You can tell it's the summer hiatus for most of the TV shows we watch. This is mostly because we've started watching totally random shit on Hulu.com.
So far we've watched My Own Worst Enemy, Wilfred, Misfits, Love Bites and Expedition: Impossible. This, of course, is in addition to our normal summer viewing of So You Think You Can Dance, Master Chef, Burn Notice (via Hulu), Royal Pains (via Hulu) and White Collar (via Hulu). And I can't wait for Eureka and Warehouse 13 to start again (both via Hulu).
So, the summaries:
My Own Worst Enemy: A man signs up to give himself a split personality where one personality is a 'normal' guy while the other is a government trained operative (along the lines of Ethan in Mission: Impossible). But what happens when switching between the two personalities becomes uncontrollable? A decent concept, but I can also see why it was cancelled - Henry (the normal) was getting a bit whiny and Edward (the operative) was a cad. I mean I liked the show, but I ended up more interested in one of the other operatives, Tom/Raymond. (1st and only season available via Hulu)
Wilfred: A man sees his next door neighbor's dog as a man in a dog suit. It's not like Son of Sam (though the dog does egg on said man to do things - like take a dump in the jackass's boot), but it's more like the fact that we all have conversations with our animals and tend to anthropormorphise them. In this case, the dog just talks back. Oddly, if they went with a real dog and did CGI to get it to talk, it probably wouldn't work. The show is HIGH LARIOUS. The first episode is a little weak, but the second and third are capital. (via Hulu)
Misfits: A British dramedy that is similar to Heroes, but with a lot more cussing, comedy and sex. 5 delinquents are doing community service when they're caught in a freak electrical storm that gives them special powers. As they all find out what powers they have, they find that they weren't the only ones given special powers during the storm. Hijinks ensue. I like this show and find it quite entertaining - even if I can't understand what some of the characters are saying (attributed to their accents and British slang). So far there are only 4 episodes available, but I think the show is currently still on air so that means there are at least 2 more seasons of it. So it's lasted at least as long as Heroes. Available via Hulu.
Love Bites: When I first saw this title, I thought it was like Bites as in "this sucks", but no, it's Bites as in little bits. Each episode usually has 3 stories that are sometimes inter-related, sometimes not, sometimes using the same characters, sometimes not. Admittedly, the reason why I even watched the first episode was because of the title, but I actually like the show. I don't think Shawn really likes it very much (it's my new Glee, if you will). My favorite episode was the one with Kurtwood Smith as a father coming to terms with the fact that his son is gay (Episode 2: How To...). Of course, since the stories aren't necessarily told in any chronological order, nor do stories continue over multiple episodes, I could see how it would drive some people nuts...but at the same time, it also means that you don't have to watch all the episodes to know what is going on - oh sure there are recurring characters, but generally you don't have to know the whole back story on them for the little vignettes to make sense. Only downside is that it is unlikely to continue into a second season based on how much trouble it was to get the first 9 episodes aired. Currently airing on NBC Thursdays 10/9c. Also can be found on Hulu and NBC.com
Expedition Impossible: A Mark Burnet production that is like the Amazing Race on steroids. Where the Amazing Race would have the teams drive 7 miles through the Sahara, Expedition makes them walk it. Where the Amazing Race has teams wait 5 minutes before making a second guess at the clue, Expedition doesn't tell them they're wrong and lets them hike 30 minutes in the wrong direction before telling them they chose the wrong option. We only started watching this because the "Gypsies" team trained for the show by doing CrossFit. It's stronger than TAR in some aspects - makes the teams work harder to complete the leg, but it's also weak - the clue challenges are set up in a way that allows teams to piggy back on the earlier teams. Something to think about if you did the Tough Mudder... Currently Airing on ABC Thursdays at 9/8c. Also available on Hulu and ABC.com
Showing posts with label reviews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reviews. Show all posts
Monday, July 11, 2011
Thursday, January 06, 2011
The Tradition: Cinnamon Rolls
Growing up, my mom made cinnamon rolls every Christmas morning. We'd eat cinnamon rolls with an orange on appropriately festive paper plates and then we'd go look at all the goodies that Santa left us in our stockings. (Ah yes, I remember the year that Dad got a bag of coal. That was a fun year.) Mom originally started out making cinnamon rolls by scratch using a recipe from my great-aunt (dad's side). By the time we were older (in middle school), she found Rhode's Cinnamon Rolls in the freezer section of the grocery store and after we all agreed that they were just as good as the home made ones, she never went back.
For the past 5 years, I've dutifully made cinnamon rolls for Christmas day (and yes, I've made home made ones, pillsbury ones, and rhodes ones at various times - and mostly depending on when I went to the grocery store, if I had any yeast, and how quickly I wanted to make the rolls).
This year, for December Food Month (which is what I've affectionately named the tradition at work where someone brings in some food item to share for one day during December - the goal is to have at least one person signed up for every work day during December. Thus obviously turning us all into gluttons; who, on the first work day of the new year, walk down to the break room in a zombie-like fashion hoping and praying that someone was nice and brought in left over Christmas candy), one of the co-workers brought in home made cinnamon rolls. HOME MADE CINNAMON ROLLS, PEOPLE!! She used Ree Drummond's recipe which can be obtained through her website: The Pioneer Woman. The cinnamon rolls were Delicious and I single-handedly ate half a pan (so like 5 or something). I do not feel bad about this because she brought in 6 pans, and I waited until after lunch to have the 3rd, and until the day after to eat the other two. I was just being helpful and trying to make sure that we did not end up with an ant problem. It has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that cinnamon rolls are quite possibly my second favorite food in the world.
When I figured out that the recipe was easily available, I decided that I would make them instead of any of my other methods. Below is a pictorial process of the making of the cinnamon rolls.
Step 1: obtain all of the ingredients below. Including the foil throw away pans--the full recipe makes 6 of the square pans, 7 or so of the rounds.
Step 4: mix half the flour with the milk, yeast and sugar.
Step 5: Let rise.
Step 6: While dough is rising, make yourself useful and butter down those cinnamon roll pans.
Step 9: Turn out dough on well floured surface and form into a rough rectangular shape.
Step 10: Roll out into large rectangle. I rolled it too thin though, so you definitely want to go a little thicker than I did...maybe about 1/4" to 1/2" thick.
Step 13: Sprinkle well with cinnamon. Very well.
Step 15: Cut in 3/4" to 1" rounds and place in buttered pans.
Step 16: Find an appropriately festive towel, cover the rolls and let rise. I only did a half batch and managed to get 4 full pans out of the deal (as I said, I rolled the rolls too thin, and then I also cut them a bit on the skinny side)
Step 18: While the rolls are baking, break out your coffee maker and make the glaze. This is the third time it has been pulled out of the cupboard. Hot diggidy! The other times it has been pulled out are for French Onion Soup Night and during March when the Inlaws came to visit. We do not drink coffee, and Shawn told me I was a dum-dum for making frosting with coffee in it--I couldn't taste the coffee at all in Andrea's rolls, but apparently using a Dark French Roast with the setting on the coffee pot set to "Strong" is not the best option for those of us who do not like coffee flavored things.
Step 20: Glaze your finished cinnamon rolls making sure to get as much into the nooks and crannies as possible. Step 21 is to enjoy them, but step 22 is to listen to your husband complain about how the rolls taste like coffee.
For the past 5 years, I've dutifully made cinnamon rolls for Christmas day (and yes, I've made home made ones, pillsbury ones, and rhodes ones at various times - and mostly depending on when I went to the grocery store, if I had any yeast, and how quickly I wanted to make the rolls).
This year, for December Food Month (which is what I've affectionately named the tradition at work where someone brings in some food item to share for one day during December - the goal is to have at least one person signed up for every work day during December. Thus obviously turning us all into gluttons; who, on the first work day of the new year, walk down to the break room in a zombie-like fashion hoping and praying that someone was nice and brought in left over Christmas candy), one of the co-workers brought in home made cinnamon rolls. HOME MADE CINNAMON ROLLS, PEOPLE!! She used Ree Drummond's recipe which can be obtained through her website: The Pioneer Woman. The cinnamon rolls were Delicious and I single-handedly ate half a pan (so like 5 or something). I do not feel bad about this because she brought in 6 pans, and I waited until after lunch to have the 3rd, and until the day after to eat the other two. I was just being helpful and trying to make sure that we did not end up with an ant problem. It has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that cinnamon rolls are quite possibly my second favorite food in the world.
When I figured out that the recipe was easily available, I decided that I would make them instead of any of my other methods. Below is a pictorial process of the making of the cinnamon rolls.
Step 1: obtain all of the ingredients below. Including the foil throw away pans--the full recipe makes 6 of the square pans, 7 or so of the rounds.
Step 4: mix half the flour with the milk, yeast and sugar.
Step 5: Let rise.
Step 6: While dough is rising, make yourself useful and butter down those cinnamon roll pans.
Step 9: Turn out dough on well floured surface and form into a rough rectangular shape.
Step 10: Roll out into large rectangle. I rolled it too thin though, so you definitely want to go a little thicker than I did...maybe about 1/4" to 1/2" thick.
Step 13: Sprinkle well with cinnamon. Very well.
Step 15: Cut in 3/4" to 1" rounds and place in buttered pans.
Step 16: Find an appropriately festive towel, cover the rolls and let rise. I only did a half batch and managed to get 4 full pans out of the deal (as I said, I rolled the rolls too thin, and then I also cut them a bit on the skinny side)
Step 18: While the rolls are baking, break out your coffee maker and make the glaze. This is the third time it has been pulled out of the cupboard. Hot diggidy! The other times it has been pulled out are for French Onion Soup Night and during March when the Inlaws came to visit. We do not drink coffee, and Shawn told me I was a dum-dum for making frosting with coffee in it--I couldn't taste the coffee at all in Andrea's rolls, but apparently using a Dark French Roast with the setting on the coffee pot set to "Strong" is not the best option for those of us who do not like coffee flavored things.
Step 20: Glaze your finished cinnamon rolls making sure to get as much into the nooks and crannies as possible. Step 21 is to enjoy them, but step 22 is to listen to your husband complain about how the rolls taste like coffee.
Tuesday, July 06, 2010
Yard Mateys! Part: the third
Today we will pick up where we left off:
Are the aforementioned Skil Shrub Trimmer and the Fiskars Momentum Reel Mower so easy to use, that even a baby could do it?
Today I will review the Fiskars, the Skil review can be found here
And as I edited in last time, I'm doing this of my own volition and was not paid or compensated in any way by Skil or Fiskars. We paid our own hard earned cash for these products, so they damn well better work.
Shawn had finished mowing the yard and I had finished using the shrub trimmer, when I looked out into the side yard and noticed some random blades of grass that hadn't been cut by the mower. I guess this is a common complaint when people first start mowing their yard with a reel mower after using a gas powered mower for years. It appears that grass needs to be 'trained' to be cut by a reel mower-mow one direction one week, a different direction the next until the grass learns to grow straight up (i get the feeling that the gas mower either blows the blades multiple ways so they'll get cut down by the blades, or it creates a mild suction which accomplishes the same thing). I figured that this was as good a time as any to start pushing the mower through the grass to see how it handles. Though I guess I should really wait until the grass is taller so I get the full experience rather than the grass is already cut and I'm basically just pushing a mower through it for no reason. But we'll deal with that later.
Oh I should mention that we've got St. Augustine grass. And, if you want to get a reel mower, you should really do some research beforehand to make sure that the mower you get is good for the grass you have. I believe the Fiskars and the Scotts are good for St. Augustine but the Brill isn't good for it. (thankfully the Fiskars and the Scotts are much cheaper than the Brill.) from the research Shawn's done, it sounds as if the thicker the grass (St. Augustine, Zoysia, and Bermuda...so basically the grasses used in Austin), the tougher it is for the lighter mowers to cut. All this means is that for our grass, you want something that is a bit heavier so it doesn't just rest on top of the grass not cutting anything.
