My Spice House Order

Well, I took the plunge and ordered from The Spice House. I took their advice and waited until I had several items to order, so as to maximize my shipping cost ($9 total shipping). Left to right, I ordered cayenne pepper, single-strength vanilla extract, cardamom, and black peppercorns. I placed the order on Sunday night, it was here when I got home today. My only disappointment was the packaging - only the gift boxes come packed in bay leaves and cinnamon sticks - standard orders come wrapped in paper and bubble wrap, but that was my bust for not reading more carefully.

Overall, I am a satisfied Spice House customer. I needed a little cardamom for a specific recipe - at the grocery store, it was $11 for a bigger bottle than I needed. From The Spice House, I had the choice to forego the glass bottle and buy a plastic-baggy 1-0z refill, which was more the size I needed and only cost $3. Not a bad deal. And everything smells great! Especially the vanilla. I may have just found my spice vendor of choice!

Charlotte is...

I'm not one for trends, but I saw this on two separate blogs today, and found it amusing. I googled "Charlotte is" and this is what I got:

Charlotte is the largest and most accessible city between Washington, DC and Dallas, TX.

Charlotte is not a comic hero like Elizabeth Bennett.

Charlotte is wise, patient, and caring.

Charlotte is amazing!

Charlotte is mentioned 31590 times on our forum.

Charlotte is able to keep calm by withdrawing.

Charlotte is from Sparta.

Charlotte is charged with murder and sentenced to be hanged.

Charlotte is bullish on mass transit.

Charlotte is a blend of traditional and cutting-edge.

Try it using your own name...then you can be cool like Charlotte.

Loyalty

My Tuesday night Bible study group has started a study on the book of Daniel. It's a Beth Moore study, and if you are at all familiar with her, you know she's big on studying the original Hebrew and Greek origins of our English scripture.

Tonight's passage was on Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. The Bible says they showed "loyalty" to God and did not bow down to the King's golden statue. We looked at the Hebrew origin of that word, loyalty, and at what some of its other shades of meaning are. One of them that really stuck out was "to be prepared." To be loyal is to be prepared. Shadrach, Meshach and Adebnego were loyal to God because they were prepared to be. They decided long before that statue was ever built that "yes, we're captives, and yes, King Nebuchadnezzar is the boss of us, but we will not bow to the gods of this land." They were prepared not to bow down before they were ever asked to bow down.

I don't think I'll ever be in a situation where I'm asked to literally bow to someone else's golden idol, but should I be prepared for such an event? I don't think I'll ever be asked to renounce Christ or die, but should I spend any time preparing for such a decision? Should I decide before I have to decide?

I wonder how many past failings I might have avoided if I had simply decided before I had to decide...

Just Be

I'm still on a bit of a high from the weekend. It was a really, really good time. But not entirely in the way I expected.

The concert was awesome - so much of the music came right back to me after all these years. Music is a memory kicker for me - almost as strong as smell. You know how you can smell something - perfume, a particular food - and it reminds you of someone or something, maybe that you haven't thought of in years? Music does that for me - hearing those old songs reminded me so much of PC, and FCA, and road trips, and Douglas House, and visits to Nashville. What a great time that was.

And it was really good to see some faces again...the band of course, and Jennifer and Kim and Tara (who I never knew all that well, but I always felt like I did - I think that's just the way she is) and Natalie (who I love to see any time) and Shannon and Kyle (who I haven't seen in years, but have enjoyed talking to on-line.) All of that was great.

But here's the part that was unexpected. I had a BLAST with Ben and Daniel. A BLAST. It was such a change of pace for us. They were such little men - they carried the luggage, and opened doors, and kept up conversation. We had a great drive down, great meal together, GREAT time at the concert, and a great evening in the hotel (Daniel loves staying in hotels). I see them every day, and it never occured to me that this trip would be a way to reconnect. It never occurred to me that we needed to.

No matter how hard we try, I think we get into ruts and we forget to really pay attention to each other. We spend tons of time in each other's company, but how often do we really stop and ENJOY each other? Forget about homework and laundry and where we have to be when and just BE together. Just BE.

