blue artichoke

For many years before I got married, I lived alone. I was a little bit concerned about how I’d do with a roommate again; I get set in my ways and require lots of quiet time. It was an adjustment, but I can’t think of any problems we’ve had. My office provides the quiet time I need and refuge from the tv. When GC is out of town, which isn’t that often, I feel like I’m at loose ends. The structure of my day is gone; I get caught up in work or projects, lose track of time and upset my eating and sleeping schedule. Was I like this when I lived alone? I can’t even remember. I think I might have been, but it seemed like a normal way to live back then. Now it seems odd, but strange and fun and a bit naughty.

Things I don’t do when GC is out of town: successfully zip my pants zipper every single time, cook, put away my tv dinner tray, watch just anything that happens to be on tv, or wash my dishes after each meal. I don’t even eat real meals. I graze and snack all day - an apple now, some cashews later, a reheated foil-wrapped frozen leftover if I get really hungry, maybe a piece of chocolate for a little something sweet… If I use dishes, I leave them in the sink until I’m done eating for the day, then I wash them all at once.

Things I do when GC is away: listen to supremely bad music as loud and as proud as I want, organize his t-shirts and sock drawers, write nonsense with a pen until it runs out of ink, take out the trash (even though Fat Larry is technically the man of the house for now. He’s not allowed outside unsupervised.), wander around the house aimlessly, sleep diagonally in the bed, spend hours surfing the Internet, drink a bottle of wine and leave comments on blogs. Something I just read on one of those blogs blows my mind: do you know what some genius has invented? Caffeinated food! Donuts with the caffeine equivalent of two cups of coffee! Oh, the possibilities! Krispy Kreme, I hope you're paying attention. The only drawback I see is what the heck are you supposed to dunk your caffeinated donut in?

Getting to Know All About You: What's your favorite type of nut?

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 07:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

When I was just a wee girl, I fought going to bed, as do most children. I'd come up with things I just had to do, anything just to stay up late. Now that I'm on my own this week, without GC to remind me to go to sleep, I've returned to my old ways. I started cleaning the bathroom last night at 10 pm. I didn't clean the shower, but I did mop the floor. I pondered lifting weights, then decided that increased heart rate and a rush of adrenaline would only keep me awake longer, so instead I did some paperwork, added music to my fauxPod, put away things that have been sitting on the guest bed for weeks, Swiffered the hardwood floor under my desk and watched the taped episode of Desperate Housewives that I missed last Sunday (which was a repeat, so I didn't really miss anything). Luckily, I didn't have to leave for work until 9:45 this morning, but a 3 am bedtime doesn't make for much sleep! How did I get this way? At some point, I think maybe in college, it became cool to brag about how much sleep you got, and typically I get a lot of sleep. But then, of course, I go and get myself on this weird sleep cycle that usually results in several nights of insomnia. Well, there's always the shower to clean when I start looking for something to do at bedtime tonight!

Getting to Know All About You: How many hours do you sleep on a typical night?

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 04:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

This one is a bit of a stretch because the truly Indian component of the meal was a miserable failure. I poured it down the sink. That it was liquid enough to be poured down the drain is in fact the reason for its failure. I made Tarka Dal, or spiced lentils. You cook the dried lentils in water seasoned with Indian spices (turmeric and cumin, in this case), then blend it and add onions and garlic that have been sautéed in butter and spices. Sounds pretty good and easy enough. The lentils were too runny and soupy after pureeing. I tried to salvage them by putting the pot back on the burner to reduce the liquid. It stayed runny and started to scorch on the bottom. I didn’t even bother with the garlic and onions; I just poured the lentils down the drain. The rest of the meal included vegetables sautéed with Indian spices and shrimp rubbed with Indian spices. Instead of the vegetables being a side, I turned them into the star of the meal and used them as a bed for the shrimp. It turned out well; it looked good, tasted good and filled us up. Here is the recipe for the vegetables:

Cauliflower and Green Beans with Indian Spices

Fine Cooking, Dec/Jan 2003/2004
The seasoning was actually a bit subdued, but my pinch of dried chile flakes was pretty small. Next time, I’ll add additional spices, such as cumin, turmeric and garam masala, along with the toasted cumin and mustard seeds. It seemed to take the cauliflower a long time to soften, so I turned the heat down and put a lid on the skillet for a few minutes to hurry it along.

