tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-142324562011-09-05T16:17:41.109-07:00Dabbler's NotebookI'm just interested in way too much stuff.Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comBlogger2431100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-63536802771389798842009-11-19T22:03:00.000-08:002009-11-19T22:34:45.108-08:00Cooking hasn't been all that exciting lately, but tonight I made a fabulously easy, tasty and comforting creamy cauliflower soup that was posted recently on Mark Bittman's blog by Annemarie Conte. In my excessive laziness I didn't even dice the potatoes evenly, and the cauliflower florets were cut more appropriately for a hors d'oeuvres dipping situation than a soup, but it still turned out greatKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-2138861479643572422009-11-08T19:37:00.000-08:002009-11-08T20:01:36.223-08:00I made a steak this weekend--all by myself--and it was good. Wasn't sure for a few minutes there if I'd actually get to enjoy it while it was still hot. I don't have an outdoor grill (nor have I ever been all that great at grilling, too worried about whether the meat is done), so I pan-seared the steak in a cast iron skillet for 90 seconds on each side and then stuck it in the oven. Well, guess Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-73275655548960111522009-10-30T10:35:00.000-07:002009-10-30T10:51:32.194-07:00Forest Hill Farms in San Ramon was leading the race for most sincere pumpkin patch in the area this year, until this appeared:Hard to see in this photo (click to enlarge), but it's an inflatable slide. Of the Titanic. What lunatic decided to make a children's amusement out of a tragedy in which over 1,500 people died? In which you get reenact how many of them actually died... for fun! Whee!I've Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-79663510404489077822009-10-26T19:35:00.000-07:002009-10-26T19:57:22.024-07:00The cats went to see the vet last week for their annual shots and exam, and also because Isis has been barfing a lot, usually around 5am. The vet said she seems to be fine, it may just be a hairball that got down into her stomach. She's only barfed once since then, so hopefully it's not chronic kidney failure. I found out today that someone I worked with for several years died yesterday at age 33Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-11589105116017739432009-10-04T17:49:00.000-07:002009-10-04T17:59:59.965-07:00I experienced a pretty drastic example of saving money by shopping at Windmill Farms vs. grocery stores yesterday when I went to pick up a bunch of ingredients for a huge pot of Black Bean and Wheat Berry Chili (very good--highly recommended, but probably too spicy for Mom and Bob). At Windmill Farms I spent $4.92 on my produce (I also bought a couple of other items, including some organic spicesKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-27319086093085919962009-09-30T11:56:00.000-07:002009-09-30T12:01:20.589-07:00The Lemon Drop Dead special edition Jones Halloween soda is pretty tasty. Kind of like a Fanta Lemon Ice, which is sadly not available in the US. It's actually chilly today! I had to put on socks last night!Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-53082075830938046632009-09-29T20:16:00.000-07:002009-09-29T20:45:49.258-07:00Rachel Zoe has vertigo! She is also extremely passive aggressive, but that's a separate issue. Unlike vertigo episodes, her nausea seems to hit even without full-on spinning dizziness which has to be pretty difficult to deal with--is days of constant nausea worse than hours of constant vomiting? I'm not sure of the answer to that. They haven't determined yet what is causing the vertigo, but told Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-57847230557001486342009-09-25T11:48:00.001-07:002009-09-25T12:09:17.156-07:00The pond renovation is almost complete and they turned the fountain back on yesterday. Last night I had my first good night's sleep in weeks.It occurred to me while watching this week's episode of Top Chef that this is possibly the most lackluster, dour group of cheftestants yet. Nobody is hilariously arrogant or charmingly goofy. The frontrunners, with the exception of Kevin, are kind of Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-1147668776780544782009-09-11T21:13:00.000-07:002009-09-25T12:08:52.136-07:00I caught the tail end of today's All My Children tonight, and after only about five minutes I was reminded of why I got fed up and stopped watching even though I've followed this soap more or less since I was 12.SCENE: Chandler Mansion, Living Room, where beloved Stuart was recently shot and killed and probably bled a lot. (JR and Marissa are eating cheap frozen cheese pizza, even though Adam is Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-42607347394402978362009-09-09T10:54:00.000-07:002009-09-09T11:11:10.472-07:00Things are busy at work and pretty tense. I was in Las Vegas last week for a tradeshow and nobody was very upbeat. The Mandalay Bay casino was deserted; only Excalibur which had rooms going for as low as $30 a night had much activity. I lost $7 at video poker, freaked out and quit. I hate gambling. Tonight I'm planning to roast another game hen. My first attempt was about 2 weeks ago and it Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-15600280486866131462009-08-22T11:45:00.000-07:002009-08-22T11:47:06.698-07:00The Disneyland roses are abloom.Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-20798900679382344482009-08-16T18:20:00.000-07:002009-08-16T20:08:35.397-07:00One giant leek for mankind.I try to buy most of my produce at Windmill Farms; the prices are significantly lower than at grocery stores, the quality is generally better, and the selection is far superior. Yesterday I needed a couple of leeks for the cold cucumber and leek soup I planned to make today, and they had some of the largest specimens I've ever seen. This one is 16". I caught some of TenKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-18171331339369266362009-07-31T14:21:00.000-07:002009-07-31T14:25:38.406-07:00Rebekah brought a cake into work for my birthday today!If you are not yet familiar with the Cake Wrecks phenomenon, please click here.Thanks, Rebekah!Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-81285366579638501662009-07-26T11:01:00.000-07:002009-07-26T11:10:01.133-07:00Question that popped into my head as I watched the FINA World Championships in Rome this week: solo synchronized swimming?Image copyright Getty Images.Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-80097494468892587132009-07-24T19:47:00.000-07:002009-07-24T20:06:51.730-07:00Two baby doves, five days old. Mom is off taking a break somewhere, probably tired of trying to sit on top of a pair of baby birds who are maybe one-third her size already. I keep forgetting to bring a real camera, so this is taken with my stupid Moto Q work phone, whose only redeeming quality is that the camera is slightly better than my LG Rumor personal phone.I completely forgot to mention theKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-51416208746311685752009-07-21T15:34:00.000-07:002009-07-21T15:52:41.742-07:00The baby doves hatched on Monday morning. We were starting to get worried about her because the gestation period for dove eggs is about 18 days and it was getting pretty close. This is a photo of mom sitting on the nest on Friday afternoon taken from the top of the stairs. Now we're worried about the babies falling off that beam. Still no barn swallow nest on my patio. My neighbor's raucous partyKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-82847523344581317592009-07-19T21:28:00.000-07:002009-07-19T21:52:15.333-07:00So tired of eating cold dinners. If I'd wanted to live with day-in, day-out temps hovering around 100°, I'd have moved to Phoenix. Tonight I made a chilled cucumber soup from USA Weekend magazine that tasted good though the consistency was weird and I was starving about an hour afterward. Went to see the new Harry Potter movie today. Though I liked the Cuarón vision over Chris Columbus' by far, Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-77821177637161436222009-07-16T20:12:00.000-07:002009-07-16T21:03:50.678-07:00Count fennel in amongst the thing you don't want to revisit in the middle of the night at the toilet bowl--you know, that list of things like tomato sauce and hot peppers that make an extremely unpleasant experience even more awful. Fennel is very, very bitter.It has been ungodly hot here again this week so the other night I made a raw lemon and fennel soup from Veggie Times (the recipe is not Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-77542442403141198682009-06-30T10:35:00.001-07:002009-06-30T10:59:41.729-07:00Today it's supposed to cool down to a chilly 92. I considered wearing a sweater this morning. (Since it is currently 67° in my office, a sweater would not have been a bad idea.) All alone in the office today with one person out sick, one on a sort of slowdown, and two on vacation. I actually have a lot to do, so maybe sheer boredom will motivate me to get it all done with a minimum of Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-12522930278286049872009-06-29T11:42:00.000-07:002009-06-29T11:55:17.850-07:00It is still hot here though not as hot as it was this time yesterday. I left the AC on all night because when I got up to check the temp at about 2am it was still 81. My goal this weekend was all cold food: Saturday I made a chilled cucumber and tomato soup, and last night was a BLT salad with avocado dressing from the newspaper. The soup is good (I added croutons), but the yogurt base makes it Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-86011547105603709562009-06-28T18:15:00.000-07:002009-06-28T18:27:50.765-07:00According to the thermometer it's currently 117° on the patio. That's not strictly accurate, but it is hot... probably closer to 104°. We've been cocooned inside all day; yesterday the AC didn't kick in until 6pm, but today it went on at noon. Koosh is barricaded under my bed and Isis spends most of her time stretched out on her back under the ceiling fan.Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-65881230881624466502009-06-26T09:51:00.000-07:002009-06-26T10:22:13.388-07:00Really did not care for that punk Ludo on the latest Top Chef Masters. How the hell can he stand there and ask Rick Bayless' advice on cheese for his stupid quesadillas and then get pissy when Bayless says he's making tacos? He's Rick Bayless, for crying out loud; of course he is going to make tacos, you little jerk. The woman from Mustards Grill seemed nice, but she really needed to shut up Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-701324690623370522009-06-19T20:24:00.000-07:002009-06-19T20:48:02.233-07:00I finished my wool socks last night, on one of the hottest evenings of the year so far. That did not stop me from wearing them for about two minutes before it became unbearable. I tried two new recipes this week. Last Sunday I made a baked quinoa and cheese dish from Veggie Times that turned out well, even though quinoa gets absolutely everywhere. I found some in my knitting bag a couple days Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-49279238247598024632009-06-15T19:47:00.000-07:002009-06-15T20:12:41.563-07:00Trying to get back on track after E3 but there's just too much to do. Work is insanely busy and about as ridiculously drama-ridden as All My Children. Koosh has adjusted to her collar and leash--for the most part--and loves going out on the patio for short periods of time. She usually just lies in whichever chair has the most sun while I putter around spraying aphids and sweeping up leaves. Isis Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-29886140695273832372009-05-26T21:30:00.000-07:002009-05-26T22:04:36.223-07:00Tragedy in Dublin! For the