Wow.. what a day! My pitas turned out awesome even though I substituted whole wheat flour. They've got perfect little pockets just all excited and ready to be stuffed! The gyro burgers were good too. The taste was pretty close to a restaurant gyro after it was coated in tzatziki which set up perfectly and was as yummy as could be.
Then there was the hummus, which is a multi-pepper, spice and fresh basil mix. Delish with the pita. Just a perfect day of cooking. Not one thing turned out horrible and my kitchen isn't even too bad.
And the pie, with splenda instead of sugar, was just marvelous. I couldn't taste the difference between it and a sugar pie. I really liked the tang of the apple cider vinegar in there too.
I'm pretty beat now though, and stuffed to the gills with Greek goodness. I didn't get laundry done, but I still might do it today, or save it for tomorrow, which will be a work at home day.
In addition to domesticity, I've also been playing my game, Ikariam, for the final weekend before I set myself on vacation. I've been getting attacked repeatedly in my little towns, which is fine, but it's making the game more high maintenance than I have time for right now. In addition, I've got a friend on the game who whines constantly when he gets attacked and guilts me into helping him. It's very annoying, so I'm hoping to get a break from that too. He's being a tag a long and is also putting his account on vacation when I do. Did I mention he's a 40 year old Marine? I mean, grow up already. And stop whining! It's a fucking game.
He's got me on yahoo too, and for a while I pondered hooking up with him with Daddy's approval. Then I saw his pic and got my shallow face on. And then he started bleating like a lost fucking lamb every two seconds and any sort of attraction is completely gone. Bah!
Anyways, I was hoping for a big battle this weekend to really have a lot of fun and all was quiet until this morning and then shit went down, and I seriously kicked some ass. Against two players with huge military forces. Just took down their navy too. They've been itching for a fight for a couple weeks now. Nice guys about it though.
I like being a friendly player. Making friends with the enemy and keeping the battles to contests instead of pissing matches. It does feel good to win though. A special present to me that is well deserved I think. One of them emailed me to congratulate me and said he hasn't been that excited on the game in quite some time. It will take him a while to recover from his brutal ass raping courtesy of moi. And I didn't use any lube neither.
Speaking of lube, I need to buy more. I'm almost out of the bottle of Wet I have and have permission to buy more. I'll need a water based lube replacement, but I'd like to try something new, and perhaps a silicone lube as well, though I won't be able to use that with my silicone toys of course. Any suggestions?
Showing posts with label Domestic Life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Domestic Life. Show all posts
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Baking Day!
Ah yes, more domestics. You'd think that's all I do really, but it's a big part of most people's lives I think. Or *should* be probably.
Today, on the agenda is laundry, baking and cooking. I've got lots of apples right now from my CSA, and they are big, fat, green ones, so I'm going to make a pie. I've had a boxed pie crust in my fridge for a bit, so I think it's time to make use of it and the apples all in one shot. I found this apple pie recipe that I'm going to try. I'll be substituting splenda for sugar and hoping it turns out well. I like this one because it calls for tart apples, which I have, and also has some cider vinegar in it. I have a big bottle of some lovely organic apple cider vinegar that's been gathering dust in my pantry, so even though it's just a tablespoon, I get to use some of it, dammit!
Today is Greek day also, so I'll be making hummous, pita bread, spiced burger and tzatziki. Actually, the tzatziki should be done now. It's been marinating and merging in the fridge for the last day so it should be very tasty indeed. My cucumbers were super sweet and refreshing and not bitter at all, so I think it will be brilliant!
So off I go to bake and cook. I'll be cranking the AC downstairs today with the oven having to be on a lot. Wish me luck!
Today, on the agenda is laundry, baking and cooking. I've got lots of apples right now from my CSA, and they are big, fat, green ones, so I'm going to make a pie. I've had a boxed pie crust in my fridge for a bit, so I think it's time to make use of it and the apples all in one shot. I found this apple pie recipe that I'm going to try. I'll be substituting splenda for sugar and hoping it turns out well. I like this one because it calls for tart apples, which I have, and also has some cider vinegar in it. I have a big bottle of some lovely organic apple cider vinegar that's been gathering dust in my pantry, so even though it's just a tablespoon, I get to use some of it, dammit!
