spicetart

Scarlett Is Born

Scarlett Suzanne Newman Buchanan was born on December 5, in the morning, at home in the water, into her dad and my midwive's loving hands.  8 pounds, 14 ounces, 21 inches and a huge head!  She is a sweet and friendly little girl, and so far, a very good sleeper.  She's also growing very quickly, already 11+ pounds (and weighed 3 pounds more than Ivy at birth - crazy!)

I will be writing up her birth story but will not post it here.  Please email me if you are interested in hearing about our beautiful home birth.

And Ivy is almost 2 years old, I can't beleive how fast it has gone.  She is a very good big sister, and is very sweet to her little sister.  Hopefully they will grow up to be best friends...

On hold

Things have come up that have basically made our decision for us about India - we are not going. So that's that. I may not post for a while since I am dealing with some grim personal business that needs all my attention. I'd love to use my blog as a place I could write about all the things that are happening, but I just can't open this all up in such a public way. Anyway, hope to be back at some point with a more cheerful post, and at least some pictures of Ivy.

Did you say India?

So in the past few months, Chris's company has been talking about sending him to India to work for a year. I think he wants Ivy and me (and the fetus) to go too.

So this thought has been brewing and stewing and causing alternating fits of anxiety and excitement, and India? Really? Like tigers and samosas and the Taj Mahal India?

Bangalore, to be precise, southern India, where it is supposed to be cooler. I think this is one of those cases where cooler means not the scorching-pit-of-hell hot, but more the town next door to the scorching-pit-of-hell. And there really aren't tigers there in Bangalore, though I hear that there are plenty of cows and stray dogs roaming the streets. Sounds almost like Montana!! Except for the, you know, pollution and open, running sewers, and horrible sad poverty. But really, there is excitement too, at the possibility of an adventure. I try not to let my romantic notions get the best of me, it is after all a big bustling city full-o-high techiness.

So should we do it? I'll post my list of pros and cons next. Once I figure them out.

Buns in the Oven

It has been embarrassingly long since I have posted, but at least this time I have a real and valid reason, not an oh-I-am-just-too-busy-with-blah-blah kind of reason.  No this time, I was busy throwing up and sleeping and walking around like a complaining zombie, because, yes, I am pregnant with Numero 2.

Already?  Yes.

But I'm feeling much better and more me like, so hopefully I'll start cooking again, at least more than sweet potato and oranges.

I've got about 27 weeks until all hell breaks loose.

I'm Not a Hipster, but My Baby Is.

I've recently been reading the discussion about Hipster Parents - Do They Suck or What? that has been ongoing since the publishing of this article in Time magazine, and subsequently this post about in on the Poop and this stuff on Babble and this and this and this.  Yeah, no one cares about this topic clearly.  I find it all very interesting, and don't know where I stand, except to ask...can I be a hipster parent too?

I mean, how does one do it?  Did you have to be a hipster before the baby?  If so, I'm out.   I have no ironic t-shirts, but I do have one that says Oakland, which I think might be hipster, because Oakland is where all the disenfranchised San Francisco hipsters go when they have kids, or something.  Ivy has no ironic t-shirts, though I have sifted through all the ironic t-shirt websites and laughed and thought my baby would be perfect in that Now that I'm safe, I'm Pro-Choice shirt, you know, for the irony.

Oh, I did buy a onesie that said "Babys Rock" in KISS lettering.  But I bought it at Old Navy, so I know that doesn't count.  I don't think Old Navy is hipster, but I'd have to ask my hipster friends.  And "Babys Rock" isn't really ironic, it's more, just, true.

And now that I think about it, I bought a black and white t-shirt that says "I Do All My Own Stunts" because now that Ivy is learning to walk, she falls every 10-15 steps or so...but I bought it on the sale rack at Target, so that might not count. OR just maybe, it is totally hipster exactly BECAUSE I bought it on the sale rack at Target.  Is there a handbook for this shit?

