Songs that Didn't Used to Exist: 11/1/07 - 12/1/07

29 November 2007

Madonna Record that I Got in the Mail Today.

Potato Soup

So, sure, the photo does not look too appetizing. I'm not Herb Ritts. However, it tastes amazing! I hybridized two recipes: one from the Joy of Cooking and one from ever beloved Martha Stewart.com for one delicious feast.

Here's what I did.

I took a white onion and chopped it up. I cooked it with a little olive oil and some Smart Balance, which I use instead of butter or almost everything. Then, I added about 90 oz. of chicken stock, and about 32-34 oz. of Yukon Gold potatoes, chopped in half, skins and all. I brought that to a boil, adding parsley, a bay leaf or two, and some thyme. Both recipes suggest making a bouquet garni for the herbs. I didn't though, I just throw it all in there. After it boils, I reduce it to a simmer, and let it go until the potatos are soft. Then crack out the food processor. Process it. I added a little heavy cream while doing that, returning it to a big pot, and simmer a little more.

THAT'S IT!!!

Carrie Brownstein: Reviews Rock Band, so that I Don't Have To

Seriously, she raises every point I would make, were I to write about such a thing.

Check it out.

27 November 2007

A Beautiful, Fantastic, Blast from my Past

Under the Radar Magazine has interviewed Miki Berenyi, used to be of Lush, now not of, this month. It's a good read and is real fun times to hear her talk about the old crew.

I guess I don't write much anymore about my personal music tastes, because it doesn't seem that interesting to me anymore, considering I just like what I like and don't like most other things, but this is an opportunity for me to reiterate that this was one of my favorite bands when I was a teenager, and definitely meant a lot to me. They were fantastic, and Split is one of my favorite albums of all time. Maybe THE favorite. Laters.

25 November 2007

Madonna Records: I bought these

23 November 2007

22 November 2007

Thanksgiving Feasted

So... I totally forgot to take pictures of the food until AFTER dinner. But, then I took a bunch. Maybe it's fitting this way. And maybe I'll take pictures of the leftovers tomorrow... of which there are plenty!

Pumpkin pies. I made two. I KNOW -- they look deceptively store-bought. That's because I bought the crust. Sorry. I just didn't have the time to piss with the crusts. They were very, very yummy. I made whipped cream for them too...

this is a giganic red leaf lettuce and endive salad with butternut squash and pumpkin seeds. The picture does not look very impressive. But it tasted really great. Maybe the best part of the meal.

aforementioned pear and cream custard tart. We have just under half of this one remaining. It is sooo good.

more wreckage: the scene after dessert.

the wreckage. part one.

Cheese Fondue. We have so much left over, that even you are invited. Be nice to me, and I might give you the recipe someday!!!

21 November 2007

Pre-Thanksgiving Bake Night

Soooo......

here's a lineup of what I've made since three this afternoon in anticipation of tomorrow's Thanksgiving feast -- the first one I have ever cooked, and the first one Josh and I have ever hosted as "husband and wife." We are pretty excited...

1. English Cornmeal bread: This is from the bread making book that Phyllis included with my bread machine. It is a white bread, and is covered in cornmeal, and so it needs to go in the oven once risen, not stay in the bread machine. This gives me the opportunity to use my beautiful red bread pan for the first time. The dough is still rising as I write this.

2. Spinach and Cheese Puff- This is a Martha Stewart recipe. I baked it a night in advance as there won't be room in the oven. It looks really beautiful, and is covered in Gruyere. Oh god I might eat it up in the middle of the night!! It's 2 quarts of unhealthy goodness.

3. Two pumpkin pies. This is my old standby recipe. I love how ridiculously simple it is to make really delicious pumpkin pies.

4. Pear and Cream Tart. I don't have much experience with baking tarts, and this fruit seemed really appropriate for the season, especially since all recent pears I've had have been really radical. This thing looks fucking beautiful. It's from a french cookbook I got like 6 years ago. No recipe from it (and I've used almost all of them) has ever steered me wrong. This recipe basically is a giant creme brulee style custard with pears floating in it and a pate brisee crust.

I'll take pictures before the vultures land.

Natalie, your napkins are about to get used. Several people have commented upon how lovely they are, too.

14 November 2007

Wikipedia, you've once again made me pee in my pants

JK.
But srsly.

"Steven Seagal was born to an Irish Catholic mother Patricia (an emergency room technician) and Jewish father Stephen (a high school math teacher). not an only son, he has a brother by the name of jamie taylor who is a grand master in every thing and could beat steven segal in a game of eye spy."

