As promised July 6, 2009

Last week I was feeling extra domestic. It sucks when this happens because I need to squeeze it into one or two days. Last week I was lucky enough to get two days, but the reality is, I would love to play this game every day. The other blog will (eventually) feature the crafty project I did, but here I’ll share my culinary project.

I started by saving the heels from every loaf of bread we’ve eaten since, oh… March?  The Hippy won’t eat wheat bread (and I feel the need to be healthier) so we always have two loaves of bread in the fridge at once.  That made for a lot of heels.  I pulled them out Monday morning and began toasting, two by two.  Probably would have been faster in the oven…

That is, incidentally, how I like my toast toasted.

I toasted up that entire stack, broke them into pieces, and threw them in my blender.  It was touch and go for awhile–I really wish I had a food processor, but in a kitchen the size of mine, the blender was more practical–but I ended up with lovely, lovely bread crumbs.

Lotsa crumbs!

Because they were still a little moist, I turned my oven to 150ºF and spread the crumbs out on a cookie sheet to bake.  After a half hour or so I had dry, clump-free crumbs.  I took out a cup of crumbs, added a half a teaspoon each of garlic salt, onion powder, basil and oregano.  But what to do with those crumbs?

Shake, Bake...

Uh… duh!  Oven “Fried” Chicken!  I more or less followed that recipe, but since I thought I was short on time, I cranked the oven to 425ºF and cooked about 15 mins on each side.  The chicken came out PERFECT.  I don’t even *like* chicken all that much, but I could probably eat this every day.  I also read the comments and followed the advice of the person who put the flour and crumbs into a bag instead of dishes.  No dishwasher=strong desire not to dirty a ton of dishes.  Also prevented “THE CLUB!” (Hand crusted in layers upon layers of flour+egg+crumbs)

NOMNOMNOMNOM

I apologize for the bad photography on that one… The Hippy had just gotten home, was outside watering the flowers, and I didn’t want him to see me taking pictures of food.  So it had to be fast and secretive and done while the chicken was still in the oven.

To add to the meal, I made crock pot polenta and glazed carrots.  It was such a decadent meal.  The carrots and the parmesan on the polenta were almost a little too rich, but oh my god was everything good!

I will have a real post soon… July 4, 2009

I promise!

In the meantime…

My Ass Needs Kicking June 26, 2009

And it won’t be hard, because the target seems to be getting bigger every day.  Which is why I’m entering the giveaway on Frugal Upstate to win an EA Sports Active for Wii.  I’m blogging about it, you know, just in case someone else is interested.  But secretly I’d like no one else to enter so I have a better chance of winning.

Then again, if I don’t win, I’ll just go out and buy it for myself.  Living with a boy is killing my waistline.  And I’d rather buy an electronic trainer than new jeans.  And I’m getting way too close to needing new jeans.

I’m a late bloomer….. June 24, 2009

*har*

Our dirt finally arrived.  We spent a good four hours hauling dirt from our parking pad to the two gardens in our yard.  Our renter helped for about half the time, which was awesome and much appreciated, even though it made The Hippy feel guilty.  I told him to quit worrying because she wanted to help.

Because our dirt came way later than I ever thought it would, I decided to run to the nursery this afternoon to get myself some pre-grown veggies.  Lucky me, they were half off!  I’m still nervous about whether they will be successful, but I tried to pick things that had a shorter maturity time.

Front row: sweet basil, oregano, parsley.  Back row: Rhubarb, chocolate mint

Front row: Melon (I think it’s watermelon), cucumber x2, tomato.  Back row: Melon (honeydew… maybe.  They could be switched), squash (spaghetti and acorn, don’t remember the order), tomato

Planting went fast, but it was incredibly annoying.  Why?

BARK BARK BARK BARK STFU BARK BARK BARK

As it turns out, I really don’t like dogs all that much.  And I especially don’t like dogs that don’t like me.  I’m not sure if glaring at them made things worse, but hoses were a good temporary fix…  Until they started barking again.

I’ve had flowers going in my yard for a month or so now.  Just haven’t gotten around to mentioning them….

Moss roses, aster, and snap dragons.  If you’re wondering why they aren’t in the dirt, well, that’s reserved for my beloved moonflowers.  Provided they actually grow.  I’ll be sad if they don’t.  Right now there’s stuff growing, but for the most part, I can’t tell if they’re weeds or moon flowers.

Not a terribly impressive photo, but this is my pride and joy right now.  I bought this black-eyed susan vine because it was stunning.  STUNNING.  Don’t believe me? See what they look like here.  Only mine is yellow and orange.  We went away the weekend after memorial day and it was HOT all weekend (here… not up north where we were).  Didn’t think to bring my plant inside, and the renter was gone so no one watered.  It was a brown withered mess when we got home.  But careful watch, grooming, and watering has bounced my baby back.  It now has one flower, another on the way, and tons of new growth.

See all that shit in the background of that picture?  We’re on the hunt for shrubs and other plants to cover up our view of the neighbors’ yards (both sides).  We want to go outside in peace and to enjoy the view.  I got one shrub today, but I want The Hippy to help pick everything else out.  Anyone have a favorite shrub?  Lilacs are very, very low on my list because we have a huge lilac bush along the alley.

I ♥ Cute Overload June 19, 2009

OMG EMO BUNNY!!!!!!!!

Click on the bunny to read the full CO post!

The spirit of giving June 18, 2009

I feel so torn.  Last year I donated to America’s Second Harvest (now Feeding America) because at the time Kraft was doubling everyone’s donations.  I thought it was awesome, and I firmly believe in donating even when times are tough, so this was a good way to make the most of my money.  But god damn am I sick of all the junk mail I’ve gotten as a result.  I get at least three “send us money!” letters a week.

