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You don't know me at all…

Wednesday, 30. September 2009 21:25

260.365 : Expanding my international baking skills.

Post title borrowed from a Ben Folds song of nearly the same name.

Last song I purchased from iTunes: When Will I Be Loved by John Fogerty & Bruce Springsteen.

Made for dinner tonight: Chicken, cheddar and onion quesadillas. The chicken was marinated with chipotles in adobo sauce & grilled with the onions before being turned into quesadilla filling.

Currently drinking: Nothing. But a glass of milk sounds good.

Playing on iTunes right this very second: Glory Days by Bruce Springsteen.

Currently reading: Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely, In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson and Amarcord by Marcella Hazan.

Laughing about: The episode of Mad Men we just watched. We’re at the beginning of Season 2 and Joan is my favorite character. Tonight she discussed why crying in the break room is bad: “This is why I don’t allow crying in the break room. It erodes morale. There’s a place to do that, like your apartment.”

New to me, easy and delicious dessert I recently made: Tarta de Santiago (as pictured here). It’s a Spanish almond cake with a hint of lemon. Yum. Recipe here. I followed it almost exactly.

Song I can’t stop playing over and over and over again: 21 Guns by Green Day.

Currently knitting: Still nothing. But it’s almost cold enough for me to want to knit again. And I’m hankering for a project that will use some of the Noro Iro in my stash.

In need of: A new immersion blender. We had a generic one that mysteriously died/broke when I tried to puree black bean soup. I need to decide what brand to go with for the new one.

Playing on the iPod now: Something to Say by Toad the Wet Sprocket. I still love this song from the early 90s.

Will soon attempt to learn: Adobe Lightroom. It’s installed on my computer at work and I haven’t had a free minute or hour to learn how to use it yet.

Not getting enough: Sleep. I think the changing season has made me want more of it. And I still don’t know how to go to bed early.

Hyped up about: Autumn weather. I like the sorta warm, sorta cold days and I can’t wait for the leaves to change color.

Something I need to do tonight if it kills me: Decide what kind of cookies to bake tomorrow. Yes, it’s important that I decide this tonight.

Craving: A grilled hamburger. We walked around W&M yesterday and there was some sort of barbecue somewhere and the hamburgers called to me.

Trying to learn how to: Stop buying clothes that all look the same. It takes real effort on my part to buy shirts in different styles and to refrain from purchasing something I like in every color made in it.

Something I thoroughly enjoy: Random cussing in songs that don’t seem like they’d have them. Ben Folds and Glen Phillips are both good at dropping random f-bombs in the middle of a song and I love it!

Hell hath frozen over because: I gave up whipped cream on my Starbucks iced toffee nut lattes. And I’m drinking less of the lattes as they’re not as good without the whipped cream.

Best thing I’ve bought this month: New corduroy pants. I love corduroy pants and these Old Navy ones are pretty spectacular.

What I might be for Halloween: Lucille Ball. Or a devil. Or something else that can involve my red hair.

Still bragging about: The wedding cakes I made this summer. I’m proud of me for having the skills to do that.

Looking forward to: Next weekend and the possibility of our first (and last) camping trip to the Outer Banks this year.

Not looking forward to: More painting in our house. It looks nice when it’s done but the process is so long and tiresome…plus I’m only a moderately decent painter.

Playing on the iPod now: Fidelity by Regina Spektor.

Next up on the reading list: The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan.

Can’t believe: That the new season of 30 Rock hasn’t started yet. I need an Alec Baldwin fix.

Absolutely, positively obsessed with: Trader Joe’s dark chocolate covered almonds with sea salt and turbinado sugar. Best new food I’ve tried in a long time. They’re good like dark chocolate covered pretzels are good…only better.

Next in the Netflix queue: More Mad Men Season 2, American Beauty and Away We Go when it’s released.

Must make time to: Get everything ready to get our kitchen inspected by the state so that I can legally bake things for money. After that’s done, there’s a business license to be purchased.