Today is Greek day also, so I'll be making hummous, pita bread, spiced burger and tzatziki. Actually, the tzatziki should be done now. It's been marinating and merging in the fridge for the last day so it should be very tasty indeed. My cucumbers were super sweet and refreshing and not bitter at all, so I think it will be brilliant!
So off I go to bake and cook. I'll be cranking the AC downstairs today with the oven having to be on a lot. Wish me luck!
Saturday, June 27, 2009
The Muffin Top is the Best Part!
The muffins are better than the last time. OMG yummy. The original recipe is here.
I made changes of course.
Super Duper Zucchini Muffins - Kitten Style
Ingredients:
2 1/4 cupsall-purpose flour Whole Wheat Flour - I used the generic Kroger's brand
1 cup white sugar 1/2 cup splenda brown sugar mix
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cupshortening butter
1/4 cup sour milk 1/2 cup sour cream
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 2 cups shredded or food processed zucchini &/or yellow squash
1 1.5 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped walnuts I did add some chopped pecans, but I didn't have walnuts
1/4 cup brown sugar left off this step as it definitely wasn't needed!
Added:
4 teaspoon vital wheat gluten - You don't need this, but it makes the muffins more elastic, rise better, and adds some protein (something I can always use in the morning!)
1/2 cup 2% milk - with the additional zucchini and using sour cream instead of sour milk, I needed more liquid.
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a muffin pan, or use paper liners.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. I used a hand mixer to mix the butter with the dry ingredients and then made a well and added all the wet ingredients. So much better than trying to cut everything together. Make a well in the center, and pour in milk, eggs, zucchini and vanilla. Fold in walnuts. Fill muffin cups 2/3 to 3/4 full. Sprinkle tops with brown sugar.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool. - Mine took just about 15 minutes. I removed the muffins from the pan immediately - be careful, they are delicate - and put them on racks to cool. Then put them in ziplock bags and left on the counter overnight. By the morning they are super moist and delicious to have for breakfast.
I made changes of course.
Super Duper Zucchini Muffins - Kitten Style
Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup
2 eggs, lightly beaten
Added:
4 teaspoon vital wheat gluten - You don't need this, but it makes the muffins more elastic, rise better, and adds some protein (something I can always use in the morning!)
1/2 cup 2% milk - with the additional zucchini and using sour cream instead of sour milk, I needed more liquid.
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a muffin pan, or use paper liners.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool. - Mine took just about 15 minutes. I removed the muffins from the pan immediately - be careful, they are delicate - and put them on racks to cool. Then put them in ziplock bags and left on the counter overnight. By the morning they are super moist and delicious to have for breakfast.
Friday, June 26, 2009
TGIF
Another very hot day at the shop. So hot. It's been in the 90's here recently, and very muggy. My business shares a building with the landlord, A. He's a good guy mostly, but we are both suffering pretty bad during the recession and have been trying to cut costs wherever possible. So there is no AC at the shop currently.
This morning it was around 65 outside, though we had a great deal of humidity so it felt a bit warmer. But the shop itself was probably 85 in the morning. We need more fans to try to get the cooler air indoors in the morning and then close the doors in the afternoon. Large amounts of money so we could turn on the AC would be ideal at this point.
I've been going into work very early (for me) this week and then leaving earlier as well to try to avoid the heat as much as possible. Shockingly, I've been pretty productive considering the sweating. The funny thing is I'll get all focused on a project and be working away, and I'm ok, but when I stop I'm kind of disoriented and dazed for a bit. I'm pretty sure I lose about 10 IQ points for every hours I'm in the building. At that rate, by the time I left today, I had an IQ of about 80. And I felt like it. It's like Flowers for Algernon up in there.
