6 posts tagged “cooking”

Which household chores do you most/least enjoy?
Submitted by falcon.kmc.

i LEAST enjoy cleaning Chester's Secret Hut. It was really nice those few months when i could rely on totally disposable "build 'em up, break 'em down" catboxes. Even if you clean it daily, it just reeks. But... he's my cat, and i'm the only one who loves the poor idiot...

i'm not always fond of grocery stores, but i've found that going early in the morning is pretty fun. You get the best produce, meat, and fish, and most people aren't up grocery shopping at 8am.

i love doing the cooking. This we know. i don't even mind dishes so long as i'm doing dishes in a place that doesn't utilize a tub of water which must be dumped outside. SCRAPE into trash. USE crud-catcher. Wash! Dump crud-catcher! There is no need for 20 lbs. of filthy water that looks like vegetable soup.

Going to bed is a real chore. But at least tonight i'm reasonably sleepy and will be passing out within a few minutes.

What is your current obsession(s)?
Submitted by eijsr.

Let's see... Cooking, of course... Now that i get to cook on a more regular basis, i look around more for new recipes and things to try. It's a ton of fun, and really, so much better for us...

i'm really giving this PHP/mySQL stuff a serious try again, too, so i've been reading a lot about that lately. And lo and behold, it makes a lot more sense this time around. (Could be because my head is clearer these days.) The reason behind even picking it up again at all is to do this photo project i have planned. i tried automated solutions like Wordpress, but i can't get the look i want, so... i'll do it myself! It's quite an undertaking for me, but every time i grasp a new concept, i feel elated.

And i AM a lot more into photography again, which i'm loving... My head is filled with all kinds of photo-related projects and ideas lately. i want to challenge myself to try new techniques, and get more serious about lighting and doing things manually as much as i can. i also want to challenge myself by photographing people more, because i've never really been that great with giving posing direction, but... i will practice!

Who taught you how to cook?
Submitted by Donna.

Nobody, really. i learned through experimentation and varying recipes. Later on, i learned a lot of techniques and ideas from Food Network. My mother's never been the greatest cook, though she can make about 3 or 4 things really well. My grandmother is a much better cook, but with very little experimentation or variation.

i'm very much looking forward to a day when i have my own kitchen. For now, i enjoy comandeering friends' kitchens from time to time.

It's finally not-quite-Thanksgiving day. People will be arriving in 2 hours, and we'll be eating in around 3. i've got helpers coming over in about an hour or so, but i honestly don't think i'll need any help. Despite earlier panic, things actually seem to be going pretty smoothly. My only concern is whether or not the turkey will be late, holding up the rest of the stuff i have to cook/heat up.

This year's menu...

1 22 lb turkey named "Big Leo"
1 5.6 lb turkey breast since i like a lot of friggin leftovers
Giant bowl of cranberries with apricots
Bacon-cornbread stuffing
Mashed potatoes
Sweet potatoes
Sausage stuffed mushroom appetizer
Corn
Green beans
Acorn squash with orange-butter glaze
Ice cream cake in the shape of a turkey
Liquor!

The turkey breast is cooked and ready to go, Big Leo is in the oven making the house smell amazing. The cranberries are done, and mighty delicious this year. The stuffing, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and green beans need a lil time in the oven, but otherwise they're all ready. The squash will take about 30 minutes to finish. The corn takes 5 minutes. The mushrooms are ready to toast and be consumed.

i'm hungry.

It's going to be an interesting task to make room for 12 people to eat. i'm not sure how i'm going to pull that off, since our table seats 6 comfortably and 8 uncomfortably. Maybe push two tables together. We'll see.

Pictures to follow...

You know... Most times, i love the series shown on cable movie channels. The Sopranos... i've been hooked for years. Six Feet Under, too - though there are still parts of the series i regret i have not seen. Huff is insanely addictive. Now, it's Dexter. The pain of waiting a week for 53 minutes of progression is back once again.

But there's an extra added twist this time. Dexter is actually based on the novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter. i so want to read this book, and the sequel, but... being a more visual person, i have decided to wait six more weeks until season 1 is over. i'd hate to spoil any surprises.

