27 July 2005

odio andare al ginecologo

la vita è a volte realmente difficile. ho un appuntamento sulla mattina di venerdì con il ginecologo. devo avere un esame pelvico prima che ottenga i 9 mesi restanti della mia prescrizione per le pillole di controllo di nascita. desidero che ci era un certo senso impedire le pillole di controllo di nascita di gravidanza è la meno scelta d'aggravamento ho, ma hanno alcuni effetti secondari terribili graziosi. il mio libido non è che cosa dovrebbe essere i miei atteggiamenti è piuttosto più instabile.

il controllo di nascita di nonhormonal è un dolore ancora più grande nel retto, comunque non sono un ventilatore di inserimento degli oggetti stranieri nella mia vagina o utero ed ho letto gli studi che indicano che determinati componente di sperma dell'uomo sono favorevoli all'umore della donna. così ovviamente, i condoms sono inammissibili.

mi domando perchè la pillola maschio di controllo di nascita è stata "assente cinque anni" per come venti anni ora che cosa dà? perchè non sono quei ricercatori che prendono più seriamente questa materia? penso che sia soltanto giusto che gli uomini dovrebbero fare le loro colpire parti più riservate e esaminato una volta all'anno, non? significo, il mio marito inoltre non desidera i bambini e sarebbe più di felice di assumere le responsabilità contraccettive, ma la scienza medica moderna non lo lascerà!



su una nota più chiara, i john roberts, primo (e eventualmente soltanto) nominee del cespuglio alla corte suprema, apparentemente conduce un *pt cruiser* ora definitivamente conosco che non desidero l'uomo essere confermato quegli automobili sono parti totali di merda.

25 July 2005

tonight's dinner.....

chicken with 40 cloves of garlic
40 cloves of garlic
12 chicken thighs
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 T unsalted butter
2 T olive oil
2 c dry white wine
1 T fresh thyme leaves
4 T all-purpose flour
4 T heavy cream

dry the chicken with paper towels. season liberally with salt and pepper on both sides. heat the butter and oil in a large pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat. in batches, saute the chicken in the fat, skin side down first, until nicely browned, about 3 to 5 minutes on each side. turn with tongs or a spatula; you don't want to pierce the skin with a fork. if the fat is burning, turn the heat down to medium. when a batch is done, transfer it to a plate and continue to saute all the chicken in batches. remove the last chicken to the plate and add all of the garlic to the pot. lower the heat and saute for 5 to 10 minutes, turning often, until evenly browned. add the wine, return to a boil, and scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. return the chicken to the pot with the juices and sprinkle with the thyme leaves. cover and simmer over the lowest heat for about 30 minutes, until all the chicken is done.

remove the chicken to a platter and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm. in a small bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup of the sauce and the flour and then whisk it back into the sauce in the pot. raise the heat, add the cream, and boil for 3 minutes. add salt and pepper, to taste. pour the sauce and the garlic over the chicken and serve hot.

i'm serving it with orzo with mushrooms and garlic.

8 oz sliced mushrooms
2 T olive oil
1 T chopped fresh thyme
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper
1 lb orzo

saute mushrooms in olive oil in 4-5 qt. pot over med-high heat. when they're about half done, add the garlic, thyme, salt and pepper. stir through, and cook 3 mins more. remove from pan and set aside. add 3-4 qt of water, turn heat to high, and bring water to a boil. when water is boiling rapidly, add 2 T salt and the package of orzo. cook 9-10 minutes, drain and return to the pot. add mushroom mixture and 2 T olive oil, and taste for seasoning. if necessary, add additional salt and pepper. stir till heated through and well combined.


it was the bomb, yo! and the price per serving is about $2 if you can get the chicken thighs on sale. i highly recommend. :)

in a world of human wreckage...


when i'm lost and i'm found and i can't touch the ground
i'm plowed into the sound

will i wake up some dream i made up
no i guess it's reality

- "plowed", sponge



that's my honey. he makes a mean rustic and crusty loaf. :)
that's a big loaf of bread, too. my honey's a big guy, tho... 6'4" and meaty. i love his butt.