past few weeks we've had a pair of doves bobbing around the open-air office building walkways. At one point they decided to build a nest on a 3" wide wood beam supporting the stairway roof (though I strongly advised against it on several occasions). You could tell it wasn't going well because twigs littered the stairway and nothing stayed put on the beam, and as of Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-80130256592151148522009-05-17T12:38:00.000-07:002009-05-17T12:53:52.556-07:00It's bloody hot this weekend, so of course I made salt and vinegar roasted potatoes yesterday for breakfast. (As previously mentioned my appetite has been weird lately, and I had to use up my potatoes which were rapidly going bad.) They were probably some of the best potatoes I've ever had. Dinner was gazpacho.It's also really dry; the relative humidity dropped yesterday morning from 40% to 32% Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-75898150033420160092009-05-14T19:07:00.000-07:002009-05-14T19:23:07.698-07:00Watching the season finale of Lost last night, it was making me nuts trying to figure out where I'd seen the actor sitting on the beach with Jacob. After a lot of digging today (that scene appears to be one of the items of least interest among Lost analysts), I figured out that he was also Silas on Deadwood. I also learned that another familiar actor on a recent episode turns out to have played Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-67935794836738409622009-05-13T20:00:00.000-07:002009-05-13T20:23:23.154-07:00On Monday I achieved a complete sock. Please hold your applause until completion of the companion. This one used a little bit more yarn than the last one that sprung a hole, so I finished the toe with some of the undyed Shelburne Farms yarn and it worked out splendidly. Last summer I compulsively knit dishcloths to keep from losing my mind and killing all our clients; this summer I think I will Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-14610064502298985922009-04-28T18:50:00.000-07:002009-04-28T19:10:46.211-07:00I have a lot of my great-grandmother's recipes, including many that she cut from the newspaper and meticulously filed by category in six card files along with recipes she came up with herself and got from friends. This little booklet, "Unusual Winter Recipes" by Harriet Cooke of the Buffalo Evening News, I found with some other miscellaneous stuff in a suitcase we had in the garage for years Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-21144084451086121372009-04-27T10:58:00.000-07:002009-04-27T11:31:19.659-07:00I made another loaf of bread yesterday, this time using whole wheat flour and a slightly more involved recipe that was actually easier because it only needed one rise. The bread came out beautifully, and makes what are quite possibly the best peanut butter and jelly sandwiches ever. This is what the cast iron skillets looked like after going through about 3.5 hours on the self-cleaning cycle in Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-70814781409583909032009-04-26T22:34:00.001-07:002009-04-26T22:53:39.555-07:00Somehow I managed to make an entirely green dinner tonight without intending to. For the main meal I made linguine with pesto, asparagus and feta, and a little while later wanted dessert. The only quick thing that sounded at all good was instant pistachio pudding.This weekend I knitted my first sock which went very well until the very end when I was grafting the toes together. After the last Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-15053736752023084942009-04-23T22:59:00.000-07:002009-04-23T23:09:44.272-07:00It's not easy, but I'm watching Project Runway as if for the first time, carefully shielding myself from any hint of the eventual results. I kept hearing that season 3 is one of the best (next to season 2), but after the first few episodes I just wasn't seeing it. Tonight I watched all of disk 2 (episodes 5-8) and the drama really kicked in, starting with Keith's expulsion (completely justified).Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-35290914591392111232009-04-22T22:05:00.000-07:002009-04-22T23:02:37.894-07:00It has been an emotionally and physically exhausting week, so this may or may not be coherent. Cathy's mom was diagnosed Monday with Stage IV lung cancer, just two days after Tim's (Cathy's significant other's) 50th birthday party, the original reason I was down in LA this weekend. I ended up staying an extra day to help out with random things and drive people to and from the hospital. Cathy is Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-16317820684314176842009-04-13T21:24:00.000-07:002009-04-13T21:28:45.365-07:00This video of Susan Boyle auditioning for Britain's Got Talent is making the rounds, but if you haven't seen it yet please watch. I promise you it's worth every second.(embedding has been disabled.)Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-45036907006933648382009-04-13T18:58:00.000-07:002009-04-13T19:02:34.930-07:00Since the link for the tuna curry isn't working for some people, here's the recipe from AllRecipes.comTuna Curry in a Hurrysubmitted by sal4 servings2 tablespoons butter1 clove garlic, minced1/3 cup chopped onion1/3 cup chopped green bell pepper (I used about 1/2 cup peas)1 (6 ounce) can tuna, drained and flaked1 cup sour cream (I used greek yogurt)1 teaspoon curry powder (garam masala would Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-89481732302853515992009-04-13T10:32:00.000-07:002009-04-13T11:14:35.580-07:00The other day I was reminded of a lunch my mom and I went to at her friend's house in Jakarta where the woman served us tuna curry and we listened to a Naked Vicar comedy album, and she told us a story about getting locked out of her house and heaving a transformer through the window to break in. (Transformers back then were not cool alien robot toys, but freaking heavy green bricks that allowed Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-74958921091333221712009-04-09T11:50:00.000-07:002009-04-09T11:55:46.894-07:00Food Detectives this week has a fascinating segment on eating bugs. I've also been watching past seasons of Project Runway on DVD. Great show. I suspect Padma studied Heidi Klum closely when she was first named host of Top Chef. I'm not sure whether or not to be excited about the upcoming Top Chef Masters.Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-64742921118118596322009-04-06T14:41:00.000-07:002009-04-06T15:14:47.494-07:00The tree pollen count around here is at insane levels. I wake up every day with burning red eyes, my ears itch way down deep, and the tinnitus is especially loud. We've stopped saying "Bless you," and "Gesundheit," at work because we're all sneezing constantly. They're predicting rain soon and even though the weather's been beautiful, I really want it to rain to wash some of the pollen out of theKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-27419649386707365902009-04-05T17:48:00.000-07:002009-04-05T18:00:23.500-07:00The cloche is done. For those of you who are unclear on what this is all about, this is what I was going for: Image from the American Girl website.Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-26636014946836436962009-04-04T21:15:00.000-07:002009-04-04T21:43:00.098-07:00Sorry for the weird lighting, but I had to work fast because the batteries in the camera were dying and I don't have any other AAs on hand at the moment. This is my awesome dessert tonight, courtesy of Mark Bittman: fresh strawberries drizzled with balsamic vinegar and seasoned with black pepper. Dinner was a scrambled egg with feta, green onion and Italian parsley. While Mr. Bittman doesn't Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-17439369040746929422009-04-03T20:35:00.000-07:002009-04-03T21:23:56.151-07:00The last few weeks have been insanely busy, and the next few weeks will also be insanely busy. I'm kind of in the eye of the storm this weekend, the quiet part where you scramble around to get a bunch of things done before the chaos starts up again. I've tried to not shop very much this week and eat what I can out of the freezer and pantry, especially since it's been so hard to plan ahead amidst Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-59908529487517018502009-04-03T10:11:00.000-07:002009-04-03T10:20:58.511-07:00Was planning on trying the new BK Breakfast Shots this morning, but they only come in packs of four and that's too much food for one person, so I got the Cheesy Bacon Wrapper instead, the only breakfast food I like at BK and what I usually get if I stop there for coffee. (As you are all sick of hearing me say, BK pours a fine cup of coffee.) However, Serious Eats jumped in and saved the day. TheyKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-55436717646659007882009-03-19T19:18:00.000-07:002009-03-19T19:45:23.254-07:00Another glam business trip to Los Angeles on Tuesday: barely made the 9.00 a.m. Southwest flight after oversleeping and needing to stop for gas (I was sick Sunday and Monday with a fever, headache, and cough). We were about 20 minutes into the hour-long flight when somebody about ten rows back let out a loud yell. Everybody turned to look, but we couldn't see much except the flight attendant Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-29032053913801878492009-03-16T19:13:00.000-07:002009-03-16T19:38:15.053-07:00Jamie from Top Chef was just in a segment on Eye on the Bay, a local out-and-about show on the CBS affiliate. Today's topic was comfort food and Jamie's picks for hot dogs are the Happy Belly cart in Golden Gate Park (topped with kimchee...ew) and Costco's $1.50 meal deal. The hot dog she's currently experimenting with at Absinthe includes kobe beef, bacon, and pink salt, among a helluva lot of Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-63470666468013034622009-03-15T19:32:00.000-07:002009-03-15T19:53:03.403-07:00Driving in San Ramon is becoming hazardous; we're overrun (overwaddled?) with Canada geese who frequently wander out into the streets, and gaggles of wild turkeys are beginning to show up as well, especially around the corner of Alcosta and Crow Canyon. The mini quiches (mini omelet cups, really) turned out well, though Lucky didn't have a great selection of sausage and I wasn't thrilled with theKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-27022222039874281072009-03-12T13:54:00.000-07:002009-03-12T13:59:39.443-07:00Forgot to mention that I've been enjoying the Less Is Enough blog quite a bit. Love that she's been able to shop at Whole Foods and Target in addition to being clever about local markets.Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-86301968559928620842009-03-12T11:42:00.000-07:002009-03-12T12:05:23.829-07:00And suddenly I have three Crissy dolls. The one on the far left is my original Growing Hair Crissy, the one I've had since age 3 or 4. Don't ask me why I still have her. Usually she lives under my bed and when Amanda came to sleep over a few weeks ago, I pulled her out and Amanda was smitten, hinting several times that she'd just looooove it if Crissy could come live at her house. Since I hadn't Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-57222881349566418752009-03-11T21:30:00.000-07:002009-03-11T21:57:03.760-07:00The Contra Costa Times ran an interview with Jamie today. Chopped has done it again! They let one of the chefs get away with not using the cheese packet from the boxed mac & cheese, even after he was snotty about it. Isn't the fact they gave them instant mac & cheese the whole point? Guess not. Made a fairly easy curried cauliflower soup with a halved recipe from Veggie Times to use up the half Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-17346124647053684832009-03-06T16:21:00.000-08:002009-03-06T16:31:20.853-08:00I freely admit to watching a lot of trashy tv, but can't understand why anyone continues to watch The Bachelor, even before the latest kerfuffle. The show has resulted in exactly zero marriages and only two reported engagements to date, giving them a batting average of .167 which is bad even in baseball. (If you add in stats from The Bachelorette with its one marriage, the franchise's slugging Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-80344378322606938362009-02-27T09:34:00.000-08:002009-02-27T11:03:15.679-08:00What a bizarre, anticlimactic ending to Top Chef. While I'm sad for Carla and sorta glad Stefan didn't win, Hosea is just... strange. And who'd have expected that little flash of compassion from Stefan at the very end? Huh.Also, is Gail back at judges' table? It was hard to see behind the boobs.Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-38732259918792820702009-02-25T13:53:00.000-08:002009-02-25T14:00:16.685-08:00The judges on Chopped are seriously mean. Alex Guarnaschelli may have cried in last week's episode when the winner broke down himself, but otherwise she's a steely bitch totally unlike her demeanor on The Cooking Loft. It also seems like even though the cockiest chefs on Top Chef are the ones that tend to do well, the most confident ones on Chopped are booted early on; they generally get burned (Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-20041106289523323942009-02-23T21:35:00.000-08:002009-02-23T21:46:05.181-08:00I still don't get where Fox finds the chefs on Hell's Kitchen. Anyone who knows anything about GR knows that he is psycho about chefs knowing where the food, especially the protein, comes from and being comfortable with butchering as well as cooking it. Anyone aspiring to be an elite chef, furthermore, ought to know that sweetbreads are considered delicacies and unless they're a vegetarian/vegan Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-66533139357063249452009-02-23T19:45:00.000-08:002009-02-23T20:26:31.867-08:00Food this weekend was all about using up leftover ingredients in the fridge without leaving the house. When you cook for yourself, you end up tossing a lot more stuff than you'd like, especially produce. The amazing Debbie Meyer GreenBags and BreadBags have helped alleviate a lot of that, but I still want to eliminate as much waste as possible. Plus, it was raining really hard and I was in no Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-87086266161296551872009-02-19T19:01:00.000-08:002009-02-19T19:38:34.286-08:00Last night was a successful food night: I made a recipe from the newspaper, Chicken with Yellow Rice and Salsa (says it was originally from the Kansas City Star). Tasty and quick, I'd definitely make it again. The only things I'd tweak would be the chicken--I thought the breast cubes turned out a little bland even after throwing the cumin and lime juice in before they were completely done. Next Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-14431744094978159592009-02-17T13:30:00.000-08:002009-02-17T14:01:14.242-08:00There's a lot of snark being lobbed at Sandra Lee's new magazine. I bought the first issue a couple weeks ago but haven't had a chance to do more than flip through it while I was on the phone, and my only impression so far is that it's hella pink. I generally only watch her show for its high camp entertainment value, and the only recipe I've ever thought looked remotely appetizing didn't turn outKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-12130907949718075422009-02-16T12:49:00.000-08:002009-02-16T12:54:26.357-08:00Obviously Dan Piraro has had the same experiences with cab drivers as I've hadKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-27240713627661110092009-02-16T11:17:00.000-08:002009-02-16T11:50:41.785-08:00Not much cooking at home lately, but I did make this yummy Indian twist on guacamole from 28 Cooks last week. Very good with warm naan.I'm noticing with the Shangri-La oil thing that I have to plan ahead more carefully for meals because if I'm only eating full meals once a day, they need to be good, not just whatever happens to be most convenient. I kind of fell off the wagon a bit this weekend Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-88614822272483127922009-02-12T14:51:00.000-08:002009-02-12T15:02:19.514-08:00Shangri-La update: Not hungry, had trouble figuring out what to have for dinner last night and lunch todayWhile I like Chopped, the judges have made two decisions lately that set some dubious precedents. On last week's show they were willing to overlook one contestant's not using all the ingredients, and on this week's episode they let pass the chef who dropped his protein on the floor before Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-63753564361612521142009-02-11T17:11:00.000-08:002009-02-12T15:02:43.219-08:00My mom really enjoys The Last Restaurant Standing on BBCA, and I've seen it promo'ed endlessly during The F Word, so last night when there was nothing else on I decided to give it a try. By the end I think my blood pressure had spiked into the red zone. The level of tension and grim desperation on the show is truly unbearable. And did that couple actually try to serve up Welsh-Chinese food? What Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-34144605219475804262009-02-09T16:54:00.000-08:002009-02-09T17:12:33.320-08:00Watching Lost is a little bit like trying to follow a telenovela when you don't speak Spanish all that well: you recognize the characters, catch a phrase here and there that makes sense, but overall you have no real clue what's going on. The tofu stroganoff was kind of a bust. I substituted a few ingredients based on what people had said in the comments, but I'm not sure it would have been much Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-32306455959169439282009-02-05T19:25:00.000-08:002009-02-05T20:05:59.075-08:00Random (mostly foodie tv) notes:Royally pissed about the latest Top Chef; Leah totally should have packed her knives on this one. Carla is turning out to be absolutely hilarious. Slowly warming up to Ted Allen's new show Chopped, which is like Top Chef meets Iron Chef in a dark room. Who was that contestant in this week's episode who was unclear on the concept and kept whining about the time Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-18590699469059339142009-02-02T18:57:00.000-08:002009-02-02T18:59:49.066-08:00It's ridiculously warm here again, but really cold at night. Maybe we'll get some rain later this week. Keep your fingers crossed.Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-58534962782917640112009-01-29T20:34:00.000-08:002009-01-29T23:15:43.639-08:00I finally figured out who Vicki reminds me of... Denise Austin, sister-in-law of Bedo's former tennis pro Pam and current potato shill (yes, I know she's made like 108 workout videos--I have even owned some of them). I think Vicki is trying to be her.While I thought the football theme this week on Top Chef was silly, it was so nice to see Stefan cut off at the knees for once. Go, Jamie! However, Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-73152783555157027582009-01-28T12:27:00.000-08:002009-01-28T13:43:21.223-08:00The other weird part of my journey to the frozen north was the cab ride from the Minneapolis airport to my hotel, a generic major chain suite-type business traveler hotel located at 525 North 2nd Street, about two blocks from Game Infomer's office. Before I got into the cab, I handed the very young and none-too-bright driver the reservation printout with the hotel address right there at the top Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-63923556079173555552009-01-27T14:57:00.000-08:002009-01-27T15:09:58.458-08:00Got home last night from my 30 hour trip to wild and exotic Minneapolis where it was about 10 below upon arrival at nearly midnight on Sunday, and about 5 when I left yesterday around 4pm ("felt like -10," according to Weather.com). "Wild" applies more to the Denver stopovers, where a storm made de-icing necessary, and they were worried about the wings icing over again while the tail was being Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-85013719540993056142009-01-22T21:14:00.000-08:002009-01-22T21:44:17.933-08:00It's finally raining here. Not a lot, but it's a start. Of course everyone felt the need to randomly crash their cars into each other this morning due to the shock of moisture falling from the heavens for the first time in several weeks. The right person went home on Top Chef the past two episodes; Ariane was hanging on by her fingernails, and Radhika doesn't have the leadership skills to run a Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-54040800915224356552009-01-19T20:17:00.000-08:002009-01-19T20:43:44.235-08:00Oh, Serena, clashing plaids? What has Gossip Girl come to? I'm even feeling sorry for Chuck.If you've been avoiding switching to compact florescents anywhere but in the garage because their light tends to be blue and weird, I've been really impressed with the 75 watt equivalent Feit Electric bulbs I got for about $1 for 4 at Longs (some kind of PG&E subsidy). They don't have that unsettling delayKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-4153487222353886812009-01-17T13:29:00.000-08:002009-01-17T16:27:43.977-08:00Still weirdly warm here, at the same time the rest of the country is freezing. It's also dry as a bone. Kitchen adventures this week included a six-cheese gnocchi parmesan recipe out of Veggie Times--a kind of gnocchi lasagna. It took almost an hour to make, twice as long as their estimate, and ended up being really bland. I also realized that I don't care for gnocchi all that much. Considering Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-15445459741903975902009-01-13T12:48:00.000-08:002009-01-13T12:58:07.481-08:00Suddenly it's May here: low 70s, sunny and windy. All the trees are being fooled into thinking they're late for spring and releasing pollen by the truckload. It's all very unsettling. Recent recipe successes include a thai-ish peanutty noodle dish from the Trader Joe's cookbook that was passed on by a co-worker and took literally less than 7 minutes to make start to finish. I tossed the remainderKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-60568070178852978352008-12-18T22:52:00.000-08:002008-12-19T00:10:42.472-08:00The horrorfest that was Stylista is finally over, with Megan proving to be one of the worst losers in (un)reality tv history. I can't say I'm glad Johanna won exactly; I'm just glad that DyShaun did not win. I think it was entirely due to the stupid hat that made him look like a perpetual freshman at NYU. Ashlie was probably the strongest competitor, but out of that bunch that's not saying much. Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-77018231469122373022008-12-17T21:42:00.000-08:002008-12-17T22:00:51.743-08:00Isis loves hummus. She knows this pizza has hummus on it and will not back off. This is a small pizza I threw together out of what I found in the fridge: my favorite Mediterranean style flatbread spread with a hummus base, crumbled feta, slivered sun dried tomatoes and shredded romano. As I've been doing almost every week for the past few months, I tried out a couple of new recipes last week in Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-45017727051121724172008-12-14T12:51:00.000-08:002008-12-14T12:55:42.050-08:00Is it just me, or does the Illinois governor look like Donovan?Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-72487144082907155032008-12-08T11:51:00.000-08:002008-12-08T11:59:58.148-08:00So I tried an official cup of Dunkin Donuts coffee while in Orlando and I agree they make a fine cup of coffee, probably better than a cup of Starbucks drip (definitely mellower), but maybe not as good as Peet's. But then I usually get lattes at Peet's and Starbucks, and anyway there aren't any Dunkin Donuts places around here. In fact, other than a gaggle of locations in Las Vegas, there aren't Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-14915558054567018572008-12-03T21:04:00.001-08:002008-12-03T21:18:43.798-08:00Fuzzy photos taken from my phone from my Thanksgiving trip to Orlando:The male sandhill crane standing guard while the female ate seed on the porch.Castle lighting at Magic Kingdom. We also went to the first night of the Osborne Family Lights at Hollywood Studios, but didn't get photos. The Osborne Family is kind of interesting.I kind of regret not getting a photo of Mom playing Wii Music at Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-42715640790844673462008-11-26T08:06:00.000-08:002008-11-26T08:08:47.056-08:00Sorry, I was wrong: it was Lauren who got cut, not Jamie from Absinthe. Whew!Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-58752255636264798712008-11-18T22:18:00.000-08:002008-11-18T22:57:20.161-08:00Saturday night I watched Giant on tv... yes, a classic movie on regular ol' tv, on a channel that anyone still using an antenna could get. At about the point where Rock Hudson shoots Elizabeth Taylor's horse, I decided that I wanted popcorn. Let's reflect: I've survived without a microwave since July 2007. However, I have a jar of corn kernels and oil and butter. I put kernels and oil in one of Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-58345819761929756892008-10-13T13:47:00.000-07:002008-10-13T13:54:13.667-07:00I don't get as many cute photos of Koosh because she moves too fast, espcially with the slight delay on digital cameras, but sometimes she falls asleep and holds still for as long as 3-4 minutes.While I'm really tempted to add a lolcats caption to this and submit it, I'm just not feeling the lolspeak today.Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-4987232264188676882008-10-10T15:42:00.000-07:002008-10-10T15:50:01.607-07:00One evening last week I was sitting in my living room doing something when I thought I smelled fresh basil which struck me as odd since I did not have any fresh basil in the house. If any basil was still around from making lemon basil sorbet--say, stuck under the fridge or down between the stove and a cabinet--it certainly wouldn't be fresh-smelling. I searched around the kitchen but found Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-86783104984337627992008-09-22T15:39:00.000-07:002008-09-22T15:45:47.384-07:00A very cool clock built by Dr. John Taylor to honor John Harrison who solved the longitude problem and invented the grasshopper escapement. The grasshopper model alone is awesome.Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-25958211492629518792008-09-19T15:28:00.000-07:002008-09-19T15:30:51.180-07:00I know I've been bandying about some weird ice cream ideas lately, and lord knows I certainly do love cheese, but even I draw the line at cheese ice cream.Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-68531889331368945942008-09-13T19:05:00.000-07:002008-09-13T19:17:41.959-07:00How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1967, Robert Morse [now Betram Cooper on Mad Men] and Michele Lee) has just become my favorite movie because not only is the color design pure genius (Mary Blair, y'know), but the head of the company (Rudy Vallee!) secretly knits when he gets stressed.Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-35981919880747388812008-09-07T12:19:00.000-07:002008-09-07T12:54:20.783-07:00Speaking of hot weather, my latest obsession is the one pint Donvier ice cream maker I found in perfect condition at Goodwill several days ago for $6.99. I've been eying the 1.5 quart Cuisinart ICE-20 for almost a year after seeing a recipe for olive oil ice cream in the local paper, but really don't have the space in my tiny freezer to store the bucket and they're kinda noisy. The Donvier turns Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-23860532136609239862008-09-06T17:33:00.000-07:002008-09-06T18:08:29.723-07:00Dumb episodes caused by really hot weather: first of all, this photo is from an incident back in late June when a 12-pack of Diet Pepsi that I was too lazy to carry in from the car exploded in my back seat on one of the many days that topped 100 degrees. I think it was about 106 this particular day. The first can exploded as I was driving out of the parking lot at work, and luckily I still had Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-1141335777959997312008-09-02T12:39:00.001-07:002008-09-02T12:45:24.560-07:00Latest news: had to purchase toilet paper for the first time since January. When dad died he had apparently just been to Costco so I got all of this. He also had something like 18 rolls of paper towels, I guess in case there was a huge oil spill right there in the ocean in front of his building he'd be all set to go help clean it up. I gave a lot of the paper towels to his neighbors.Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-30109721588923312212008-07-20T12:45:00.000-07:002008-07-20T13:07:55.162-07:00I've been enjoying the first season of Mad Men so much that even though I'm watching the episodes on On Demand I'm still tempted to buy the DVD set just for the commentaries. By chance, The Apartment with Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine rose to the top of my Netflix queue just after I watched the MM season finale, which was perfect timing as it's set in the same year and revolves around office Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-71686207254455938872008-07-01T18:55:00.000-07:002008-07-01T19:27:50.567-07:00Cat Cora: "Words like 'amazing,' 'delicious,' 'great' won't help you."Then what the hell is Sandra Lee still doing on Food Network? Those are the only words she ever uses, for crying out loud.I'm picking on TNFNS now because a) it's so easy, and b) Hell's Kitchen is a train wreck in slow motion. I can't stand Petrozza, and Christina is just too damn young to be an executive chef at a