by | September 27, 2010 · 7:56 am

A Peachy Day!

Happy National Pancake Day!!! Did you have any idea it was NPD? Lucky for me, the first thing I do in the morning is get my coffee, then read the blogs that I follow, and Heather had mentioned it and made her pancake breakfast. I looked around my kitchen and decided that I would make Peach Pie Oatmeal pancakes.

Peach Pie Oatmeal Pancakes  – Printable recipe HERE
Ingredients:
1/2 of a cup of quick-cook rolled oats
1/2 of a cup of whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons of baking soda
A pinch of salt
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
1 1/3 cups of soymilk
1 large peach, diced
1 large peach, sliced, for garnish
  1. Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.
  2. Add the soymilk and blend together (It will look watery, but the oats absorb the extra moisture).
  3. Stir in the diced peaches.
  4. While waiting for the batter to thicken, put the sliced peaches in a greased pan over medium heat to caramelize.
Caramelization!

5.  After the pancake batter has thickened (about two minutes), set a greased frying pan over medium heat. (I grease mine with a canola oil spray)
6.  Plop a heaping tablespoon of the batter into the pan and flip when the tops look semi-dry.

I love the caramelized edges of the peaches peeking through!

7.  Flip the peaches that are caramelizing in the other pan, then top the finished pancakes with them.
8.  Drizzle with honey and INHALE!

Inhalation is best done with a beautiful view.
     My morning was pretty much completely amazing. Eating stacks of fluffy, fruity pancakes can do that to mornings, I’ve found. After breakfast, I headed off for a full shift at work. I arrived and opened the cabinet where I keep my purse, and found the most amazing surprise EVER!
My friend who works at Godiva gave me FOUR chocolate covered strawberries! Those things cost six million dollars apiece!!! I’m so spoiled!
     I went out to Paciugo with my new coworker and tried out a new flavor, Vanilla Raspberry Swirl. Hi, my name is Becki, and I have an addiction. The last time I had gelato was at 12:13pm today.
     Lunch was a mini spicy tuna roll with brown rice, followed by a trip to Williams Sonoma, and some light reading.
Yes, those are all of Williams Sonoma’s spices compiled into a pamphlet, which I read cover to cover. I’m weird.
     Speaking of reading, yesterday I finally finished the latest book I’ve been going through.
“Never Let Me Go” by Kazuo Ishiguro. I had to read it before I see the movie. I’m not quite sure how I feel about this one…
Have you read it yet? What are your thoughts?
 
     I got home after work to a home cooked meal! My roommates appreciated my pancake-mastering this morning that they made dinner!
They made peach-ginger baked chicken with grilled vegetables on the side. That black stuff on the left is onions, zucchini, eggplant and green beans that have been grilled in a mesh pan until DELICIOUS. Don’t let the lack of color freak you out!
     I’m enjoying a glass of Hard Core red wine, a mix of 29% Mourvedere, 24% Grenache, 27% Syrah, and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon. It’s a random blend, but deliciously spicy and fruity at the same time! Tomorrey I have to head to work at 9am, then I get to bail out early to head to an audition for a web series, and continue on to Dan and Malachi’s for wine tasting and risotto making!
Did you celebrate National Pancake Day? What kind did you make?

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by | September 24, 2010 · 7:51 am

Tangy Turkey Tostadas!

     Today will be a recipe post. That is all. Maybe…

I lied. It’s now officially fall! 
Chai lattes, bring on your merciless wrath! I surrender!

     Anyway, without further ado, I present to you:

Tangy Turkey Tostadas: 
(adapted from Light & Tasty magazine, June 2004)
1 and 1/4 pounds of lean ground turkey
1/2 cup of chopped onion
1 cup chopped bell pepper (the more colors you add, the prettier the final product!)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
3/4 cup of sliced mushrooms
1 can (16 oz.) of kidney beans, drained
1 cup salsa
1 can (4 oz.) chopped green chiles
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup of frozen corn
A few corn tostadas, browned in the oven
Shredded cheese
Sriracha
Fun, random toppings: guacamole, tomatoes, lettuce, dark chocolate M&Ms…
Mis en Place! I LOVE having my ingredients all set up and ready to go!
1. In a HUGE pan (I choose to use a large pot since I tend to generously overestimate most of the ingredients…) brown the turkey over medium heat until it’s no longer pink. Drain all the excess liquid.
2. Add the onions, bell peppers and garlic and cook until tender – about 4 minutes.
3. Stir in the sliced mushrooms and cook for another minute.
4. Add in the kidney beans, salsa, green chiles, chili powder, cumin, and salt. Let it sit to heat through about 5 minutes.
5. Mix in the frozen corn (I dump a crapload in, just because it really adds some intense flavor and sweetness to the mix.) and add a squeeze of Sriracha. Be careful with this – it can be overwhelming and PAINFULLY hot if you add too much!
6. After the mixture has fully heated through, start setting up!
     I like to liberally sprinkle cheese on top of a tostada, then put the mix on top, add even MORE cheese and top with shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes and guacamole. A little extra Sriracha can’t hurt either… well it CAN, but I add it anyway!
Voila! A glass of merlot really helps round out the meal.
     Tostada history: My junior year in high school, I went to my best friend’s house for dinner. Her mom had made these tostadas and I fell head over heels for them: This was at a time where I was having massive amounts of ice cream for dinner, and Hot Pocket’s Pizza Stix every day for lunch. Healthy was NOT in my vocabulary. Anyway, I fell in love and I hounded her for WEEKS until she shared the magazine article that she’d gotten the recipe from. For six years now, Tangy Turkey Tostadas have been a major recurring character in my life.
     What recipes have you discovered and adopted into your recipe-vocabulary?

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Filed under chai latte, high school, Light Tasty magazine, tangy turkey tostadas, tostadas

by | September 22, 2010 · 9:46 am

One Hundred Posts!!!

     This is my 100th post! That happened really fast! I was hoping to do something epic, but I’ll just be going back to my roots: hiking and EATING!

It was beautiful and overcast the entire day!
We had a nice chilly hour-long hike.
The Monstas are back! This one had 6 cups of spinach, 1/4 of a cup of soymilk, 1/2 of a frozen banana, 2 stalks of asparagus and 1/4 of a cup of frozen blueberries.
For lunch today, I went to a local cafe with the roommate and we split a tuna sandwich on toasted rye with a side of potato salad and a piece of dry watermelon that I didn’t touch.
Our lovely lunch needed to be rounded out with chocolate. I had the most ridiculously thick, chocolatel-y brownie I’ve ever had in my entire life, and my roommate got a hot cafe mocha.
ART.
     I went over to my parental unit’s to meet up with my mom for our Tuesday pottery class :)!
Tonight was glazing! I glazed five pieces and spent the rest of the time trimming one for MY ONLY CONTEST WINNER so far!
There you go, Amanda and Andy! It should be glazed and fired in about 2 or 3 weeks 🙂
My mom hand painted/glazed this! She’s so talented!
I’m not quite as talented. I think they put that sign up after I joined class…
     After class, we started heading home but I was distracted by the beautiful bright lights of this place!

BURGERS!!!! This magical land is called Five Guys Burgers and Fries. The lights have a gravitational pull. I tried to avoid it, but I have no control over scientific facts! GRAVITATIONAL PULL!
Hello baby cheeseburger and fries! These fries are awesome! They’re made from actual potatoes with the skins on – magic!
     Here’s something new: I tried to make one of those chocolate-cakes-in-a-mug two nights ago. How did it turn out, you ask? Here’s a little photo essay for you.
Looks good so far!
Puffing up, just like it’s supposed to!
And it turned into a baseball. Just like it’s… supposed to?
Yeah, this was a big fail. I microwaved it way too long and it was very dry and tasted like cocoa-scented dirt. I do not recommend.

    Post-class, it was pilot night! We watched a new pilot that I was in for – “Raising Hope” – I was up for the role that went to Bijou Phillips. Hilarious show! I hope it gets the viewers and ratings it deserves!
For you guys who haven’t entered to win the last two pieces of pottery, all you have to do is leave a comment on my blog about why you need a piece of pottery, then put a link to my blog on your Twitter!

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Filed under brownie, cake in a cup, Five Guys Burgers, green monster, hike, local cafe, mocha, potato salad, Pottery, Two Boos Who Eat

by | September 20, 2010 · 3:37 am

Beer Tasting and Homemade Pizza!