the kitchen is no longer white btw. the cabinets got a coat of paint too, and i did a striae effect thingy with glaze. i should post pics of all the home improvements i tackled in the lead-up to our nuptials last november. i think if the whole food network host/cookbook magnate thing doesn't work out, i could always fall back on hgtv.

anyhoo... i'm off the point i thought i was going to be making today. i'm married. i love my husband very much. but sometimes being married is sooooooooo not fun. hell, even being shacked up with someone is no fun. i know. we lived together for a year before we jumped the broom. it's the living together that's so damn hard. the constant exposure to the shit that annoys you, but not enough to make you say/do anything about it... till it blows up and explodes in a manner completely out of proportion to the problem(s).

that's how we fight anyway. most of the time i love him to pieces and couldn't imagine myself being any happier, and sometimes i want to find something that will hurt but not inflict too much damage and bash him a couple times with it.

i hate the feeling of being totally worn out the next day too. our fights don't get loud anymore, but they drag out for hours sometimes. he interrogates me and i clam up much the same as the criminal usually administered such. he's not going to get anything out of me, not a damn thing. he needs to learn this, and let me cool down. i will deal with anything so long as i have my wits about me. i cannot think, let alone speak sometimes.

*sigh* i need advice people, esp from those of you who come across this who have marriages with some legs. you know, you've managed to make it work? i love my husband. i want to get real old with him. and i don't want this bullshit to keep happening.

keep in mind, when i say bullshit, a majority of it IS mine. my husband is much better at some stuff, like not letting things get to him. i mean, i get a migraine every time i drive more than 5 miles. i shit you not. i get wound up way too tight sometimes. he's not ever been guilty of that. i don't sweat big stuff, but the little shit? omfg... i'm all over it. except for his. i bottle up more of it than i should. let things slide when perhaps i shouldn't.

my question is this: how do i express myself on that sort of occasion without nagging?




gawd. i sed i've never post something this personal and now i have.

22 July 2005

FUCK!


k... i'm sure i've mentioned this before, but i'm an atheist.

as of today, tho, i believe in hell. it's the whole united states. yes, i know coastal northern california, oregon and washington as well as a decent-sized chunk of new england are not sweltering.

i don't know what the fuck the rest of us did to piss of the weather god tho. look at that fucking map!!!

i wish i had one for the lo temps too. cuz i bet none of them are any too low right now.

i wish a week or so in eureka were possible at the moment. the high temp there today was 64. plus, there's lots of good microbrew and herbal refreshments in the area.

*sigh*

21 July 2005

show us how you really feel chimpy!


ugh, i can't really get on him about the bird, but that giggle at the end?

did dubya get shoved outta the short bus or what?

20 July 2005

smoked spanish paprika

try clicking on the title of this post. it will lend a smoky, succulent goodness to any rub for your summer BBQ'in needs.

penzey's has the most wonderful spices, dried herbs and extracts ever, yo. i'm totally serious. when i get the urge to do some baking, my husband has to leave the room. cuz it's like he automatically gets sprung when i break out the cinnamon and double-strength vanilla.

if their stuff will do that to someone's penis, imagine what it'll do to yer cookies!

19 July 2005

k... the real point is...

what in the FUCK is the chicago tribune doing putting crap like this (see below) on the fucking front page?!? like... if THIS is what you have to get outraged about, there's something seriously fucked with your priorities.

isn't there a traitor in the white house to proctologize, erm... investigate??

liberal media my ass!
from http://news.yahoo.com:


A photo of Northwestern University's national championship women's lacrosse team, taken during the athletes' visit to the White House last week, shows four of the nine women in the front row wearing flip-flop sandals along with their dresses and skirts.
The choice of footwear has prompted a mini-controversy — a flip-flop flap, if you will.
A front-page story in the Chicago Tribune included the headline "YOU WORE FLIP-FLOPS TO THE WHITE HOUSE?!" inspired by an e-mail sent to player Kate Darmody from her older brother after he saw the photo on the team's Web site.
Family members of other players expressed similar dismay, insisting the summer footwear staple was too casual for a visit with the president.
"Don't even ask me about the flip-flops," said the mother of player Aly Josephs. "It mortified me."