We were away from home for just 24 hours on the nose, but I will treasure that time forever. Good times.

And Now...the Video

(For my blogger friends, that's Ferdlings on lead guitar, Tighty Whitey on bass, and Greenbeans on keyboards. APFM is not shown, as he was spontaneously combusting in the back.)

A Few Good Men

Good times at the reunion concert last night. The band sounded GREAT and everyone had a good time, me and my kids especially. It was just like the college days, except that the screaming girls down front were all under the age of ten, and there was no real mosh pit.

Didn't get a great shot of the band. Bad lighting. But you get the idea.

Rock.

Dude. This is loud.

I can't believe I walked around with that gunk on my tooth all night and no one told me. I thought you people were my friends.

Aunt Natalie and Uncle Paul.

Good Times.

Uncle Paul. Rocker.

The lovely Natalie and Shannon (Squid).

Technologically Challenged

I'm not exactly the most technological person on the the planet. We bought a new camcorder last October, and just last night I figured out how to load videos from the camera to the PC.

Now that that's done, I'd like to see if I can post videos on to my blog. Please hold.

Rock on.

Future Bloggers

I've got to brag on the kids a little.

Ben is in fifth grade, Daniel third. Their school requires all third through fifth graders to participate in a school-wide "writing prompt" each of the first three nine-weeks of the year. All students write a story based on an assigned prompt. For example, "Your teacher brings a bag into class, sets it on the desk, and it begins to wiggle" - and you take it from there. Then all three grades get together for a big assembly and each classroom teacher awards a winner for the best story in his or her class.

Ben has now won best in class for six of the last eight of these writing prompts (they missed one in fourth grade for some suspicious reason) and Daniel has taken two of his first three. We might have a house full of future novelists!

Apple Turnovers

I had a really bad day at work today, so I made it up to myself by spending the evening baking apple turnovers.

This is what I was going for:

This is what I got:

They didn't taste all that great either.

We're in...

I talked to Ben and Daniel tonight, and we're a go for the trip to Columbia to see Uncle Paul's band this Saturday. Mark already had plans - oh well, his loss. I'm really looking forward to it - hope to see some of you there! If you don't know what I'm talking about, drop in on George's Blog (link at left) and check out the post about the Children at Heart Reunion concert....

The Dentist

Today is MLK day. Meaning, the kids are out of school, the mail doesn't run, and the banks are closed. A really great way to honor a really great man, if you ask me. But I digress.

I took the day off the to spend with the kids, and to take care of various and sundry appointments. These included, among other things, Daniel's check up with the dentist.

Daniel does not go to the dentist that the rest of us Malones go to. Our dentist is very easy-going, calm, gets you in and gets you out. Never anyone else in the waiting room to deal with. Great dental experience all around. And Daniel did go see him in the past. Until he got a cavity. At which point, said Wonder-Dentist referred us to a pediatric dentist, as D's mouth was "just too small for my equipment." Bummer.

So for about four years now, we've been taking D to his own special dentist. I'm not sure if this is the case with all pediatric dentists, or if we just won the insanity lottery, but going to this guy's office is always a freakishly surreal experience.

For starters, like many buildings in East Tennessee, the office is built into the side of a mountain. Which means there is only one window (the door) in the waiting room. The floor and walls are dark, so it feels very much like you're going spelunking when you walk in. The echoing sounds of kids bashing things together doesn't do much to dispel this feeling.

With great consistency, the adult to child ratio the waiting room is at least three to one. No kidding. For every kid in there, there's always something like a mom, a grandmother, and some random neighbor. What is up with that? I can't imagine going to the dentist with my neighbors.

The waiting room contains one bathroom. This room remains locked at all times. You have to obtain a key from the receptionist in order to get in. Said key is chained to some kind of dental device. I'm guessing it's a impression bowl, but it looks like a large, metal athletic cup. It reminds me of using the restrooms at service stations in the seventies, when they attached a tire iron to the key to keep you honest. What the heck kind of issues were they having to resort to these measures?

