Penguin Girl

:)

Ok, incase you haven’t realized I’ve not been very wordy these past few days I even preposted this with just the photo of the countertop in case I still felt too ill.

I’ve been fighting a cold for several weeks. The lure of Spring Break relaxation (excuse me while I fall off my chair laughing) combined with the Stress of the Markets on Monday made me collapse into sleep on Wednesday upon returning home from work; actually I had napped on Monday and Tuesday too, but not with the same intensity. After sleeping some 16 of the 18 hours I was home I pulled myself together enough on Thursday morning to welcome the verizon guy at 8:45a and the countertop guys two hours after. The smell of the epoxy they used drove me on a quest for parts to complete the fix that Verizon started and then sent me back to bed. I made it through megillah reading (coughing at the proper times), ate dinner with the inlaws and then collapsed home into a cough-filled sleep. I gave up at 4am and around 5:30 got up for good to let E sleep in an extra hour.

We then proceeded to do some errands which included procuring the most foul tasting cough syrup (I hate all cough syrups) and I slept much of the afternoon and when I wasn’t asleep I listened to pod-casts and knit.. that was about all I could do.

I slept most of shabbat, catching up on magazines and slowly eating the first food in some 24 hours.. some strawberry kosure jel-o that E made for me (educating me he has expanded his repertoire beyond rice and the microwave). All the while trying not to cough, not for the pain in my throat or chest, but because my abs are sore. This definitely hasn’t done well for my weight gain goals… but I hope I’ve strengthen those abs…

What else did E accomplish?

Well, at one point on Friday I woke to the sound of running water of happy voices and E at the door with an delightful smile on his face. It wasn’t the dishwasher or bathroom sink which caused the beautiful sound. :)

And since we now have the kitchen coming back to sorts, various toys I’ve acquired over the years are coming out to play. We went to the supermarket tonight for more Jel-o, whole milk, and heavy cream. Ingredients we need to make treats in this. My throat still feels as if it is lined with popcorn kernel remains so I’m hesitant for anything too salty or crunchy. Eli’s disappointed that I’ve requested plain vanilla, but I’ve always been a plain “jane” kinda gal. The ice cream is currently in the machine and in about 25 minutes I’ll be enjoying home-made ice cream. [this paragraph was semi-edited at 11:05p for clarity and to add that:] The ice cream isn’t hard, so I think it’ll be breakfast! ;) It’s nice to be an adult.

But what really makes me happy tonight is this:

Please ask me privately if you are curious the price, I think they goofed and I’m really sad I didn’t buy 3-5 more boxes on the spot.

Have a good week. Stay healthy!!

I purchased, cooked, and ate red meat tonight. E woke from his shabbos nap and decided that he was Very Hungry. I was pretty indifferent but asked him what he wanted. He said something Big. So after shabbat we drove to the store, bought some ground beef, we took down the Forman, and I cooked it and served it with fries and a salad.

I must agree, it was very good. There are no photographs as we ate it pretty quickly.

We’re still slowly putting everything away and getting used to the new setup. For a while we had the plates in the center cabinet but when we plugged the dishwasher back in we realized that did not work well when emptying the dishwasher. So they were moved to the far left cabinet. We both keep opening the middle one looking for a glass.

I took The Flexitarian Table back out earlier this week and made the beet and goat cheese pasta, but highly modified it. As my prep space isn’t the best I used canned sliced beets (which I rinsed several times) and bagged baby spinach in lieu of the beet greens. I also didn’t have heavy cream so I made up a bizarre concoction of milk, butter, egg, and potato starch. It was very good and we both enjoyed it though my had was a little too heavy with the red pepper flakes for E’s taste.

This machine is my new really good friend.

I am pleased to introduce the machine which Frank, the counter top guy, brought over on Friday afternoon:

This wonderful bit of technology measured the walls and will assist in our new countertop (2cm half bullnose beige olympio silestone) in fitting perfectly our very Very uneven kitchen walls. Frank didn’t believe me at first and when he measured the wall near the stove I heard him exclaim, and then take the measurement again. And then again. I’m impressed that he was quite diligent in measuring properly. He is also the first person to see the kitchen finished (at least to this point) and he was very impressed and I don’t think he was just saying it to make me feel good. He really did seem impressed.

