Tuesday, December 30, 2008

No, I'm not showing you my "beer-can" underwear, so don't even ask.

Random photos from the last two weeks, in no particular order and probably of no particular interest:


My half-assed christmas tree this year. I wasn't lying when I said that I just threw green lights in a potted palm and called it a day.



My pantry. It is still painted "little old catholic lady pink" and still has the shelf liner paper from the previous owner, Helen. I have grand plans to organize/paint/clean out the body parts I have stored in the corners while I'm on break, but knowing myself as I do I know I will pull everything out, get frustrated, then stare at it and order out for pizza for two days until a few glasses of wine inspires me to put it all back the way it was.


The other side. There's a George Foreman grill in there somewhere, and for some reason I keep thinking I'm out of sugar every time I go to the store, so I have two or three 5# bags of the stuff. Maybe we all can get together and make lollipops or fake crack or something.

We have a near- complete collection of superhero glasses from (I think) Burger King in 1973. We also have some Rocky & Bullwinkle and Looney Tunes ones. I (a.k.a. "wiggle fingers") am not allowed to use any of these- instead I get a nice, plastic Spongebob Squarepants sippy cup like the rest of my 30-something peers. I also have some vintage clown bowls that a friend gave me as she is terrified of clowns. I may have given them to her in the first place as a joke, I can't remember. I get it confused with the time I rented a creepy lady-clown for her birthday that surprised & scared the shit out of her while I laughed, and laughed, and laughed...

Good times.
There is also a Snoopy Sno-cone machine there that you can barely see, and a Farrah Fawcett insulated coffee mug and some misc. Pac-man glasses. I'm not sure what having all of these items says about us. I'm just going to pretend that it says we're awesomely cool.



For some reason I keep my 70's knit beer-can hat in there too. What? You don't have one?
I probably keep it in there because the pantry isn't heated very well, and in the dead of January I have to gear up with a snowsuit, moon boots and electric socks whenever I am cooking and spending any sort of time in there. One of you knitting-types really needs to bring these back.

Yes, I made another stupid fort for the kitties. Shut up.

In the "food porn" category, I made golden beet & beet greens risotto with chicken, loosely based on this recipe.


It was delicious.


I also had a bunch of cipolline onions that I wanted to pretty up somehow.
I blanched them first (boiled with skins on for 4-5 minutes, then cooled & peeled) then I got them nice and caramelized with olive oil & salt & pepper. Finally I cooked them with balsamic vinegar until they were a lovely color and the vinegar was reduced to a syrup.

They're like onion candy- so sexy and good that they make you feel like you might need a home pregnancy kit the next morning. We just ate them as is, warm.

I made shitloads of cookies this year (all on xxxmas eve-eve and xxxmas eve, no less), but my favorites are the simple butter & sugar cookies with almond-flavored icing. I love these ones as they look like snowballs. Damn evil, delicious, not covered in dirt and dog pee snowballs.

Someday they are going to find a way to get back at me- I can see it in their eyes that they're plotting and planning...
If I go missing, start with the cats- they're the ones with the motive. My body will probably be pretty easy to find as they'll most likely try and hide me in the litter box with all the other turds.

The other night I made a simple green salad with a warm dressing that had a tiny bit of bacon, some lemon, onions, a touch of jalapeno and some chopped up cipolline onions from the previous pic. Then I softish-poached an egg and sprinkled some roasted red pepper (from a jar) on top.
God, this was good. Slap your Grandma good. Lick the plate AND the table good.


Then Pan seared wild-caught Copper River salmon on black bean quinoa with a jalapeno-lemon-tomato relish.
Nom, nom, nom.


It was so good, Trouble licked my face clean. Good boy.

.

27 comments:

Kate said...

DAMN, but you make some purty food, lady!

Gwen said...

This post makes my $12 ribeye seem paltry, but I'm eating it anyway.

Moe Wanchuk said...

