Upgrades

This week has been all about upgrades...

Nice new cutting board (the second one down) because the old one is falling apart. I really wanted to get the one that Giada De Laurentiis uses on Everyday Italian, but its $225! No freakin' way.

Swanky new window treatments to go with the swanky new guest room (thank you again WalMart, and also to AC Moore for 1" wide purple grosgrain ribbon and some of that iron on stuff that makes it look like things are sewed into place). It looks pretty good if I do say so myself.

Tim got a new lamp for the office to replace the one that you can turn on/off only by unplugging.

He also got some fancy titanium scissors that will probably cut through rocks if you give them a try. His old ones are going to work with him.

Still on the search for a moveable kitchen island as the previous lovely one is discontinued. Rats! We were en route to the Crate & Barrel outlet store yesterday when we screeched to a halt to go to an estate sale in a lovely older home in a lovely section of town. Nice house tour and we got a few treasures. I missed out on a nice pair of olive green candles that were twisted like rope. I HAD THEM IN MY HAND and put them down. THE biggest mistake of yard sale/estate/flea market shopping, and I know it. Its an amateur move, and I did it anyway. Sold right under my nose for a buck. Why is it we mourn the one that got away rather than celebrating the many we have? Anyway, we got to the outlet, they were having a furniture sale and they had one perfect island. $399 on the website, $179 at the sale. The only problem? It had a SOLD sticker on it. If we hadn't gone to the freakin' estate sale we would have had a chance at it. We coulda been contenders... Another one that got away. I feel that there is an island out there with our names on it. We just need to find it. It's probably at a bus stop somewhere right next to my perfect job and that pair of jeans that will make me look svelte from any angle.

Today is the Day!

Today is the day my lovely article was published in the Boston Globe! It was quite a thrill. However, its such a little item that it wasn't published on the web. So, I give you the article (please note that some of the flourishes were edited out, but here's what I submitted):

Shhhhh…the secret to memorable baked goods is a quality vanilla. Intensify that flavor and what do you get? An amazingly fragrant and luscious taste that is sure to have people asking ‘what’s in there’? The clever folks at Penzey’s Spices have come up with Double Strength Vanilla Extract, which is created by adding two times the amount of premium Madagascar seed pods to a traditional preparation ($13.49 for a 4 ounce bottle, $39.95 for 16 ounces). Measured by half-portions, you have an aromatic whisper to enhance to your batter. Used in the full amount that any old recipe calls for, your previously hushed undertones start to make some noise. Either way, this is not plain vanilla. And you only have to spill the beans if you want to.

Available at Penzey’s Spices, 1293 Massachusetts Avenue, Arlington (781) 646-7707 or online at www.penzeys.com.

There is also a photo of a bottle of said product. All in all, a very satisfying Wednesday.

Note: any and all recommendations/suggestions for interesting products are more than welcome. So far the editor's comments from other ideas include "silicone is overrated", "that's too craft show for us", "we don't do Trader Joe's". She has been encouraging to keep up the suggestions, but this freelance gig is hard work. Good thing I haven't quit my day job. I think this whole venture has been good for my sanity and perspective on the freakshow where I work.

Favorites

My version of the Oprah's Favorites shows...only without the free giveaways. Sorry.

Books
Midwives
Disturbances in the Field - the messages in this great novel change with the age you are when you re-read it
Walking on Walnuts - now available on Amazon for 57 cents. amazing.
Harry Potter - all of them!

CDs
Beth Orton
Neil Young (I know, who would have thought?)
Faith Hill

Blogs
Fresh Perspective
Invisible Fist
Dear Devin
apotatea (not 'a potato' as I originally thought)

Cooking Tools
silicone basting brush - you can actually get it clean!

Home Stuff
smokeless, dripless scented candles
very luxe new bedding for the guest room - looks awesome! Sorry for shopping at my neighborhood WalMart. Isn't it ironic to find luxe at WalMart?

Stores
Target
Lottie Ta Dah (no website yet...rats!)

TV
WGBH Creates
Everyday Italian
Queer Eye - Ky is my favorite

Radio
NPR
MikeFM - I-pod effect without the investment of time...

