Christmas In Boston...A Roaring Success!

Adam's parents flew out from California to spend Christmas this year in Boston. We enjoyed lots of good food thanks to mom and dad and received lots of nice presents, thanks again to mom and dad. Here are some holiday highlights from the past week.

Thursday 12/21: We checked out Galleria Umberto in the North End where we feasted on pizza, calzones and unbelievably delicious arancine, these massive baseball sized deep fried balls of rice/meat. It was super cheap to boot. We walked over to Maria's pastry shop where Adam bought a mini cannoli. The rest of us had turned him down on cannolis, but proceeded to devour his mini cannoli so he went back in to buy a regular sized one whiche we then devoured as well.

Friday 12/22: After discovering that rack of lamb cost $32 a pound at Savenors, we bravely ventured to Whole Foods to shop for our Christmas meal. We managed to find and buy everthing relatively unscathed, but it sure was crowded. I baked up a loaf of the super easy/crusty no-knead bread which we enjoyed with grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup for dinner. Then, we went bundled up and went to a Holiday Pops concert where a lady handed me a light up pin and said, "Enjoy this light up pin from Fidelity Investments who is excited to have young people here at the concert." Please note, Adam did not receive a pin. I spent part of the evening wondering just how old the lady thought I was.

Saturday 12/23: Adam's dad's birthday. We spent a lot of our day saying, "Well, Dad should decide what we should do, it's his birthday," "Dad shouldn't have to browse in shops if he doesn't want to on his birthday," "Dad should pick the game we play, it's his birthday." I think there were times when Adam projected his own desires on Dad by framing his own preferences in terms of "it's Dad's birthday." On the culinary front, we went to Formaggio's Kitchen in the morning and we treated Dad to dinner at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse downtown in the Old City Hall on School Street. The steaks were cooked in their proprietary 1800 degree oven, served on a 500 degree plate coated in melted butter...they were really tender and delicious. The sides were pretty good, but lukewarm do the steaks were the real stars of our dinner. I ate at least 12 ounces of steak.

Sunday 12/24: We went to church where the sermon included a clip of a scene from the movie Elf...it was relevant to the sermon and highly entertaining. We went to Legal Seafood for dinner where our waiter was super earnest and helpful, almost too helpful. Adam's parents were staying at the Charles Hotel so we checked out their newfangled bathroom TV. The TV is part of the bathroom mirror, turn the TV on using the remote and the TV appears from behind the one way mirror...very cool.

Monday 12/25: CHRISTMAS! PRESENT DAY! JESUS's BIRTHDAY! I was overly excited about the presents under the tree and had a mini [private] meltdown because I didn't want to wait to open them. We made yummy pancakes and bacon for breakfast. We ate cheese for "lunch." I learned how to bake an apple pie and we cooked a delicious Christmas dinner of rack of lamb, scallopped potatoes and orange/fennel salad. I insisted we watch ELF. We also called Zess who is not into talking on the phone these days. She said, "Merry Christmas, I'm all done talking on the phone, good bye."

Tuesday 12/26: Adam's parents were heading home that afternoon so we ate brunch at S&S, checked out Christina's spice store in Inman, played Bohnanza and headed to the airport. All in all, an excellent visit.

It's Christmas Time

...at the Zakun's. Adam's parents are in town for Christmas and we even got our very first Christmas tree. I'm proud to say we decorated our tree with a lot of homemade or found objects. I made a ribbon garland and origami crane ornaments. We fashioned a tree skirt out of a Pottery Barn Kids Christmas tablecloth plasticmom and I bought a few years ago on clearance. We hung up some Christmasey small cake pans MGDub got me one year. We did buy a tree topper and some glass ball ornaments, but all and all we did pretty well. Our tree looks very festive and we spent a lot less than I thought we'd have to. Score one for the Zakuns.

"Hot Cocoa For Sale...for sale for sale"

There are these three really cute girls selling hot cocoa outside the Porter Square Shaws. I thought they were girl scouts or something, but their signs seem too homemade to have any official affiliation. I couln't resist so I bought a cup of hot cocoa for $1.50, I even got whipped cream (from a can) and a lid for my hot cup. The hot cocoa was very hot, but not that great. I think it's Swiss Miss or some kind of powdered hot chocolate. I'm not sure how much money they're going to make, but it looked like they only had a couple of bucks in their tin "cash register."

Cooky

Adam and I celebrated Christmas with Wheezy tonight at Chez Henri. We all got vegetarian Cuban sandwiches and festive looking cocktails. Wheezy got us this awesome old school Betty Crocker cookbook, the "Cooky" cookbook to be exact. It has all these great photos of cookys from back when food styling was less advanced. I can't wait to try the Snickerdoodle recipe Wheezymom makes from this book, I hear it's a Wheezyfamily tradition.

Ever since Wheezy started her new job which involves programming in Stata, I've been wanting to ask her all about the programs she's writing, the macros she's creating, the data she's merging and the variables she's generating. Imagine how excited I was when I opened my gift, it was an official Stata coffee mug. The only think that would make it more perfect would be if it read, "I [heart] Stata," but I suppose it wouldn't be very professional. I'm totally taking it to work next year along with my Hello Kitty mug.

In The Neighborhood

It's 1pm and my pink phone rings.

plasticann: Hey Steve!
Steve: Hi [plastic] Ann!
plasticann: What's up?
Steve: I'm in your neighbornood. I'm on my way to the doctor.
plasticann: Great!
Steve: I'm half and hour early.
plasticann: OK
Steve: [pause] Are you wavering because your apartment is messy?
plasticann: It is messy, but I don't really care.
Steve: You should see my apartment.
plasticann: Would you like to come over?
Steve: Yes!

The Great Cookie Contest

I'm one of the co-presidents of the Tasting Club here at school, it's basically a club devoted to all things food. Our Great Cookie Contest was today and the turnout was awesome. 18 entries, who know so many business school students baked cookies. We even got these awesome official looking medals from this place online. They were so cheap, I wanted to buy them for everyone for Christmas. I offered to get Adam a "world's greatest husband" medal, but he declined and said he wanted a real present. We sold the cookies at 4 for $1 plus the right to vote for the fan favorite. I won the Tasters Choice award for my Chocolate Ginger, woohoo. Adam, Laurel and Adam's mom all really like the Chocolate Ginger Cookie so this win is for you guys.

Holiday Brunch

By going out for Thanksgiving dinner, Adam and I saved up all our energy for our brunch on Saturday. We cleaned our apartment, rearranged our furniture, shopped for food and baked up a storm for our 23 brunch guests. We thought we made just enough food, but we had way too much. We also thought we'd been really good about planning ahead, but we were still scurrying around a lot so we took notes on how to improve for next time. Here's our menu:

Beverage:
Coffee and OJ

Buffet:
Chedder Scallion Biscuits
Yogurt & Homemade Granola
Pumpkin Coconut Bread
Sour Cream Coffeecake
Oranges in Lime Sugar Syrup
Cheesy Potatoes
Scrambled Eggs with Avocado

Grill (manned by Chef Adam):
Pancakes
Bacon
Sausage

Cookie Bar:
Adam's Favorite
Chocolate Ginger
Oatmeal Raisin
Mexican Wedding
Chocolate Peanut Butter

The Cheesy Potatoes were a huge hit and ironically the easiest to make. Tator tots, sour cream and cheese all baked up in a casserole...what's not to love.

The Purpose Of Blogging

plasticann: So, how was your day?
Adam: Oh, it was good, blah blah blah. I made myself some lunch today. You wouldn't want to know what was in it.
plasticann: [grimacing] Was it reeaaallly old food?
Adam: No, I chopped up the leftover chicken and rice from Blue Fin, fried it up with pieces of the bacon waffle from last night and pieces of the last scallion cheddar biscuit.
plasticann: [long pause, slightly unsure] You know I love you regardless of what you eat.
Adam: Yeah I know. Brian walked into the kitchen while I was making my lunch and gave me a weird look.
plasticann: Did he ask you what you were cooking?
Adam: No. I'm glad he didn't though because I was kind of embarrassed.
plasticann: Maybe you shouldn't eat it if you're embarrassed about it.
Adam: It looked weird, but it tasted good.
plasticann: You know that this is blogworthy.
Adam: Don't blog about this. You should blog about how I made bacon waffles last night and how they were good.
plasticann: Perhaps, you've missed the purpose of blogging.
Adam: To make fun of me?
plasticann: Exactly!

Adam made bacon sausage waffles for dinner last night. Waffles with bits of sausage and bacon inside. The hybrid dish was pretty good I must admit, but I must draw the line at super hybrid dishes where hybrid dishes cooked with other foods.

