Archive for the ‘cool links’ Category
When I read Shanny’s post about foods that she won’t eat, I had to participate on my own blog. Here’s my list, and I could probably think of a few others if I had more time:
Most seafood. I’ve had clam linguine before, though, and it was actually pretty good. Kind of chewy, but I lived through it. :) And Jeff and I enjoyed a shrimp appetizer during our first anniversary that I really liked ~ probably because the shrimp was breaded and sauteed in garlic and butter! I like crab rangoon at Chinese restaurants. And my MIL’s crab rolls are yummy, although I can only eat one or two. I wouldn’t mind trying crab cakes and salmon cakes sometime, actually.
Canteloupe. I *loved* it as a child, and my parents tell me that I ate it like candy. Tastes change, though. Or maybe I overdosed on it?
Honeydew. I just don’t like the taste of it. Doesn’t have much taste, in my opinion.
Mushrooms. Just blech all around. I even hate the way they look.
Cheesecake. I just don’t understand cream cheese in a dessert. That’s for BAGELS! I got the stomach flu once right after having some cheesecake, so that’s probably another reason why I dislike it so much.
Beets. They taste like dirt. I’ll dye my yarn with them instead, thank you very much.
Liver. Although I’ve never tried it. But the thought is just disgusting.
Bison, buffalo, venison, and any “wild game meats.” Apologies to my SIL, Jennifer, and her family, who are avid hunters and lovers of venison!
Okra. Due to the slimy factor.
Canned fruit cocktail. Give me *real* fruit salad, please. What are the “cherries,” anyway? Tiny grapes dyed pink?
Green olives on their own. I like them *in* things, like the delicious cheese ball that my dad makes. Or in a green-olive tapenade over chicken or something. Oh, but a MARTINI ~ that’s different! :)
Anything with the word “tartare” after it. No raw meat for me. How can anyone eat raw hamburger?
Sushi. In Indiana, we call that “bait.”
Scotch bonnet peppers. Aren’t those the *really* hot ones? I like spice, but not *that* much heat.
Ham and cheese sandwiches. (See cheesecake experience above.)
Cottage cheese. Just not a big fan of the texture. Some people enjoy it with pineapple on top of a lettuce leaf, and I don’t get that.
Lucas and Meredith’s preschool has a Yankee Candle school fundraiser every year, and I just love it. Who doesn’t enjoy Yankee Candles? You can’t beat them ~ I have yet to find a candle that’s as fragrant. I just went through the catalog to see what candles we might want to purchase for our own home. The Sparkling Cinnamon smells so good! I also like Home for the Holidays and Eggnog (one of my favorite holiday beverages). Hard to believe that we’re thinking about Christmas goodies already, but Christmas is only about three months away!
If you’re interested in making a purchase to help out Luke and Meri’s preschool, check out YankeeFundraising.com. Send me an e-mail or leave a blog comment to let me know what you’d like to order, and I’ll get it taken care of for you. (You can mail me a check, send PayPal, or whatever’s easiest). Every dollar that’s raised goes DIRECTLY to Luke and Meri’s preschool class to benefit THEM, which I think is awesome. It’ll help buy new toys, supplies, decorations, activities, etc. as well as help cover daily classroom expenses. And when your order comes in, I’ll get it to you ASAP.
Thanks for your consideration!
I’ve been feeling a little down lately about the decline in blog comments (on both of my sites). It used to be that on a *very* good day, I would sometimes receive 20 comments on a blog entry. (That was many years ago ~ a few years after starting my blog.) But on a regular, average day, I would get at least five … maybe even 10 comments on occasion. Now? It seems like I’m only getting one or two comments at the most … and sometimes zero!
Raise your hand if you used and loved the Commodore 64!
Apple has now approved an officially licensed Commodore 64 emulator for the iPhone. How funny is that?
The Commodore 64 was my very first computer, so it naturally holds a special place in my heart. I remember typing in long programs just to see a balloon float across the screen … and we would get *so* upset when the darned thing wouldn’t work (more than likely because of a missing semicolon or something!). We had the “paddles” ~ Sea Wolf was one of my favorite games. I remember having to type in “,8,1″ in order to get the floppy disk drive to work (or was it the cassette drive?). I played with that thing for hours on end. At first, we attached the computer to our TV in the living room, I believe. The Commodore 64 was such a *wonderful* way for me to learn about computers when I was growing up.
Speaking of PCs … I’ve always thought that this WordPress theme was neat, but I wouldn’t be brave enough to actually use it! :) Here are a bunch of Apple-themed WP themes in case you’re interested.
Caught your attention with that blog entry title, huh? :) Well, don’t get too excited … I’m talking about felt as in the material ~ as in knitting a felted purse.