½ t. cumin seeds
½ t. yellow mustard seeds
2 T. olive oil, more if needed
1 small yellow onion, cut into med dice (~1/2 c.)
1 small head cauliflower (1 ¼ - 1 ½#), trimmed and cut into ½ -1” florets (3c.)
8 oz. green beans, trimmed and snapped into 1-1 ½” pieces (2c.)
1 large carrot, peeled and diced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 t. finely minced fresh ginger
Large pinch dried red chile flakes

Toast the cumin and mustard seeds in a 12” dry skillet over med-low heat, stirring occasionally until very fragrant, 4-5m; don’t let them burn. Immediately transfer to a small bowl.

Put the skillet back on med-high heat for 1m. Pour in the oil. Heat, but not to smoking; add the onion and cook 30s. Add cauliflower, green beans and carrot in an even layer across the pan. Add salt and pepper; let cook undisturbed until the veggies have begun to brown, 2-3m. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until the cauliflower is nicely browned, 5-7m. Add more oil if necessary. Reduce heat to med and continue to sauté until cauliflower is tender, 2-3m. Stir in garlic, ginger, cumin and mustard seeds and chile flakes. Cook another minute to blend flavors. Season to taste with s/p. Serve immediately.

Serves 4-6.

Serve with basmati rice.

I omitted the basmati rice, because I intended to serve it with the spiced lentils. Anyway, when the veggies were done, I divided them between two plates, then returned the pan to medium-high heat and sprayed the pan with cooking spray. I had already rubbed the shrimp with a blend of salt, sugar, cumin, turmeric and chili powder. When the skillet was hot again, I pan-fried the shrimp on both sides until they were pink and done, then arranged them around the pile of veggies on the plate. Turned out to be a rather healthy and filling meal, if not truly authentic Indian fare.

Getting to Know All About You: What's your favorite condiment?

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 08:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Today was distressful. I suppose that's a real word - distressful - because spell check didn't underline it. The day started out well. GC and I went to a diner for breakfast, then headed into St. Louis. GC was going to the airport to catch a flight to Utah for his annual boys-only family ski trip; I wanted to shop in St. Louis. En route, GC noticed that his pants were torn in a most distressing spot. He had some athletic pants in his suitcase, so he did a quickchange (not a real word, according to spellcheck. Spellcheck is also not a real word.) in the car in a rest area parking lot. Problem solved. After dropping him at the airport, I went on to World Market, which was a most pleasant experience, and to Trader Joe's, which was distressingly crowded with scowling faces and sharp elbows. While in Trader Joe's, I got a distress call from GC, whose flight had been delayed so late that he would miss his connecting flight. He was rerouted, but had to sit in the airport for hours. Air travel has become so aggravating even when everything goes smoothly; spending more time than necessary sitting in an airport terminal is unbearable to someone as impatient as GC. His unhappiness causes me distress. But, there was nothing I could do about it, so I continued to hoard chocolate, which I will stuff into my mouth this week in an attempt to fill the hole left by GC's absence. Seriously, after my week of healthy eating, I found it very difficult to leave any chocolate on the shelves. I'm not even a chocoholic; but I'm hoping it will assuage the loneliness.

OK, so after I bought as much chocolate as I thought I'd need for the week, I headed to a mall. I have a Williams-Sonoma gift card, but no Williams-Sonoma at which to spend it. I found one at a mall in St. Louis. I passed a different mall and thought it looked fancy enough to have a Williams-Sonoma, so I circled back to check it out. It didn't; but it did have a Dillard's, and I also have a gift card there. The store had most things marked 80% off, and I couldn't find a single thing I liked/wanted/needed! Distressing. I left that mall and continued on to the one with the Williams-Sonoma. I wandered around and around that store and couldn't find the 12" nonstick skillet with a lid that I've been looking for. I asked for assistance and was told that what I want doesn't exist, because people don't use lids on skillets. I know they exist, because I have one that I want to replace! We argued further about the proper names and uses of an omelet pan, saute pan and skillet. I assured the sales lady that indeed there are people skilled enough to saute using an omelet pan; Julia Child isn't the only one to master that technique. Not only was she skeptical, but she told me I was wrong. I thought about emptying a jar of sea salt into the skillet and tossing it, saute-style, just to prove her wrong, but I thought she'd make me buy both the salt and the skillet, so I didn't. But I've added her to my enemy list. I left the store in distress, even though I did find a few little things to buy with part of my gift card. I decided to check out the Dillard's at this mall; as soon as I walked in the store, they shut the gate and trapped me inside. I found someone to let me back out into the mall; I had parked by Sears, at the opposite end of the mall. The nice man who let me out of the store told me that Sears would be closed, and I'd have to walk all the way around the mall. This was a big mall, and it was 14 degrees outside; no way I was walking all the way around. I found a corridor with a bathroom and an exit sign. I went through the door and ended up in a spooky room filled with machinery and hallways. Luckily the door didn't lock behind me; I high-tailed it out of there and found a proper exit, where I only had to walk halfway around Sears to find my car.

