if you want to say hello (or something less pleasant) get thee to the messageboard.

since e_bourne was successful, i decided to try the nytimes no-knead bread which apparently is something people have been doing for years (recipe is 2006) but between various diets and general hate of the fuss involved in yeast bread i haven't been paying attention.

works beautifully. while it requires pre-planning, the actual time involved in dealing with the bread is minor. it produced a nicely browned boule loaf with a firm crust that shattered nicely. C wants to do it again soon.

the only thing i want to change is to use a smaller pot; the recipe calls for a 6-8qt container and i used our 12qt dutch oven. i'm guessing the smaller container would make for a rounder loaf.

in looking up the link to the recipe i discovered a couple other versions.

also this soup mimerki suggested to use up a can of coconut milk is not really Thai, but it is quite tasty and filling when you add a couple handfuls of shrimp and much more chili paste. (i used dairy milk instead of rice milk, left out the salt -added to taste at table- and increased to 1.5t of chili paste. i'm guessing 2.5t or more would have made me happier. the 1.5 was savory but not spicy.)

there was a genuine downpour as i was heading home from work today. not a problem. waterproofing on coat, bag, and boots worked perfectly.

i baked winter squash with chicken-apple sausage for dinner. and then we made chocolate pudding (hot) for dessert. the heat is on, and In Search of the Trojan War is on in the background.

it's a good night.

Reply to this meme by yelling "Words!" and I will give you five words that remind me of you. Then post them in your LJ and explain what they mean to you.

from mimerki

olive - green, my favorite shade of my favorite color. (i don't care much for the food.) i like to wear it; it brings out my eyes. (there was a while where this led to a penchant for military surplus.) i think perhaps also that it, like orange, doesn't get enough love from the world at large.

match - is that a game, or my complement, or a source of fire? i enjoy them all. equal or complement is the best - those are the sort of people who bring me great joy.

soccer - came with C, who started playing at age four. (i was pretty much incapable of sports other than swimming until adulthood, although i liked watching the back and forth ones like hockey and basketball.) i didn't get too interested until we watched the 1999 Women's World Cup, which was just freaking incredible. i was watching to support women's sports (which inevitably cause me to burst into happy tears at some point) but in the process got a bit interested in the game itself.

fast forward to 2007, when i got C the Best Giftmas Present Ever. i got two season tickets, because going to $sportingevent alone is sad, assuming that i would keep him company until he found a more enthusiastic soccer buddy. turns out that's me.

i'm bemused when i think on it. perhaps i enjoy it because it was unknown during my childhood and it's kind of a fringe thing in the States but big in the rest of the world. anyway, attending the games is huge fun - an electric atmosphere where most of the stadium stands the entire game. and i've gotten to the point where i know names and numbers and style of play. 29,000 people, yet it's still intimate enough that the players circuit the stadium at the end of the game to thank the fans. on Wednesday i found out that you can totally hear our section chanting "Allez Le Toux!" from the field, since he came right over and gave us a thumbs up. squee.

my younger self hates me a little for it. (while youngest self is all "i belong!") but i also feel like i have a window into the wider world of sports fandom and a better understanding of others' enthusiasm for their spectator sport of choice.

movies - movies were a big part of my life as a kid. there wasn't much tv to speak of since we got three and a half stations (one was intermittent) and cable would not arrive until just before my senior year. it was a 25 mile drive to the nearest theater, and my brothers went weekly. (tickets were $2. they could afford to go a lot). i got towed along more often than i probably deserved. once home video hit, we tried renting movies, but that was also 25 miles away, so we ended up joining Columbia House and building a library of about a thousand films on the old CED VideoDiscs. (i can still tell you the exact moment when it's time to flip over Raiders of the Lost Ark.)

anyway movies, my window into a larger world. these days i engage more in the SIFF binge than in a steady diet.

dessert - my favorite! i used to just love sugaaaaar, now i love a really well-made confection with an interesting combination of flavor and texture. doesn't need to be very large, or very sweet, but it is the proper end to a meal.