And now we're watching some random ass movie on TV called 2001 Maniacs with the creepy big killer guy from Fargo who also played Lucifer in Constantine. Robert Englund is in it, too. And Eli Roth and "Dr. Mambo" have made a guest appearance. i am intrigued. If you don't get the Dr. Mambo thing, you obviously haven't seen (and need to see) Cabin Fever.

Life is... life. Warcrack, which is supposed to be a source of amusement, has become quite aggravating lately. Our server, at least, seems to be falling apart, but i suspect it has something to do with the expansion pack. My pals are scattered around, and that makes me a little sad. But, thanksgiving is this weekend... sort of. MY thanksgiving anyway. i'm having people over on Saturday - though at this point i have no idea how many - and doing my yearly cooking ritual. i have my entire week planned out, just like last year, so that i don't get stressed out.

Ok, Robert Englund is wearing a Confederate flag eyepatch. i need to watch this movie.

It's funny. i just noticed how little i've posted since a post in late September. Wowzers. i'm usually so much more talkative... A few updates on the things i last posted about... i did indeed go to the rescheduled dentist appointment, which was today, as a matter of fact. Didn't hurt, but it wasn't pleasant either. At least this time i wasn't inadvertantly forced to watch White Chicks. (Who the fuck bought that on DVD?!) i had Saw 2 Uncut in my bag from having just purchased it before going to the dentist, along with Feast, but somehow i didn't see either of those making it into the office DVD player. Oh well. Next time i'm in for a long appointment, i'm taking a movie with me. Seriously. My mouth is still numb, my new fake crown feels bizarre, and i'm so agitated at my mouth right now that i just want to chew on something. Anything.

i have started to work again. i've been contracted to do a web site for someone i know, and so far it's going really well. i gave her some rough ideas to look at earlier this week, and she really likes them! That's such a great feeling! i miss feedback! It's inspired me to work on my own web site... not YET, but i'd like to anyway. i've got the domain, and i haven't touched it in ages, yet... i still pay for it. i should do something with it. Something to get the creativity going.

i still play too much Warcraft, but i've sworn it off for the next couple of days so that i can get some things done. i was going to cancel my account for awhile, but instead i've decided to use it's cracklike power to my advantage. i have trouble getting up early, that's been a fact for ages. i have very little to keep me on an actual schedule. All it takes is one bad day or two and i'm right back waking up at noon. SO. i'm going to join a guild full of people on the other side of the world, and play very early in the morning with them. The raiding will end before 11am, leaving me with the rest of the day to work, and evenings open for errands, fun, and PVP. It's a pretty ridiculous way to get myself on a schedule, but damned if it won't work. Should be fun, too! (PS - i'm THRILLED the expansion has been pushed back. Gives me plenty of time to hit Field Marshal, and still play with the little feral drood i made a couple of weeks ago.)

i'm actually going to be *gasp* social this weekend. i haven't done that in ages. Should be interesting. i miss going out and doing stuff sometimes. A friend of mine from up north is visiting in January, and we already have plans that i'm very much looking forward to - getting all dressed up, going to the local goth bar, and being snobby bar bitches like we used to back in the day. It's great, too, because i don't think there's a snowball's chance in hell of me going back to Chicago in January this year, but perhaps in the spring. His visit should take the edge off for awhile. We ARE going to Boston for New Years again, though, and this time around, i'm renting a car. i'm sick of being on a leash with them... i'm 26 fucking years old. (And sharing one mid-size car with seven passengers last time blew huge goat chunks. i'd rather not have to relive that.) Driving in Boston will be an experience, to say the least, but i could perhaps even sneak off to NYC for a day or two.. That sure would be nice. Finally getting to go there after so many years of wanting to, even if its just for a day, would be just as exciting for me as going to Chicago for a whole week.

i'm looking forward to the new year. It's going to be different.

i'm also really looking forward to Thanksgiving, which is the next foreseeable big social thing for me. We've probably got a Warcrack buddy coming down for it, too. Hooray for twenty-pound turkeys and cooking for two days! (Seriously, i love it.) It's always a good time. i will post many many pictures, i'm sure.