At the end of the day, I figure that the way that other people are raising their children seems A) cooler than the way you do it, B) lamer than the way you do it or C) just plain wrong.  I'd like to be a hipster, if only because they seem to have a lot of time, money, and energy.  On that I could be wrong, but a girl can dream.

TV Rots Yer Brains

If television rots your brains, I am in real trouble.  But if it is too late for me, is there hope for Ivy?  She doesn't really watch the TV when it is on.  Sometimes she will glance at it, usually if something loud or bright is on, but for the most part she is much more interested in finding a way to put the whole paper towel cardboard roll in her mouth. 

But would she watch BabyFirstTV?  Finally, a channel just for babies!  They have been feeling so left out, but now babies can sit in their rooms and watch their own little TV and their spongy brains can absorb, uh, stuff.  Some people have actually claimed that these types of television shows are educational, that they teach little brains about, uh, stuff, and that you are actually making baby smarter by plopping him in front of the tube.  Don't get me wrong, I am not opposed to babies watching a little Baby Einstein, but let's not pretend that it's educational; mainly, those shows give mom and dad some time to do a few things that that need to be done.  I also don't think that a little TV is detrimental to an infant, even though it is not recommended by the American Association of Pediatrics that babies under 2 watch any TV.  And even if it is a wee bit harmful, I watched loads of TV when I was young and look at me!

And I just read today that people have more TVs in their house than people.  Yikes.  But really, who needs friends and bike rides and farmers markets and baseball games and wine tasting and coffee on the benches outside of Peets, who really needs any of that when you have the television?  Maybe it is not harmful to baby, but there have got to be better ways to entertain a person.  I will try to remember this the next time I sit down for the newest episode of Project Runway.

This is not a food blog.

My blog is neither about food nor is it a blog.  Discuss.

You may have noticed that I don't write.  About food or anything else.  I keep meaning to, I even took pictures of some recent meals, but really, what food blogger wants to read about the trouble with making your own rice cereal for your 6 month old??  I mean, I'd read it, because let me tell you, it's not as easy as it sounds, but I know YOU don't want to read it.  So.

First, I want to thank all those food bloggers who have kept a link to my site on their site - probably with the hopes that I would one day return and take up the food writing again.  To them, thank you, but you can remove my link now.  You've done your part.

Second, just like I didn't want to do, this blog will likely become a baby blog, because in all honesty, that's what I do.  Baby, baby, baby.  And I want to write about the baby because there are so many interesting (to me) observations about this whole parenting-baby-urban mom-cloth-or-diaper thing that really gets my blood pumping.  Yep, it's no longer excitement about The French Laundry reservations, but my baby sat up this week.  Holy crap!

So I guess this is sort of a goodbye to my blog of old, a hello to my blog of new.  I just really need a place to write some of this stuff down.  And I paid for this site, dammit.  So foodies and fooders, move along, nothing to see here, and thanks for all the love.

Molly

Who wants an update??

Sorry, no time for food bloggin'.  Oh how I miss those days of traveling an hour just for a restaurant or spending a whole Sunday cooking and drinking wine.  I miss you guys!

Baby Ivy is doing well, she's a very happy 11 week old and has thankfully passed that fussy-newborn-all-the-time phase.  She enjoyed a trip to the Ferry Building Farmers Market this weekend, her first trip to Slanted Door was also a success.  It also appears that we have a little art critic on our hands as she expressed her approval of Robert Motherwell's At Five in the Afternoon during our recent visit to the fabulous new De Young Museum.  Nothing else got as many coos and ahs - sounds like approval to me!

The rumors are true!

Introducing Ivy Carrico Newman Buchanan!

Born February 21, 2006, 8:38 p.m.
A tiny 6 pounds, 2 ounces and 19 inches long.

I will spare you all the labor details, but will say that my relief that it was over was only matched by my joy that she was so perfect and kissable and squishable.

