Saturday, May 03, 2008

Feast, Mutter, Feast

In today's edition of "Catching Up On The Blog"...

Friday Feast (Last Week)
Appetizer
Name something you would categorize as weird.

Sandra Lee Nominated for Emmy

Soup
What color was the last piece of food you ate?

My waffles were light brown with darker brown spots. Yummy!

Salad
On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how much do you enjoy being alone?

It depends. Right now, I'm enjoying it a full 10. Later, it might be a 6.

Main Course
Fill in the blank: I will _________ vote for ___________ in _______.

I will vote for the Democratic nominee in the Presidential Elections.

Dessert
Describe your sleeping habits.

Stand up. Sit down. Fight! Fight! Fight!

Unconscious Mutterings

  1. Thug :: Villain
  2. Slurp :: Soup
  3. Alley :: Cat
  4. Sweater vest :: Geek Chic
  5. Targeted :: Political Race
  6. Snazzy :: Jazz Hands
  7. Oy! :: Veh!
  8. Jury duty :: Excused!
  9. Low fat :: Yogurt
  10. Responsibility :: Duty
Friday Feast (This Week)
Appetizer
What was your favorite cartoon when you were a child?



Soup
Pretend you are about to get a new pet. Which animal would you pick, and what would you name it?

Gee... a DOG maybe? And her name will be Madeline.

Salad
On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how much do you enjoy getting all dressed up for a special occasion?

4.2

Main Course
What kind of music do you listen to while you drive?

Whatever is on NPR between stories.

Dessert
When was the last time you bought a clock? And in which room did you put it?

At least two years ago... at IKEA ... and it's still in the package. I use my cell to figure out the time.

Sunday, April 20, 2008

In the Kitchen

I haven't posted much about cooking or the Eat Local movement because, well, I haven't done much of anything on the culinary front that isn't take-out, drive thru or made in my toaster oven. Between work, my other consulting gigs, volunteer stuff and having a social life, I'm rarely home for dinner.

Part of my plan for the second quarter of 2008 is to cook more, eat out less and use up what's in my pantry and freezer. Several friends and I are going together on a CSA starting in June plus I have friends with a prolific garden and we have some really great farmer's markets here in the middle of the Mitten so I need to clean out what's on reserve so that I can start fresh in June.

Friday night, I had the girls over for dinner and the ritual viewing of "What Not to Wear". There were six of us plus three littles, so I made the usual homemade mac & cheese and big green salad. I had some extra time so we also threw together my riff on GreenTuna's fabulously delicious sun-dried tomato dip.

Here are a few recipes so I can maintain my "cred" as a decent cook.

Mensch's Mac & Cheese
1 stick unsalted butter
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 T dried mustard
1 t nutmeg, freshly grated
1 t pepper
1# box dried elbow macaroni
1# shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 - 1 1/2 C skim milk

In a heavy bottom pan over low heat, melt the butter and add the flour. Stir together to create a roux. Cook for a few minutes to remove the floury taste. Off the heat, add 1/2 cup of milk and incorporate. Return to the heat for a minute and then repeat with another 1/2 cup of milk. Add the dried mustard, freshly grated nutmeg and pepper. Stir. The mixture should coat the back of your spoon but not be thick. If it thickens, add more milk - up to an additional 1/2 cup.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add the pasta.

While the pasta cooks, slowly add the cheese to the sauce in 1 cup increments (a large handfull). If the sauce thickens too much, add a bit more milk. (Make sure to keep the heat on low and keep stirring!) Once the cheese is incorporated, the pasta should be done. Drain and combine. Serves 4 - 6.

SIL's Tarragon Vinaigrette
2T extra virgin olive oil
2T white wine vinegar
1 t honey
1T fresh tarragon, finely chopped
1 shallot, finely minced
2 pinches kosher salt
1 pinch fresh black pepper

Use a jar or container that you can shake vigorously. (I use a retired breast milk container from my SIL. I know, I know... but it holds 6 ounces and is perfect for what I need.) Chop the shallot and tarragon first and add the vinegar, salt and pepper. Add the honey and olive oil and shake for at least 30 seconds to dissolve the honey. Taste for seasoning. Sometimes... I have to add more honey, others I need more vinegar.

