Actually, oh yes I did. I don't know how many of you - most, I suspect - are aware of/participating in Mowvember. Basically, grow a mustache and raise money for prostate cancer research. It's a great thing. I know lots of people that are doing this.
You know what isn't great? Commenting - to a client at work - on a person's ugly/cheesy/hilarious fund-raising mustache. Only to find out they have no idea what Mowvember is, and that they're very fond of their mustache thank you very much.
Stupid unruly mouth - will I never learn?
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Coulda been Better
What would have been better was the filling. Shoulda been apple, or pumpkin. What, you ask, am I talking about? There is a web site called Serious Eats. And yesterday, from Cake Spy, they had this:
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2010/11/cinnamon-rolls-stuffed-with-pie-thanksgiving-leftovers-recipe.html
If you don't want to read it, the gist is there needs to be a solution to leftover pie. Which strikes me as about as important as what to do about too much sex. However, I take it there are people who have a problem with the former. Probably people that worry about the latter, too, but I like to pretend they don't exist.
Their solution is to buy unbaked cinnamon rolls (yes, you could make your own but what a waste), and take apart your leftover pie. Then you spread pie filling on the Cinnamon rolls, which you have very carefully unwound. I bought Pillsbury Grands, five to a pack. I baked my own pie, but I cheated by using a pre-made crust. No way on earth at the end of a working day am I going to make pastry just to wreck it.
Once you've re-rolled your buns (Les Filles Hingston may proceed to making butt cracks. Ha! I made one!) and put them in a pan you take the top of the pie pieces that you've scooped the filling out of and dice them up. Then you sprinkle them on the buns and make the whole mess. My favourite line from the recipe comes next:
"Once golden on the tops and edges, remove from the oven. Pause and reflect if it would be simply too much to add frosting; decide that no, it would not be, and liberally douse your cinnamon rolls with the frosting of your choice".
So the pie I made was blueberry. Because The Girl asked nicely. Both kids were thrilled with our once weekly dessert being pie. All that really mattered was that there were leftovers this morning. So I did the whole unrolling, filling, re-rolling, dicing, sprinkling bit. And the result? My finger nails are purple. Because blueberries - even when baked in a pie and cooled - are slippery little buggers. And taste-wise...blueberry was not a good combination. Don't get me wrong, the buns got eaten. By four guys and a pregnant woman, though, so it's not really fair to go by that.
If I were to do this again - and I'm not saying no, but really the pain in the ass factor was pretty high - I'd do it with pumpkin. Or apple. Or, as a co-worker suggested, sour cream raisin. I thought raisin would just be like raisins in cinnamon buns, no big deal. But sour cream raisin might work.
Hey - I did a Tuesday cooking post on a Tuesday. Yeah me!
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2010/11/cinnamon-rolls-stuffed-with-pie-thanksgiving-leftovers-recipe.html
If you don't want to read it, the gist is there needs to be a solution to leftover pie. Which strikes me as about as important as what to do about too much sex. However, I take it there are people who have a problem with the former. Probably people that worry about the latter, too, but I like to pretend they don't exist.
Their solution is to buy unbaked cinnamon rolls (yes, you could make your own but what a waste), and take apart your leftover pie. Then you spread pie filling on the Cinnamon rolls, which you have very carefully unwound. I bought Pillsbury Grands, five to a pack. I baked my own pie, but I cheated by using a pre-made crust. No way on earth at the end of a working day am I going to make pastry just to wreck it.
Once you've re-rolled your buns (Les Filles Hingston may proceed to making butt cracks. Ha! I made one!) and put them in a pan you take the top of the pie pieces that you've scooped the filling out of and dice them up. Then you sprinkle them on the buns and make the whole mess. My favourite line from the recipe comes next:
"Once golden on the tops and edges, remove from the oven. Pause and reflect if it would be simply too much to add frosting; decide that no, it would not be, and liberally douse your cinnamon rolls with the frosting of your choice".
So the pie I made was blueberry. Because The Girl asked nicely. Both kids were thrilled with our once weekly dessert being pie. All that really mattered was that there were leftovers this morning. So I did the whole unrolling, filling, re-rolling, dicing, sprinkling bit. And the result? My finger nails are purple. Because blueberries - even when baked in a pie and cooled - are slippery little buggers. And taste-wise...blueberry was not a good combination. Don't get me wrong, the buns got eaten. By four guys and a pregnant woman, though, so it's not really fair to go by that.
