I went to eat Moroccan food with a friend this afternoon, and left the restaurant feeling extremely validated to realize that the tagine kefta I've been cooking this week was far better than what they served. Also, to not even have cous cous on the buffet is just...unacceptable. No freshly baked bread, either!
We ended up talking quite a bit about cooking, and how the food we ate growing up and the way our parents cooked effects our desires to cook, as well as our taste buds--what appeals to us. My family encouraged me to eat all different kinds of foods, but I was somewhat unadventurous until college, when, after reading Holy Cow, I decided to try Indian food. After that, I never looked back, and have only avoided foods that contain the few things I knowingly dislike. (Cilantro and celery!) The great thing about cooking is that I can pick and choose ingredients, and leave out the cilantro or jalapenos when the recipe calls for it!
Growing up, my mom was the one who could be counted on to make good, quick meals that were always tasty, never too fancy, and Just What You Wanted. She makes a lot of chili, roasted vegetables, tacos...and mixes a damn good margarita. Recently, as part of a jihad against high fructose corn syrup, she began baking her own cakes for birthdays, and made a great Italian Cream Cake, Cheesecake, and Carrot Cake...although, we both would agree, probably not quite as good as the Whole Foods Carrot Cake!
However, while I certainly inherited my mother's ability to whip up a good, wholesome meal everyone can enjoy on the go, I think that my love for cooking and interest in trying new, complicated recipes comes from my dad. He is the one who will go to a restaurant, order something complicated (or not!), and say "hmm, this tastes interesting...I wonder what's in it..." and then decide to re-create it. He worked for years to re-create the sauce from a barbeque restaurant that he and my mom enjoyed in college. His recipe is only distributed among family members, and is occasionally given out to friends as wedding gifts! The sauce is handed out every Christmas, in cute little mason jars. I've been onto him to send me a case of sauce up here in DC! He seems to enjoy baking more than anything else, and once made me and my brother and sister spend a Saturday morning picking dewberries in a field outside our house, so that he could make dewberry pie! Another one of his staples, which he makes every holiday, are pralines with orange rind, and he once spent the day trying to re-create the cream frosting that comes inside a Shipley's cream filled do-nut! That was a hoot.
While I'm not a baker, and I'm not nearly skilled enough to re-create recipes from scratch, I seem to have inherited his fearlessness in the kitchen. I gather the ingredients before I even finish reading the recipe, which I generally don't do until I'm done cooking it! This becomes problematic when I find that I'm lacking an appliance to make a certain dish, but I always seem to find a way around that! Hmm, should I add "creative problem solver" to my resume?
Friday, September 12, 2008
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Remember Ren and Stimpy?
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Things That Make Me Laugh, Cry, and Cringe
So, I live in the city. I use public transportation, and I don't have a car. I walk, at the least, 2 miles a day. Ever since I moved here, shoe shopping has become an entirely different experience. When I find a cute pair of shoes, instead of asking if I could see myself strutting around the bars in them, I ask if I could see myself walking the half-mile from my apartment to the Metro stop, climbing the 3-story escalator, and hiking home when I inevitably stay out past midnight and can't get home on the Metro. Thank god flats came back into style. But, for those days when I can't even face those, there's an answer! (Zomg, I'm totally kidding, guys. Do you really think I'd go around with those stupid springs on my shoes?)
Anyway...let's get on to the baby mama drama. Can I just say that the fact that John McCain's campaign has turned into an episode of Jerry Springer is, like, the best thing that could have ever happened? Seriously. It feels like Christmas...on ecstasy...at 6 Flags...getting laid! Although, I have to thank McCain, Palin, and, of course, Bristol and Levi for making my job way more interesting for the next few months. I mean, if I thought the 1998 hairclip was blog worthy, this is priceless. Hugsies!
I have to ask, though, isn't there something about the name Bristol that makes it really easy to envision a bunch of high school jocks sitting around the lunch table talking about what a slut she is? Ahh, well...we should support the union and send a beautiful gift from their registry. I've got dibs on the Levi's towel!
