Your Mileage May Vary

One more for the road

Background Noise: Jack and Diane
Last Visited: So very very close... 
Random Thought: it was rude and mean and they were unapologetic; why am i not allowed to be snarky after that?   
Mood: ready for the rain, the pizza, the wine, the movie, and the sleeping

My mom came through with two more of my Grandma's recipes, so i'm trotting out one last time before i leave for my uber-awesome week long vacation to share these with the world, and with google: 

Noodles

You do 1 egg at a time but Grandma does 3 eggs worth when she does noodles for Thanksgiving.

1 egg
Take 1/2 egg shell and fill with water
5 heaping tablespoons of flour

Have flour on your surface. Roll out the dough flat. Fold into thirds. Cut with a SHARP straight edge knife.

Boil 64 ounces of broth.

Add noodles to boiling broth a few at a time. Better if made the day before and reheated the day of.

Broccoli Salad (from the Lubys)
serves 10-16
2 bunches of broccoli cut into bite-size flowerettes (do not cook)
3 green onions diced; include green stems (Grandma cuts them with scissors)
2/3 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup dried cherries or raisins or cranberries

Dressing
1 cup mayo
5T sugar
4T vinegar
Mix these together (or use commercial slaw dressing)

1. Mix salad ingredients
2.Pour dressing over salad and mix well
3.Allow to marinate 3-4 hours or longer (Grandma makes the day before)

Optional toppings
1/4 pound of crisp bacon pieces; sprinkle just before serving or serve in a separate dish along with salad.

Grandma sometimes makes this with cauliflower and broccoli. She also uses pecans or walnuts instead of sunflower seeds. She sometimes uses parmesan cheese for a topping.

Expression: 

Something's been added to the water, I'm sure

Background Noise: I Walk the Line, Johnny Cash 
Last Visited: Gotta remember to call these guys... Grand Canyon Air and Walk Tour 
Random Thought: one must always be careful when handing out lists...  
Mood: steeling myself for tomorrow; though the week off afterwards is a nice cushion to that impending blow

Geoff wanted to add to the recipe party, so here we go: his Mom's famous pepper steak. Enjoy!

"This recipe is known in our family simply as "Wok." I suspect I coined that term when I was about 3.

This was basically all from my mom's (possibly) hazy memory. Everything is correct except for the amounts of peanut oil teriyaki, and soy to use. "Taste to liking" I believe comes into play. :-)

Here goes:

Pepper Steak

Ingredients
1 sweet onion
1 green pepper
1 can water chestnuts optional
2-3 lbs flank steak (feeds 4)
Peanut oil
Baking powder
Fresh garlic
Soy sauce
Teriyaki sauce
Sherry

Cut/crush several gloves of garlic into small pieces.

Marinate flank steak for 4+ hours in 3 tsp sherry, 3 tsp teriyaki/soy mix, 1 tsp baking powder, mixed with garlic. Stir roughly every 30-60 minutes for consistent taste. Marinade should NOT be watery -- add baking powder as needed.

Cut onion and pepper into very small pieces (especially the green pepper) -- smaller the better, to ensure fully cooked.

Add peanut oil to wok on medium-high heat, a few spoonfuls at most, enough to prevent vegetables from sticking.

Slowly add onion and pepper to wok, using the pan lid to shield from splash-back. Stir often until cooked as desired, ensuring vegetables are no longer crunchy. Remove vegetables from wok, placing into a large bowl.

Add more peanut oil if necessary to wok, then slowly add meat and marinade. Cook meat to medium-well -- no pink should be showing -- then re-add vegetables, along with can of water chestnuts. Vegetables should be just slightly browned when finished, and completely soft. Cook to taste.

Serve over white rice (likely Uncle Ben's)."

Now that i have the recipe i suppose i'll just have to give this one a try! I'll add it to the growing pile :) right at the top... after Spinach Souffle. 

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Spinach Souffle

Background Noise: Summer in Ohio 
Last Visited:  He still does it better
Random Thought: i really do need to visit the Grand Canyon... 
Mood: oh so ready for sunday and that plane 

I don't really do favorites,  or top ten lists,  or best-ofs; but that rule doesn't really apply when it comes to Holiday Food: my Grandma's Spinach Souffle is,  I have to admit,  my favorite. There,  I said it. 