Now, originally I thought that felt was just something purchased at the craft store ~ three pieces for $1, or something cheap like that. I thought that felt was a fabric made by a machine, not something you could create yourself. Many years ago, I accidentally placed a wool sweater into the washing machine, with hot water ~ and it came out all felt-looking. Oops. But then, a few years ago, I saw my friend Carol’s beautiful felted bowl. And felted bag. And I thought, “How the heck would you knit something like that? I don’t see any stitches!”
Autumn is definitely in the air here in upstate New York. Mornings and evenings are chilly ~ and I always know that when I wake up to heavy fog, fall can’t be far behind. It’s absolutely gorgeous. Autumn where we live is so incredibly beautiful, although I hate that winter follows close behind. :( I can’t wait for my favorite honeycrisp apples, though! (Did you know that they are patented? How interesting!) When September 1st rolled around, I was in disbelief. This year has gone by so fast! My birthday will be here before I know it. (I’m turning 29 … again.)
Anyway, I thought that I would share an autumn recipe find with you: Cheesy Squash Casserole. It’s from Food TV’s website, courtesy of “Uncle Bubba” ~ and we all know that any recipe associated with Paula Deen is probably a winner! :) We usually get lots of squash this time of year through our weekly CSA share. I can see this dish with potatoes added, too. Hey ~ anything covered with cheese is a hit in my book! :)
What is your favorite dish to fix during the autumn season? I’m thinking about doing an “Autumn in New York” blog giveaway here very soon, featuring a bunch of yummy fall goodies from our area for one lucky reader. Stay tuned!
I’m feeling a bit “kitchen creative” today and thought that I would Google some ingredients we have on hand in order to put something unique together for dinner this evening. Chicken, black beans, and lime basil would go great together, right? I’m always looking for lime basil recipes because it’s growing like a weed in the container on our back step! Anyway, I came across this recipe for Spicy Lime Chicken with Black Bean and Corn Salad. Mmm! I might make a few variations, however, because we don’t have adobo sauce or red peppers on hand. I’m sure that I’ll be able to come up with something, though. This seems like a terrific summer dish!
Ani gave me a neat cookbook several years ago, and I’ve enjoyed trying the cookie recipes inside. It’s dark and rainy here today, and I thought that it would be a nice afternoon for cookies and a cup of hot tea. (Can you believe that it’s July and I’m saying that?!?) Anyway, I took this recipe from the book, but instead of the sugar and nutmeg I used powdered chai tea mix. These cookies are not overly sweet (just a warning!), but they absolutely melt in your mouth. If you want them a bit sweeter, you could mix up a chai glaze (confectioner’s sugar, milk, a touch of powdered chai tea mix, maybe some vanilla extract) and drizzle on top. And there’s not much dough … this recipe only makes like 15 cookies. If you make these, let me know how you like them.
Chocolate-Spice Chai Tea Cookies
1 C all-purpose flour
4 TB. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 C butter, softened
1/2 C powdered chai tea mix (Mystic Chai, Pacific Chai, your own homemade, etc.)
1 large egg yolk
Bake at 350 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes. (Typical instructions ~ sift the dry ingredients together; mix the wet ingredients in a stand mixer, then add the dry mixture slowly.)
Dude! It’s’ chilly outside! Our temperature says 54 degrees at the moment … and a high of only 63 today. The low … 39 degrees! Holy cow ~ I’m totally in the mood to snuggle on the couch underneath a blanket with a cup of hot chai tea and my latest knitting project! That’s *so* odd for May, right? Oh, today would also be awesome for snuggling and watching a fun movie, too. This weekend, we watched “Slumdog Millionaire” and “Fireproof.” (Jeff had to fix our tv stands ~ but now everything is fine, thank goodness.) I can’t believe that I’m in “blanket mode” during the month of May! We’ve had such high winds here recently, too. If we open our front door, it creates a vacuum that blows through the entire house and knocks everything down! LOL! :) Anyway, a very happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there!
I have to admit … I get totally sucked in by makeover TV shows. You know ~ the ones where they transform someone into a beautiful bombshell who looks 10 years younger? It’s amazing to see the transformation. Hair cuts, Lasik surgery, microdermabrasion, a new wardrobe … I always can’t wait for the big reveal. But you know what? Right now I’m pretty happy with the way that I look. Sure, I weigh too much ~ and I plan to correct that. Hopefully by the end of this summer when I have my doctor’s physical, I’ll have lost weight. But otherwise, I think that I look pretty decent. Is there some part of yourself that you’d like to have a makeover on? I would say my weight right now ~ specifically, my tummy and thighs. Several friends have recommended the South Beach Diet to me, and I kind of want to check that out. But really, I’ve been eating too much and not exercising enough. Plain and simple!