     Last night, I went over to the boys’ place for beer tasting and homemade pizza! I stopped by BevMo on my way into town and was assisted by some incredibly knowledgeable, helpful workers who didn’t ignore me just because I look like I’m seventeen years old. Brownie points for that! I explained that I was trying to instill a sense of appreciation for beer in the minds of a certain gentleman who doesn’t like beer, and a certain gentleman who is satisfied drinking Pabst Blue Ribbon, and we picked out some hefeweizens, ambers, stouts and porters for the tasting.

From left to right: Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout, Napa Smith Amber Ale, Chelsea Moylan’s Porter, Boont Amber Ale and Franziskaner.
     Dan was busy chef-ing so we set the brews in the fridge to chill while I documented the cooking process.
What is that, you ask? Let’s take a closer look.
SCISSOR-BACON OF COURSE!!! Dan got all fancy on us!
     Since the boys were busy chopping, cutting and sauteing, I decided to treat them to a little serenade.
That note I’m playing right there is an L-flat.
I have no idea how to play the guitar.
     We started our tasting with the Franziskaner.
I got a little excited and poured much too fast. Whoops.
I taught the guys how to fully appreciate a good beer. Let’s go through the steps:
  1. First, hold the beer up to a light so you can see the color. (Having 1. First is kind of redundant, isn’t it? My bad.)
  2. Second (see what I’m doing here? Calling back to my first mistake?), smell the brew and see what scents you can pick up right away.
  3. Third (okay, I’ll stop now…), give the beer a good swirl in the glass, just like wine. This opens it up and the carbonation helps release some other notes you wouldn’t have noticed before.
  4. Smell the beer one last time and see if you can distinguish anything new post-swirling.
  5. Take a sip. Let it flow over your tongue and notice the carbonation, the flavors and the finish.

     Malachi, the non-beer-enjoyer, actually liked the Franziskaner! He specifically said, “I like this!”. I was quite thrilled. Dan liked it as well, but I think he was just happy to have some free beer – he’s obviously not picky since he can drink PBR. Up next was the Boont Amber Ale.

This one was delicious! It had very strong notes of caramel in both the smell and flavor, and just a hint of sweetness.
     Dan finished his masterpiece pizza while Malachi julienned some mint to put atop our salads, and we sat down for feasting.
OH EM GEE PEET ZAAA!
Freaking delicious! This was made with Trader Joe’s Garlic & Herb Pizza Dough, and topped with alfredo sauce, chicken, bacon, and copious amounts of wonderful cheese.
Utter joy!
The Napa Smith Amber came next. This one wasn’t my favorite – a little too light and watery tasting, not very memorable at all.
     We moved ahead to the Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout, one of my favorites, which was liked by Dan, but not by “I don’t like coffee OR beer. Bwaaaaaa!”-Malachi. After sampling the stout, we had some of the Chelsea Moylan’s porter – this one had the same espresso taste as the stout, but was a lot smoother to drink. That, or I’d already had the equivalent of a beer and a half and was starting to feel tipsy and not as studious as I should have been. That may have been it…
Yeah, that was definitely it…
On a random note, here’s a lamp that Malachi made!

     We played a rousing game of Pimps & Hoes (also known as Egyptian Ratscrew), then decided to head out to do some location scouting for a top-secret-insanely-awesome-epic film that Dan and Malachi are working on. DISCLAIMER: We did not drive after drinking. Every single place we went was on foot!!!

