I guess I need to make this one point, out here, about the events that have occurred in France. As an American, I am embarrassed beyond words that neither the President nor the Vice President attended the rally. It was wrong, so terribly wrong.
And that's all I am going to say about that.
My cooking has been erratic this past week. Normally I am all preplanned and organized about my weekly cooking, and I mise en place like nobody's business, but this week I staggered around in a massive fibro fog, tossing frozen wings in a crockpot and shoving unfrosted cupcakes in the freezer. I managed to throw together an edible meatloaf, but I haven't passed on the recipe because I'm not entirely sure what I did. Fortunately, meatloaf is a most forgiving creature.
Even now, feeling a bit better, I can't be sure that come the end of my workday I will be up to more cooking. I really want to frost those cupcakes, which are lovely and lemon and made specifically for my non-chocolate craving husband. And I really must prepare this recipe for crockpot eggplant parmesan, as I have two perfect eggplants in the refrigerator and all the other ingredients ready to go before the eggplants collapse and grow fuzz. I picked those eggplants most carefully and I hope they really are male eggplants, which have a lot less seeds and are therefore less bitter. I love eggplant, but I don't always have the patience to run through a 3-part breading station and fry fry fry. Not in the mood. I have a headache. This recipe is somewhat less complicated to prepare and has the added benefit of being slow-cooked in my favorite kitchen appliance. My heart says yes, my back says "who do you think you're fooling, you old bag?"
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
Breathe Deep - Oy Vey Teriyaki Chicken Wings
Welcome sulphur dioxide,
Hello carbon monoxide
The air, the air is everywhere
Breathe deep, while you sleep, breathe deep
The news is depressing. Anarchy in France's so-called "no go zones". Nancy Pelosi talking about it being a good time to raise the Federal gas tax. Arguments about how political correctness is impairing the ability to fight terrorism. Debates about the permissible consequences of free speech. The world is making me nervous. Deep breath. Stay calm.
Om mani padme hum ...
This is the chronic pain syndrome, this is the fibromyalgia, this is something, some syndrome that fogs my brain and leaves me wrung out in every cell of my body.
I have been knitting. Not too much, and not too fast, but knitting nonetheless, which I find soothing.
I have been stuck on this one post, which has been written and rewritten several times. I think it must be time to wrap this one up and move on. I haven't done much cooking the past few days, and no, we're not starving. In one of those moments where the headache was blinding and my body hurt from my shoulders to the back of my ankles, I literally threw together this crockpot dish. To call it a recipe would be a joke, so consider having a chuckle or two while you eat them.
Oy Vey Teriyaki Chicken Wings
3 pounds frozen chicken wings, do not defrost
1 bottle Soy Vey brand Island Teriyaki Sauce
Coat the inside of a 6 quart crockpot with non stick spray. Add all of the frozen wings. Pour the bottle of teriyaki sauce over all. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours. Stir occasionally during the cooking. Remove the wings and some of the sauce to a baking pan. Put under the broiler for a few minutes until the wings crisp up a bit. Turn over each wing and return to the broiler. You can serve them immediately, or refrigerate overnight and remove the excess fat the next day.
Hello carbon monoxide
The air, the air is everywhere
Breathe deep, while you sleep, breathe deep
Can anyone explain to me why so many of us human beings are constructed to be so damn emotionally fragile? Life is hard sometimes, and it doesn't help when our body chemistry betrays us as well. Why should it be that the first thought of the day has to be "deep breath ... stay calm ... deep breath"?
The news is depressing. Anarchy in France's so-called "no go zones". Nancy Pelosi talking about it being a good time to raise the Federal gas tax. Arguments about how political correctness is impairing the ability to fight terrorism. Debates about the permissible consequences of free speech. The world is making me nervous. Deep breath. Stay calm.
Om mani padme hum ...
This is the chronic pain syndrome, this is the fibromyalgia, this is something, some syndrome that fogs my brain and leaves me wrung out in every cell of my body.
I have been knitting. Not too much, and not too fast, but knitting nonetheless, which I find soothing.
I have been stuck on this one post, which has been written and rewritten several times. I think it must be time to wrap this one up and move on. I haven't done much cooking the past few days, and no, we're not starving. In one of those moments where the headache was blinding and my body hurt from my shoulders to the back of my ankles, I literally threw together this crockpot dish. To call it a recipe would be a joke, so consider having a chuckle or two while you eat them.
Oy Vey Teriyaki Chicken Wings
3 pounds frozen chicken wings, do not defrost
1 bottle Soy Vey brand Island Teriyaki Sauce
Coat the inside of a 6 quart crockpot with non stick spray. Add all of the frozen wings. Pour the bottle of teriyaki sauce over all. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours. Stir occasionally during the cooking. Remove the wings and some of the sauce to a baking pan. Put under the broiler for a few minutes until the wings crisp up a bit. Turn over each wing and return to the broiler. You can serve them immediately, or refrigerate overnight and remove the excess fat the next day.
