Friday's Favorite - My Son!

Yesterday was my son's 23rd birthday. It seems like just yesterday he was my little boy, excited about having pie and ice cream, and lots of birthday presents to unwrap. Now he's all grown up, and able to buy his own toys. (He recently purchased a jet ski! Seriously, what do you get a boy who buys his own super toy? A life jacket maybe?)

I'm very proud of the man he's become. Although I do wish he would call his mom once in a while!

Blogger Makes it Happen!

 

This week's favorite thing has to be the Blogger app. Because really, it's the only reason I've been able to get back to blogging. 

I've had this app for a while, almost as long as I've had my iphone, thanks to one of my knitting pals. But it was too difficult to navigate to do me any good. I would get frustrated before I could finish a post that it was taking all the fun out of blogging. It was easier to just wait until I could get onto the computer at home. After a while, I forgot I had this app.

Flash forward to the present. I've had the iphone long enough that apps have become a major part of my life. I wake up to an app. I schedule my day by apps. Apps keep me entertained and informed. My banking is done with an app. Even my knitting involves apps! So when I noticed I still had Blogger, I decided to give it another chance.

I don't know why I ever thought it was complicated. It's actually one of the easiest apps on my phone. Granted, I still get annoyed when I'm trying to type a word and it gets autocorrected to something really ridiculous and I can't get it to stop autocorrecting. And I still have trouble getting the formatting to go the way I want it because my fingers are too big to move the tiny bits I'm trying to select. But I can type up my post, add the pictures, and save as a draft. Then it takes just a few minutes during lunch or after work to use the computer to format and publish the draft.

Hopefully I'll be able to get a working computer at the home soon. (Although parting with my much-loved-even-if-it-is-outdated-and-slow laptop is proving difficult). In the meantime, Blogger is my favorite thing to keep me posting!

The MSG Golem

It was easy to decide on my favorite thing this week. I am still smiling over PodCastle's  The MSG Golem by Ken Liu.

I love PodCastle anyway. This podcast is all short Fantasy Fiction stories, and they are almost always wonderful. (Rarely there is something I just don't get, and even rarer something I just don't like.) But The MSG Golem from the July 2nd podcast is definitely a favorite.

I think one of the reasons I love it so much is the scene when Rebecca argues theology and religious ritual with God. It's so much my Rebecca. Especially since she seems to be winning.

I also love that God keeps whining about the way He gets blamed for everything when, having given man free will, He has no control. There are a few lines in the story that have me thinking about the God that I believe in and what obligations exist on both sides because of that belief.

If you've never listened to PodCastle before, this is a great first cast to start with. It's got God, a Golem, a sassy teen, space travel, and rats.

Following in My Daughter's Footsteps

 

My favorite thing this week is the Classic Pour-Over Brewer I bought from Starbucks. It's just like the one my daughter had when I visited her in NYC last April. I hate to admit it, but my daughter was right. Again.

I've been wanting a Keurig coffee maker. I have a pretty good coffee maker. It's got a timer so I can set up the pot the night before and the coffee will automatically brew in the morning. This was the perfect coffee maker when my youngest was still living with me. Having coffee ready in the morning was wonderful. But now that it's just me in the apartment, it doesn't make sense to make a pot (or even just half a pot) of coffee every day. I end up drinking too much coffee, and throwing a bunch away. So instead, I've been waiting until I get to work to have a cup. But I missed having a cup as I get ready in the morning. A Keurig seemed to be the answer.

Keurig's let you make just one cup at a time, quickly and easily. Unfortunately, Keurig's are a lot of money and it's hard to justify spending that much on a coffee maker when I already have one. Then I was at my favorite coffee shop, and the barrista made me a pour over since the pot of my preferred blend wasn't ready. It was one of the best cups of brewed coffee I've ever had. So I bought the pour over brewer.

At the beginning of this post I mentioned that my daughter has one of these. When I was visiting her, I couldn't quite figure out how to use it. I thought it was just another one of those odd ideas she picked up on living in the city. Since she isn't a coffee drinker herself, what could she know.