Well, hello Dan, with your fancy-schmancy camera standing in a dark creeper parking lot at 10:30pm beneath a ghetto street lamp.
We crossed back over the highway (my first time walking over a highway! I’m from Colorado, what do you expect?), and headed over to The Fox and Hound’s for some live music.
There was a Beatles cover band playing. It was pretty awful – after every song, they would drunkenly thank each other in character, “Thank you, Ringo. Paul, did you write that one? Cheers, mate!” until they realized that they should probably start playing another song.
We ignored them the best we could and started taking some more random pictures.
Malachi was not pleased with the bands’ creepy wigs and ramblings.
I also put my wristband to use! ID and credit card secure and no purse concerns!
Thanks, Banjees!
     We waltzed back over to the boys’ place and made an impromptu movie about magic card tricks.
You’ll have to wait for Dan or Malachi to edit this and blackmail me on YouTube. 
It was quite epic.
     We dug up some dirty laundry and watched a few films that Dan and Malachi had made in school, an old Lonelygirl15 video in which I carry a riding crop (!!!), and then Malachi took ownership over Dan’s Facebook and Google account and left comments for everyone in the entire world– one is viewable on my blog under yesterday’s post! We finally passed out around 3:30am.
It was a good night.
     I woke up this morning with only a slight headache, drank massive amounts of water and sat in on a pre-production meeting for the upcoming top-secret-insanely-awesome-epic film, then headed off to meet my friend Tanya for lunch.
Tanya recently became a vegan, so we went to Vegan World, a cute little hole-in-the-wall restaurant in the middle of a shopping center in Studio City.
I got the pad thai with mixed vegetables and a thai tea. The food was wonderful, but there was just too much on the plate! The waitress looked worried when she came to our table and asked us if there was anything wrong with the meal – we reassured her that it was wonderful and got doggie bags.
     I found a friend on my car after lunch! Everyone, meet Harris:
A PRAYING MANTUS!!! I think he read my recent blog post about putting him in hot dogs and came to threaten me. We talked it over and it’s all good now.
Don’t forget to enter the pottery giveaway! Just leave a comment saying why you need a piece of my deformed pottery, then link to my blog on your Twitter or Facebook 🙂

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Filed under beer, beer tasting, Dan, filming, lonelygirl15, Malachi, pizza, praying mantus, Studio City, The Fox and Hound's, Trader Joe's

by | September 18, 2010 · 5:55 am

OFFICIAL Pottery Giveaway!!!

     I swear I will finally get the giveaway started, but first let’s have a quick recap of my past few days.

Massive protein breakfasts before work! This had a chicken-apple sausage that was browned in a mini-skillet, then I poured one scrambled egg on top and covered it until it was set.
A single serving of backyard barbeque chips. This is what I resort to when I’m being driven crazy with boredom at work and haven’t eaten in two hours. Plus, it has “even more barbeque”! How could I say no??
Today was the beginning of my three day weekend! I celebrated with my first pumpkin latte of the season! With soy, of course.
It was also my LAST pumpkin latte of the season: much too sweet and I wasn’t even able to finish it. 
I have my newest fashion statement: an awesome new Sprigs Banjees wristband-wallet that I got from REI. REI IS MY MECCA!
There also happens to be an indian buffet across the street from REI, making it EVEN MORE AWESOME!!!
     I also visited (GASP!) a DIFFERENT gelato place today! I went to Melt, another gelato chain, and decided to compare it to Paciugo.
Melt = Gelato FAIL! I’m so grossed out by you guys that I won’t even LINK you! How ’bout them apples? I got a scoop of peanut butter/chocolate chip. It was $3.50 (!!!) for a single flavor, and was grainy, overly thick and gooey – and not in a good way. I had a quarter of this before I threw it away. Paciugo, I promise I shall never stray again!
     Now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for! I’ll be giving away THREE of my awesome pottery pieces. These are the three I’ve selected:
I’m sorry.
     If you want some crappy pieces of pottery, here’s what you need to do: Tell me exactly why you need these ridiculous, misshapen and off-balance pieces of pottery, and link to this blog post on your Twitter/Facebook.
     
     That’s right! I’m USING you guys to gain readership, and I’m not ashamed! Bwahahahaha! I’ll pick the three best responses one week from today, on September 24th, and ask for your color preferences for the piece you select. If I’ve already glazed it by then, I’m afraid you’ll have to deal with whatever amazing combination of colors that I’ve used. Hey, it’s a free piece of deformed pottery – I think you can forgive, right?
     Let the amazing comments COMMENCE! And don’t forget to link to this post 🙂

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Filed under Banjees, buffet, Indian Food, Paciugo, Pottery, pumpkin latte, REI, Sprigs

by | September 15, 2010 · 9:57 am

Eating Rats on a Hobo-Train!