Kabob Factory

The weather on Thanksgiving was awful, it poured all day and we got soaked on the way to dinner. Fortunately, Friday was beautiful and sunny so we had to get out. We walked over to Inman Square hoping to check out All Star Sandwich, but the line was too long and chaotic so we walked back to Kabob Factory for their lunch buffet and it was delicious. Not your average Central Square Indian buffet, Kabob Factory had little cups of chai, little bowls of spinich soup on top of all of your usual buffet favorites. The naan came fresh in a little basket. "Yum-O" as Rachel Ray likes to say annoying.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Adam and I decided to pass on making Thanksgiving dinner. Instead, we went to Excelsior for their turkey dinner with some friends and decided to save our energy for the holiday brunch we hosted today [more on that later]. We feasted on the following and splurged on the paired wines. One of my favorites was the delicious warm chocolate cake:

Maine Lobster and Sweet Potato Bisque Cranberry Beans, Ham Hock and Basil Pistou Alma Rosa ~ Chardonnay, Santa Barbara County 2004

Oak Leaf Lettuce Salad Fuji Apple, Vermont Goat Cheese and Pole Beans, Vanilla-‘Hard Cider’ Dressing L’Aventure ~ Roussanne, Paso Robles 2005 Roast Organic

Amish Raised Turkey Wood Roasted Chestnut, Turkey Sausage and Semolina Bread Stuffing Foraged Mushroom-Giblet Gravy Anise Honey Lacquered Autumn Vegetables Brown Buttered Brussel Sprouts Buttermilk Mashed Bliss Potatoes Cape Cod Cranberry Relish Fess Parker ~ Pinot Noir, Santa Barbara 2005

Warm Valhrona Chocolate Cake Pumpkin Ice Cream, Spiced Caramel and Candied Pecans Grant Burge ~ 10 year Tawny, Barossa

Adam Bakee

Last week, Adam discovered that his coworkers' kids are fixated on his name. Andrew and Val, who had just given birth to son number three, were driving their three boys to the Arboretum when they called Adam so he could experience the extent of their fixation. The following is a reconstructed conversation by way of Adam. Note that the kids are all under the age of five and "Son 1" happens to be my favorite introverted child:

Val: Hi Adam, we're on our way to the arboretum with the boys and we thought you might like to hear this. Maybe you'd like to talk to them.
Boys: [in the background] Adam Bakee Adam Bakee!
Adam: Hi, where are you guys going?
Son 1: We're going to the arboretum. I'm in the car with mommy and daddy, little brother and baby brother who just came out of mommy's belly.
Son 2: [in the background] Adam Bakee Adam Bakee Adam Bakee!

Val and Andrew have tried to explain to the boys that Bakee is not actually Adam's last name, but Bakee is apparently much catchier and easier to chant.

Grendel's

I met up with Wheezy for lunch today at Grendel's. She's adjusting to her new job at the Kennedy School. I ordered the french dip sandwich from their 3.95 lunch special menu and it was quite tasty. Crusty baguette, roast beef and a bowl of au jus. I even splurged for some ginger ale. Wheezy got the falafel wrap which looked tasty, but was not a 3.95 lunch special.

Kashi Is The Man

School has become an occasional source of in class embarassments especially when professors poll the class. This morning's discussion on the cereal industry was "classic:"

Prof.: How many of you occasionally eat Kashi cereal?
plasticann: [raises her hand along with a number of others]
Prof: Ann, why do you eat Kashi?
plasticann: Um, my husband likes Kashi and sometimes I run out of Lucky Charms so I have to eat the Kashi.
Prof: Okay...now is there anyone who voluntarily eats Kashi?

True, Kashi Go Lean is not my favorite and for good reason as I learned today, it has an obcene amount of protein and fiber and no sugar. Unfortunately, I've now been pegged as someone who only eats Lucky Charms, which isn't entirely accurate. I really enjoy a bowl of Lucky Charms every so often, but I do eat other slightly more redeeming cereals. Somehow, I had a mental block when called upon. I wanted to say, "Raisin Bran Crunch," but I ended up saying "Lucky Charms." Raisin Bran Crunch is no Kashi Go Lean, but at least it's not associated with screaming temper tantrum throwing six year olds. On another note, I also learned that Kashi got bought by Kellogg so for all of you who buy Kashi partially to stick it to the "man," Kashi is the man. No one can escape the [cereal] man!

It's Good To Have Friends

Last night, I had an interview downtown and my friends Steve and Kathleen were also interviewing at the same time. In some ways, it's an amusing situation interviewing for the same job with your good friends, but in other ways, it's really nice. I was the last candidate to leave last night and when I got down to the lobby, Steve and Kathleen were both waiting for me. It was really awesome to see two friendly faces. Go BIT solidarity...it's good to have friends who root for you even when you're all sort of competing in a way.

Ruby + Dash Baby Clothes

Adam forwarded me this new online baby clothes store from his coworker Angel who received it from her husband Chris who in turn received an e-mail from his brother and sister and law, who are the folks in charge of Ruby + Dash. A long story short, check out their site, they've got cute onesies and shirts and such. Too bad they don't make bigger people clothes, I could go for a red polka dotted rhino tee...I do like polka dots.

Success

I was determined to bake bread before I left for NYC this weekend for a school trip and to visit MGDub. The recipe called for at least 12 hours of dough proofing, preferably 20 hours. I went with 14 and the results are pretty good. The bread it self is tasty, a bit bland, but the crust is very crisp and delicious. According to Laurel, proofing it longer will improve the taste so next time I'm planning on the full 20 hours. True to the recipe's word, no kneading.

[Slowly Baked] Homemade Bread

I've always aspired to bake bread, but I'm utterly intimidated by the entire proposition so I got really excited when I saw this article on easy foolproof bread baking in the nytimes today. It takes a really long time so it's high on patience, but low on actual work. MGDub and GJDubya have a Ukrainian phrase they like to use for these types of projects which essentially means something like, "why bother." Unfortunately, the entire bread baking process takes nearly 21 hours and I can't figure out how I'll manage to schedule this bread baking without having to rush home in the middle of the day to work on my dough. Without rearranging my current schedule and disrupting my beauty sleep, I can only practically start the process of baking bread on Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings. All other days, I'll be stuck at school at a critical point in time when I need to be home. Given that each loaf is 1.5 pounds, I shouldn't have to bake bread more than twice a week in order to feed the two of us.

Recipe: No-Knead Bread

Adapted from Jim Lahey, Sullivan Street BakeryTime: About 1½ hours plus 14 to 20 hours’ rising

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
1¼ teaspoons salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed.

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

Yield: One 1½-pound loaf.

Not The Neatest Bears

Adam and I may be pretty smart bears and very hungry bears, but we are not the neatest bears. We're motivated to straighten up when

a. things have gotten utterly out of control and we no longer have clean spoons
b. we have guests coming over
c. all of the above

The state of Bakun-land's clean spoon supply has been especially bad ever since we moved to an apartment with no dishwasher. However, our bank statements are very organized and our bills are paid on time thanks to Adam Bear.

Why would someone go to Newark or JFK?

The following is a reconstructed in class discussion about airlines and aiports in the NYC area:

Prof: So, on the weekends, the price from Boston to Newark is more expensive than Boston to La Guardia. Why is that? Why would someone prefer to fly to Newark or JFK instead of La Guardia on the weekend?
[baffled silence]
Prof: Come on guys, what do you think?
Student: Because Newark and JFK are gateways for a lot of international flights so maybe people have to fly there to make a connection.
Prof: That's true, but gateways aside, why would someone want to fly to Newark or JFK?
[silence]
Another Student: I'm not sure, but maybe for the "Jersey Shore?"
Prof: [Exasperated] Yes! People live in New Jersey and they vacation in New Jersey so they want to fly there. There's this place called Queens, ever heard of it, a lot of people live there. You people think that Manhattan is it, then there's San Francisco and maybe there's Chicago somewhere in the middle. People not only live near Newark, there's this whole state called New Jersey.

Too Young To Be Married!!!

The following is a reconstructed conversation between plasticann and the sandwich lady (SL) at New Saigon downtown:

plasticann: [talking to Adam on new phone while waiting for sandwiches] Yeah, I'm at the sandwich place so I can get you one for tomorrow. See you later. Bye!
plasticann: [to SL] I'd like to add a teriyaki chicken sandwich to my order.
SL: Ha ha, your friend knew you were here so they called for a sandwich.
plasticann: Yeah, it was my husband, he wanted a sandwich for tomorrow.
SL: You married?
plasticann: Yeah!
SL: [maternally] You're too young to be married!
plasticann: [sheepishly]Well, I'm not really that young. I'm 28.
SL: 28! You're [nineteen] seventy-nine like me!
plasticann: No, seventy-eight! [pause] So I guess I'm actually older than you.

Not only is the sandwich lady a year younger than me and positively 27 not 28, she has two kids, ages ten and eight. Too young to be married my "Gluteus Maximus!" I'm positively over the hill and barren to boot.

Frightful Halloween Visitors

Overheard through my new [pink] razr phone was the following reconstructed scenario involving Steve, one of his roommates and a Halloween visitor:

plasticann: OK, so what should we do about the paper?
Steve: Well, I think...[ding dong doorbell in background]...wait, we have trick or treaters. [yelling to roommates] Do we have candy? [panicked hollering] Where's the candy?
Steve's Roommate: [garble garble garble]
Steve: Oh no, we don't have candy for the trick or treaters! Oh, it's a delivery person. Did you order food?
Steve's Roommate: [garble garble garble, but I assume he answered "yes."]
Steve: I thought the delivery person was a trick or treater.

Let this be a lesson to us all, don't be stranded without candy on Halloween. Secondly, unless little kids have taken to dressing up as delivery people for Halloween, look twice through the peephole before freaking out. Steve will probably disagree with my interpretation of the scenario since I wasn't there, but it's my interpretation of what went down as I heard it over my phone...my new pink phone.