The drive home was a bit distressing too; I've driven that interstate and highway many, many times, but this time, nothing looked familiar. I kept checking that I was on the right road, heading in the right direction; everything checked out, but I didn't remember crossing a narrow bridge, or choosing which path to take in a fork in the road, or being on a curvy overpass. Seriously, I started wondering if I could be in some sort of alternate universe, where the signs are the same, but the views are different. Before letting myself continue too far on that train of thought, I decided it much more likely that the windshield of my Acura lets in a different view than the windshield of my Camry. Or maybe I was experiencing jamais vu, the experience of being unfamiliar with a situation that is actually very familiar (the opposite of deja vu). I prefer the windshield theory to a memory disorder; it's much less distressing.

Getting to Know All About You: Tell me something that distresses you.

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 09:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

I'm a terrible dieter. When trying to follow a restrictive diet, I start feeling deprived, depressed and wronged. I think about what I'm not allowing myself to eat, and I come up with wild justifications why I should be able to eat whatever it is that I want. I eventually undermine all my good intentions. Case in point, following a high fiber diet isn't difficult. It's pretty easy to substitute prunes or dates for a sweet treat and a banana or apple for a snack. It's the cheese and caffeine I'm having trouble with. I don't even know if the diet is working well for The Cleanse, or if The Cleanse is working at all. Nothing seems to have changed, colon-wise. Maybe a high-fiber diet is counterproductive for a colon cleanse. (See the justification here?). Plus, tonight is a fight night, marathon really, with Pride fights on Fox Sports, then UFC Unleashed, then UFC Ultimate Fight Night, followed by Pros v. Joes with Randy Couture, and finally Inside the UFC. And roasted cauliflower, spiced lentils and spicy shrimp just don't go with fights; pepperoni pizza goes with fights. So, pizza it is. I'm still caffeine-free, though, but only because there isn't any in the house. I'm not sure if the high-fiber diet is over, or if this is just a setback. GC warns me that too much fiber is bad for the intestines. I'm fond of my intestines, and don't want to do anything to upset them. We're simpatico and I'd like to keep it that way.

Getting to Know All About You: What are your food addictions? I used to think mine was bread, but I don't seem to eat bread as often as I think I do. I also think I'm addicted to diet soft drinks, but I've been caffeine-free for 4 days with no ill effects.

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 06:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

What would you do if you were invited to a dinner party and served a peacock that had been skinned leaving the plumage intact, the meat seasoned and roasted, then sewn back into its plumage and the beak and legs gilded in gold? I imagine it is beautifully arranged on a giant gold platter, then sliced and served to you. Would you eat it? I'd try it, were it served to me. I'm doubtful that I'd ever cook such a thing.

I'm no fan of peacocks. Sure, they're pretty to look at, but those suckers can be mean, as anyone who has been terrorized by one will tell you. But I'd never think of eating one, much less dressing it up so fancy. But that was standard fare at opulent feasts for the German aristocracy in the 1300s. How do I know this? Because I'm reading Time Life Foods of the World: Germany. I have several of the series on my cookbook shelf, and like to pick one up every now and then for inspiration for Wandering Gullet meals. One recipe I won't be making: beer soup. A few bottles of beer, sugar, egg yolks, sour cream, cinnamon, salt and pepper. I'm queasy just writing the ingredients.

