The 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 expressionless and robotic, especially the Voltaggio brothers, whom I can barely tell apart. The rest of them just come off as cranky.

Really 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 about being old.

Camping in Mendocino was nice, the abalone abundant and tasty. Though less wind meant fewer trees were falling from the canyon walls into the campground this year, one came down at about four in the morning right above my site, almost literally scaring the crap out of me. I'd been lying there idly wondering whether my bladder was full enough to be worth getting up and trudging to the bathroom when there was a loud CRACK above my head. I decided the bathroom would be an excellent place to hang out for the next few minutes. By the time the sun came up, it was hard to tell exactly where the tree fell, but during breakfast another dead limb came down about 20 feet above the site. That provided all the motivation I needed to get packed up quickly and be on the road by noon.

I 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 later. I thought the dish was a little bland so if I make it again I'd add chopped scallions and make sure the cheddar is a sharp or longhorn variety. It's also better sprinkled with Parmesan rather than the suggested additional cheddar.

The other recipe I made was black bean croquettes with fresh salsa from Eating Well. These turned out great, though I discovered too late that my tomatoes had sprouted an interesting filmy white mold and had to use diced canned tomatoes instead, with the only good part of the least spoiled tomato mixed in. I also served it over sliced avocado sprinkled with lime juice rather than combining diced avocado with the rest of the salsa. I'd also suggest flipping the croquettes at some point while still in the oven since one side gets nicely browned while the other stays too pale. They're even better the next day; had leftovers for lunch and dinner.

It's summer and foodie stunt tv is in full swing. The Next Food Network Star remains the most painful reality tv on the air, vividly illustrating that the best tv chefs are discovered and cultivated, not forced like bulbs in winter. Top Chef Masters improved with the second episode; the interaction between these chefs was thoroughly entertaining, and the challenges were much better.

I've had a hard time keeping up with much else on screen. In Plain Sight is having a great second season, and USA's new show Royal Pains is reasonably entertaining so far. I watched all of the first season of True Blood last weekend during the HBO free offer, but now am sadly stuck since I am not willing to pay $10/month more just to watch one show. I hear there are some good movies in theaters now as well. Maybe someday I'll get to see the inside of a theater again.

It 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 an only child, which makes me appreciate Ben and Chris all the more. They're giving Shirley about two months, and she's being released tomorrow. She'll be moving in with Cathy and Tim for the foreseeable future.

Cathy's aunt Barbara gave me a very cute clutch handbag this weekend... without even knowing about my obsession! Photos and explanation some other time, as it's a long story. Suffice it to say, very Audrey Hepburn!

It's also a million billion degrees all over California, so last night I whipped up a pesto pea soup from Gourmet's website that mostly used things I had on hand since I did not want to do major grocery shopping, and sounded like it would be good warm or cold. It turned out ok but not great hot, warm, or cold. For the last of it tonight I added a dollop more pesto and some greek yogurt and that perked it up. If I ever make it again, I'd double the pesto.

I'm trying to reverse engineer the recipe for Sconehenge English Muffins, which are not at all English muffins in the traditional sense but very yummy nonetheless. The exceedingly unhelpful ingredient label just says "all purpose flour, buttermilk, yeast." I have to figure out proportions and if there are any ingredients that don't need to be listed on the label. Grumble, grumble.

The cast iron skillet reseasoning project should be back on this weekend as it's supposed to cool down significantly tonight. Weekend before last I left both skillets in the oven for a three hour self-cleaning cycle and then went over them with steel wool to remove the rust. I'd really like to get on with the next step, but seasoning cast iron when it's over 90 outside just ain't gonna happen. The same goes for bread baking, or vigorous movement of any sort. I've been battling a horrible sinus infection for probably two weeks now, but couldn't get in to see the doctor until tomorrow.