If I were to do this again - and I'm not saying no, but really the pain in the ass factor was pretty high - I'd do it with pumpkin. Or apple. Or, as a co-worker suggested, sour cream raisin. I thought raisin would just be like raisins in cinnamon buns, no big deal. But sour cream raisin might work.
Hey - I did a Tuesday cooking post on a Tuesday. Yeah me!
Friday, November 26, 2010
LIfe,
Sometimes life just sucks. Rarely, I think. At least rarely for me. I know, finances are always tight, I worry too much, the house is falling down around me but the real things, the important things are good. And even some of the not so important things are really excellent, so I really shouldn't complain. My three questions by which I measure my life are all still nos.
Is anyone I know dead or dying?
Am I dying?
Are my babies hurting, really, grievously hurting?
No to all three? Then life is good.
But...there are some not so good times. This morning I got blindsided. Stabbed in the heart, metaphorically speaking. I was so hurt, and then so angry. And then - and here's where I stopped being a baby and pulled myself together - I found myself thinking "how dare they? How dare they make me feel this way?"
Big time slap in the face, that line. "Make me feel"? No one can make me feel. Yes, people can do things that can push you to a certain place, but they can't make you choose to react one way or another. You'd think I would have this lesson down pat. For years I had a Viktor Frankl quote on my desk at work:
I can't even remember what made me put it there in the first place (he was a holocaust survivor, by the way, so he knew about things being taken away), but I had it memorized I read it so often. I think of it every now and then, when someone is trying to push my buttons just to get me angry or upset. And yet...there I was, once again, trying to blame someone else for my hurt feelings. Over something that not only wasn't meant to hurt, but something that most people wouldn't even care about.
So I chose. I chose to head out for my day-long date with The Girl, and not ruin it by holding on to pointless hurt. Not only because she deserved to have a day unmarked with bitterness, but because I did. And it was a good day.
Is anyone I know dead or dying?
Am I dying?
Are my babies hurting, really, grievously hurting?
No to all three? Then life is good.
But...there are some not so good times. This morning I got blindsided. Stabbed in the heart, metaphorically speaking. I was so hurt, and then so angry. And then - and here's where I stopped being a baby and pulled myself together - I found myself thinking "how dare they? How dare they make me feel this way?"
Big time slap in the face, that line. "Make me feel"? No one can make me feel. Yes, people can do things that can push you to a certain place, but they can't make you choose to react one way or another. You'd think I would have this lesson down pat. For years I had a Viktor Frankl quote on my desk at work:
“The one thing you can’t take away from me is the way I choose to respond to what you do to me. The last of one’s freedoms is to choose ones attitude in any given circumstance.”
I can't even remember what made me put it there in the first place (he was a holocaust survivor, by the way, so he knew about things being taken away), but I had it memorized I read it so often. I think of it every now and then, when someone is trying to push my buttons just to get me angry or upset. And yet...there I was, once again, trying to blame someone else for my hurt feelings. Over something that not only wasn't meant to hurt, but something that most people wouldn't even care about.
So I chose. I chose to head out for my day-long date with The Girl, and not ruin it by holding on to pointless hurt. Not only because she deserved to have a day unmarked with bitterness, but because I did. And it was a good day.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Tuesday Cooking Post
On a Thursday. Because it's my blog and I'm still the boss of me. Anyway - from Fine Cooking Annual volume two or three we had Burnished Chicken Thighs with Sweet Potatoes, Parsnips and Shallots. This makes the second time I've cooked parsnips and eaten them. And don't think it's because of the kids that parsnips might be a problem - they love them, I'm the fussy veggie eater in the house.
The recipe did explain the use of the word "burnished". I thought it meant polished somehow, but they meant cooked to a rich dark brown colour. And yes, the glaze was a bit shiny so I guess polished wasn't too far off the mark. I was a bit obsessive about the marinade, but The Boy (who is not a big fan of chicken) at every scrap and said the craziness with the marinade was worth it.