A walk down memory lane

I started rereading archives of this blog in order to prepare for an interview with Google next week and I've noticed a few consistent themes. First, Steve's antics are featured prominently throughout the years and he is always hilarious. Secondly, plasticmom and I are obsessed with Nalgene water bottles, especially plasticmom. My archives indicate that I've purchased almost every new bottle introduction for plasticmom: one liter, mini-grip, n-gen. Also, her bottle count has increased from 3 to 5 to 6 to infinity over the years. When Adam and I visited plasticmom for Laurel and CAD Cowboy's wedding, I noticed that she had FOUR super tall 1.5 liter bottles in her kitchen plus an entire basket of empty bottles. Mindboggling! I'm responsible for some of it, but not all. I suppose Adam and I would have just as many if not more water bottles if Adam had not boldly proclaimed, during spring cleaning, that we would be strictly a four water bottle household, two big plus two small. I even insisted plasticmom take one of my small bottles while she was in Seattle after she mentioned leaving a small bottle behind in Cambridge just to uphold the four bottle rule. Since plasticmom clearly doesn't have a four bottle rule, I think I might get her either the flask or the sippy cup next time.

Diamonds and Coal

Diamond: My managed to fix the water damage on my leather bag by dunking it in a bathtub full of water...it's like new [almost]
Coal: Adam and I both had a stomach bug this week.

Magical Diet

The following is a reconstructed conversation between plasticann & Adam.

plasticann: Guess what? I magically lost 10 pounds. I'm not sure how, but I weight a lot less all of a sudden.
Adam: That's odd!
plasticann: [dashing to the bathroom] Wait, I'm going to go weigh myself right now.
plasticann: [yelling from the bathroom] Yup, I weight a lot less for some reason. Hmmm, maybe the scale broke. [stepping of the scale] Oops, the scale's not calibrated correctly, it doesn't go back to zero when I get off. Just kidding, I didn't lose or gain any weight.
Adam: Why don't you fix?
plasticann: Can't we just do the mental math when we use it?
Adam: [no response]

If you want to weigh less, use our scale.

Everyday Italian Cookbook

I got the Everyday Italian cookbook for my birthday from Adam and it was just what I always wanted. I had also mentioned directly that I wanted it for my birthday the week before. Anyhow, I made two pasta dishes from it last week and both were very tasty. The following is a reconstructed conversation about my cooking repetoire:

plasticann: I'm so glad you got me that cookbook.
Adam: Me too, it's already paying off, you've made dinner twice. I'm glad you've expanded beyond polenta.
plasticann: [mock outrage] What are you saying? That I only make polenta?
Adam: That's exactly what I'm saying.
plasticann: Well, you're right, I pretty much only make polenta for dinner, but I cook once every two or three weeks so it's not like we eat it everyday.

Making Good Use Of Our Produce

Adam and I are starting to get into the swing of things using up the produce we get from Boston Organic. We threw out some sweet potatoes and we're still not sure what to do with the squash we got a few weeks ago so it's now "decorating" our dining room table. However, last night I decided to make use of our current supply of veggies and make this sweet potato and zucchini bread from epicurious.com. I must confess that I didn't follow the recipe directions to "sift," bhte the bread was still deliciously moist and very tasty. Enjoy!

Sweet Potato and Zucchini Bread

2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups grated zucchini
1 1/2 cups grated peeled sweet potato
1 cup chopped walnuts, toasted (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Butter and flour 2 loaf pans or spray with Baker's Joy.
Sift first 5 ingredients into medium bowl.
Beat sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla to blend in large bowl.
Mix in zucchini and sweet potato.
Add dry ingredients and walnuts and stir well.
Transfer batter to prepared pan.
Bake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour 20 minutes.
Cool bread in pan on rack 15 minutes.
Cut around bread to loosen.
Turn out onto rack and cool completely.
(Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Wrap in foil and let stand at room temperature.)

Water Damage

Well, kids, here are two important lessons in life...don't run with scissors and don't pour water into your bag. I accidentally poured water into my bag a few years ago and ruined my beloved old school StarTac phone. Yesterday, I didn't screw the cap on my water bottle tightly enough and proceeded to accidently dump 2 cups of water into the bottom of my kate spade leather bag. The water seeped through the lining and into the leather from the untreated side inside out and has left a water mark halfway up the sides of my bag. The bag would have been fine had I dunked it in water outside in since it's treated on the outside. I'm a bit depressed and I think I might dunk the entire bag in water to even out the water damage. I even found instructions on the internet. Lesson learned...I need to buy a sippy cup that doesn't leak like the one Tess uses.

Sunbutter

One of my classmates said she was eating a sunbutter sandwich during one of our meetings and I was so confused..."sunbutter?" Turns out, they make sunflower seed butter for kids with nut allergies. Her son has a classmate with a peanut allergy so none of kids are allowed to bring peanut butter to school so he eats sunbutter. It actually tastes pretty good, but like sunflower seeds not peanuts. I thought about getting Adam a jar of sunbutter today, but I ended up buying what I wanted which was almond butter, which was wicked expensive by the way.

Erroneous CD

Last month, I received a CD I didn't order in my box of textbooks from Amazon. It was the first time I've ever had an error in my order from them. Since I worked at Amazon last summer, I understand how much they value the accuracy of their inventory and how infrequently they make mistakes so I tried to return the CD even though they didn't charge me for the CD and the CD didn't appear on my packing slip. Unfortunately, I couldn't figure out how to return this CD so I ended up keeping it. We had a bunch of people over for dinner for our friend Esther's birthday so I had thought that maybe I should offer up this CD to the guests. Of course, I totally forgot to do this and the CD stayed in my office. Later that evening, our last guests Chris and Angel were about to leave so they peeked in my office to say goodbye. The following is a reconstructed conversation between Chris, who likes any music that doesn't play on the radio, and plasticann, who's so ambivalent about music she can't be bothered to turn it on most days:

Chris: No way, you have the new Flaming Lips CD!
plasticann: [Looks at Chris blankly] Huh!
Chris: This CD, can I have a copy?
plasticann: The Flaming Lips?
Chris: [holding the CD] This is their latest CD, I've been wanting to buy it. I can't believe you like them too.
plasticann: Um, you can have the CD, I got it by mistake from Amazon and I couldn't return it. I don't even know who The Flaming Lips are.
Adam: It's a real CD, we assumed it was some bargain bin CD.
Chris: Really, are you sure I can have it? I'll make you a copy of the CD!
plasticann: Really, that's OK, I don't need a copy.
Chris: I'll make you copy. They're really great!

I still don't know who The Flaming Lips are and what type of music they play, but judging from the CD cover and their name, I don't think it'll be my cup of tea...seems to cacophonous for my taste. I am glad that Amazon's error made Chris day.

Giant Calves

I've always aspired to own a pair of tall leather boots, but I've never been able to find a pair that would zip over my calves...apparently, I have giant calves. Every few years, I got back to a store thinking that maybe I'll find a pair only to leave discouraged. Today, after church, I decided to stop by Patagonia and pick up some fall outerwear when I passed by Camper. Filled with hope since it'd been a few years since I last tried to buy boots, I checked out their tall boot selection. Surprise surprise, they didn't fit. I think my smallish feet with largish calves make for an unsuccessful combination. I think even the salesperson was astonished as she watched me struggle to zip them up. On another more positive note, I purchased a black down sweater jacket from Patagonia. It weighs a mere 9 ounces, quite warm and very shiny due to the space age ultra light fabric so I'm a happy "camper," no pun intended.

Gotta Blog Like It's My Birthday!

Because it is my birthday today and I'll get to celebrate with plasticmom for the first time since high school, which contrary to my looks was quite a long time ago. I've been mistaken for a high schooler and I think they were being generous in their estimate so really we're talking like junior high. However, that's neither here nor there like Steve likes to say. We're flying to LA for Laurel and Alex's wedding this weekend. I'm a bridesmaid so I'm all set with an outfit. Unfortunately, we have to go shopping for Adam in LA and now that I'm thinking about it, I may have to check up on what plasticmom is planning on wearing.

What The Fluff?

Marshmallow Fluff, an batch processed produced marshmallow creme, was invented right in Union Square so this weekend there's a festival celebrating Fluff and all of it's goodness on Saturday, September 30th. There's a Fluff science contest, baking contest, Fluff inspired foods and performances by the Flufferettes.

Saturday, September 30
3:00 to 7:00 pm
(Raindate Sunday, October 1)
Union Square Plaza, Somerville

Morphing into MGDub

I often ask randomly ask, "how clean is your apartment?" to gauge how busy and stressful her life is. The relationship between the two is invers, the more MGDub has to do, the cleaner her apartment. In the past, my business and cleanliness tended to be positively correlated though I have to admit, cleanliness was never particularly high even when I wasn't particularly busy. However, I've started to morph into MGDub, which is never a bad thing. I procrastinated this morning my organizing my pantry and labeling everything with my p-touch label maker. Part of it was motivated by the fact that Adam asks me about five times a day, "Where is blah blah blah?"

My favorite blogger

ljc is also wearing the mary jane crocs...I feel validated.

New Gear for plasticann

I got plasticmom a pair of navy blue crocs in Seattle and I've been coveting a pair ever since. I have to admit, I was initially "anit-croc" because I thought they were supposed to be rain shoes and I didn't understand why they had holes on top. It also seemed like the entire population of Seattle was wearing them. What won me over was seeing legions of little kids looking so cute and happy in their brightly colored crocs. I was shopping online for a laptop backpack last week at REI.com when I saw they had the new Mary Jane style crocs so I had to order a pair for myself. They arrived yesterday just in time to show Wheezy who was coming to our High School Musical party. I'm loving my crocs thus far and quick search online reveals that they make an bright orange mary jane style...perfect for Wheezy.