     Yesterday’s recap: Hike…

Pretty!
Even more pretty!
     …Kitchen Sink Salad:
Healthy!
     …and work.
My thought exactly, young grasshopper.
     Today, I had an audition in LA, so I drove out a little earlier and met up with some handsome dudes for fooding.
Malachi and Dan! I’m so lucky! Le sigh 🙂
We went to an old abandoned train, prepared to eat whatever creatures we may find: rats, mice, praying mantuses (mantii?), all roasted over a hobo-fire.
Alas, our abandoned train had been taken over by chefs and customers! AAAAAAAH!
Turns out, this train that was abandoned on Ventura Blvd. was transformed into some ridiculously famous restaurant called Carney’s. Don’t worry though, they still serve hot dogs, which I’m pretty sure contain rats, mice and praying mantuses/mantii. 
DELICIOUS rats, mice and praying mantuses/mantii!
I was a little too frightened to have a hot dog, so I stuck with the safe choice – cheeseburger with everything on it and a small side of fries. Yesssss!
These fries are healthily fried! Is there such a thing? I think so!
Carney’s has EIGHT trained food handlers to make sure that your rat meat is fully cooked!
Malachi didn’t believe that they served rat meat. He was quite certain that the hot dogs contained “sweet crumb cakes and peppered snake’s wang!” He reenacts that here.
     After a delicious meal of grilled something-or-other, we headed over to BevMo! so I could show the guys some examples of good craft brews, since Dan is partial to PBR and Corona, and Malachi has learned about beer from Dan’s choices (c’mon, Dan!). We’ve decided that on Saturday I’ll be bringing a pack of the best craft brews I know over to their place where we’ll have a tasting and make some homemade pizza. Any of my beer-genius readers have any beer suggestions for me to share with them? 
Malachi…
Dan doing a “Shake your Face”. Sorry Dan, I had to post it 🙂
William Shatner. No words needed.
Billy, I’m not looking forward to your show. Sorry.
     I went to my audition over in Los Feliz. It took me thirty minutes to find the building and room, and two minutes to get through the audition. I got to smash lots of things and get angry. It was awesome. It’s also fun to scan down the sign-in sheet and see who’s already been in to audition that I know – apparently one of the guys who was also in the pilot of “Left at the Altar” (same pilot, not the same segment as me) had been in a few hours earlier. HI, GIB!
     I fought some crazy traffic to get over to my parental unit’s home, just in time to head to pottery class! Of course my mom and I had to get a little snack first to get our blood sugars up!
I got 5 ounces of red velvet, cupcake and cookies and cream topped with cookie dough, peanut butter cups and a piece of brownie. Oof.
Yes, this is pottery class. It’s a good way to get the creative juices flowing! I had a small mug of prosecco. Yum!
Today, I was kind of off. I blame my exhaustion from driving and eating rats/mice/praying mantii.
I think my rats/mice/praying mantii may have been undercooked… That is the only explanation for this monstrosity.
     Now I’m relaxing while sipping a pumpkin ale and watching reruns of “The Office”. I needed it to help cure my sorrows from the bowl above. 
OH HEY! Who wants this bowl when I’m done???   
😀  

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Filed under Carney's, cheeseburger, Dan, frozen yogurt, hot dogs, Malachi, Pottery class, prosecco

by | September 13, 2010 · 8:27 am

New Passport and Pumpkin Ale!

     I had a full night of rest and, unfortunately for your reading enjoyment, am completely sane today. Therefore, today will be a dull post, full of relatively healthy food and PUMPKIN ALE!!!

Movie Theatre Breakfast!!! I had a Monsta made by the roommate that had 5 cups of spinach, 4 sprigs of asparagus, 1/3 of a cup of unsweetened soymilk, 1/3 of a banana, 1/3 of a cup of frozen blueberries and 1 lime. (THIS IS NOT THE MOVIE THEATRE PART!)
I then made a single whole-grain oatmeal pancake (HEALTHY!) with 1/2 of a cup of rolled oats, 1/2 of a teaspoon of baking soda, a pinch of salt and 1/3 of a cup of almond milk, then mixed in a crapload of Sno-Caps. They seemed necessary. They proceeded to rock my world!
     I got to work around 10:30am after rocking out to Ke$ha in the car (I also strut to Ke$ha in the mall during my break. She’s got a good beat for speedwalking with a purpose. Deal with it.), and started the day with a trip to Paciugo. Gelato is necessary in the early morning. I promised you a gander (what a lovely word!) through the Paciugo passport, so here we go!
I’ll be adding a photo as soon as I print one out. I’m that serious about this. 
My answers: Innie. Sweet. Gelato. Neat. POP – Yeah, Midwest!
I cannot decide, guys. Ninja or pirate? There are so many great qualities of both, but I think I lean more towards ninja…
Here are all the stamp opportunities. If you bring a date, you get a free cup of coffee and a stamp. High-five the cashier, you get a stamp. Wear mismatched socks? STAMP! Is it raining outside? STAMP! Show your best dance move to the cashier and STAMP!
Vicky and I have been trying to figure out a way to combine every single thing in this passport all on the same day. We figure that we’ll wait for a rainy day, wear mismatched socks while dragging a hot guy with us to Paciugo, perform some epic dance that will likely involve tribal bellydance on my part, then high-five the cashier when he gives us our free gelato. Sounds like a plan to me!