Next question: Just what was I doing reading Seagal's Wikipedia entry this fine afternoon? Wouldn't you like to know.

11 November 2007

TA DA!!!

Yes, I'm really proud today.

I Got These

BREAD MACHINE!!!!

So, Phyllis and Justin bought us a bread machine for our wedding. Phyllis and I were talking last night about how, in the cookbook she got me to go with the bread machine, it teaches you how to start a sourdough starter. What's really funny about it, is, in the book, they sort of talk about the little guy like he's a pet!!! I'm going to grow a sourdough pet, after I've made a few test loaves of bread. But first, I'm going to try to make a whole wheat type bread. That's today. This is one of the best gifts I've ever received.

UPDATE: As you can see from the photo above, I have a semi-beautiful ball of whole wheat dough in the machine. According to the timer, it says I'll have bread in under two hours now!!! I'm very excited.

10 November 2007

Saturday, baking day

Today, I've been married two weeks. Fantastic. We went to get Josh's wedding band sized cause he's lost so much weight what with all the misery I've been causin' him, then headed over to the Apple Store for a choice item....

Now, I'm knee-deep in the baking of Justin's birthday cheesecake, recipe from The Joy of Cooking. This one has a shortbread crust, which I've never made so this is a first for me, and an exciting one at that. I love anything that calls for two and a half pounds of cream cheese. Umm... let's not count the calories for this one, k?

UPDATE: The cheesecake was terrific. The shortbread crust was unbelievable, and the cake had a great slight lemony flavor (caused by the zest, no doubt) and even though the top of the cheesecake cracked (bane of my existence) a little, it was delicious and also very beautiful.

08 November 2007

CNN: Kids overdosing on "date rape" drug left and right

No, there's nothing funny about this. Sure, I think we should be safe-guarded/"guaranteed" against things like this; and we ALL know that no one should have or could have expected this. But, you know what?

I'm really tired of it. So fucking tired of it that I've decided fuck their fucking shit. And you should decide that too, I'm pretty sure. China? No thanks.

You know, when I was young, my grandma was one of those people that "read labels" of clothing and stuff, always checking to be sure things were "Made in the USA." I interpreted it as a cross-breed of patriotism and some leftover Union-Made sympathies. Well, that's right, I guess that's what it was.

For me now, I guess I get what she was getting at. It's not that American-made products are always better- I mean, we produced Coca-Cola and Lindsay Lohan. The point is, we regulate SOMEWHAT better than the Chinese do. Now, for me it's not patriotism. I'm pretty ashamed of my Americanism a lot of the time anyway. All I want is to know that I'm not eating chemicals and garbage and that my dog isn't eating heroin in her kibble and that the toys I buy for children aren't covered in Ecstasy. I'd prefer they discover those things on their own. Your government will not protect you, and Wal-Mart and almost every retailer in America, they won't protect you either. You owe it to yourself to start checking your shit out on your own. You'll be surprised, as I was this morning, by how hard it is to buy a digital scale for yourself that is not made in China.

Answer? Hard. Very fucking hard.

Your dog is retarded. Your baby? Totally stupid. They're counting on YOU, can you believe it?!

06 November 2007

Lawyer: Bachelor Candidate is a Rapist

WHAT?! A former "The Bachelor" candidate is a "the rapist"? Fucking phony.

In other news,

a former contestant from "Dancing With the Stars" is neither a star, nor a good dancer.

Seriously: Gimme Gimme More

This is not the full review of Blackout. That's what I'm going to spend all day tomorrow doing. Tonight, I'm too busy jamming to it: this shit is pretty good. Srsly.

05 November 2007

Gimme Gimme More

Now I'm not going to get on the Britney Spears obsession bandwagon, but I will say that I am contemplating illegally downloadin her new shit hot album, Blackout, which, in my world, is also the name of a Pavement song. And a Lush one. And one by Muse, British Sea Power and Scorpions. Also, the name of an album by Scorpions. And one by the Dropkick Murphys. And hed. And Redman & Method Man. That about exhausts my knowledge of pop references using "blackout." But, as a wild coincidence, a "blackout" is an alcohol related or induced loss of memory or you know, amnesia. Umm. That happened to me in like 1999. The whole year, perhaps.

Wedding Photos.

No, I don't have many yet, but I do have what is a very good preview of what's to come.... our photographer, Melissa, has posted some on her blog today and I am very impressed and have to say that it is a great reminder of why you have a wedding photographer to begin with... to remind me how much I cried!!!

so here it is...