So I start 'mowing the lawn' and let me just say that while it's nowhere near as easy as a self-propelled lawn mower, it is a hell of a lot easier than our current gas mower. I can barely push that thing up the small hill we have--I have to get a running start. No such need with the Fiskars. The Fiskars is apparently easier to push than other reel mowers because it's a 'touchless' system. All that means is that the reel and the stationary blades are insanely close together, but they don't actually touch. So there's no blade friction, and you can go YEARS without having to sharpen the blades.
The mower is obviously very quiet. Much quieter than the gas powered mower, and much quieter than the neighbors and their damn jackhammer. I don't know why they were jackhammering, but it was loud and it was annoying. Thankfully it was also 10 in the morning on July 4th when they started doing it.
The Fiskars throws the grass clippings in front of the mower so there's no green grass stains on socks...or grass clippings in shoes. Though to be fair I think ever since we've gotten this thing, Shawn's mowed in bare feet.
The only downside I really noticed was that it doesn't handle corners and edges very well. It's tough to get it to follow a curve (but then I'm not sure I would have done better with the gas-mower). And we've got the area by the drive way where the grass is currently growing sideways and the other mower pulls the grass up enough that it can get trimmed--with this one, we have to go out with the weed whacker if we want the grass along the edges of the driveway to get trimmed.
Overall I'd give it 4.5 stars out of 5. It gets major points for ease of blade height change (you can change it with one hand and without tools--there's a little knob that changes the height of the front wheels which changes the height of the blades), ease of pushing it (I'd never mow the lawn with the other mower), and quietness. Plus the touch-less system is pretty freaking cool, as is the spitting the grass blades out the front - makes it a lot easier to tell when an area is done. It loses points for the cement edge mowing, and lack of being able to cut up the long 'strings' of St. Augustine grass.
Are the aforementioned Skil Shrub Trimmer and the Fiskars Momentum Reel Mower so easy to use, that even a baby could do it?
Today I will review the Fiskars, the Skil review can be found here
And as I edited in last time, I'm doing this of my own volition and was not paid or compensated in any way by Skil or Fiskars. We paid our own hard earned cash for these products, so they damn well better work.
Shawn had finished mowing the yard and I had finished using the shrub trimmer, when I looked out into the side yard and noticed some random blades of grass that hadn't been cut by the mower. I guess this is a common complaint when people first start mowing their yard with a reel mower after using a gas powered mower for years. It appears that grass needs to be 'trained' to be cut by a reel mower-mow one direction one week, a different direction the next until the grass learns to grow straight up (i get the feeling that the gas mower either blows the blades multiple ways so they'll get cut down by the blades, or it creates a mild suction which accomplishes the same thing). I figured that this was as good a time as any to start pushing the mower through the grass to see how it handles. Though I guess I should really wait until the grass is taller so I get the full experience rather than the grass is already cut and I'm basically just pushing a mower through it for no reason. But we'll deal with that later.
Oh I should mention that we've got St. Augustine grass. And, if you want to get a reel mower, you should really do some research beforehand to make sure that the mower you get is good for the grass you have. I believe the Fiskars and the Scotts are good for St. Augustine but the Brill isn't good for it. (thankfully the Fiskars and the Scotts are much cheaper than the Brill.) from the research Shawn's done, it sounds as if the thicker the grass (St. Augustine, Zoysia, and Bermuda...so basically the grasses used in Austin), the tougher it is for the lighter mowers to cut. All this means is that for our grass, you want something that is a bit heavier so it doesn't just rest on top of the grass not cutting anything.
So I start 'mowing the lawn' and let me just say that while it's nowhere near as easy as a self-propelled lawn mower, it is a hell of a lot easier than our current gas mower. I can barely push that thing up the small hill we have--I have to get a running start. No such need with the Fiskars. The Fiskars is apparently easier to push than other reel mowers because it's a 'touchless' system. All that means is that the reel and the stationary blades are insanely close together, but they don't actually touch. So there's no blade friction, and you can go YEARS without having to sharpen the blades.
The mower is obviously very quiet. Much quieter than the gas powered mower, and much quieter than the neighbors and their damn jackhammer. I don't know why they were jackhammering, but it was loud and it was annoying. Thankfully it was also 10 in the morning on July 4th when they started doing it.
The Fiskars throws the grass clippings in front of the mower so there's no green grass stains on socks...or grass clippings in shoes. Though to be fair I think ever since we've gotten this thing, Shawn's mowed in bare feet.
The only downside I really noticed was that it doesn't handle corners and edges very well. It's tough to get it to follow a curve (but then I'm not sure I would have done better with the gas-mower). And we've got the area by the drive way where the grass is currently growing sideways and the other mower pulls the grass up enough that it can get trimmed--with this one, we have to go out with the weed whacker if we want the grass along the edges of the driveway to get trimmed.
Overall I'd give it 4.5 stars out of 5. It gets major points for ease of blade height change (you can change it with one hand and without tools--there's a little knob that changes the height of the front wheels which changes the height of the blades), ease of pushing it (I'd never mow the lawn with the other mower), and quietness. Plus the touch-less system is pretty freaking cool, as is the spitting the grass blades out the front - makes it a lot easier to tell when an area is done. It loses points for the cement edge mowing, and lack of being able to cut up the long 'strings' of St. Augustine grass.
Monday, July 05, 2010
Yard Mateys! Part: the second
As I figured that i couldn't really do a true review on the new yard tools ifin I haven't used them, I decided that I should try them out to give you an idea on how well they REALLY work. Because, as we all know, sometimes Shawn thinks things are all unicorns and rainbows when really they aren't. Take linux for example. While I like linux and I willingly use it at home, the vast majority of the world does not use linux and thinks people who do are computer nerds (which, yes. that's true), and are a tad masochistic (that may also be true).
So, are the aforementioned Skil Shrub Trimmer and the Fiskars Momentum Reel Mower so easy to use, that even a baby could do it?
Today I will review the Skil, and I'll have the Fiskars post tomorrow or something.
And as I edited in last time, I'm doing this of my own volition and was not paid or compensated in any way by Skil or Fiskars. We paid our own hard earned cash for these products, so they damn well better work.
It's kinda hard to see in the pictures on Amazon, but the Skil, as with any other motorized, sharp bladed/pointy tool that could require a visit to the emergency room if you decide to use it while on valium, ambien, or some delicious adult beverages, has a safety switch. Now then, this safety switch doesn't require that you hold it down the entire time the tool is in use (like a gas powered lawn mower), but you do have to hold it down and pull the trigger to get the tool to start up, then you can let go of the safety switch and the shrub trimmer can trim the shrubs as desired. Every time you let off of the trigger, you will have to hold the safety switch down again in order to re-start the blades. Doing this action isn't too difficult, and I could easily do this all one handed, but I do have the habit of just holding down the safety switch (essentially treating it like a gas powered lawn mower)...which requires some hand strength. Hand strength which I do not posses. I guess it could also be larger hands which would making holding down the safety switch easier as well since I had to stretch my finger to do it. OR maybe I could avoid being a dork and only press down the safety switch when it's actually needed.
Anyhow.
I tackled the Scourge Released Upon Central Texas by an Idiot aka Asian Jasmine. I actually did quite a bit in the amount of time it took Shawn to mow the lawn, and was quite proud of myself. With the regular pruners we used to use, I would MAYBE finish going around the berm in the amount of time Shawn mowed the yard. With this little Shrub Trimmer though I got both Hell Strips, the Berm, and partway through the Rosebush area all in the amount of time it took Shawn to do half of the front yard and the entire back yard. [Insert picture of front yard here - see? I get so used to linux that I can't find any of my photos if I'm not using it. So I have to put notes to myself to do anything other than check my email on this silly windows machine]. I wanted to continue working and do the two crepe myrtle bush areas too, but Shawn told me to wait until next time.
Now then, as you can imagine, since I insisted on holding down the safety button, my hand started getting tired. so I switched hands. Only I'm not as dexterous with my left hand so I had to use both hands to hold the shrub trimmer. This worked out quite well, though as I was STILL stretching one of my hands to hold the safety switch, pull the trigger and still be able to hold onto the tool, I did end up with sore hands. Specifically a sore left hand. My right hand is perfectly fine.
After using the shrub trimmer for about an hour, I was finding it tougher and tougher to hold down the trigger. But this, I'm sure, is due to my wimpyness and not the Skil itself. Shawn's suggestion is that we should get a rubber band and put it around the trigger to hold it down. Yes, THAT sounds safe. Next weekend when I'm in the ER, you'll know why.
Overall: I'd give the thing 4 of out 5 stars. The battery lasted the whole hour, it's a much better design, and more powerful than the little edge trimmer thing I used to use as a kid. The thing is just top heavy enough that I find it helpful to use both hands to hold it.
I'll be interested to see how the battery holds up.
So, are the aforementioned Skil Shrub Trimmer and the Fiskars Momentum Reel Mower so easy to use, that even a baby could do it?
Today I will review the Skil, and I'll have the Fiskars post tomorrow or something.
And as I edited in last time, I'm doing this of my own volition and was not paid or compensated in any way by Skil or Fiskars. We paid our own hard earned cash for these products, so they damn well better work.
It's kinda hard to see in the pictures on Amazon, but the Skil, as with any other motorized, sharp bladed/pointy tool that could require a visit to the emergency room if you decide to use it while on valium, ambien, or some delicious adult beverages, has a safety switch. Now then, this safety switch doesn't require that you hold it down the entire time the tool is in use (like a gas powered lawn mower), but you do have to hold it down and pull the trigger to get the tool to start up, then you can let go of the safety switch and the shrub trimmer can trim the shrubs as desired. Every time you let off of the trigger, you will have to hold the safety switch down again in order to re-start the blades. Doing this action isn't too difficult, and I could easily do this all one handed, but I do have the habit of just holding down the safety switch (essentially treating it like a gas powered lawn mower)...which requires some hand strength. Hand strength which I do not posses. I guess it could also be larger hands which would making holding down the safety switch easier as well since I had to stretch my finger to do it. OR maybe I could avoid being a dork and only press down the safety switch when it's actually needed.
Anyhow.
I tackled the Scourge Released Upon Central Texas by an Idiot aka Asian Jasmine. I actually did quite a bit in the amount of time it took Shawn to mow the lawn, and was quite proud of myself. With the regular pruners we used to use, I would MAYBE finish going around the berm in the amount of time Shawn mowed the yard. With this little Shrub Trimmer though I got both Hell Strips, the Berm, and partway through the Rosebush area all in the amount of time it took Shawn to do half of the front yard and the entire back yard. [Insert picture of front yard here - see? I get so used to linux that I can't find any of my photos if I'm not using it. So I have to put notes to myself to do anything other than check my email on this silly windows machine]. I wanted to continue working and do the two crepe myrtle bush areas too, but Shawn told me to wait until next time.
Now then, as you can imagine, since I insisted on holding down the safety button, my hand started getting tired. so I switched hands. Only I'm not as dexterous with my left hand so I had to use both hands to hold the shrub trimmer. This worked out quite well, though as I was STILL stretching one of my hands to hold the safety switch, pull the trigger and still be able to hold onto the tool, I did end up with sore hands. Specifically a sore left hand. My right hand is perfectly fine.
After using the shrub trimmer for about an hour, I was finding it tougher and tougher to hold down the trigger. But this, I'm sure, is due to my wimpyness and not the Skil itself. Shawn's suggestion is that we should get a rubber band and put it around the trigger to hold it down. Yes, THAT sounds safe. Next weekend when I'm in the ER, you'll know why.
Overall: I'd give the thing 4 of out 5 stars. The battery lasted the whole hour, it's a much better design, and more powerful than the little edge trimmer thing I used to use as a kid. The thing is just top heavy enough that I find it helpful to use both hands to hold it.
I'll be interested to see how the battery holds up.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Yard Mateys!