     Griffin was having a craving for pizza today, and since he shared that thought with me, I was as well. We went to Sbarro for a slice. After gazing at the selection of different pies with congealed cheese coagulating on top, I decided on a slice of the Hawaiian. They generously reheated it in the oven for a minute before handing it to me.
Mmmm, slightly less congealed pizza!
Griffin wasn’t as disturbed by his slice…
     I spent the remainder of the day hanging out with some coworkers and pretending like I cared about my job by DOING stuff (I made some people believe that I was actually trying! That’s how good of an actor I am!). By the time we closed, I was only slightly psychotic from exhaustion, and from reenacting my being chased by extremely short zombies the night before for all my coworkers. I drove home and was greeted by a home-cooked meal:
Steamed asparagus, smashed potatoes with chimichurri sauce, and grilled chicken marinated in lime juice and honey. OH! And a pumpkin ale! YAY!
(My roommate spoils me. Massively.)
     Now, I’m watching Pay It Forward and preparing for what I’m sure will be a ridiculously depressing scene at the end (I say predicting, but I actually know having seen this once before). EDIT: Yep, it was definitely as depressing as I recall. Tissues, please.
I still have no idea what to do for a giveaway! Give me time… or ideas 🙂
And a happy website suggestion would be good too. Sniff.

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Filed under chimichurri, green monster, Griffin, Pancake Sunday, Pay It Forward, pizza, pumpkin ale, Sbarro, Sno-Caps

by | September 12, 2010 · 11:51 am

My Pet Hanger, Stan, and How I Lost My Brain!

     Today was ridiculous. Not ridiculous in a, “duuuuude, this wave is totally ridiculously rad!”, but more in a “why is this ridiculous spike sticking into my head while I run around in circles with only socks on?” Exactly. My post will make as much sense as the preceding sentence.

     The day started off innocently enough. I woke up early and hit the trail for my first hike in what feels like forever!

