09.30.05

whine

Posted in Uncategorized at 12:53 pm by Anne

Dang, Cooking Light is rocking my world a lot lately. I am adding three times the amount of orange rind, a little more sugar, a smidge more wine, and in stead of club soda will top it with some cheapassed sham-pag-nay. Stay tuned for the results.

Sangr�a

1 cup fresh orange juice (about 2 oranges)
1/3 cup sugar
1 (750-milliliter) bottle Merlot or other dry red wine
4 whole cloves
1 (8 x 1-inch) orange rind strip
2 (3-inch) cinnamon sticks
1 orange, thinly sliced and seeded
1 lemon, thinly sliced and seeded
2 cups club soda

Combine the first 3 ingredients in a large pitcher, stirring mixture until the sugar dissolves.
Press cloves into the rind strip. Add strip, cinnamon, and fruit to wine mixture. Chill for at least 30 minutes. Stir in club soda just before serving.

Yield: 1 1/2 quarts (serving size: 1 cup)

NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 160(0.0% from fat); FAT 0.1g (sat 0.0g,mono 0.0g,poly 0.0g); PROTEIN 1g; CHOLESTEROL 0.0mg; CALCIUM 36mg; SODIUM 30mg; FIBER 1.1g; IRON 1.2mg; CARBOHYDRATE 20.3g

Cooking Light, APRIL 2001

Permalink 5 Comments

interruptus

Posted in Uncategorized at 12:49 pm by Anne

Yesterday, early afternoon, Lily is contentedly eating yogurt and watching Barney. Emma is sleeping in her crib. Shan is at home, finishing up some work and getting ready to leave again.

Me: Bye honey
Him: Goodbye.
(hug)
(He glances around.)
Him: You know, the girls are both occupied…
Me: You’ve got be kidding, right?
Him: I just thought…
Me: Alright, let’s give it a try.

Never underestimate the lengths a couple with two small children will go through to achieve intimacy. After less than five minutes, just long enough to start getting warm and bothered, the shrill and indignant voice of our oldest daughter rang out, “Mommy!” and then within mere seconds, the baby awoke and began her regularly scheduled shrieking, and the two of us shrugged into our hastily removed clothing and went back to work.

Let that be a lesson to you, especially to those of you with no children…yet.

Permalink 6 Comments

friday

Posted in Uncategorized at 9:35 am by Anne

so Lily helped me bake a chocolate sheet cake this morning. It was topped with a simple chocolate icing (I accidentally added water instead of milk and then spiked it with fresh cream after the fact) and then dusted with toasted almonds on 1/3rd and toffee bits on another 1/3rd. The last 1/3rd is just regular icing since I happen to remember that one of the kids is hyper finnicky.

K, thanks for the cocktail suggestions. After reading what campari is made of, tho, I kinda get the shivers about drinking it sometimes. Plus, I’m not quite acclimated to the bitter flava but it’s something I want to learn more about, so I’m not rejecting it completely. Hail, if its sauce, I’ll try it. One thing I can make that keeps me from heading out to the liquor store about 45 minutes away, with both children in tow, is a nice sangria. I’m thinking about going that route but we’ll see.

Texas Sheet Cake

Cake:
Cooking spray
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup butter or stick margarine
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs

Icing:
6 tablespoons butter or stick margarine
1/3 cup fat-free milk
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375�.
To prepare the cake, coat a 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan with cooking spray, and dust with 2 teaspoons flour. Set prepared pan aside.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine 2 cups flour and next 4 ingredients (2 cups flour through salt) in a large bowl; stir well with a whisk. Combine water, 1/2 cup butter, and 1/4 cup cocoa in a small saucepan; bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; pour into flour mixture. Beat at medium speed of a mixer until well-blended. Add buttermilk, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and eggs; beat well. Pour batter into prepared pan; bake at 375� for 17 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Place on a wire rack.