Mark, the Deli Guy

Adam and I stopped by Shaw's last night to buy food for our High School Musical party. Because our menu is high school cafeteria themed (mac&cheese, jello, tator tots and hot dogs), we stopped by the deli counter for some Pearl Kountry hot dogs where we met Mark the deli guy. We spent a good 20 minutes bonding with Mark over hot dogs, the Phantom Gourmet, donuts, etc. The following is a very small reconstructed snipit of our conversation:

Mark: Yeah, Pearl's are the best. My dad's thinking about opening up a hot dog cart over at Tuft's on game day.
plasticann: Have you been to Speed's hot dogs in Newmarket Square? I saw it on the Phantom Gourmet.
Mark: Of course, those hot dogs are unbelievable. I don't know what that guys marinates those dogs in, but it's just incredible. You can wait two hours for a dog, but it's worth it. He's only there for three days out of the week. Everything on the Phantom Gourmet is good. Well, the other day, my dad and I went to that new place in Davis, Spike's, and we were not impressed so that recommendation wasn't good.
Adam: Really, we used to live in Providence where the original Spike's was and it was always good. I guess now that they have a dozen locations, it's probably harder to keep quality up. Have you ever been to that place in Waltham, Carl's Steak Subs.
Mark: Yeah, I love that place, it's right by my house. I drive a truck so I'm all over the state and I always plan my route so I can go to my favorite places. [pointing to his belly] I didn't get my girlish figure eating salads.
plasticann: Are you going...
Mark: Do you guys know about that food festival they have on Landsdowne Street?
plasticann: I was just saying, are you going to the Phantom Gourmet Food Festival?
Mark: Are you kidding, of course. My wife's already bought the tickets.
Adam: Last year, we had this dynamite stick.
Mark: Wholly Cannoli, that place is awesome. There area a lot of great places here too, you know RF O'Sullivans, they have the best burgers.
plasticann: We live down the street from there.
Mark: Do you need a roommate? Just Kidding.
Adam & plasticann: Ha ha ha!
Mark: Now I'm really hungry, I need to call home and ask my wife to make me dinner when I get home.
plasticann: I'm hungry too.
Adam: When do you work here? We'll stop by next time and say hi.

Maaahhk, the deli guy, basically lives my culinary fantasy life. I did briefly consider truck driving as a vocation, seemed so footloose and fancy free, full of hot dogs, subs and cannolis. Adam, while walking away, said wistfully, "I really want to go to Wholly Cannoli someday."

Bike Girl

I got a bike! Need I say more? It's a girl bike and it's that lovely shade of light green Martha Stewart loves so much. I also got a helmet (very important), a headlamp and a light for my helmet. It's been years (14 to be exact) since I last had a bike so I was very proud of myself for riding it home from the bike shop. I was very careful, stopping on the sidewalk to cross the street instead of making left turns. I took it out for a spin around Cambridge and was amazed by how far I could travel on a bike...modern marvels I tell ya. I went to Harvard Square and before I knew it I was in Central Square. I thought about riding over to MIT, but decided to ride over to Inman Square for some ice cream before going home. I would have made other pit stops, but couldn't figure out how to lock my bike so I had to skip the shopping and keep riding. I was happy to learn that traffic on Cambridge streets is pretty slow and sometimes there's even a bike lane. All I need now is to name my bike and find a bike basket.

The Breakfast Club


Adam and I ventured over the river to Allston for breakfast at a diner appropriately named, "Breakfast Club." (It's also around the corner from that leafy b-school across the river.) They don't serve sushi for lunch, but they do offer a slew of "library specials" inspired by the characters from the movie:

The Dork: two eggs any style with home fries and toast
The Princess: a Belgian waffle topped with fresh fruit and whipped cream
The Jock: scrambled egg-white omelet with veggies and wheat toast
Detention: two eggs any style with steak tips, served with home fries and toast.
The Criminal: two eggs, seasoned home fries and toast, with a choice of ham, bacon, sausage or corned beef hash

I was tempted by the Princess waffle, but I ordered the "Gucci" omelet instead, spinach, feta, Cheddar and bacon. Though the cheese to omelet ratio was too high for my taste, I did enjoy the combination. Homefries were pleasantly ungreasy. Adam enjoyed his pancakes and his sausage links came nicely browned. Prices were affordable and the coffee is bottomless.

The Breakfast Club
270 Western Ave (Cross Street: Everett Street)
Allston, MA 02134-1034
(617) 783-1212

What's Cuter than

cheerful Dave Lieberman earnestly teaching us how to cook on a budget? Dave trying to teach his somewhat clueless college aged kid brother how to cook a meal. We spotted his show last year and started TIVOing it. After googling Dave, I realized that I remember reading about him a few years ago. He strated a cable access cooking show while at Yale and apparently got a Food TV show upon graduation so he's actually super young, he just gradutaed 2003.

PS The food network somehow got the blurb incorrect.

plasticmom is famous, but she keeps a low profile

The following is a reconstructed conversation between plasticann and plasticmom about how plasticann got into college:

plasticmom: Did you read that article about Zrown in the Wall Street Journal?
plasticann: Yeah I did. It's about how Zrown and Zuke have raised their profile by taking kids with rich parents who might donate and kids with famous parents.
plasticmom: People always think you got into Zrown because you were smart, but I should tell them it's because I'm a big donor.
plasticann: That's Zuke, not Zrown. Zrown takes famous people's kids.
plasticmom: Right, I meant, you got into Zrown because I'm super famous.
plasticann: You are, you're the famous "plasticmom."

Cuban Sandwiches

After a day of unpacking (for Adam) and studying (for plasticann), we went over to Chez Henri for their Cuban Sandwiches from their bar menu. We usually get the pork cuban which is delicious, but we decided to also get the roasted vegetarian sandwich as well tonight. The roasted veggie sandwich is even more delicious and it comes with greens and housemade plantain chips to boot. The bar is small and it does get very crowded so we made it a point to get there right after it opened.

The Zakuns Are Moving

Adam and I are moving as we speak. A sign that I've been living in Boston for way too long, I'm filled with glee that our new place actually has newly refinished hardwood floors, the kitchen is clean, there's pantry space, the walls are not riddled with weird nubbins and the heat will be maintained at 72 degrees. Yup, our new place is nicer than any other place we've ever lived as singles and as a couple. While moving sucks, we are excited about our new place. Here's the insane timeline for all who are interested.

Sunday evening: plasticann comes home to Boston
Monday noon: Visit realtor 1
Monday early afternoon: Visit realtor 2
Monday early evening: Visit realtor 3
Tuesday 9am: Call realtor 2 about apartment
Tuesday 10am: Meet realtor at apartment for another look
Tuesday 10:45am: Apply for apartment
Tuesday 10:55am: Approved for apartment
Wednesday 1pm: Sign lease, meet landlord
Wednesday 10pm: First load of stuff moved to new apartment

On another note, I had to order new business cards so I took a look at my old ones from last year. I'm embarrassed to admit that my phone number from the old one has a typo, somehow I never noticed it for a whole year. I'm not sure how many calls I've missed because of this. For anyone out there with my MIT business card, please e-mail me instead.

Way Ahead of the Pack or a Clueless Culinary Cliche

I've alway enjoyed the pigs in a blanket and my friends have always gobbled them up whenever I've brought them along. People gobbled them up faster than I could bake them at MGDub's birthday a few years ago. According to the nytimes, pigs in a blanket have become a staple at hip Manhattan parties so I can't decide whether this means I'm ahead of the the pack or I've been a little clueless about just how unchic pigs in a blanket have been for all of those years I served them.

plasticann and Adam are back home

We're finally back in Cambridge after our summer adventure in Seattle. Adam had to come back home two weeks earlier, but fortunately, plasticmom flew out to visit me this last week. Having enjoyed various forms of seafood for four days straight, plasticmom and I had a little mercury scare. Other than that, plasticmom got a new pair of crocs and enjoyed the sights near our Seattle apartment. In other news, Adam and I are looking for a new apartment since our new landlords are converting our building into condos. The search began this afternoon, I can decide if it's discouraging and exciting, but at least we'll find somewhere to live.

Frozen Cookies

Yup, it's been awhile, but here's a quick reconstructed conversation now that Adam's family is here visiting.

Adam's Dad: I really enjoyed those frozen cookies plasticann had in the freezer.
Adam: ...What frozen cookies?
Adam's Dad: The cookies in the freezer bags.
Adam: That's frozen cookie dough that she's baking for her big presentation.

Yes, my big presentation is today and I made presentation cookies also known as Adam's favorite. I refused to let anyone eat the presentation cookies. Well, I made an exception for Tesserrific. I couldn't resist her cuteness so I let her eat two of the cookies.

Golf

Hard to believe, but I used to play golf in high school. In fact, I was on the golf team even though I was never any good. Turns out, when there are 12 spots on the team and only 11 people who want to play, everyone gets to be on the team. I was the only girl on the team my freshman year, but being on the golf team did come with some tangible perks. Free nine holes of golf every afternoon during the spring plus fifty buckets of free practice balls. That's actually worth a couple hundred bucks. Alas, I digress! Living in New England for the last decade has presented NO opportunities to hit golf balls. Lack of car, lack of driving ranges near the T and freezing temperatures half the year do not make for a golf friendly environment.