We had a beautiful, 70 degree hike down the hill.
On the way, we saw a DEER!
I was understandably excited.
     The hike was quite intense, and I felt that the best way to refuel would be to hit up an Indian buffet and get a ridiculous amount of food. This ridiculous is the good type.
Spicy chicken vindaloo, chicken tikka masala, veggie-punch-in-the-face-it’s-so-spicy dish, and fried green somethings. It was all amazing, as were the two pieces of garlic naan I used to scoop up all the sauce. AND the gajar halwa (carrot-butter pudding) I had after.
     Then came work. I was scheduled for a full shift, and had to work until 11pm. ELEVEN PEE EM! It all began to go downhill around 5pm. Vicky and I headed out to Paciugo to get hopped up on sugar, and discovered that Paciugo is now offering even MORE opportunities to get free gelato!
PACIUGO PASSAPORTO!!! I got a small with amaretto chocolate chip, rocky road, and peanut butter cookies ‘n milk. Tomorrey, we’ll explore the innards of the passport. It’s extremely amazing!
     About two hours later, I was really starting to lose it. There were no customers in the store, and even fewer employees (“But that’s impossible!” you say!) and I decided it was time for me to adopt a lonely hanger that had ended up at my counter, abandoned by the evil consumer who ripped it from its shirt-brother and discarded it like an empty plastic hanger.
Everyone, meet Stan. Stan, everyone.
And yes, I realize that by now I had completely lost it.
No, I think HERE was where I’d completely lost it.
Vicky was frightened, but she learned to accept Stan for what he is. This is why I love her.
     Vicky, Stan and I headed upstairs for the employee potluck lunch. This lunch consisted of fried chicken, barbeque chips and Coke®. It hurt. So good. After we’d parted ways (Vicky and me, not Stan and me), I received a text message from Malachi. Our insane brain-candy conversation follows:
Malachi: Boo i’m feeling antsy and all my friends are unavailable and it’s saturday night and dan took the car so now i’m just going to sit here doing nothing which i already did all day SON OF A BALLS thanks for letting me vent.
Me: I’m at work till 11pm and i made friends with a hanger and named him stan and took pictures of him for my blog which i will post at 1am.
Malachi: Sounds like you’ve already reached madness. Save me a seat, i’ll be there soon as well.
Malachi again: I’m drowning my sorrows in pepsi and the economist.
Me: I have coke. Not the good coke either. Soda form, not powder. (Disclaimer: I do not use/condone drug use. They will drain the blood from your body and replace it with swamp water and you will die slowly and painfully. So don’t do them!)
Malachi: Ugh. You could always dehydrate the coke, distill it to powder form, and shoot that up your nose.
Me: I need a quick fix idea, not scientific conundrums that take weeks to execute.
Malachi: You can’t rush good science. And every druggie has the rigors of the scientific method to thank.
Me: My problem must be that my addiction isn’t so intense that i appreciate the rigoroditty of the process.
Malachi: As Newton said, and Einstein agreed, ‘rigoraditty is the keystone of scientoriousness’. (Malachi, you misspelled rigoroditty. LAME!)
Me: What is easier to make fun of… A comatose ninja, a comatose pirate, or a small child with ADHD whom you fuel with soda, then tie to a chair and throw popcorn at? (Before you hate me for being an evil child abuser, please remember that I have at this point befriended a hanger and might not be all there…)
Malachi: You are past madness. You are traversing space, time, universe.
Me: There is nothing wrong with desiring to throw puffy food stuffs at children. (See guys, I didn’t recommend we throw anvils at them or anything!)
Malachi: …textual silence…
     This correspondence occupied a good half hour of my time, in which I sauntered around the dark, empty mall and got a makeover a la Vicky. I then proceeded to sprint around the dark, empty mall, pretending to be chased my extremely short zombies, and ended my spazz-out with a cup of lemon pudding cake.
CAKE IN A CUP! And some patriotic mints!
     I apologize if this post has traumatized you in any way. These spazz-outs may occur once in awhile, especially if I’m forced to work insane hours with only a hanger to talk to.
     On a semi-normal note:
I FOUND ME THE PUMPKIN ALE!!!
I shall imbibe tomorrey evening after…work. Le sigh.

8 Comments

Filed under buffet, cake in a cup, DEER, gelato, hanger, hike, Indian Food, Paciugo, potluck, Stan

by | September 11, 2010 · 8:58 am

Ladyface Date Night!

     Today, I had one goal in mind when I woke up: HAPPY HOUR DATE NIGHT! In preparation for such fantastical wonderment, I centered my day around it. It’s all about balance, baby!