To prepare the icing, combine 6 tablespoons butter, milk, and 1/4 cup cocoa in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and gradually stir in powdered sugar, pecans, and 2 teaspoons vanilla. Spread over hot cake. Cool completely on wire rack.

Note: You can also make this recipe in a 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Bake at 375� for 22 minutes.

Yield: 20 servings (serving size: 1 slice)

CALORIES 298(30% from fat); FAT 10g (sat 5.5g,mono 3.2g,poly 0.7g); PROTEIN 3.1g; CHOLESTEROL 44mg; CALCIUM 25mg; SODIUM 188mg; FIBER 0.5g; IRON 1.1mg; CARBOHYDRATE 49.8g
Cooking Light, MARCH 2000

Permalink 3 Comments

09.29.05

btw

Posted in Uncategorized at 5:12 pm by Anne

my old drink was the screwdriver. my new drink is the madras: 1 1/4 oz vodka, 2 oz cranberry, 2 oz. orange juice. Served over ice in cocktail glass.

both girls are sleeping and I am in heaven. H-E-A-V-E-N. at least for the next twenty minutes or so. wheeeeeeee.

Permalink 1 Comment

LOST

Posted in Recipes at 4:55 pm by Anne

Oh how I love that show. Oh how it leaves me desperate for the next episode. Damn them for developing such a mysterious hookline; I am in love with tv again. How embarrassing.

We had cousin over for supper and here is a run down of the menu.

ginger-honey glazed coho salmon
garlic mashed potatoes
the best salad ever (recipe to follow)
baguette

individual apple crostadas

*********
Autumn Apple, Pear, and Cheddar Salad with Pecans

1 cup apple juice
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 teaspoon extravirgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
10 cup gourmet salad greens (about 10 ounces)
1 cup seedless red grapes, halved
1 medium McIntosh apple, cored and cut into 18 wedges
1 medium Bartlett pear, cored and cut into 18 wedges
1/4 cup (1 ounce) finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese
3 tablespoons chopped pecans, toasted

Place apple juice in a small saucepan, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook until reduced to about 3 tablespoons (about 10 minutes). Combine reduced apple juice, vinegar, oil, salt, and pepper, stirring with a whisk.
Combine greens, grapes, apple, and pear in a large bowl. Drizzle with apple juice mixture; toss gently to coat. Sprinkle with cheese and nuts.

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: about 1 2/3 cups salad, 2 teaspoons cheese, and 1 1/2 teaspoons nuts)

CALORIES 134(36% from fat); FAT 5.4g (sat 1.2g,mono 2.6g,poly 1.1g); PROTEIN 3.4g; CHOLESTEROL 5mg; CALCIUM 93mg; SODIUM 255mg; FIBER 4.1g; IRON 1.5mg; CARBOHYDRATE 21.1g
Cooking Light, OCTOBER 2005

*******
Now, another mention for those who may be squeamish. One great thing about having a doctor in the family is that she can perform minor surgeries at the drop of a hat. A few months ago I grew some kind of tiny bump along my left temple. I thought it was a zit waiting to erupt but it never ever did. It just remained there. A small, hard bump. I asked Cuz about it and she told me it was a milia. Then she asked if I wanted her to get rid of it. Well, shit yeah! So she tried tweezing it. no dice. Then she got under the thing and we more or less popped the beeotz out. I am thrilled to be rid of it, the little tiny poppyseed sized bit of crappola.

And now for something important. a question. What cocktail goes with pizza? I am seriously trying to figure that one out.

Permalink 1 Comment

RELIGIOUS TRUTHS

Posted in Uncategorized at 9:43 am by Anne

1. Muslims do not recognize Jews as God’s chosen people.

2. Jews do not recognize Jesus as the Messiah.

3. Protestants do not recognize the Pope as the leader of the Christian
World.

4. Baptists do not recognize each other at Hooters.

Thanks to cousin for keepin’ it real.