I supposed I could have overcome all of these hurdles if I were truely serious, but at the end of the day, who wants to trudge through snow with some clubs to hit balls in a basement in front of a simulated computer generated golf scene and pay a hundred bucks a month to boot. Therefore, I was excited when I spotted a driving range on the way to church a few weeks ago right on our bus route. I ordered a "pre-owned" iron off off amazon (of course) and went on an adventure this afternoon. I wish I could say that the outing went smoothly, but I can't. I managed to lose my one golf club immediately and had to enlist someone to track it down. Then I was utterly confused by the machine that dispensed the balls, golf ball dispensing technology certainly has changed. Finally, I was reminded how utterly WASPY and preppy the whole sport is when I spotted a woman wearing a white visor withe her hair pulled back in a pert ponytail. I can't believe I used to do this most days as a teenager. Then again I had plasticmom driving me around and footing the bill. I do love whacking those balls, but I have to admit that I took up golf mainly so I could avoid PE because I hated running and had flunked the one mile run.

Gelatiamo

There's a gelato shop nearby that's highly rated by Zagats and has become a butt of our jokes. Seems like it's never open so Adam started telling me "We can try going to Gelatiamo later" whenever I started pestering him for some sort of dessert treat on our evening walks. Of course, Gelatiamo is never open so thus no treat. I fell for it several times before I realized what was happening.

Food Obsessed

I think Adam and I just might be food obsessed.

1. Even though we'd been the market twice this weekend, we were still abnormally enthusiastic when we happened upon a third market this afternoon. Granted this supermarket was slicker than the two previous markets, it even had an eat in sushi bar and rows and rows of frozen foods.

2. When at the market, we study the deli section. Instead of buying what looks good at the deli, we grill the poor deli worker on how the dishes are prepared before we scamper off to buy the exact ingredients that are in the already prepared deli dish so we can make our own. Same behavior applies to the bakery section as well, hmmm let's make our own chocolate cups adn fill them with mousse.

3. I scour the city looking for the Mike-arita because I saw a hilarious commercial on television. I don't even know if I like Margaritas, but I'm easly swayed by advertising.

plasticmom in Cambridge

If you think you see plasticmom tooling around Cambridge this summer, no need to get your vision checked. plasticmom is taking summer classes at Harvard and living in our apartment. Even plasticmom had to admit that our apartment was squeaky clean as it should of given that we hired a cleaning person. If you see plasticmom taking the 77 or hanging out in Harvard Square, be sure to say "Howdy."

Chatty

I've noticed that folks here in Seattle are "chattier," even the homeless are much more apt to strike up a random conversation. The following is a reconstructed conversation between plasticann and a random homeless person (HP) with a sign while plasticann was trying to cross the street after church.

HP: Hey, you're supposed to press the button to cross the street!
plasticann: [walks around the pole looking for the button]
HP: No, over there, that button.
plasticann: {gratefully presses button]
HP: ...are you from the Philippines?
plasticann: No!
HP: Japanese?
plasticann: No! [decides to avoid this conversation of pan-Asian country naming] My parents are from Taiwan!
HP: Oh, Taiwan! Welcome to America!
plasticann: Thanks???

Ironically, while I appreciated his help with the button, I didn't really feel particularly welcomed, but at least he tried. Since Adam is in CA visiting his family, he wasn't with me this morning. I wonder if HP would have "welcomed" me had I been with Adam or if he would have assumed that I'd already been properly welcomed to America.

Wheezy In Seattle

I'm not actually feeling wheezy, but Wheezy's in town this week for vacation on her inaugural west coast tour. She stopped by San Francisco to see Greg & Helen, come into Seattle for a clandestine visit on our anniversary, took the train to Vancouver and came back to Seattle for a proper visit. Last night, we feasted on platters of cheap ($5.50 a dish) and very delicious Thai food at Mae Phim where we sipped ginormous glasses of Thai iced tea that were only a buck a piece. Tonight, we walked walked over to Pagliacci Pizza. Because I was famished, I spent most of the latter part of our walk over plotting about what I would order...pizza, root beer and an appetizer to snack on before my real dinner came. Turns out, the place offers slices cafeteria style which means immediate gratification. While I was extremely excited at the prospect of food fast, I was disoriented since I was expecting to wait. The food was delicious and the sodas were bottomless, Wheezy had three diet cokes. She takes off for ye olde Boston tomorrow night on the red eye, but we have time for one more culinary adventure, we're heading over to Wild Ginger for a farewell dinner.

Happy Anniversary To Us

Adam and I celebrated our anniversary this evening at the Melting Pot Fondue restaurant courtesy of plasticmom. "Thanks Mom!" we exclaimed. We enjoyed the "Big Night Out" four course meal which included, cheese fondue, a strawberry almond salad, a variety of meats/veggies/etc and finally a coconut chocolate fondue. The cheese fondue was by far our favorite and while we did eat everything else and overindulge, we could have stopped with just the cheese. Anything dipped with chocolate is sure to be tasty, but we were disappointed with the lackluster chocolate sauce consistency...we were hoping for something thicker. However, we're now determined to finally break out the lovely electric fondue pot Corinna got us for our wedding.

Dispatches From Tesserific

Our niece, Tesserific, has become so obsessed with pink and soccer, she declared, "I want to be a pink soccer player" a few weeks ago. Zara also tells me that Tesserific is quite attached to her Nalgene Sippy Bottle [not coincidentally pink] as "Aunt Ann's Sippy Cup." Sort of implies that I, myself, am a sippy cup user, but that's beside the point.

Watermelon Feta Salad

We've been here for a week and we've eaten a lot here in Seattle. One thing for sure is I haven't been blogging so I'm trying to get back in the swing of things with our latest dinner. I was intrigued by this watermelon feta salad recipe I saw in a magazine so we tried it out tonight, Just combine seedless watermelon chunks with crumbled feta cheese, you don't need a lot. Season with freshly ground pepper and kosher salt. It's pretty refreshing and I think it'll become a summertime staple.

Seattle: Day 1

We got into Seattle yesterday afternoon and enjoyed a delicious dinner at Wild Ginger. The following reconstructed conversation/scenario happened while we stopped by Walgreens after dinner for some provisions.

Walgreens Lady: [to the man in front of plasticann] Would you like to try our M&M special? Two for a dollar?
Man in Front: No thanks!
Walgreens Lady: [to plasticann] Would you like to try our M&M special?
plasticann: NOPE!
Walgreens Lady: OK, that'll be eight dollars.
Adam: [as plasticann is about to pay] Actually, yes I would like some M&Ms. These are the special M&Ms.
Walgreens: Yes, they're Pirates of the Caribbean M&Ms.
Adam: I saw an ad for these white chocolate M&Ms and I've been meaning to buy them since they're limited edition!
plasticann: [amused, but shakes her head]

Walking out of Walgreens, we encounter a trio of punks hanging out on the street corner. Punks as in kids who loaf on street corners with nothing to do but cause trouble, not punks as in fans of the musical genre.

Punks: [to Adam] Hey, can I have some M&Ms.
Adam: [eating M&Ms] No!
Punks: blah blah blah...open toed sandals...thirty years old and you're wearing open toed sandals.
Adam: [Keeps walking in his Tevas without responding]
Punks: I wouldn't be caught wearing open toed sandals.
plasticann: [around the corner] Oh my goodness, what just happened? What was that about?
Adam: I don't know, I guess open toed sandals are unfashionable, but people in Boston wear them.
plastican: Did they make a crack about how you'd never find a girl since you wear open toed sandals?
Adam: I thought they did, but I'm not sure.
plasticann: I would have defended you and said something.
Adam: I thought about responding, but I also thought getting into an altercation on our first night in Seattle wouldn't be good.
plasticann: That's funny! I wonder how they knew you were thirty?
Adam: I was wondering that myself.

If that exchange had happened three days later, we totally could have said, "Hah, you clearly don't know what you're talking about, he's thirty-one not thirty so there you go." I was wearing my Keen sport sandals or what Adam likes to call my "orthopedic shoes." I would like to point out that I, however, was not the one who was mocked by teenage boys loafing on a street corner.

It's summertime...

...I can tell school is over because I'm only getting spam in my In Box. I usually get tons of mass e-mails, but these days...just silence.

I knew...

Adam and I are attempting to straighten up our place.

Adam: [flipping through a journal] Listen to this from 2000...blah blah blah!
plasticann: Cool!
Adam: See, I knew I liked you even back then.
plasticann: I should hope so, we were dating in 2000.
Adam: Oh right!

Italian Ice is Good

sayeth Steve

Slush Puppies

Steve: I walked into Davis to get a slush puppy at Store 24 and it's gone.
plasticann: What?
Steve: It's gone.
plasticann: Store 24 disappeared? When did that happen? What replaced it?
Steve: No, the slush puppy machine is gone.
plasticann: Is the store still there?
Steve: Yes, but no slush puppy machine.
plasticann: Oh, thank goodness! Why don't you go to 7-11 to get a slushy there?
Steve: I walked into Davis to get a slush puppy, I don't want to walk home and get in my car and fight traffic to go to 7-11.
plasticann: Why don't you get some Italian Ice.
Steve: Where?
plasticann: At that convenience store next to the park on Holland, I see kids coming out of there all the time with their blue/yellow Italian ice.
Steve: I guess I could venture down there.
plasticann: You'll have to let me know how it is.
Steve: OK! Later!