Getting to Know All About You: What have you done, or would you do, if served something totally disgusting? I think my strategy would be to get really drunk and divert attention away from the fact that I'm not eating the salmon or beer soup.

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 09:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Days One and Two of The Cleanse have gone well, I suppose, despite my having no idea what I'm supposed to eat/avoid eating. I Googled "colon cleanse diet" and came across lots of questionable sites selling laxatives. Not quite my diet of choice. I've decided to eat a high fiber, lean protein and minimal refined sugar diet this week; it just sounds like the right thing to do. This was only recently decided, though. Yesterday I ate fruit and yogurt for breakfast, an apple for lunch and a turkey cutlet, steamed broccoli and baby carrots for dinner. With prunes for dessert. I couldn't keep that up for an entire week. Today I had Bran Flakes and dried blueberries for breakfast, a banana, fruit-and-nut bar and prunes for lunch, yogurt for a snack and for dinner will have roast chicken with root vegetables. Now that I've decided on a diet plan, my options are opening up. The most difficult things to avoid will be cheese and, sigh, caffeine.

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 06:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Last night we had German food; when the weather is cold and snowy, sausage, noodles and beer really hit the spot. I made a casserole, as this is casserole season at the Blue Artichoke homestead. It was quite easy to make, smelled great while cooking, and tasted pretty good. Here’s the recipe:

German Sausage Bake

Christmas with Southern Living, 1988

6 oz. wide egg noodles, uncooked
Veggie cooking spray
1# kielbasa, sliced
½ c. chopped onion
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and coarsely chopped, ~2 c.
3 T. butter
3 T. flour
14-½ oz. chicken broth
¼ c. flat beer
1 T. spicy brown mustard
1 t. caraway seeds
½ t. salt
¼ t. pepper
2 c. shredded Swiss, divided
1 c. soft, fresh breadcrumbs, such as rye or pumpernickel
2 T. butter, melted

Cook noodles as directed; drain well and set aside.

Grease a large skillet; add sausage and cook over med-high heat until browned, stirring often. Add onion; cook 2m, stirring often. Stir in apple; remove from heat and set aside.

Melt 3 T. butter in a heavy saucepan over low heat; add flour, stirring until smooth. Cook, stirring constantly, 1m. Gradually add chicken broth and beer; cook over med heat, stirring constantly, until thickened and bubbly. Stir in mustard and next 3.

Layer half of cooked noodles in a greased 13x9” dish. Spoon sausage mixture over noodles; sprinkle 1 c. Swiss cheese over sausage. Top with remaining noodles. Pour sauce over noodles. If desired, cover and chill overnight. Let stand at room temp 30m before baking.

Cover and bake at 350 for 45m or until thoroughly heated. Uncover and sprinkle with remaining 1 c. Swiss cheese. Combine breadcrumbs and 2 T. butter; sprinkle over casserole. Bake 10m or until cheese melts and breadcrumbs are browned. Serve immediately.

Serves 8.

This week going to be a little different. Today kicks off Get in Shape Girl Week (anybody remember the Get in Shape Girl exercise equipment targeted to little girls? I had the exercise mat and a stick with a long ribbon on it; I made up some stellar ribbon-twirling routines…). Anyway, this week includes a colon cleanse. Those of you who know what that is know how gross this can be. For those who don’t, here’s a rundown. The colon is sometimes called the body’s trash can, because it stores your body’s waste. Sometimes the colon gets a little lazy or clingy (scientists are busy testing both hypotheses) and stores the waste rather than taking out the trash. This means you can be carrying around pounds (I read somewhere it can be up to 25 pounds!) of, ahem, crap; that’s right, you’re taking it out for a walk, to a movie, bowling and just hanging out with it. Gross. A colon cleanse takes out the trash. And part of a colon cleanse (heretofore known as The Cleanse) is a very bland diet of chicken, fish, fruit and vegetables. I don’t eat fish, so I’m going to try to sneak in shrimp and see if I can fool the colon, who will probably be too busy to notice. I'm also searching for some source that says I can eat oatmeal or Bran Flakes this week. And if this goes well, maybe I'll try to clean out some other body part next week. I promise there will be no more potty talk.