Trying to decide: How to spend less money in October. Less eating out? Less clothing purchases? Too bad it’s fall and I want new cold weather clothes.

Last dessert I baked: Caramel Apple Upside Down Cornmeal Cake from Better Homes & Gardens.

Tarta de Santiago - Almond Cake

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Category:baking, cake, cooking, dessert, food, photography, random, recipes | Comments (4) | Autor: Melissa

"…and you'll love me 'til my heart stops. Love me 'til I'm dead."

Tuesday, 28. April 2009 19:47

105.365 : Our state flower.
Here’s another list of things on my mind/agenda this Spring. Believe it or not, I do have things to do other than takes pictures of Spring flowers.

Song I can’t stop playing over and over and over again: Grapevine Fires by Death Cab for Cutie. I’ve had the album it’s on since it came out last year and I didn’t notice this song until recently.

Made for dinner tonight: Blueberry walnut whole wheat waffles – adapted from a recipe in Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything.

Currently drinking: Horizon 2% organic lactose-free milk. I’m not lactose intolerant but this milk is tasty. It’s sweeter than the regular organic milk.

Playing on the iPod right now: This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody) by The Talking Heads – it’s the Stop Making Sense version. And it’s pretty much my favorite song in the world. And it’s the source of my subject line.

Currently reading: The Tenth Muse by Judith Jones, The United States of Arugula by David Kamp, A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson, and the latest issues of Saveur, Martha Stewart Living, and Everyday Food.

Laughing about: The woman a coworker talked to this afternoon. The woman kept telling my coworker about a nudist colony in our area.

Currently knitting: Nothing. I’ve got a lot of works in progress but it’s bordering on too hot to knit here at the moment.

Anxiously awaiting: A vacation. Too bad that’s not until August. At least there are a few 3 day weekends in the next couple of months.

In need of: A mouse for my MacBook. Sometimes I get tired of using the touchpad. But not tired enough to buy one just yet…

Playing on the iPod now: Who Will Stop the Rain? by Creedence Clearwater Revival.

Will soon attempt to learn: Photoshop CS4. It’ll soon be on my computer and I’m going to a seminar on it for work next week. With luck I will no longer have to ask the boyfriend for assistance with hard to edit photos.

Currently checked out from the library: The United States of Arugula by David Kamp, Frank Stitt’s Southern Table, What to Eat by Marion Nestle – Yes, I like to read about food.

What’s keeping me busy: Life in a house. The yard needs work, I need to paint more rooms, and I should probably clean something. It never ends. But it’s much better than living in a tiny, crummy apartment.

Hyped up about: The Where the Wild Things Are movie. The trailer grabbed me. The Arcade Fire music in the trailer probably helped. Too bad they’re not doing any music for the movie itself.

Waiting for: The opportunity to see my sister’s new old house. She and her husband are nearly moved in and I want to see the house!!

Something I need to do tonight if it kills me: Order some shoes. I ruined my nice pair of flip flops with paint. I still need sneakers and black sandals for work. I think I’m going to bite the bullet and order them all at once. Just to be done with it.

Craving: Five Guys french fries. I’m not even hungry right now….they’re just that delicious.

Hell hath frozen over because: I might actually make a Paula Deen recipe. I need to experiment with red velvet cake and this recipe looks good. Shockingly it contains no butter. How very un-Paula Deen of her.

Playing on the iPod now: Rock & Roll by Eric Hutchinson. So catchy. It makes me dance despite the fact that I don’t dance.

If I had magical powers: I wouldn’t have allergies. I’m tired of my sniffly nose. Without allergies, I think it would be a lot easier for me to get up in the morning.

Can’t believe: I’m actually on day 114 of 365 with the Flickr photo project of taking one picture every day for a year. I thought I’d give up by now.

Looking forward to: A brief trip to New York in late June for work. I get to go to the Summer Fancy Food Show. I’m pretty pleased that I get to go.

Also looking forward to: A trip to DC the weekend of my birthday. I should start looking for fun things to do. With luck the temperature won’t be 8,000 degrees that weekend. Does anyone have any good (but not grossly expensive) dinner recommendations?