Recently Shawn's purchased himself 2 new yard tools. These tools would be as follows:
Skil Shrub Trimmer and Fiskars Momentum Reel Mower
The Skil was purchased via Woot! about a month ago. And it was purchased specifically for the stupid devil weed (aka Asian jasmine) that is in the front yard. Shawn's used it about 10 times now and every time he uses it he cannot stop talking about how great that thing is and how he's so glad he got it. Admittedly, it does make quick work out of trimming the edges of that damn plant.
[aside] Shawn managed to get his parents to step into the 21st century and purchase something via woot. They purchased on of the vacuum cleaners that was featured around Father's Day. [\aside]
The Reel mower was purchased at Lowe's this last weekend. Shawn's mowed the front yard and the backyard with it and is STILL talking about how much he loves that mower. He can't wait to mow the yard again, and if we didn't need the rain to water our grass so badly, he probably would be pissed that it's been wet out. The main reason for purchasing the mower was really because with a reel mower he can start mowing the lawn at 7 am instead of waiting until 9 am. A secondary reason is that every time he mows with the gas mower it throws up dust and grass and what have you and then he's sneezing the rest of the day. And of course there's always the carbon footprint thing (though one does have to take into account the carbon footprint of creating the new reel mower vs the using of the older mower which was owned by the neighbors Shawn grew up next to). One of Shawn's coworkers pointed out yesterday that there's really no need to wait for the weekend to mow when you have a reel mower. And now Shawn's all excited about getting up extra early one day a week during the workweek to mow the yard so he has the ENTIRE weekend to do nothing.
I think I need to find some new chores for him, don't you?
Also, I feel the need to add this edit since there's some rule about the FTC getting all bent out of whack if you do not clearly state such things: I was not paid or compensated for this review of products and we did purchase them for ourselves. AND I'll have to try out the products so I can do my own review as opposed to just re-typing everything that Shawn's said.
Skil Shrub Trimmer and Fiskars Momentum Reel Mower
The Skil was purchased via Woot! about a month ago. And it was purchased specifically for the stupid devil weed (aka Asian jasmine) that is in the front yard. Shawn's used it about 10 times now and every time he uses it he cannot stop talking about how great that thing is and how he's so glad he got it. Admittedly, it does make quick work out of trimming the edges of that damn plant.
[aside] Shawn managed to get his parents to step into the 21st century and purchase something via woot. They purchased on of the vacuum cleaners that was featured around Father's Day. [\aside]
The Reel mower was purchased at Lowe's this last weekend. Shawn's mowed the front yard and the backyard with it and is STILL talking about how much he loves that mower. He can't wait to mow the yard again, and if we didn't need the rain to water our grass so badly, he probably would be pissed that it's been wet out. The main reason for purchasing the mower was really because with a reel mower he can start mowing the lawn at 7 am instead of waiting until 9 am. A secondary reason is that every time he mows with the gas mower it throws up dust and grass and what have you and then he's sneezing the rest of the day. And of course there's always the carbon footprint thing (though one does have to take into account the carbon footprint of creating the new reel mower vs the using of the older mower which was owned by the neighbors Shawn grew up next to). One of Shawn's coworkers pointed out yesterday that there's really no need to wait for the weekend to mow when you have a reel mower. And now Shawn's all excited about getting up extra early one day a week during the workweek to mow the yard so he has the ENTIRE weekend to do nothing.
I think I need to find some new chores for him, don't you?
Also, I feel the need to add this edit since there's some rule about the FTC getting all bent out of whack if you do not clearly state such things: I was not paid or compensated for this review of products and we did purchase them for ourselves. AND I'll have to try out the products so I can do my own review as opposed to just re-typing everything that Shawn's said.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
The Humble Indie Bundle
I heard it first via Wil Wheaton on Twitter. I think Shawn was a little surprised and disappointed when I already knew about it.
"it" is the Humble Indie Bundle.
The bundle is basically 5 games and a short that are "pay what you want." I think they made $1M in the first day or something like that.
Anyhow, we got them (yes, we did pay for them). Shawn's played them more than I have, but World of Goo did entertain me for a while (it's like an engineer's worst nightmare--building trusses with a gooey mass instead of solid bars). I haven't played the other actual games, yet. This is probably because the other games don't necessarily appeal to me--I'm not big into first person shooter games, or really any games where you have to beat a heavy. I'm into games where I solve puzzles. You know, like Myst, Phantasmagoria, and Mystery Case Files. As such, I was obviously most taken with the short game: Samorost 2. The basic concept is that you have to go around and solve various puzzles in order to save the main character's dog, who was dognapped by aliens. It's really quite fun, and challenging, and a lot of times there's some clicking on things just to see what they do as they alternately do things to look pretty (like plants waving in the wind), or sometimes they actually do something useful (like using a plant to wake up an animal).
Anyhow, yes, the Humble Indie Bundle. Check it out.
"it" is the Humble Indie Bundle.
The bundle is basically 5 games and a short that are "pay what you want." I think they made $1M in the first day or something like that.
Anyhow, we got them (yes, we did pay for them). Shawn's played them more than I have, but World of Goo did entertain me for a while (it's like an engineer's worst nightmare--building trusses with a gooey mass instead of solid bars). I haven't played the other actual games, yet. This is probably because the other games don't necessarily appeal to me--I'm not big into first person shooter games, or really any games where you have to beat a heavy. I'm into games where I solve puzzles. You know, like Myst, Phantasmagoria, and Mystery Case Files. As such, I was obviously most taken with the short game: Samorost 2. The basic concept is that you have to go around and solve various puzzles in order to save the main character's dog, who was dognapped by aliens. It's really quite fun, and challenging, and a lot of times there's some clicking on things just to see what they do as they alternately do things to look pretty (like plants waving in the wind), or sometimes they actually do something useful (like using a plant to wake up an animal).
Anyhow, yes, the Humble Indie Bundle. Check it out.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Riding, Riding, Riding...all the way to Crown Donut Shop
After taking a breather for two weeks (because of my knee), we were out in full force this weekend. Okay, so really only a ride to the grocery store on Saturday, and a ride to Crown Donuts for breakfast this morning. Too bad Shawn isn't participating in this bike ride thing. He gets all competitive and has taken it much more personally than I have that our team is losing by 100 trips. As our Team Leader said, "every person on the team needs to do 10 trips just to catch up to the other team." A trip is either 1 recreational ride (no matter the distance), or one way to work, or one way back from work, or one way for an errand, or one way back. Thus it makes the most sense (bang for your buck so to speak) to run errands, or bike to work. This is why I have been riding my bike to the grocery store.
So, right. Today's ride.
Because Shawn feels it's a pain to get the bikes out just to ride the less than half a mile to TJ's, I suggested that maybe we go try the place over at Anderson Mill Road and Pecan Park. It's about a mile and a half away, and we'd never eat there otherwise. So at 9 am this morning (when it was only 75 degrees out. I know!), we rode off to Crown Donuts.
The inside reminds me of the Dunkin' Donuts in Glenwood Springs. Only yellow instead of orange.
Crown serves a variety of kolaches, croissants, and donuts. I had a sausage and cheese kolache, a sugar covered cake donut, and a chocolate glazed raised donut. Shawn had a sausage croissant kolache, and a filled long john.
The kolaches are more expensive than TJ's (by about $0.40), but the donuts are cheaper (by about $0.20), so all in all we spent about the same amount of money...actually less because we got a bunch of donuts instead of our normal bunch of kolaches. Crown does have a beef kolache (which TJ's doesn't), but they don't have any fruit kolaches.
The kolache I had tasted very similar to TJ's, but just didn't seem like it didn't have enough cheese, and that it wasn't fully cooked--the bread around the sausage was doughier than I like. Shawn said that the croissant kolache was good, but still said it was on par with TJ's kolaches. Winner: TJ's.
The cake donut was very good. It was moist, it tasted wonderful, and it didn't fall apart when I bit into it. As I said, the donuts at Crown are cheaper than at TJ's, and it seems that they have perfected their recipe for the cake donuts. Winner: Crown.
The raised donut was very airy. VERY airy. I'd start to bite into it, and it would depress by about half before my teeth actually cut into it. The actual donut part was good, I didn't care for the chocolate frosting (but I normally can't bring myself to order a plain glazed donut because I find them un-appetizing...unless I'm ordering for work). The glazed donut had just been put out so it was ultra fresh. Winner: Tie.
Based on the fact that when Shawn ordered a long john, and the lady asked if he wanted it cream filled, he said yes, and she went running to the back carrying the donut. About 30 seconds later she came back with the donut. I can only take this to mean that they fill the long johns to order. And there was a bunch of cream in that thing. Plus it was the eclair type cream (which I don't care for--i always preferred the frosting filled long johns), which was good for Shawn since he likes that stuff. I've always been surprised that he can eat eclair cream after watching Van Wilder. But anyhow, since he's never had the long johns at TJ's, they obviously can't be compared. He did say, however, that Crown's long johns are good and he'd order them again if we went back. Winner: Wash.
So there you have it. Normal and fruit kolaches from TJ's, Croissant kolaches from Crown (based on the fact that TJ's doesn't make croissant kolaches), and cake donuts from Crown. I think next time I bring donuts to work I may get a dozen kolaches from TJs, and a dozen donuts from Crown.
Crown Donuts is located in the small strip mall at Anderson Mill Road at Pecan Park, it is located in the middle of the center, half way between Mesa Rosa and Emler Swim School.
So, right. Today's ride.
Because Shawn feels it's a pain to get the bikes out just to ride the less than half a mile to TJ's, I suggested that maybe we go try the place over at Anderson Mill Road and Pecan Park. It's about a mile and a half away, and we'd never eat there otherwise. So at 9 am this morning (when it was only 75 degrees out. I know!), we rode off to Crown Donuts.
The inside reminds me of the Dunkin' Donuts in Glenwood Springs. Only yellow instead of orange.
Crown serves a variety of kolaches, croissants, and donuts. I had a sausage and cheese kolache, a sugar covered cake donut, and a chocolate glazed raised donut. Shawn had a sausage croissant kolache, and a filled long john.
The kolaches are more expensive than TJ's (by about $0.40), but the donuts are cheaper (by about $0.20), so all in all we spent about the same amount of money...actually less because we got a bunch of donuts instead of our normal bunch of kolaches. Crown does have a beef kolache (which TJ's doesn't), but they don't have any fruit kolaches.
The kolache I had tasted very similar to TJ's, but just didn't seem like it didn't have enough cheese, and that it wasn't fully cooked--the bread around the sausage was doughier than I like. Shawn said that the croissant kolache was good, but still said it was on par with TJ's kolaches. Winner: TJ's.
The cake donut was very good. It was moist, it tasted wonderful, and it didn't fall apart when I bit into it. As I said, the donuts at Crown are cheaper than at TJ's, and it seems that they have perfected their recipe for the cake donuts. Winner: Crown.
The raised donut was very airy. VERY airy. I'd start to bite into it, and it would depress by about half before my teeth actually cut into it. The actual donut part was good, I didn't care for the chocolate frosting (but I normally can't bring myself to order a plain glazed donut because I find them un-appetizing...unless I'm ordering for work). The glazed donut had just been put out so it was ultra fresh. Winner: Tie.
Based on the fact that when Shawn ordered a long john, and the lady asked if he wanted it cream filled, he said yes, and she went running to the back carrying the donut. About 30 seconds later she came back with the donut. I can only take this to mean that they fill the long johns to order. And there was a bunch of cream in that thing. Plus it was the eclair type cream (which I don't care for--i always preferred the frosting filled long johns), which was good for Shawn since he likes that stuff. I've always been surprised that he can eat eclair cream after watching Van Wilder. But anyhow, since he's never had the long johns at TJ's, they obviously can't be compared. He did say, however, that Crown's long johns are good and he'd order them again if we went back. Winner: Wash.
