Monthly Archives: October 2010

Thanksgiving in October!

     I’ve been feeling pretty under the weather lately: I’m sure none of this is attributed to diving into the ocean at 2am on the polluted shores of California. It’s just coincidence.

     In order to take care of myself and try to heal, I had to bring in the full forces. I loaded up on Throat Coat tea, Emergen-C, Green Monstas and Pumpkin Ale. (Pumpkin Ale is helpful to sore throats, isn’t it?)

I tried Shipyard’s Smashed Pumpkin on Monday night. This beer is slightly hoppy and has a fruity sweetness to it. It was a little TOO sweet for me, but had lots of pumpkin spices added and gave off a clove/nutmeg scent.
I tried this one last night – Kennebunkport Pumpkin Ale. I found it at Trader Joe’s and bought a single, and MAN am I glad that’s all I got! It tasted like really cheap Bud Light (I’ve never actually had Bud Light so I’m just guessing here…) with a handful of rancid pumpkin seeds thrown in.
Luckily I’d prepared for such an occasion, and was able to fall back on Stockyard Oatmeal Stout to cleanse my palate of the awful taste of rancid pumpkins. Stockyard is like a refreshing sip of icy mocha and contentment.
     Yesterday I had training for a new job that I’m beginning in November. I’m going to be an artist’s assistant! 
    I was bored and scanning Craigslist one day after grappling with a lot of discontentment in my life and stumbled across an ad. I sent in an e-mail inquiry and she immediately wrote back and asked me to call her. That same day I met with her and had an interview and was offered the job! Basically, I’ll be traveling with her to about thirty art shows a year throughout the western states and helping her set-up, break down, answer client questions, help with sales, experience some amazing road-tripping and discover a bunch of new people and FOODS at art/wine festivals. I’ve been needing an escape recently and after lots of praying, this fell into my lap.
     I spent the training day using a ton of power tools, drilling, putting together displays and benches, lifting incredibly heavy boxes and getting to know the routine. I am going to be so ripped after all the heavy lifting I’ll be doing for this job! I headed home after a few hours of working in the rain (I LOVE RAIN!) and got started on an early Thanksgiving dinner with the roommate.
We cooked a turkey breast, marinated in lemon zest, garlic, herbes de provence, salt and pepper and olive oil, and made mashed potatoes with brown gravy. We were planning on roasting some zucchini and asparagus, but vetoed that idea after the turkey needed an extra hour in the oven to be edible and we were just too ravenous to wait any longer.
     Too early for Thanksgiving foods? NEVER!

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Filed under gravy, mashed potatoes, pumpkin ale, rain, Shipyard Brewery, Stockyard Oatmeal Stout, Thanksgiving, turkey

A Night of Deathtraps!

     Plans changed last night. Drastically. I originally planned on staying in, having a Punkin Ale (or two) and getting to bed at a decent hour. Dan and Malachi decided that just wouldn’t do.

My amazing boys drove all the way up to my neck of the woods, and the night slowly blurred into oblivion in the best ways possible.
Yep, that loving look between roommates sets the precedent for the evening…
Dan and I split a pitcher of the Ladyface Weizenbock that they had just tapped the day before. This wheat beer is not filtered which gives it the dark cloudy look, and tasted fruity and light with a little sweetness. I find that most of Ladyface’s beers have a little more sweetness than I’m used to – but I can dig it!
Malachi had some wine with his whine – “I don’t LIKE beer!”
We split the garlic and herb pommes frites with garlic aioli. Drool.
     We closed the restaurant and headed out around 12:30am. The rest of the night would be spent risking our lives and freezing our asses off. Disclaimer: we had a sober driver, thank you very much!
Visiting an old abandoned train station in the middle of the night seems like a safe idea to me!
     We went to Paramount Ranch, parked at the outer gates (the parking lot closes at sunset) and hiked the half-mile in to get to the western town. Gates were jumped, trespassing was committed, and many, many pictures were attempted, of which the only usable one is posted above.
     Post-trespassing, we trekked back to the car and decided that the next logical place to go would be the beach. We got to Zuma Beach around 2am and made a mad dash into the water, screaming in pain as each fist of icy water pummeled our bodies – doesn’t that sound like a fun time to you? One minor detail we forgot: towels. But really, who needs towels when it’s a breezy 60 degrees out after an extended amount of time in the bitterly cold ocean? We jumped back in the car, pumped up the heat and decided to end the night.
     I got back at 3am, left my flip flops (that are still coated in sand) outside, showered and crashed. Today’s lesson: going to work is even LESS fun than usual after only four hours of sleep. It was so worth it.
I suffered through the longest day of my life at work and was rewarded with this amazing dinner cooked by the roommate: Lemon-herbed tilapia, sauteed spinach with cherry tomatoes and garlic, seared asparagus and red bell pepper, and a small sweet potato (my family and I thought these were yams for years!) with a pat of butter.
My life is complete.
What was your last spontaneous adventure?

