Archive for April, 2008

Books for Thought - April’s Selection

Published by kindli on April 29, 2008 in books and reading. 0 Comments

Warning, this may contain “spoilers” of certain “Cat Who” mysteries.

This month I’ve decided to branch out into more of “Gavin’s” books. Next to my two and a half shelves of Agatha Christie were a few books by Lilian Jackson Braun (fiction -and that includes mysteries- is in alphabetical order).

I enjoy a good mystery, but I was slightly unprepared for the antics of a cat named Koko and his trusty sidekick Yum Yum. I’m accustomed to Hercule Poirot and his trusty friend and follower Hastings, or Miss Marple and her invisible Nephew Raymond.

When I picked up The Cat who ate Danish Modern I was completely unaware of what to expect. I was thinking Danish Modern, like pastry, not like furniture (although both are nice). I was even less prepared for the story of a divorced newspaper writer who lived with an intelligent Siamese (the intelligent Siamese part wasn’t surprising, my parents Seal Point cat frequently amazes), and was assigned to write about interior decorating.

Interesting. An easy read, not particularly gripping, or thrilling, some spots were a little vague, but I’m sure if I read a few more The Cat who [did Something Amazing and Spectacular] mysteries I’ll fill in some of the finer details about the characters.

The Cat who knew Shakespeare was the next The Cat who book I decided to read. Koko and Yum Yum play smaller rolls. Qwilleran’s mustache has a bigger part, as does the impending snow storm that doesn’t seem to be able to get it’s act together. I was rather upset when Ms. Jackson Braun decided to kill off Qwill’s entrepreneurial friend, his death did nothing for the plot, after all, he was heading to Florida anyway, why KILL him?!

The Cat who Moved a Mountain finds the intrepid trio (Qwill and cats) in the middle of nowhere on Potato Mountain renting out the Tiptop estate. He duly gets involved with local scandal, a murder, a falsely convicted man, and the people who live on the “wrong” mountain. I still don’t see how Koko helped solve anything, he was just being inquisitive, and difficult (in other words, he’s a cat).

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logic does not apply to ice cream on Wednesdays

Published by kindli on April 23, 2008 in cooking. 0 Comments

Today I wanted ice cream. Logically, I should have gone to the store and bought a pint (or two), but I have deemed logic does not apply to ice cream on Wednesdays (at least not this Wednesday).

Instead I made ice cream. Super-smooth, extra-creamy ice cream, rich with hints of hazelnut and chocolate. The flavor reminds me of gelatto that can be found at the quality little ice cream shops scattered across Europe.

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When Gavin came home I shared my amazing ice cream with him, he was appropriately impressed. It stands well alone, and complimented the Fluffy Yellow Cake quite nicely.

Cupcakes of DOOM, and Chocolate

Published by kindli on April 22, 2008 in cooking. 0 Comments

Last night I wanted cake. I don’t tend to keep cake in the house, so the only logical solution was to make my own.

I used Cook’s Illustrated’s Fluffy Yellow Cake recipe and Fool Proof Chocolate Icing.

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I made a dozen cupcakes and poured the rest into a 9×9 cake pan. Eleven of the 12 cupcakes went with Gavin to work this morning.

we drove 800 miles and never left the state

Published by kindli on April 21, 2008 in California, adventures, car, family, friends and travel. 1 Comment

Abilene looked like an abandoned ghost town at 7:45 on a Sunday morning. The only sign that life might have once existed there was a plastic bag blowing across a parking lot. We were the only car for a good ten minutes as we worked our way to the highway.

On the bright side, there was no traffic until about an hour outside of Dallas so we racked up the miles. A grand total of over 800 in all.

We met Amanda and James for brunch at Bailey’s Breakfast Brunch Lunch not too far from the airport. They recently moved into a new apartment and Amanda was excited they’d “just” gotten a microwave.

At around 1:30 we dropped off our rental, took the shuttle to the airport and started the joyous process of going through airport security. At DFW they’re trying out a new method of air-poofing to test for explosives, and they have a new x-ray system where you can leave your liquids and laptops in their bags. The new x-ray system is nice, the air-poofing is a little strange.

About an hour or two we got to our gate a voice came over the loudspeaker, announcing that the flight was over booked and they were offering vouchers to people to take a later flight… which is how we ended up in Dallas this time.

Gavin and I looked at each other. Before I could say anything, Gavin said “No. No way.” So we flew back to SFO on our regularly scheduled flight, complete with Babies in Surround.

Dulce picked us up from the airport, and after dinner in Palo Alto, Gavin drove home. It was his turn to drive, after all, I’d driven the 800+ miles all over Texas.

300+ miles roundtrip for BBQ

Published by kindli on April 19, 2008 in adventures, car, family, friends, fun and travel. 0 Comments

This mornings grand adventure took us through the middle of Eden, Winter, and a few other wide spots in the road. Gavin and I ventured south on 83 to Junction, Texas, home of Cooper’s BBQ.

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We drove about 2+ hours to meet Sean and Anne, Gavin’s Internet Friends. They drove up from San Antonio, and we drove down from Abilene. Junction is about half way between the two. Sean remembered Cooper’s from a previous road trip he’d made through the area.

