my political compass

i saw this over at balls and walnuts, and thought i'd take the test myself. go to his blog to check out his results if you'd like (and if you'd like some context... he was patient enough to save some pics i'm not bothering with!)... the link is in the sidebar.

perhaps more later!

carnitas de julia

this is the easiest thing i cook. it's great for the warmer months too. all you need equipment-wise is a crock pot. the ingredients and part of the procedure i found in gourmet magazine. i love me some foodie porn. anyway.. it was written by amy finley, the winner of last year's food tv contest. i made it, and i could tell it was lacking one thing... a certain crispiness. also, no garlic, and that's a crime.

there's one thing in it that might not be available in just any grocery store though. mexican oregano. if you don't have that or can't get it, i'd throw a bay leaf in instead. or, omit it entirely. it'll still be tres delish.

your mise-en-place:

1 5 lb boneless pork shoulder (butt end preferably), cut in about 5 1½" thick slabs
1 T salt (and use good salt dammit! i use gray salt from trader joe's)
1 T pepper (and i use a mill and it takes forever, but it's worth it)
1 T dried mexican oregano (or one bay leaf, or not)
2 good-sized onions, sliced into ¼" thick rings
4 large cloves garlic, smashed

one slow cooker

put the pork into the crock part of your slow cooker. in a small bowl, combine salt, pepper and mexican oregano. toss with the pork in the crock. place slightly broken up onion rings on top. place cover on crock and cook on low heat for 7-8 hrs.

remove to a plate to cool enough to shred. shred into large-ish chunks.

place a 12" (or larger, if you're lucky!) saute pan over med-hi heat with 1 T vegetable oil. this is inportant! do not forget that teeny little bit of oil. it will make all the difference in your crispies. when it's just starting to smoke, throw in all the pork and resist the urge to mess with it too much. just leave it be for about 4 mins. then bust it up a little and flip it over. give it another 4 mins. and you're good to go.

i usually serve this with steamed corn tortillas (handmade if you live where you can find them *swoon*), avocado slices and pico de gallo. i think it's the best thing i cook.

mass graves for the pump and the price is set

what the hell does obama have to do?

hillary's made me lose all respect for her. she's doing mcsame's job for him for one thing. for another, she's with him on this gas tax holiday bullshit, and saying obama's out of touch with middle america... because he's got a brain in his head and realizes that 3 months of the roads and bridges in this country not being tended to will fuck us in the ass, sideways, in the long run.

why must she pander so? or, alternately, where the hell does she think the money to do that maintanence on our already mcgyver'd infrastructure is going to come from? certainly not the defense budget!

instead, we're talking about his pastor? and someone he sat on a board with? how people really ARE bitter? (see a couple posts down) how about they let the man talk about what he wants to, the shit we sometimes don't want to hear, but need to? continuing to ask him bullshit questions about shit that came to light almost 2 months ago now? how about hillary's little senior moment? where she "misspoke" *rme* about being forced to make a corkscrew landing under heavy sniper fire? or mcsame and his good buddy, the rev. hagge? you know, the one that said god inflicted hurricane katrina on new orleans because they were a bit too *friendly* to homosexuals? you know, just to be fair.

the movie ran through me
the glamour subdued me
the tabloid untied me
i'm empty please fill me
mister anchor assure me
that Baghdad is burning
your voice it is so soothing
that cunning mantra of killing
i need you my witness
to dress this up so bloodless
to numb me and purge me now
of thoughts of blaming you
yes the car is our wheelchair
my witness your coughing
oily silence mocks the legless boys
who travel now in coffins
on the corner
the jury's sleepless
we found your weakness
and it's right outside your door

- "testify", rage against the machine

anyhoo, where was i? oh yeah... i was bitching about the media, the traditional, ie multi-national conglomerate owned, media. why do they think we give half a fuck about that shit? or is it that they know there is a certain percentage of the population out there that they know will buy what they're selling? either way, i feel insulted. i, like an ever-larger percentage of americans, get my news from places i click to. if this swill is what they're going to inflict upon us, then may they perish from their own uselessness.

i'm fast approaching 40 here. i drive a car that's 12 years old and gets shitty mileage on the highway! i will keep paying my damn taxes. the taxes aren't the problem. our weak dollar and our petroleum-dependent administration are the damn problem. our army being in iraq keeping that oil in the ground. the chimperor said today that not enough oil is being produced. no shit, sherlock! you've got a blue-chip MBA and you just now realized that? when will you realize why? january 20, 2009?