So there you have it. Normal and fruit kolaches from TJ's, Croissant kolaches from Crown (based on the fact that TJ's doesn't make croissant kolaches), and cake donuts from Crown. I think next time I bring donuts to work I may get a dozen kolaches from TJs, and a dozen donuts from Crown.
Crown Donuts is located in the small strip mall at Anderson Mill Road at Pecan Park, it is located in the middle of the center, half way between Mesa Rosa and Emler Swim School.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Riding, Riding, Riding...
On Sunday, before I went and gashed up my knee, I went for a bike ride. Odd, I've hung out with so many people who have gone and gotten totally effed up from riding bikes, I somehow just always assumed that if I ever got messed up it would be because I was doing something on a bike (most likely trying to keep up when I'm obviously inept).
[Aside] Have you ever tried to keep your leg straight--like no bending of your knee? because let me tell you, it is fricking tough. For example, right now I'm contorted in some weird position where my right leg is resting on the other office chair, but it makes it so I'm turned at a 90 degree angle from the computer. Sucktackular. However, the cut is looking fabulous and hopefully I won't have any problems with it getting infected or anything. [/Aside]
So anyhow, I got up all bright and early (aka 9 am) and set off on a bike ride. To the bank, then to the grocery store, then to TJ's to get some kolaches and finally back home. I also found out that only the new buildings in Austin City Limits have bike racks (the bank is a new building, but it is on the far side of 620, thus putting it firmly in Cedar Park land, and apparently they don't have rules like the COA does requiring the installation of bike racks). So I rode from the house to the bank and brought the bike into the bank with me. I then off-roaded it to the grocery store to pick up my prescription. As I was riding home, I decided to make a side trip to TJ's for some kolaches since we hadn't eaten breakfast yet. Yes, I can barely control where the bike goes when I'm using both hands, so let's see how I do while carrying a doggybag of food.
Now then, as I joked about earlier, I have decided that I will write a pseudo review much like the Caffienated Wheelmen. But because I dislike coffee, I must find something else to review at the various shops I stop at.
So, I will review the food at TJ's Donuts and Kolaches.
TJ's went into the strip mall by our house maybe a year or two ago. Since I had just had my first run-in with kolaches shortly before, I figured "what the hell, let's get some kolaches" And thus started my love affair with TJ's.
TJ's meat kolaches are always served warm, and while they don't have many flavors (sausage, sausage and cheese, sausage/jalapeno/cheese, and ham & cheese), the flavors sure are good. The kolaches range from $0.89 to $1.09. They also have a wide selection of fruit kolaches that cost $0.79 each.
I, on occasion, bring these kolaches to work where they are snapped up very quickly by my co-workers, thus also attesting to the greatness of this place (and while my coworkers will eat a bunch of stuff that I normally wouldn't, you can always tell how good something is by how quickly it disappears from the break room). I have noticed that the longest lasting kolaches are always the blueberry ones, but that may just be because the filling doesn't look very appetizing (of course I don't think the cream cheese filling looks very appetizing either, but those always disappear almost as quickly as the meat kolaches).
I have, recently, also eaten some donuts from the shop, and while they do have cake donuts (for whatever reason the stores down here do not sell cake donuts), they just aren't as good as the cake donuts I had growing up. The bear claws and apple fritters, however, are very good. I don't think I've had raised donuts, the breakfast tacos, nor the filled long johns from the store yet, and I probably never will because if you have the choice of kolache, why would you go with donut?
As far as I can tell, TJ's is a mom and pop business, and the high school aged kids work on the weekends. The best part about this shop is that it is open at like 5 am. Okay, I don't really know when it opens, but I do know it opens much earlier than the other kolache shops around and it ALWAYS has someone else in there buying some kolaches/donuts. The only other place I've seen this busy in that strip mall is the Dairy Queen.
The funniest part about TJ's is that the family that owns it is of Asian descent. As one of my coworkers always jokes while he's eating a kolache, "He must be one of those Czech Asians because these things are GOOD."
So, if you're ever in the 183/620 area, look up TJ's Donuts and Kolaches. They are located on the southwest corner of 620 at Lake Creek (in the Papa Murphy's/Dairy Queen/Subway shopping center).
[Aside] Have you ever tried to keep your leg straight--like no bending of your knee? because let me tell you, it is fricking tough. For example, right now I'm contorted in some weird position where my right leg is resting on the other office chair, but it makes it so I'm turned at a 90 degree angle from the computer. Sucktackular. However, the cut is looking fabulous and hopefully I won't have any problems with it getting infected or anything. [/Aside]
So anyhow, I got up all bright and early (aka 9 am) and set off on a bike ride. To the bank, then to the grocery store, then to TJ's to get some kolaches and finally back home. I also found out that only the new buildings in Austin City Limits have bike racks (the bank is a new building, but it is on the far side of 620, thus putting it firmly in Cedar Park land, and apparently they don't have rules like the COA does requiring the installation of bike racks). So I rode from the house to the bank and brought the bike into the bank with me. I then off-roaded it to the grocery store to pick up my prescription. As I was riding home, I decided to make a side trip to TJ's for some kolaches since we hadn't eaten breakfast yet. Yes, I can barely control where the bike goes when I'm using both hands, so let's see how I do while carrying a doggybag of food.
Now then, as I joked about earlier, I have decided that I will write a pseudo review much like the Caffienated Wheelmen. But because I dislike coffee, I must find something else to review at the various shops I stop at.
So, I will review the food at TJ's Donuts and Kolaches.
TJ's went into the strip mall by our house maybe a year or two ago. Since I had just had my first run-in with kolaches shortly before, I figured "what the hell, let's get some kolaches" And thus started my love affair with TJ's.
TJ's meat kolaches are always served warm, and while they don't have many flavors (sausage, sausage and cheese, sausage/jalapeno/cheese, and ham & cheese), the flavors sure are good. The kolaches range from $0.89 to $1.09. They also have a wide selection of fruit kolaches that cost $0.79 each.
I, on occasion, bring these kolaches to work where they are snapped up very quickly by my co-workers, thus also attesting to the greatness of this place (and while my coworkers will eat a bunch of stuff that I normally wouldn't, you can always tell how good something is by how quickly it disappears from the break room). I have noticed that the longest lasting kolaches are always the blueberry ones, but that may just be because the filling doesn't look very appetizing (of course I don't think the cream cheese filling looks very appetizing either, but those always disappear almost as quickly as the meat kolaches).
I have, recently, also eaten some donuts from the shop, and while they do have cake donuts (for whatever reason the stores down here do not sell cake donuts), they just aren't as good as the cake donuts I had growing up. The bear claws and apple fritters, however, are very good. I don't think I've had raised donuts, the breakfast tacos, nor the filled long johns from the store yet, and I probably never will because if you have the choice of kolache, why would you go with donut?
As far as I can tell, TJ's is a mom and pop business, and the high school aged kids work on the weekends. The best part about this shop is that it is open at like 5 am. Okay, I don't really know when it opens, but I do know it opens much earlier than the other kolache shops around and it ALWAYS has someone else in there buying some kolaches/donuts. The only other place I've seen this busy in that strip mall is the Dairy Queen.
The funniest part about TJ's is that the family that owns it is of Asian descent. As one of my coworkers always jokes while he's eating a kolache, "He must be one of those Czech Asians because these things are GOOD."
So, if you're ever in the 183/620 area, look up TJ's Donuts and Kolaches. They are located on the southwest corner of 620 at Lake Creek (in the Papa Murphy's/Dairy Queen/Subway shopping center).
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Baked Ziti
And the last recipe to be tried out of the Best Skillet Recipes book before I had to send it back: Baked Ziti.
Of the three dishes, this is probably my least favorite. It was also the only one that I didn't pre-measure everything before starting. It maybe took an hour to do (from beginning to end), and about half of that time was used boiling and peeling tomatoes and dicing a jalapeno.
Note: The recipe did not call for fresh tomatoes, nor did it call for a diced jalapeno. It called for whole peeled tomatoes in a can and red pepper flakes. but I had like 10 tomatoes and 8 jalapenos, so I figured I'd just use the fresh stuff instead. Also, I normally don't have whole peeled tomatoes in a can lying around the house.
So, after boiling, cooling, peeling and pureeing the tomatoes, I weighed them only to find out I was a little short on tomato weight--I could have just boiled, cooled, peeled and pureed more tomatoes since I only used half of them, but decided that was too much of a pain in the butt since I was already hungry. So I used a can of petite diced tomatoes in addition to the homegrown and the Farm to Work tomatoes.
I diced a jalapeno because I had it on hand, and I need to use them. These I got from the Farm to Work thingy-ma-bopper and from Bond.
I also peeled some garlic (which, I hopefully will have growing in my garden this fall. woot!), and garlic pressed it.
I then weighed the penne I had on hand, and I only had 8 of the required 12 oz. So, since I was lazy, I decided to just add elbow mac to make up the difference instead of running to the store to pic up another box of penne--bad idea. I did at least wait 3 minutes between adding the penne and the mac to try to get them to cook to the same doneness (oh yeah, I used penne because I had it on hand instead of the ziti, and just so you know, DO NOT add elbow mac to a recipe if you're already adding a larger noodle...which I already knew, I just hoped it would have worked out).
So I cooked the pasta on the stovetop in the skillet for about 18 minutes, and then I added the cream and basil. I also decided to add in a spoonful or two of the ricotta cheese that I still had left over from the Pasta Alla Norma. Stir, cover with mozzarella cheese and bake until melted and bubbly. Let cool.
Or you do what I do and practically forget about dinner cooling on the counter because you're too busy playing on Facebook. Which is only impressive because I was HUNGRY.
So we ate dinner, and it was alright. It would have been better without the elbow mac noodles (duh), and it still seemed to be missing something...more cheese maybe. I think the ricotta was a good addition. I think the biggest problem was that I like my baked pastas to be more saucey than it was (so I should probably just add some canned spaghetti sauce to my plate). Of the three recipes we tried from the book, I think this was probably the biggest disappointment, though it is easier than most baked ziti recipes that require you to boil the ziti seperately from the sauce. Of course, even though it's a disappointment, that doesn't mean that I won't make this ever again. It is relatively easy--especially when using canned tomatoes and pepper flakes, and the ingredients aren't too out there. The only one that I for sure won't usually have on hand is the heavy cream. But seeing as how the Pot Pie recipe uses heavy cream, I'm sure we'll just do the two recipes back to back, thus making the buying of cream not such a big deal.
Of the three dishes, this is probably my least favorite. It was also the only one that I didn't pre-measure everything before starting. It maybe took an hour to do (from beginning to end), and about half of that time was used boiling and peeling tomatoes and dicing a jalapeno.
Note: The recipe did not call for fresh tomatoes, nor did it call for a diced jalapeno. It called for whole peeled tomatoes in a can and red pepper flakes. but I had like 10 tomatoes and 8 jalapenos, so I figured I'd just use the fresh stuff instead. Also, I normally don't have whole peeled tomatoes in a can lying around the house.
So, after boiling, cooling, peeling and pureeing the tomatoes, I weighed them only to find out I was a little short on tomato weight--I could have just boiled, cooled, peeled and pureed more tomatoes since I only used half of them, but decided that was too much of a pain in the butt since I was already hungry. So I used a can of petite diced tomatoes in addition to the homegrown and the Farm to Work tomatoes.
I diced a jalapeno because I had it on hand, and I need to use them. These I got from the Farm to Work thingy-ma-bopper and from Bond.
I also peeled some garlic (which, I hopefully will have growing in my garden this fall. woot!), and garlic pressed it.
I then weighed the penne I had on hand, and I only had 8 of the required 12 oz. So, since I was lazy, I decided to just add elbow mac to make up the difference instead of running to the store to pic up another box of penne--bad idea. I did at least wait 3 minutes between adding the penne and the mac to try to get them to cook to the same doneness (oh yeah, I used penne because I had it on hand instead of the ziti, and just so you know, DO NOT add elbow mac to a recipe if you're already adding a larger noodle...which I already knew, I just hoped it would have worked out).