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Filed under Dan, deathtraps, garlic fries, Ladyface Ale Companie, Malachi, ocean, Paramount Ranch, pommes frites, tilapia, Weizenbock, Zuma Beach

Too. Many. Pancakes!

     My last few days have been a bit crazed. I have a lot of planning and prepping going on for the upcoming month (of which I’ll share with you soon enough!), so I decided to keep tonight’s post simple for my own sanity, as well as yours.

Yesterday’s breakfast. I’m really on pancake cruise control lately. These were based on my Vegan Banana-Pecan Oatmeal Pancakes, but we were out of rolled oats so I used a little more whole grain flour and soaked some quick-cook steel-cut oats in hot water for five minutes before draining them and adding them to the batter.
     I had to work a full shift today, so it was a typical day food-wise. The Monstas made a return, finally! I had a Monsta with 5 cups of spinach, 1/3 of a cup of soymilk, 1 carrot, 1 spear of asparagus, 1/4 cup of frozen blueberries, 1/2 of a frozen banana and 1/2 of a lemon. Happiness! These really give me SO much energy and up my mood like nothing else (even coffee!).
     
     Lunch was a mini-spicy tuna roll with brown rice. I didn’t take pics of the Monsta or lunch because I’m sure you’re tired of seeing the same thing over and over. And over.
     Dinner, on the other hand, was something fun and new! Kinda…
Mini burger with cheddar cheese and topped with spicy guacamole, and a Punkin Ale.
I had some leftover batter in the fridge so I made a banana-pecan pancake for dessert.
I. Am. Stuffed. 
     I finished my latest book, “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins. It’s a young-adult read, but I honestly recommend it if you’re looking for something riveting. It’s got a lot of action in it, and I feel it’s closer to the “adult” side of “young-adult”, with just enough innocence to make it palatable for the kids. All I know is that I’ve already started the second book of the series, “Catching Fire”, and will probably finish that within the next two days because I’m addicted and don’t want to put it down.
     Tonight will include another Punkin Ale and a healthy serving of “Catching Fire”. I’ve got another full day at work tomorrey (it has been WAY too long since I’ve been to church 🙁 I miss my Sundays.) and a lot of reading to do! I can’t wait to get back in the kitchen and make something that involves a lot of effort! I need an excuse to use my new apron, which I’ll show when I finally have time to cook!
Punkin Ale is affecting me. I have no questions. Anyone want to ask me something?
🙂

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Filed under banana pecan pancakes, Dogfish Head Punkin Ale, green monster, sushi, Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games, work

A Very Hoppy Day!

     What a beautiful day, eh?

Yeah, beautiful 🙂
     I had an amazing day today! I got an incredible opportunity this morning that involves art, road trips and exciting new things for my blog! I can’t share anything quite yet, but hopefully I’ll be able to explain it all after next Wednesday! Stay tuned 🙂
Autumn Season Update
     I’ve now tasted:
Blue Moon’s Harvest Moon Pumpkin Ale – tastes like Fat Tire by New Belgium – nothing exciting or pumpkin-y.
Buffalo Bill’s Pumpkin Ale – No good. Good amounts of spices, but too watery to be good, which is funny because I used to love this one before tasting some of the better beers out there!
Dogfish Head Punkin Ale – Lovely! Nice and hoppy. I didn’t really get that much taste of the spices, but I think the hoppiness may have overwhelmed that a little – still delish!
     Up next (probably on Saturday) is Shipyard Signature Smashed Pumpkin. I’ve never heard of this one, but boy am I looking forward to it!
Any nationally distributed pumpkin ales you’d recommend?

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Filed under beer, Blue Moon, Buffalo Bill, Dogfish Head, Dogfish Head Punkin Ale, Harvest Moon, Shipyard Brewery