Friday, January 9, 2015
No News is Good News
January 8, 2015: My back has been breaking a good part of the day.
All I wanted to do, all day, was go home, empty my mind. Didn't work out the way I planned. Charles Krauthammer wasn't at his usual spot on Special Report with Bret Baier, and Greta Van Susteran did something to her hair color, but she's doing good coverage on the terrorist attack in Paris. I missed Charles. Yes, I watch Fox News. I watch a lot of news. I read online news from the local Orlando Sentinel and the New York Times and CNN. Old habit die hard, and I grew up in a home where my Pop read two or three newspapers every day and Walter Cronkite was a nightly visitor. I followed in his footsteps, at least until I developed an allergy to newsprint ink. Fortunately for me, cable TV and the internet came along or I would have perished from news deprivation.
Today's news is bad, and yesterday's news was bad. Despite my kidding around on the blog, I am really a very serious person with very strong feelings about the type of events that show up on the news. I don't discuss them much, at least not in public fora, because I am likely to offend somebody, and I don't like to do that for a variety of reasons. But I think it's safe to say that I am very upset by the news. Angry, really angry. Time to move along before I become indiscreet.
I did not cook or bake today, because, well, my back has been breaking. Work was stressful. No time for lunchtime knitting. Heck, no time for lunch.
January 9, 2015: Another day, another backache, another panic attack. God bless understanding co-workers! The news is a little better. The French police are not the buffoons we've been led to believe in Pink Panther movies. Unemployment is down. Gas prices are down. I've managed to keep my food down.
I did not cook today. When I got home from the office, I ate a little, I knit a little, and then I napped a lot, with my little Chelsea girl tucked in next to me. I've been thinking about eggplant parm for the last few days, and chocolate mint cupcakes. It should be a tasty weekend.
All I wanted to do, all day, was go home, empty my mind. Didn't work out the way I planned. Charles Krauthammer wasn't at his usual spot on Special Report with Bret Baier, and Greta Van Susteran did something to her hair color, but she's doing good coverage on the terrorist attack in Paris. I missed Charles. Yes, I watch Fox News. I watch a lot of news. I read online news from the local Orlando Sentinel and the New York Times and CNN. Old habit die hard, and I grew up in a home where my Pop read two or three newspapers every day and Walter Cronkite was a nightly visitor. I followed in his footsteps, at least until I developed an allergy to newsprint ink. Fortunately for me, cable TV and the internet came along or I would have perished from news deprivation.
Today's news is bad, and yesterday's news was bad. Despite my kidding around on the blog, I am really a very serious person with very strong feelings about the type of events that show up on the news. I don't discuss them much, at least not in public fora, because I am likely to offend somebody, and I don't like to do that for a variety of reasons. But I think it's safe to say that I am very upset by the news. Angry, really angry. Time to move along before I become indiscreet.
I did not cook or bake today, because, well, my back has been breaking. Work was stressful. No time for lunchtime knitting. Heck, no time for lunch.
January 9, 2015: Another day, another backache, another panic attack. God bless understanding co-workers! The news is a little better. The French police are not the buffoons we've been led to believe in Pink Panther movies. Unemployment is down. Gas prices are down. I've managed to keep my food down.
I did not cook today. When I got home from the office, I ate a little, I knit a little, and then I napped a lot, with my little Chelsea girl tucked in next to me. I've been thinking about eggplant parm for the last few days, and chocolate mint cupcakes. It should be a tasty weekend.
Thursday, January 8, 2015
Interregnum of the Profits - Butter Pecan Cupcakes with Creamy Nutella Frosting
January 7, 2015: "Hey Dad, somebody wants to get their taxes done tomorrow, is that okay?" Of course it is okay, and with those words from our daughter Betty, we enter the Interregnum. The Fifth Season. The No-Cruise Zone. This year, Tax Season promises to be extra-special, thanks to the cluster-f*** known as Obamacare.
My husband, also known as The Taxman, has been getting geared up for this annual event since early last fall. Despite the inevitable aggravation of high pressure number-crunching, he really does thrive on this, sort of like the way I thrive on doing between eight and thirteen trials a month for an eight month period.
Thriving is not what I'm doing today. I was beset by the Insane Itching for a good part of the night, which impacted the quality of sleep, so I am a trifle cranky. I am suffering the slings and arrows of outrageous bulls*** from an outside source. I am, however, extraordinarily proud and pleased that I did not respond in kind. But ohhhh, the temptation. And then, I have been working on a particular drafting project for a number of days, and have run into a ginormous glitch. Big surprise, right?
Time to find my Zen Zone.
Back on the needles, albeit the smaller ones and I like the results. I have to get used to the color changes, which occur more frequently than from a ball of Noro Silk Garden. I also have to get a new bottle of Advil, because my head is starting to crack and my eyes are protecting themselves by going all squinty on me. No time for lunchtime knitting, I'm afraid.