So I cooked the pasta on the stovetop in the skillet for about 18 minutes, and then I added the cream and basil. I also decided to add in a spoonful or two of the ricotta cheese that I still had left over from the Pasta Alla Norma. Stir, cover with mozzarella cheese and bake until melted and bubbly. Let cool.
Or you do what I do and practically forget about dinner cooling on the counter because you're too busy playing on Facebook. Which is only impressive because I was HUNGRY.
So we ate dinner, and it was alright. It would have been better without the elbow mac noodles (duh), and it still seemed to be missing something...more cheese maybe. I think the ricotta was a good addition. I think the biggest problem was that I like my baked pastas to be more saucey than it was (so I should probably just add some canned spaghetti sauce to my plate). Of the three recipes we tried from the book, I think this was probably the biggest disappointment, though it is easier than most baked ziti recipes that require you to boil the ziti seperately from the sauce. Of course, even though it's a disappointment, that doesn't mean that I won't make this ever again. It is relatively easy--especially when using canned tomatoes and pepper flakes, and the ingredients aren't too out there. The only one that I for sure won't usually have on hand is the heavy cream. But seeing as how the Pot Pie recipe uses heavy cream, I'm sure we'll just do the two recipes back to back, thus making the buying of cream not such a big deal.
Skillet Chicken Pot Pie
I figure I'd write more about the recipes we've tried out of the Best Skillet Meals cookbook that I originally blogged about here and here.
I had bought all the stuff to make the pot pie at the same time I bought all the stuff to make the Pasta Alla Norma, but due to life, was unable to cook the pot pie until 4 days later, and even then, it was more of a "oh crap, this stuff is going to go bad if we don't use it" thing.
I first pulled out the pie crust (Pillsbury "just unroll" variety), fluted the edges, and cut out vent holes. Then I put it in the freezer as per directions. Of course I should have measured to make sure it would fit in the skillet. Oops. I chopped celery and carrots, measured milk and wine (which I had to substitute white wine since the grocery store doesn't sell Vermouth), and patted dry the chicken breast (and can I just mention how disgusting it is to pat dry raw chicken? EW!). I added a clove of garlic because I had one ready to go, even though the recipe didn't call for it.
I mixed, I cooked, I shredded chicken, I added the frozen peas right at the end as per directions. And then I tried to add the pie crust, only to find out that it was still bigger than the skillet, so I had to try to bend frozen pie crust just so it would touch all the delicious gooey goodness. Then I threw it in the oven for 5 minutes less than the recipe called for (Hey, it said 30-35 minutes or until the pie crust is golden brown, and it was golden brown at 25 minutes). I also didn't let it rest the full 25 minutes because we're big kids and I told Shawn that the gooey innards were going to be piping hot.
But still, we ended up eating dinner at 930.
But it was also the best pot pie I've ever had (not that I've had that many pot pies). At first Shawn said that he thought it was good, and the only downside was the amount of time it took. But then by the time he got to his 3rd helping, I stated that I was pretty sure he liked it. And he did agree that it was also probably the best pot pie he'd had too (I don't know how many pot pies he's had).
I had bought all the stuff to make the pot pie at the same time I bought all the stuff to make the Pasta Alla Norma, but due to life, was unable to cook the pot pie until 4 days later, and even then, it was more of a "oh crap, this stuff is going to go bad if we don't use it" thing.
I first pulled out the pie crust (Pillsbury "just unroll" variety), fluted the edges, and cut out vent holes. Then I put it in the freezer as per directions. Of course I should have measured to make sure it would fit in the skillet. Oops. I chopped celery and carrots, measured milk and wine (which I had to substitute white wine since the grocery store doesn't sell Vermouth), and patted dry the chicken breast (and can I just mention how disgusting it is to pat dry raw chicken? EW!). I added a clove of garlic because I had one ready to go, even though the recipe didn't call for it.
I mixed, I cooked, I shredded chicken, I added the frozen peas right at the end as per directions. And then I tried to add the pie crust, only to find out that it was still bigger than the skillet, so I had to try to bend frozen pie crust just so it would touch all the delicious gooey goodness. Then I threw it in the oven for 5 minutes less than the recipe called for (Hey, it said 30-35 minutes or until the pie crust is golden brown, and it was golden brown at 25 minutes). I also didn't let it rest the full 25 minutes because we're big kids and I told Shawn that the gooey innards were going to be piping hot.
But still, we ended up eating dinner at 930.
But it was also the best pot pie I've ever had (not that I've had that many pot pies). At first Shawn said that he thought it was good, and the only downside was the amount of time it took. But then by the time he got to his 3rd helping, I stated that I was pretty sure he liked it. And he did agree that it was also probably the best pot pie he'd had too (I don't know how many pot pies he's had).
Monday, July 20, 2009
Pasta Alla Norma
So I made a recipe from the aforementioned skillet recipe book.
The recipe itself was easy, and simple, with simple ingredients.
It did, however, take 3 hours from start to finish. I would like to say that's how long it took for all the chopping, dicing, mincing and other what-have-yous, but that would be a lie. It should only take about 50 minutes to do the recipe from start to finish (including prep).
The reason why it took so long? I was talking to my mother for an hour and a half during the prep work. And since she gets all frustrated when I do things while talking on the phone (I'm not allowed to get ice for my drink, chop things on the cutting board, or type on the computer). I'm pretty sure that 'using the food processor' goes under the list of 'things not to do on the phone while talking to your mother'. Actually, i'm pretty sure that using the food processor is one of the more benign things on that list, but you get my point.
So I had to entertain myself by boiling, icing and peeling some garden tomatoes that I needed for the recipe and measuring everything out in little bowls (it could have been worse, I could have yelled "BAM!" when I added the garlic). And taking pictures. Which I won't bother to show here because I am lazy like that.
After getting off the phone with my mom, I followed the recipe and properly pulsed the tomatoes until they were smooth. Then I cut up the eggplant (I didn't want to cut the eggplant earlier because a) see list of things I'm not allowed to do while talking to my mother on the phone, and b) eggplant starts to turn brown right after you cut into it), and put it in the pan and slowly browned until done. Which was really more like I didn't want the pieces to look like shit so I took them out before they were actually done. After pouring all the eggplant into a different bowl to sit around until they were called for, I cooked the garlic, and tomato pulse puree for a while before adding the requisite amount of water and penne pasta. Stir, cover and simmer. Of course, stirring was a bit difficult as the pan was full to within 1" of the top. Anyhow, simmer until the pasta is done, stir in the cheese and cooked eggplant. And serve.
See, easy peasy. As long as you use the right cheese. I just looked at the recipe before going to the store and saw "Ricotta Salata" cheese, but didn't bother reading the part that explained that Salata is the hard ricotta, not the soft stuff I'm used to. So I added the soft cheese instead of the correct cheese...which of course imparts a gritty/grainy texture. So there you go, I can't read directions. Never mind that I also only used half the amount of eggplant and a different type of pepper than called for, plus garden tomatoes and a can of diced tomatoes instead of only canned, peeled, whole tomatoes.
Shawn said he thought it was great, and thought I was crazy when I said I would either use the correct cheese, or less of the soft cheese. In fact, his only complaint was that I didn't cook the eggplant long enough. but some of the problem there is that he's used to mushy eggplant and I can't do that--all my veggies must be slightly firm except for mashed potatoes (and even then, I'm told I like dry mashed potatoes because I don't like them to be too thin and watery). So yes, I think the next time I make this, I may just use the HEB brand crushed tomatoes (they really are like tomato puree as opposed to the name brand stuff which tends to have little tomato chunks in it), and skip the eggplant, unless I have it on hand of course. And since I ate some of the pasta before adding the cheese, it is do-able, but the cheese really does take it to the next level, but just not as much...or maybe mix the cheese with some milk.
On a side note, I hopefully will be able to grow everything needed for this recipe (except the pasta and cheese) next year in my garden since I have eggplant seeds, garlic heads, pepper seeds, and tomato seeds.
The recipe itself was easy, and simple, with simple ingredients.
It did, however, take 3 hours from start to finish. I would like to say that's how long it took for all the chopping, dicing, mincing and other what-have-yous, but that would be a lie. It should only take about 50 minutes to do the recipe from start to finish (including prep).
The reason why it took so long? I was talking to my mother for an hour and a half during the prep work. And since she gets all frustrated when I do things while talking on the phone (I'm not allowed to get ice for my drink, chop things on the cutting board, or type on the computer). I'm pretty sure that 'using the food processor' goes under the list of 'things not to do on the phone while talking to your mother'. Actually, i'm pretty sure that using the food processor is one of the more benign things on that list, but you get my point.
So I had to entertain myself by boiling, icing and peeling some garden tomatoes that I needed for the recipe and measuring everything out in little bowls (it could have been worse, I could have yelled "BAM!" when I added the garlic). And taking pictures. Which I won't bother to show here because I am lazy like that.
After getting off the phone with my mom, I followed the recipe and properly pulsed the tomatoes until they were smooth. Then I cut up the eggplant (I didn't want to cut the eggplant earlier because a) see list of things I'm not allowed to do while talking to my mother on the phone, and b) eggplant starts to turn brown right after you cut into it), and put it in the pan and slowly browned until done. Which was really more like I didn't want the pieces to look like shit so I took them out before they were actually done. After pouring all the eggplant into a different bowl to sit around until they were called for, I cooked the garlic, and tomato pulse puree for a while before adding the requisite amount of water and penne pasta. Stir, cover and simmer. Of course, stirring was a bit difficult as the pan was full to within 1" of the top. Anyhow, simmer until the pasta is done, stir in the cheese and cooked eggplant. And serve.
See, easy peasy. As long as you use the right cheese. I just looked at the recipe before going to the store and saw "Ricotta Salata" cheese, but didn't bother reading the part that explained that Salata is the hard ricotta, not the soft stuff I'm used to. So I added the soft cheese instead of the correct cheese...which of course imparts a gritty/grainy texture. So there you go, I can't read directions. Never mind that I also only used half the amount of eggplant and a different type of pepper than called for, plus garden tomatoes and a can of diced tomatoes instead of only canned, peeled, whole tomatoes.
Shawn said he thought it was great, and thought I was crazy when I said I would either use the correct cheese, or less of the soft cheese. In fact, his only complaint was that I didn't cook the eggplant long enough. but some of the problem there is that he's used to mushy eggplant and I can't do that--all my veggies must be slightly firm except for mashed potatoes (and even then, I'm told I like dry mashed potatoes because I don't like them to be too thin and watery). So yes, I think the next time I make this, I may just use the HEB brand crushed tomatoes (they really are like tomato puree as opposed to the name brand stuff which tends to have little tomato chunks in it), and skip the eggplant, unless I have it on hand of course. And since I ate some of the pasta before adding the cheese, it is do-able, but the cheese really does take it to the next level, but just not as much...or maybe mix the cheese with some milk.
On a side note, I hopefully will be able to grow everything needed for this recipe (except the pasta and cheese) next year in my garden since I have eggplant seeds, garlic heads, pepper seeds, and tomato seeds.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Coraline
Or, as the movie theater has it listed, Caroline. Which is only funny because the heroine makes such a big deal out of everyone calling her Caroline instead of Coraline.
But anyhoo.
Shawn, Ross and Bond and I went to this movie yesterday. Everyone else there had brought a small human being with them.
And let me just state something.
This movie is not a kid movie. My God. I'm 27 and I was still creeped out by it.
Have you ever played Mystery Case Files: Ravenhearst? Yeah, it's kinda like that...with the creepy child ghosts and using your brain to beat the evil forces in the strange and creepy house.
Yep. Like Ravenhearst...only without all the searching for missing items like in Highlights.
But! the movie was a good movie, and I did enjoy it. I don't know if I consider it as good as Nightmare before Christmas...but it was kind like if Alice in Wonderland was retold with a Nightmare before Christmas-esque theme.