Getting to Know All About You: What trendy diets have you tried (i.e., Atkins, South Beach, Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig... and so on)? Was it difficult to keep up with? Did it work?

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 05:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

It's done. Njiri, aka the Warthog, aka my Toyota Camry has been sold. GC and I planned to do it last weekend, but the ice storm nixed those plans. We were more successful today, but just barely. I sold the warthog to Carmax; the closest one is in Independence, MO, just east of Kansas City and about 1-1/2 hours from home. We slept in, ate a leisurely breakfast and headed out, but not before I did a rubbing of the cracked armrest for memorabilia. I enjoyed our last ride together, just me and the warthog, like so many drives before. Poor car didn't even know it was our last time together. Though I love my new car, which is an Acura, by the way, not a dump truck, I have an unnatural attachment to the Warthog. It's like a first love, a high school sweetheart; you'll always have a soft spot even when you know it's time to move on.

Just before we got to Carmax, it started snowing. It took a little more than an hour for the appraisal and paperwork, all the while the snow fell. GC drove us home through the blizzard. It took about 3 hours, with a stop for dinner and a visit to the Bass Pro Shop. The road conditions were less than desirable, and visibility very low, but GC is an intrepid driver and got us home safe and sound, but for a few tense muscles and white knuckles.

Now I will work on my Ode to the Warthog.

Getting to Know All About You: What was your first car, or your favorite car?

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 08:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

It's still cold, but no new ice or snow fell today, so I decided to get up off the couch, change into street clothes and leave the house. It took a while, because I had to break through the 3" layer of ice covering my car. My strategy was to pry open the driver side door, turn on the front and rear window defrosters and crank up the heat inside the car. I also moved the car into a patch of sunshine. At 8 degrees, I wasn't sure the sun would be warm enough to melt the ice, but it warmed up to 12 degrees in the sun! I hacked away at the ice until my hands were numb, then retreated back to the couch to rest up for the second bout. About an hour later, the sun had moved across the car and melted the very top of the ice, but the parts in the shade had already frozen again, so there was a thin sheet of ice to break through to get to the looser ice underneath. Once I worked a big chunk off the back windshield, I was able to grunt, curse, pound and scrape the rest off. If I slowed my furious pace, though, my glove, vest, pants or any piece of clothing that touched the car would freeze to it. I was tempted to try sticking my tongue to it, to see if it really would stick, but thought better of it. I mean, the lotion I put on my face right before going out to battle the ice froze under my eyes where I didn't rub it in very well. My tongue would definitely have stuck to the car.

It didn't actually take very long to dig out my car, maybe 45 minutes. And let me tell you, I can wield an ice scraper; I think I'd be good at carving ice sculptures. I have a powerful, yet delicate touch. Anyway, I dug out my car and headed off to the grocery stores where I bought food. I had only cleared the windshields and windows; there was still 3" of ice on the hood, roof and trunk of the car. After leaving the first grocery store, I loaded the groceries into the back seat and when I slammed the door, the ice slid off the front of the car in one big sheet. Cool. I pushed on the ice on the roof and it sailed off the side, maybe clipping the car parked next to me, but not causing any damage. I tried to push the ice off the trunk, but no dice. Maybe tomorrow.

By the by, remember the Banana Bread Snackdown? Yeah, it's still going on, I just stopped writing about it. It gets kind of boring reporting on each and every loaf; I'm sure it's boring to read too. I'll write up a general summary if it ever comes to a close, and you can choose to skim it then. But I baked loaf #35 today. I think there are 4-5 more to go, then the finals round, which has maybe 10 contenders. Finishing this Snackdown is a resolution of mine. Next should be something less fattening, like a Salad Snackdown or Raw Vegetables Snackdown!

Getting to Know All About You: What food would you like to see in a future Snackdown?

