Success: Roasted Asparagus with Shallots

Sunday, February 19, 2012

This recipe for roasted asparagus with shallots from AllRecipes was sort of selected out of necessity: I had a bunch of asparagus, a couple leftover shallots, and my vegetable steamer was on loan elsewhere. It doesn't get much simpler than tossing the asparagus and sliced shallots with some olive oil and red wine vinegar, then roasting for 20 minutes. The asparagus come out with a slightly browned head, and soft-inside firm-outside stems. Sort of the perfect level of chewiness.

Simple to put together and easy enough to keep the ingredients on hand, this one's a keeper.

How To: Circle Skirts Tutorial

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

As the last post announces, I made some circle skirts for a bunch of friends' performance of a musical. I was able to produce four of these in five hours or so, without too much fuss, and thought I'd share my methods. I'm essentially combining the wisdom from three other circle skirt tutorials (see indietutes, Fickle Sense, and Made). So, yes, tutorials for circle skirts have been done and redone and done again. But I make prettier diagrams (ahem), so there's that.

Anyways, these directions hinge on the fact that you have 2 yards of 55-60" wide fabric (divide the width by 2, and that's the longest skirt you'll be able to get). Of course, if the skirt is a little short, you can compensate with a longer waistband, or follow the tutorial from indietutes on how to make a circle skirt with two half-pieces or see the instructions from Fickle Sense for making a 3/4 circle skirt, and a 1/2 circle skirt (it's really just a change in the hip radius and some fabric-cutting).

Just a warning: these skirts comes out twirly. If you make a full circle skirt, when you spin, the skirt will come out completely horizontally around you. So, unless you intend to give the world a different kind of show, you should maybe keep the ballroom dancing to a minimum ;)

...with new pistons, plugs, and shocks...

Sunday, February 12, 2012

That depressed flower there is all that remains of a very silly musical put on by some very silly computer scientists. I know that sounds like a terrible premise, but computer scientists can be high school thespians, too. Although the low-budget low-time-commitment production value really put their abilities under a microscope, I think everyone emerged relatively unscathed, if not better than unscathed.

With Jim weaseling his way into the part of the second male lead, I volunteered to produce the necessary accent costumes which really only consisted of four circle skirts. Oh, well, circle skirts and some of the stupidest "robot hats" the world has ever seen. Note for others: if you hand me a roll of aluminum foil, cardboard, & duct tape, and then show me inspiration photos from the 1927 movie "Metropolis" the final product will be some of the stupidest hats ever made. This is just how life is.

In an expected twist of fate, I also added "spotlight operator" to my repertoire that night. And as I was busy blinding half the cast for sporadic periods of the two hour show, none of the photographs here are my own, they all belong to various audience and cast members (either Kami or Sven, as it turns out).


As usual, faces have been blurred to protect the innocent from being ridiculed for wearing my robot hats.

A flashy version of the swirly, whirly circle skirt. I had to inform the women that if they spin too quickly we won't be able to allow children into the theater.

Pittsburghers, do you see what I did there?.

Bringing amazing new insights to the field of spotlightery (I make myself laugh).

Do you see? Do you see the reappearance of the yeti leg warmers? A comical accessory.

P.S. Nothing is quite as endearing as watching your boyfriend sing a song about all the ways his new car is going to get him laid.

...and who doesn't enjoy watching a bunch of people in their late 20s pretend to be high schoolers?

Success: Southwest Style Brisket + friends

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

So. About that Crock Pot. I put it to good use with SmittenKitchen's southwestern pulled brisket, along with the recommended green onion slaw and quick pickled onions. And we shall now spend the next six meals feasting on beef brisket, red cabbage, and vinegar onions.

Final remarks: intermediate-level effort required, then followed by three days of lazily stuffing oneself with tasty, spicy brisket tacos. I would maybe cut down a little of the chili powder next time.

With the food cooking without intervention, we were good to set off on the epic distraction that is the 9 hour Lord of the Rings trilogy movie marathon. 'Perfect use for a slow cooker.

2012: The Year of the Crock Pot

Sunday, February 5, 2012

The joys of slow cookers are shouted from the tops of mountains by those of the 9-5 class, "I put it in the Crock Pot in the morning, and when I come home at 6pm, dinner is done!" The problem with this, is that I do not work 9-5. My work schedule is so flexible, it's best described as 11am-11pm, with working hours sporadically dispersed throughout that 12 hour time period. And this is how I foresee myself waking up ~3 hours before I usually do to perform slow cooking prep work.

Welcome to 2012, the year of the Crock Pot.

In which I admit I'm in love with my Facebook map

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

If you've switched your Facebook account to Timeline view, you can add photos to your map, so all your stalkers can track your every move! It's kinda breathtaking to see a lifetime's worth of travel in one image. It makes me wonder if 'travel the world' was some unspoken life goal of mine. And then I achieved it without really thinking about it.

Now, to conquer the southern hemisphere!

Recipe: DIY Quiche

Sunday, January 29, 2012

I'm a big fan of quiches. There's a preferred recipe that I've made about 10 times in the past two years, and it's very easy to make variations of. The one photographed below happens to be a broccoli-mushroom-onion-redPepper quiche, but you could do any sort of combination. Whatever's sitting in your fridge and needs to go!

Everything But The Kitchen Sink Quiche Recipe
1. Pie Crust (I use the one from the original recipe)

2. Variable Content
Enough veggies or [cooked] meat to loosely fill the pie crust. Some ideas:

• 6 slices crispy, cooked bacon; 4 stalks green onion, sliced, white and green parts included; 1/3 cup chopped flat leaf parsley, finely chopped (from the original recipe)
• 1 Head of Broccoli, chopped; 1 Small Yellow Onion, diced; 1/2 a Red Pepper, chopped; A handful of sliced mushrooms
• A random combination of vegetables or cooked meat that you enjoy. Just make sure not to overpack the quiche!

3. Standard Egg/Milk Mixture
3 eggs, beaten
1.5 cups milk
Pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

4. Variable Cheese Topping
1 cup shredded cheese (I prefer Swiss, but Cheddar or nearly anything else would work, too)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Prepare pie crust (refrigerate).
3. Cut up vegetables, and cook any meat being used.
4. Toss the vegetables & meat together, and place into pie crust. Ensure that the veggie/meat filling is packed very loosely and is no higher than the walls of the crust.
5. Whisk together the eggs, milk, salt, and pepper until combined. Pour over the vegetables & meat in the pie crust.
6. Spread the shredded cheese over the top of the quiche.
7. Cook 45 minutes, or until a majority of the cheese topping has lightly browned.
8. Let cool before serving (I've learned this one from experience).

Enjoy!