Apart from these three standard issues (it's always dark, it's always over-crowded, and the bathroom is always under lock-down) the insanity is different each time we go. Today's insanity included two floor-rolling children. They spent the entire time on the floor of the waiting room, rolling around. Now I'm no germaphobe, but come on. I've seen the caliber of people that hang out in there, and you don't want to be rolling around on the bottoms of their shoes. Their mom (beautifully adorned in a Troy Aikmen jersey, just a bit on the snug side, sweat pants, and biker boots) would periodically tell them to get up under penalty of a "butt-busting". It was clear by the kids' reactions (none at all) that this butt-busting was an empty threat and, while a mean dresser, their mom was no disciplinarian.

One of these kids eventually got up to use the restroom. After wrestling the door open with the key and the athletic cup, she proceeded to use the facilities, with the door wide open. And then didn't flush. Or wash her hands. Now, I'm no germaphobe, but come on.

Then began the consult. This is also a fairly standard occurrence - the nurse brings the kid back to the waiting room and takes the parent/grandparent/friendly neighbor into the "consult room". Unless the consult room is occupied, or if there are so many people in the waiting room that the door is blocked, in which case they just have the consult right there in front of God and everybody. Today's consult involved a kid who had experienced some blunt head trauma over the weekend and was now missing a tooth as a result. They could not find the tooth, and were concerned that he might have swallowed it. So the mom went into elaborate detail about how she was "watching for it." Deliver me.

Even Ben, at only ten years of age, observed when we got into the car, "That place is always completely NUTS." Yes, but what a really great way to honor a really great man.

You Know What I Hate?

Heelys.

Sweet Success

I tried the creme brulee again last night, this time from scratch. I used a Barefoot Contessa Recipe, and it ROCKED! It turned out really good. The custard could have been smoother, but it tasted fantastic. And I even got the sugar right. It wasn't all that hard.

3 cups heavy cream - scalded
1 egg
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla (I used a little extra, because the recipe called for liqueur, which I didn't have)

Mix the eggs and sugar until combined. Slowly pour in the scalded cream. Add vanilla. Pour into ramekins. Bake in a water bath at 300 for 35-40 minutes until tops are just set. Cool to room temp, then refrigerate until completely chilled. Just before serving, cover the top of each serving with a thin layer of sugar. Hit it with a blow torch, or put it under the broiler until the sugar is brown and caramelized. Let sit for a few minutes until the sugar hardens. Consume.

I wish I had taken pictures.

What I'm Reading Now

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, by Barbara Kingsolver. Kingsolver wrote The Poisonwood Bible, and if you haven't read it, treat yourself. It's long, but the story is thought-provoking and the prose is amazing.

In her latest book, she switches gears a bit and writes from her real life. She and her family have moved from Tucson, AZ, to Southwest Virginia. More and more bothered by the energy crisis, they want to explore the possibility of growing their own food. They move to a farm and commit to eating only what they can grow themselves, or at the very least obtain from other local growers, for one year.

In the introductory chapters, Kingsolver explains their decision to go local by talking in depth about the problems of a society that transports food the way we do. Not only are we using tons and tons of fossil fuel, but we are losing the cultural identity that comes from producing regional delicacies that can't come from anywhere but where they're grown. European countries have maintained food-centered identities and so should we.

She also makes a strong argument for bringing agricultural studies back to the schools. Students used to study food and agriculture as part of their regular curriculum because everyone lived on farms. When we moved off the farm, we stopped studying farming. But here's the thing, Kingsolver says, we still eat. Yes, trigonometry is important, and learning the Preamble is important, but could it possibly be more important than learning about something everyone does at least three times a day, every day? Food for thought, no pun intended.

I'll keep you posted on how her year goes....so far, it's a good read, although a bit to the left of my normal fare.

The Incredible Disintegrating Red Parka

Note: If my parents read this, I hope that they read it in the spirit of humor with which it was intended. : )

My parents throw nothing away. NOTHING. That's not a completely bad thing, mind you. Frugality on the surface is a very good thing. My car is almost eleven years old. The paint is chipping off and the upholstery looks terrible, but it still runs and it's paid for. I won't be throwing that away until I absolutely have to. But some things, let's face it, need to be thrown away.