On a serious note, if choosing a floozy like Palin was McCain's first major decision, and he didn't even check into her credentials, how is he going to handle presidential decisions? Secondly, are they seriously going to act as though a teenage pregnancy is not just ok, but something to celebrate, just as long as Bristol and Levi get married? What about setting an example for the rest of the country? I'm not a parent, so I'm not sure if I'm really qualified to comment on this, but I respect the Palin's decision to not turn their daughter away during this stressful time in her life. However, they can't proceed as though everything is just hunky dory. Please have the decency to give us some speeches about the difficulties of parenting, and admit that, while there's really no arguing that abstinence is the best way to prevent pregnancy, it doesn't work out like that for everyone, and there are other alternatives.
Anyway...let's get on to the baby mama drama. Can I just say that the fact that John McCain's campaign has turned into an episode of Jerry Springer is, like, the best thing that could have ever happened? Seriously. It feels like Christmas...on ecstasy...at 6 Flags...getting laid! Although, I have to thank McCain, Palin, and, of course, Bristol and Levi for making my job way more interesting for the next few months. I mean, if I thought the 1998 hairclip was blog worthy, this is priceless. Hugsies!
I have to ask, though, isn't there something about the name Bristol that makes it really easy to envision a bunch of high school jocks sitting around the lunch table talking about what a slut she is? Ahh, well...we should support the union and send a beautiful gift from their registry. I've got dibs on the Levi's towel!
On a serious note, if choosing a floozy like Palin was McCain's first major decision, and he didn't even check into her credentials, how is he going to handle presidential decisions? Secondly, are they seriously going to act as though a teenage pregnancy is not just ok, but something to celebrate, just as long as Bristol and Levi get married? What about setting an example for the rest of the country? I'm not a parent, so I'm not sure if I'm really qualified to comment on this, but I respect the Palin's decision to not turn their daughter away during this stressful time in her life. However, they can't proceed as though everything is just hunky dory. Please have the decency to give us some speeches about the difficulties of parenting, and admit that, while there's really no arguing that abstinence is the best way to prevent pregnancy, it doesn't work out like that for everyone, and there are other alternatives.
Monday, September 1, 2008
Once Upon A Time...
Once upon a time, there was a little girl who lived in a small town with her Mommy and Daddy and her little brother and sister. She loved them all very, very much, and she was very happy living with them. Happy as she was, though, this little girl wished and dreamed for something more. She dreamt of going to the big city. She dreamt of traveling the world. She knew that there were so many things to see, and her Daddy told her that she was right, but that she would have to work very, very hard in school first.
So, the little girl, one day when she wasn't quite as little anymore, decided that she would only be satisfied with the very, very best. She stayed up night after night, studying as hard as she could, so that she could, one day, leave the small town she loved so very, very much and move to a big city and travel across the world. She had friends, some of them very good friends, but they all came and went, and the little girl didn't care very much, because she knew that all she had to do was to work hard, just like her Daddy said.
The little girl did very, very well, and accomplished many things. Everyone was very proud of her. When she was a young woman, she moved away from the small town and went to school in a city--not quite as big as the city she had always dreamed of, but "it'll do, for now," she thought. She liked to watch movies about bigger girls in bigger cities, who had lots of beautiful clothes and shoes, and friends to shop, eat, and go dancing with, and who would hug them if they were sad.
The little girl knew she had to keep working hard, but watching these movies made her a little bit lonely, so she decided to make some friends. Her friends made her very, very happy, but soon they all began to move to the big, big city. The little girl was very lonely and sad without them. Then, one day, she had the best idea! She decided that she would go to the big, big city, too!
So, when the little girl was no longer a little girl anymore, but a grown woman, she packed her bags and moved to the big, big city. She was never scared, as she had always imagined she would be, because she had so many friends to shop, eat, and go dancing with, and they would hug her if she was sad.
The little girl finally lived in the big, big city! All her dreams had come true! She ate the finest food, shopped at the finest stores, and went dancing at the finest places. She had the very best friends, too. The very best. The little girl's life was perfect!
The only problem was that most of her friends worked very, very hard, too--sometimes too hard, the little girl thought. That was the problem with people in the big, big city, the little girl realized. They all have to work very, very hard, because that's what people in big cities do. Sometimes, they don't have very much time for their friends, and it made the little girl sad. It was easy to keep making new friends, but the little girl didn't want to spend the rest of her life making new friends.
