Thanks to Karen, I have been exploring how to do background images for Twitter… who says you can’t teach old boomers new tricks?
If you’re on Facebook also get on Twitter… hey, I able to follow Pete Carroll, UPI News, and ESPN’s every breath every day! Great Fun! Oh yeah, the background for Twitter… here’s a link I put up explaining how to make your own custom background.
When Laura and her editor wanted a picture of me for their book… I took a big gulp. I mean this is a textbook on Discovering Biological Psychology. This is interesting stuff… some of it is strange… interesting ,but strange, and I wondered where I was going to fit in all of this?
I guess I deserved a little uneasiness as it is a bit of payback. I will rush to her from the kitchen with those words that instill concern, “…taste this!” She’ll always look as though I am offering her something weird like ‘fresh tentacles in licorice sauce’… but then, she always smiles.
Well, like most people ( unless you are Brad Pitt )… I smile more on one side of my face than the other. So, Laura took a picture of me and created three faces… the real me, one face with two left sides (the left side was mirrored onto the right) and the last having two right sides. What resulted was the three bears: a smiley bear, a medium bear and a reserved bear.
Okay, here’s what I bought today! Okay, I know it looks bad… but a lot of this goes into what I cook and not that much into me directly. It looks expensive but it wasn’t…. it was 50 -75 % off. I won’t go into the sad ugly details, but it was due to a store closing (a local Albertsons).
There are many laws regarding the transfer of liquor from one store to another… the least of which is the store needs to be closed and it won’t be for a while…. so it goes on sale. They are obviously thinking that someone will come in to buy some wine and walk out with something that doesn’t sell… like ice cream cones. Maybe if they shrink wrapped them together only then it might sell? 🙂
Whiskey is a favorite of mine for marinating and sautéingmeat, ah… the brandy is for medicinal uses and the Tequila is for a little dessert called a “Don Julio Legandario Margarita”... maybe, you’ve heard of it?
In this economy, not a bad idea to buy smart and stockpile a few things you like when they become available.
Laura and I enjoy each others company, which is the heart of maintaining any relationship… but it is not like we haven’t had ‘growth experiences.’ These are experiences which you are told will help you grow in maturity or intellect… but frankly, you really wanted to avoid.
January 10th, we attended a seminar along with a hoard of 350 other people at Cal Poly on the art and science of ‘tree pruning.’ I had thought this would be something that we both would enjoy and we did. However, the apple tree in question is beginning to blossom and some people ( who shall remain nameless) want to claim certain rights to certain fruit bearing branches. Hmmmmm … Apple Wars?
Well, the real issue is that I love to make and bake and enjoy apple pies ( store bought just doesn’t do it for me) and Laura loves her home made apple sauce which is also quite nice… and our recently planted 2nd tree won’t be ready for a few YEARS. You can see where the problem is… someone wants to make sauce outta my apples!!!!
I am sure we’ll work it out… but it is fun ‘discussing’ the situation.
How you prepare your ingredients makes all the difference!
Some folks love recipes that brag that they have only 5 ingredients and take only 30 minutes to bring their masterpiece to your table, maybe that’s why they prefer to dine at places with arches… no imagination. There is another way … by studying the history of the dish and how it plays all over the world.
Even in a historically simple food like ‘rice pudding’, one can find a world full of variation. Rice pudding is made all over the world – for hundreds of years – and in some very interesting ways. Milk and rice dishes can be traced back to the far east, but we in the west owe something to the ancient Romans who actually made it with goat’s milk! In more recent times, the Scandinavians have a fun Christmas dish where one whole almond is hidden and the finder is assured of good luck or marriage in the following year, or so they say.
Most commonly, rice pudding is flavored with Cinnamon and often with raisins, but there are also many other wonderful additions and possibilities. Rice Pudding has been prepared as either a main meal or sweetened as a dessert. Some like to prepare it on the stove top and others in the oven. The best recipes contain eggs and lots of them as would a custard!
My recipe uses saffron on the rice, a variety of spices, many eggs, wine and brandies, fruit and nuts, and baked in an oven.