It turns out, she knew more than I did. The pour over, when used properly, is amazing. I use a slightly coarser ground bean, if I have the opportunity to grind it myself. If I'm feeling cheap, I just get an off-the-shelf regular grind. I've learned that it's better if I wet the filter with a little bit of the hot, boiling water (from my electric kettle, which is always on my counter top anyway for making tea) before adding the coffee. Then I slowly add hot water to the grounds, until I've added the full cup and let it drain. If  I'm feeling fancy, I warm my milk (okay, it's usually Almond Breeze since I can't have milk/casein) and froth it with a tiny battery-operated frother before adding it to my coffee. Yum!

In fact, I  think I'm going to go have a cup now.

Ten on Tuesday

Today's Ten on Tuesday topic is Favorite Kitchen Gadgets. I love kitchen gadgets, so it was difficult for me to limit it to just my current ten favorites.

1.  Rice Cooker

I recently treated myself to a rice cooker after talking for years about wanting one. My son used to eat a lot of rice, and I thought it would be nice to have a rice cooker so that he could make rice whenever he wanted. It's somewhat amusing that I waited to get one until long after he had moved out on his own. But now that I've gone gluten-free, I find myself eating a lot of rice. The cooker makes it perfectly practically every time, with very little effort from me. And if I get distracted, which I often am, the rice stays warm and yummy until I'm ready for it. Just a quick tip -- add some fresh lemon juice and a little cilantro to the water when you cook the rice. Delicious!

2.  Magic Bullet

I bought the magic bullet years ago, when it first came out. It is still sitting on my counter and it gets used almost every day. It's great for making my morning smoothies (a frozen banana, a chopped up piece of fresh fruit, and some almond milk), and I couldn't make my fresh pesto without it. I even use it to quickly froth up warmed almond milk to add to my coffee for a dairy-free cappuccino.

3.  Hand mixer

Would you believe that I made it 48+ years without an electric hand mixer? What in the world was I thinking?  Seriously, all those years filled with all those cookies, cakes, and pies that were all mixed by hand. Believe me, if you don't have one get an electric mixer right this minute. It is a necessity.

4.  Measuring Cups and Spoons

I shouldn't even need to explain these. Except to say that if you are trying to become half the woman you are, you need at least one (if not two) sets of measuring cups and spoons and you need to use them for everything.

5.  Kitchen scale

I used to think this was just for weighing yarn... silly me.

6.  Frother

This is a much quicker way to froth up the almond milk for cappuccinos. I have a tendency to forget it at work, so I may need to get a second one for the house.

7.  Keurig (this is actually at work)

The best coffee maker for someone who (a) lives alone and/or (2) loves a variety of flavored coffee and teas. I can have what I want, when I want it. And really, it isn't any more expensive than a regular coffee maker when you factor in the amount of stale, cold coffee I used to throw away.

8.  Re-freezable ice

I use this for keeping my lunch cold in my lunchbox, keeping my water cold on my bike rides, and even for preventing bug bites from itching. I have several of the small re-freezable blocks.

9.  Parchment paper

Parchment paper isn't really a gadget, but I love it. It's even better than aluminum foil for keeping my pans and trays clean when I'm baking.

10. Mason Jars

Again, this isn't really a gadget. But I use my mason jars for everything: storing dried beans, freezing cooked beans, making salads up for the week, storing homemade dressing, measuring out rice into portions, the list is endless. 

Friday's Favorite: Wasabi anything!

 

This week's favorite thing is wasabi peas. Or maybe wasabi edamame. Probably anything coated with wasabi...

Roasted Eggplant

 

I have decided that I love roasted eggplant. Right now, it's one of my favorite things to eat. (This picture does not really show off all the yummy goodness. I think I put a little too much balsamic vinegar on this serving.)

The recipe for my new obsession is in the app, How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman. There is also a cookbook by this title, but of course I use the app - it was free and well worth the cost! (I've used it enough that I will probably go ahead and buy the cookbook.) 

I've been making the Roasted Eggplant and Tomato Salad. Thanks to How to Cook Everything, I know to salt the sliced eggplant to prevent any bitterness. Then I roast the thoroughly rinsed and dried (trust me -- rinse ALL the salt off the eggplant before cooking it!) on a tray with pieces of tomato (which I prefer to seed first) until the eggplant is tender and browned and the tomatoes are shriveled up. The salad is served warm with a little balsamic vinegar. I've also saved the roasted eggplant to use in a curry. 