C: what are you doing?
me: i'm commenting on a post, about my favorite smell.
C: bacon.
me: yes.

one can stewed tomatoes, the kind with basil and oregano
two handfuls precooked shrimp
1/3 large onion, chopped
4 T-ish butter
chopped garlic (costco, three heaping spoons. 4-6 cloves?)
two salt cellar spoons of salt (approx 2 pinches)
pepper - many grinds
red wine
whole wheat pasta
shredded mozzarella garnish

put bag of shrimp in H20 to thaw. put water on to boil for pasta (blue stockpot).
set electric burner to medium, heat yellow (small heavy) skillet and add butter. when butter melts, add onions.
monitor onions until half-clear. add garlic. stir more, make sure it doesn't get hot enough to brown the butter.
add tomatoes, break up chunks. turn up the heat to a simmer. reduce for a while.
add splash of wine. stir, reduce.
when water boils, add pasta to the water and shrimp to the skillet. (shrimp could go later, test this.)
keep reducing skillet, add more wine, salt and pepper. go until pasta is al dente.
drain and plate pasta, top with skillet stuff. sprinkle of cheese. would be better with parmesan.

pair with red wine, try not to lick plate after.

today is supposed to be the worst day of the year. i had the day off (thank you, Dr. King) and it's been quite pleasant. here you can see what people wanted to say to the internets on Blue Monday via warren_ellis: page 1, page 2.

i made a macro at C's request, inspired by this.



made not one, but two experimental homemade light boxes this afternoon with scarlettina. the first one was too large for the throw of the lamps we had. i put together a second smaller one in short order. when we set the reject on the floor, Merlin moved in right away. so it counts as success all around.

C and i bought some lovely baby bok choi at the farmers' market on Sunday; tonight we made stir fry with that, Japanese eggplant, and red bell peppers in curry coconut sauce. i think this is the first time i have seen C devour a bowl of only vegetables and ask for more. he also happily ate baked acorn squash for lunch today and asked if i could pick up another winter squash so we could have more. i don't know who this man is, but i'm hoping the sex is good.

i had a moment of Seattle-squee over the Chinese New Year decorations that are up at the local grocery store.

now i am trying to remember if they also had them at HT (the grocery store that replaced Larry's at Oak Tree) when we stopped by last night. i'm sorry we hadn't gone there before. it's kind of like Ranch 99 plus Russian and Mexican stuff. there's horchata in the cooler, and the packets of drink mix mrdorbin and southplains brought back, and masa, and giant tubs of lard. i need to spend more than 15 minutes there next time. (we were there because we went to see Tale of Despereaux next door. C chose it for the mousies - and it was okay. i probably enjoyed the Up preview more than the feature.)

cake in a mug works as advertised, and is surprisingly good.

i had a little biomechanical breakthrough in class tonight, getting the hip turn/foot pivot/fist rotation together in the right way. i got praise for my power, more than once. and then i was called on to demo the move for C. and i didn't screw it up.

the pork shoulder i put in the crockpot before work was ready to shred with a fork when we got home. after shredding, the sauce. very simple, very tasty. and there is plenty left for lunches.

i licked my plate clean.

tonight, we went out for BBQ on the way to another errand.

the iced tea was brewed tea, not a mix, and was a pleasant strength.

the service was adequate.

the mac and cheese was nearly tasteless and undersalted.

C's pulled pork was okay, but nearly cold.

i got ribs. they were covered in a rub that looked like it was made of spices but tasted like just salt. way way too much salt. the meat was dry, firm, and rubbery.

cornbread muffin? rock hard and had a gob of undermixed ingredients inside.

their sauces didn't help with the meat at all.




*sigh* so it looks like Ballard has no real BBQ joint. the Steel Pig and Rhodies are gone. any locals have a favorite for me to try? (i prefer "wet" over "dry", but the key thing for me is extremely tender meat, and sauce that i want to pour on my husband. good cornbread a major plus.)

i finally got around to posting pictures of Skull Day, when many gathered to fill chocolate skulls, and then decorated skulls and cookies chez shadow_and_veil and divinityof_fire.

a maple leaf candy inspired a portrait in the medium of cookie. (we used as much dark chocolate as we could.)

Austin Cantina's cornbread is achingly good. also, i think the beans served with my omelet today may have been dusted with crack.

this year, it was easiest to schedule wedding anniversary festivities a day early.

this happens to be ( wagyu beef dinner )

followed by a stay at a nice hotel.

this conjunction was completely accidental, and i am amused.

a practical links list for bento nerds.

we did a corn maze last night as part of amheriksha's rolling birthday celebration.