They say the new counter top will arrive in two weeks. We are trying to be patient.

Since it’s 11pm and I’m just starting to draft this, I will be lazy and provide a photo-heavy post instead. If you are on dial-up (is anyone anymore) or a slow flakey wifi connection, I’m sorry. But first.

Thank you sara!!! (more on that at the end. I can’t wait until Monday)

Last weekend we spent a lot of time gathering the final parts to the new kitchen. Monday was a busy day ultimately finding us at Home Depot Expo choosing a countertop [Beige Olympo] and sink (the most expensive part!). I’ll skip our reaction to the process of this and just show you the pictures. The sink arrived Thursday (the box was big, but it is quite light) and the countertop “guys” made an appointment for this coming Friday afternoon (it’s my fault, I just couldn’t guarantee I’d be home any other day). It’s really starting to come together. In the corner upper cabinet are 3 lazy-susans which make a large difference. We’ll be adding one more shelf even though we’ll both need the step stool to reach it. We’re thinking of putting a fold down counter/table below the cook books. We’ll see. That shelf really is even, it’s the photostitch that makes it a little “odd” (it doesn’t help that our walls aren’t straight and the doorman-phone is crooked too).

(click to go to flickr, they’re all slightly bigger there)

I’ve cooked a little this week. Without a countertop it’s a little difficult. I made pasta for shabbat and we had tacos tonight. On Thursday I used up some leftover brown rice and made this fried rice in the picture. It was a perfect lunch on the snowy Friday.

How did I make it?

Leftover Fried rice with soy^2 and mushrooms
You need: leftover (brown) rice, extra-firm tofu, edamame, shitake mushrooms, olive oil, sesame oil.
Do:
First slice the tofu and put it on a baking sheet and bake for a while at about 250° I can’t tell you exactly how long to bake it as I set a timer and then fell asleep and slept through it. I think it was in there for about 45 minutes.
Next start the water for your edamame and go clean your mushrooms. you can just run them under water, just don’t soak them for hours.
Heat some olive oil in a pan and when it’s warm throw in the mushrooms. When the water is ready cook the edamame. After the mushrooms seem to soften and shrink, add the tofu (i chopped my slices a little smaller at this point) and let them brown a bit. Drain the edamame and if it’s still in the pod, shell a few and throw them in the pan. When it seems that stuff is starting to brown top with the rice and sprinkle with sesame oil. Stir it every so often until browned to desired level. Enjoy!

Lastly, Sara sent me a box. I knew she sent it, but I had no idea what was in it beyond the felted spocks which we hoped fit me. The answer to that is a very loud YES! It’s as if she had knit them for me. I’m still in shock that they fit. You didn’t reknit them did you? She also sent many other goodies which have me in shock, as they include another pair of socks!!! These two pairs fit me better than all the socks I’ve knit myself. Sara, you are a master knitter and i’m inspiring to half a quarter of your talent one day.

Lastly, I don’t want it to seem that Britt’s little penguin guy is being misplaced. PG has been talking with him a good deal and he is fitting in and feeling at home and really wants to come with me to the office tomorrow when we do a very long overdue upgrade and I hope that it goes smoothly. At the moment that is an unknown and I’m VERY nervous about it. So I think i’ll let him come. We could use the moral support and good happy vibes he brings.

The kitchen is progressing nicely, a motzei shabbos run to Ikea, Target, and Lowes is assisting in that. We’re making inroads to clearing everything from the Main Room and setting up sensible and organized solutions. We didn’t expect to need a new coffee table, but since Nibi’s cage is no longer there… :( (*snif* but I did potentially gain yarn storage)

It’s a pleasure to cook again and use tools I had set aside because I didn’t care to cook in the old kitchen. My real knives are emerging along with the baking paraphernalia. If my cake decorating things come out to play(*) then you know I’ve settled into this kitchen.

Some of the habits E and I developed during the exile of the appliances are amusing. I keep returning to the spot behind his desk to retrieve a refrigerated item and blink perplexed when my hand can’t find the door. Then a smile emerges and I turn into the kitchen to find what I need. When the water source returns to the kitchen it will be interesting to see if we continue to walk mugs to the bathroom.

I haven’t cooked much in the new kitchen.

