Thots.

Ah, well, it’s been a weird and crazy few weeks and now I am thinking gee whiz, I haven’t blogged in a while and then I think…eh. It’s not that I don’t want to, it’s just...well, I’ve been feeling overwhelmed lately. But I am getting over that so here’s some of what’s been filling my head lately:

Pie crust. I hate making pie crust, I really do, but I also don’t care for ready made pie crust all that much and when I make pies, they are generally as a gift, so it seems like the cheap way out to fake it, since I know how and I am capable of making it from scratch. So I do. And I hate it. But the crust came out ok. First there was a strawberry and cream pie for a friend’s birthday. Then there were jam tarts made from the leftovers. This week there will be a chocolate satin pie for the husband’s birthday. It’s all good. I just don’t get the same joy from making a pie that I do from making cupcakes. Silly me.

Brining chicken breast. I don’t brine turkey. Two reasons for that. I generally buy a frozen turkey because…I do. And most frozen turkeys are already treated with a “solution” which means salt. Secondly, when you brine a turkey you probably shouldn’t then stuff the turkey or make gravy from the drippings. You COULD and I have. But it’s pretty salty. And while I like turkey, what I really like is stuffing and gravy. So…no brined turkey for me. But recently I was watching a cooking show where the chef brined some chicken breasts. I had some chicken in the fridge that I had defrosted a few days before and I kind of hoped that brining it might kill of anything scary in it. Well, no one got sick, so that part was fine. And the chicken was super-tender and very nice. But a little salty for my tastes. So last night I tried again. I used less salt and sugar in my brine and I started with frozen chicken breasts instead of thawed. I also only let it sit in the brine for about 2 hours, on the countertop while it defrosted. Perfect. Excellent chicken. Super tender, fork tender, and not at all salty. I didn’t use an exact brine recipe. More like one hand full of salt to one half handful of sugar and two limes, squeezed into a gallon or so of water and then the rinds thrown in as well. There are plenty of recipes available online though. If you find plain old chicken breasts dry and boring, this might be your solution…heh…get it? Because you soak them in a solution? Nevermind.

Rare Birds. I don’t know if you read Rare Bird Finds, but I’d like to suggest that you do. It’s a site devoted to cool online shopping. They post new finds everyday and they are very conscious about affordable choices. Well, I say “they” but I really mean “we” because I am now a Rare Birder too. Well, I am starting to contribute their awesome site as the finder of “Cool Guy Things.” See, they had filled all the positions except that one and when the call went out, I thought. “Oh sure, I could apply for that, why not?” and next thing you know…I suspect that I was the only applicant but shhhh…don’t tell me that. Let me feel good about it for a while. Annnnnyway, check out the site for help tracking down those really unique gifts. And if you come across any cool guy stuff, let me know. I’ve got a huge list but it’s gonna run out eventually.

Comic Con. Due to a paperwork error, we initially were not accepted to Comic Con. We were on the waiting list and I guess someone dropped out because BAM! now we have a table. I was totally down with taking the year off because it is exhausting (I work TWO jobs there!) but now we have a table so now we are going. I do love to sell stuff though so it’s good. But, as I say, it’s exhausting, so it’s bad. But hey, there is good and bad…in everyone…we learn to live and we learn to give…(you see where I am going with this so I will stop…). If you will be at the San Diego Comic Con this year, please do stop by and say hi. You may have to wake me up but it will be nice to see you.

Headaches. I’ve been having a fair amount of headaches due to stress and allergies. Nothing new. We pretty much all have them in the spring, no? I am not a fan of the optical migraines but I can deal with those. What really pissed me off the other night was the headache I had in my sleep. Sure, I’ve had the kind of headache where it’s there when you go to bed and it’s there when you wake up but the one that actually makes a guest appearance as a significant element of your dreams? That just seems mean.

Pumpkin pie. I changed my shampoo and now every time I turn my head I get a whiff of pumpkin pie…because my shampoo smells like pumpkin pie. Not because my shampoo is toxic and damaging my brain or anything. It actually does smells like pumpkin pie. Which is nice…I guess.

Hey, look, it’s one of those things where it all leads back to the beginning because I started out with “Pie crust” and I ended with “Pumpkin pie”. I like when that happens. Even if I don’t care that much about pie.


p.s. Captain Blogger, I haven’t gotten very far in Midnight’s Children yet. There are a lot of bodily fluids in the first 50 pages though. I’ll call it “earthy” for now and reserve judgment until I get further in. Also, um…you blogging anywhere these days?

Captured.

HA! I totally neglected to mention one other person that I finally got to meet at comic-con. I completed my Palmer collection and met the illustrious and lovely Mrs. P. Now, I have a slightly odd relationship to the Palmer collective. They are all close to other members of my family and I kind of knew them by proxy, hearing tales of the Palmerlings and Mr. and Mrs. P but never really meeting them. Strangest of all was the day that my brother asked me if I had a blog. Turns out Mr. P had run across it and mentioned that he had been reading it. So the long distance not knowingness just got stranger and stranger. All that got turned upside down a year or so ago when I had a lovely dinner with the Mister. Then on the great cross-country trek of aught six, I had a pleasant run in with the Mister and the Palmerlings but the Missus was poorly and I didn’t get the chance to meet her. Now I can finally call my collection complete as I have finally seen the whole shebang in one place at one time and it was lovely. I have faces to put with names and all is well.

The P’s had asked for some advice on what to see and where to eat in L.A. and I offered a few of my favorite things. I don’t know yet if they did any of them but when YOU visit L.A. I do recommend that you:

Stop at an In-n-Out, a Poquito Mås and Four n’ 20 for, burgers, tacos and pies respectively. Personally, I am not much of a burger person but I do like the In n’ Out burger and I LOVE their fresh, hand cut fries. It’s a once in a while treat for sure but if you are gonna bother to eat fries (and you know I am) then I say go for the super fresh ones! And while Poquito Mas may not be the ultimate taco or even traditional tacos, I really like them and their philosophy. Everything is fresh and prepared to order, it’s fairly cheap and it’s tasty. Sometimes when you are traveling you don’t have time to find that perfect little neighborhood joint, and costs need to stay reasonable. A baja style taco stand does the trick for me. Now Four n’ 20 IS that little neighborhood place and they make a darn fine pie. Nuff said.

As far as what to see, I recommended the George M. Page Museum, which is also known as the Tar Pits museum. It’s very small but I think it is exceptionally well curated and pleasant. It’s good for little kids, well; at least the kids I know have seemed to enjoy it. But my dad, who has a little bit of a hard time getting around, found it pleasant too. Plenty of room to move, places to sit and ponder, a lovely little garden. High marks all around from me.

Speaking of my dad, I took him and my mom to the Autrey Museum of the American West once when they came to visit. We all agreed it was one of the best museums we had ever seen and people, my mom has been to a LOT of museums. What really got me about the Autrey is that I just don’t really have much interest in guns or cowboys or western heritage but the museum kept me fascinated for hours. Good stuff.

Another thing I like but am not that into is cars. I mean, I like cars, I like to drive. I’d love to drive a performance car, or a race car or…I like cars. But I am not obsessive about them. So when we went to visit the Peterson Automotive Museum I was pretty “eh” on the whole thing. Turns out, it’s pretty darn nice.

I know have pimped all these places before but I guess it always is worth repeating when you think you’ve got some good tips. Next time you are in L.A…well, do what ever you want, but if you are not sure what it is you want, maybe try these out. And if you have tips of your own, by all means, comment away!