I think I'll stop off at the farmer's market tomorrow and pick up a couple more eggplants...

Next time, it's a $3 buy-in

I think I've used this as my Friday Favorite before, but I really enjoy mahjong with the girls. Amazing Grace was tonight's hostess, despite having just gotten back from a trip to visit a sick friend. We tried to convince her that we could do without the dinner portion of the evening, but being Amazing Grace she had a meal ready for us anyway. We ended up playing 5 games (I won twice!), and it was wonderful to be able to play "for real" instead of as beginners needing to stop for help frequently. Of course, the best part (other than my having won two games!) was getting to spend the evening chatting and laughing and sharing with friends.

You're just a text away

I don't have a picture for today's post, unfortunately. Which is really silly, since my favorite thing for today - my new iphone - has a very convenient built-in camera. And with the data plan and new app that lets me blog from anywhere, you would think that I would have lots of pictures. Give me time to get used to the phone, and I'm sure I will.

I am having a lot of fun with the iphone. I love how easy it is to text now. (Until this phone, I was still using a numeric keypad and pressing 1 over and over to get to "C", then again to get back to "A" and then giving up and just calling my kids and leaving a voice mail  rather than texting them to call me when they got off work.) Now I can even include pictures with the text messages. It's fun!

Yesterday I went to dinner with my daughter. She had come over to the apartment to wait for a package, so I treated her to dinner when I got home. Nothing fancy, just Pollo Tropical around the corner from me. (I can have their vegetarian TropicChop, so it's one of the few "cheap" restaurants I can eat at.) I always have a great time with Becka. We call her the Drama Queen, but it's not in the negative connotation. She's one of the best story-tellers I've ever had the pleasure to talk with. She notices the most ordinary things, and can portray them so that you can see the beauty or humor that she saw in them. Her people skills are amazing as well, and she's always got story or two from the people she's met recently. Needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed dinner with her.

Toward the end of the evening, she pulled out her phone to check her messages before we headed home. Naturally, my new iphone came out as well. Just for fun, I sent her a text and soon we were texting back and forth and giggling at our silliness. (Oh, if only I had a picture of us sitting across from each other and interacting electronically!) Too soon we had to put an end to the evening, and the silliness, and actually go home.

As we were walking out, still laughing at how ridiculous we had been texting each other across the table, we noticed another family. All four - mom, dad, and both kids - had their phones out texting back and forth just as we had been!

Friday Favorites - Daffodils

 

I love daffodils. Whenever I see them I think happy thoughts of spring, and Easter, and family. Years ago, when I lived in Kentucky, I planted ever-so-many daffodil and tulip bulbs in my yard. I loved the bright, cheerful colors signalling the end of winter. I wasn't much for doing any other gardening, but I had my daffodils and tulips in the spring. 

Now that I've lived in Florida for many years, daffodils don't have the same affect. I think it's because we have flowers year-round. Daffodils are actually a hot-house flower because you have to manipulate the bulbs to grow since we don't have the cold season to allow the bulbs their dormant stage.

While I was in Brooklyn visiting my daughter, I spotted daffodils in the wild. It amused me to find flowers growing in the city -- I always picture the city as being a stark, steel and cement landscape. I find the city beautiful for it's diverse architecture; I just don't picture gardened yards as part of that. And it thrilled me to learn that daffodils are still capable of bringing happy thoughts of family to my mind. (Even more so now, since they're now associated with happy memories of visiting my daughter!)

Weekend Brunch

There's something about the weekend that has come to mean quiche to me. It's so easy to make, and so very yummy. I like to have one ready just in case company comes by. (Oh, how nice of you to stop in unexpectedly. I'm afraid all I have to offer you for lunch is a broccoli-and-ham quiche and maybe some chocolate chip scones for dessert.) Okay, I don't usually get unexpected company dropping in at lunch time. But maybe if people knew I had quiche, they would come over to see me.

