The Underused Bookcase

Redirect

2007-04-03T06:01:00.000-07:00

For now, I'm going to be posting at my other spot, The Underside of Mediocre. Go see me there. I'll come back here once I'm cooking again and get back to the reason I started this in the first place.

Details, part 1

2007-01-03T05:43:00.000-08:00

Thanks for the compliments. I'm still catching myself staring at the sparkly on my hand when I should be doing something more productive, like working. What is it about things like diamonds that turn normally sane women into giggly airheads?

Here's the (quick) story. I met R through an online personal ad back in April of 2000. I saw his ad, thought he sounded incredibly cool, and since he was 2500 miles away it seemed like a relatively safe thing to write to him. One email led to another, which led to phone calls, which led to me flying down to Austin to meet him a mere 18 days after we'd first made contact.*

We hit it off. Four months later I moved down here. New apartment, new job, new car (because my old Maine car had no a/c). I lasted a year, I was so homesick and lonely. I went back to Maine for 4 months and decided to try again. Came back down here for ANOTHER year, but it still didn't feel right. (Him moving to Maine at that time wasn't a plausible idea, because he owns a business here. Maybe someday.)

I moved back to Maine for a year and a half, but during all this never left contact with R. We met in New York in March of 2004 for a weekend and "rekindled". My brother was getting married in September, so after the wedding** I once again drove down here. This time it stuck. It's been two years and I'm doing just fine, thank you.

Next entry- the proposal.

*What an idiot! I told NOBODY where I was going, out of embarrassment. Just flew away over a long weekend and left a note in my apartment with his name, address and phone number in case I vanished and the police needed to find me. If any child of mine ever pulled that kind of crap, I'd kill her.

**Okay, not RIGHT after the wedding... I had to stay in New England until the end of the World Series. Damn, if that wasn't the BEST TIME EVER. Go, Sox.

What I Got For Christmas.

2006-12-26T17:03:00.000-08:00

Nuts.

2006-12-15T19:31:00.000-08:00

Tonight we decorated our Christmas tree. After it was done, I sat on the sofa and cried... BECAUSE IT WAS TOO PRETTY. It looked like something out of a department store window. Totally impersonal. No soul.

I'm getting up tomorrow morning and uglying it up.

She's back!

2006-12-10T06:56:00.000-08:00

The errant Peggy has returned, after quite an adventure! Someone found her, called the vet who did her rabies shot, and the vet gave him the dog's OLD address- the one of the people who gave her up for adoption. This very nice man put her in his truck and drove her 5 miles to that address, where nobody was home. He put her in the back yard thinking they'd be home shortly.

Apparently, the reason they'd given her away was that she kept escaping from the backyard. Which she did again, no doubt having a severe case of deja vu as she leapt the fence. Somebody else found her and took her to the animal shelter, another 10 miles away.

Meanwhile, the very nice man got home from work that night and saw my signs in the neighborhood. He called and started filling us in on what he did, just as the shelter called to let us know someone had dropped her off. R drove down and got her, and she spent the rest of the night sleeeeepppping. And sleeping. And sleeping.

Total days gone- 3. Total former homes visited- 1. Total to get her back from the shelter, including having them implant a microchip for id purposes- $50. Totally worth it.

I'm going to make fudge for the very nice man, as well as the neighbor lady I've never met who spent the afternoon driving up and down all the side streets in our village looking for Peg. There are good people around.

R-U-N-N-O-F-T

2006-12-07T20:16:00.000-08:00

My dog has run away.

This isn't the first time, but it's different this time. She's an English Setter and not very bright. We got her from the pound in April of '05 because R absolutely fell in love with her. And I admit, she's very pretty. But like I said, no brainiac.

We usually keep her on a lead that gives her plenty of space to run, but keeps her from wandering. She manages to slip the collar once in a while. If she gets the chance to run free she just runs, and runs, and runs... following her nose, jumping in swimming pools, until someone finds her and calls our phone number from her ID tag and we go get her. Lately, she's been better. Still running, but keeping close to home, as if she finally (after nearly two years) figured out where "home" is.

Apparently, she SNAPPED THE LEAD and took off yesterday mid-day. Probably barking at a deer or something. In the process of breaking the lead, she also dislodged her ID tag. No phone number. No name. She still has the rabies vaccine tag, so maybe someone will call the vet... but not yet.

R's been to two animal shelters today. I'm putting up posters tomorrow. We'll keep looking.

But I miss her. Dumb, trash-scattering, loft-pooping, very gentle, really sweet dog.