On Monday I gave the temporary workspace it’s last hurrah by cooking Rosemary-Orange Glazed Chicken Tofu from the cookbook The Taste of the Season. My temporary prep space was wonderful. If I kneel and put a cutting board on the toilet it’s the perfect height for chopping. I halved the recipe and was a bit zealous about the amount of yams we could eat. I ended up tossing half of one unused which pains me still. Unfortunately I did not have fresh rosemary, but the dish was still quite yummy with dried.

Thursday I made a simple corn soup with the boxed Creamy Sweet Corn Soup from Imagine. I added some canned corn and shredded cheddar to the mix. It was good but lacked a depth of flavour. I think it would be wonderful over toasted cornbread.

For Shabbat I cooked a second dish, Chicken Tofu Agrodolce from The Taste of the Season. It started off well, but with the temporary counter top (extra floor tiles) I ended up forgetting to add the pine nuts (after toasting them) and discovered that E ate all the raisins. It was a marvellous dish which I served with steamed brown rice. E enjoyed it as well as he returned to the kitchen for a second helping, and a third. I call that a success any night.

The joy of my week occurred Friday morning. On Shauna’s blog I learned that Bob’s Red Mill was offering certified GF Oats. The next time I was at the supermarket I picked up what they offered, which was a bag of steel cut** oats. The breakfast I enjoyed was amazing, it was just plain oatmeal with a nob of butter melting on top. I can’t remember when I last enjoyed breakfast as much, the last time was probably when I watched Mr Rogers and ate cheerios that had jumped out of my bowl and into the living room’s braided rug back in 1983 or something.*** In any case, I see oatmeal cookies and perhaps a silpat**** of my own in the future.

Which brings me to another two points. We’re purging stuff we don’t really need any more. I’m also upgrading some of the tools since I use them and deserve something better than a 99¢ vegetable peeler.

1) What is the kitchen tool you cannot live without?
For me I would have to say this is my 5" chef’s knife. A few years ago I’d say it was my non-serrated paring knife, but I find the chef’s knife superior for my daily needs.

2) What tool would you splurge on if given the choice?
I’m having a hard time answering the question. I’d love quite a few things that I don’t necessarily need right now or have space for including a bread machine that does gf breads, a cuisinart… So I’ll revise this.

2a) What tool which you find yourself using every day would you splurge on?
I’m looking for a good vegetable peeler. I think I want a Y, or harp-shaped one as I tend to peel root vegetables and it appears to be best suited for that. Splurging on this item means not purchasing it from the 99&cent store.

* I highly doubt they’ll come out. Between the gluten and the sugar, I just don’t have the space to do that sort of baking.
** Rolled oats are what I was familiar with from instant oatmeal days. The groats are pre-processed and flaked to allow for easier cooking. Steel cut oats are just chopped oat groats.
*** I had a dairy allergy and this was in the days before easy access to rice or soy milk. I essentially drank baby formula until I was 6. We also didn’t have much money so maybe rice milk was available; it just wasn’t easily to find where we lived. I didn’t like the mixing of the flavors with formula and cereal, plus I didn’t like the crunch leaving my cheerios. So I ate my cereal plain.
**** What’s the difference between a real silpat and the silicone baking sheets beyond cost and that you can ? I have one of the latter [haven’t used it yet] and just want to have things not stick on my baking sheets and not have to use tons of foil or spray.

Wow. You made it this far? I think I’ll have a pattern up soon of a recipe for my gift to the new kitchen. It’s a small item and I’m curious what happens when I felt it tomorrow. I like it and it’s quite useful for me. I thought I was clever in the construction of it. ;)

The cabinet installation is complete and definitely to satisfaction. Posting will be light as I put things back together and we reclaim the main room and our lives (except with the Project I have no life, but that’s another discussion entirely). We are very impressed with the finished product and are happy with our choice. Now we need to find a sink, counter top (the tile on top next to the stove is a temporary arrangement), and ceiling light. I also need to figure out where I want to put everything. We have lots more space now and I think the arrangement is a little more logical. How will I ever sleep with the excitement?!

Images of the saga may be found at this flickr set.