Did I mention it was hot?
So once I got home I really wanted to bake up my muffins. I have a tendency to procrastinate and I really wanted my muffins done and taken care of before the zucchini turned. They turned out beautifully and smell amazing. I worked on the cucumber & yogurt for tzatziki a bit (both needed to be drained) and later assembled it so it could work it's chemical goodness in the fridge. 3 dozen muffins later - 1 that suicided onto the floor. Sad :(
And now I'm feeling craptastic. Stupid uterus. It causes me all kinds of non-consentual, hard limit, sweat and fever inducing pain. Where's my safeword mother nature??! Would anyone care to purchase it? All you need to do is pay for it's removal and you can haz it 4 free. I've never grown a baby in it, and according to the little ancient Asian doctor who once gave me a pelvic exam, it's "ripe". So cmon.. come and pick mah damn fruit already.
Heading to bed and hoping I feel better. I have two consultations to do tomorrow and hopefully can get a decent amount accomplished. They are having a car show tomorrow and closing off our street for it, so likely I'll be plagued by peckins asking "Do people really buy this stuff?"
My god I'm grumpy.
This morning it was around 65 outside, though we had a great deal of humidity so it felt a bit warmer. But the shop itself was probably 85 in the morning. We need more fans to try to get the cooler air indoors in the morning and then close the doors in the afternoon. Large amounts of money so we could turn on the AC would be ideal at this point.
I've been going into work very early (for me) this week and then leaving earlier as well to try to avoid the heat as much as possible. Shockingly, I've been pretty productive considering the sweating. The funny thing is I'll get all focused on a project and be working away, and I'm ok, but when I stop I'm kind of disoriented and dazed for a bit. I'm pretty sure I lose about 10 IQ points for every hours I'm in the building. At that rate, by the time I left today, I had an IQ of about 80. And I felt like it. It's like Flowers for Algernon up in there.
Did I mention it was hot?
So once I got home I really wanted to bake up my muffins. I have a tendency to procrastinate and I really wanted my muffins done and taken care of before the zucchini turned. They turned out beautifully and smell amazing. I worked on the cucumber & yogurt for tzatziki a bit (both needed to be drained) and later assembled it so it could work it's chemical goodness in the fridge. 3 dozen muffins later - 1 that suicided onto the floor. Sad :(
And now I'm feeling craptastic. Stupid uterus. It causes me all kinds of non-consentual, hard limit, sweat and fever inducing pain. Where's my safeword mother nature??! Would anyone care to purchase it? All you need to do is pay for it's removal and you can haz it 4 free. I've never grown a baby in it, and according to the little ancient Asian doctor who once gave me a pelvic exam, it's "ripe". So cmon.. come and pick mah damn fruit already.
Heading to bed and hoping I feel better. I have two consultations to do tomorrow and hopefully can get a decent amount accomplished. They are having a car show tomorrow and closing off our street for it, so likely I'll be plagued by peckins asking "Do people really buy this stuff?"
My god I'm grumpy.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Domesticity
Since meeting Daddy, I've become way more domestic. You know, competent around the house, doing more than opening a packet of starch and mixing with water, signing up for a CSA, etc. All of these things go hand in hand with me trying to have a healthier lifestyle in general. Daddy wants me around for a while I guess.
Part of this has been diet. I signed up for a CSA, which if you don't already know, is short for Community Supported Agriculture. Yay farmers! I spent part of my formative years living in the country with a gynormous organic garden, lots of pets, a pony, wood furnace, etc. Sadly, even with our awesome produce, my parents would cook the veggies until they were gray. It was so gross that I "hated" vegetables for the longest time. I'm still convincing myself that I don't. But part of being Daddy's is trying new things, so here I am.
My CSA is awesome. You should go sign up for one too. Mine is probably the best in the whole nation because from March until November, I get a weekly delivery consisting of a bushel box full of local and imported organic produce. It's delicious and it's like Christmas because I never know what's going to be inside.