On TV, I finished the second season of Project Runway, and am well into season three. Such a great show: exactly like Top Chef, but with fabric instead of foodstuffs, and with the amazingly adorable and insightful Tim Gunn. Where Tom just looks worried. Tim actually cares--he's not a judge so he can get more involved with each contestant and really act as a mentor. I'm ambivalent about Hell's Kitchen. Lost is backing up 'cuz I haven't been in the mood. Other shows have not been especially comment-worthy. Running in Heels ended, but I'm not quite in the frame of mind to gather my thoughts on that one just yet. Fionla Hughes was a co-producer, something I did not notice until about halfway through the run.

Food 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.

Jamie 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 other ingredients.

I recently bought a digital Zen Alarm Clock which is supposed to wake you up gradually with the dulcet tones of a gradually increasing chime. I actually like the regular Zen clock better, but there's no room for it on my nightstand, so I got the digital version which also has a choice of high and low tones. The first night I set it for high, not knowing what to expect and trying to err on the side of caution. Because it's a progressive chime sequence, you have to set it for ten minutes before you actually want to get up. At 6.55 last Wednesday morning the first chime goes off, and Isis and I hit the ceiling. No need for the addition chimes 'cuz we were awake! I reset it to low for the rest of the week, and while it's still a little startling, I'm getting used to it and like it more than the shrill beepy alarm I had before. The main problem is that the digital display is hard to read when you're all bleary-eyed, and it takes up more space than I'd like on my nightstand.

The 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 head of cauliflower I had leftover from the kitchuri. It was kinda "meh" the first night but quite good the next.

Breakfast this week has been hot bulgur, which I make ahead of time by pouring boiling water (1 1/2 C) into a bowl of coarse bulgur (1 C) and raisins or dried cranberries (1/4 C) and then letting it sit in the fridge overnight. Makes enough for 3 or 4 days. Easily reheated on the stove with a splash of milk, brown sugar and some chopped walnuts--or whatever's on hand. This is great when I get sick of oatmeal or protein bars. Right now I have a batch of mini mushroom & sausage quiches from Eating Well in the oven, so we'll see how those turn out.

Work is insanely busy as we get ready for the Game Developer's Conference. Cathy is a good friend, but as one of my clients I'd cheerfully slit her throat about now. Everyone in the office is on edge and we pretty much hate all our clients and each other. Can't wait 'til this is over.

What 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.

Not 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 having 8-year old Amanda over since it was hard to time the 2 hour windows for taking the oil, and I had to eat on her schedule. I also have to be careful about not eating out of habit when I'm not actually hungry.

Amanda and I had fun: we watched Madagascar 2 and Kit Kittredge An American Girl (highly recommended). We had a pillow war and colored and danced around a lot and did our hair and ate pepperoni pizza and bagels. Amanda fell in love with my Growing Hair Crissy doll (no idea why I still have her, but I do) and I had to tell her several times that she could not keep her.

Though I'm still mad Jamie went home, last week's Top Chef was great; I adore Jacques Pepin and his giant bow tie. Not sure why they had to film the Last Supper panelists through Vaseline, however. It didn't fool anyone--we know they're all old. Am now hoping Carla wins.

Random (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 constraints? Did he wander into the studio by mistake?

If you're on a diet, watch Man vs. Food on Travel Channel. Food has never looked more unappetizing. I DVR'ed the episode on Portland where he visited the Stepping Stone Cafe, Voodoo Donuts (of course) and Salvador Molly's. For those of you who live in Portland or thereabouts (and have cable), the episode repeats on Saturday at 8am. Salvador Molly's supposedly serves Indonesian food so we might have to check that out at some point.

Need to catch up on Lost and Gossip Girl. Not sure about whether I'm on board with Hell's Kitchen just yet.

In home cooking, I think I've moved from the garbanzo phase into a mushroom phase via that spicy cabbage soup. Most of the recipes I've pulled to try involve mushrooms in some major way. Will be trying a tofu mushroom stroganoff this weekend.