My First Meme!

2006-12-03T06:02:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd steal this from Blackbird, to try to get me in the holiday spirit.

Hot chocolate or eggnog?

Eggnog at Christmas, but hot chocolate all year round. Last year my mother gave me a contraption called a "Cocomotion" that makes hot chocolate, and I thought it was the most ridiculous thing ever, until I tried it. OH MY GOD. It makes the BEST hot chocolate. I used it last night.

Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?

I don't think he used to wrap, but he does now. I like to prolong the anticipation.

Colored lights on your tree/house or white?

White lights on the tree. No lights on the house, but that's because I guess I'm lazy. I do like when people put those little candles in the windows.

Do you hang mistletoe?

No, but I have mistletoe earrings that have resulted in several kisses on my neck.

When do you put up decorations?

Not soon enough. Usually about a week before Christmas.

What does your favorite christmas meal include?

I do love Mom's Christmas dinner, which at home was always pretty much a repeat of Thanksgiving with different pies, but I'd have to say Dad's sandwich platter on Christmas Eve.

Favorite christmas memory from childhood?

Standing at the top of the stairs with my brother while Dad checked to be sure Santa came (actually, he was turning on the heat and getting the camera ready) before racing down the stairs to behold our haul. We were like racehorses at the gate. Well, I was. I ran. He sauntered.

How and when did you learn the truth about Santa?

I was just at the point of not believing when I was eight or so. My mom was putting us to bed, and we heard a jingling sound out in the back yard. We ran to the window and saw Santa walking out of the woods, and a red light (Rudolph's nose!) flashing back in the trees. Mom said, "You'd better get to sleep fast! He's running early this year!" as we heard the next-door neighbor's kid scream "SANTA!!" all the way through the walls of both houses. We went to bed SO FAST. I think I believed for another couple of years after that. Good one, Dad.

Do you open a gift on christmas eve?

We did, and oddly enough, it was always new pajamas.

How do you decorate your christmas tree?

Depends. If I put up a real (or real-looking) tree, I have a ton of Lenox ornaments I collected when I worked there. If I put up my vintage 1963 Silver Sparkler Aluminum Pom-Pom tree, then nothing but shiny glass balls.

Snow! Love it or leave it?

Love, love, love it. Miss, miss, miss it.

Can you ice skate?

I could, so I assume I still could.

Do you remember your favorite gift?

I had so many great Christmasses, I can't really pick out a favorite gift.

What's the most important thing about christmas for you?

Tradition and family. I'm really sad that I don't get to be home in Maine for Christmas, but R and his Mom do their best to make the holiday here great.

What is your favorite christmas tradition?

Finding the perfect gifts to give. Sometimes you just nail it, and I love that.

Oh, and playing in TubaChristmas. Picture hundreds of tubas playing Christmas Carols in 8-part harmony. I've done it in Maine, and Boston, and now Austin.

What tops your tree?

For the silver tree, nothing. For a real(ish) tree, I want a gold star. Simple, plain... I need to find one.

What is your favorite christmas song?

Traditional- O Holy Night. Gives me chills when done well.

Fun- Happy Holidays/Holiday Season by Andy Williams. I sing along loudly with this one.

Least favorite? That version of Silent Night done by Stevie Nicks a few years ago. God, she sounds like a whiskey-soaked crack whore.

And with those final lovely words, so ends my first meme.

Pray for me.

2006-11-29T06:29:00.000-08:00

I'm going to the outlets today.

I have four (yes, only four) days off between now and Christmas. Today is it for shopping for gifts that need to be sent up to Maine.

There will definitely be a glass or two of wine tonight.

You don't have to slap me upside the head more than once to make me get the point.

2006-11-27T18:48:00.000-08:00

And the point I got was... stupid idea to start a cooking project at the beginning of the busy season. No, I haven't given up. Maybe I'll just post non-cooking stuff until after the holidays.

Thing is, I manage a store. And it's now the Christmas season, and crazybusy, and I'm working 6 days a week, and if I even manage to get a quickie dinner on the table I'm doing well.

I really can't complain, though. I absolutely love my job. I've been in retail for 11 years, always in large corporate chains, and now I'm managing a local independent store and WHAT A DIFFERENCE. Great store, great owners, great customers... do you get the idea it's great? You may not be surprised to hear that it's a gourmet kitchen store. What can I say... the shoe fit.