Also. Bond and Ross are awesome since they drove up to the north west side of town so I could go pick up my brackets.
But anyhoo.
Shawn, Ross and Bond and I went to this movie yesterday. Everyone else there had brought a small human being with them.
And let me just state something.
This movie is not a kid movie. My God. I'm 27 and I was still creeped out by it.
Have you ever played Mystery Case Files: Ravenhearst? Yeah, it's kinda like that...with the creepy child ghosts and using your brain to beat the evil forces in the strange and creepy house.
Yep. Like Ravenhearst...only without all the searching for missing items like in Highlights.
But! the movie was a good movie, and I did enjoy it. I don't know if I consider it as good as Nightmare before Christmas...but it was kind like if Alice in Wonderland was retold with a Nightmare before Christmas-esque theme.
Also. Bond and Ross are awesome since they drove up to the north west side of town so I could go pick up my brackets.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Ethiopian Food
Today was my first foray into Ethiopian Food. And yes, it really is more than bread and water.
I'm not sure that I really like it (as in I'll eat it again, but I probably won't be the one making the suggestion). The food would be much better with Naan instead of the Injera. Injera looks like a crepe, and it tastes kinda like sourdough. I actually liken the texture to that of the foam wrapping stuff that is put around LCD panels. I didn't find the spicy foods nearly as spicy as indian food, but there was definitely more cinnamon used than in indian food. Also, this was my first go at lentils (which I will likely eat again). I think my biggest problem with African, Middle Eastern, and Indian food is the texture--I will 100% refuse to eat a food if the texture is 'off'. This is why I don't eat most beans--the texture isn't what I'm expecting. I think that's the reason why I think naan would be better with the food.
I'm not sure that I really like it (as in I'll eat it again, but I probably won't be the one making the suggestion). The food would be much better with Naan instead of the Injera. Injera looks like a crepe, and it tastes kinda like sourdough. I actually liken the texture to that of the foam wrapping stuff that is put around LCD panels. I didn't find the spicy foods nearly as spicy as indian food, but there was definitely more cinnamon used than in indian food. Also, this was my first go at lentils (which I will likely eat again). I think my biggest problem with African, Middle Eastern, and Indian food is the texture--I will 100% refuse to eat a food if the texture is 'off'. This is why I don't eat most beans--the texture isn't what I'm expecting. I think that's the reason why I think naan would be better with the food.
Sunday, September 07, 2008
Spaghetti Sauce Try Outs (part 2)
The sauce was a little soupy after 2 hours, so we followed protocol and took the lid off. An hour later we started boiling the noodles. Of course there was the boil-over fiasco. While I was talking on the phone with my mom. That was...Fun. Since Kristie says she'll kill anyone who overcooks the noodles, I decided to set the timer on the microwave (yes, the microwave will time things for 9 minutes).
While waiting for the noodles, I poured myself a glass from the left over Chianti and started the oven to make "poor man's garlic bread" Also known as Texas Toast with butter and some garlic powder. Shut up. It reminds me of being a kid when my mom used to make garlic bread that way (of course, if I had been on top of my game today, I would have oven roasted some of the garlic cloves and then spread that on the bread instead, but whatever, i forgot).
Anyhow, the review:
It was a very good sauce, and I would recommend that people try it at least once, and then change the amounts of spices to make it their own. My only disappointment was that I was expecting it to be stellar after having simmered for 3 hours. When I make it next time, I'll make sure that we use actual Italian sausage and I'd skip the chili powder. I would also use some more oregano (I think the stuff I've got right now is a little weak), and I'd use more basil (keep in mind that I used fresh basil so the amount was only an estimate). I might also throw in some fennel seeds.
Shawn thoroughly enjoyed the sauce and said it was the best meat sauce I've ever made (which is true except for this one time in high school, and that time I added too much wine and then had to add more of the other spices to even out the flavors...and it was the best spaghetti sauce evah). He thought the wine worked well, which is saying something because he normally will taste the wine and complain about it--the only other time I've made spaghetti sauce that he hasn't complained about the wine was when I used some leftover Shiraz from French Onion Soup night. His only lament about the sauce is that the recipe makes so much that theres a ton left over--2 full jars left over (normal size of the Classico).
While waiting for the noodles, I poured myself a glass from the left over Chianti and started the oven to make "poor man's garlic bread" Also known as Texas Toast with butter and some garlic powder. Shut up. It reminds me of being a kid when my mom used to make garlic bread that way (of course, if I had been on top of my game today, I would have oven roasted some of the garlic cloves and then spread that on the bread instead, but whatever, i forgot).
Anyhow, the review:
It was a very good sauce, and I would recommend that people try it at least once, and then change the amounts of spices to make it their own. My only disappointment was that I was expecting it to be stellar after having simmered for 3 hours. When I make it next time, I'll make sure that we use actual Italian sausage and I'd skip the chili powder. I would also use some more oregano (I think the stuff I've got right now is a little weak), and I'd use more basil (keep in mind that I used fresh basil so the amount was only an estimate). I might also throw in some fennel seeds.
Shawn thoroughly enjoyed the sauce and said it was the best meat sauce I've ever made (which is true except for this one time in high school, and that time I added too much wine and then had to add more of the other spices to even out the flavors...and it was the best spaghetti sauce evah). He thought the wine worked well, which is saying something because he normally will taste the wine and complain about it--the only other time I've made spaghetti sauce that he hasn't complained about the wine was when I used some leftover Shiraz from French Onion Soup night. His only lament about the sauce is that the recipe makes so much that theres a ton left over--2 full jars left over (normal size of the Classico).
Spaghetti Sauce Try Outs
For those of you who don't keep up with Kristie's blog, the Spiteful Chef:
I have agreed to make her Spaghetti Sauce and let her know how it turns out. So, here is my tale of attempting to make the sauce.
I agreed to this adventure on the evening of September 2. I had to wait until this weekend because it takes 3 hours of simmering. 3 HOURS! That doesn't even include the prepping. Just the SIMMERING!
Time restraint aside (hell, the Borscht I made in the spring took 4 hours, so this shouldn't be much worse), I looked at the recipe and thought it sounded good. And, as my dear husband is a picky eater (and yet he claims I'm the picky one), I had to let him read the recipe before we went shopping for all the ingredients. Immediately "1/2 Bell Pepper" was taken off the list. Some such nonsense of "intolerance and/or allergy". Though I will say that I will take this allergy to bell pepper over the allergy to basil and/or oregano that the rest of his family suffers from.
Anyhow, I write down the ingredients and it's off to the store. I went to the wine aisle to get some red wine (I got the Gabbiano Chianti Classico for like $11.50), and sent him to get the required meat. He comes back to tell me that they don't have hot Italian sausage so he grabbed some Jalapeno Sausage instead. Note who started deviating from the given recipe.
We get to the fresh vegetable section and then the hunt is on for mushrooms. I say 'hunt' because I have never, ever, not once bought mushrooms so I have no idea where they are even located. Because I am lazy, I got the pre-sliced Bellas.
I measure the butter (I used the non-salted variety) and oil and put them in our large stock pot (this is the ONLY time I have EVER measured olive oil). I then get out the garlic press and press the hell out of the garlic (which took me 20 minutes to peel by the way). It is at this point that Shawn starts telling me I'm deviating from the recipe. Yes, because I was the first one to deviate from the given directions. Anyhow, the garlic was pressed instead of minced because, as mentioned above, I am lazy.
I grab the onion next (one of the Farm to Work ones, incidentally) and I get out my Ulu knife and board. I start dicing the onion and my eyes start watering. I get half way through when I realize that my nose is running and my eyes are watering so much I can barely see. Shawn, who is washing dishes, ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE KITCHEN mentions that his eyes are watering because of the onions. That is some strong onion. I finally get it diced to my liking and dump it in the stock pot with the oil, butter and garlic. Then I run to the bathroom to blow my nose and dab at my eyes like I'm some sort of southern damsel in distress.
Now comes the meat cooking. I put the hamburger in our Calphalon One Everyday Pan, and pull out the meat cutting board to start de-casing the sausage. I'm halfway through my 2nd one when Shawn asks "What are you doing?" "I'm de-casing" "Why are you doing that? It's not in the directions." "Yes it is, at the top" "Oh, would you look at that? Well, you should just cut them into rounds. Too much work to de-case them all." But I will have you know that I continued to de-case the suckers and then I cut them into rounds, and those rounds into 4ths. It just took me until my last sausage until I realized I was making it much tougher on myself becase I was using a crappy steak knife instead of one of my nice knives. sigh.
The meat is in the pan, it's cooking away and I go to pull out the grease jar. If you think you want to switch from using hamburger to ground turkey; don't. The smell of the old grease is enough to make me throw up in my mouth a little. I mean hamburger grease smells bad, but turkey grease is about 10 times worse. disgusting. The meat is drained of its grease and then added to the cooking onion and garlic medley.
Other ingredients are added (petite diced tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, bay leaves). And then I go and try to open the wine bottle. I cannot open wine bottles. I am a failure at this seemingly simple task. Shawn, the one in this little family of two who does not drink, is the wine bottle opener. Odd, that. He approximates "a third" and that gets added to the sauce mix.
I added a half teaspoon of celery seed (we didn't have celery salt, and I wasn't about to buy a spice that I would never use), and then a teaspoon and a half of kosher salt. I figured "2 dashes = one splash" and that's how much worchestershire sauce was added. I added a heaping teaspoon of dried oregano (from the garden, it's also been in the cupboard for a while, so I figured it probably needed a little more). And I added a teaspoon of the "Red hot chili powder" I don't know what it is, it's something that Shawn's mom gave us a while ago--she had bought some chili powder of some sort in bulk, and that's what she wrote on the baggy. Though we did debate on if we should add Ancho Chili, Chipotle Chili, or regular chili powder. We used the aforementioned "red hot" because it smelled the least smokey.
Then we come to the 1T dried basil. Well, this is a problem. Because we don't have DRIED basil. We have fresh basil. The interwebs says to add 3x as much if you're using fresh. And so I approximate this to be "9 large leaves or 2 sprigs" and so that amount is picked, washed and added to the mix.
We go to set the timer on the microwave only to find out that the microwave timer maxes out at 99:99, so we moved onto the oven timer. Set it for 2 hours (so we can check the consistency) and that's what I'm waiting for right now.
In the meantime, laundry is getting done, and bathrooms are being cleaned. It's like I'm all being domestic and crap.
Stay tuned for the "eating" part.
I have agreed to make her Spaghetti Sauce and let her know how it turns out. So, here is my tale of attempting to make the sauce.
I agreed to this adventure on the evening of September 2. I had to wait until this weekend because it takes 3 hours of simmering. 3 HOURS! That doesn't even include the prepping. Just the SIMMERING!
Time restraint aside (hell, the Borscht I made in the spring took 4 hours, so this shouldn't be much worse), I looked at the recipe and thought it sounded good. And, as my dear husband is a picky eater (and yet he claims I'm the picky one), I had to let him read the recipe before we went shopping for all the ingredients. Immediately "1/2 Bell Pepper" was taken off the list. Some such nonsense of "intolerance and/or allergy". Though I will say that I will take this allergy to bell pepper over the allergy to basil and/or oregano that the rest of his family suffers from.
Anyhow, I write down the ingredients and it's off to the store. I went to the wine aisle to get some red wine (I got the Gabbiano Chianti Classico for like $11.50), and sent him to get the required meat. He comes back to tell me that they don't have hot Italian sausage so he grabbed some Jalapeno Sausage instead. Note who started deviating from the given recipe.
We get to the fresh vegetable section and then the hunt is on for mushrooms. I say 'hunt' because I have never, ever, not once bought mushrooms so I have no idea where they are even located. Because I am lazy, I got the pre-sliced Bellas.