Case in point:

Mark, the boys, and I went to my parents' for Thanksgiving this year. Mark and I went out early to do some shopping on the day after Thanksgiving, and it was a bit chilly out. So I asked to borrow a jacket on Mark's behalf as he had left his at home. (Actually, he left his jacket in Arizona, but that's another post.) So Mom produces this red parka and and we go on our way.

A little while later, I notice that Mark is a) not wearing the jacket, and b)shivering. So I ask - "What happened to the red jacket?" He replies, "It disintegrated." I ask for clarification. He says, "Every time I move, or touch that jacket in any way, this cloud of red dust flies off of it. I felt like some kind of synthetic Pig Pen. And it kind of stinks."

I reach into the back seat and grab the jacket. Sure enough, a cloud of red dust followed it, and it smelled like rotting flesh. And there was a blanket of red dust all over the back seat. The jacket was literally decomposing before our very eyes. I put the jacket back on the seat and we never spoke of it again.

Fast forward to this week. Paul sends me a surprise DVD in the mail. "OOOOHHHHH! Videos of Sam" I think. So we pop it in the DVD player, only to find that it's a DVD copy of home movies from when I was a kid. The boys loved it - they couldn't believe the awful clothes we wore (especially Paul) and they couldn't believe Nana and Granddaddy ever looked so young. Good times. (Thanks Uncle Paul!)

Then we get to the goofy "Fun Times" video we made in the back yard one Saturday. I was probably around six - well over thirty years ago. And I notice that my dad is wearing a red parka. The Incredible Disintegrating Red Parka! No wonder that thing was falling apart.

I asked Mark what he did with the parka. "I hung it back in the closet next to a hoop skirt and some stone tablets." If any of it is still in there next Thanksgiving, I think I'll sneak it out and give it a proper burial.

Snow Day, Part Deux

For the first time in recent history, the city schools closed for snow. Mark and I worked from home, the boys enjoyed their day off!

We come from a long line of frontiersman and outdoor types.

Backstroke

Freestyle

Laughing at the Screaming Donkey Boy on Uncle Paul's blog.

Snow Day!

This was the scene from my back door this morning:

Politics...Schmolitics

I took an interesting survey today, link to follow. It asks for your opinion on all the major issues, and then it asks you to choose just how important each issue really is in your grand scheme of things. It tallies your scores and tells you who you should vote for.

Interesting stuff. If you asked me before taking the survey, I would have said "Mike Huckabee. He's my guy." And I would have held two fingers close together, as if to show how sympatico Mike and I are. See, I'm all about substance. I don't fall for the political games, I don't care what kind of tie a candidate wears or how good looking he or she is. I pay close attention to the issues and vote accordingly.

Why then, did Huckabee come in third as a prime candidate for me, tied with Mitt Romney? I hate Romney (OK, hate is a strong word. He's not my favorite.) My number one candidate, as picked by the survey? Fred Thompson. This doesn't really surprise me all that much. I was once a huge Fred Thompson fan. I voted for him twice for the senate, and I loved him in Days of Thunder. But of late, I haven't been all that excited about him.

Here's what's really surprising though...my number two candidate, as picked by the survey, based solely on my issues and my opinions, was some guy I'd never heard of. I can't even remember his name now. How good of a voter could I really be if "my guy" comes in third place in lining up with my view of the world, tied with some nut job, and finishiing behind some guy I've never heard of? I need to be paying more attention.

Here's the link - try it for yourself:

http://www.wqad.com/Global/link.asp?L=259460

Happy Anniversary!

My parents are celebrating their 42nd wedding anniversary today (January 15)! And since I once again failed to get a card in the mail, I thought I'd blog them our best wishes!!

Ben: "January 15th, 1966, a date that will live in goodness."

Daniel: "Happy Anniversary! 42! Married January 15th, 1966. That's all."

Mark: "Happy Anniversary!"

Charlotte: "42 years - that's saying something these days. Here's to 42 more! I love you guys..."

