We're re-positioning our mailbox! I talked to two different mailmen this past month: the regular one (Jeff) and one of our utility carriers, and both agreed that moving the mailbox to a spot where they didn't have to bend down was a good thing. (Currently, it's in our door. And frankly, the dog tears up the door as she tries to get at the carrier - not Jeff - but every other carrier who has come to deliver our mail.) So today, Mr. Hinkelgruber, is installing a new slot. It still comes into the house (something very important to me), but now doesn't have to compete with the door opening and the dog going nuts. (She'll likely still go nuts, but at least not on the door!) And, this means that this summer, I can get a screen door for the front door. Yahoo!
So, my Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) hobby yielded a lot of egg whites from one of the recipes during the week, so this Sunday's dessert is chocolate French macarons (well, I'd spell it macaroons, but the website from which I got the recipe spelled it with one 'o', so there) filled with chocolate ganache. In Mr. Hinkelgruber's words, "Anything with ganache can't be bad," so we'll see. Oh, and a French macaron has no coconut - just in case all you coconut haters were wondering.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Baseball's Back!!!
OK, so really it's just pre-season - but I got to see my Cubs play. Oh, I love those boys! (They won, by the way!) Favorite new player? Sczcur...and it's pronounced "Seezer". I can hardly wait to see his name on his uniform.
Have a new hobby, "Tuesdays with Dorie." Twice a month, I get to prepare a recipe from the book Baking with Julia and then blog about the experience with bakers from all over the world. (Oh, yeah - one woman from Switzerland read the last recipe (Rugelach) and said her hips were broadening just reading the recipe!) This week's dessert is from the first week: Chocolate Truffle Tarts. Reading others' blogs say it's to die for. We'll see tomorrow! (Oh, and the rugelach was really, really tasty - not pretty, but really tasty!) Irish Soda Bread is coming later in the week, and while I've never been a big fan of soda bread - in for a penny, in for a pound.
Have a new hobby, "Tuesdays with Dorie." Twice a month, I get to prepare a recipe from the book Baking with Julia and then blog about the experience with bakers from all over the world. (Oh, yeah - one woman from Switzerland read the last recipe (Rugelach) and said her hips were broadening just reading the recipe!) This week's dessert is from the first week: Chocolate Truffle Tarts. Reading others' blogs say it's to die for. We'll see tomorrow! (Oh, and the rugelach was really, really tasty - not pretty, but really tasty!) Irish Soda Bread is coming later in the week, and while I've never been a big fan of soda bread - in for a penny, in for a pound.
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Spring is on it's way!
I keep a daily push-up log on the family calendar and noticed today that daylight savings time arrives a week from this Sunday. You know what that means? Well, besides that we'll lose one hour next week, it means that spring is coming! The yard guys came yesterday and applied some sort of fertilizer, so it must be true...spring is coming. At last!
The music room is on its way to being re-done. The ceiling has been over-layed (no longer popcorn) and the walls primed for new texture. No, we're not moving - merely getting the house redone after 25-years. Some people redecorate/paint every three to five years. Not us - for us, decorating is like cars: get what you want and hold on until it either fails or you're finally tired of it. As for our decor, 25-years means it's both failing and we're tired of it (well, I am!).
A new pie recipe this week: think Almond Joy in-a-pie! We'll see if it's as good as the picture makes it look. Then, I've joined an online group, "Tuesdays With Dorie," that is working its way through the book, Baking With Julia. First recipe: Rugelach - a cinnamon-roll type pastry filled with nuts and dried fruit. I'm excited!
The music room is on its way to being re-done. The ceiling has been over-layed (no longer popcorn) and the walls primed for new texture. No, we're not moving - merely getting the house redone after 25-years. Some people redecorate/paint every three to five years. Not us - for us, decorating is like cars: get what you want and hold on until it either fails or you're finally tired of it. As for our decor, 25-years means it's both failing and we're tired of it (well, I am!).
A new pie recipe this week: think Almond Joy in-a-pie! We'll see if it's as good as the picture makes it look. Then, I've joined an online group, "Tuesdays With Dorie," that is working its way through the book, Baking With Julia. First recipe: Rugelach - a cinnamon-roll type pastry filled with nuts and dried fruit. I'm excited!
