Saturday, 22 January 2011
All-day meeting today—which was not-so-good because it was a nice day outside the fine windows (quite visible), and which was good because we got lots accomplished and it had to be done.
I saw these at TJs yest, but didn’t snag them, knowing I would take them to the meeting, and the package would be disruptively rustley (probably not a word), and I wouldn’t be able to keep my hands from burrowing into it.
Friday, 21 January 2011
My inspiration today for a blog post is about on the level of sidewalk chalk. Apologies for the ho-hum.
Phrases and vocabulary from this afternoon’s online wanders:
Hmm. The only real insight I can remember from the day is that the grapevines on the north slope of Mount Etna benefit from the air’s sulphur content—which naturally reduces infestations on the plants that hamper growth and ripening of the grapes….
Wednesday, 5 January 2011
B & I collaborated on some fine pizza!
Secret: visit a good salad bar to get small amounts of lots of different toppings!
Thursday, 30 December 2010
Our funfunfun neighbors, F&D, treated us to a precious bottle of F’s sister’s homemade scuppernong/muscadine wine tonight, and we enjoyed it immensely. Very tasty. We served it half-and-half with prosecco, an enduring combo! Thanks, again, F&D!
Wednesday, 29 December 2010
I got daring over Xmas and made a pecan pie—daring because this is a major pecan state, and pecan pie is one of the specialties of Southern cooks. However, I upped the volume of pecans over the standard recipes, and added a splurp (a Guru word) of vanilla.
I think that’s the tack to take, and next time I’ll add a bit more of the pecans to make the pie even nuttier.
Using all pecan halves, I discovered, makes the pie difficult to cut, so I suppose I could separate the sugar-corn syrup glop (and it is gloppy!) into two portions, one-third and two-thirds, and put somewhat chopped pecans into the larger portion and whole ones into the smaller portion, then add the chopped into the bottom of the crust, and put the nice, whole nuts on top. That would help with the cutting.
So, when to try this?
Thursday, 23 December 2010
Cranberry sauce a-cooking, in the early stages.
Personally, I’m not a cranberry sauce person. However, I’m happy to make the simple version for those who adore it.
And it can’t be simpler.
Takes maybe 15 minutes, and that’s with picking over the raw berries.
Wednesday, 22 December 2010
One last carry-over image from our CA trip…. Yes, we managed to duck into an In-N-Out Burger for…um, burgers and fries.
I’m not a typical American burger fan (not a ketchup addict, for example—I leave that to The Guru!), but this place I like! Not sure what part of liking it comes from my access being restricted to every year or two….
Monday, 20 December 2010
Ceiling lighting in the ballroom, which needed to be turned up a bit more, or a spotlight added. Something.
I found many good choices among today’s photographs. Location: a ballroom downtown. Why this one? Dunno.
So, yeah, graduation is over, and the speeches weren’t tedious except for a sentence or two.
In short, we had fun.
Okay, the food part. After: Extraordinary Desserts. And, oh-my-yes, they were extraordinary. To say the least.
Saturday, 18 December 2010
New territory. New places.
This time we visited the Neighborhood.
Name doesn’t tell you much. Or me; I could envision several different motifs or aesthetic directions a biz could go with that name.
Here’s the direction the Neighborhood has gone in San Diego.
Never had fresh fennel slices cooked like onion rings. Interesting. I’d do it again; I enjoyed them more than raw fennel.
Plenty of original art on the walls, and the largest was Siggy, with the Neighborhood’s signature burger….
Looks happier than in most photos I’ve seen.
Also loved the sweet potato fries. Heck, fried anything is pretty tasty, let’s admit it.
Okay. Time to go.
Saturday, 27 November 2010
We browsed Eastern Market today, looking at this and that, and buying garlands, a wreath, and some terrific Bloody Mary mix (spicy! hot!)—McClure’s doncha know….
The cold seeping up from the cement triggered childhood memories of the Lansing market; my shoes/boots were never thick enough to ward off the chill after winter came on full.
I was glad to see crowds of people, and good-looking produce. I woulda bought if we were closer to home….