The marinade itself was pretty simple. The problem was it wasn't a liquid sauce that the thighs could float in all day, it was closer to the consistency of tapioca pudding. So...I brought it to work. Why not? We have a full sized fridge for 7 staff members so it's not like there wasn't any room. And it meant that I could turn the chicken every couple of hours.
Took it home and baked it. The chicken on one half of a foil lined baking sheet, the veggies tossed in oil, salt and pepper on the other. Next time I'll do the chopping and peeling of the vegetables in the morning have them in a container in the fridge ready to go. The prep work was the only delay. Not a lot of work, but still...when you're hungry every minute seems a lifetime.
Speaking of the vegetables - the shallots were peeled, and cut in half to the base, only the tops trimmed. That worked really well. They kept their shape and they not only tasted great on their own but tossing them with the parsnips and sweet potatoes added a nice flavour to them all. Part of the recipe - an unnecessary part to my mind, but both kids liked it - was cooking a few strips of nitrite free bacon to crispyness, crumbling it into chopped parsley and then tossing the mix with the veggies when they were out of the oven. I did like the splash of colour, and the added texture was nice, I just don't think the recipe would be bad or disappointing without it.
The recipe did explain the use of the word "burnished". I thought it meant polished somehow, but they meant cooked to a rich dark brown colour. And yes, the glaze was a bit shiny so I guess polished wasn't too far off the mark. I was a bit obsessive about the marinade, but The Boy (who is not a big fan of chicken) at every scrap and said the craziness with the marinade was worth it.
The marinade itself was pretty simple. The problem was it wasn't a liquid sauce that the thighs could float in all day, it was closer to the consistency of tapioca pudding. So...I brought it to work. Why not? We have a full sized fridge for 7 staff members so it's not like there wasn't any room. And it meant that I could turn the chicken every couple of hours.
Took it home and baked it. The chicken on one half of a foil lined baking sheet, the veggies tossed in oil, salt and pepper on the other. Next time I'll do the chopping and peeling of the vegetables in the morning have them in a container in the fridge ready to go. The prep work was the only delay. Not a lot of work, but still...when you're hungry every minute seems a lifetime.
Speaking of the vegetables - the shallots were peeled, and cut in half to the base, only the tops trimmed. That worked really well. They kept their shape and they not only tasted great on their own but tossing them with the parsnips and sweet potatoes added a nice flavour to them all. Part of the recipe - an unnecessary part to my mind, but both kids liked it - was cooking a few strips of nitrite free bacon to crispyness, crumbling it into chopped parsley and then tossing the mix with the veggies when they were out of the oven. I did like the splash of colour, and the added texture was nice, I just don't think the recipe would be bad or disappointing without it.
Tis the Season
I will be interested to see how enjoyable this year’s office Christmas party is. Every year since I’ve been here (and when I started I didn’t have any children, and The Boy is now in university) we’ve had some sort of after hours party with spouses/partners. One year kids were invited too.
And the parties have included things like pool, beer and chicken wings to wine, steak and the hotel Saskatchewan. Always well attended, and usually a great deal of fun, inasmuch as an office group is able to have fun. There is always that sort of weird awkwardness of people socializing not from choice but because they all work in the same place.
I don’t think this year’s party will work. Because the recipe they’re using for this is not a good one. Take a bunch of people whose only thing in common is that they work in the same place, cancel the evening Christmas party, move it to a business day, set it in the boardroom and tell your staff that they are being given time off to attend the party. Finish off with an email that says “please note that as the party is being held during office hours if you do not plan on attending you will be expected to work”. Yeah, this should be fun.
And the parties have included things like pool, beer and chicken wings to wine, steak and the hotel Saskatchewan. Always well attended, and usually a great deal of fun, inasmuch as an office group is able to have fun. There is always that sort of weird awkwardness of people socializing not from choice but because they all work in the same place.
I don’t think this year’s party will work. Because the recipe they’re using for this is not a good one. Take a bunch of people whose only thing in common is that they work in the same place, cancel the evening Christmas party, move it to a business day, set it in the boardroom and tell your staff that they are being given time off to attend the party. Finish off with an email that says “please note that as the party is being held during office hours if you do not plan on attending you will be expected to work”. Yeah, this should be fun.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
I'm guessing never.