Thanks for all the thoughtful emails, we are spending our time eating and sleeping and snuggling and will respond soon.

Kauai

We left the Monday after the wedding for Kauai for 5 days. Here's my 10 Things I Remember Most About The Garden Isle:

1) Chickens, chickens, chickens - seriously this must be the County bird or something, these damn chickens are everywhere.

2) Crap food - even the best rated restaurants were meh, I am not alone in this.

3) Shave ice - best invention ever. I could survive on this - if I could survive on this. Get the guava.

4) Terrifying helicopter rides - Never again. Chris owes me big time "It'll be smooth, no turbulence" LIAR. If you want to experience sheer terror from 2000 feet in a 5 person bird WITH NO DOORS, then this is the ride for you. We have great pictures, too bad I couldn't take any myself because my hands would not unclinch from the nearest handle.  We stopped after an hour at a private jungle waterfall to have lunch.  That was great because we were on the ground.

5) Hiking to awesomest oceanside swimming hole ever - Note: Next time, bring mask and snorkel

6) Forget the hotels, stay in a beach front condo - even the top rated hotel was disappointing (unless you have kids, becaue the pool rocked)

7) Incredible pineapple - I mean I eat a lot of pineapple, but the pineapple that we got from the family running the stand by Wailua Falls has set a new standard. They also fed us some yummy starfruit.  They were the nicest people we met on the island by far, next time, we're visiting their farm for sure.  So did I take any pictures or write down their name?  No. Der.

8) Farmer's market - If we were staying in the above mentioned condo, I would have gone crazy here and stocked up on local eats. We did leave with a fresh coconut, which, if you have never eaten the rubbery, sweet flesh of a fresh coconut, you really must try one day. Yum.

9) Don't try to find that magical, secret beach that you went to 13 years ago.  It is no longer magical nor secret.  And it's windy.

10) Seeing an old friend from many years ago...

Stay tuned for MAUI!!

It's all over.

It's all over, all the wedding stuff and the honeymoon and...oh, that's right, there's still that baby thing. Yeah, that's not over yet. Anyway.

BUT we had a wonderful wedding day, it really is a unique feeling to be surrounded by all the people that you love and that love you and to just celebrate and feel special. We had a great time, we just wish we had more time to spend with everyone there. The setting was also gorgeous, a big THANK YOU to Chris's dear friends over there at Mill Creek Winery.

The food turned out crap, as did the cupcakes. Never trust a bakery to do a man's job. I have just become so spoiled by Chris's miracle cupcakes that no cupcakes can substitute. The ones we got were really no good, but not even crappy food and hard cupcakes could spoil a beautiful day. Here's a picture of them, they do look beautiful albeit a little melty. In the end, I really didn't care that much.

And the food I knew was going to be all wrong.  The caterer and I did not see eye to eye and it just became too late to change to find someone else.  We only had heavy appetizers and they just were not that good.  I won't post her company name here but anyone looking for a caterer in the wine country would be smart to avoid her (you can email me).

My dress turned out gorgeous due to the fact that my family uses who I think is the best wedding dress maker in San Francisco, Jin Wang, (seriously, she rocks). The best part? She designed it so that I wouldn't have to even wear a bra. Yep, the ladies ran amuck all day, yowza.

And although my shoes sucked, I had brought my Chacos and changed about 20 minuted into the reception. Ahhh...bliss.

Shwew.  Then it was all over and we went to Kauai!

That settles it.

It looks like the big argument over who invented noodles has come to end. Archaeologists in Western China discovered a pile of nearly perfectly preserved 4,000 year old noodles recently. Apparently, some guy had been about to sit down to a nice warm meal of yummy millet noodles when an earthquake of some magnitude hit, followed by a massive flood, subsequently burying the poor slob and his overturned bowl of noodles in 10 feet of fine sediment. The result? A 4,000 year old hermetically sealed bowl of noodles that turned to dust minutes after the discoverers snapped this photo of them.