A Yarn Yarn

So, my friend Gemma gave me a book called Yarn Harlot: The Secret Life of a Knitter for Christmas. Its highly entertaining, written by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, someone can both Write and Knit. I do a little knitting but don't consider myself all that highly advanced, but was very inspired to knit a pair of socks after reading said book. I looked on the Lion Brand website because they have patterns for everything you would want to knit for yourself, your home and our pet. I found one for socks, and off to AC Moore I went, to check out Lion Brand Magic Stripes. Its a yarn which is variegated so make things striped as you knit them without changing yarn colors (hence the name, apparently). There were only two skeins left, not in the charming colors I had found on the website, but what the heck. I also needed a set of 5 double pointed needles, size 3. AC Moore only had sets of 4 double pointed needles, size three, so off I went to the Fabric Place. Of course, they have an entire SECTION of yarn for knitting socks. Why I didn't go there in the first place, I will never be able to explain. Anyway, they had a lovely version of Magic Stripes-style yarn by another manufacuturer, so I bought it along with my beloved set of 5 bamboo double pointed size three needles. Knitting on bamboo or plastic is the best. I hate the raspy sound of metal-on-metal, and unfortunately, my mother passed along all her knitting stuff to me with tons of metal needles. Anyway, back to AC Moore to return the yarn I didn't like that much. OK, ready to go. I dutifully and clumsily cast on my 56 stiches across the four needles, using the 5th as the one to knit with. I am challenged enough using 2 needles let alone 5 so I was a little strung out doing this (pardon the pun). I knit on the train on the way to and from work, so the cramped quarters and frequent jabbing of the cuffs of my big winter coat with the needles creates a bit of an undesirable setting. Working in this fashion a very delicate process until there is enough knitting done to give it enough heft to keep all the parts together without a lot of prayers and swears (ever notice that those two words rhyme?). So I did my knitting through the ribbing at the top of the sock and had started on the part that goes down your leg. I was starting to cook. It was looking good, but a little lacy which I hadn't anticipated. I guess I knit either loosely or with trepidation. I think on this project it was the latter. I showed my sock to my boss as he's fascinated with such activities and he totally mocked it saying it looked like a headband and that no one in the world except the Elephant Man has legs big enough to wear a sock that size, etc. You get the picture. And I can't say he was wrong. As I was walking from work to the train that evening, a kind woman stopped me on the street to say that I had dropped something. It was the instructions to my socks. As I turned back to pick them up, my macho little denim knitting bag fell to the ground as well. And it was EMPTY. The freakin' partial sock and the freakin' ball of yarn and 4 of the 5 freakin' double pointed size 3 bamboo needles were gone. I dug through the rest of my rather large work bag and nope. All kinds of other sources of entertainment for the commute, but no knitting. A retrace of my steps turned up nothing. All I can hope is that some far more talented knitter than I recognized that ball of fiber for what it was and what it could be and is now knitting up a luscious something for someone special.

Quick Link

OK, here's our version of Gilligan's Island. Don't ask me why the white one, which we actually wanted, is over a hundred bucks cheaper than the other ones. Or why there is free shipping. Its a mystical world on the web...

http://www.kitchensource.com/kitchen-islands/mt-b18412.htm#

Build a Better Blogger

I've been far less present in this blog than I had anticipated when I first dreamed up this idea in the first place. New Year's Resolution #3: Be a better blogger. NYR #1 = Lose weight. Sigh. NYR #2 = Go to more yard sales this year. I like this one. I can do that!

Today was the semi-official casing of the kitchen to see if it really made sense to put in more cabinets and countertops. Our semi-official consultant: Tim's brother in law, Joe. Joe is a medaled veteran of multiple DIY home remodels, so we figured who better to give us the honest truth. After much discussion and flailing about of tapemeasures and flashlights, the grand decision is to buy a moveable mini-island (isle? atoll?) that will provide more counterspace on a daily basis and can be pressed into service to provide surface where we need it when we need it. Sounds good to me. Now I can't wait for the Sunday paper to arrive with all those ads. We can comparison shop until every last cow comes home. Love that!

I had paralysis at work this week. There is a lot going on big-picture with the future of the hospital as well as some infighting at the most senior levels and a partial/almost full return of the mania on the part of my boss. He's convinced we're going to be inundated by union organizers at every turn, and to be perfectly honest all of this drama sucks ths life out of me. It's very difficult to concentrate on daily tasks and keep upbeat when there is all this other stuff swimming around all the time. I keep telling myself there has to be a better way. Any and all suggestions are welcome. Seriously. The food writing is wonderful but I think it will be a bit before I can live off it. Considering I haven't received my first $50 check yet.

Happy 2006!

Well, a very happy new year to everyone! I wish you all the good stuff - superlative health, happiness with what we have, growth and creativity, thin thighs and the realization that we all need to care for each other. The good news is that I have proudly paraded through the holidays without any family freakiness, which truly is a first for several years. OK, many years. It felt good. Everyone behaved as adults who enjoy each others company (even though we snuck presents to the "cool people." You gotta have a little disfunction).

My other exciting news is that I got the green light from the Globe food editor to get a Short Order printed! A Short Order is a sound-bite of a newspaper article highlighting a unique thing that is worth seeking out. My topic: Penzey's Spices Double Strength Vanilla Extract. I don't know when it will be printed, but I'll let you know. The Globe is going to run a photo too. This is big doins for little ole me. Just when you think you're doomed to a career of babysitting full-grown adults who should know how to behave in public and at work, a ray of light on the horizon shines to keep you huffing and puffing toward your goal.

I had another failure with the bagel & eggs recipe today. I omitted the whole bagel thing and instead cooked the eggs etc up ahead of time, then wrapped them in pizza dough a la scrambled egg calzone. (Not all that easy to do, let me tell ya. Everything was gushy.). Then baked for 45 minutes. It was an appetizing golden brown and tasted like mush. Too much dough. Way too much. Back to the drawing board. Now I'm thinking of puff pastry in muffin tins filled with the eggs. Pretty heart unhealthy however. More to ponder.