Her magical combination of cheese and cheese and eggs and cheese and spinach which comes together in this bubbling,  delicious,  golden brown tray of yumminess is something i crave pretty much always. 

 

Not that i really should limit its scope - there is nothing about Spinach Souffle that is intrinsically festive (unless you count the christmas tree pan my mom occasionally uses to make it for christmas morning.)  Rather, in a blind attempt to savor this dish and keep it special I tend to only eat it between November and January. Random? Likely.  Not that it really matters,  at this point it is a Tradition and one must always keep one's Traditions. Or something like that.  

So with no more gilding the lily,  and with no further ado,  here is my Grandma's Special Spinach Souffle recipe:  (drumroll please:) 

1 small container of creamy, small curd cottage cheese

6 eggs

1 pkg frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and drained

1 8oz pkg Kraft premium cheddar cheese, shredded (it used to be Kraft Old English)

6T flour

1 stick of butter sliced into pads

Mix the cheese, eggs and cheese together. Fold into a 9x13 pan. Put butter pads on top of souffle. Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees or until puffy and golden brown. Serve immediately.

Expression:  

Sometimes a girl just has to buy her own flowers

Background Noise: A lil bit country, giving Keith Urban another try 

Last Visited: Bunches and Fleur de Cocoa, Los Gatos

Random Thought: baby pictures of coworkers? priceless.  

Mood: it's not possible to be in a bad mood on a beautiful day like this one 

It shouldn't be surprising that i'm a fool for beautiful things; flowers, fields, sunsets, sunrises, old buildings, new buildings, exquisite food, less than exquisite food, perfectly mixed drinks, high school baseball games, shoes, hats, march madness pools, perfectly tailored dresses, smiles, gently rocking boats, moments... i adore them all. (Obviously and more, but you know me and lists...) And spring in California? So full of so many of the things i love. Don't get me wrong, i'm desperate to get home for that beautiful Michigan spring, but i have to admit, California's charms are growing on me.  

So go ahead - buy some beautiful spring flowers, eat lunch outside, take a walk by the water, find a sunset stargazing hike; take pictures, take picnics, discover somewhere new, rediscover somewhere old, get a jump start on an adventure. Because i don't know about you, but i'm sick and tired of wondering if i'm being defined by the things i didn't say, the places i didn't go. So go on - start living outside, instead of inside your head or vicariously through a movie. 

I know i'm trying; because really? I'd rather try and fall than never give myself the chance to fly. 

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The Day After

Last Visited: news feeds, bug feeds, status feeds, anything really except eapproval to file my expense report

Random Thought: 28 is starting off with a bang 

Mood: moving a little slowly this morning 

Yesterday i turned 28; it was actually an awesome day, busy (shocker), but great. Good moods, good food, good progress, good drinks, good debate, good fun. Yay. 

... There need to be posts with pictures, (new galleries: Philly, Elphaba's Day Out, Michigan: Fall '08,) but i really should actually file that expense report. 

Thank you to all the birthday wishes, it really was wonderful to hear from everyone yesterday. 

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The Cost of a Chair

Background Noise: Brandy, Three Dog Night

Last Visited: inventory verification; and yummy stats 

Random Thought: i'm getting better at go karting; i wonder if the bruises inside my knees afterwards will ever stop though

Mood: i could use a few of Katrina's caffine breath mints this morning 

I've coveted this chair for a good long while now; i've been able to resist purchasing it for all that time because, well, there are just so many other things i can do for the price of that chair (for fun, let's put the average with tax at $2400): 

• 5.8 flights home (at the rate i paid for my ticket in july) 
• airfare and 6 nights in London at the rate i got in december  
• 40 nice pairs of shoes  
• 6 tickets to South Pacific  
• 30 bottles of 2003 Paraduxx Mallards  
• 240 poker buy-ins   
• 40 rounds of the gokart grand prix   
• 600 breakfasts a starbucks (including tip)  
• 40 full tanks of gas (at the rate i paid this weekend, roughly 14,000 miles of driving) 
• 2300 4x6 prints (after tax and delivery)   
• 3 prime lenses for my camera  
• 150 tank tops at the Gap  
• 85 tickets to the symphony   
• 300 drinks at the bar  
• 234 movie tickets  
• 10.4 flights to the general midwest  
• 12.6 flights to Vegas / LA / Seattle   
• a shark expedition from SF bay for 8  

... what i'm saying is that that money buys a lot. Does $2400 make for the most expensive chair ever? Certainly not. But compared to all of the other things i could do with that money... it feels quite pricey indeed. 