I have to say that the settles the argument. China 1, Italy 0. Next thing you know, we are going to find out that Mama Celeste is not even Italian.

Listen to the story here. The most recent edition of Nature Magazine has the full scoop.

I love stories like this so much that it brought me out of my blogging void.

Bloggers Meat and Eat

Others took pictures, so I wouldn't have to.  Yea!  Go and read what they wrote, and yes I'm lazy.

A big thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Biggles for the hosting and the fantastic meats.  It was a ton of fun to put faces to names and blogs, and to see some friends that I have sorely neglected in the past few months.

One important question: Who made the peachy crisp type dessert?  I must know.  I kiss you.

Wedding planning is going along as it ought to, full of "yeah, my budget is less than half of your proposal" and "Holy crap I gotta find a strapless bra".  The most important part has been planned though, and paid for, the honeymoon Four Seasons style.  Yes please, I would like an Evian spritz on my pale, exhausted body, thank you.  5 more weeks.

Was I just complaining?

In a matter of 3 days we have finalized the photographer, the caterer, our registry, found Chris some fancy duds, almost gotten the invitations out, planned the flowers, planned the honeymoon, and maybe found a great band. Boo-yah!

Thanks for all the words of encouragement and also the words telling me to run far far away. Things are starting to come together and I think it will be a nice wedding, even if I am not in Vegas.

I promise this won't turn into the wedding blog. I took some pictures of vegetables, I swear!!! And last night I cooked a whole meal for the first time in, oh, maybe two months. I ran around the kitchen like a crazy person, "Where's the bowls?," "Where's the serving spoon?," "Who am I?." It still turned out pretty good. I still got it, baby!

Next time, we're doing it in Vegas.

If someone tells you that you can get married for under $5000 and you expect to actually feed, provide drink and have places to sit for your family and friends, and maybe have some lovely music, and maybe take some pictures of the whole she-bang (in Sonoma no less), and you don't want to have every guest double as a caterer, bartender, photographer, videographer, DJ, or laborer, laugh out loud and quite heartily. 

400 pounds of ice you say? At $17 per 40 pounds? No problem, here's my checkbook, please take my hard earned $170 for frozen water.  Might as well have a nice trip to Alaska at the same time.  Oh, and linens, for the tables that selfish people NEED to eat on?  Yeah, try $300.  I told the caterer I'd bring some sheets from home.  Oh and thanks for charging 50 cents per chair to move them from the ceremony site to the reception site, a mere 15 yards.  Also, that service charge that you have already included? Yeah, see, I am totally onto you, I will not be tipping on the food twice.  Trickery.  And how the hell does cheese cost $4 a person?  Even with fancy fruit and crackers?  Add some dancing girls and you got a deal.  Also, for the cupcakes, people do not need plates and forks.  And if they do, they do not belong at my wedding.

And that's just the food. We have not even found an officiant or music yet.  And we need to get our rings.  And a videographer.  And send out invitations.  And what the hell is Chris going to wear?

THIS IS WHY I WANTED TO GO TO VEGAS, PEOPLE.  Is it too late?

Where on Earth am I?

Wow! My sister was amazed at the response to her paintings. I am trying to get her to do more and to sell some more prints and other stuff, but on June 18, very early in the morning, Wilson Quincey Winkler was born and so my sister is going to be a tad busy for a while.

I myself have been absent, I know, but my passion for food has temporarily had to take a backseat to the other goings on in my life, namely work. Two trials in two weeks, I probably won't be around much til August. And then I have planning to do for my WEDDING 'cause I'm gettin' hitched. Yep, he decided to keep me, for a little while at least. So...I guess I'll check in when I can.

Don't you just hate it when life gets in the way of blogging?

