Confetti, Spinach, and Beer (or Not)

What does not mix well together? Spinach and booze. Last night we were supposed to go to a beer tasting with friends so I thought we should eat something light because beer makes me really full and feeling gross. I thought a nice spinach salad with some peanut dressing, cranberries, carrots and almonds would be a good choice. We ate, felt good, and were ready to drink all the beer we could. I am always the designated driver when it comes to beer related events because I can drink about one and a half before my stomach is full and cannot drink anymore. By the way, this is not the case with wine; Jordan is always the DD when it comes to wine events.

As it turns out the world had other plans for us that night, and as everyone ended up not being able to make it Jordan and I decided that it would be lame for us to go to the beer tasting by ourselves. We opted for a nice quiet evening at home instead. It worked out perfectly until our AC started making funky squealing noises and we had to turn it off completely in order to keep our sanity…on one of the hottest days of the year.

We quickly decided that since bars are air conditioned we should spend a nice cozy night there instead. We should have been more prepared because spinach does not absorb alcohol very well. We only had a few adult beverages and realized that we were a bit tipsy. We realized this because we were raving about the benefits of having Brian Boitano as a friend when we spotted all the tables around staring at us. Oops, we just get really excited about Brian Boitano (for details see our next post). So to remedy our tipsiness we stopped drinking and went to the pizza place next to the bar to pick up a slice and eat outside. After having a thorough conversation with the pizza guys about the World Cup (I’m for Ghana and Jordan is for Argentina) and whether or not my shirt looked like confetti , we plopped ourselves down on a wide stone fence and graced Main Street with our presence. Our greasy pizza soaked up our drinks and we were good to go just in time because Jordan required that we be home by 10:00 so that he could watch Futurama. There will be more beer tastings in the future, but I was pretty happy with our impromptu date instead.




(Also, this is my shirt, and if it looks like confetti that is alright by me)

It's Not Every Day You Get To See A Cross Section of a Rectum!

Jordan is done with his first year of grad school! Huzzah! I immediately took advantage of this by arranging a super packed weekend full of fun activities for which he would have no excuse not to participate. There was eating out, swanky nightclubs, cheese tasting, Philadelphia, and movie watching, all supposed to be enjoyed while praising the amazing wife who arranges such activities. As it turns out we are too poor for the cheese tasting and getting too old for swanky nightclubs. It was also humid (which makes us grumpy) and rainy (which interfered with my wardrobe choices and picnic blanket). A revision of my wonderful plans was made and we decided to go to the Mutter Museum in Philadelphia. Good choice.





The museum is full of strange little medical oddities and paraphernalia. Some of my favorites include the collection of skulls (there was a whole separate section devoted to skulls of syphilis victims, that stuff will mess you up!), the collection of ear bones, and shrunken heads. Everywhere you looked there were cross sections of skin (or faces!) suspended in a tank of stained liquid. There was also a fascinating display about the assassination of President Lincoln and the capture and death of John Wilkes Booth. I learned about wet and dry specimens, and saw a decent amount of bones, skeletons and shriveled organs. Some of the items on display, while I’m sure important to the study of medicine, made me sad. For example, I had to stop looking at the progression of fetuses, especially the ones with deformities. Surprisingly, all of the other patrons were well behaved, except for this one group of college age guys being really loud and disrespectful.

Part of the cozy charm of the museum is the display. Everything feels old fashioned because most of it is, and the newer parts didn’t always seem to fit in with the old dark wood and yellowing placards. Even though it was hard to read an aging handwritten label through a display of rippled old glass it lent an air of nostalgia to the experience. One could spend hours examining the two floors of the small museum and we did. (As a side note, don’t wear a dress or skirt, because the people on the bottom level can totally look up and examine something else.) We left feeling excited that we had learned something; their slogan "disturbingly informative" is accurate.

All in all it was the perfect trip for a rainy afternoon.

Rhubarb Attempt #2

Tis the season of rhubarb! My first rhubarb cake was pretty tasty, but I needed more! Martha Stewart always has good suggestions and this rhubarb galette did not let me down. Both treats were equally humble and delicious, this one maybe slightly fancier than the first. I also love the presentation, so rustic and pretty. The cornmeal crust is good, and even though I am not a pie crust maker this was super easy. Next time I might cut down on the cinnamon because it tasted a little bit too much like apple pie, but then again I don't like too much cinnamon in anything. However, this would be good with apples too. I also don't mess with any of this unsalted butter business because salted butter is just fine with me. In addition I didn't have eggs or turbinado sugar, but it turned out fine anyway. Maybe my problem with baking is that I cannot bring myself to be prepared enough to be exact with anything? Oh well, it was still delicious! Next up, my mom's cobbler recipe!