(Since i started writing this post i found out that not only is that chair currently on sale, the recliner variant is now offered in fabric in addition to leather at a significantly lower price; i'm trying very very very hard to forget that i know that little piece of information.)

(Oh, but it would be so nice to have a perfect reading chair....)

ps: Hail to the Victors, even in 1903, even in the snow; especially in the snow. 

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Happy Birthday, Anne Girl

Background Noise: Into the Woods

Last Visited: 'bucks + chocolate == a very hyper me 

Random Thought: Is Carousel sold out through next July already? Awesome! And, um, also, Al? :) i might need some help getting tickets at that rate. 

Mood: surprisingly still has brownies left to hand out

100 years ago L.M. Montgomery published Anne of Green Gables - one of my favorite series' of all time; not that i really have favorites; but if i didn't this would be on the list, near the top; and not only because Anne spells her name the right way - with an 'e', like mine. 

... i... have forgotten what i was going to write next. I blame the caffeine and the chocolate. 

Perhaps tonight after sushi i will have to put in one of my Anne dvds... i do adore a trip to Price Edward Island every now and then. 

... but until then, maybe i'll go get some water to help me come down from this cloud. 

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Easy, Breezy, Beautiful: Color Girl

Background Noise: Bubbly, Colbie Caillat (i can hardly believe it myself)

Last Visited: Oak Park, Cupertino

Random Thought: High ceilings, lofty spaces, and master suites built for play rule; do they really need to come with a $700k+ price tag though? 

Mood: tired and it shows

 

Right before my lovely vacation home, i managed (finally) to officially change teams here at Apple: i'm now a full fledged, fully qualified, not at all on loan, member of the Color team within Final Cut Studio! 

I am seriously thrilled with the change; I've been on loan to the team a few times, and i have to say, i adore working with the SoCal boys. Working on FCE and FCP was a great ride, but sometimes you need a teeny bit of a change of scenery...

... and the view from this side of the building is certainly bright.

Expression:  

Light up my room

Background Noise: Viva la Vida

Last Visited: Macy's, the brick and mortar one. Note to Macy's: stores should match the price of items on your website. I love the dress, but seriously, that's obnoxious. 

Random Thought: bored? go learn something 

Mood: another demo down...

Things have been nuts this week and last and i haven't had a moment to mention who the band was at the WWDC beer bash this year! (How could i have forgotten?) I was so thrilled to discover that after years (and years) of predicting Barenaked Ladies... they finally showed up!

So out when the plans for reservations at some quite restaurant with excellent food and even better drinks, and in came the game plan of me grinning like an idiot while singing and dancing along during their (brief) set. Andrew M. even rescued a guitar pick for me near the end; and i have to admit, suddenly, that very very very long day didn't seem bad at all. 

I have to say many many thank you's to Andy for letting me pretend to be him for the day so i could sit on some quite interesting sessions and make it to the bash at the end of the day. 

... on a closing note, do you think the new Elle Woods (gulp, oh my ears, my ears) would find these heeliarious heels, up to her, um, style standards? 

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Some Enchanted Evening

Background Noise: restarting imacs, iphones; waiting for the icalbridge to sync for the first time
Last Visited: Dave & Liz's Engagement Pictures + Party Gallery
Random Thought: hello South Pacific - um, Emile is... unreal - gorgeous, with a voice to bring women to their knees... is it warm in here or is that just me?
Mood: happy half birthday to me...

So saturday was the big Dave and Liz's Engagement extravaganza - a photo shoot in the morning, and the party in the evening. I think everything turned out well; the party was fun, everyone got along, and i think we ended up with some nice pictures:

with one or two pictures from the party:

from left to right, this is Helena, JR, Me, Debbi, Louis, and Steve C. Just in case. (Don't Debbi and I look related in this picture?).

In other news, largely due to a piece on npr this weekend about Herbert von Karajan, I'm now the pleased owner of the complete Beethoven Symphonies and selections of Turandot by the Berlin Philharmonic. Excellent.

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