For Vanessa

Yesterday I found out that a girl I knew suddenly died of a heart attack.  She was 27 years old.  We were not close, we were acquaintances in a small online community in Los Angeles, but it's strange how chatting with someone online, and writing them via email, allows you to get to know them in a way that you might not in person.  It's easier to be intimate sometimes with someone who you may never meet.  And while I never met Vanessa, some of my friends did, and they are mourning the loss of a special person in their lives.

Vanessa spent her time helping other people. She worked with mentally disabled children.  She was a mentor and a Big Buddy.  She was nice to everyone, no matter how awful they were.  She was kind when she didn't have to be. She was the type of person that no one would ever have anything bad to say about.  She was funny with a somewhat twisted sense of humor and could at times be quite vulgar.  She exhausted herself to make other people's lives better.  She was a rare person on this Earth.

I know this post is not food related, but I felt Vanessa deserved to be honored, especially in the medium in which I knew her.  Her death is another reminder that this could happen to you or me at any moment.  These are some things that we should try to remember.  Remember to kiss your mom and dad and siblings and tell them you love them.  Remember to hold your partner, children, husband, wife close and share those things that are really important.  Remember to volunteer some time to do something for someone else.  Remember to say you're sorry and to not hold a grudge. Remember to appreciate a beautiful flower, a wonderful meal, the smell of raspberries.  Remember to laugh at the ridiculous.  Remember to eat your vegetables.  Don't waste time. Do it now. Don't wait. I will try to too.

Vanessa, you will be missed.

Food gnus is good gnus

Lots of decent food news in today's San Jose Mercury News.  You need to register to view anything, you decide if it's worth it.  A few tidbits:

• Another breakdown of the confusing and somewhat useless new food pyramid, with some recipes as examples of what to eat and how to do it.  I'm going to choose clean living and constant prayer over the pyramid.
• Santa Cruz Mountain Pinot Noirs are getting more well-deserved love from the masses.  That's good news to me, I'm a big fan of Byington, Kathryn Kennedy and Thomas Fogarty.
• Competitive cooking shows have exploded all over the networks:

1. "Cooking Under Fire", which features 12 contestants looking to become the next American Idol  New Top Model  get a job with Todd English in New York, it starts tonight at 8:00 on PBS (KQED)
2. "The Million Dollar Recipe" about the 2004 Pillsbury Bake-Off, Monday May 2, 8:00 on Bravo
3. "Food Network Challenge", which features the "best" chefs in various food specialties competing for the title of "best", the Merc says this starts May 22, but it's already on, so I don't know.
4. "Hells Kitchen" hosted by the scary Gordon Ramsay, tests chefs' skills while verbally abusing them.  Sounds good and you know it must be on Fox if someone is crying on a reality show, May 30, 9:00.

• Healthy Handfuls is a great company in Grass Valley that are making certified organic wholesome treats with none of the toxic poison (trans fats, high fructose corn syrup, preservatives).  And perfect for midgets (kids) cause they make cookies shaped like critters.
• Local chef David Cohen of Willow Street Pizzeria won the first ever Italian Chef Wars in Las Vegas this month.  He's not Italian so I'm skeptical about the title, and his stiffest competition was from Winnipeg, Manitoba. I guess it makes sense since it was sponsored by two industry magazines, Pizza Today from the U.S. and Canadian Pizza.  There's a whole magazine called "Canadian Pizza"?  Hmmm.....

New Food Reviews

I visit McSweeneys site regularly, chock full of witty banter and news of the current and interesting in writing.  Today I see that Reviews of New Foods is updated.  Pages and pages to scroll through, I already have a few favorite reviews, such as

Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper
Submitted by Pat Roath

"Aside from its having far too many syllables for a soft drink, my skepticism toward the new Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper began when someone informed me that "it probably won't make you vomit"...

and

Reese's Pieces Peanuts & Peanut Butter With Nuts!
Submitted by Eric Black

"See where you say "Limited Edition" in your upper left corner? You're just playing on my fear of scarcity. There's really nothing limited about you at all, but here I am, falling for your cheap candy-aisle come-on, because I'm suddenly terrified the rest of my life will seem like a long, grim march toward death if I can never have peanuts and peanut butter together in a crunchy candy shell."

and

The Wild Mountain Chicken Sandwich at Wendy's
Submitted by Rachel DuBois

"If anyone ever tells you that you should eat a Wild Mountain Chicken Sandwich from Wendy's, what they really mean is "I secretly hate you and now revenge is mine."

