Saturday, September 29, 2012

Sabado Azul y Verde

I have nothing pink this Saturday, but I did have some blue and green recently.

Blue Cornmeal Muffins...


And green chili.


When I stepped away from the table to grab my camera, guess who showed up?  My buddy.


He didn't want me to be alone.  The others all had things they wanted to watch on TV and we're laid back, so I didn't really care.  However, Homer looked a little too eager to sample my dinner so I lured him away with a plate of his own.


Satisfied, he left the table for a long grooming session on the rug.

Friday, September 28, 2012

Saturday PhotoHunt: Dodgy

dodg·y  (dj)
adj. dodg·i·erdodg·i·est Chiefly British
1. Evasive; shifty.
2. Unsound, unstable, and unreliable.
3. So risky as to require very deft handling.


Hmmm.

I think dodgy applies to my garden.  The basil looks evasive, the lettuce shifty.


And the tomatoes are unsound, unstable, and unreliable.


But still producing.  So I took a risky move and made Ina's Scalloped Tomatoes.  Risky, because my eating audience just couldn't understand.  Baked tomatoes?  There exists such a thing?

Yes there does, and it is divine.


Please visit the Saturday PhotoHunt for more dodgy pictures.

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Just Call Me, Ina

Note the strategic use of the comma in the title. I'm not comparing myself to Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa, as I have done with Edna Mode, Harriet M. Welch, and Felix Unger. No, I am begging for an invite to one of her delicious meals.

Although I do cook barefoot. This can be dangerous. How many falling knives, pots, and hot splashes have I avoided by a quick hop, skip, jump or sidestep?

Dodging a few spatters of hot oil, I do believe I have mastered her salmon cakes.


We were left with a unexpectedly large amount of leftover salmon, due to certain children not being home for dinner.  This is happening far too often for me, both the copious leftovers and the lack of children at the table.

But what to do with the leftovers?  Salmon Cakes.  They were perfection.  They were so delicious that Frank requested a repeat for his birthday meal.

A new favorite in my recipe repertoire.

(Also on the plate is Ina's amazingly easy Herbed Basmati Rice and her Tartar Sauce.  And the cheaty part--frozen green beans with fried onions on top.)

So thanks for making me look good, Ina.  But I'll still come over if you invite me.

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Swirly

This one's for Jenn. I'll take pictures of anything.  I thought my new jar of toothpicks was quite pretty.

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Just Call Me Felix

I'm not really the Felix Unger type, but compared to others around here...

How many washcloths will collect before someone puts them in the laundry?  Unknown.  I broke down after 5 and did it myself.


Will someone ever learn to put the spoons bowl-side-down in the dish rack so they actually get dry?  Answer, no.


And will anyone fess up to those mysterious dribbles next to the toilet?  Answer, no.

Monday, September 24, 2012

29

29 years. Happy Anniversary!

 

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Smile

Just because.

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Pink Saturday: Bike

My sister-in-law (of the pink kitchen) also has a pink bike.  Happy Pink Saturday!



Friday, September 21, 2012

Saturday PhotoHunt: Escape

For an escape from the modern world, visit the Getty Villa in Santa Monica, California.










Arrivederci.

For more escapes, check out the Saturday PhotoHunt.


Thursday, September 20, 2012

Thematic Photographic: Retro

My favorite at the recent car show was this 1948 Greyhound Silverside, which was modified by a ship builder into a motor home in 1951.

I was flooded with memories as I thought about the bus rides in my past.

But first, enjoy this beautiful bus.



The owners were so kind to let complete strangers traipse through their home away from home.


It was marvelous.




This reminded me of many Greyhound bus rides in my childhood.  My mother and I would board the Greyhound in a nearby small town and ride to San Francisco.  What is now a 5 hour ride in a car would take, 7...8 hours?  Longer if it was the "local" rather than the "express."  But it was an economical way for us to travel, since my mother didn't like to drive her 1963 Chevy II Nova wagon great distances. For me, it was an adventure.  If I was lucky, we would get a bite to eat at the Post House Cafeteria at one of the bigger stations.  For a small town girl, the cafeteria was an exciting spread of choices.  But you can't spend more than $-.--!


I'd pretend we were going somewhere unfamiliar, rather than just my aunt's house.  Although San Francisco could be quite exotic for a pre-teen.  My aunt and uncle would meet us at the downtown bus station.  He was a magician at finding parking places, so we'd wait in front while he brought his beat-up station wagon around.  He knew the city better than any taxi driver and we would get a great tour on our way to their house.  Especially at Christmas, when he would take us through the neighborhoods with the best Christmas lights.


My aunt didn't drive, but she knew the city as well as her husband.  She could travel everywhere via San Francisco's Muni.  Market Street, the Cable Cars, Fisherman's Wharf, you name it, she could get us there.  My favorite Muni ride was to the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park.


A day or so later, my dad would come from the east bay to pick me up for my semi-annual visit.  Before we left the city, he'd take me to dinner at an international restaurant.  I was the first, if only, kid in my class to sit on the floor at a Japanese restaurant.  I also had Hungarian paprikash, French crepes, sweetbreads at a cafe du nord, and my first taste of snow peas on a lazy susan at a Chinese restaurant in Ghirardelli square.  We saw the Moiseyev Ballet, Mummenchanz, and the King Tut* exhibit.


I have to thank Greyhound for transporting me back to these wonderful memories.  If I'm ever in Hibbing, Minnesota, again, I'll visit the Greyhound Museum.

Thanks to Carmi at Written Inc. for this retro theme.




*That was a joke.  Here's a link to the current King Tut Exhibit.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

It was 20 Years Ago Today

TWENTY YEARS AGO, Frank got a Batman shirt for his 2nd birthday. And you know what happened.

These photos progress from the 2nd birthday throughout the year to the 3rd.

Won't you all sing along?

It was twenty years ago today,
That Batman shirts were here to stay,
They've been going in and out of style
But they're guaranteed to raise a smile.


So may I introduce to you
The boy you've known for all these years
Little Frank's Year of Batman Shirts.


It's Little Frank's Year of Batman Shirts
He hopes you will enjoy the show,


It's Little Frank's Year of Batman Shirts
Sit back and watch the poppies grow.



Little Frank's Year of, 
Little Frank's Year of
Little Frank's Year of Batman Shirts


It's so much fun to wear capes
It's certainly a thrill
You're such a lovely audience



He'd like to go to Disneyland
He'd like to eat some fries


I don't really like to stop the show
But I thought that you might like to know
That the singer's going nap along


Then he wants you all to lick along
So let me introduce to you


The one and only Little Frank
And Little Frank's Year of Batman Shirts.


Happy 22nd Birthday to our Frank!

Monday, September 17, 2012

The Sci Fi Part

In addition to the music part of the EMP, we also loved the sci-fi (not SyFy - don't get me started on that stupid spelling change) exhibits.  Classic icons of sci-fi, plus special exhibits on Avatar and horror films.  What's not to like?

I loved the shafts of light at the entrance so much that I made my sons walk through again so I could get a better sequence of pictures.


Frank was hoping Kirk's chair would be accessible for sitting in but no such luck.


I tend to forget Uhura was actually a redshirt because she was so awesome.


We never did answer that question, "Star Trek or Star Wars?"  But we were in agreement that Han shot first.

I'll be back...



Exterminate!


Once, the cake was not a lie.



On to horror.  Which are your favorite scissor hands?


An analysis of monster infestation.  Mall of America looks dangerous.



Great gift shop with an excellent selection of zombie books.  They could use a stack of I, Zombie, though!