Trying to decide: If I would use the Beater Blade if I got it. Yes, the stuff that doesn’t get mixed in the bottom of my Kitchenaid does bother me. But is it worth another the price of another attachment? Probably not.

Must figure out: How much money to charge for a wedding cake for 250 people? I’m new to baking cakes for money, I want to charge a fair price and I worked with both the bride and groom. So what’s a good price?

98.365 : No partridge in this pear tree.

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Category:food, random | Comments (5) | Autor: Melissa

On my mind…

Sunday, 22. March 2009 16:19

Time for another list of random things I’m thinking about. I liked the last one enough to try it again.

78.365 : Rhubarb = Yummy Tart.

Just out of the oven and cooling on the counter: A raspberry rhubarb tart. We went to the store intending to get peaches or apples for pie…but they had the rhubarb pictured above. I’m still not sure if I like it or not…but it tastes awfully good baked with raspberries.

Will be cooking for dinner tonight: Pork medallions with an apple & golden raisin sauce, roasted potatoes and asparagus.

Currently drinking: Water from my stainless steel Nalgene bottle.

Playing on the iPod right now: Fidelity by Regina Spektor.

Currently checked out from the library: Weeds Season 3 DVD (which is getting a little ridiculous), 30 Rock Season 1 DVD (believe it or not, I haven’t seen any of these episodes), Martha Stewart’s Cooking School and Scarpetta by Patricia Cornwell.

Currently reading: Atonement (I’m still pretending that I’m actively reading it), Martha Stewart Living magazine, the last half of Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson and a food related memoir that I can’t remember the name of at this moment.

Would like to buy: a new couch. Preferably a sectional. Possibly brown leather.

Laughing about: Typos. My sister Tasha & I had a rather juvenile email exchange this morning about typos in emails that had me in hysterics. Think about how funny an email might be if you leave the “i” out of “doing”.

Currently knitting: A second pair of  Saartje booties for a friend’s newborn baby. I’m knitting them from Socks That Rock yarn leftover from the Chevron Scarf I made last year.

Anxiously awaiting: Eating the tart cooling on the counter. Also, I really want my daffodils to bloom. I think some of them might actually do so in the next week.

Needs: I still need shoes of all sorts. And some short sleeve shirts for work…that I’ll need if it ever gets warm for more than two days in a row.

Crazy Future Aspirations: To be a domestic diva with an empire. Kind of like Martha Stewart. But without people hating me and definitely without a jail sentence.

Playing on the iPod now: Catch My Disease by Ben Lee.

Attempting to Learn: How to decorate a cake. I can do it…but not nearly as well as I need to do it for the wedding cakes I’ll be making this summer.

Must Resist: Butter. I’m trying to use less of it. This is not easy given my penchant for baking.

What’s Keeping Me Busy: Work. My (mostly) desk job makes me tired sometimes. This surprises me after standing for 9 years at my old job. Of course, part of the problem might be that I can’t force myself to go to bed early.

Hyped Up About: Our new used bed frame. The boyfriend found it on craigslist on Friday night and we had it set up by 4 pm on Saturday. A similar new bed would have cost a lot of money. This bed did not cost a lot of money.

Waiting For: Laundry. It’s in the dryer. Then I have to fold it. And iron it. It’s kind of a Sunday ritual now.

Craving: A milkshake. Maybe a Baskin-Robbins mint chocolate chip milkshake. I haven’t had one of those in years.

Playing on the iPod now: Two by Ryan Adams. Which reminds me…doesn’t it seem odd that he and Mandy Moore are now married?

If I had magical powers: I would make our yard beautiful. Lots of green grass and flowers and vegetables and herbs. And if I had money, I’d think about paying someone to help me with it.

Looking forward to: At least one camping trip in April with friends. We’re either going to the mountains or the beach. Depending on the weather.

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Category:cookies, dessert, food, knitting, photography, recipes | Comments (6) | Autor: Melissa