Just in case you want the quiche, but it isn't enough of a bribe to come visit me, you can find the recipe on our Family Cooking blog.

No cupcakes

When I was at the wine store, I picked up a cute little mini-bottle of Baileys Mint Chocolate with the intention of using it for cupcakes. Tonight I decided that I couldn't bake with it until I knew what it tasted like. I mean, that's just common sense. So I put a little bit in a shot glass to sip, and then poured a bit more on my ice cream. Unfortunately, there's none left for the cupcakes. It's a shame, too, because Baileys Mint Chocolate is very, very good.

Dr. McDreamy!

This week, my favorite thing is Grey's Anatomy. Thanks to the Roku that the kids gave me for mother's day, I've been spending a lot of time watching episodes of Grey's Anatomy. I decided to go back and watch the entire series, starting with the first season. It is every bit as wonderful as I remember it being.

Sometimes you have to be careful what you ask for

Thanks to my wonderful daughter, I have a dining room table. I'm very excited. When we moved into the new apartment, I had to give up my big kitchen table. There just wasn't room for it, after I put the floor loom and my daughter's desk in the dining nook. And originally I thought I wouldn't miss having the table, since we did have a breakfast bar.

But I've found that I really do need a dining room table. It's very difficult to use my sewing machine sitting on the floor. Standing up at the kitchen counters makes rubber stamping cards and letters uncomfortable, and takes the fun out of it. Most of all, I miss sitting down to eat dinner with my daughter across from me. Balancing our plates on our laps in the living room in front of the (until recently, blank) television was awkward and uncomfortable.

So for the past month or so, my constant whine has been that I want a dining room table. Just a little one, nothing fancy or expensive. I'm not sure whether my daughter agreed with me or if she just wanted to shut me up, or perhaps (most likely) she really loves me and wanted to make me happy - but she bought us a dining room table. A friend  was getting new furniture, and Becka arranged to buy the table from her.

I love it! It's old. Really old. And it's been well loved, which makes it all the more special in my mind. It's very obvious to me that this table holds a lot of memories in it's bumps and scratches. It's just big enough for the two of us, and it fits perfectly into the little bit of space left over in the dining room nook. There is even a leaf, just in case I talk someone into coming over for dinner. (I'm making lasagna, any takers?)

There's only one, tiny little problem. She didn't get any chairs with the table. "But mom, you said you wanted a table. You never mentioned anything about chairs."

I told my mom this story, that my daughter bought me a table but no chairs. Before I could get any further, mom interrupted me with, "But Sandi, did you ever say you wanted chairs? All you've been saying is that you wanted a table." And this is why my daughter and my mother are best friends.

(Just to clarify --  my mother knew that, just like any sane adult, I wanted chairs to go with the table. Her response was an acknowledgement of the way my daughter thinks, and surprise at the fact that I didn't take that into consideration. If someone my daughter loves asks for something, she'll get it for them. And she'll get them exactly what they ask for.)

Q I L T T E O

I've recently become obsessed with an online game, Words with Friends. This is, of course, my children's fault. My two oldest have smart phones, and while my daughter was down visiting they were constantly checking their phone for moves. The two kids play against each other, against friends and co-workers, and even against total strangers.

The only real complaint I have about my children is that they don't call me often enough. (In fact, I had a little discussion about that with my oldest, explaining to her the immense fear and guilt I carry around with me that something horrible will happen to her and it will be weeks before I find out because not getting a phone call is normal.) Since the kids really seemed to like the game enough to play even with me, and since scrabble is one of my favorite board games, I decided to add the app to my Nook.

So far I've won two of the three games with my son. (And yes, I'm bragging about that.) The first game was played fast and furious. I was actually a little concerned with how quickly he would respond, because I knew he was at work. We've calmed down to just making three or four moves a day. There's been some memorable moments, such as his response when I texted him "Why are you still up so late?" after he had sent me a move at 12:15 am: "Who are you, my mother? Oh wait, you are." Mostly, though, I just enjoy the quick interaction with my son throughout the day as we add a word to the game.

With my daughter, the game is much slower. We're still battling the first round. Moves are deliberate, which is a nice way of saying it takes her a week to respond to me. Sigh. I content myself with the knowledge that her life is full, and she's busy researching words to play against me.