You can also submit your own...

Is our food making us sick?

On the heels of finishing Fast Food Nation, I found myself sick this weekend.  I don't know if it was something I ate, but it sure did feel like it.  I'm sure you know what I am talking about, so I won't go into details.  I have had an upset stomach a lot of times, due to being somewhat food sensitive, but I haven't ever experienced a sudden and lasting sickness caused most likely by food.

I guess I am pretty lucky considering how much I dine out, but I am also very cautious with what I will eat.  This leads me to wonder: is getting sick from food inevitable or preventable?  I recall that recently I was asked at a restaurant how I wanted my pork loin cooked.  I took a second to answer, during which time the waitress said "It's OK, our pork is very good".  I do not think the issue of trichinosis being found in pork having anything to do with the quality of the pork, but, low and behold, from the Hormel website of all places "Improved production and processing conditions have mostly eliminated the risk of trichinosis but some risk does remain".  I wonder when we'll start to hear "How do you want your chicken cooked?"

Most people I know have gotten sick from food (I hesitate to call it food poisoning because I think of poisoning as going-to-the-hospital-sick), I guess it was just my turn.  I wonder about all the times I escaped getting sick by just choosing wisely or by washing my hands.  While I try to be careful in my own kitchen, I don't have a microscope to check for bacteria roaming my counters and sink.  Ugh, imagine the sponge.  Yet, we live on, eating everyday, and eating some really freaky stuff at times, I might add.  I guess it was just my time.

Anyway, I'm all better, but it'll be a while before I eat a crepe again...

I mean, I love bread

but this is just going too far.

Business and pleasure

It was a hectic week, and definitely lacking in many food related goodness.  I can't even remember what I ate.  I did have one memorable night out, however, at Jack Falstaff, to give a Bay Area "Welcome and what are you doing to dig our party out of the dump" to visiting Senator Joseph Biden.

My place of work ("POW") sponsors many fundraisers and get togethers for some very interesting and influential people, and I was looking forward to meeting the Senator while having the chance to check out Jack Falstaff.

The front of the restaurant, outside, had been set aside for us to have some cocktails and appetizers and listen to Biden.  Even though there was plenty of room, everyone congealed around the bar (go figure) where they were pouring a 2000 Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon.  Now that's my kind of meet and greet.  The appetizers started to appear, including some delicious seared Tombo and spicy shrimp (with the heads on - ew- eyes), and then Biden arrived.  He took the time to walk around and shake everyone's hand and then started speaking about his thoughts on the war on Iraq and the troubles in the Democratic Party here at home.

Enter Gavin Newsom.  This party just got a whole lot better. He had a couple of exchanges with Biden regarding how wonderful the Senator is, yada yada yada, no you are wonderful blah blah blah, let's get to the point: 

NEWSOM 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020,...

He's got my votes.

I did have a chance to check out Jack Falstaff.  I thought it looked like a nice intimate place to have dinner, I was actually surprised that it was so small, and I hear that the food is decent.  Though I image it is full of the see and be seen types on most weekend nights, it might be worth checking out.  And who knows, Gavin might be there...

Jack Falstaff
598 Second Street (at Brannan)
San Francisco, CA 94107
415-836-9239 TEL

Michael Bauer review of Jack Falstaff 2/27/05

Note to self...

Write in your blog.  That's the point of it.

Take that, McHeartDisease.

OK, so $7 million is a pittance to McDonald's Corp, still,

"I'm lovin' it!"