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 10:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Well, folks, more ice yesterday and snow today, so I'm on day three of living on the couch. Yesterday, I got a bit antsy, so I actually changed out of my pjs (into an outfit very similar to pjs but acceptable for women of a certain age (ahem... older than I) to wear outlet shopping). I did the laundry and started cleaning out my file drawer, which is another thing I like to do at the beginning of the year. I also made Cajun Chicken Stew. GC has spent this long icy weekend living on the couch, too, but only because he's sick with an unusual combination strain of tuberculosis + mono + strep throat + plague. That's too formidable an opponent for your ordinary run-of-the-mill chicken noodle soup. No, this one calls for a stew. It was fairly easy to make, but also very messy. Here's the recipe:

Cajun Chicken Stew

Gourmet, May 2004
I used an already cut-up chicken (2 breasts, 4 thighs (must have been a track star!), 2 drumsticks – saved wings and back for stock), omitted celery; made brown rice on the side. Removed cooked chicken from pot and removed meat from the bone in chunks. Meanwhile, I reduced the sauce a bit and seasoned with salt and cayenne, then returned the chicken chunks and served over brown rice.

3-6 T. veggie oil
1 (3- 3-½#) chicken, cut into serving pieces
2-½ t. salt
½ c. flour
1 med onion, chopped
1 med green bell pepper, chopped
1 celery rib, chopped
3 c. water
¼ t. cayenne
¾ c. thinly sliced scallion greens

Heat 3 T. oil in a 4-5-qt heavy pot, preferably cast-iron, over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Pat chicken dry and sprinkle with salt. Brown chicken in 4 batches, turning, ~5m/batch.

Add enough of remaining oil to pot to total ¼ c. fat, then stir in flour with a flat metal or wooden spatula and cook over moderately low heat, scraping back and forth constantly (not stirring), until roux is the color of milk chocolate, 10-20m. Add onion, bell pepper and celery and cook, scraping back and forth occasionally, until onion is softened, ~8m.

Add water to roux mixture and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally until roux is incorporated. Roux will appear curdled initially, but will come together as it reaches a boil. Add chicken and any juices accumulated in bowl, then simmer, partially covered, until chicken is cooked through, 30-35m. Stir in cayenne, scallion greens and salt to taste.

Serve over cooked white rice.

NB: Best made 1 day in advance (w/o scallion greens) and cooled completely, uncovered, then chilled, covered. Reheat, then stir in scallion greens.

Serves 6.

So far this afternoon, I've played with my new hot rollers, mopped the kitchen floor, watched Winged Migration (in high def!) and read another cooking magazine. Next on my to-do list is to finish weeding through my file drawer and sit on the couch some more.

Getting to Know All About You: What's your favorite music to listen to while you cook?

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 03:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Unlike the movie The Ice Storm, we don't go to "key parties" or cheat on each other or drink to distract ourselves from our unhappy lives. No, we're a happy family and we live on the couch. Our own ice storm started yesterday afternoon. Caught unawares, I was at the mall, eating Sbarro and buying hot rollers with Christmas gift cards. I kept hearing people talk about the weather, how schools were letting out early in anticipation of ice and snow, and how Kansas City had already taken a beating and, look out!, it's heading our way! I'm not one to get overly concerned or worried about weather forecasts. Meteorologists are often wrong and I suspect they blow things out of proportion, just to keep themselves amused and to trick their bosses into thinking they are vital members of the weather team. Anyway, I paid little heed. But when I got out to my car and found it under a thin layer of ice already, I started to believe all the nervous nellies. I finished my errands and came home just before the sleet began. GC's boss closed down the office early, and the streets were iced over by about 4pm. We got more ice and snow last night, so GC, Larry and I have been a happy family, living on the couches. We watched movies (The Libertine and Idlewild); I tried out my new hot rollers, then curled up under a blanket and read back issues of cooking magazines while GC played video games. Cozy.

I'm perfectly contented to stay inside all day, but GC started getting cabin fever in the late afternoon, so we went out to dinner at a nearby Japanese restaurant. I had read about their honey duck breast, so that's what I ordered. GC had a chef's choice sushi plate. This is a really trendy restaurant; we've been several times before. I don't like it very much, because it is pretentious and designed to make you uncomfortable. Some people like that, I suppose. I did enjoy my dinner very much, but the atmosphere is enough to make me not want to return. There are other Japanese restaurants with food just as good but more enjoyable environments. Those are the places for me.

Anyway, we're back home now, after our dinner, back in our pjs and happily living on the couch. The only thing that would make this better is some warm brownies, hot from the oven. Think I'll make some now.

Getting to Know All About You: What's your favorite food ethnicity?