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Abilene Blows

Published by kindli on April 18, 2008 in adventures, family, travel and weather. 2 Comments

The wind in Abilene perpetually blows, literally. All along the highways there are signs or “crosswinds” and “strong wind gusts.” The wind enjoys playing nasty games with large trucks and our small rental car was also buffeted frequently by gusts. After experiencing the wind first hand it is easy to see why they chose to build a wind farm in the area.

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The locals believe the wind farm will bring jobs and money to the area. The wind farm is still in it’s infancy so the long-term effects are yet to be seen. Clearly the local speculators are excited: several hotels have been built up near the highway and the road leading to the wind farm. We’ve driven through the rest of town, and we think they’re a little optimistic.

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In 152 miles, exit right

Published by kindli on April 17, 2008 in adventures, car, family and travel. 1 Comment

I will spare everyone my rant on the inefficiencies of American Airline, and instead enthrall you with our adventures on the road.

When our TomTom gleefully announced “In 152 miles, exit right” I knew we would be in for a long drive. A very long drive. Once we left Dallas/Fort Worth the landscape occasionally featured cows, 24-hour XXX book/video stores, Mega Churches, and greasy fast food joints (not national franchises).

In the process of uploading/modifying the TomTom, the music we’d put on had been erased. Gavin attempted to find music on the radio. Twenty five country stations, occasionally broken up by a blast of festive latino, we turned it off in despair and started a round of 99 bottles of beer on the wall (we got to 86 and quit).

Heidi lives with Abby & Kevin, Duke (a nearly blind/deaf arthritic dog), Slinky (the fluff-ball cat) and Chiquita (Chic the cockatiel). She has my old mini-fridge from prin, amply adorned with odd stickers from my college days, and a unique collection of art and postcards adorning the walls.

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Christmas Tree Rooms and other Abominations

Published by kindli on April 13, 2008 in California, adventures, car and townhouse. 2 Comments

Gavin and I have learned a lot today. We spent the afternoon driving around North West Santa Rosa looking at Open Houses.

We started the day off driving past garishly colored cookie-cutter town homes. Next, we investigated an offer that included the koi in the pond (they’re easy to keep, all you do is “Change the filter once a month and feed them every few days”). We toured a poorly renovated home (it was purely a cosmetic renovation: it ignored over half the windows needed replacing and the sink enamel was waring off, and they put carpet in the bathrooms). We walked through a $999,000 home that boasted an attached granny unit, three garages, custom cabinetry, and solar panels on the roof (it had an odd floor plan). We finally ended our adventure looking at another renovated home with a poor floor plan.

Not one house we pulled up to screamed “BUY ME I’M AMAZING.” Some had rather unique layouts, “Christmas Tree Rooms” and weird snaking maze like hall ways. It is never a good sign when you ask a Realtor “What is this room for?” and he responds “I’m not sure, but I think it could make a nice Formal Living Room.”

“Formal Living Room” aka “The Christmas Tree Room.” The room with the nice furniture that is never sat upon (reserved for Visits from The Queen), and where the Christmas Tree is Prominently Positioned in front of the large (usually bay) window so everyone on the street can see how lovely it is. The room is used once a year, to open Christmas presents, and to store extra coats during holiday parties.

Everyone wanted to know our price range, and of course, they had something that could meet our needs “perfectly.” Right now “need” is a strong word. Even if we were to get a three-bedroom (+ bonus room) home, at least one of the bedrooms would remain blissfully empty, and the “bonus” room/3d bedroom/“Christmas Tree Room” would become an office.

Gavin looked around and saw poor lay out, and things that needed to be fixed. I looked around and saw cleaning nightmares, odd laundry room locations, and yard work. We both noticed kitchens.

After a hot day of driving around, we pulled into our garage, opened the door to the kitchen and were greeted by a cool blast of air - we don’t have an AC, the first floor stays naturally cool. It’s 82 outside and 72 inside, absolutely wonderful. All the homes we looked at either had their ACs running over time, or were stifling hot. We’re in no hurry to move.

oven baked fried chicken and other oxymorons

Published by kindli on April 11, 2008 in cooking and photos. 0 Comments

I felt inspired by Cooks Illustrated’s Cooking Light Spring 2008 special release and made their Oven Baked Fried Chicken this evening for dinner.

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The crusting did not stick particularly well, but the end taste was fantastic.

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Cornish Game Hens do not Share the Plate Well

Published by kindli on April 10, 2008 in adventures, cooking and photos. 0 Comments

I recently made it my goal to try and actively use my cookbook collection. I flipped through them, photo copied a dozen or so from each and have been slowly working my way through the pile.

This evening I made Cornish Hens with Cornbread Stuffing and Broccoli with Dijon Vinaigrette dressing, from Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa at Home: Everyday Recipes You’ll Make Over and Over Again.

I’m not sure about the “over and over again” part, but I will defiantly stash away the recipe for the onion rings I made a few weeks back, and corn bread that I made the other day to use as stuffing.

Cornish Hens are cute, smaller versions of Chicken. One would probably feed two comfortably, I found an entire one a bit daunting, and rather difficult to eat (although I can use the leftovers for sandwiches). Next time I think I will just make one and we can share.

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