¡Caliente! April 30, 2008

I made my entry for the Iron Chef contest last night: White Chocolate Ancho Chile Ice Cream. I followed the recipe (although I added an extra teaspoon of cayenne pepper) and it turned out all right, but it doesn’t taste very chocolatey. The cinnamon and cloves gave it a faint gingerbread taste, which I liked, and they worked well with the spiciness of the peppers. I think if I make it again, I’m going to use dark or milk chocolate and more cinnamon.

I bring it in on Friday, so we’ll see what happens. I don’t really think I’ll win, since I think chile-flavored ice cream is going to be too weird for people here to deal with. But hey, if nothing else, I get the personal satisfaction of making my coworkers eat something weird. And at the end of the day, that’s what really counts.

The recipe made a quart of ice cream, so I’ll try to remember to take a picture when I get home.

April 22, 2008

I signed up for an “Iron Chef” competition at work today. We only have to make one dish, and don’t have to bring it in until May 2. The ingredient I have to use is peppers (any kind, apparently) and I think I know what I’m going to make, but I figured I’d ask for some input. What are some of your favorite peppery recipes?

Bonus points if they can: a) sit at room temperature or in a fridge for a few hours, or b) be reheated in a microwave without turning gross. I guess if I have to, I can bring in an electric heating pad and keep it under the dish.

April 20, 2008

My friends Angelina, Eddie, and Jen came over last night and we had an HP Lovecraft party. I made goat-cheese-and-crab-stuffed-mushrooms, Angelina brought squid salad and sushi, and we watched Re-Animator and played Munchkin Cthulhu. I had to trek all over town to find Re-Animator but eventually found it at Borders, and it even came with a green highlighter shaped like a syringe.

Oh, and speaking of eldritch horrors, Scott and I went to Target yesterday and I bought a women’s wet-dry electric shaver. I opened it up on the way home, so I could look at the instruction book, and was hit in the face by a wave of old cigarette smell. That was gross enough, but then I saw that the inner clamshell packaging had been cut open and when I took a close look at the shaver itself… yep, hair. We immediately turned around and went back to the store, and I was able to return it without incident, but WTF? I sent the company an e-mail complaint when we got back home, because that’s just gross. I mean, at the very least, they could have labeled the box as a return or “as-is” so I could have avoided buying it in the first place. I’m just glad I noticed it before I got it home, or worse, tried to use it.

Polish lunchables April 17, 2008

I was standing at the fridge this morning, trying to figure out what to take for lunch, when I remembered Kit’s Polish caviar recipe. I grabbed some whole-wheat Ritz crackers, chive and onion-flavored cream cheese, some leftover ham from Easter*, and some beet relish, and voilà! Polish Lunchables. I would have put little slices of Granny Smith apple on them too, but I forgot to eat breakfast so I ended up eating the apple on the way to work.

My friend Angelina and I are trying to come up with party themes so that we can have a get-together where the overall idea isn’t “decide what we’re doing at the last minute.” At one point, she sent me a link to this website on how to make edible googly eyes, complete with instructions on making Flying Spaghetti Monster candy. I don’t know what kind of theme we can build around this, other than “creepy,” but I foresee making these and sneaking them onto Scott’s dinners in my future.

*The leftovers were frozen for the past month and only recently re-thawed, don’t worry. It wasn’t green or anything.

Parents fight over which gang toddler should join April 12, 2008

Yes, it’s a real article. Classy. Obviously they should compromise and let the gangs have joint custody.

Anyway, I need to find a new job. We’ve been really understaffed for a long time which means, of course, that the managers are dragging their feet on hiring new people, and my boss has developed some sort of personal vendetta against me. Among other things, I had to call in sick on Wednesday and she has been practically giving me the silent treatment since then – yet whenever anyone else calls in, she runs over to their desks and fusses over how they’re feeling when they come back. Not that I want her to do that, but sheesh. Get over it, lady. I know I’m a good worker and everything, but maybe if you can’t survive a day without me, you should… I don’t know, hire more people? And not make me want to quit constantly?

While I was home on Wednesday, I decided to make a salad from sliced radishes, cucumbers, vinegar, and kosher salt. It was really good… on Wednesday. I brought some of the leftovers for lunch yesterday and when I opened the container, it was like I had been lowered into a cauldron of farts. Luckily, I had some other food that I ate instead, but yikes. It was FOUL.

Come to think of it, instead of dumping it in the trash, I should have opened up my boss’s computer tower when she was away from her desk and hid it in there.

This used to be my playground April 4, 2008

Emily, I think I found a good resource for you to use while decorating Brigid’s nursery:

Nightmare Playgrounds

What could possibly go wrong?

Actually, on the topic of baby rooms, I think that this one, painted like a 1930’s cartoon, is really neat (there is a slideshow here). Although now that I think about it, it’d probably be creepy as a baby to wake up in the middle of the night and see cartoon pigs leering at you.

Recent cooking adventures: I made pineapple upside-down cake (Scott’s dad’s favorite) for the first time the other day. I only used 2 tsp of cardamom and it was too strong, so I think I’m going to substitute at least half of it with cinnamon next time. Scott made curry ketchup last week (we stole the idea from a nearby sandwich shop) and it was a nice change from regular ketchup. We have been putting them on roasted potatoes, but I think I might need to try it with bratwurst, like in the link… or this hamburger recipe. Hmm, I think I’ve found my dinner idea.

Define me, internet. April 1, 2008

Thanks to Emily for this.

Go to urbandictionary.com, and type in your answer to each question in the search box. Once you get the definition, copy and paste it under your answer. Only choose one and only use the first page.

1.  Your name? Sarah

DEFINITION:
The name “Sarah” is translated from the Hebrew language. It means “Princess”…and rightly so!

2.  Nickname? Winters (yes, my friends are creative people)

DEFINITION:
There wasn’t a definition for this, and the closest one was, um, unfit for sharing.

3.  Relationship status? Married

DEFINITION:
Having a spouse, being joined in matrimony. Having a close union with another person.

The state of being legally wed; can either be heaven or hell (or sometimes both).

4.  You describe your best friends as? Honest

DEFINITION:
What everyone wants you to be, but no one wants to hear

5.  What should you be doing? Cleaning

DEFINITION:
1.Action that people do when bored.
Involve taking a pile of junk and moving it to somewhere else in the house.

2.Removing all useless part of a whole so that it is better.

6.  Favorite Food? Olives

DEFINITION:
Olives: The only food on the planet that looks like a testicle, and tastes like urine smells.

7.  Home State? Nebraska

DEFINITION:
Yes, it’s actually a state, and no, we do not ride cows to school.

8.  Finish the line: “the best thing[s] in life is/are __?” free

DEFINITION:
How chavs and southerners tend to pronounce “three” of something.

9.  Use one word to describe yourself.  Antsy

DEFINITION:
Completely retarded and an unbelievable nerd

10.  Current Boy/Girl Friend (husband): Scott

DEFINITION:
Generally someone who is too intelegent for their own good, likes sugary candies, and is flaily. Also describes somene who is anti-social, and would rather play video games than go to the movies.

This one kind of hit the nail on the head. Scott is indeed very “intelegent.”