So you know that lately I've been hooked on cupcakes. Today, when I ran into Walmart to get a nice big bottle of Advil, I ran into the grocery section to find a new flavor of cake mix. Always experimenting, that's me. The basic sour cream recipe works perfectly, as I found when I tried it with chocolate and then with white cake mix. The butter pecan mix, however, comes in the new, smaller size, which requires adjustment to the other ingredients. I can't take credit for this - I can say that it works really well. I got 22 cupcakes from this mix, but then I did not add a cup of chips as I did to the other two recipes.
Butter Pecan Cupcakes with Creamy Nutella Frosting
1 - 16 oz. tub creamy vanilla frosting
1/3 cup Nutella
2-3 tablespoons half and half
Stir all of the ingredients together until completely combined and smooth. Frost the cooled cupcakes using your favorite method.
Thriving is not what I'm doing today. I was beset by the Insane Itching for a good part of the night, which impacted the quality of sleep, so I am a trifle cranky. I am suffering the slings and arrows of outrageous bulls*** from an outside source. I am, however, extraordinarily proud and pleased that I did not respond in kind. But ohhhh, the temptation. And then, I have been working on a particular drafting project for a number of days, and have run into a ginormous glitch. Big surprise, right?
Time to find my Zen Zone.
Back on the needles, albeit the smaller ones and I like the results. I have to get used to the color changes, which occur more frequently than from a ball of Noro Silk Garden. I also have to get a new bottle of Advil, because my head is starting to crack and my eyes are protecting themselves by going all squinty on me. No time for lunchtime knitting, I'm afraid.
So you know that lately I've been hooked on cupcakes. Today, when I ran into Walmart to get a nice big bottle of Advil, I ran into the grocery section to find a new flavor of cake mix. Always experimenting, that's me. The basic sour cream recipe works perfectly, as I found when I tried it with chocolate and then with white cake mix. The butter pecan mix, however, comes in the new, smaller size, which requires adjustment to the other ingredients. I can't take credit for this - I can say that it works really well. I got 22 cupcakes from this mix, but then I did not add a cup of chips as I did to the other two recipes.
Butter Pecan Cupcakes with Creamy Nutella Frosting
1 (15.25 ounce) package butter pecan cake mix
1 (3.4 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
3/4 cup sour cream
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3 extra large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin tin with paper liners.
2. With a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat together the cake and pudding mixes, sour cream, oil, eggs, vanilla and almond extracts and water. Beat for about two minutes on medium speed until well combined.
3. Using a large cookie scoop, distribute the batter between 22 muffin wells.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 18-22 minutes or until the tops of the cakes spring back when lightly touched. Allow cupcakes to cool inside muffin tins for about 20 minutes.
5. Remove cupcakes from muffin tins and allow to fully cool on a wire rack. Once cupcakes are cool, top with the Creamy Nutella Frosting, recipe below.
1 - 16 oz. tub creamy vanilla frosting
1/3 cup Nutella
2-3 tablespoons half and half
Stir all of the ingredients together until completely combined and smooth. Frost the cooled cupcakes using your favorite method.
Wednesday, January 7, 2015
The Number of the Beast
How often have you heard the phrase "older and wiser?" So often, I imagine, that you have come to believe that the one naturally follows the other. Well, don't believe the hype.
I stand before you, the perfect example of how oxymoronic the phrase "older and wiser" can be. Without going into details, let us just say that I allowed my enthusiasm to override my good sense. You would think I would know better, but it seems I am fully capable at 62 of repeating the same types of errors I made at 16 and 26. My most profuse apologies.
From the "You Can't Make This Stuff Up" Department: So my day started out a trifle cloudy, and thanks to My Friend Fibro, my back and neck were hurting. I also found myself facing an arduous problem at work, and had to keep chanting to myself "don't get nervous, don't get nervous." So I didn't, and then I managed to lessen the potential for panic, and figured I could actually go out to pick up lunch. I rarely do that anymore, but I had to move the car anyway, and I wanted another cup of coffee, so why not? And I ordered a sandwich, because I never do that anymore, and I may never do that again:
Freaked out the regular counter girl, and I think she was relieved someone else got the job of actually filling the order. It was a pretty good sandwich; you might even say it was a hell of a sandwich.
I stand before you, the perfect example of how oxymoronic the phrase "older and wiser" can be. Without going into details, let us just say that I allowed my enthusiasm to override my good sense. You would think I would know better, but it seems I am fully capable at 62 of repeating the same types of errors I made at 16 and 26. My most profuse apologies.
From the "You Can't Make This Stuff Up" Department: So my day started out a trifle cloudy, and thanks to My Friend Fibro, my back and neck were hurting. I also found myself facing an arduous problem at work, and had to keep chanting to myself "don't get nervous, don't get nervous." So I didn't, and then I managed to lessen the potential for panic, and figured I could actually go out to pick up lunch. I rarely do that anymore, but I had to move the car anyway, and I wanted another cup of coffee, so why not? And I ordered a sandwich, because I never do that anymore, and I may never do that again:
Freaked out the regular counter girl, and I think she was relieved someone else got the job of actually filling the order. It was a pretty good sandwich; you might even say it was a hell of a sandwich.
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