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 08:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

I used to love Sbarro, the pizza place in just about every mall food court. There wasn't one at Foothills Mall, the mall I frequented as a middle- and high-schooler, so it was always a treat to be at a classy mall with a Sbarro. I thought their pizza unsurpassed, giant slices of greasy cheesiness. Remembering it fondly, I decided to eat at Sbarro today while I was at the mall, shopping with my Christmas gift cards. The mall is no place to be in a weakened state, with all the stimulation, rowdy kids, confused elderly mall walkers and over-enthusiastic sales people. No, one has to be sharp and on guard when at the mall. Anyway, I got a slice of cheese pizza, specifying the exact piece I wanted, the one with lots of browned cheese, no, not the one with errant green peppers, the slice next to it, yes, that's the one. Not as good as I recall. The pizza was good, no doubt; I ate every last crumb and gooey sting of cheese, but it didn't have that Sbarro-ness that I remembered so fondly. Maybe my pizza preferences have evolved. After Sbarro, my favorite pizza was from Papa John's, but now I think the best pizza is from Alexandro's, an Italian restaurant in Maryville, TN. It has a thin crust, excellent sauce and that gooey, greasy cheese. Second place is Shakespeare's Pizza, a local pizzeria here in mid-Missouri. I'm beginning to think that it is the quality of the sauce, not the amount of cheese, that makes a really great slice of pizza.

Getting to Know All About You: What is your favorite pizza topping?

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 05:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Remember a few weeks ago when I got so uppity and all oh-look-at-me-and-my-fancy-new-fridge? Well, I got my comeuppance. The "new" fridge wasn't actually new, just new to me. It came from the appliance farm on the outskirts of town, where it had resided for about 5 years. It was broken when it was added to the farm, miraculously fixed itself for the day the appliance farmer plugged it in and sold it to my landlord. It indeed worked for the first two days I had it. Then I left on my long Christmas vacation and sometime after I left, it stopped working so hard. I came back to mushy produce and warm beverages. The freezer seemed ok; then it stopped freezing. I called the landlord; he came for a look-see. He called his buddy, the appliance farmer, who said, yup, that fridge needed a shot of freon. The appliance farmer came over, told stories and taught me how to read the freon gauge and watch the lines get blocked up and then freeze. My landlord came over a few hours later with a brand new, still in the box fridge. We kicked the old one on it's way out the door; the new one is big, quiet and cold. Oh, and to top it all off, nothing was wrong with the original fridge, the one that keep dripping water and freezing up and thawing. Nope, nothing wrong except that it was too small for all I wanted to cram into it and had oddly placed freezer fan vents. I covered up the vents with food, the air couldn't blow, so the lines froze. All it needed was two days to defrost and someone whose freezing needs were limited to a few ice trays. It's now in an apartment down the street, so I can visit it if I need to. It's in a better place, where it can run free.

So, new fridge. I also have a few things I like to replace annually and early January is a good way to remember. New year, new shower curtain (I like the cheap clear ones that let in the light and get grimy at the edges after a year of use) and new cutting boards (I bleach them occasionally, but if they hold stains, I'm sure they can hold bacteria. 2007 is not the year of food poisoning. That's 2011.)

Getting to Know All About You: Um... what did you have for dinner last night?

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 05:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

My Christmas vacation has come to a close; I'm back home again and able to play with all my new toys. GC got me a wine rack to replace the old, battered cardboard wine box I had been using. He also got some speakers for my fauxPod (off-brand iPod) so I'll be able to listen to it in the kitchen, instead of blaring music from the living room. GC's parents gave me a super-fancy deluxe pepper mill and salt mill. I bought some Tellicherry peppercorns and fancy coarse sea salt to fill them. I also received several cookbooks and specialty food items, so I'm raring to get back into the kitchen. I avoid the grocery stores on the weekends, because there are more people there on the weekends and people tend to ruin my shopping enjoyment. In the meantime, I'll work with the bits and pieces that are left after three weeks of no grocery shopping.

Because of my extended holiday vacation, we didn't have a 12th Night party this year, but we did have a Guitar Hero party last night. I'm not much of a video gamer, or a musician, but I rocked some guitar anthems. My strategy was to tune out the music and concentrate on the dots on the screen. It takes two turns to really get comfortable with the guitar; after that, it totally rocks. Fortunately, we don't have the game. I could foresee myself getting addicted to that game, and rockin' out in the living room all day. GC got a guitar amp for Christmas, so he's the real Guitar Hero.