Space Giants

Since this appears to be the lesser known of the shows in my last post, I thought I'd elaborate for those of you who missed it. Goldar, Silvar, and Gam were a family of "Space Giants" (although Goldar was the only true giant, the others were normal-sized.) They turned into rockets and flew around instead of using cars like the rest of us saps. They hung out on earth with Miko and his dad, fighting the evil forces of Rodak (pictured in my last post). Rodak had a fleet of little ninja-like minions who turned into a tar-like substance when you killed them. Rodak also abducted Miko's mom in a early episode, and many an episode after that focused on efforts to get her back. (Actually, Goldar and Silvar were sadly unable to have children. But when they came to earth, they liked young Miko so much that they cloned him and made Gam, their son.) Good times.

Name That 70's Show

So I was bemoaning the lack of quality television available for kids these days. (If you are a parent with kids of a TV viewing age, I need not say more.) And I harkened back to the day when TV was something special. You know...the early seventies.

Taking a lead from uber-blogger Kyle, I am posting some pics of my favorite shows from that era. Do you remember these gems? (Paul - you should get every one...)

Show #1:

Show #2:

Show #3:

Show #4:

Show #5:

Time Keeps on Ticking...

My son Daniel has been saving his money for a new video game: Lego Star Wars - The Complete Saga. As of last week's allowance, he hit the mark and we stopped at Circuit City after school yesterday to make the purchase.

It's actually a fairly cool game. You take your little Lego Star Wars characters through all six movies, unlocking various Sith Lords, et al, as you go. When not fighting the forces of the dark side, you hang out in the Cantina Bar with all of the other Star Wars Universe guys and that peppy song plays in the background. ("No blasters! No Blasters!")

The Cantina Bar also has another interesting feature, not uncommon in video games these days: a counter that tells you exactly how much time you have spent on the game thus far. I was appalled to discover that before I had even gotten settled in for the evening, Daniel had logged four plus hours at this game.

I wonder....what would it be like if everything in our lives came with a similar kind of counter? We would always be reminded of how much time we were spending on our marriage, our job, our church, our kids, our selves. What would we change if we were regularly reminded of how much, or how little, of our time we actually spend on the things that matter the most?

Rick Warren says you can tell what a person values most by what he spends his time on, because time is the only thing we spend with no hope of ever getting back.

I read a beautiful passage in a book once - it was the story of a couple who met when the man offered the woman a handkerchief. They later fell in love, got married, had a family, and spent a wonderful life together. Then one day - boom - the man dies. He was not young, but his passing was still unexpected and sudden. As the woman prepares for the funeral, she thinks "The moment he handed me that handkerchief, a clock started ticking somewhere. I just never heard it."

Can we ever fully hear the clocks ticking in our own lives?

The Spice House

Not that I want to be a shill for The Man or anything, but I just had to share. Whilst surfing AB's web site, I found a link to The Spice House. I remember AB visiting said Spice House on his Spice Capades show, but I don't remember him mentioning how cool their site is. You need a spice, you got it! And not overly expensive - three whole vanilla beans (Madagascar even) are less than what I pay at the local Food City for two, and are, I daresay, higher quality. Now, you might lose your shirt on the shipping, but put together a sizable order, and you just might get some spicy bang for your buck. They have lots of tips and recipes, and (here's my favorite part) your order is packed in a box, not with Styrofoam peanuts or old newspapers, but bay leaves, cinnamon sticks, and nutmeg. How cool is that? Check out the gift boxes - you can get an assortment of stuff for beef lovers, cookie bakers, coffee drinkers, etc, etc, etc. Sounds pretty sweet to me. I haven't ordered yet, but if and when I do, I'll update you on the speed, service, and shipping. In the meantime, visit The Spice House, link at left.

The Tanker, Part Deux

Thought you might want to check out the guys' newest COH character, a Tanker named I-26....scroll down to compare to the real thing.

The Glaze

I am now going to share with you a nugget of culinary delight. This is an Alton Brown creation, and I am passing it on to you, my readers (both of you, from what I can tell) because of its unadulterated deliciousness. This one's a keeper. It is: The Glaze.

You will need:
1 whole vanilla bean
1 cup of brown sugar (AB says use dark, I use light, you take your pick)
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (three limes if you're Mark, four limes for everyone else)
A pinch of kosher salt

Split the bean and scrape out the seeds. Put the seeds and the pod in a small saucepan with the brown sugar, lime juice, and salt. Whisk together over medium-high heat until it comes to a boil. Remove from heat when the sugar has completely dissolved. Let sit for two hours. Remove the bean pod and store in an air-tight container in the fridge.