Two new things I've discovered Isis is afraid of:
1. the drawer under the oven where I keep the baking sheets
2. the plastic bag the paper comes in when it's raining

This weekend's assignment is to read Sonny Barger's biography to get in the right frame of mind for a client's game about biker gangs in the 60's. It's interesting though because a lot of the action took place very near to here in Oakland and Modesto and points in between. Also a good thing I just finished a potboiler about Tibetan monk horror on the plane back from Minneapolis because their other big triple-A title centers on that subject. We spent all day yesterday in LA mapping out plans for their 2009-10 lineup which grew quite suddenly by about 40 percent over what they'd been planning just a couple weeks ago.

One of our other clients who is currently on hiatus with us for unrelated reasons has been battling a boatload of lunatics over a sound file in a game that shipped over a year ago. We've been getting a lot of phone calls about this, and it has made for a very busy couple of weeks.

I 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, I'm seriously worried about Jeff's mental state. They offer counseling when you're kicked off, right?

Btw, I so wish I could wear hats cutely because I adore Aretha's inauguration hat, which I didn't see 'til I got into the office because I was still on my way in when she was so beautifully singing "God Save the Queen."

Btw, Part II: Anderson Cooper said tonight that he's surprised PR people don't advise corporate execs not to do dumb things. Anderson, what makes you think execs listen to PR people?

It'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 kitchen.

Food Network has two promising new shows: Chopped, with Ted Allen (who featured the same two "celebs" on the second episode as he did on the same week's ep of Food Detectives), and Will Work for Food with the slightly annoying Adam from TNFNS, a kind of foodie Dirty Jobs. Adam possesses none of the charm or sex appeal of Mike Rowe (sigh), but the first episode was promising--especially after he got stung by a bee. I was very proud of myself, by the way, when watching Food Detectives that I knew that alligator nuggets taste like fishy chicken and come from the tail. Gatorland taught me well.

Speaking of Food Network, I am waiting with bated breath for the first issue of Sandra Lee's new magazine. Rachael Ray she is not.

In the comics. I'm appalled by Sally Forth lately. Since when do they move people out of Human Resources to head up Marketing, even in the most completely f'ed up companies?! Francesco Marciuliano may be a hipster geek, but this is too much. In other comics news, I've almost completely stopped reading Get Fuzzy.

Still 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 it called for a lot of pre-packaged things that added up to almost $12 for 8 servings (though you could certainly shred your own cheese or make your own tomato sauce if you had the time and inclination), this isn't something I'm likely to make again. It did give me a chance to use my 8-quart stockpot for the first time, however, which was exciting.

I am really liking the tofu shirataki noodles they have in the tofu section at the grocery store. For one thing, they're about 40 calories per package in contrast to pasta which is about 200 calories a serving, and they have a good chewy texture. Says on the back they're endorsed by Hungry Girl.

I've stopped watching The Real Housewives of Orange County. The women are just too hateful and self-involved. The Atlanta women certainly behaved badly, but never on this level of viciousness. It's also sad the producers have apparently booted DeShawn from the next season of RHoA for being "too boring." She and Lisa were the most normal ones on the show, and her husband is such a nice guy.

Top Chef lumbers on, now down to four women and four men, with Jamie from Absinthe hanging in there. The new judge is bizarre--his vulgar comment about copulating with raw meat almost made me barf up my gnocchi.

The 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. I kind of feel sorry for the Elle editorial staff for having got themselves roped into this whole mess.

The food thus far on Top Chef has been surprisingly uninspired, given the caliber of this season's cast. Jamie from Absinthe is hanging in and seems to be doing well, but it's still at the point where I'm having trouble telling all the balds and beards apart. The blond guy is kinda scaring me. Unclench, dude.

I'm pulling a very late night tonight for work as we're releasing a bunch of assets in conjunction with the client's European office and there's no way we can currently "unlock" a folder on our public ftp automatically, so I have to start uploading a giant movie file at about midnight so it'll be available at 1 a.m. when the press release goes out. Whee. PR is all glamor all the time, people. This week I managed a local press tour for a client who was sick as a dog with the stomach flu. While we were all amazed and impressed with his ability to carry on while having to run to the bathroom about every 90 minutes to barf, I'm just very, very thankful he managed not to puke in my car.