does this look casual to you? it's a Giuseppe Zanotti FLIP-FLOP, sold at http://neimanmarcus.com. it retails for $395.00. i wish i had a pair, so i could throw one at one of the people who were bitching about this.

it ain't the humidity, it's the heat

k... i was reading one of my usual blogs this morning, http://lifeinthesuburbs.blogspot.com/, and lemme tell you, all you peeps back east and down south... sure humidity's a bitch (we've had relative humidity %'s of near 70% lately, which might not sound like much to you, but it's about 3x the norm for candyass california), but i wish to fucking god that y'all would get over the idea that *dry* heat is any better.

if you don't believe me, try going to phoenix sometime... do a little running or bicycling around town. during the daytime. and then tell me if 120° temps and 10% relative humidity are a pleasant combination.

having experienced weather that dry, i know they're not. i know my skin and hair have all the life sucked out of them, to the point where my (short!) hair looks fried and my skin itches from the constant salt crust and eventually it cracks and bleeds. i get nosebleeds from the lack of moisture in the air. AND... you try drinking 2+ gallons of fluids day after day so you don't get dehydrated JUST FROM BREATHING.

i'm sure the bored housewife in utah knows of which i speak. it sucks all conceivable ass to walk out the front door of your house, walk the 30 feet to your car and have your lungs scorched and screaming by the time you get there.


yes, i know humidity sucks. i know all about the frizzy hair. hell, when it's humid my hair not only gets frizzy it gets flat too! i know all about the layer of ooze on your skin that will not go away. i also know taking a cool shower only works for about 5 minutes after it's over, and then you're right back where you started. i know i know i know!

but i will not be held accountable the next time i hear someone say that dry heat is preferable to wet, especially when they live in a part of the country that never experiences the other extreme.

17 July 2005

wal-mart comes through!

Some Wal-Mart customers soon will be able to sample a new discount item -- Wal-Mart's own brand of wine. The world's largest retail chain is teaming up with E&J Gallo Winery of Modesto, Calif., to produce the spirits at an affordable price, in the $2-5 range. While wine connoisseurs may not be inclined to throw a bottle of Wal-Mart brand wine into their shopping carts, there is a market for cheap wine, said Kathy Micken, professor of marketing at Roger Williams University in Bristol, RI. She said: "The right name is important."

So, here we go -- The top 12 suggested names for Wal-Mart Wine:

12. Chateau Traileur Parc
11. White Trashfindel
10. Big Red Gulp
9. Grape Expectations
8. Domaine Walmart "Merde du Pays"
7. NASCARbernet
6. Chef Boyardeaux (my personal fave... wot's yours?)
5. Peanut Noir
4. Chateau Des Moines
3. I Can't Believe It's Not Vinegar!
2. World Championship Riesling

And the number 1 name, for Wal-Mart Wine:
1. Nasti Spumante

16 July 2005

three words...

smoked spanish paprika..

i'll tell you why tomorrow.

file under: out of the mouths of babes

President Bush visits a primary school classroom. They are in the middle of a discussion related to words and their meanings. The teacher asks President Bush if he would like to lead the discussion of the word 'tragedy.' So the president asks the class for an example of a tragedy.


One little boy stands up and offers: "If my best friend, who lives on a farm, is playing in the field and a tractor runs him over and kills him that would be a 'tragedy'."

"No," says President Bush, "that would be an accident."


A little girl raises her hand. "If a school bus carrying 50 children drove over a cliff, killing everyone inside, that would be a tragedy."

"I'm afraid not," explains President Bush. "That's what we would call a 'great loss'."


The room goes silent. No other children volunteered. Bush searches the room. "Isn't there someone here who can give me an example of a tragedy?"


Finally, at the back of the room a small boy raises his hand. In a quiet voice, he says: "If Air Force One carrying you, Mr. President, were struck by a 'friendly fire' missile and blown to smithereens, that would be a 'tragedy'."