I measure the butter (I used the non-salted variety) and oil and put them in our large stock pot (this is the ONLY time I have EVER measured olive oil). I then get out the garlic press and press the hell out of the garlic (which took me 20 minutes to peel by the way). It is at this point that Shawn starts telling me I'm deviating from the recipe. Yes, because I was the first one to deviate from the given directions. Anyhow, the garlic was pressed instead of minced because, as mentioned above, I am lazy.
I grab the onion next (one of the Farm to Work ones, incidentally) and I get out my Ulu knife and board. I start dicing the onion and my eyes start watering. I get half way through when I realize that my nose is running and my eyes are watering so much I can barely see. Shawn, who is washing dishes, ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE KITCHEN mentions that his eyes are watering because of the onions. That is some strong onion. I finally get it diced to my liking and dump it in the stock pot with the oil, butter and garlic. Then I run to the bathroom to blow my nose and dab at my eyes like I'm some sort of southern damsel in distress.
Now comes the meat cooking. I put the hamburger in our Calphalon One Everyday Pan, and pull out the meat cutting board to start de-casing the sausage. I'm halfway through my 2nd one when Shawn asks "What are you doing?" "I'm de-casing" "Why are you doing that? It's not in the directions." "Yes it is, at the top" "Oh, would you look at that? Well, you should just cut them into rounds. Too much work to de-case them all." But I will have you know that I continued to de-case the suckers and then I cut them into rounds, and those rounds into 4ths. It just took me until my last sausage until I realized I was making it much tougher on myself becase I was using a crappy steak knife instead of one of my nice knives. sigh.
The meat is in the pan, it's cooking away and I go to pull out the grease jar. If you think you want to switch from using hamburger to ground turkey; don't. The smell of the old grease is enough to make me throw up in my mouth a little. I mean hamburger grease smells bad, but turkey grease is about 10 times worse. disgusting. The meat is drained of its grease and then added to the cooking onion and garlic medley.
Other ingredients are added (petite diced tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, bay leaves). And then I go and try to open the wine bottle. I cannot open wine bottles. I am a failure at this seemingly simple task. Shawn, the one in this little family of two who does not drink, is the wine bottle opener. Odd, that. He approximates "a third" and that gets added to the sauce mix.
I added a half teaspoon of celery seed (we didn't have celery salt, and I wasn't about to buy a spice that I would never use), and then a teaspoon and a half of kosher salt. I figured "2 dashes = one splash" and that's how much worchestershire sauce was added. I added a heaping teaspoon of dried oregano (from the garden, it's also been in the cupboard for a while, so I figured it probably needed a little more). And I added a teaspoon of the "Red hot chili powder" I don't know what it is, it's something that Shawn's mom gave us a while ago--she had bought some chili powder of some sort in bulk, and that's what she wrote on the baggy. Though we did debate on if we should add Ancho Chili, Chipotle Chili, or regular chili powder. We used the aforementioned "red hot" because it smelled the least smokey.
Then we come to the 1T dried basil. Well, this is a problem. Because we don't have DRIED basil. We have fresh basil. The interwebs says to add 3x as much if you're using fresh. And so I approximate this to be "9 large leaves or 2 sprigs" and so that amount is picked, washed and added to the mix.
We go to set the timer on the microwave only to find out that the microwave timer maxes out at 99:99, so we moved onto the oven timer. Set it for 2 hours (so we can check the consistency) and that's what I'm waiting for right now.
In the meantime, laundry is getting done, and bathrooms are being cleaned. It's like I'm all being domestic and crap.
Stay tuned for the "eating" part.
Friday, February 15, 2008
The Entertainment: The suggestions
Things I would recommend doing/seeing while in Vegas (some are free, some are for a fee):
The Aquarium at Mandalay Bay ($15 a few years ago--but they have sea turtles, thus it is worth every penny. If you go later at night, then there's not nearly as many people there to get in the way.)
Tournament of Kings at Excalibur (dinner and entertainment)
Lions at the MGM Grand (free)
Food Court at New York, New York (free)
Lost City at Planet Hollywood (free)
Village Buffet at Paris
Fountains at the Bellagio (free)
Botanical Gardens at the Bellagio (free)
Art Museum at the Bellagio ($18, so make sure it's something you want to see--when I went for my 21st birthday it was Czar Nicholas II collection, this last time it was contemporary painters of America)
Shops at Caesar's (or just wandering around searching for all the statues--they have a life size replica of Michaelangelo's David--free)
Volcano at the Mirage (free)
Dolphins at the Mirage (back in the day they had 'cheap days' where you got to see the dolphins, but not the Secret Garden. It was $10 cheaper and seeing the tigers and lions was actually pretty boring...so if they still have that deal, do just the dolphins)
Sirens of TI show (free)
Shops at the Venetian (and I'm still waiting to go on a Gondola ride--shopping is free, gondola rides are like $15...but usually a 75 minute wait)
Blue Man Group at the Venetian
See a Cirque Show (Alegria at TI, Ka at the MGM, O at the Bellagio, Love at the Mirage, or Zumanity at New York, New York)
Television City at MGM if you're looking to kill about an hour.
The Aquarium at Mandalay Bay ($15 a few years ago--but they have sea turtles, thus it is worth every penny. If you go later at night, then there's not nearly as many people there to get in the way.)
Tournament of Kings at Excalibur (dinner and entertainment)
Lions at the MGM Grand (free)
Food Court at New York, New York (free)
Lost City at Planet Hollywood (free)
Village Buffet at Paris
Fountains at the Bellagio (free)
Botanical Gardens at the Bellagio (free)
Art Museum at the Bellagio ($18, so make sure it's something you want to see--when I went for my 21st birthday it was Czar Nicholas II collection, this last time it was contemporary painters of America)
Shops at Caesar's (or just wandering around searching for all the statues--they have a life size replica of Michaelangelo's David--free)
Volcano at the Mirage (free)
Dolphins at the Mirage (back in the day they had 'cheap days' where you got to see the dolphins, but not the Secret Garden. It was $10 cheaper and seeing the tigers and lions was actually pretty boring...so if they still have that deal, do just the dolphins)
Sirens of TI show (free)
Shops at the Venetian (and I'm still waiting to go on a Gondola ride--shopping is free, gondola rides are like $15...but usually a 75 minute wait)
Blue Man Group at the Venetian
See a Cirque Show (Alegria at TI, Ka at the MGM, O at the Bellagio, Love at the Mirage, or Zumanity at New York, New York)
Television City at MGM if you're looking to kill about an hour.
The Entertainment: The paid.
Of course, in Vegas there is always the FREE entertainment and then there is always the entertainment that you pay for. This is about the entertainment that we paid for (aside from the buskers--I paid a dollar, but they were raising money for habitat for humanity).
We went and saw Ka by Cirque du Soleil.
Production-wise the show kicked ass. For those that don't know, Ka is performed on a stage that floats, twists, spins, goes vertical, goes horizontal, and sometimes isn't even there.
'Cirque'-wise, the show was very 'meh'. There was really only one act that seemed to push the realm of what the human body can do.
We sat in the back of the theater (there was only one row behind us), but for the most part we could see everything and it wasn't a problem. The only time when I would have liked to be closer would have been during the beginning fight scenes as from where we sat it was pretty boring. And I think a lot of it was because we weren't close enough to see all the sword and staff work.
I would suggest seeing it, especially if you haven't ever seen any Cirque Show. If you have seen a Cirque show, know that this isn't going to be the same type of thing--prepare to be entertained, but not necessarily wowed.
We went and saw Ka by Cirque du Soleil.
Production-wise the show kicked ass. For those that don't know, Ka is performed on a stage that floats, twists, spins, goes vertical, goes horizontal, and sometimes isn't even there.
'Cirque'-wise, the show was very 'meh'. There was really only one act that seemed to push the realm of what the human body can do.
We sat in the back of the theater (there was only one row behind us), but for the most part we could see everything and it wasn't a problem. The only time when I would have liked to be closer would have been during the beginning fight scenes as from where we sat it was pretty boring. And I think a lot of it was because we weren't close enough to see all the sword and staff work.
I would suggest seeing it, especially if you haven't ever seen any Cirque Show. If you have seen a Cirque show, know that this isn't going to be the same type of thing--prepare to be entertained, but not necessarily wowed.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
The Hotel: Post 2 of 2
Here is a layout of the hotel/casino:
We stayed in Tower 2 (upper right hand corner), and the strip was at the lower left. It was approximately 1/4 mile to walk from our hotel room to the strip. Each day, we ended up walking more than 6 miles. Of course, if we weren't the type to go walking up and down the strip, then it wouldn't have been as much.
Now then, for those of you who have been to Vegas, you know that none of the strip hotels offer an inclusive breakfast. And the food is expensive. My only suggestion is to go to the buffet during their 'breakfast' time. Mostly because if you time it right, you end up being there when they put out the lunch food as well. However, Shawn and I did not care for the breakfast buffet at the MGM Grand. I can't really put my finger on what we didn't like (Shawn would say they did the Eggs Benedict all wrong), but I'm glad we only paid $15/person (breakfast) instead of $18 (brunch price).
Suggestion: Go to the Paris brunch instead. It's about $10 more per person, but it's well worth it.
We also ate at Wolfgang Puck's (the pink/blue rectangle in the lower left). It was the best restaurant spaghetti I've ever had. Shawn ordered the eggplant calzone and it was as big as his head. No joke. The people next to us were asking if there was any way he could eat it all. He did eat it all. Even though we could have taken left overs back to our room (since we had a fridge and a microwave), we were to be going to Ka that night and we timed it just right so we got in without having to wait in a line (thus having left overs, and walking all the way back to the room, would have taken forever).
Suggestion: Eat here. This place is actually really cheap for the fact that it's a restaurant by a world-renowned restaurateur ($18 for the spaghetti, $15 for the calzone), and it was dinner time. The wait was about 30 minutes and we didn't have reservations.
On our last day, we ate at the Wichcraft (a sandwhich shop--closer to our end of the hotel). I had a $9.75 BLT. I've had much better BLTs for a fraction of the price. I don't remember what Shawn got, but after getting chips and a drink, the final bill was $30.
Suggestion: Skip it. The sandwiches are good, but they're not worth the $10 they have you pay. Though they are definitely large enough to split one sandwich between 2 people. They try to pass off that getting chips and a drink is cheaper than getting them separate, but they're not. All sodas were $3.
We stayed in Tower 2 (upper right hand corner), and the strip was at the lower left. It was approximately 1/4 mile to walk from our hotel room to the strip. Each day, we ended up walking more than 6 miles. Of course, if we weren't the type to go walking up and down the strip, then it wouldn't have been as much.Now then, for those of you who have been to Vegas, you know that none of the strip hotels offer an inclusive breakfast. And the food is expensive. My only suggestion is to go to the buffet during their 'breakfast' time. Mostly because if you time it right, you end up being there when they put out the lunch food as well. However, Shawn and I did not care for the breakfast buffet at the MGM Grand. I can't really put my finger on what we didn't like (Shawn would say they did the Eggs Benedict all wrong), but I'm glad we only paid $15/person (breakfast) instead of $18 (brunch price).
Suggestion: Go to the Paris brunch instead. It's about $10 more per person, but it's well worth it.
We also ate at Wolfgang Puck's (the pink/blue rectangle in the lower left). It was the best restaurant spaghetti I've ever had. Shawn ordered the eggplant calzone and it was as big as his head. No joke. The people next to us were asking if there was any way he could eat it all. He did eat it all. Even though we could have taken left overs back to our room (since we had a fridge and a microwave), we were to be going to Ka that night and we timed it just right so we got in without having to wait in a line (thus having left overs, and walking all the way back to the room, would have taken forever).
Suggestion: Eat here. This place is actually really cheap for the fact that it's a restaurant by a world-renowned restaurateur ($18 for the spaghetti, $15 for the calzone), and it was dinner time. The wait was about 30 minutes and we didn't have reservations.