I did manage to do a little baking for Thanksgiving. Pecan pie, pumpkin pie... all proudly made from the recipes on the back of the jars and cans. Just like Mom makes. Forgot to take photos, though. You'll have to take my word for it. Really good.

Oh, and I'm about 80% healthy again. Just a lingering cough, so I keep a pocketful of coughdrops on me, and make sure I'm never more than a quick sprint from a glass of water. I cope.

P.S. Happy 39th birthday to my brother!

Excuses, excuses.

2006-10-24T18:40:00.000-07:00

I'm not copping out on my cookbook project. I just have bad timing. As soon as I decided to take this on, I developed a simply spectacular headcold, which has now migrated to my throat, chest, and any other areas that would be messy and unpleasant. Oh, I am a pretty picture, indeed. And I sound like Harvey Fierstein.

Anyone got any entertaining cures for the common cold?

EDITED 10/25 TO ADD: Just got back from the ER. Not a cold, pneumonia. Don't think I'll be doing any cooking for a few days.

Ack!

2006-10-20T18:08:00.000-07:00

What am I doing wrong? The first post I made, it was easy to get that photo in there. But since then, I've tried for three days to get photos in my 2nd entry but can't do it. One time it seemed to be working, but Blogger blinked and poof, my entry was gone. Now I know what all of y'all have been complaining about. THIS SUCKS.

Now I can't even get the "Add Image" link to work. Bastard.

***UPDATE***

Never mind. I got it. See below!

I am a cheater.

2006-10-18T07:07:00.000-07:00

What's the first thing I make, when faced with all those books? Something I've made a dozen times before. But I wanted cake. And I wanted a specific cake. (Can you tell - my period approacheth.)

This is Starlight Yellow Cake from the Betty Crocker "Best of Baking". It's a good basic cake, great for cupcakes, layers or a sheet cake. I made the Caramel frosting (page 244) to go with it, and wish I'd had walnuts to sprinkle on the top, because that would have been even yummier. This frosting ROCKS. It's like penuche fudge, but spreadable. The entire thing is much better than it looks in this photo- nowhere near as bland and anemic looking.

As you can see, I've made this quite often over the years.

STARLIGHT YELLOW CAKE

2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup shortening
1-1/4 cups milk
3-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 large eggs

Heat oven to 350. Grease bottom and sides of 13 x 9 rectangular pan, 2 9" round pans or 3 8" round pans with shortening; lightly flour.

Beat all ingredients together with electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly. Beat on high speed 3 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour into pan(s).

Bake rectangle 40 to 45 minutes, 9" rounds for 30 to 35 minutes, or 8" rounds 20-25 minutes. (You'll have to guess for cupcakes. I forget how long they took. Sorry.)

Cool on rack. Cool rounds for 10 minutes, then remove from pan and cool on rack.

Frost. Eat. Yum.

CARAMEL FROSTING

1 stick butter (I used salted. It helps cut the sweet a bit.)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup milk
2 cups powdered sugar

Heat butter over medium heat in 2 quart saucepan until melted. Stir in brown sugar. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low. Boil and stir 2 minutes. Stir in milk. Heat to boiling; remove from heat. Cool to lukewarm. Gradually stir in powdered sugar. Place saucepan of frosting in bowl of cold water. Beat until smooth and of spreading consistency. If frosting becomes too stiff, stir in additional milk, a teaspoon at a time.

This first piece was, immediately after this picture was taken, licked by my dog. What an opportunist. And no, I probably shouldn't have given it to her, but she liked it! She really liked it!

And away we go. What's in the fridge?

2006-10-15T10:31:00.000-07:00

I admit it. I'm a little obsessive when it comes to collecting things. Years ago, when I decided that I'd make cross-stitch christmas gifts, I went out and bought EVERY SINGLE COLOR of embroidery floss before I even started. And I cannot pass by a used book store without going in and checking out the cookbook section, and more often than not making a purchase.

Do I use these books? No. I keep them on my nightstand and read them. Like fiction. Of course, as long as I'm not cooking anything from them, they really are fiction, aren't they?

I'm not a great cook. I do love to bake, but lack the patience to really get good at it. Maybe this project will improve my skills, both as a cook and a baker.

Many of the books I have are "community" cookbooks, the kind that were made for fundraising by local church auxiliaries or elementary school PTAs. Others were gotten from my mother, and feature the oh-so-doubtful cuisine of the 70's. Some books I can't wait to try. Others I dread. Wherever possible, if the book is still in print, I'll add a link to where it can be purchased.

Thanks for starting off with me. Now I'm going grocery shopping.