Talking Animals

So, beets...

I know I said was going to keep this blog updated with all the exciting and up to date veggie trial news but the beets weren't too interesting. I made a raw beet, feta, and pear salad that required a great deal of julienne-ing on my part, so it felt very labor intensive for a cold salad. Also the whole thing ended up pink probably due to over vigorous stirring on my part. In the end, it was pretty tasty and once I get a mandolin (or I am in the mood to cut a bitch) I will make it again.

As an aside, plain stand-alone raw beets have a faint hint of vomit in there flavor and I would not recommend them. It seems that the preferred method for beet consumption is roasted so at some point this week I will probably roast the two left over beets I have hanging out in the fridge.

This week I just realized I have brought home two new veggies. Brussel sprouts which I have eaten one previous time in my life when I was maybe 7 and fennel which I have personally never worked with but I am pretty sure I have tasted at some point. I am actually going to subject Walter to the brussel sprouts the first night of his visit so maybe we we'll have a guest vegetable post. Well, hope everyone has a good week, I am off to clean the bathrooms.

VegExperiment '09

I grew up eating carrots, celery, corn, and peas. That pretty much sums up my childhood vegetable exposure.

As I have grown up and my palette has matured slightly I have begun venturing into farther reaches of the vegetable spectrum. At restaurants, I will order dishes with more outlandish vegetable mixes, and at home I have become slightly more adventurous, adding spinach, edamame, broccoli, asparagus, and zucchini as recurring characters in my cooking life. I have not however, by any means become a veggie expert. And this is what I intend to do. Thus begins the VegExperiment of 2009.

Each week when Joe and I do the shopping I am going to pick a vegetable from the produce section that I have never cooked with and fix something with it. I decided that produce products I had previously eaten but never cooked would still qualify although I think I am going to start with those that I have never even tasted.

This all started last week when Joe and I did our weekly grocery shopping at 1:30 in the morning and the produce section was looking pretty picked over. So, I bought some kale since it looked the freshest. Then I had to figure out what to do with it.

Many patients who I told the kale purchasing story to tryed to scare me away from the leafy green, but I stood my ground and Joe and I ended up having a very delightful pasta dish made with kale, chickpeas, and pinenuts, which we both agreed we would eat again. Was pretty tasty, the kale wasn't difficult to use, and I was inspired. So this week I am trying beets. We'll see how that goes.

Grocery Shopping

Let's start with a little background info about my grocery shopping habits:

In order to save money and be more efficient, Joe and I make a weekly shopping trip. Before we go, I plan all the dinners we will be cooking throughout the week. Then we try to head to Walmart early enough on Sunday morning that most of the Springfield residence are still in church. If we sleep in to late, Walmart is crowded, crazy, and an all around crappy place to be. Then, if a trip to somewhere fancier is needed, like the natural food store or Sam's Club, we do that as well.

This method has saved us money and lends itself to eating healthier because we eat out less. The one drawn back is on Sunday, I am never busy and often feeling very ambitious when it comes to culinary adventures and sometimes weekday Casie gets very angry at Sunday Casie for signing her up to cook all manner of craziness. As a sidenote, weekday Casie always appreciates Sunday Casie's baking.

All of that info to ask, what are your grocery shopping philosophies/habits? Any grocery shopping insights to share?

Never Buy Dressing Again

Our fridge is full of condiments. In general, we have more condiments than actual food. Even after my recent great refrigerator purging, the door of the fridge is stuffed with various food accessories. May of the aforementioned condiments are salad dressings. Or were I should say, as I have vowed never to purchase dressing again.

This vow took place after a recent foray into making ranch dressing. I had previously made a variety of vinaigrettes, but never thought that the creamy dressings were easily within my grasp. With ranch being my staple salad dressing and go to veggie dip, I never thought I could break free of the condiment chains that shackled me (food is very dramatic you see). But I did, and you should too! The ranch I made was far superior to the normal variety I buy at the store. Make some, try it! Here is the recipe that I used:

Ingredients:

1/2 c. buttermilk
1/2 c. mayo
1/2 c. sour cream
1/2 tsp. dried parsley
1/2 tsp. dill
1/2 tsp. dried chives
1/4 tsp garlic powder*
1/4 tsp onion powder
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
1. Mix all the ingredients together.