On our last day, we ate at the Wichcraft (a sandwhich shop--closer to our end of the hotel). I had a $9.75 BLT. I've had much better BLTs for a fraction of the price. I don't remember what Shawn got, but after getting chips and a drink, the final bill was $30.
Suggestion: Skip it. The sandwiches are good, but they're not worth the $10 they have you pay. Though they are definitely large enough to split one sandwich between 2 people. They try to pass off that getting chips and a drink is cheaper than getting them separate, but they're not. All sodas were $3.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Veet vs. Nair
Yes, I know, this is of GREAT importance to all of you readers. Especially all you male readers.
Which is better? Veet wax strips or Nair wax strips?
By far, the winner is Veet. The strips have more wax, and I think because of that, the wax sticks better to the hairs, and even more importantly, the wax doesn't have the tendency to come off of the strip and stick to your leg.
Nothing hurts more when waxing legs than pulling on the hairs, but not actually removing them.
Which is better? Veet wax strips or Nair wax strips?
By far, the winner is Veet. The strips have more wax, and I think because of that, the wax sticks better to the hairs, and even more importantly, the wax doesn't have the tendency to come off of the strip and stick to your leg.
Nothing hurts more when waxing legs than pulling on the hairs, but not actually removing them.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Fall Lineup Reviews
Chuck (NBC Mondays 7pm): A good show for the techgeek set. Now then, if only they'd get rid of the crappy action scenes. Though, I will say that I found them intentionally campy...much like a bunch of the stuff in Scrubs. So in other words, if a show KNOWS that it is campy, and embraces it, then is it really that much of a bad thing? I say no.
Status: Recording
Heroes (NBC Mondays 8pm): A decent first epi for a smash hit. It wasn't great, but it did do its job--(re)introduce you to the main characters so if you didn't watch last season, you can start this season and not really be that far behind (hell, we've saved the cheerleader, saved the world, and determined if we were on the list, plus we stopped an exploding man...but that all happened last season, and we shall never speak of it again).
Status: Recording
Journeyman (NBC Mondays 9pm): We didn't record this show (mostly because I thought it looked REALLY stoopid), but we watched it at Jamie's house. And for the first 48 minutes of the show I thought it was REALLY stoopid. But then the last 12 minutes made me want to give it another chance...so maybe we'll watch it again. Besides, it's just so darn fun to laugh at it. Basically, the synopsis is "An updated version of Quantum Leap--only the guy is always himself instead of different people."
Status: Not Recording, but will watch if it's on the boob tube.
How I Met Your Mother (CBS Mondays 7pm): Oh my holy hell this show is awesome. Also, they have brought back the Slap Bet... You know, the Slap Bet Commissioner was probably one of the best episodes last season so I'm glad to see that they are carrying through with it in a spate of continuity.
Status: Recording.
Big Bang (CBS Mondays 730pm): Very meh. The guys do well as acting like hopeless nerds who are trying to get in the hot neighbor's pants. But as I said...very meh.
Status: Recording and watching 2 more epis before decision. I bet this gets canceled though
Two and a Half Men (CBS Mondays 8pm): I thought the show needed much more Bertha and Rose. Also, it seemed that Charlie was written in a way that wasn't consistent with last season. Still, it's good for a few laughs.
Status: Recording
The Rules of Engagement (CBS Mondays 830pm): I like David Spade, I really do...so why must he be in mediocre shows? Still, good enough for me...Spade plays so well off of Oliver Hudson that it's worth watching.
Status: Recording
CSI: Miami (CBS Mondays 9pm): Oh my holy hell this has got to win the award for "editing guy had too much to drink before work...again". I swear I should time how much of the show actually is show and how much is filler. David Caruso's scenes will be considered filler. We have agreed that we will watch 2 more episodes this season and if it doesn't get better, it's cut.
Status: Recording...for now
New Amsterdam (Fox ?): ummm...I haven't seen this show on the listings...did it get canceled before it even aired or is it supposed to be a mid season show? I don't know...but I still want to watch an epi.
Status: Indeterminate
Beauty and the Geek (CW Tuesdays 7pm): I'm happy that this show was moved up an hour. That way it doesn't compete as directly with the big hits. So far so good, there's annoying geeks, there are sweet geeks, and there's a guy "beauty" and a girl "geek". This twist? Not as hot as the producers think it is. Especially since the guy beauty and one of the girl beauties hooks up...isn't that the point of the show? to get the people away from the normal types they hang out with? I'm so confused. This would have been a much better show if they just totally changed it with guy 'beauties' and girl 'geeks'.
Status: Recording
House (Fox Tuesdays 8pm): Yay for Hugh Laurie, Sean Robert Leonard and Lisa Edelstein!
Status: Recording
Back to You (Fox Wednesdays 7pm): Honestly, we never watched it. We decided that it just looked too blase'.
Status: Not Recording
Criminal Minds (CBS Wednesdays 8pm): Mandy Patinkin has left the show. The pilot for this season (which was supposed to air last season but didn't) had to have extra scenes added to set up for the Patink offing himself in the show (though that's not confirmed yet...they just IMPLIED it at the end of the pilot).
Status: Recording
CSI: NY (CBS Wednesdays 9pm): I really do like this show so much better than CSI Miami. I really, really do. This episode was well acted, and decently written...but I dislike it when I figure it out when they first introduce a character. That is only allowed to happen with Criminal Minds, CBS!
Status: Recording
Pushing Daisies (ABC Wednesdays 7pm): We didn't get to watch the pilot for this show because they put in on a different night (why the hell do networks do that? why would you air the pilot on a different night than the show is actually going to air--I mean, I understand the concept--you want a big lead in from one of your blockbusters, but really, how many of those people are actually going to clear time from their schedule to watch this show on a different night?) I've set up the MythTV to record an episode of it this week, so we'll see how it is.
Status: Indeterminate
Kitchen Nightmares (Fox Wednesdays 8pm): Ah, to hear Gordon Ramsay tell people that they are donkeys is music to my ears.
Status: Recording
Survivor China (CBS Thursdays 7pm): Sigh...see my earlier Rant about reality show contestants. Still, we'll watch for the betrayal and the stupidity. What fun is Thursday night if you can't spend it yelling at the idjits on your TV?
Status: Recording
CSI (CBS Thursdays 8pm): Ah, normal CSI, How I have missed you over the summer hiatus! Also, they have added Langham to the lineup (wee!!!).
Status: Recording
The Office (NBC Thursdays 8pm): It's the Office. Need I say more?
Status: Recording
Moonlight (CBS Friday 8pm): Hmm...This is like Buffy the Vampire Slayer (the TV show)...but worse...actually, it's more like Buffy when it was close to being canned. Yep. I give this show 6 episodes tops. This is one of those shows that's so bad you want to get smashed and watch it...just to make fun of it.
Status: Not Recording
Status: Recording
Heroes (NBC Mondays 8pm): A decent first epi for a smash hit. It wasn't great, but it did do its job--(re)introduce you to the main characters so if you didn't watch last season, you can start this season and not really be that far behind (hell, we've saved the cheerleader, saved the world, and determined if we were on the list, plus we stopped an exploding man...but that all happened last season, and we shall never speak of it again).
Status: Recording
Journeyman (NBC Mondays 9pm): We didn't record this show (mostly because I thought it looked REALLY stoopid), but we watched it at Jamie's house. And for the first 48 minutes of the show I thought it was REALLY stoopid. But then the last 12 minutes made me want to give it another chance...so maybe we'll watch it again. Besides, it's just so darn fun to laugh at it. Basically, the synopsis is "An updated version of Quantum Leap--only the guy is always himself instead of different people."
Status: Not Recording, but will watch if it's on the boob tube.
How I Met Your Mother (CBS Mondays 7pm): Oh my holy hell this show is awesome. Also, they have brought back the Slap Bet... You know, the Slap Bet Commissioner was probably one of the best episodes last season so I'm glad to see that they are carrying through with it in a spate of continuity.
Status: Recording.
Big Bang (CBS Mondays 730pm): Very meh. The guys do well as acting like hopeless nerds who are trying to get in the hot neighbor's pants. But as I said...very meh.
Status: Recording and watching 2 more epis before decision. I bet this gets canceled though
Two and a Half Men (CBS Mondays 8pm): I thought the show needed much more Bertha and Rose. Also, it seemed that Charlie was written in a way that wasn't consistent with last season. Still, it's good for a few laughs.
Status: Recording
The Rules of Engagement (CBS Mondays 830pm): I like David Spade, I really do...so why must he be in mediocre shows? Still, good enough for me...Spade plays so well off of Oliver Hudson that it's worth watching.
Status: Recording
CSI: Miami (CBS Mondays 9pm): Oh my holy hell this has got to win the award for "editing guy had too much to drink before work...again". I swear I should time how much of the show actually is show and how much is filler. David Caruso's scenes will be considered filler. We have agreed that we will watch 2 more episodes this season and if it doesn't get better, it's cut.
Status: Recording...for now
New Amsterdam (Fox ?): ummm...I haven't seen this show on the listings...did it get canceled before it even aired or is it supposed to be a mid season show? I don't know...but I still want to watch an epi.
Status: Indeterminate
Beauty and the Geek (CW Tuesdays 7pm): I'm happy that this show was moved up an hour. That way it doesn't compete as directly with the big hits. So far so good, there's annoying geeks, there are sweet geeks, and there's a guy "beauty" and a girl "geek". This twist? Not as hot as the producers think it is. Especially since the guy beauty and one of the girl beauties hooks up...isn't that the point of the show? to get the people away from the normal types they hang out with? I'm so confused. This would have been a much better show if they just totally changed it with guy 'beauties' and girl 'geeks'.
Status: Recording
House (Fox Tuesdays 8pm): Yay for Hugh Laurie, Sean Robert Leonard and Lisa Edelstein!
Status: Recording
Back to You (Fox Wednesdays 7pm): Honestly, we never watched it. We decided that it just looked too blase'.
Status: Not Recording
Criminal Minds (CBS Wednesdays 8pm): Mandy Patinkin has left the show. The pilot for this season (which was supposed to air last season but didn't) had to have extra scenes added to set up for the Patink offing himself in the show (though that's not confirmed yet...they just IMPLIED it at the end of the pilot).
Status: Recording
CSI: NY (CBS Wednesdays 9pm): I really do like this show so much better than CSI Miami. I really, really do. This episode was well acted, and decently written...but I dislike it when I figure it out when they first introduce a character. That is only allowed to happen with Criminal Minds, CBS!
Status: Recording
Pushing Daisies (ABC Wednesdays 7pm): We didn't get to watch the pilot for this show because they put in on a different night (why the hell do networks do that? why would you air the pilot on a different night than the show is actually going to air--I mean, I understand the concept--you want a big lead in from one of your blockbusters, but really, how many of those people are actually going to clear time from their schedule to watch this show on a different night?) I've set up the MythTV to record an episode of it this week, so we'll see how it is.
Status: Indeterminate
Kitchen Nightmares (Fox Wednesdays 8pm): Ah, to hear Gordon Ramsay tell people that they are donkeys is music to my ears.
Status: Recording
Survivor China (CBS Thursdays 7pm): Sigh...see my earlier Rant about reality show contestants. Still, we'll watch for the betrayal and the stupidity. What fun is Thursday night if you can't spend it yelling at the idjits on your TV?
Status: Recording
CSI (CBS Thursdays 8pm): Ah, normal CSI, How I have missed you over the summer hiatus! Also, they have added Langham to the lineup (wee!!!).
Status: Recording
The Office (NBC Thursdays 8pm): It's the Office. Need I say more?
Status: Recording
Moonlight (CBS Friday 8pm): Hmm...This is like Buffy the Vampire Slayer (the TV show)...but worse...actually, it's more like Buffy when it was close to being canned. Yep. I give this show 6 episodes tops. This is one of those shows that's so bad you want to get smashed and watch it...just to make fun of it.
Status: Not Recording
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