I felt kinda bad for Steve's loss, but I'm way happier that the Store 24 is still around. If Slush Puppy machine had to go so Store 24 could stay, I'd have to go with Store 24. I told plasticmom she could get her t-pass there this summer and I was really panicked when I initially misunderstood Steve.

"MGDub is coming to town!"

I finished my last final this morning and boy oh boy was my hand cramped after writing for three hours. I celebrated with a bacon/blue cheese burger and coke with my classmates at the Tavern in Central Square, wandered down Mass Ave to Harvard Square where I read chick lit novels at the coop for free. I sampled the peppermint stick ice cream at the new Lizzy's Ice Cream store in Harvard Square and walked over to Porter for some groceries. The ice cream was disappointing. The peppermint stick was really peppermint pellets and the ice cream had a weird curdled consistency that I didn't enjoy. I ended up throwing out half of my cone...I decided the ice cream was not calorie worthy.

Even More Darned Good Chocolate Cake With A Dash Of Nuttiness

I added some almond extract to this chocolate cake from Cake Doctor and it was mighty tasty.

1 box Devil's Food Cake Mix with Pudding
4 Eggs
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup warm water
1 cup sour cream
1-2 teaspoons almond extract (optional)
1.5 cup chocolate chips

Heat Oven to 350
Mix all ingredients (except chocolate chips) on slow for one minute and then on medium for 2-3 minutes.
Stir in chocolate chips
Pour batter into bundt pan (oil and flour the pan before)
Bake for 45-50 minutes

Falafel

I was out to dinner last week with my roommates at Cafe Barada when the following reconstructed conversation occurred between plasticann and the server.

Server: Do you ladies want any dessert tonight?
plasticann: Yes, I would like a piece of falafel for dessert.
Server: [staring blankly] Falafel?
plasticann: Yup, one piece to go.
Carin: ...do you mean Baklava?
plasticann: Baklava? Yes, a piece of Baklava to go. What did I say?
Carin: Falafel!
plasticann: [mighty embarrassed] Oh now, that makes no sense, I meant Baklava.

Bouncy Castles

Year end school celebrations abound even as finals are looming and Friday was no exception. A Texas themed BBQ chowdown for the entire family. Steve and I were eager to take advantage of the last free lunch of the year that we've technically paid for through our tution. I was starving so I ate quite a bit of everything and after lunch Steve suggested checking out the kid's activities, namely the bouncy castle. They made us sign a waiver before we could bounce in the castle and that should have tipped us off. The castle was really quite fun for about a minute. Then, I felt nauseous from bouncing on a full stomach and smelling the icky dank water from the floor that soaked my socks. I had to carry my smelly wet socks all the way home which was really wet and unpleasant. At least Steve had had a beer so he had some semblence of an excuse. I, on the otherhand, should have known better than to sign a waiver in order bounce in a wet smelly castle after lunch.

Baffling

I'm very fortunate that Adam is quite domestic, even more domestic than I am. He cooks more, cleans more and he's just an all around better person to live with than I am. I tend to leave my shoes lying around, neglect washing my baking dishes and I'm often tempted not to refill the toilet paper when I'm lazy and I end up setting a fresh roll on the counter. The toilet paper thing is truely unkind and infuriating so I try not to do that since Adam is a very nice husband and deserves better. The following reconstructed conversation illustrates one strange, but recurring dynamic...Adam not being able to find stuff.

Adam: Where's the soy sauce?
plasticann: In the fridge! [about to yell, "it's on the lower shelf in the door"]
Adam: It's not there, I looked.
plasticann: [frantically trying to remember why it's not in the fridge] Um...I don't know. I'm coming!
plasticann: [plasticann opens the fridge and the soy sauce is in the door on the lower shelf] Uh-hem!
Adam: [turning around] What!
plasticann: The soy sauce! [pointing at the shelf]
Adam: Where?
plasticann: It's right here in the door.
Adam: I looked in there twice, but I didn't see it.
plasticann: [baffled]

My 6th grade teacher, Mrs. Chin, used to tell these amusing stories about how her husband couldn't find anything. He'd look in a closet and say, "I don't see it," and it would be right in his face. Things aren't looking good in this area, but now that we've established where the soy sauce resides, I think it'll get much better.

"Visas"

The following is a reconstructed e-mail conversation between plasticann and plasticmom

plasticmom: I got a letter from Harvard asking whether I was still planning to take the summer class since I hadn't applied for an I-20 Visa or paid my tuition so I paid the tuition today. I wonder if that's why I haven't received any information about my class?
plasticann: [being cute] Maybe you need a visa to travel to the East Coast?
plasticmom: [being even cuter] Yes, I do need a visa for the East coast since I can't carry around a suitcase of cash in order to live in the Republic of New England.

Took me a minute there to get plasticmom's little joke.

Reconstructed Reconstructed Conversation

The ever fabulous MGDub was grilling her [not so] little cousins [the boys] about the latest in orthodontia last weekend.

MGDub: So, is there anything you guys don't eat?
the boys: We eat everything.
MGDub: What about gum?
the boys: Yeah we chew gum.
MGDub: Hmmm...
the boys' mom: Why are you asking them. They do everything wrong.

Mayan Chocolate

Of course I had to run out and buy the new Haagen Daaz Mayan Chocolate Ice Cream right after I saw a print ad in Martha Stewart Living last week. Ben & Jerry's was on sale this week and I wondered whether I should wait to try the full priced Haagen Daaz when it goes on sale, but I decided to be wasteful and buy the Haagen Daaz full price. It's delicious by the way, cinnamon and chocolate.

Odd Couple

MGDub and I were chatting last night when we got on the topic of Little People Big World.

plasticann: Hey, I'm really enjoying LPBW.
MGDub: Isn't it a good show! I really like the dad Matt, he's my favorite.
plasticann: I kinda like the kids and the mom, Amy.
MGDub: I don't like how Amy's a naysayer. I like how Matt's into his farm, it made me so sad when he had to go back to his corporate job.
plasticann: Well, I thought it was a good idea he went back to selling software, he does have a family to support and no health insurance. Plus Amy was stressed out about finances.
MGDub: [defensively] Well, has he ever not provided for his family.
plasticann: [even more defensively] Well, it's stressing amy out.
MGDub: Well, Amy just needs to chill out.
plasticann & MGDub: [laughter]

I don't think I quite appreciate Matt's free spiritness as much as MGDub. I identify with Amy.

Redeeming

Last Sunday, I procrastinated by watching four episodes of "My Super Sweet Sixteen" on MTV. Honestly, the excess is slightly nauseating, but I'm morbidly drawn to it. One reviewer likened the show to eating an entire sheet cake in one sitting and feeling sick afterwards. What gets me is that the kids on the show aren't even happy which mostly makes me feel grateful that I'm not super nor sixteen. When Adam got home last Sunday, I had to confess that I'd procrastinated from studying by watching the show. Initially, he didn't really understand why I felt the need to fess up until I later revealed that I'd watched four episodes and had started to watch Tiara Girls. What's worse is I could have been watching TIVOed episodes of Little People Big World, a vastly more reeming show with extremely likable characters so I was able to eventually revers the effects of watching My Super Sweet Sixteen by watching multiple episodes of Little People Big World.

Cute Or Not

Kittenwar is a "hot or not" version with kittens, "may the cutest kitten win!" My strategy team spent a better part of our meeting checking out the kittens on the site. Winningest kittens is like a hall of fame of kitens who've won a lot of cute kitten battles while the Losingest kittens are so un-cute, you'll want to avert your eyes. Much to cat loving Adam's chagrin, I'm not into the idea of having a cat for the following [very shallow] reasons.

1. My sweater wardrobe helps me survive New England winters and I don't want a kitty to ruin my sweaters.
2. We just got new furniture.
3. [the real reason] I don't want to compete with a kitty and be #2.

A Grande No Whip Akeelah & the Bee

After a tasty dinner at PF Chang's that included [vegetarian] lettace wraps, Wheezy and I saw Akeelah and the Bee, the movie Starbucks has produced and marketing like mad at all of their stores. The movie was awesome and the kids were great...nine thumbs up. To top off a already successful night out, we walked over to Fanueil Hall for some Beard Papa Cream Puffs.

...now the geekier part of this post.

We've been discussing "synergies" in strategy class this week and it has just dawned on me that this whole Starbucks producing a movie and then promoting it in their stores just might be an example of a company expanding into new and seemingly unrelated lines of business. According to my textbook, synergies are achieved when Starbucks somehow makes more money doing both coffee and movies than a movie and coffee company would earn individually. Sort of that mathematically unlogical cliche, "one plus one is more than two." Disney making cartoons, but also featuring those cartoon characters at Disneyland is a brilliant example of how making movies can increase demand and ticket prices for theme parks which in turn increase customer's demand for movies...yada yada yada. Afterall, I know that Mickey lives at Disneyland and by golly I pay big bucks to hang out with him and his gaggle of friends. While I'm very pleased with Starbucks coffee and I'm charmed by Akeelah, I'm not sure if I'm willing to pay more to see a Starbucks made movie or pay more to drink a coffee that's movie related. Maybe they save money by marketing it inhouse...maybe that's the link I'm missing.

