to make brittle. For a decadent touch, I melted her dark chocolate to top off the already buttery brittle. I'm already missing MGDub and Laurel, but they're still very close to my heart and tummy as I work on methodically consume their food.

Brittle...in honor of Laurel's pantry

1.5 cups of assorted nuts
6 Tbs of salted butter
1/4 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp baking soda

1. Grease a 9x13 glass baking dish. Line the bottom of of the dish with parchment paper or a silpat. [I had to chisel my brittle out with a knife and hammer because I didn't line the dish.]
2. Scatter nuts in dish
3. Combine butter, sugar and water in a 2 quart pot. Dissolve sugar on medium heat.
4. Once sugar has dissolved, cover pot for 2 minutes.
5. Uncover pot and turn heat up to high and let the mixture cook [without stirring] until the mixture starts to turn golden brown.
6. Immediately remove pot from heat and stir in the baking soda and the vanilla.
7. Quickly pour the mixture over the nuts in the baking dish and spread the mixture over the nuts using a wooden spoon or spatula. Note: The mixture is viscous and may not spread across the entire dish. Just pack in any loose nuts on top of ths mixture if it doesn't spread.
8. Let the brittle cool to room temperature and then break the brittle into small bitesized pieces.
9. [Optional] Melt some chocolate in the microwave and quickly pour on top of brittle. Spread the chocolate over the brittle with a spatula and let cool.

Bio Break

a term they were using at Sloan to describe a potty break. It probably stands for "biological" break...how BIT.