btw, that song came out in 1999.

heh

well i was just reading a blog that had a post on it called *coach whore*. you, my 3 faithful readers, know that i am a coach slut from waaaaaaaaay back.

i meant to post this right after my birthday. i got a bag from wen'l, and bought myself the matching wallet with the happy birthday coupon i got from coach ($50 off any $150 or larger purchase!). my bag was also purchased with a coupon. coach just loves me apparently.

anyhoo... here's the pics i ganked off coach.com. one of these days i'm going to gather all my various handbags and wallets and take their picture.

the bag:

the wallet:

and... i might have mentioned this before, but wen'l picked that bag out all by himself! he rawks almost as hard as i do, eh?

back!

i left yesterday saying i need to go gas the beast, etc...

so i'm at the arco on the corner of dale and ball and the place is packed. it's one of the more reasonably priced gas stations around, so it's really no surprise that i have to wait for a pump. my fellow patrons are all grumbling about how little gas they're getting for their $50 (13 gallons here, and i got the *regular* unleaded). they sounded a bit, uhh... i dunno... bitter?

i don't believe in guns or god, so i can't cling (oops, does that make me elitist?) to either of those things, but i'm glad i have my DH. i'm sure he's glad he's got me too. it's better being bitter with someone you love, you know?

another thing i'm bitter about: the arrival of our impending "stimulus package". i wish we weren't so dead crackers broke so i could donate about half of it to mr. obama. that seems about the biggest FUCK YOU statement i can make to the bushies and their ilk in re trying to buy me off with a check for $600.

but just like everyone else i know, i'll be spending that money on shit like rent and the electric bill, not making political contributions or paying for the 3 day weekend out of town wen'l and i could surely stand.

what will you, dear reader(s), be doing when you get stimulated?

been awhile...

my birthday was sunday. i turned 39. too old for a lot of things. too young for a few more.

i've been watching countdown with k.o. every night. mostly it's because i have a massive girl crush on rachel maddow. but also, i am so pissed off at the state of affairs politically that i want to barf.

mostly i'm pissed because my dipshit disillusionment with the clintons. they used to bitch and moan about the shit the right wing pulled, and i did so alongside them. now that they're resorting to the same bullshit tactics, i find myself bereft. how can they actually be doing this? how dare they?

i find myself understanding how it is people stop participating in the process.

i am also perturbed at how the punditry in this country won't let the whole "bittergate" thing go. last time i checked, (mostly) overpaid twits from inside the beltway weren't exactly known for their empathy with joe q. public. i don't live in the rust belt, but the economy around here pretty much sucks too, and i can't think of a better word than bitter to describe how i feel after almost 8 years of this.

what were the causes du jour last time around? gay marriage was one of them. all these states had bullshit legislation on their ballots decreeing marriage to be between a man and a woman, etc? now i read that some people who got married in massachusetts or canada and then moved to say, iowa, are now seeking to divorce... and guess what? not only will some states prevent you from getting married (a heartbreaking thing, no matter one's orientation), they'll keep you from breaking up too!

wtF?

sorry to end this in a weird place, but i gotta bounce. i need to gas up the beast and go pick up my husband. he takes the train. we're doing something to help, anyway.

more later. i promise.

ratchet & clank

this game is evil.

i haven't played videogames since the early 80's. i rocked back then, and i kinda suck now, but i am soooooooooooo hooked on ratchet & clank future: tools of destruction. say what you will about the wii and the xbox 360, but the ps3 is just sick.

the graphics, the sound, all the weapons and devices... the vocal stylings of voice deity jim ward... of course, it doesn't hurt that i'm playing the game on 60" of tasty hi-def goodness.

if you have the ps3, i highly recommend you check this shit out, yo.

have you ever wondered what book you are?

i saw this at konagod's. click below if you'd like to find out what book you are.

You're To Kill a Mockingbird!

by Harper Lee

Perceived as a revolutionary and groundbreaking person, you have
changed the minds of many people. While questioning the authority around you, you've
also taken a significant amount of flack. But you've had the admirable guts to
persevere. There's a weird guy in the neighborhood using dubious means to protect you,
but you're pretty sure it's worth it in the end. In the end, it remains unclear to you
whether finches and mockingbirds get along in real life.


Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

inspired by konagod

so we're sitting here, the three of us, 2 smokin a phattie, listening to gnarls barkley, and chubness has a reptile wrapped around his left hand. "fix the run!"

i was going to take a pic of my bro's baby python, but the phone (no flash... wouldn't wanna spook her) is in the kitchen. so, this will have to do. for now. i'm gonna get a pic of her the next time she's out of her tank.

she's headed up his sleeve at the moment. lol

what i'm listening to right now... snaps to maven

and now i walk around without a care
she's got me hooked
it just ain't fair, but i...
i'm love stoned and i could swear
that she knows

- j.t.

guess i'll be stayin put then...

American Cities That Best Fit You:

70% Los Angeles 65% Honolulu 60% San Diego 55% Chicago 55% Miami

Which American Cities Best Fit You?

drinkin with the senior citizens

so, i had my mom's sister camilla, her hub (of 49[!!] years tuesday) davis, my aunt dolores (the aforementioned aunt gripe) and her b/f of several years and trips abroad john over for dinner tonite. camilla and davis are leaving on a cruise tomorrow, see... and wen'l and i thought we'd have em all over for dinner.

boeuf bourguignon. that's wot we had. HUGE hit (i'll provide the recipe upon request!). we also drank 5 bottles of wine. aunt camilla got ripsnortin drunk. i had to cut her off after she used the words "bitch" and "shit" in the same sentence.

anyhoo, it was a great time. i hadn't larfed that hard in ages. i'm sure the wine had something to do with it, but the company was great, and a swell time was had by all.

also, i took some pics of my kitchen. i'm going to do some improvements and i wanted to document the "before" so my three readers could compare and contrast. so, without further ado...

siete

aka, suck it barry! getting tagged blows!

w/ no further ado - seven things that might be true (but are more likely all the proof one needs that i should cut down on the dopesmoking... and btw, that rhymed!):

uno - the first time my IQ got tested (when i was 5), it was 160. i got tested every couple of years till i was in the 9th grade(moving around a lot SUCKS), and each time it was lower. what's weird is i had just sustained a fairly significant head injury AND i didn't even try teh pot till i was 17. i'm stickin with the first result.

dos - although you wouldn't know it now, i was a pretty shitty cook till about 5 years ago, and certainly an unimaginative one.

tres - tenía seis años de español entre la escuela secundaria y la universidad. sé ahora hablar apenas español. puedo leer y puedo escribir. ¿pero hablando ahora? ¡aspiro!

cuatro - wen'l and i started out as fuck buddies, and both of us swore that we'd never EVER get married.

cinco - i actually lived in texas for awhile, and picked up one hell of an accent while i was there. in fact, people still ask me if i am from there.

seis - it's not in my nature to cut a brotha some slack.

siete - every single person who ever ate one of my cookies has asked me if i put a little something *special* in them.

cheers!

because old married ladies like the bubbly.

i hope you and yours have a happy and healthy 2008.

feliz año nuevo!

chili con carne, sin frijoles

i never put beans in my chili. chocolate and cinnamon, yes. beans, never. and i cook it in the oven. weird, i know. but my chili is the shiznit, and a lot of the reason why is how i cook it. i'm not going to post the recipe, but if you want it, shoot me an email at joolz.sexson@gmail.com.

still having computer problems. device driver issues, bios issues... i wish wen'l knew a lick about windows. well, he does... but not enough to figure out what the hell is going on with this damn thing.

just about done getting ready for xmas. bought a hoity-toity ham off the internet yesterday. a whole ham. for three people. the sammiches are gonna rock though.

i'm beginning to get burned out on cookies. shocking, i know. i think next year i'll be doing something else for wen'ls co-workers.

got a call from *restricted* yesterday. was in the middle of getting dinner ready, so it went to voicemail. didn't find out i had a voicemail till like 10pm. it was my dad. he didn't say anything but to give him a call, and i knew he wanted something. he never calls me unless there's a "favor" i can do for him.

wanted to be able to tell him to go f hisself, but unfortunately, i didn't win the mega millions last night. *sigh*

"I'm well on my way
I'm almost everything
And this is my day
You make me want to say
I'm freeee! Look at me!
Behold everything I'm allowed to see"

- cee-lo green

war, children... it's just a shot away

you look a whole lot older than your years, but happy birthday keef.

suckage

k i haven't been real good the last couple days. i have an excuse of sorts, in that my computer has been a snarky bitch the last few days.

now that the problem has been rectified i will be better about posting... in fact, i might be inclined to post a couple times a day to catch up.

it's sposed to rain tomorrow. this is like the 3rd time in a month it's rained here. i'm thinking we're going to be paid a visit by el niño. as long as the hillsides that just burned manage to stay intact, i hope it keeps it up. we could sure use it.

anyhoo, i have to get my fat ass to bed. the cookie baking commences in the morning! i'll take pics n everything :).

inaugural thursday thirteen - the fromage edition

or would formaggio sound better?