Disclaimer: Yes, I see the irony, and some may say hypocrisy, of this post being above the cheese and sour cream delivery system pictured below, No, I do not think it's the same thing as I will defend the fat filled eating of whole foods as opposed to gunky preservative scary mega heart stopping gloop.

Music in my Kitchen: A MEME

Yea! My first blogging chain letter meme thingy! I’m a dork because I am excited that Amy sent this to me. I’m a doodie. A dork foodie. Usually the music I like most in my kitchen is the lovely humming of my food processor and kitchen aid (not really)...

What is the total number of music files on your computer?
3064 songs on iTunes, probably 7000 on my computer because Chris has all of his music there too.

The CD you last bought?
I downloaded Death Cab for Cutie - The Photo Album, Iron & Wine - Our Endless Numbered Days, Snow Patrol - Final Straw, and Jill Scott - Beautifully Human Words and Sounds, all at the same time from iTunes because I am now an iPod junkie.

What is the song you last listened to before reading this message?
Biscuit - Portishead, I am listening to all my songs alphabetically and I’m only at "bi"

Write down 5 songs you often listen to or that mean a lot to you.
1- Warning Sign - Coldplay
2- American Dreaming - Dead Can Dance
3- Title and Registration - Death Cab for Cutie
4- Walking Wounded - Everything But the Girl
5- So Real - Jeff Buckley

Who are you going to pass this stick to (3 persons) and why?
Um, who’s left?

How I got tricked into getting an Oval Grill Pan.

So I asked for a Le Creuset 10" Grill Pan for Christmas and got a lovely Fry Pan which I would have liked as well but, I really wanted the Grill Pan.  So off to Williams Sonoma I go, to return the lovely Fry Pan for a lovely Grill Pan.  Alas, the only non-yellow (it's actually called "Dijon". har.) Grill Pan in the entire store is a display pan with a "cosmetic flaw", basically a small scratch on the inside top edge.  It doesn't look that bad to me or Chris and I get 10% off, so I figure, good enough.  I bought some other stuff so the cashier lady adds it all up, makes mistakes 3 times and does it all over again 3 times, and the final amount seems like more than it ought to be.  It appears that the lady has taken the 10% off the return cost.  So instead of getting 10% off, I pay 10%.  By this point, the lady and I and Chris are all thoroughly confused and I have no desire to stay in there for another minute, I just want my Grill Pan and my fancy salsa and my super heat resistant red spatulas and I want to go home.  So we get home, I'm all ready to grill up some sausage and I take a better look at my beautiful new Grill Pan.  Oops, is that "cosmetic flaw" really a crack all the way through the handle side of the pan?  Argh.

Back to Williams Sonoma we go, only now they don't even have the ugly yellow ("Dijon") Grill Pans, they have NO Grill Pans, I'd have to go to Embarcadero or Palo Alto to get one, because apparently they are discontinuing that line or something, oh, I know, would you like this ugly oval Grill Pan that costs less than the square one (hence, worse, right?) and there's only one left so it must be good, and you even get more money back.  Hmmm...so ok, fine, I want this Grill Pan ordeal over and I want to grill some turkey burglars and oval is fine I think and I should get $20 back.  But I only get $11.00 back because of that 10% "discount" that I already received (paid) and the taxes I paid twice and oh hell, just take a pint of blood and all my love for going to Williams Sonoma and looking at all that STUFF that I NEED and let me take my ugly Grill Pan that was cheaper and was the only one cause no one wanted it.  I really should have just gotten the yellow, excuse me, Dijon, because now, as it turns out, of course, I actually like that color.

And that's how I got tricked into getting an Oval Grill Pan.

The Girl Scouts Are Pissing Me Off

Warning! Somewhat heated rant about Girl Scout Cookies below.