The Hippy doesn’t understand why it upsets me so much…  Well, for starters, I’m offended that America’s Second Harvest not only asks for money from people, but then turns around and sells their information to get more money.  Secondly, the charities that bought my information could be spending that money on the people/animals/plants they are trying to help.  Thirdly, I now have to waste extra time shredding up all that junk mail.

Alas, charitywatch.org gives Feeding America an A.  I mean, I’m not upset about that or anything.  I’m sure the work they do is great.  It just means you can’t really trust that rating for everything.  I’m sure they don’t take that into account when they make their rating.  The best thing to do, perhaps, is make sure you read the FAQs on the charity website.

Next time, I’m donating to Heifer International.  I decided to link that directly to the page where they say they won’t sell your information.  It’s a charity I’ve always been fond of, so I really should have just donated to them in the first place.  It’ll be food shelf donations (of actual food, not money) from now on to help hunger.

For the record, you REALLY have to dig on Feeding America’s website to find the part where they say they’ll sell your information.  Only they use the term “share.”  We’re all taught that sharing is good, right?

On Living With a Boy.. June 9, 2009

The Hippy hates it when I throw away the chip pieces from chip bags.  Or at least that’s what he said; he could very well have been kidding, as he often is.  But seriously… this takes the cake:

Found, chip-clipped, on the counter

Hmm, maybe that’s not clear enough…

How's that?

I mean… I ate what was left in the bag… But why not just use the rest or throw them away.  It’s not like milk which would spill out of the glass if you put in those last two sips.  No… he was making nachos.  Plenty of room on the plate for that!

Who’s the Hippie Here? June 8, 2009

I’ve been calling The Hippy The Hippy for over four years now, and for the most part it’s unfounded.  I call him that because very early in our relationship (second date while ice skating around a little pond) he called himself a hippie and it stuck.  He later spelled it hippy in an IM chat, though I prefer hippie–hence the spelling.  He is incredibly liberal and incredibly active in politics.  He’s also a conspiracy theorist who had really long hair until a year ago.  But that’s where the similarities ended.  He’s quite preppy, wants to be stinking rich, and doesn’t like hacky sack.  He hates folk music and being around people.  He is also meat+potatoes+junk food.

No.  If anyone in our house is the hippie, it’s me.  Given my druthers, I would cook whole wheat everything.  I would have vegetarian days (but I wouldn’t be veg.  I love me some meat) and I would conserve and recycle like mad.  I love folk music, and I think the *idea* of living in a commune or participating in a co-op are amazing (in practice, however, I know communes especially are terrible, terrible ideas for the most part).

To fulfill the requirements of one of my hippie badges, I felt I really, really, really needed to make granola.  I scoured the internet for recipes that used only things I currently had on hand.  I found this one, and decided to give it a shot.  I highly, highly recommend it.  It cooked up super fast, and even though I didn’t have molassass, it turned out great.  I substituted syrup, and it seems just fine.  Dumping in a bunch of coconut was the final touch.

In the tradition of DK’s cooking, I hurt myself.  Rather severely this time–or at least it feels that way…

Left hand shot, sorry so crappy

It doesn’t look like much, but it hurts like hell.  I hit the side of the pot as I was dumping out the granola.  I am currently sitting here with an ice pack wrapped around my arm.  It’s the only way the burn doesn’t rub on things as I type.

Yeah, yeah, I know… You didn’t come here to see pictures of my clumsiness.  Onto the goods!

Mmmmm, barry goodness

I read in the comments that this was a great recipe to press and cut into bars, so that’s my intention.  My taste of it so far comes in cleaning off the spoon.  It needed a good, thorough cleaning, to be sure.  I haven’t yet cut into the bars, but I doubt they’ll last long.

Good thing I got that Wii Fit……

A gentle reminder… May 27, 2009

While going through the blogs listed on the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day list, I was reminded of a very important thing.

Playlists are for iPods, personal computers, and the occasional mix tape/cd.  They are not for unsuspecting visitors to your blog who may or may not be listening to their own music on Pandora or trying to watch Once Upon a Time in Mexico.  Especially when said visitor also has nine other blogs open in different tabs because she’s trying to get through a major list of blogs giving away great stuff.

Seriously, kids.  At least make the music optional.  Don’t make it start the second your page loads, or I will click away as fast as I can.  I will not add you to my RSS feed (even though my RSS feed doesn’t play the music), and I will not sign up for your giveaway.  If that’s a chance you’re willing to take, by all means… But don’t say I didn’t warn you.

And yes, the same is true even if you happen to be playing music I adore.

Now I just need to use it…. May 26, 2009

For the first time in at least a decade, I have a library card.  I lost mine, found mine, and lost it again, so I figured since I had moved I would just pretend I was a new person.  I can’t get in too much trouble, right?

I put it off for so long because I am terrible with books.  For starters, I like to keep books.  I may never read them again, but it’s comforting to know I can if I want to.  Secondly, I take forever to read books.  It’s not uncommon for me to have multiple books going at once, and it often takes me months to read them.  This is also why I don’t care for borrowing books from friends.  Third, I’m hard on books.  I like to dog-ear.  I often spill (usually water, but sometimes soda).  I drop them in bathtubs (but I figure since my new bathtub sucks and I haven’t taken a bath since February, this shouldn’t be an issue).  This is also why I don’t like to borrow from friends, ha.

But I figure, there’s more to libraries than books.  There’s museum passes, and CDs, and DVDs.  There’s audiobooks, probably, which I find hard to keep up with because I always see shiny things and forget to listen, but the option is there.

So.. yay me.  It’s been a long time coming (as Rocketdog can attest).