Update: Um, wow. I had not yet watched the latest episode of Top Chef when I wrote this post about an hour ago. Kudos to Tom C. for staging a mini intervention.

Sorry, I was wrong: it was Lauren who got cut, not Jamie from Absinthe. Whew!

Saturday 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 my outstanding Calphalon pans, put the heat on medium, and lo and behold, within about five minutes I had popcorn. Drizzle on some Irish unsalted butter and sprinkle on some sea salt (paradoxical, but there you go), and I had a bowl of the best damn popcorn I think I've ever had. Way better than the movie itself which was kind of a disappointment. (And still don't really get how the Levi's 501 "Travis" ads from the 80's tie in.)

Other tv stuff: So upset that the chef from Absinthe in SF was the first to be booted from Top Chef. We did an event for a client at Absinthe a while back, and while they're better known locally for their bartenders than their food, I thought they did a fantastic job with our menu, and people still talk about that party.

Also watching The Real Housewives of Atlanta. (Why? I have no idea.) DeShawn's husband Eric is the nicest person on Earth. Have to say I kinda like NeNe. Kim is just a freaking disaster (who the hell buys one Louis Vuitton bag for an 11 year old, let alone two??), and while I started out liking Sheree, she's rapidly wearing out her welcome.

Other current trash tv viewing includes Stylista. I feel really bad for Anne Slowey; at this point she has to be wondering how she got stuck with this merry band of half-wits.

My other regular viewing these days is The Wire on DVD, so cut me some slack. That show takes concentration, not to mention the ritual sacrifice of small furry animals to the writer's uncanny genius at the conclusion of each brilliant episode. Gossip Girl is on hold until I can get caught up on the current season, and Mad Men is sadly done 'til next season.

The 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 challenge, which would include Clay, Victoria and Alex (can't recall Kristen's position), and Victoria was the one who talked and got their results tossed. Hmmm....

In other "reality" tv, what's with this trend of supermoms on all the cooking shows? Every one has to have the one contestant who's doing this all for her daughter and bases nearly every freaking recipe on something she cooks regularly for her daughter and is fine with being booted because she misses her daughter. On Top Chef it was Antonia, Hell's Kitchen it was (I think) Rosann, and now on TNFNS it's Jennifer. It's getting almost as overdone as the faux-hawk. Move on, food reality producers.

What 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 blogging about mayo. Must be some kind of trendlet.

I've spent the past few days on press tour for S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky (no, I didn't get a say in that annoying, overly-punctuated title) and some other games that aren't getting quite as much love, so I'm a little tired and cranky. Bought new yarn today in hopes of starting this shawl soon.

Today 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 Top Chef this week it was pretty clear who was going home the second that annoying jerk started shooting off his mouth about how he had this challenge in the bag. Lisa's pretty calm over the past few weeks but then her rampant paranoia reared its ugly head. I have nothing to say about Hell's Kitchen because I can't stand any of them.

The current rounds of Top Chef and Hell's Kitchen have both been on for a while now, but I've been too busy to comment thus far. A few thoughts:

• WTF moment #1 - On TC, the guy who works at Le Cirque doesn't know that mayonnaise is oil and egg??? Even I know that and I can barely boil water. Why is he still on the show?


• WTF moment #2 - On HK, "I don't know percentages, but..." Thank God GR threw him off; the guy's too dangerous to be in a kitchen.


• And where the hell do they find these people on HK? I realize Fox wants GR to explode as much as possible, but come on.


• Extremely close tie for most annoying on TC: hat guy and crabby chick with eyebrow piercing.


• Elizabeth Berkeley must have watched a whole lot of Padma in action before she started on the dancing show.


• What is it with chefs and faux-hawks?

In other news, I've finally identified the birds nesting on my patio as barn swallows and will post a photo of them soon. I had to go buy a bottle of something called Poop-Off because they're making a huge mess on the concrete. I keep meaning to go get a cheap mat to put under the nest that I can just toss later on, but with everything else going on it hasn't happened yet.

New at Big Lots: Cheese Quesadilla Pringles and many, many Golden Compass toys.