"Fantastic!" exclaims President Bush. "That's right. And can you tell me why that would be a 'tragedy'?"

"Well," says the boy, "because it certainly wouldn't be a 'great loss', and it probably wouldn't be an 'accident' either."

14 July 2005

my apologies

i haven't been posting like i should in months... i mean hell, till i actually publish this entry, my birthday is still in my "recent posts" slot over there =>. my birthday was the middle of april.

anyhoo... i promise to be better about it in the future. i was telling my buddy http://kimberrynextdoor.blogspot.com that she should post every day... it gives her someplace to collect her thoughts if nothing else. sometimes things are easier to deal with if you can write/post/whatever. and the feedback is really helpful sometimes. yes, i know what's going on in her life that she's posting about, but strangers have happened upon her blog too, and some have left some really thoughtful comments.

also, i should probably stop posting about food so exclusively. it's like i'm forgetting how to write.

anyhoo... more later! (don't hold yer breath tho!)

12 July 2005

fucking hell... blogger sux

k... i've done this before i think, on another website, which makes the whole idea pretty damned unoriginal i spose. but if one is ganking one's own material, at least it's not plaigarism...

part the first: kick ass blogs

http://deeproastedflavor.blogspot.com/ i could eat matt damon with a spoon too, john.
http://knifeskills.blogspot.com/ don't blame me cuz you gain 10 lbs looking at this website, k?
http://kimberrynextdoor.blogspot.com/ i'm jealous of all the recliner sex, k?
http://heyjennyslater.blogspot.com/ chewy liberal goodness with a healthy dose of snark.
http://radioactivequill.blogspot.com/ cuz it's cool to have a look at political life from the inside.
http://eatingcrow.blogspot.com/ have a towel handy for this one... it's scorching.
http://newspell.blogspot.com/ cuz sometimes getting fired is a good thing.
http://justcooking.blogspot.com/ aren't foodies cool? HoF's a cook delux. :)
http://tallnlucky.blogspot.com/ cuz not everyone who *leaks* is laughing.
http://bigchunkofunk.blogspot.com/ look for cubes melted, scotch gone and read it dammit!
http://cookingforengineers.com/ *lol* i thought wen'l would love this one!
http://tetricus.blogspot.com/ cuz i kinda dig angry sicilians.
http://superjux.com/ much jdate hilarity ensues... plus, it's a pretty accurate portrait of life in hell-ay.
http://colindavies.blogspot.com/ o, how i want to spend a month or two in galicia!
http://boredhousewife.blogspot.com/ cuz i wanna be just like her when i'm all grown up!
http://houseofmash.blogspot.com/ i about pissed myself reading this aussie's take on american bs.
http://slavetotarget.blogspot.com/ i could visit tarjjjjjjjjjjjay daily... *sigh*
http://worldwidelove.blogspot.com/ jason from chunk o'funk and family take on the world.


11 July 2005

summer dinner a deux

funghi cotti di portobello con insalata caprese

3 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for greasing grill pan
4 large portobello mushrooms (about 5 inches in diameter), stemmed
salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 small to medium sized vine ripened tomatoes, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
8 ounces fresh water-packed mozzarella, drained, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

prepare the barbecue (medium-high heat). drizzle 3 tablespoons of olive oil over both sides of the mushrooms. sprinkle the mushrooms with salt and pepper. drizzle olive oil on grill pan to prevent mushrooms from sticking. grill until the mushrooms are heated through and tender, about 5 minutes per side. meanwhile, whisk the extra-virgin olive oil and garlic in a medium bowl to blend. add the tomatoes, cheese, and basil and toss to coat. season the tomato salad, to taste, with salt and pepper.

place 1 hot grilled mushroom gill side up on each of 4 plates. sprinkle with more salt and pepper. spoon the tomato salad atop the mushrooms, drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil to finish, about 1 tablespoon and serve.



zucchini cotto con aglio arrostito

pan roast about 2 dozen cloves of garlic in 1 cup olive oil over low heat till golden brown. slice 4-6 zucchini on angle and toss with 3 T of the garlic-infused oil and salt and pepper. grill over medium heat about 2 mins a side. add more salt and pepper if necessary and serve immediately.