Mac & Cheese

I've been intrigued by ABP's Mac & Cheese for some time and I finally got to try it today at lunch. On the whole, the pasta was deliciously cheesy...quite rich. However, I probably could have mixed in a side of plain pasta to cut the cheese sauce.

Still Feels Like Winter

The weather report from Cambridge today, cold, dreary, wet, dank...still feels like winter. My friend Jeff shared his philosophy on where to live, "it can be cold or expensive, but not both." He has an excellent point, Cambridge is both cold and expensive so we're really paying big bucks to freeze our big butts off. Applying Jeff's excellent methodology, we should all move to Alaska (cold and cheap) or Hawaii (expensive and warm). On that note, I must drink some hot tea.

Best Scones Ever

I whipped up some Glazed Zesty Cranberry Orange Scones this morning and sent half of them with Adam to work. Someone exclaimed, "these are the best scones ever." Awww...he just might be my favorite, if not for his super adorable introverted son Zam. On Easter, the ever perceptive Zam pointed out that, "you and my mom have the same [jean] jacket, but her's doesn't have a flower." He also politely said, "thank you," when I complimented his coloring of the big JC. Maybe because I'm an introvert, I like the introverted kids the best.

Famished

My stomach started growling very loudly at 11am in class. I fed my tummy a $3 sub from the trucks near BIT after my swim. I was hoping for eggplant parm, but they ran out. The chicken parm was pretty tasty and at $3, a great deal. Subs are normally $4, but on Friday, they're $3.

Voila Shrimp

The frozen Voila pasta dinners were on sale at Shaw's last week so we decided to try the Garlic Shrimp Voila. Adam cooked it up for dinner and it was tasty, but pretty disappointing overall. The flavor was too fishy, I think the Chicken varieties are much better.

Bridesmaidnia!!!

I may have mentioned that Laurel and Alex aka Cad Cowboy are getting married in October in California, my favorite west coast state. Even better than them being happy ever after, I get to be a bridesmaid and what beats being a bridesmaid...receiving a bridesmaid care package from the awesome bride filled with homemade goodies. I'm really looking forward to the wedding festivities.

plasticann's [reduced fat and sugar] Rice Krispy Treats

Laurel can confirm, but I used to be all about the rice krispy treats in high school mostly because they're incredibly easy to make. Over time, I discovered that the treats tasted better with less butter and fewer marshmallows and are much easier to handle given the reduced stickiness so I started to cut down on the two ingredients gradually until I found the breakeven point. The original recipe calls for 4 Tbs butter [half a stick] and 40 large marshmallows. Here's my modified lower fat and lower sugar version. You'll thank me on the reduced stickiness quotient alone.

Ingredients:
25-27 Marshmallows
3 Tbs Butter
5 cups Rice Krispy cereal
1/4 cup peanut butter [optional]

Recipe:
1. Measure 5 cups of cereal in a large mixing bowl.
2. microwave 1 minute on high, butter, marshmallows and PB in a second large microwave safe bowl.
3. Stir marshmallow mixture incorporating all the ingredients together.
4. Microwave marshmallow mixture for another minute on high.
5. Mix marshmallow mixture with cereal until all the cereal is coated with the marshmallow mixture.
6. Scrape the coated cereal into a 9x13 pan packing down the mixture with a spatula.
7. Repeat recipe for batch 2 and press that batch over the first for a nice and solid 2 batch pan of treats.
8. Cut into square and enjoy.

In honor of Steve's Birthday

Ben & Jerry's is having Free Cone Day tomorrow. The following is a reconstructed conversation with MGDub.

plasticann: It's Wheezy's birthday on Friday.
MGDub: I know, I wish I were in Boston for it.
plasticann: Oh and it's Steve's birthday on Tuesday.
MGDub: That's cool! [switching gears] You tell Steve that he should update his blog. In fact, on his birthday as his gift to all of us, he should update his blog. In fact, you can quote me.

So I did...Steve...please update your blog...it's been too long. Oh yeah and Happy Birthday!

Donutmania

Keith, Kate, Adam and I hit the mom & pop donut circuit this weekend methodically eating our way around Boston. Our adventure started in Medford at Donuts With A Difference, by far our favorite. Other then an unfortunate encounter with sour milk, all the judged loved their Gracie Bar, a delicious cinnamon raisin bar reminiscent of a giant churro. Next we tried Lori Ann's in Charlestown, but alas, it'd been replaced by a bar. Fighting discouragement and a sugar low, we (mostly Keith) persisted by driving through the Big Dig on to South Boston where we checked out Doughboy Donuts. Doughboy was a donut/pizza shop so I ended up getting a slice of pepperoni pizza along with the donuts. Our last stop was Mike's Donuts in Jamaica Plain where the owner was so excited that we'd traveled from afar [across the river] to check out her donuts that she comped us a Boston Creme donut.

Swimming

I went swimming for the first time in years yesterday and boy was I tired afterwards. I didn't think it was possibly, but my pinkies were actually sore from swimming. I went back today and my pinkies are no longer sore so woohoo! I'm debating whether to shell out $15 for a locker seeing how I have about a month of school left. Then again, it's like 50 cents a day and if it means I'll actually go swimming, maybe it's worth it afterall. I'm getting one next year. Even if I don't exercise, I could store snacks or drinks or something in my locker.

Easter Potluck

Adam and I managed to fit 27 people in our apartment for Easter dinner. We originally planned to move our couches into our bedroom to make room for the folding tables/chairs we'd borrowed from church. Unfortunately, we discovered that we couldn't get the couches through the door an hour before our party. We finally had to suck it up and improvise by using the couches as seating. The following is our menu of potluck items. Adam made a ginger snap bourbon glazed ham and I baked up some of the desserts.

Pigs in a blanket
Mozzerella Sticks
Crudite
7 layer dip
Ginger Snap Bourbon Glazed Ham
Rice Casserole
Mac & Cheese
Octopus Balls (delicious by the way)
Black Bean Basil salad
Green Salad
Jambalaya
Roasted Potatoes
Cake shaped like a Lamb (no Lamb in it)
Lemony Cheesecake
Carrot Cake
Pecan Tassies
Coconut Macaroons
Oranges in Lime Syrup
Peppermint/Andes Mint Brownies
Hot Cross Buns
Lemon Coconut Pie

Happy Easter

Adam and I woke up on Easter morning eager to celebrate by breaking our lenten fasts. Adam's was TV and mine was coffee. The following is a reconstructed conversation.

Adam: You know what we could do before church?
plasticann: Drink coffee and watch TV?
Adam: Guess again.
plasticann: Drink coffee?
Adam: Not quite, you were closer the first time.
plasticann: Watch TV?
Adam: What kind of TV?
plasticann: Closer?
Adam: No, the other one.
plasticann: Monk?
Adam: Yeah...now what can we do while we watch Monk?
plasticann: Eat pancakes?
Adam: We could do that, but what else?
plasticann: Eat TV and watch coffee?
Adam: No! Watch Monk and...
plasticann: Watch Monk and drink coffee.
Adam: Sort of, I was trying to get you to say, "drink coffee and watch Monk," but it was taking way too long.
plasticann: Isn't that what I said?
Adam: Not in the order I was hoping for, first coffee then say Monk.

Drink coffee and watch Monk we did, but only after a pointlessly protracted conversation.

"Spouse"

Mission Accomplished! We finished our paperwork this morning and I mailed in our taxes after one final trip to HR Block. The following is a reconstructed conversation between plasticann and the Tax Lady.

plasticann: So, does it matter who signs under "Your signature" and who signs under "Spouse's signature?"
Tax Lady: Yes, it does matter. Adam signs first and then you sign under "spouse."
plasticann: Why do I have to be the "spouse." [Harumph!]
Tax Lady: [shrugs] In fact, the taxes get filed under Adam's social security number.

There you go, I'm now a "spouse." I think there used to be some benefits to being the "spouse." In the past, if Adam had hypothetically evaded taxes, they'd usually go easier on the "spouse," but these days I don't even think there's that consideration. I'm not complaining too much, Adam did go over our tax return with a fine tooth comb. plasticmom would have been proud of his persistance, but I do wish they would have Person 1 and 2, but then we'd have the same problem...who gets to be "1" and who gets to be "2." For the record, I wouldn't mind being "2."

Organizized

The following is a reconstructed conversation with Steve when he stopped by to study statistics last weekend. I insisted on giving him a tour of my organizized closets.

plasticann: Steve, you have to come see our closets, let me show you.
Steve: This is what you did over spring break?
plasticann: Yep...isn't it great? I even labeled Adam's drawers.
Steve: [Reading the drawers] "T-Shirts" "Socks"
plasticann: Yeah, Adam doesn't really like that I labeled his drawers. He says it makes him look retarded like he doesn't know where his socks are.
Steve: It's not like you wrote "L" and "R" on his hands.
plasticann: That's hilarious. Remember how Joey on Friends didn't know right from left?
Steve: It's sometimes confusing because you don't know which right someone's referring to. Their right or my right. Maybe I should label my hands one day as a joke.

Cheesy Potatoes

I'm being a bit lazy today watching Food Network while I study because I just had a midterm this morning. I have mixed feelings about Sandra Lee because it freaks me out that she's always "matchy match" on her show with her "tablescapes" and all. I noticed that the dishes displayed in her kitchen matched her outfit today which seems a bit excessive. Alas, I digress. She made these Cheesy Potatoes that were basically tator tots baked with cheese and bacon on top...they looked really good. I'm going to make them one of these days.