So, my general policy is to not attempt the super low fat version of a dish if I am serving it for the first time to strangers. Therefore, my first run through of the recipe I made a full fat version, because it was for a party and I didn't want it to suck. Today, for myself, I made it with fat free mayo, fat free sour cream, and 1% buttermilk. I actually liked the lower fat version better. Also, if you don't want to buy buttermilk (though I recommend it) you can replace the buttermilk with more mayo.

Try some yourself and free yourself from the tyranny of bottled dressing.

*if you like garlic add more, I did although I wouldn't recommed more than double that amount.

Lack of Posts

Wow, Joe and I suck at blogging. I guess we will never be able to quite our jobs and live off of the advertisement money. There goes my plan for retirement.

As many of you know I am working only part time, emphasis on the part and not time lately, and so I have a lot of free time on my hands. To fill up my day I have been consuming a great deal of media; movies, tv, books, and the like. I also have been baking/cooking for fun. So that brings me to the question: Would you be more interested in posts that review movies/books or posts about my cooking adventures? Let me know what you guys think.

Mental Image

I just got a mental picture of the Fox executives sitting around a table talking about Dollhouse when one of them says, "you know, last time we cancelled one of Whedon's shows it didn't work out so well..."

Extra Cash

My job is unreliable in the hours department, and I am sick of being perpetually stressed about whether or not I am going to make enough money this week. Unfortunately now is not the best time to be looking for work. So I ask the internet: Any suggestions on how I can make a little cash on the side? Remember that I am unwilling to do anything illegal, naked, or that involves sales.

Interesting Fact of the Day

In case you all were wondering, Jesus Hates Zombies.

ANGER, with extra ERRRRRRRRRRRR!

I just needed to vent at the ridiculousness that is health insurance.

Lately as some of you know, I have been going to get allergy shots. I began the treatment in December, with an initial visit to the Allergy/Asthma specialist that included an allergy test, a breathing test, and a visit with the physician. Our health insurance payed for all of these things.

Then, the following week, I had a visit with the doctor, during which I receive my first set of two injections and was monitored by the nurses to make sure I had no adverse reaction to the shots. The insurance payed for that.

Every week there after I have been going into the doctor's office to receive two injections, which as you may have guessed, the insurance pays for, in full.

Guess what they don't pay for.....the bottle of allergens that they are injecting me with...WTF???

List

Due to my lack of hobbies, part-time employment, and completion of school I find myself with more free time than I have had in a long time.

Turns out I am not a fan of free time.

Joe has started writing a list of things for me to do on our whiteboard so that whenever he calls and I whine that I am bored he will refer me to said list. Currently, the list consists of "untangle jewelry" (some of my necklaces got tangled when we moved here) and "fold socks." Sounds exciting, no? Because the list is so thrilling I thought I might query our readership for further list worth items. Any suggestions?

Nothing Interesting to Say

Seriously I have nothing interesting to say. I have been instructed/urged to more frequently update this website by a few bored family members but I, I repeat, have nothing interesting to say. Logically then, I should not be writing a blog post. But, because someday I wish to be full of daily insights and witty stories about my wonderful life, I don't want the three people who check this blog to give up on me therefore...I must post something....

hmmm.....

ummm....

Well, I continue to have crazy dreams....I will tell you about the latest:

In this dream I was driving to Tennessee (why?) and had to drive up through Kansas City (would I go through KC to get to Tennessee?). On my drive, I was distracted because Joe was cheating on me with someone hooch named Ann (what?). Luckily, I had my faithful Garmin to keep me on track, you know, because I had to get to Tennessee. Suddenly, out of nowhere, as I am driving down the highway, with no previous warning, Garmins says, "Turn right here." And of course, I miss the turn. Puzzled at Garmin's lack of previous warning I think, "no big deal, I will make a u-turn at the next off ramp," when suddenly the road ends and I go flying off the edge of the road into a lake (which by the way, had not previously been there). As my car was sinking into the lake and I struggled to get out (which I couldn't) all I could think about was that Joe was going to be mad at me for recking the car.

WTF???

Maybe I will start posting all my crazy dreams, then a fabulous psychologist will stumble upon this blog and let me know what they all were about/what is wrong with me. Until then, you all better hope something interesting happens to me or you are going to continue to get crap-tastic post such as this one.

Walk of Shame?

It is one o'clock here in the Ozarks and I just returned to our apartment parking lot after a lovely lunch with Joe. As I pull into a parking space a twenty-something year old lad crosses my path. Fashionably, for early afternoon, he is wearing pajama pants, a "tuxedo" t-shirt (on backwards), and Adidas slider sandals. In his hands he holds his wallet, car keys, and a bra. The bra was folded in a way that suggests he was trying to hide the undergarment's true identity but it was definitely a bra (and not his size either). Wonder where he was going?