By the way, my youngest does not have a smart phone and claims that even if she did have one with the Words with Friends app, she knows better than to challenge mom to scrabble. Or Trivia. But she would be willing to play Dodge Ball or Volley Ball or just about any other "real" game against me.

In the past few days, I've expanded beyond my family.I've found friends online, and have been found by friends online, to play the game with. I have several games in process, which makes me feel like one of the popular geeks. I accept all challenges, so look me up. I'm sandrilene, or just find me on facebook.

St. Joe's is the place to go!

I'm a day late with this, but my favorite thing this week is St. Joseph's. More accurately, it's the people of St. Joe's. I spent a little over 8 hours volunteering with the most wonderful group of people. The church was hosting the diocese convention, and I went in to help prepare, serve, and cleanup the dinner.

And let me tell you, it was quite a dinner. Father Marty is an amazing chef, who I was told learned while in Italy. We (the volunteers) were able to sneak off and have a share of the dinner and it was incredible!

Even better was the way everyone just accepted me and made me a part of the group. Most of the workers have been long-time church members and therefore have long-time friendships. But from the very first person I met, I was made to feel that I was just as much a part of the friendship and fellowship as everyone else. By the time I dried my last dish (around midnight), I felt that it was one of the best days I'd spent in a long time.

And I don't even really mind that I can barely move today. (It was a lot of hard work!)

Monster Pops

Cake pops are NOT my favorite thing. They're yummy, especially after they've have a day or two to set properly. But they are a royal pain to make. I have no idea how Bakerella does all those gorgeous shapes and designs.
 

The important thing is that mom and I had a lot of fun making these together. My kids might be too old to play in the kitchen with me, but at least my mother is still willing to have a little culinary fun together. Although I had to let her lick one of the beaters instead of keeping both of them for myself.

Today's favorite

I love avocodos. Sliced on sandwiches, as guacamole, or just plain, I really love avocados. Which is why I was so excited to find a SlimCado with 50% less fat than regular avocados.

I'm still giggling over this!

There is no trouble so great or grave that cannot be much diminished by a nice cup of tea. (Bernard-Paul Heroux)

At the moment, my favorite thing is the Teavana TeaMaker that I bought while my daughter was visiting. I really didn't need another teapot, since I have a collection of china teapots plus several infusers for making individual cups. But I was indulging myself in celebration of her visit (poor child, to be blamed when really any excuse would have worked) and so the TeaMaker came home with me.

I had heard good things about this gadget, which is why I wanted one. Well, my friends were telling the truth when they said that it was like, the greatest teapot ever. You simply put the tea leaves in, and fill it with hot water. Once it's finished steeping, you put the TeaMaker on top of your teacup and the tea is released into your cup. You can lift the TeaMaker at any point, and it will seal itself back up so that the tea doesn't leak out. It's very cool. I confess to lifting the TeaMaker, putting it back down, lifting the TeaMaker, putting it back down - just for the fun of it!

I also like that you can use the TeaMaker on any size cup. I've filled a tumbler with ice, then placed my TeaMaker on top of the glass in order to make brewed ice tea. Add a little guava (also a new favorite item, again thanks to my daughter) and it's sweet tea for the summer.

Favorite Things: A woman and her purse.

While Cari was down last week, we went thrift-storing. (I know "thrift store" is not really a verb. But the way my family does it, it might as well be.)

One of my purchases was this purse. I spent a whole $2 on it, and it's already my favorite pocketbook. I love, love, love it! I like the compact shape of it, and that I can carry it by the handles OR use it as a shoulder bag. It's small, and yet I don't look ridiculous carrying it. It might even be real leather, but I don't really care enough to figure out for sure since I like everything else about it.

Best of all, it's huge inside despite its compact appearance. I can fit my calendar/notebook, my knitting, my wallet, my camera, ipod and accessories, and a book to read, as well as my lipstick and comb. (I wish I could say that I didn't just list everything in order of importance to me.) I think it was a wonderful use of $2.

And to think I almost didn't spend the money. I'm so glad my daughter convinced me to splurge!