Permalink 4 Comments

09.27.05

the trial

Posted in Uncategorized at 9:24 pm by Anne

We looked good. I was in my one summer dress (yes, I need new formal clothing)and way too high (2.5 inches!) heels while Shan wore a tie and jacket. We got there a half hour early to prepare our statements. They let us into the courtroom and while our lawyer puttered around, the judge and bailiff bantered. It was kinda cool, actually because for a few blokes like us, these officials became more like normal everyday people, more like us, and therefore less frightening. (I imagine Rbelle has a lot to say about that.)At five minutes until the start, still no neighbor. In fact, he was 2 minutes late. The bailiff invited him in and the little idiot asshole trudged in wearing old assed jeans and a crappy t-shirt. His hair looked like he had slept in it. Our lawyer took him aside and talked with him in a low voice, offering him a deal. He was being charged with two separate counts of dog-barking ordinance breaking and another charge of failure to appear. All together, fine and court costs could amount close to a grand. Then our lawyer offered the deal. If he pled no contest to one of the dog complaints, that he’d drop the other and reduce total fines to $250. Asshole idiot took the deal but only after telling the lawyer that we hated him and stole his dogs. When we heard that part, I almost fell down. It was so completely ridiculous to even consider that we would have stoled those worthless POS dogs. Not only is it not in our nature but the handful of times Shan saw the dogs had burrowed out from under their fence, he called the owners himself. So whatever.

On the way home Shan asked, “What do you want to bet in the next few weeks his dogs come back?”

sigh.

Thanks for all the good wishes, ya’ll! I’m just glad it is over.

Permalink 9 Comments

09.26.05

monday

Posted in Uncategorized at 6:14 pm by Anne

So tomorrow is the jury trial. Yes, the JURY TRIAL. Remember way back how our neighbors suck ass and had barking dogs in the middle of the night and after many attempts to remedy the situation, which failed, they decided that disturbing our peace at 2AM didn’t bother them? So we took them to court. And then they didn’t show up?

Well. Tomorrow our asshole neighbor is pleading not guilty in front of the judge and we have to tell the jury why we took him to court in the first place. I am so not looking forward to it. I have a feeling the jury is going to look at it as a ’so what, all dogs bark’ kind of thing. The reason this is different is because our bedroom window is about 10 feet from their fence. and their dogs bark. at everything. at absolutely nothing. and the twenty year old punkasses who took over the foreclosed house AND WHO DO NOT EVEN WATER THEIR LAWN anymore, because HE is a fucking lazy assed POS who cannot be bothered to mow (this is a different story), really, don’t do anything.

It’s not so much the verdict anymore that is important but the principle. And it turned into a jury case when he stood the judge up for the case a month or two ago. sigh.

The county lawyer assigned to the case sez that Shan is the one who will present all the facts, the log of barking, the evidence, all the story regarding how he tried to work it out with the neighbor (5 times) until the neighbor actually said, “Don’t come over onto my property again. I am not going to do a thing about the dogs.” Then we filed a complaint at the municipal court. (I know this is boring to all you people who have been with me through this already-sorry). I am the one that they might relate to. So how nervewracking is that? Public speaking used to petrify me. Now, I’d rather walk barefoot over hot coals.

sigh.

My old physics teacher told me, “Hell is other people.” and he is so right.

Permalink 12 Comments

09.25.05

blockage

Posted in Uncategorized at 10:18 pm by Anne

*WARNING* the following will be graphic. If you are a person not wanting to know how to unclog a blocked milk duct, do not continue reading.

So, finally, after suffering GOD knows how many blocked ducts over these past few years, I finally discovered on my own how to fix the problem. I feel it is my duty and obligation to share this information because ever since I came down with this bit of hell known often as a precursor to mastitis, none of the books, no where on the internet, and no doctor could ever advise me on what to do. It was always, “Just keep nursing on the painful breast.” or “Take a hot shower and massage the painful breast.” these things I did but the pain always got worse, the duct always became more inflamed, the bosom hardened like cement, and the baby fought nursing until finally, by some unknown miracle,the blockage loosened on its own, and gradually everything returned to normal.