farfalle con olio e aglio

cook farfalle according to package directions and toss with remaining olive oil and pan-roasted garlic, salt and pepper and 1/4 c chopped fresh parsley. top with light dusting of parmiggiano-reggiano if desired.

sorry but i'm gonna gloat a bit...

you may have to watch a short ad to read this, but do it.

http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/

yay!!! dubya sed he'd fire the person responsible for leaking the name of valerie plame, and it looks like he has to lay the axe to turd blossom himself. yes, kids, that's right... our dear leader has to fire his bestest shitstirrer, oops, i mean *friend*, karl rove.

he better fucking do it, too.

i think we may be witnessing the beginning of the end of the republican party's stranglehold on politics.

it was all just a lie, you know? the war, why we got ourselves into this clusterfuck, it was all a lie. a very expensive lie that's cost this country dearly, both in lives and our economic stability. AND, our dear leader and some of his best friends have profited enormously because of this disastrous war.

i have faith enough in the american public that they will revolt against this tyranny. i love my country. i love it enough to call it on its bullshit for its own good. haven't you ever gotten a swift kick to the head (not literally of course.) that woke you up and pointed you in the right direction?

george bush whined last fall about what hard work it is to be the president. when i heard that fall out of his mouth for the first time, i wished he'd choked on that fucking pretzel.

hard is going to be cleaning up the mess he's made after he's gone.

08 July 2005

full-fed, yet i still hunger...

down inside..
haunted i tell myself yet i still wonder...
down inside, it's tearing me apart

- "biscuit", portishead



my husband is sooooo getting some tonight. i just thought i'd get that out of the way.

i'm gonna have him grill some ribeyes. some all-umami ribeyes.

1/3 c balsamic vinegar
1/3 c soy sauce
1/3 c worcestershire sauce
2 T crushed mustard seeds

mix well and soak em 30 mins-2 hrs. but no more, k? grill over high heat till no more than med-rare. i'm gonna serve mine with some wilted spinach and baked potatoes.

more later!

05 July 2005

cookies for iraq

hey... i know i suck. let's not even go there. lol

i've been too pissed at the world to post lately, and i know i should leave the political stuff to people better able to express themselves. every other word in such a post from me would be "fuck" or some variation thereof. i am just too angry to go there yet.

but... i volunteered myself for quite the good deed today. i have a cousin named michael who's stationed in iraq. somewhere in the neighborhood of kirkuk. he's a heavy equipment mechanic. being good at it is what finally got his ass dragged into this whole mess. the humvees and tanks and heavy transport are all in bad shape and he gets to cobble them back together. he goes on runs to salvage partially destroyed equipment. spare parts. bleh. god only knows what he might be seeing... blood and god... i don't even want to go there.

he was a sweet man... grew up sort of sheltered, became a very family-oriented man with 3 very young children. he's missing a year of those boys' lives, and i know it's killing him.

anyway, he's gotten other care packages. toilet paper and toothbrushes and all sorts of shit. KBR is really fucking with our people on the ground, and it's hard to get ahold of any of that sort of shit. but, when asked what he most wanted, he said he wanted some of our grandma's homemade cookies.

our grandma is almost 88 years old. making enough cookies to be worth sending over there is more work than she can manage. i got thrust into the role of cookie baker by my father and his older sister. granted, i am the best at it in the family. but it's flattering that they both thought so too.

the good deed isn't that. the good deed is that i am going to do it once a month, on my dime, for the rest of his deployment, and continue the ruse. it'll be like i went and spent the morning with grandma, taking cookie sheets out of the oven and talking... "visiting" you might call it.

he needs this. him and grandma are really close. always have been. i know he's missing her something fierce too. a hug from grandma once a month will help. michael being reminded of home and that the world is a good place and that people love him once a month will be worth the work and expense involved to me.



if you know anyone over there right now, a relative or friend, bake them some cookies. when i think of all the sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, and sisters and brothers over there, it breaks my heart.

and food for the soul isn't always food.