There are some things I wish I would hurry up and grow out of. F'rinstance, someone from the unit here that I used to work in was in our office today. She came over and said "so, I hear some nice looking guy was here last week and you went to lunch"
Ok, first of all - and this doesn't upset me, it's actually kinda funny - "some guy"? Doesn't that sound like some unfortunate guy (albeit nice looking) just happened to be here last week and asked the room in general if anyone would care to join him for lunch? And that I said yes? Because that's what it sounded like to me. And it wasn't anything like that. Ok, yes it was a guy. And yes, as it happens a nice looking one (yeah me!) and yes, lunch was involved. But it was planned. We'd arranged to go for lunch together. It wasn't just "some guy". Back to the story.
The problem is, the very next thing she said was "are you blushing? You've gone all pink!". And she was right. Blushing like some nervous Nelly. At my age. I found myself getting pinker in embarrassment over being pink. I thought there would be a time when this would no longer be a concern*. I'm guessing that time will be when I'm dead. Or never. I sort of assumed the dead don't blush, but what do I know?
*as a further embarrassment, it makes it really hard to lie, because it happens then too. Can't get away with anything. In truth I'd be a terrible con man. Woman. Person.
Ok, first of all - and this doesn't upset me, it's actually kinda funny - "some guy"? Doesn't that sound like some unfortunate guy (albeit nice looking) just happened to be here last week and asked the room in general if anyone would care to join him for lunch? And that I said yes? Because that's what it sounded like to me. And it wasn't anything like that. Ok, yes it was a guy. And yes, as it happens a nice looking one (yeah me!) and yes, lunch was involved. But it was planned. We'd arranged to go for lunch together. It wasn't just "some guy". Back to the story.
The problem is, the very next thing she said was "are you blushing? You've gone all pink!". And she was right. Blushing like some nervous Nelly. At my age. I found myself getting pinker in embarrassment over being pink. I thought there would be a time when this would no longer be a concern*. I'm guessing that time will be when I'm dead. Or never. I sort of assumed the dead don't blush, but what do I know?
*as a further embarrassment, it makes it really hard to lie, because it happens then too. Can't get away with anything. In truth I'd be a terrible con man. Woman. Person.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Enough. Seriously, Mother Nature, just enough.
I started work early today. I did so with every intention of leaving early. But I can’t. Because I didn’t do work stuff, I did personal stuff. Why? Because it’s -30 out there. In NOVEMBER. So I entered a few contests. Just a few. For trips.
Some of them are trips for two that I’ll take someone, some are trips for two that I’ll pay for a third ticket and take the kids and some are trips for four, so kids and one of les filles Hingston for some added fun. Destinations for said contests? Here’s the list:
Las Vegas (at least three different contests)
Arizona (twice)
Tuscany
Disney Land
Mexico (so often I don’t remember specific locations)
Vienna
Dominican Republic
Gran Bahia Principe, Jamaica (counting on this one, the name feels lucky)
Japan (how awesome would that be?)
Vancouver
Toronto
Sandals Jamaica
Turks and Caicos
British Virgin Islands
In fact, if there weren’t a project that had to be done for Thursday, I’d think about going to Victoria. Today. Right now. But they too have snow, so maybe not. Because it is no longer good enough to get away from -30. I need MORE than that. I have needs people.
Some of them are trips for two that I’ll take someone, some are trips for two that I’ll pay for a third ticket and take the kids and some are trips for four, so kids and one of les filles Hingston for some added fun. Destinations for said contests? Here’s the list:
Las Vegas (at least three different contests)
Arizona (twice)
Tuscany
Disney Land
Mexico (so often I don’t remember specific locations)
Vienna
Dominican Republic
Gran Bahia Principe, Jamaica (counting on this one, the name feels lucky)
Japan (how awesome would that be?)
Vancouver
Toronto
Sandals Jamaica
Turks and Caicos
British Virgin Islands
In fact, if there weren’t a project that had to be done for Thursday, I’d think about going to Victoria. Today. Right now. But they too have snow, so maybe not. Because it is no longer good enough to get away from -30. I need MORE than that. I have needs people.
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