Cute. Cutting.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Deep Thought
Is it possible that the man who processes my travel expense reports, whom I have never seen, is the nicest man on earth?
Monday, October 27, 2008
Dropbox
www.getdropbox.com.
Hopefully this will prevent me from almost losing lots of files when I think they are on my laptop, but really they are not, and I delete the only copies from my USB drivekey thingie, only to search and search and search through my laptop at home and then through my emails and then through my sent emails. The IT people at work claim we will all have something like this very very soon, and all the stuff on our shared drive, which is only available in the Baltimore office and therefore pretty useless to our field office staff, will be up in the cloud. I kind of love the cloud. And this Dropbox, it syncs things, so when I'm working on my minutes from the net use meeting 3 weeks ago, I don't have to save the latest version onto my USB thing and then take it to work and copy over the last version on the work computer. Everything updates, you can share things, you can get a link to a document to send to someone who doesn't have a Dropbox account, and it has this cute little icon that has a rotating arrow when it is updating your stuffs.
Kind of yucky day today at work for no good reason, took off to search for the lost document in the afternoon, and now, of course, feeling a bit better because I found the doc, made changes, and sent it to a nice man for review before our nice phone call tomorrow. Accomplishing actual things always clears the funk. Now off to confit some leeks for a near-future goat cheese tart thing, and figure out dinner.
Hopefully this will prevent me from almost losing lots of files when I think they are on my laptop, but really they are not, and I delete the only copies from my USB drivekey thingie, only to search and search and search through my laptop at home and then through my emails and then through my sent emails. The IT people at work claim we will all have something like this very very soon, and all the stuff on our shared drive, which is only available in the Baltimore office and therefore pretty useless to our field office staff, will be up in the cloud. I kind of love the cloud. And this Dropbox, it syncs things, so when I'm working on my minutes from the net use meeting 3 weeks ago, I don't have to save the latest version onto my USB thing and then take it to work and copy over the last version on the work computer. Everything updates, you can share things, you can get a link to a document to send to someone who doesn't have a Dropbox account, and it has this cute little icon that has a rotating arrow when it is updating your stuffs.
Kind of yucky day today at work for no good reason, took off to search for the lost document in the afternoon, and now, of course, feeling a bit better because I found the doc, made changes, and sent it to a nice man for review before our nice phone call tomorrow. Accomplishing actual things always clears the funk. Now off to confit some leeks for a near-future goat cheese tart thing, and figure out dinner.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Mulled Cider
I'm in unfocused mode, milling around the internets, and this recipe reminded me of the delicious cider cocktail with aromatic gins that I had last Sunday. Did I mention that it was delicious? Because it was. And the aromatic gins are HOMEMADE, people. Ginger and orange and clove and YUM CITY.
This one caught my eye because of the black pepper (and Alec should totally make a black pepper gin!) But where will I find star anise and allspice berries?
Oh wait, that's a rhetorical question. And J, if you're reading, do not try to get them before the bus tomorrow. Seriously.
1 gallon apple cider
10 whole cloves
1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns, lightly crushed
2 strips orange peel, about 2 inches long
6 dried allspice berries
4 heads star anise
1 cinnamon stick
1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, thinly sliced
Orange twists, for garnish
Combine apple cider with all other ingredients except orange twists in a large pot and stir well.
Bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let steep for 10 minutes before serving.
Serve cider in a heatproof mug, garnished with an orange twist.
This one caught my eye because of the black pepper (and Alec should totally make a black pepper gin!) But where will I find star anise and allspice berries?
Oh wait, that's a rhetorical question. And J, if you're reading, do not try to get them before the bus tomorrow. Seriously.
1 gallon apple cider
10 whole cloves
1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns, lightly crushed
2 strips orange peel, about 2 inches long
6 dried allspice berries
4 heads star anise
1 cinnamon stick
1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, thinly sliced
Orange twists, for garnish
Combine apple cider with all other ingredients except orange twists in a large pot and stir well.
Bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let steep for 10 minutes before serving.
Serve cider in a heatproof mug, garnished with an orange twist.
A fine fine chili
I made this chili for a birthday potluck a few weeks back, it was a big hit, and made lots of leftovers that I froze during my trip. So nice to come back bedraggled and have comfort food all ready to go. Also I replaced the water with stout so you know its good. Bon Appetit, Nov 2002
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound ground pork
1 pound ground beef
1 pound chuck steak, fat trimmed, cut into 1-inch cubes
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups water - why use water when you can use Chocolate Stout!
2 tablespoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 6-ounce cans tomato paste
2 teaspoons sugar
3 cups diced fresh tomatoes
3 cups diced onions
3 cups diced red bell peppers
3 cups canned black beans, drained, rinsed (from three 15-ounce cans)
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 3/4 cups (about) beef broth (or water)
Grated cheddar cheese
Heat olive oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add ground pork and ground beef and sauté until brown, about 3 minutes. Add cubed beef and garlic and sauté 5 minutes. Add stout; bring to boil. Add cumin, chili powder, oregano, salt, and cayenne pepper. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 10 minutes. Add tomato paste and sugar and simmer 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, onions, and peppers and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.
Add black beans and cilantro to chili. Add beef broth 3/4 cup at a time, until thinned to desired consistency. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Refrigerate uncovered until cold, then cover and keep refrigerated.) Bring chili to simmer. Ladle hot chili into bowls; top with grated cheddar cheese and serve.
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound ground pork
1 pound ground beef
1 pound chuck steak, fat trimmed, cut into 1-inch cubes
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups water - why use water when you can use Chocolate Stout!
2 tablespoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 6-ounce cans tomato paste
2 teaspoons sugar
3 cups diced fresh tomatoes
3 cups diced onions
3 cups diced red bell peppers
3 cups canned black beans, drained, rinsed (from three 15-ounce cans)
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 3/4 cups (about) beef broth (or water)
Grated cheddar cheese
Heat olive oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add ground pork and ground beef and sauté until brown, about 3 minutes. Add cubed beef and garlic and sauté 5 minutes. Add stout; bring to boil. Add cumin, chili powder, oregano, salt, and cayenne pepper. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 10 minutes. Add tomato paste and sugar and simmer 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, onions, and peppers and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.
Add black beans and cilantro to chili. Add beef broth 3/4 cup at a time, until thinned to desired consistency. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Refrigerate uncovered until cold, then cover and keep refrigerated.) Bring chili to simmer. Ladle hot chili into bowls; top with grated cheddar cheese and serve.
Luuuurve
"Weaponized spinach"
Also I have the greatest parents and the greatest funky kitchen supply store in Urbana IL.
That is all.
Also I have the greatest parents and the greatest funky kitchen supply store in Urbana IL.
That is all.
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