The Dark Knight Part II

Last nights post about The Dark Knight was reactionary to say the least. Not that the feelings have dissipated, by all means, if you haven't seen it yet run to the theater. But, Joe noted that I have not reviewed any films recently and maybe I should put together a review of this one. Unfortunately I am still brimming too full with nerdy pleasure about Batman's latest adventures to write something decent. Instead I have put together a list of the things that I liked about the film and the things that I didn't (of which there are few). I encourage everyone who read this to add their thoughts in the comments and maybe we can start a lively Batman themed discussion.

Things I liked:

• Heath Ledgers performance: The Joker was actually believable and scary, which I never thought could happen. All the little ticks he put into the character, the walk, the voice, all of it amounted to a great villain and a great performance. He made that character his own and will henceforth be the Joker.
  
• The realism: Superhero movies often give up on trying to make us believe that these things could actually happen and instead run with the crazy, colorful world of a comic book. The Dark Knight happens in a believable world that feels real.
• The new Batsuit: I have always thought it was dumb that batman couldn't turn his head.
• The dark story: I don't want to give anything away--so go see it.
• Batman's imperfections: Batman/Bruce Wayne is a normal guy. Not someone with super powers and he is flawed. Unlike Superman, physically he can be beaten and emotional, well, dude has issues. I like that. People aren't perfect and I enjoy seeing movies that deal with the characters emotions and flaws.
• New Rachel: Maggie Gyllenhaal gave Rachel a little more personality than she had in the last movie
• Christian Bale: Really just because I like Christian Bale
• Alfred: Michael Caine's character added some levity to the film.
• Harvey Dent: Good character/preformance to contrast with Batman/Wayne's.
• The special effects: I realized that I didn't notice the CGI
  

Things I didn't like:

• Christian Bale's Batman Voice: I thought it was annoying in the first movie and continue to be annoyed with it this time. I understand that giving Batman a different voice helps cover up his secret identity. I get it. I just don't like it.
  

The Dark Knight

THAT MOVIE KICKED ASS!!!! GO SEE IT RIGHT NOW.

Seriously, what are you still doing sitting here. Go.

Humidity

Moisture in the air,
Heavy like a wet blanket,
Summer in Springfield.

Facebook/Myspace

Although I have not, in the past, been a fan of the social networking sites, I have been looking around Facebook lately (Meghan my monsters are so going to kill yours) and have noticed something. Many, many people have these sort of deep-thoughtful-artistic looking pictures of themselves as their profile image. This has made me wonder where do they get them/why do they have them?

When I went to select a profile image, I realized that first off, I hardly have any pictures of myself. Secondly, the ones I do have are bad and/or with other people. I ended up selecting a picture I took of myself to show my sister my new hair cut--the photo is neither deep nor artistic--as my photo.

Anyway, it was just an observation that I thought maybe someone might be able to shed some light on.

If You Haven't Heard Already

Joss Whedon and company have put together a super villain musical in starring Neil Patrick Harris as Dr. Horrible and Nathan Fillion as his archnemesis, Captain Hammer. It is being posted in four parts at Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-Long Blog for the next few days and will be taken down on the 20th. I highly recommend it if you are a fan of Joss, super heros, musicals or like me, all of the above.

Why World of Warcraft is so addictive.

Recently one of our friends and Joe have been harassing me to make a character on World of Warcraft (and no, I won't call it WoW). So, after my test yesterday I needed something to do and I signed up for a ten day free trial--and now I understand why it is so addictive.

The addictive nature of the game is not because it is any more fun than any other game that I have played (sorry) but rather, the game keeps you going because there is no logical stopping point, none whatsoever. Unlike many other games I have played, there are no levels to complete, no save points to reach, nothing. You cannot say, "I will go to bed at the end of this level." Instead you are perpetually involved in completing a variety of tasks. And once you finish one, you are usually give two more. It never ends and messes with my need to complete things.

Wish Me Luck

I take my licensure test in two hours. I am way less prepared that I had hoped to be. I am going to fail (that might be the nerves talking...but it might not be.) Don't be too hard on me when I have to take this bugger again.

I think I'm going to go puke now.

Update: Well, the test questions weren't as complex as the practice tests that I was taking. That HOPEFULLY bodes well for me.