Melissa Rudick Photography

04 November 2007

Butternut Squash Soup

I took this recipe off of MarthaStewart.com and adapted it for my own needs, for I am now officially on a diet... over a week of Pittsburgh eating really killed me, and honestly, I've been just eating whatever the fuck I want for so long I have much guilt built up. Anyway, I made this for dinner last night. It was delicious, and I just had some for lunch today to remind me of the truth of that statement. I don't have any beautiful Natalie-style photos, but I'm planning on making my first stab at Miso Soup tonight (from The Joy of Cooking!!!), so maybe I'll take photos of THAT.

Anyway....

Ingredients:
2 tbsp. olive oil (the original recipe called for butter)
1 small onion, chopped
2 tbsp. fresh ginger, peeled (if you must, you can substitute 1/4 tsp. ground ginger, though really, try to get the fresh stuff. It's totally worth it)
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 3/4 pounds of butternut squash, peeled, seeded and chopped up (the smaller you chop the less time it will take for you to get this soup onto the table, so I'd recommend not being hasty in the chopping. Dealing with a big old butternut squash can be pretty time consuming, so get comfy and put on some good music. Having a semi-strong man around does not hurt, either!)
1/4 cup fresh orange juice.... now, I used this in my recipe last night. The next time I make it, however, I'm going to substitute in vegetable stock. I'm not saying I didn't like it with the juice... something about it just bothered me, and the whole time I am eating this soup, I really feel like I can taste the oranges. It gives it a beautiful color, but my own personal neuroses stand in the way of my total enjoyment of the soup knowing there is a "breakfast" item in it.)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper

1. Melt olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook onion until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add ginger, garlic, and squash; cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in 4 cups water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer until squash is tender, 20 minutes.

2. Purée soup in two batches. When blending hot foods, allow the heat to escape to prevent splattering. Remove the cap from the hole of the blender’s lid, and cover with a dish towel. Stir in juice and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Serve hot, with sour cream, pepper, and pumpkin seeds, if desired.

Update: I've realized that this could also be quite helpful-- most butternt squash recipes will tell you that a "regular" butternut squash is about 1.5 pounds. In my experience, that is NOT true. Most are at LEAST 2.5 pounds, and I've several times encountered ones that are well over 3. Because I standardly get my groceries delivered, which means that someone else picks my prodce for me, I usually adjust this recipe to the size of the squash once it arrives. Happy trails!

03 November 2007

Janeane Garofalo is Fucked Up

Last night, I watched Real Time With Bill Mahrer, a real favorite in this household. It was an older episode-- I'm behind the times on my tv right now because I was busy getting married and losing my best friend, regardless, I cringed a little when Janeane Garofalo's name was mentioned as a guest, because the last time I saw her, it was on Conan or Letterman, she was pushing Ratatouille, and she seemed, well a little fucked up on drugs. Last night, all my suspicions were confirmed, as she ranted on incessantly, interrupting both Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty fame and the hyper-polite Salman Rushdie. Man, was it a nightmare. Now, I'm the kind of person who routinely gets embarrassed for other people when my "you're making a complete fucking ass of yourself" meter goes up, and yes, that meter of mine is a touch sensitive. Maybe it's because I have a few such "characters" in my family past, but I'm aware of the fact that I am somewhat more sensitive than others to feeling shame for people who don't have the sense to feel it for themselves.

This was NOT one of those cases. Have you ever been the only stoned or drunk person in a room full of people, and no one, I mean no one is catching your vibe when you burst out with a rant about Kathy Bates in Fried Green Tomatoes, only to realize the next day that you like, totally forgot to mention both the name "Kathy Bates" and the title "Fried Green Tomatoes"? I know I haven't. But this was just like that. Now, I agree with Janeane Garofalo's politics, and I used to listen to her occasionally on Air America. I also consider myself "in the know" when it comes to topics such as the uber-liberal line of thought on say, the war in Iraq, so, I assume I got her WAY better than some bored fuck flipping through the channels in Cleveland (no offense to Cleveland) on the night that this originally aired. Neither Thomas nor Rushdie could get a word in edge-wise, and I'm fairly certain I'm not exaggerating when I say that the air on that sound stage was polluted with anxiety and fear -- that Garofalo would veer COMPLETELY off topic and there would be no way to bail her out, as they seem to have NUMEROUS times last night. To watch them have to pick up the fine tendrils, the clues she was laying left and right, to try and weave into some sense... what is it? Diet pills? Cocaine? Can't tell. My experience with drugs is basically limited to my vitamin supplements, but I know fucked-upedness when I see it. And I saw it.

Turns out it's not just frat boys that love W. Bush who are annoying when spouting mystical political catch phrases. Who knew?

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