However, after being a starchavore for many years, I had to start learning how to cook this very familiar, yet strangely foreign, food that kept showing up. I'm very "thrifty" so throwing out rotten food is just repugnant to me. Cooking it like my parents did was also repugnant. Fortunately Daddy had some ideas and recipes for me, so I've been learning to cook long distance as it were.
Good recipes are always welcome, especially to help me use up the plethora of greens I get each week. I don't hate salad, but I don't love it either. I end up freezing most of the greens to use later. Last year in the middle of the summer we had a greens shortage, I'm hoping that happens again. However, they are also pretty decent in a frozen fruit/yogurt smoothy with a dash of splenda and handful of frozen greens. You can't taste the greens honestly but it's a good way to use them up.
In addition, I started baking all my own bread about 7 months ago. It's cheaper, tastes better and I use it up before it goes bad. About 2 months ago I switched to whole wheat instead of white bread, which is amazingly delicious. So I've also been doing more baking with whole wheat flour in general. Pancakes, biscuits, muffins. Speaking of muffins I'll be making fabulous zucchini muffins probably tomorrow or Saturday.
I made some for a camping trip I had a couple weeks ago, but the local skunk ended up benefiting from most of them as someone took them out of the safety of the cooler. So I've got a big bowl full of shredded squash and zucchini in the fridge just waiting to be added to multiple batches of muffins so I can freeze them for breakfast and snacks.
This weekend I'm planning on making some tzatziki sauce, pita bread and spicy ground gyro meat. I'm psyched about it as it's a new recipe. But I have a huge amount of cucumbers this week that I need to use up, so some gyros will fit the bill.
Part of this has been diet. I signed up for a CSA, which if you don't already know, is short for Community Supported Agriculture. Yay farmers! I spent part of my formative years living in the country with a gynormous organic garden, lots of pets, a pony, wood furnace, etc. Sadly, even with our awesome produce, my parents would cook the veggies until they were gray. It was so gross that I "hated" vegetables for the longest time. I'm still convincing myself that I don't. But part of being Daddy's is trying new things, so here I am.
My CSA is awesome. You should go sign up for one too. Mine is probably the best in the whole nation because from March until November, I get a weekly delivery consisting of a bushel box full of local and imported organic produce. It's delicious and it's like Christmas because I never know what's going to be inside.
However, after being a starchavore for many years, I had to start learning how to cook this very familiar, yet strangely foreign, food that kept showing up. I'm very "thrifty" so throwing out rotten food is just repugnant to me. Cooking it like my parents did was also repugnant. Fortunately Daddy had some ideas and recipes for me, so I've been learning to cook long distance as it were.
Good recipes are always welcome, especially to help me use up the plethora of greens I get each week. I don't hate salad, but I don't love it either. I end up freezing most of the greens to use later. Last year in the middle of the summer we had a greens shortage, I'm hoping that happens again. However, they are also pretty decent in a frozen fruit/yogurt smoothy with a dash of splenda and handful of frozen greens. You can't taste the greens honestly but it's a good way to use them up.
In addition, I started baking all my own bread about 7 months ago. It's cheaper, tastes better and I use it up before it goes bad. About 2 months ago I switched to whole wheat instead of white bread, which is amazingly delicious. So I've also been doing more baking with whole wheat flour in general. Pancakes, biscuits, muffins. Speaking of muffins I'll be making fabulous zucchini muffins probably tomorrow or Saturday.
I made some for a camping trip I had a couple weeks ago, but the local skunk ended up benefiting from most of them as someone took them out of the safety of the cooler. So I've got a big bowl full of shredded squash and zucchini in the fridge just waiting to be added to multiple batches of muffins so I can freeze them for breakfast and snacks.
This weekend I'm planning on making some tzatziki sauce, pita bread and spicy ground gyro meat. I'm psyched about it as it's a new recipe. But I have a huge amount of cucumbers this week that I need to use up, so some gyros will fit the bill.
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