I was reminded this week that Girl Scout cookie season is upon us, and I took a moment to reminisce back to the days when REAL Girl Scouts trudged through the Oakland Hills with dozens of boxes of cookies, knocking on strangers doors in the hopes of winning the special prizes and getting the fancy patch for my sash, uphill both ways in the snow, yada yada yada.

These days, Girl Scouts are soft, using mom and dad and their office connections to sell cookies, using order forms and preordering by email (!). Why in my day...grumble, grumble, grumble, but I digress. I decided to take a look at the Girl Scout’s website and see what else has changed in the 10 (oh fine, 20) years since I was a Scout.

The Girl Scouts apparently use two different cookie manufacturers, ABC/Interbake Foods and Little Brownie Bakers, which make many of the same cookies, just under different names. Three types of cookies are mandatory: Thin Mints, Peanut Butter Sandwich/Do-si-dos and Shortbread/Trefoils, the other five cookies are up to the manufacture to decide. Among the many things that these manufacturers have in common is the evil use of the toxtacular substance lovingly labeled vegetable shortening (contains one or more of the following partially hydrogenated oils: palm kernel, soybean, palm). That’s right food lovers, TRANS FATS IN EVERY BITE! Yum.

Let’s put this down to food pet peeve and general angry irritation #1. The use of this cheap and plentiful ingredient has taken over the snacking world. I’m a crazy, annoying label reader, I read the label of every item of food that has one, I seek out foods without this poison, and I can tell you that they are ever decreasing. Every single cookie sold by the Girl Scouts contains trans fats. Every single one. The worst offenders? Trefoils, Do-Si-Dos and Animal Treasures (yea! for the children!) with 2g of trans fat per 2-3 cookie serving. The less worst offenders? Samoas (aka Caramel DeLites), Tagalongs and Peanut Butter Patties (listed as having 0g trans fat yet partially hydrogenated oil is still listed as an ingredient because if a product has less than .5 grams of trans fats it does not need to be listed as having ANY trans fats EVEN THOUGH the Recommended Daily Allowance of trans fats is, like, ZERO due to it being, well, toxic poison and NO amount of toxic poison is really good for you at all, now is it?)

Bitter? Angry? Me? No. Not at all. Based on the Girl Scout Purpose statement, ("The Purpose of Girl Scouting is to inspire girls with the highest ideals of character, conduct, patriotism, and service that they may become happy and resourceful citizens" - watch Starship Troopers much? [shudder]), one might believe that the health and well being of these and other happy citizens is first and foremost. Apparently, not. Don’t get me wrong, I am not anti-Girl Scout, I am just anti poisoning the citizens of this great nation. This year, I’m going to have to just say NO to the little Scouts and their delicious cookies full of evil.

Radishes and Storm Troopers

I read about the release of Google's Picasa 2 and wondered, "why am I not doing this?", so an easy download later and I got every picture on my entire hardrive into folders by date.  What would have taken me days Picasa did in 2 minutes. It also found some old pictures that I had not seen for a while, like Chris as a Storm Trooper and the farmer's market watermelon radishes that I think are one of the prettiest vegetables ever.

Sam at Becks and Posh also wrote about this I see, so I know I'm using a good product. You've really got to love Google and the stuff those folks are doing.

Hot or Not

I finally got around to checking out my January Bon Appetit, and was pleased to see that Food Blogging is HOT according to page 20.  For once, I'm actually doing something while it's hot rather than one or two years after.  Although, this article was likley mentioned in Food Blogs nationwide a month ago when the January issue first came out, but better late than never.

The short article mentions Saute Wednesday, a Bay Area blog I read regularly that is really fantastic and features some great writing about unique topics (something to strive towards), as well as Vinography, another Bay Area blog, this one about wine, that blows me away with all the incredibly detailed information about wine and wine events of all sorts.

I'm usually not a fan of the whole Hot-or-Not, In-or-Out kind of thinking, but in this case since I'm HOT (WOOT! WOOT!), I'm ok with it...