Makeover

nytimes.com recently got a new look and while it's much easier to navigate and read, I do have one complaint. I used to be able to claim that I read several sections of the nytimes.com: Home & Garden, Dining & Wine, Weddings & Celebrations and Fashion & Style. Now that all four categories are a subset of the overal "Style" section I can no longer claim to have a wider breadth than I have.

Seattle Bound

The following is a reconstructed conversation between me and my friend Kathleen on a busy downtown street.

Kathleen: So, do you know what you're going to be doing this summer?
plasticann: Actually, yes. I'm working for Amazon.com in Seattle.
Kathleen: [looking excited] Yeah! What are you doing there?
plasticann: Product management [Kathleen looks even more excited] in the home/kitchen group [Kathleen is bursting with joy].
Kathleen: That's so awesome, that's perfect.
plasticann: Yeah, I'm really excited.
[Kathleen and plasticann spontaneously high five in the middle of a busy sidewalk]

There you have it, the breaking news is Adam and I are heading out to Seattle for the summer, but we'll be back in good old New England just in time for the nonexistent fall.

Ranch Quakes

In the past, I've been allergic to the idea of "healthy snack alternatives." Your baked lays, your olestra and especially your chalky dry rice cakes. I finally tried rice cakes again because someone had these chedder Quaker Quake Rice Snacks. I was surprised, they were quite good. I would choose to eat them as my first choice, not just as an alternative to something unhealthy. I recently tried the Ranch Rice Snacks and I really like them. I even thought to myself one day, "Gosh, I hope Adam doesn't eat my rice snacks, I'm really looking forward to eating them."

Deicing

The following is a reconstructed conversation from my strategy team meeting about the salt industry.

plasticann: So, we're talking about salt, table salt, road salt, etc.
Friend: Yup, dont' forget about the environmental concerns about deicing.
plasticann: Right, let me write that down....De-icing...I get it.
Friend: Get what?
plasticann: I didn't know what "deicing" was. I thought it was pronounced "dicing" or "deecing" which seemed really weird. Now it get it, it's de-icing salt not deecing or dicing salt.

Apparently, deicing salt is huge because everyone wants to drive real fast on the roads even in the winter, but the salt causes freshwater pollution. Who knew? That's why we should all move to California where the weather is nice and we can drive as fast as we want without the salt. Then, we can systematically kill off the environment of each state piecemeal starting with the warmest states. First, California, then Florida...you get the picture.

Kate Is Fun...ny

Adam and I went over to Keith and Kate's for a gourmet meal last weekend. Ginger lemon salmon, delicious salad, sweet potato slices and for dessert, cream puffs dipped in a homemade chocolate sauce. Kate agreed to share her recipe on her new blog, kateisfun.blogspot.com, and she even named the sauce in my honor. Yup...from now on, it'll be Queen Plasticann the First to you all.

Queen Ann's Sauce
(from kateisfun.blogspot.com)

1/2 bag chocolate chips
1 stick butter
1 c. 1/2 n 1/2
1 c. powdered sugar
dash vanilla
ts. salt (or more, to taste)
dash Frangelica liquor

melt butter and chocloate
add rest of stuff, go slow with the powdered sugar. Bring to a low boil for a minute or two, but be careful not to overdue it or else you may get candy. Not that I've done this or anything, I've just heard about OTHER people doing it...

Nocturnal Sandwiches

Adam and I were running a bit late last night as we headed to the movies so we split up, Adam went in to save us some good seats and I went to Chinatown to procure some Vietnamese sandwiches for dinner. Little did I know, Vietnamese sandwiches are hard to come by on a Friday evening. I checked out three different places hoping to grab some portable food. I considered buying a rice/meat dish, but I wisely rejected that idea...eating rice in a dark theater just seems like a messy proposition. We ended up with random hot dog buns and sticky rice rolls from the only bakery I could find. Needless to say, I was starving and cranky by the time the movie let out. Fortunately, Anna's is open until 11:30pm so I had my three tacos and a lovely pineapple soda. Lesson learned, Vietnamese sandwiches have an early bedtime.

GOOD

Spamalot=GOOD

Went and saw it last night. Almost bought Wheezy some souvenir coconuts so we could play "foley artist," but decided not to buy her more random useless crap.

The Inside Man=GOOD

Saw that tonight. Have to admit, I've never actually seen a spike lee movie...might have to have Wheezy curate a spike lee marathon for me.

Two nights out in a row. Even stayed out late enough to find almost nothing to eat. Thankfully Anna's was still open for fifteen minutes, just enough time to eat three tacos, even had time to chew thoroughly.

Blueprint

I'm such a sucker for pretty magazines. I signed up for the preview issue of Blueprint, the latest Martha Stewart publication. I was so excited, I almost forked over $18 for the entire year not having seen the magazine. From what I can glean from the advertising, it looks like a younger hipper version of Living. I wonder if I can trade in my Living subscription for Blueprint. I do love Living, but there are only so many gardening issues. I've only seen the cover of Blueprint, but I have a feeling it's cooler than Living.

Spring Cleaning at the Zakun's

MGDub would be so proud of us for thoroughly cleaning and methodically decluttering our apartment. I was in Seattle two weekends ago and when I got home, I was shocked and dismayed to see the contents of our entire office in our living room. The following is a reconstructed conversation:

plasticann: Hi Adam, I'm home...[looking around the living room]...wha' happened?
Adam: I decided to clean the office while you were away.
plasticann: Were you bored?
Adam: Yeah! I couldn't watch TV since I gave it up for lent. I thought about going out, but I didn't. I've been wanting to clean the office for a while, but you're always in there studying. [plasticann is very studious indeed]
plasticann: Wow, I can't believe you spent the whole weekend cleaning. Maybe next week I should clean the bedroom while you're away. Then I could get rid of all of your clothes.

Clean the bedroom I did this weekend and boy did I declutter Adam's wardrobe. Our closets have never looked this good. I even purchased closet organizational tools. That's borderline out of character.

Tofu Sandwich

One of my favorite cheap eats is the Vietnamese Sub Sandwich. Fresh crisp fresh bread, cold cuts, pickled radishes, onions, carrots, cucumber and cilantro. I always get the traditional cold cut sandwiches and I've learned never to ask or think about what exactly are in the cold cuts. However, the other day, I bought some Tofu sandwiches for the vegetarians in our Wednesday night bible study and I've discovered a new favorite. The tofu is truely delightful and much less dubious. Fried tofu marinated in a sauce with all the fixins. I'm going vegetarian next time I get a Vietnamese Sub.

Pooh Beer

My friends and I were working on a assignment on Coors beer this week when the following reconstructed conversation occured:

plasticann: [really striving to think of a beer she enjoyed] I'm not a huge beer drinker, but I did have this honey ale once at John Harvard's that I really enjoyed.
Zurt: [graciously] That's kind of a sophisticated beer.
Zeff: It's not exactly macho.
Zurt: Well, I didn't say honey ale was manly.
Zing Zing: It's like Pooh Beer!
plasticann: Pooh Beer?
Zing Zing: Honey ale, it's the kind of beer Pooh Bear would drink.

Zing Zing had a great point. I'll bet Pooh Bear, if he was of age and actually real, would enjoy the honey ale. It's less sticky than a honey pot, but a tasty treat.

PIE

We talk about PIE a lot in my strategy class. While PIE stands for "Potential Industry Earnings," everytime someone says PIE, I think of pie. When I'm hungry for something savory, it's pizza pie and when I have a sweet tooth, I'm thinking about dessert pie. Fortunately, the reverse association doesn't occur. I don't think of Potential Industry Earnings while I'm eating pie of any sort.

Commie Peasant Shoes

These shoes were featured in the nytimes and they just crack me up. I wouldn't be surprised if they became the new "Ugg." They're these wool/rubber peasant shoes. They're so utilitarian and low maintenance, there's no "right or left" shoe. All I can say to that is "chiral," a concept my buddy Corinna taught me. If you want a shorter boot, no problem, just cut it with an x-acto knife. It's extremely do it yourself, but oddly intriguing. Are the fashionistas going to soon be stomping around in peasant shoes? You never know!

Tiny Boxes

Adam and I were munching on som Girl Scout cookies last night when I was reminded of how plasticmom used to reconfigure cardboard cookie boxes into smaller reclosable boxes with a few snips of her scissors. She'd do the same with cereal boxes, but Girl Scout cookie boxes were special because they were more aesthetically pleasing and wicked cute. She used to pack my squishable lunch items in these little boxes to protect my lunch so Adam packed me some delicious grapes in my little box and I quite enjoyed them.

More "Burritos"

Adam made these amazing quesadillas last weekend, sausage, sauteed onions and spinich. With that in mind, I was super excited to see we were having quesadillas for dinner tonight. The following is a reconstructed conversation:

plasticann: Yeah, I love those quesadilla!
Adam: Well, they're not the ones I made last weekend. Try it!
plasticann: [Takes a bite and starts cracking up.]
Adam: What? Do you like them?
plasticann: They taste like curry, I can't believe you put the leftover curried chicken and rice in a quesadilla.
Adam: Isn't it good? I put the curried rice in with a little bit of cheese.
plasticann: It is actually pretty good, but I'm starving.

There you have it, a new creation "Curry Quesadillas."