Herbage Update

I would like the following photographs to prove that I have not killed anything yet.



mint



dill, chives, basil



lavender



thyme and rosemary (and a succulent that originally looked like The Hulk's knuckles coming out of the soil but now looks like it has been munched on by a squirrel)


Times became desperate with the basil because we have a squirrel problem. Apparently squirrels like basil and are not always scared off by a water gun. Seriously, Ellis (short for LS, short for Little Shit) seems to be a masochist, or maybe he is just trying to cool off. This little creature is relentless, so we currently have the basil weighted down with pebbles and it is finally starting to grow because it doesn't get uprooted every 3 hours.

Any good recipes using herbs for food or cocktails are welcome!

Rhubarb Attempt #1

I have a problem with baking.

The main issue is that I just can't do it very well. It seems to run in the family, and by that I mean I get it from my mother. The way I see it, I am genetically dysfunctional when it comes to baking. It's been embarrassing at times. Many a family celebration has been graced with a cake held up by toothpicks. As a newlywed, my romantic attempts at sweets for my sweet looked disfigured and flat. Usually the taste comes through, but it's just the aesthetics that are not up to par. You have no idea how many lopsided cakes I've made or cookies that seem to melt all into one piece.

However, over the years my baking has gotten better. As I learn what stiff peaks are actually supposed to be, that baking powder and baking soda can not be stand-ins for each other, and that the recipe gives exact amounts for a reason, my baking skills have sharpened.

Well, I had a relapse the other night. Jordan suggested that I make the rhubarb galette I had planned on making since I had lovely stalks of rhubarb becoming shriveled in the back of the fridge (they were also partially frozen, one of the joys of apartment living: if you put anything in the top or back of our fridge it freezes. This also interferes with my general well being). Out of laziness I searched for an alternate recipe so I wouldn't have to make crust. I found it on this blog. Mmm, looks good, doesn't it?





I immediately set out to make it while Jordan was at the library. It didn't take long, I had an excuse to use my awesome mixer and a spring form pan, and it was fun to make the rhubarb design on top. It was supposed to bake for 30-35 minutes, so I set the timer for 30. It wasn't done, so I put it in for another 5. I wasn't done, so I put it in for yet another 5. Repeat this until it had been if for over an hour and the middle was still gooey. I decided that I like the taste of raw batter, so to hell with it, the cake is coming out. Not only was the middle not done, but the cake had somehow bubbled up over itself, covering part of my well thought out rhubarb design. I made Jordan eat a slice anyway. It was still tasty though! And its good for breakfast!

Census Dad

Remember everybody, fill out your 2010 census, it will only take a minute! If you don’t, you will have somebody like my father come and knock on your door. In a normal place the fact that my father is traveling door to door inviting himself into stranger’s homes would not bother me, but my parents live in Tennessee. I am a bit worried. My dad is getting up there in years, he had a hip replacement, and I don’t think he can outrun a pack of pit bulls or pickup trucks. I am most worried that he will knock on the door of some anti government, pro gun wielding, sleeveless t-shirt wearing man drinking PBR. I know there must be lots of them in his little neck of the woods, and I don’t think they would welcome the sight of a US Census numerator. Below is a picture of the nifty briefcase he gets to carry along with an official badge and a shotgun given to him by the government just in case he meets one of these people.

Saturdays are the Best

My favorite day of the week is Saturday. There are the obvious reasons, it is the first day of the weekend, and the farthest away from the workweek (unlike the dreaded Sunday, where you feel doomed because you know what the next day entails). It also means good NPR programs on WHYY: Car Talk, A Chef’s Table, Fresh Air Weekend, American Routes, and Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me. Jordan and I also do Wawa sub dates where we go to Wawa and eat in the car and listen to the radio, because we are that cool. I usually do something fun by myself on Saturday because I try and leave Jordan alone so he can do boring homework and stuff like that. I stayed home yesterday because we are poor, and cannot do more than one fun thing and we were going out to dinner later on. This Saturday was awesome even though public radio was doing another membership drive (that’s what podcasts are for).

First, we had our weekly Wawa date after sleeping in. Mmm, I love to sleep. Then I messed around with watercolors and listened to podcasts for a couple hours.





Jordan took reading as an opportunity for a papasan nap with Erma. One doesn’t stand a chance in that chair.





Then, we had date night! We got all gussied up and went out for Vietnamese food. ‘Twas tasty, but we were the youngest people there by about 25 years. But they had decent cheap house wine and at least we know where to get pho on a rainy day! Then, on the graciousness of friends, we attended the opening of The Foocy. It was great! Anyone in the Wilmington area should totally go see it. It involves puppets, and music, and fun homemade props. Who doesn’t like stories about creepy old Russian ladies told through inventive set design? Then there was a reception afterward, which capped off the whole day nicely, because who doesn’t like puppets and booze? Well, I can think of a few who would be creeped out by the combination, but they don’t count.

And now we have another whole day before the weekend is over. Yay for Saturday!