Getting to Know All About You: What is, or was, your favorite video game?

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 10:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Sometimes my teeth feel really weird in my mouth, sharp and craggy, like the Crowns are arming for conflict. Or like someone is sneaking in and sharpening my teeth while I sleep. Who would do such a thing?

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 10:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

I am a beverage visionary, but I don't know if I can prove it. In the early years of this blog, I wrote a post about what kinds of drinks I'd like to see in the future. Caffeinated beer. Vitamin-enriched soft drinks. There were many more, but I've switched servers since then and can't find the original post to see what else I envisioned. I remember these two because they have become available recently. Anheuser-Busch launched Bud Extra in the U.S. after success with BE (same caffeinated beer, different name) in the UK and Canada. I haven't tried it yet, but I'll be on the lookout on my next beer run. I'm a bit wary of ginseng in my beer, but it could be the beer I've been searching for. Has anyone else tried it?

Diet Coke + One-a-Day multivitamin = Diet Coke Plus, a vitamin-fortified soft drink to be launched this spring. It's supposed to be the same Diet Coke formula with added vitamins and minerals. Moms across the land will be asking their kids, "Did you remember to drink your Diet Coke Plus?"

I'll look for my first post to see what else we can look for from the beverage industry. Obviously, they read my post.

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 09:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

For Christmas I got a really cool book from GC's parents called How Baking Works. I haven't read it yet, but I flipped through it and have read several sections. One particularly interesting thing I read was about supertasters, who are people with a heightened sense of taste. This is a genetic trait, like hair or eye color, and affects roughly 25% of the population (50% of people are medium tasters and 25% are low tasters). Supertasters can detect a wider range of tastes, especially bitter and spicy-hot foods. After reading a little more about supertasters, I can't say that they have an advantage over medium- or low-tasters, unless you happen to be noshing on wild plants and berries with unknown toxicity. In fact, in this modern age, it seems to be a disadvantage, as foods such as coffee, grapefruit juice, green tea, spinach, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, saccharin, and alcoholic beverages are problematic. I don't know for sure yet if I am a supertaster, but I can say that from that list, I only like spinach, cabbage and some alcohol. If it turns out that I am a supertaster, I'm considering taking up the cause to get disability status for out-of-work supertaster cooks, chefs, bakers, etc; or get Extreme Makeover: Home Edition to build a new house for us that has a Supertaster Friendly kitchen.

There's an easy supertaster identifying test: dab some blue food coloring on the tip of your tongue. The taste bud holders (called fungiform papillae) will stay pink and the rest of the tongue tip will turn blue. If you have lots of pink, you're a supertaster. What is "a lot" of pink? Look here for pictures of a supertaster tongue and a medium-taster tongue. I don't regularly travel with blue food coloring, so I'll have to wait until I return home to test my tongue for supertaster status. But you go on ahead and let me know if you're a supertaster. Go on...

Getting to Know All About You: So, are you a supertaster?

Here's a weird coincidence: I just posted this entry, checked my email and had a forwarded message from GC, originally from his boss, with a link to this article about supertasters in today's local newspaper. Huh.

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 01:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Happy New Year! Have you made your resolutions? I like to pretend that I don't make resolutions, that there is simply nothing I want to, need to or should change about myself. That's just silly. Most things about me need changing, upgrading, or tweaking just a bit. And the truth is that I love making resolutions. I'm a resolutionist. I make resolutions for the year on January 1. I make resolutions for each month, week and day. They're called "to-do lists." I resolve to get this house cleaned up. I resolve to make a different ethnic dinner every Sunday night (unless I'm out of town or have a broken fridge). I resolve to open and drink this bottle of wine. I resolve to learn how to post pictures on my blog (that's one for this year). I resolve to work when I need to and play when I want to. You get the point. My resolutions for 2007 are many and varied, and include things like learning a new skill (silk screening? welding? car repair? upholstery? all up for consideration), living healthier and trying to become a "people person" instead of a misanthropic recluse. Oh, it's going to be a good year. It is resolved.

Getting to Know All About You: What are some of your resolutions?

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 09:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)