She began to think about her Mommy and Daddy, and how they loved each other very, very much. She realized that she wanted to love someone very, very much, too, and that she wanted him to love her back very, very much. She told this to her friends in the big, big city, but they didn't understand. They were too busy. The little girl, who was not a little girl anymore, and hadn't been for quite awhile now, realized that she wanted to fall in love. And, the little girl who wasn't so little anymore, realized that sometimes, the big, big city is not the place you want to be when you realize that you want to fall in love.
So, the little girl decided to leave the big, big city. She didn't know where she would go, but she hoped that she would live happily ever after.
So, the little girl, one day when she wasn't quite as little anymore, decided that she would only be satisfied with the very, very best. She stayed up night after night, studying as hard as she could, so that she could, one day, leave the small town she loved so very, very much and move to a big city and travel across the world. She had friends, some of them very good friends, but they all came and went, and the little girl didn't care very much, because she knew that all she had to do was to work hard, just like her Daddy said.
The little girl did very, very well, and accomplished many things. Everyone was very proud of her. When she was a young woman, she moved away from the small town and went to school in a city--not quite as big as the city she had always dreamed of, but "it'll do, for now," she thought. She liked to watch movies about bigger girls in bigger cities, who had lots of beautiful clothes and shoes, and friends to shop, eat, and go dancing with, and who would hug them if they were sad.
The little girl knew she had to keep working hard, but watching these movies made her a little bit lonely, so she decided to make some friends. Her friends made her very, very happy, but soon they all began to move to the big, big city. The little girl was very lonely and sad without them. Then, one day, she had the best idea! She decided that she would go to the big, big city, too!
So, when the little girl was no longer a little girl anymore, but a grown woman, she packed her bags and moved to the big, big city. She was never scared, as she had always imagined she would be, because she had so many friends to shop, eat, and go dancing with, and they would hug her if she was sad.
The little girl finally lived in the big, big city! All her dreams had come true! She ate the finest food, shopped at the finest stores, and went dancing at the finest places. She had the very best friends, too. The very best. The little girl's life was perfect!
The only problem was that most of her friends worked very, very hard, too--sometimes too hard, the little girl thought. That was the problem with people in the big, big city, the little girl realized. They all have to work very, very hard, because that's what people in big cities do. Sometimes, they don't have very much time for their friends, and it made the little girl sad. It was easy to keep making new friends, but the little girl didn't want to spend the rest of her life making new friends.
She began to think about her Mommy and Daddy, and how they loved each other very, very much. She realized that she wanted to love someone very, very much, too, and that she wanted him to love her back very, very much. She told this to her friends in the big, big city, but they didn't understand. They were too busy. The little girl, who was not a little girl anymore, and hadn't been for quite awhile now, realized that she wanted to fall in love. And, the little girl who wasn't so little anymore, realized that sometimes, the big, big city is not the place you want to be when you realize that you want to fall in love.
So, the little girl decided to leave the big, big city. She didn't know where she would go, but she hoped that she would live happily ever after.
Palin: Party Like It's 1998
It's not really something I plan on losing a lot of sleep over, but I will admit that I'm slightly worried about the following scenario: John McCain gets elected, dies, and then Sarah Palin becomes the president. I mean, COME ON, it's like electing my mother vice president! Apparently, what Hillary Clinton's historic "18,000 cracks in the glass ceiling" bid for the presidency actually means, is that any soccer mom with boxy suits and a bouffant (left), as though it where 1998, is qualified to run the country! And I don't even like Hillary Clinton, nor do I think she's all that historic. And, a minor in Women's Studies gives me the right to say so...although, I also like it when guys open the door for me and buy my dinner, so I'm not exactly sure how much credibility I have left in that area.
And don't even get me started on Cindy McCain...if I had 6 million dollars, and my husband called me a "cunt" aboard the campaign plane that I was paying for, I would eject him without a parachute. It's bad enough that the poor woman actually has to have sex with John McCain, but, no, she has to be subjected to abusive language while she squanders away her hard-earned (well, ok, let's not get carried away...) cash paying on his stupid campaign transportation.
I wouldn't mind going to a John McCain rally, just so I could slip her a note saying "I'm so sorry!" At least she knows how to dress, though. And, if you hadn't noticed, three days after Palin came on board, she lost the bouffant (right) and was sporting new glasses. Well, if no other good comes out of this, at least the poor woman got a makeover.
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