It doesn’t have to be like that. Here is what you do. Once you start feeling a sligh bruising type pain, a tenderness, note the way the nipple appears. If you see a white spot or spots, that means the milk line that terminates to the spot is blocked. Take a hot shower, nurse the baby, and after that, continue massaging and manually nursing from the injured side. You will notice the white spot will appear to be pushing out, like a blister…keep working it until the white spot releases milk too. A washcloth may help open the gate, as it were. (Don’t go crazy, you don’t want to injure yourself, be gentle.) Also, sometimes the blister will just pop on it’s own. It doesn’t hurt. After that, the duct is no longer plugged and you are good to go.

I hope this helps somebody, damn!

Permalink 9 Comments

sunday

Posted in Uncategorized at 3:51 pm by Anne

Inspired by Becki, this morning I made whole wheat banana pancakes for breakfast. It was a recipe from Commander’s Palace in New Orleans and called for whipped egg whites, which yielded nourishing and certainly more toothsome pancakes than the usual standbys. I can’t believe the recipe is on the internet but here it is.

Now. Last night. It was awesome. In the first place, the charity was held at a local country club. We got there before our table hosts did and were forced to idly chat somewhat with the others already sitting there. (Now remember, we barely know the aqaintances who invited us.) Nothing like hanging out with a bunch of aggies when you are not one yourself. (I think I’ll keep coming back to that point until i die.) We ducked thru the buffet and ate quickly because the Texas Hold’em tournament started at 7:30. What is it with mediocre country club food? I’ve been a guest for dinner a few times and the food just never tastes as good as I think it should. A membership costs so much, I’d hope the food would be worth it but no dice.

Then the game began. It was the first time I’d ever played a live card game with chips representing real money (45 dollar buy-in). Shan immediately suggested we play at different tables, which of course freaked me out a little, but it wound up just fine. In fact, better than fine. This way I was forced to meet new people but also didn’t have to bet against my husband. I sat down with a few middle aged men, introductions were made and we started playing. Then a few women dropped into the remaining seats next to me and the game really began in earnest. I’d guess there were at least 8 other tables of twelve people playing with a definite skewed ratio of men to women (4:1).

After the first five minutes I finally understood the concept of big blind versus little blind. For all you hold’em players shaking your heads, let me just say I kicked that ass. After 3 hours of play I made it to the final table. Shan had been knocked out at least an hour earlier, as did almost everyone else from our little dinner group. To sum, I finished 5th…no prize but now I have the fever.

Fraternizing with the wealthy was pretty interesting. It was very similar to hanging out with people of average means (like ourselves) except that they take fancy vacations often, have swimming pools backed up to their mansions, and own nicer cars, clothing, and jewelry. I was only uncomforable twice. Once when the rich beeotz next to me asked if I was a member of the country club and again a little later after noticing the enormous gemstones glittering on all the other women’s opulent fingers. My plain wedding band shone ever so faintly but as I started beating everyone at the table, it didn’t even matter anymore (especially since my love is not contingent on the expense of things my husband buys me nor is our love directly represented by such baubles).

The only really annoying people were the few men who proceeded to get completely shit-faced. Come on people, it is a BENEFIT for victims of sexual assault. Is everything a reason to get loaded? I mean, hail, I like to drink as much as the next person but there is a time and a place for overdrinking and public affairs don’t count as one. This particular guy at the championship table sitting next to me was so oblivious that he missed the final hand and folded, not knowing it was the last deal. Then he complained about it. So whatever.

We got home around 11pm with both girls asleep. Shan and I were so hungry that we polished off a small tub of hummus and a few sleeves of saltines.

And now it is back to the real world, where we clean our own houses, mow our own yards, and worry about the high price of gasoline.

Permalink 3 Comments