1. parmigiano-reggiano. i refuse to use any other "parmesan". i have been on a stravecchio kick lately though. that means "extra old" in italian btw, and my stravecchio was aged 36 months. makes the world's best carbonara.
2. manchego. sheep's milk cheese from spain. they typically eat it with a quince paste called membrillo, but it's a bit difficult to find, and i prefer it with apples anyway.
3. cheddar. it should not be *mild* and it should certainly not be orange. i've had killer cheddar from all over though. vermont, quebec, even a raw-milk version from australia, and i love em all.
4. teleme. y'all can have your brie. this is my absolute favorite of the runny varieties.
5. gruyere. a bowl of french onion soup wouldn't be right without it, but i like eating it out of hand as well.
6. gorgonzola. did you know there are actually two different types of gorgonzola? there's gorgonzola dolce and the mountain variety as well. i like this best of all the blue cheeses because it is usually a lot creamier than, say, stilton.
7. gouda. another i love eating out of hand, and smoked gouda is great on a chicken breast sandwich.
8. chevre. this can mean any cheese made with goat's milk, but what i'm referring to is the young, soft cheese found normally in a log shape. the combination of this type of chevre paired with beets is divine, esp. when paired with walnuts (which i am unfortunately allergic to).
9. paneer. cheese you don't have to bread to fry!
10. burrata. it's a fresh italian cheese, made from mozzarella (di bufala) and cream (also di bufala). the outer shell is mozzarella while the inside contains both mozzarella and cream, giving it a unique soft texture. if you can find it when tomatoes are at their peak, make an insalata caprese with it. you might find it hard to go back.
11. cotija. it's a dry, grainy cheese from michoacán. i'd rather have this on my frijoles refritos than that icky orange stuff one normally gets at a "mexican"restaurant. mmm @ the salty goodness.
12. mascarpone. italian super-creamy cream cheese. it's not as tangy as american cream cheese, and one of my all-time favorite desserts is built on it. april strawberries, mascarpone, and brown sugar *swoon* it got its name from "mas que bueno", spanish for "better than good".
13. feta. i prefer the sheep's milk version.

40 cloves..

ayup kids, it's time for another recipe!

3 whole heads garlic, about 40 cloves
3 lbs chicken thighs salt and pepper
1 T unsalted butter
2 T good olive oil
3 T Cognac
1½ c dry white wine
1 T fresh thyme leaves
2 T all-purpose flour
2 T heavy cream

separate the cloves of garlic and drop them into a pot of boiling water for 60 seconds. drain the garlic and peel. set aside.

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 cognac and 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 ½ c 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.

we're having this with couscous and a spinach, dried cranberry, candied pecan and blue cheese salad with raspberry vinaigrette. it's a packaged salad from trader joe's... pick it up if you've got one near!

finding another way to work *suck* into one's title, well.. it sucks

k, yesterday's post sucked, AND i never came back.

started feeling a bit illish, and hit the sack early. my brother decided to share wotever icky intestinal thing he picked up, and i'm tired of counting the tiles on my bathroom floor. i think the anti-trots pills are finally kicking in though. *praisin jeebus*

i've had enough of being sick this autumn. first, i had that nasty cold from hell. you know, the one that killed like 10 people? well, it didn't kill me, but there were a few occasions when i was thinking the end was nigh. have you ever coughed so much your ribcage ached? well, that was me the week before thanksgiving. the aching ribs, the throbbing head, the green snot and i had the bad taste to pass it along to my husband.

i've had cases of the flu that kicked my ass less than that cold. took me three fucking weeks to get over it!


the bizza left me a comment on one of my previous posts, about how there's a 360, a PS3 AND a Wii (suck it, bitches!!) in my house and he wondered how i'd ever get anything done? i don't play them. i watch other people play them sometimes, but that's about it. more important to me is that the PS3 and 360 will play the hi-def dvd's. i think i might give the Wii a try though. i read something yesterday about how old folks' rec centers have em, and how they duke it out over who gets to bowl next.. i figure if the peeps at a "retirement community" can play it, i should be able to.

i've probably overshared today, but wtf.

one tip for ya: if you have the trots and no immodium, try poppin a tums or 2. it'll firm things right up.