We've used The Glaze on beef. We've used it on pork. We've used it on salmon. We haven't used it on chicken yet, but give us time. It was designed to be used on grilled pineapple, and I imagine it's pretty darn good there too. It would probably be good on an old shingle. It has the most unique flavor I've ever tasted.

The vanilla bean makes it kind of expensive, but it goes a long way and it keeps a long time. So make yourself up a batch and start glazing away. You'll thank me later.

A Quiet Night at Home

Daniel helps Mom bake cookies...

Ben checks out Uncle Paul's blog...

Life is Good.

The Tanker

So, Mark and the boys love to play City of Heroes. They build different characters and then fight crime on the internet with them. One of the character types you can build is called a Tanker. Tankers are big bruiser types. Stocky. No neck. Take a lot of beating and keep coming back for more. It wasn't until a recent trip down I-26 near Asheville that we discovered Tankers were real...

What I'm Reading Now

Mom gave me a copy of the book First Light for Christmas. It's a collection of some of Sue Monk Kidd's early writings. She has now written two novels: The Secret Life of Bees, which was amazing, and The Mermaid Chair, which was not. But back in the day, she wrote a lot of devotions and essays and they have been collected and reprinted. Interestingly enough, in the introduction, she says she didn't want to do this book, fearing that she would be embarassed by her old writings. She feels she has moved past some of the ideas she used to embrace. So far, I'm thoroughly enjoying it and don't think she has embarassed herself even once.

I heard Mrs. Kidd speak at PC my sophomore year. She was there for a Baptist Student Union dinner, and I went with Laura Ballenger (now Foxhall). I remember I really liked what she said, although I can't recall a word of it now.

Last night I read a section about learning who God is through His creation. He is a God of process. He doesn't snap his fingers to make flowers bloom. Seeds must be planted. They must be watered. They must fight to break up through the soil. Then they grow and die and grow and die for several seasons before they finally bear fruit. God uses the same deliberate process in growing us to bear fruit. He doesn't snap his fingers when we pray for wisdom, or patience, or humilty. He grows it in us.

This same theme was echoed in the movie Evan Almighty. (Not as laugh-out-loud funny as its predecessor Bruce, but it had an equally good message about prayer.) When we pray that our families might grow stronger, God doesn't just blink and make us better families. God gives us the opportunity to draw closer together. What we do with that opportunity is up to us.

You know what I love?

I love the way British people say "aluminum".

Al-Lou-Men-Yum.

Kills me.

An Emily Post Post

The following story was recently told to me by a co-worker friend of mine:

Said friend is sitting in church, during the “sermonizing” portion of the evening line-up (it was a Wednesday night service). A woman near the front begins to cough. And cough. And cough. And then the coughing turned more into a choking sort of scenario, and finally erupted into the dreaded projectile vomiting. What happened next? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. The pastor did not so much as bat an eye, and kept right on preaching. A woman behind her offered up some Kleenex (which is a bit like urinating on a forest fire if you ask me) and a guy sitting near my friend leaned over and said “You don’t see THAT every day.” But otherwise, nothing.

So my question is this: should a worship service continue unabated when something like this occurs? It’s not like she vomited politely into her purse and no one knew it happened. My friend was all the way in the back and he knew it happened. She clearly could have used some assistance. What’s the etiquette here?

Comments are welcome.

Southern Belly

Mark got me a great book for Christmas. Southern Belly (John T. Edge) is "the ultimate food lover's companion to the south." Originally published in 2000, it has been revised and re-released in paperback. It's not a restaurant guide by any means; rather, it's a collection of writings about those places that aren't on the map, but you love to direct visitors and new neighbors to in your home town. Hole-in-the-wall kinds of places that, for whatever reason, have the best food on the planet, even if you feel like you need a shower when you leave.