My Monsta had SIX cups of spinach, 1/3 of a cup of unsweetened soymilk, 1/2 of a banana, 3 sprigs of fresh asparagus, 1/2 of a lemon and 1/2 of a lime, and 1/2 of a cup of frozen blueberries. POWERMONSTA!!!!
     I had four teeny-tiny hours at work today. I arrived with a big mug of coffee in my hand and a smile on my face. After those four hours, I left with an empty mug and a scowl. Grrr on you, retail!
I refueled with a mini-Kitchen Sink Salad. This had half of a bag of chopped lettuce, 1/4 of a chopped bell pepper, 1/2 of a cup of lentils and 1/2 of a carton of egg white salad. Just enough to tide me over until dinner, and just enough health to cancel out what comes next!
We went to Ladyface Alehouse and Brasserie (What is a brasserie? I’m too lazy/exhausted to look it up!) for happy hour. This was my first time being here, and most definitely not my last!
The fermentation process takes place in the middle of the restaurant! Next time I go here, I will most definitely ask for a tour of the brewery! And employment! If only I lived closer…
First things first: We got the Picture City Porter. This beer has a strong scent of coffee and a mild taste of chocolate. It’s very rich, but has only a small amount of carbonation. Aaaah, beer, I’ve missed you!
We split a pitcher. It was somewhat awesome.
After checking out the bar menu, we couldn’t agree on the type of pommes frites to get, so I ordered the garlic and herb with garlic mayo, and he got the Harissa spice. The garlic and herb fries were AMAZING! He ended up not being a fan of the Harissa spice (“They’re too spicy! I thought they’d taste smoky!”) and demolished the remains of my fries. Rawr.
The sliders came next. We got them medium-well (NOOOO SALMONELLA!!!!), and they came on the most fluffy, delicate little buns I’ve ever had. When I start working there, I’ll tell you what they actually consist of :).
We also got an order of bruschetta. I was trying to have an open mind, but I definitely do NOT enjoy eating fungi, and only recently began enjoying having tomatoes on my burgers, so these were a fail for me. Plus, the toasted bread almost chipped my tooth. Boo.
Obviously, the only way to make my teeth feel better was to have another beer. They were all out of their ambers, so I settled for what the waiter recommended: Big Daddy IPA by Speakeasy. Apparently, Speakeasy is out of Boulder, CO: my old hometown. As soon as I heard that, I was sold. This beer is ridiculously hoppy, which I’m finally growing to appreciate and respect, and tasted like the holidays – a bit like pine, as weird as that sounds… It’s similar to Hoptober by New Belgium, yet was mellow enough that I wasn’t pursing my lips in pain after every sip. I guess I’m learning!
This picture is solely for my friend, Malachi. A giraffe, and a carafe. You’re welcome.
After a few hours and three beers on my part, we ended up with this amazing and completely unnecessary piece of bread pudding. Okay, that was a lie. It was TOTALLY necessary! This bread pudding was luscious and decadent and full of cinnamon, brandy, and love. It tasted like Cinnabon on crack. In a good way.
     Now, it’s only 9:45pm and I am completely tuckered-out. Starting happy hour at 4pm can do that to you, I guess. Enjoy the visual attack of delicious pictures, and I shall go pass out with visions of bread pudding swirling and twirling through my head. Tomorrey morning shall be greeted with a hike!
Where’s your favorite place for happy hour?

6 Comments

Filed under beer, Bread pudding, date night, green monster, kitchen sink salad, Ladyface Ale Companie, Picture City Porter, pommes frites, sliders

by | September 10, 2010 · 10:10 am

Too. Much. Gelato!

     Today, I may have gone a little overboard. And by a little, I mean COMPLETELY. I visited Menchie’s for lunch.

I got a miniscule amount of tart frozen yogurt with some dark chocolate chips, strawberries, and one small square of brownie.
For dinner, I got a small gelato: Brown-sugar waffle-cone and amaretto chocolate chip. It was awesome. My stomach hurt – so good. Pain after this much dairy is good, right??
     Don’t worry, though! I balanced it out with a midday Monster!
This had 2 cups of spinach, 1/2 of a cup of blueberries, 1/4 of a frozen banana, 1 lime, 2 sprigs of asparagus and unsweetened soymilk. This helped balance me. Slightly…
     I kind of failed on the pictures today, so here’s a small recap of yesterday!
PEACH PIE MONSTA! I’ve found my new obsession. I had the usual ingredients in this, then threw in a ripe peach and a teaspoon of cinnamon. It’s like taking a bite out of autumn!
I had a Kitchen Sink Salad for lunch with half a bag of chopped lettuce, 1/2 of a carton of egg white salad, 1/2 of a cup of lentils, and 1/2 of a chopped red bell pepper. I love me the KSS!
This was lunch yesterday at work. I had a mini-spicy tuna roll with avocado. I ate this outside, all by myself. Apparently it was too cold for everyone else! It was a chilly 60 degrees, and I enjoyed the dark clouds and the cold breeze until I had to recede back into my dark retail dungeon.
     I had a few hours of work tonight, then came home to have a glass of red wine and watch my new obsession, “Nikita“! Yes, I know that it’s “Alias 2.0”, but I’m always okay with watching girls kicking ass. Plus, Shane West is on it. Le sigh :).
     Now it’s ridiculously late considering I have to work tomorrey at 8:30am, so I should probably go pass out. 

Apparently I need to have a pottery giveaway! I’ll think of something and post it in the next few days 🙂

Also, has anyone watched Nikita? What are your favorite guilty-pleasure TV shows?

1 Comment

Filed under gelato, green monster, kitchen sink salad, Nikita, sushi, work