Since you’ll ask, we were told this afternoon that they plan do deliver and install the cabinets on Tuesday. In a way we’re ok with it as it’s easier for E to take of Tuesday than Monday. It also means I can keep the stove plugged in for both tonight and tomorrow. Additionally, since I’m not home until quite late the following two nights I could really care less where my stove is. (I still love it though.)

I am starting to plan what I will do in my new kitchen when all is said and done. We do all need to remember that once the cabinets are installed we’ll still need to find and install a sink and countertop. I want stainless for many reasons, but seem to be outvoted. We’ll see what happens.

I’ve been drooling over Corrie’s food boxes and the wonderful things she’s been making. With agricultural delivery being what it is today, I often forget what items are “in season” and which aren’t. To that end I took out two seasonal cookbooks from my local library. Simply in Season by Mary Beth Lind and The Taste of the Season: Inspired Recipes for Fall and Winter by Diane Rossen Worthington. Both are written with different strengths, Lind’s book has a very fresh and appealing layout and Worthington’s photos (by Noel Barnhurst) had me sniffing the pages. They start with a glossary of what is in season and when, Lind’s is more userfriendly and educational (pretty stock photographs), though Worthington’s is much more comprehensive. Lind is a Mennonite and includes Biblical verses at the introduction to each season so if that turns you off, I’ve “warned” you. I didn’t notice these at all (they aren’t large or annoying) until writing up this pathetic review. Both books include menu ideas and also recipes that are useful year-round. I could see a place for each on my bookshelf and hope soon to test drive some of the recipes to form a stronger opinion on the books. I urge you to check them out yourself.

I had The Itty Bitty Kitchen Handbook by Justin Spring on my amazon wishlist for a while and took it off believing it to be a kitsch book and I’d rather a relative bought me something I wanted (such as a volume from the Barbara Walker Treasury). I found it in the library while picking up the other books. It’s cute, it’s funny, I disagreed with much of it (or our kitchen is large by his standards). It does however, contain some good ideas and think that my Uni should install a copy with certain housing options and it would be useful for a first apartment-I’ve-never-done-this situation. For me, however, it was a fun read and left me all the more eager to put everything back together.

In more “serious” reading (snort) I completed Alchemy and Academe edited by Anne McCaffrey. This is a collection of short stories on well, alchemy and academia. I forced myself to read all of the entries and many of them are not ones I’d generally gravitate to, but I do not find my time wasted by this. I believe that my two favourite stories are the last two, Keith Laumer’s “The Devil You Don’t” and Peter Tate’s “Mainchance”. Laumer had me laughing as I had just watched for the nteeth trillion time the Futurama episode where Fry makes a deal with the Robot Devil and gets the RD’s hands… they’re not the same story at all, but that connection made me laugh. Mainchance struck a socio-religio-politico chord in me that I’ve not yet fully figured out a few days on. A few of the other stories still have me thinking, though many of them felt uncompleted or missing something, which is why I tend to shy away from writing and reading short stories. Overall it’s a fun collection and it was nice to broaden my circle. [edited to add:] Oy! I forgot the best part (thank you m for making me open it’s covers again!): The collection begins with a poem by John Updike entitled “The Dance of the Solids” which was originally published in Scientific American, January 1969. And I agree with Ms McCaffrey that the line “Textbooks and Heaven are only Ideal”….

I’m still hopping along on all the other readings I’m both obligated to complete and I’m reading for me. I’m also trying to (gasp) purge some books out of our collection so I can either acquire more or store more fibre. [it’s a difficult choice, trust me!] Right now there are some older paperbacks going .. first I’ll offer them at BookOff (the Japanese used bookstore near the office), I forget their policy, otherwise the NYPL will get them. If I have anything I think any of my readers here may enjoy and that I’m willing to part with, you’ll get an email from me or a package. If you do computational genomics or something related or know anyone who does, please let me know. I have a copy of Ott’s Analysis of Human Genetic Linkage which is in almost brand new condition and I want to know if it’s still being used … I see the price is dropping for new copies on Amazon and used prices are even lower. I’m open to trades! Or, even though I do not see myself ever back in that field (not that I was “in it” for very long… though with my life and it’s bizarre connections, who knows?), is it a book I should keep?

ps it sux, the tv (satellite provided by the building in a weird tangled web) is out right now due to the super high winds and attempt at snow. :( I have one finger of E’s mitt’s completed and that would have made them fly by.