GreenTuna's Sun-Dried Tomato Dip a la Mensch
1 8 ounce brick of cream cheese
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup mayo
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes
1 T fresh black pepper
1/2 - 1 T Tabasco sauce

If your sun-dried tomatoes are packed in oil, simply add all of the ingredients to a food processor and process for about 3 - 4 minutes total. If your sun-dried tomatoes are not packed in oil (mine aren't), I microwave them with about 1/4 C chicken broth for 30 seconds or until soft and then add to the food processor along with the other ingredients. I like this dip a little spicy so I ended up adding more Tabasco but start out with just 10 - 15 drops and go from there. Serve with little toasts or crudite.

Unconscious Mutterings

  1. Questioning :: Authority
  2. Immunity :: Drug
  3. Online dating :: 19 first dates
  4. Calcium :: Milk
  5. Dressing :: Salad
  6. Bucket :: Water
  7. Stain :: Stick
  8. Advanced :: Placement
  9. Dramatic :: Reading
  10. Self-medication :: Um, duh?
What an odd combination of words this week. For #1, all I can think of is Cartman's "respect my authority" rant. #3 refers to a certain period of my life where I did the whole eHarmony.com thing and #10 is the story of my life with stupid lupus. Of course I self medicate. After 10 friggin' years, I know far more than 95% of rheumatologists about this disease and since the other 5% only do research... Yeesh.

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Friday Feast, a Day Late

Appetizer
Name a color you find soothing.

In 2003, when the movie "Something's Gotta Give" came out, I was entranced. Not so much by the movie (which was cute) but rather by the set design. Even Architectural Digest found it worth of a spread. I think it's the juxtaposition of the white walls, dark floors and natural wall colors that I find soothing. I really like a pale green with dark wood and white trim.



Soup
Using 20 or less words, describe your first driving experience.

Fast. (Me) Furious. (Dad)

Salad
What material is your favorite item of clothing made out of?



(That's a cashmere goat, in case you were wondering.)

Main Course
Who is a great singer or musician who, if they were to come to your town for a concert, you would spend the night outside waiting for tickets to see?

If he can come back from the dead, the least I can do is wait outside overnight to hear him sing my personal theme song.





Dessert
What is the most frequent letter of the alphabet in your whole name (first, middle, maiden, last, etc.)?

E

Sunday, April 06, 2008

Unconscious Mutterings

  1. Nutritious :: Vegetables
  2. Graduate :: School
  3. Tonight! :: Show
  4. Located :: Near
  5. Weapon :: of Choice
  6. Jumper :: Cables
  7. Collectibles :: Santas
  8. Dennis :: Hooper
  9. Hostile :: Takeover
  10. Vivid :: Recollection
It's Sunday so it must be time to delve into the wading pool of my psyche and see what happens when I word-associate. Clearly? Nothing too profound today.

#7 refers to MommyMensch's extremely large collection of Clothtique Santa Claus collectible figurines. And when I say extremely large, last summer TeenTuna helped me photograph and catalog the collection and when she finally emerged from the basement after many hours of work, she kept muttering "your parents have an entire room for just Christmas stuff?"

Other people don't?

Friday, April 04, 2008

Catching Up

So it's been a busy week. Or maybe a busy month. This whole working full time thing plus running a consulting business on the side and you know, having a life is sucking up all of the time that I used to use to blog.

But the real time suck is Facebook. Yes, I've been sucked into the vortex of online social networking and it's only a matter of time before you do too. Why, you ask, would a mid-30-something woman spend hours tending to the virtual gardens of strangers and hurl trout at unsuspecting colleagues? I do not know but yet it calls to me each and every day.

So yeah. That's what I've been up to and now I'm heading out to have a real life, not just a virtual one. It's Girls Night Out and we're going to dinner and then bowling. Yep. Bowling. I'm only going along to mock, drink beer and keep score but it sure beats doing nothing on a Friday night.

Friday, March 28, 2008

Friday Feast

Appetizer
What does the color dark green make you think of?



Soup
How many cousins do you have?

7

Salad
On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being highest, how honest are you?

It depends on the situation. When it comes to friends and clothes shopping, I'm a 10. When it comes to dealing with people's feelings and not hurting them, I'll lie like a rug.

Main Course
Name something that is truly free.

Uh..... I have no clue.

Dessert
Using the letters in the word SPRING, write a sentence.

Somedays
Professional
Research
Impels (me to)
Need
Google

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

I Am a Feminist. Why Aren't You?

One of the most powerful videos I've seen in a long time.