I want the Beer Can Unders

We need some excitement!...My buddies at work would love it too

BallerinaToes said...

oh my hell that food looks good.

Suze said...

Wait, I couldn't get past the cookies. Do you need a taste-tester? Do you? Huh, do you? Huh?

Talk With No Thought said...

It's A Cat In A Hat!

Kate said...

A few things:
1. Your clown bowls? Scare the shit out of me. But the Farrah mug? Loves.

2. What did you top the cookies with? Sugar in the raw? Inquiring minds want to know!

3. I made the same exact onion dish on Xmas eve! Except with pearl onions, not cipollini. I am going to have to try the cipollinis... did you think they were better the next day? Mine tasted better 24 hours later for some reason (but they were still yummy).

4. I wish I had a pantry. I had one in Duluth and I miss it in the worst way.

Kim said...

That hat kicks so much ass and I must say you wear it well.
It warms my heart to know we had pretty much the same glass and dishware collections of the late 70's - mid 80's. Did you ever collect the muppet ones? I wish I still had them.
I want to know what you and your mister do for exercise in order to burn off all the fab food you make all the time. Or were you just blessed with ridiculous metabolisms?
I may or may not have just licked my monitor.

Erin Alberty said...

Please see to it that the black cat gets his own hand-knit beer hat.

Failcooks said...

You seem to get prettier every day, lady.

diatribes and dish said...

Mmmmm. I want a taste of everything. Now, please.

Flenker said...

umm, please warn me next time you put a picture up like the one of your salad. I really shouldn't be having these sorts of feelings and thoughts going through my head while I'm at work.

And to answer your comment from my bloggy, yes, you can always get your crazy person tendencies out of the way by buying my dog clothes. I tell you what, I'll even dress her up in them and make a post about it, and give you total credit. I'm that much of a nice guy.

John said...

I totally spotted the George Foreman grill! But I only found 4 presidents. And I totally want Trouble's job. Or Shorty's. Whichever opens up first.

Dr Zibbs said...

Oh yeah - I'm all over that glass collection!

Anonymous said...

There's nothing wrong with a palm tree with green lights. I have one with white lights on my porch!

I wish I could taste your meals! They always look sooo good.

And....your pantry is bigger than my old downstairs bath! I've never had a pantry. Would love one though.

WM, hope you and the Mr. and the kitties have a wonderful New Year.

Patti

Stacey said...

Happy New Year...or Snooze year as I have taken to calling it because frankly some years I am just lame and fall asleep just before the midnight hour.

Although... this year may be different. My five year olds are learning to party like rockstars. Last night they tried to keep me up listening to music, dancing and giving Barbie concerts.
I'm thinking Barbie might be able to give one helluva a New Years concert after her "voice" (aka me) has about eleventy hundred glasses of celebratory wine

WendyB said...

I'm on my way over to your house for some Sno-Cones. Rev Snoopy up.

Lollie said...

Who else but you would have to qualify that their roasted red peppers came out of a jar. Mine? Always a jar...

kirby said...

Give me some onions and point me to the nearest middle school, baby!

pistols at dawn said...

Onion candy sounds oddly compelling. Then again, so do most things I can't make.

Iheartfashion said...

Your food porn is the best, WM!

Tobacco Brunette said...

I think the kitty fort's roof has suffocation warnings printed all over it. Are you trying to off the kitties?

You cook purty stuff.

Happy New Year, love!

Amaya said...

Thank you so much for that food porn. What a great way to start the new year!

Dr. Monkey Von Monkerstein said...

I wanted one of those beer can hats like a mofro when I was in high school. Upon seeing you in yours now I wonder why.

Idea #527 said...

Is it wrong that I kind of want to live in your attic or something, just to taste all the amazing food you cook!!

dguzman said...

The night no longer belongs to Michelob, my dear--it's all yours.

Mel O said...

You... my dear... eat like ROYALTY! What a lucky Mr. you have!

Yum-meeeee!