Saturday, February 25, 2012
I got crabs!
Got your attention, didn't I?!? Actually, it was confirmed today that the Greek Orthodox Church throws the best, the absolute BEST fundraisers in the world, ever! In the fall - the Annual Greek Festival; complete with full lamb dinner and enough baklava to choke the largest Greek goat! Then, today we discovered their latest and greatest event: The 23rd Annual All-You-Can-Eat Crab Feed! 23-years? Seriously? We've been in the neighborhood 28 of those years and this is the first we've heard of it. (But, rest assured - it won't be the last time we attend!) Have you ever eaten 1-1/2 Dungeness crabs at one sitting? Well, I have and if I had been willing to eat myself sick, it would have been more. I've discovered the "crab-coma"!
This week, the music room gets a new ceiling and re-finished walls. The house is, by-and-large, a disaster, but the endgame makes it worth it!
This week, the music room gets a new ceiling and re-finished walls. The house is, by-and-large, a disaster, but the endgame makes it worth it!
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Tiramisu...or Terrible Misery?
According to a local chef, tiramisu is Italian for "pick-me-up." We'll see, as I attempt to make one for this Sunday's dinner. I've already made my own mascarpone cheese (yep, you read it right - I made it!), and now I just have to make the Italian sponge cake and assemble it. If nothing else, the flavors will be terrific.
I was awakened this morning by what I thought was rain, but turned out to be squatters (read: rodents) in the ceiling of our bedroom. They have one more week to find the bait boxes and feast themselves silly before Mr. Hinkelgruber goes in after them. (I'm rooting for the feasting!) In the meantime, I've got to find a podcast that will drown them out.
I was awakened this morning by what I thought was rain, but turned out to be squatters (read: rodents) in the ceiling of our bedroom. They have one more week to find the bait boxes and feast themselves silly before Mr. Hinkelgruber goes in after them. (I'm rooting for the feasting!) In the meantime, I've got to find a podcast that will drown them out.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Valentine's Day and other phony holidays...
Ahh, such a fantastic hoax the floral and confectionary industry has perpetrated on American consumers! But, since I don't want anyone to be disappointed, you'll notice a very special dessert on Sunday's menu - chocolate souffle! Apparently, chocolate is the international flavor of love!?! I watched Giada DiLaurentis prepare this on The Today Show, and decided that's it for Sunday! We'll see if it's really as easy as she made it look.
For those of you wondering about my "to-do" list, the front windows have been painted and the new shutters are to be installed on the 25th of the month. My goal is to have the ceiling and walls of the music room done within six weeks, but we'll see if my plaster guy has the same goal.
For those of you wondering about my "to-do" list, the front windows have been painted and the new shutters are to be installed on the 25th of the month. My goal is to have the ceiling and walls of the music room done within six weeks, but we'll see if my plaster guy has the same goal.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
The long and winding road...
Did you miss me? Well, last weekend's absence is the last in a while (until April, and that's all I'll say about that!).
I went to the beach with a group of women friends, and while I did enjoy it, six women in one place is a lot of estrogen. (Regardless of the fact they're all either menopausal or peri-menopausal!) The weather was beautiful four out of five days, and despite the tsunami alarm system going off at the condo (due to high winds and rough bar conditions the one bad weather day) it was quite remarkable for the end of January on our coastline.
This week's menu features some old favorites as well as a few items that are sure to become favorites. My theory? Mr. Hinkelgruber is lonely for some of you to have dinner with us and is coercing you here!
I went to the beach with a group of women friends, and while I did enjoy it, six women in one place is a lot of estrogen. (Regardless of the fact they're all either menopausal or peri-menopausal!) The weather was beautiful four out of five days, and despite the tsunami alarm system going off at the condo (due to high winds and rough bar conditions the one bad weather day) it was quite remarkable for the end of January on our coastline.
This week's menu features some old favorites as well as a few items that are sure to become favorites. My theory? Mr. Hinkelgruber is lonely for some of you to have dinner with us and is coercing you here!
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