Some items featured in the book that I recognized from personal experience: Duke's Mayonnaise, Cromer's P-nuts, The Varsity, The Beacon, Jestine's Kitchen, Maurice Bessinger's Piggie Park, and Blenheim Ginger Ale.

Why no haunts from my particular neck of the woods, you ask? As soon as I opened the book, I immediately went to the Tennessee Chapter, looking for the East Tennessee offerings. Where was the Ridgewood Bar-B-Que? The Pal's? The place in Elizabethton who's name always escapes me? Not there. Not a one. You know what was the one and only attraction listed for Johnson City, Tennessee? Dr. Enuf. What the ??? I was bitterly disappointed. Some Bean Barn place in Greeneville got notice, but who wants to drive to Greeneville?

It did remind me of a funny story, though. My brother and his buddy-in-law Kyle came up a few years back to retrieve a couch. Kyle was excited because while here, he and Paul were going to eat lunch at this place he was really excited about. "And where is that?" I asked, expecting to hear Ridgewood, Pardner's, Pals, or the like. "Krystal." What the ???

Ironically, while none of the places in Tennessee I would pick for a book on the southern belly of the food world made it in, do you know what did? Krystal. What the ???

Creme Brulee

For the entirety of 2006, I was unemployed. During that time, I did two significant things. First, I wrote a book - that's a topic for another blog. Second, I learned how to cook. I'd been "cooking" since I got married, but not well, not without a recipe, and not things that didn't come out of a box. But now I cook all the time - I love it! I love being in the kitchen and I love trying new things.

Some new things that have been successful:

Chocolate chip cookies - Ok, it's not new, but I can honestly say, with the help of Alton Brown, I have perfected the chocolate chip cookie. My sister-in-law had to bake cookies recently for a school function, and she outsourced them to me. I was so flattered.....

Roast chicken - Kudos to the Barefoot Contessa - a whole four-five pound chicken costs about $5 - throw in drinks and some veggies, and you've got a great meal for a family of four for about $2.50 a head. Can't beat that.

Pork Extravaganza - Affectionately named by my brother-in-law. Wrap a brined pork tenderloin in bacon. Don't check your cholesterol for at least a week.

Roast Turkey - Had the in-laws over for Christmas dinner for the first time EVER. Roasted a turkey for the first time EVER (I figured it was just slightly more difficult than the chicken). Perfection the first time out. Couldn't believe my good fortune. (I had frozen pizzas on hand, just in case.)

But in the midst of all this success, I have had some hum-dinger failures:

Lemon Curd - never sets up. NEVER!!!!!! Tastes good, but it's basically lemon soup, and who wants that?

Some chicken in a pan thing that I invented that was so awful, I didn't name it - I almost burned the kitchen down, and it still wasn't done. How is that possible?

Explosive Banana Bread - I bought self-rising flour by accident, and didn't know it until three (THREE!) banana breads literally exploded in the oven.

So what's on deck for 2008?

Peanut Butter Cookies - Mark has asked that I perfect this cookie as well. One of his favorites. I have a recipe that I have tweaked a few times, but it isn't perfect yet.

Standing Rib Roast - so very Old English Christmas Dinnerish. Which means I have all year to get this one right.

Creme Bruleee - Mark and the boys got me a creme brulee kit for Christmas. I think they were entranced by the idea that it actually contained a blow torch. Mark started me off small by buying two mixes to go along with the kit (I think he didn't want be ruining perfectly good milk and eggs until I'd had some basic practice). The first was OK - I haven't gotten the hang of crystallizing the sugar (although Ben, who is ten, does it perfectly - go figure). I made a chocolate variety last night - again with the sugar, but the chocolately part was DELICIOUS. Good enough to make we want to try to make it from scratch. Wish me luck!

I'll be tracking my successes and failures with creme brulee and other burned things as times goes by. Hope you enjoy it along with me!

This is me.....

This is me. And a really big frog.

I'm a blogger. I blog now.

I've been plugged into the borg. Assimilated. I'm a blogger. I blog now. I don't know what the word "blog" really means. It sounds like a symptom of something really, really bad ("Gees, I've got these big, red BLOGS all over...) or something that would require wooden shoes. At any rate, we'll see how it goes. Welcome. Come back soon.