high-profileKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-30922642775629817312008-06-30T16:37:00.000-07:002008-06-30T16:54:30.413-07:00I'm a week behind on most of my tv watching after spending five days in New York, but the episode of TNFNS with the "be an expert" and the Iron Chef-type challenges seemed especially unfair. You can't convince me that any Food Network personality on the air today could have, at the beginning of their contract, had a random food thrown at them and be expected to deal with it "expertly" in 60 Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-73332833517215802362008-06-21T20:18:00.000-07:002008-06-21T21:07:34.013-07:00The Mole is back! They're cutting down the field pretty quickly, but my top contenders right now are Clay and Victoria, though Kristen is keeping an awfully low profile and Craig suddenly became suspicious with the dry cleaning episode. Nicole and Paul--and to some extent Alex--are just too loud and obvious. According to the Mole's journal on the ABC website, the Mole was blindfolded in the luge Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-62655610838029890842008-06-10T16:31:00.000-07:002008-06-10T16:33:09.967-07:00I really loathe the phrase "culinary point of view."Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-71026773828485950892008-06-09T15:04:00.000-07:002008-06-09T15:36:59.020-07:00So Ben, Chris and I went over to my dad's bank on Friday and closed his checking and savings accounts for which we received three sizable checks. I was tootling around the IRS website today looking for info on whether this will be counted as taxable income for me next year, when I came across the following:"Bribes. If you receive a bribe, include it in your income."and,"Stolen property. If you Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-62088755001615342122008-06-05T22:33:00.000-07:002008-06-05T23:12:30.113-07:00Bird update: at least one baby learned to fly today! One of them spent a very long time sitting on my railing, completely undisturbed by my watering the roses and changing the cat litter. Probably it was just so thrilled to not be jammed in with its bulky siblings anymore, for which I don't blame it a bit. As you can see, they get bigger by the hour.Tuesday night I was back at the SF Opera for Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-57365023282299906812008-06-05T11:30:00.000-07:002008-06-05T11:33:38.057-07:00The "baby" birds don't even fit into the nest anymore; I think it's high time they learn to fly and give their poor parents a break. In this photo the three fattest are standing on their two siblings.Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-7746604277242869032008-05-28T09:18:00.000-07:002008-05-28T09:37:41.955-07:00Apparently the favorite dish on the child's menu around here is caterpillars in a blanket. I've now found three caterpillars on the patio, half torn out of their cocoons. Since I'm not finding them anywhere else I have to assume they're being dropped by swallows in their kid feeding frenzy. Either that or it's the vanguard of some bizarre plague.No, I didn't post a photo.Knitting lace--even if Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-20455633704064417672008-05-25T18:43:00.000-07:002008-05-25T18:47:51.878-07:00There may be as many as 5 baby birds crammed in there. Today they learned to scoot their little tail feathers out over the edge of the nest and poop out large white blobs onto the patio.Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-74518438877237608572008-05-25T13:03:00.001-07:002008-05-25T13:07:09.916-07:00...and voila! Baby birds. The third one's hunkered down on the left. You can see his gaping maw there among all the fluff.Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-41442505720643944662008-05-22T13:56:00.000-07:002008-05-22T14:03:42.257-07:00Gah! I finished the final three rows on my reversible bag last night... only to find that I'd knitted the last panel on the wrong side. Sigh.Instead of fixing it I made a ball out of one of the skeins of yarn I bought yesterday while watching Hell's Kitchen from Tuesday. I hate everyone on that show.Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-11500239352004054952008-05-21T15:51:00.000-07:002008-05-21T16:14:08.920-07:00What is it with mayonnaise lately? First the guy on Top Chef didn't know it was just egg and oil, then it shows up in the relay race. Top Chef came up at lunch on Mother's Day because we're all watching it, and Paul told us how his friend Richard got all excited about making his own mayo with a hand blender after seeing it done on an infomercial in the middle of the night. Now Michael Ruhlman's Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-14633367546590021682008-05-17T16:19:00.000-07:002008-05-17T16:48:47.375-07:00The baby swallows hatched yesterday evening, and the parents have been flying back and forth tirelessly catching bugs to feed them. These are the shell remnants I found on the patio under the nest. There were apparently three eggs but one was completely shattered. These were in better shape before I accidentally banged the newspaper down on them this morning. Can't hear any peeping yet, but it Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-24632499337038107772008-05-16T15:39:00.000-07:002008-05-16T15:52:13.841-07:00Today I got to watch the food chain in action. I arose at 5.45 to release a bunch of ladybugs on my aphid-infested rose bush. A little while later I glanced out the window to find Isis. She was crouched in her kitty cave eyeing the male swallow, who was perched on the porch light eyeing the ladybugs, who were eyeing--or at least creeping toward--the aphids. Just like the Discovery Channel. On TopKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14232456.post-16246900953273978122008-05-12T15:03:00.000-07:002008-05-12T15:09:22.507-07:00Isis enjoys looking out the bedroom window.Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08787848462710742004noreply@blogger.com