Tacoma was on fire, so we burned new neural pathways as we detoured around on our way to Tumwater.

it was an oddly familiar - the grass parking area, the hq in a morton building, the puppy chasing the cats, the homemade fire pit, the handlettered signs, the kids behind the counter...it was a scene out of my childhood, but with pine trees. it was odd to see field corn still completely green in October. (i'd never been to a corn maze, or heard of one before moving here. C and i were wondering if this was some western thing. nope. and that was brother-in-law M's alma mater.)

we pulled out the maglites and started to tromp through the field. even with the lack of local light pollution, the heavy cloud cover reflected a dim glow that made the flashlights mostly unnecessary. you can just run around, or you can attempt to find all of the checkpoints and punch your ticket at each station. (the prize for completion was useless to us, but it was fun to find them anyway.) it was cool, and dark, and strangely empty and quiet for the number of people who were there. i realized that the attraction is an excuse to run around outside at night on a fall evening. that felt great. the snacks were reasonably priced and the firepit was cheerful. lovely. the only thing missing was apple cider*.

this morning we walked down to breakfast at Hattie's and the ivy on the Guitar Emporium building has gone scarlet. after breakfast we picked up salad mix (with nasturtiums and dill - yum), soap, wine and cheese from Vashon (an experiment), and pumpkin-hazelnut ice cream. i'm looking at my $5 bouquet of mums. today's most interesting busker was playing hammered dulcimer; a nice soundtrack for a nice morning.

i'm looking forward to Canadian Thanksgiving (Observed) this evening. it's a good day for it.




*fucking state fruit is the apple and they don't make anything out of it. practically no apple cider, no apple butter, no apple sauce, no caramel or candy apples, and only the occasional apple dumpling or pie. maybe that stuff doesn't make it over the Cascades?

C just brought me one pumpkin and one carrot cake babycake. Cupcake Harvest Festival is here!

ETA: ginger creme brulee, indeed with some kind of shortbready cookie, from a restaurant i think was here.

minigoats for home use! somehow, i find this more appealing than the three chickens we're already allowed.

i've done something with friends most nights this week. at work i've been running, with looming deadlines and weezlgrrrl on vacation. (the other nights? packing up C for GenCon and Tomb Raider: Anniversary.)

okay, i wasn't running on Wednesday afternoon, when we went to a Mariners game. in a suite. with sushi. it was my first trip to Safeco field (i'm kinda meh about baseball and C hates it, so it hasn't been a priority) and somehow i don't think all the seats in the stadium are upholstered in leather. i got to use a spare ticket and hang out with steve98052, watch baby M chew on an expensive smartphone, and listen to my grandboss sweetly tell the story of the rally fries. very nice.

then i spent the evening chez scarlettina.

Thursday, teeth. (filling took 90 minutes instead of an hour. Dr. S says: "difficult. decay went below the gum." side of my face was numb through the afternoon. bleah.) then work. then the hothouse with mimerki (much needed) and Annapurna. which has no signage facing across the street. so there was some extra walking.

today, freaking marathon. work was killer, but it was followed by a flawless bus trip to the U District for dinner with shadow_and_veil, divinityof_fire, and buhrger (!!!). food meh, conversation yay, pilgrimage to Mix yay (vanilla ice cream, coconut, nutmeg). continuing conversation yay, and i got to touch buhrger's calluses. i'm still up and writing because bottomless chai + ice cream = one alert and perky girl.

maybe i should go play some Tomb Raider.

this weekend is Seafood Fest and the Ballard sidewalk sale. (i indulged on Thursday at Market Street Shoes. 3 pairs, plus smartwool socks. if you can find Clarks elsewhere for $20, let me know.) we rambled the closed off streets, ate seafood onna stick, ate swedish meatballs, ate weirdly good "troll wrap, Inga" made of dill/chicken/lingonberries, poked at the store displays, and tasted spice blends.

the haul: 6 spices inna box, one bottle of sauce, one super-discount "Verite Coffee Ballard USA" hoodie, and a small whole salmon (less head and innards)

the salmon thing was odd. there are signs up all over for $2 per lb wild salmon, benefits charity. so i got a 6lb one, which is just the right size for our grill. turns out it benefits a group of christian missionaries - there was a brochure in a plastic bag in with the fish, but since i was already up to my elbows in salmon juice it went in the trash. the world may never know. meanwhile, we are using book learning to grill this puppy, a combo of Steven Raichlen and Alton Brown rubbed with the onion and herbs. first whole fish on grill for us; at least it *smells* awesome right now...

we saw Ratatouille last night. Brad Bird continues to produce animated films that are complex, nuanced, and a pleasure for adults and children alike.

it may be the best translation of good food to film that i've seen. beyond presentation, Bird chooses synesthesia and the evocation of memory. it works. i hope that some child might be inspired to try something other than chicken nuggets after this...

it's technically astonishing, and packed with detail. more importantly, i could quickly forget all that because i was caught up in the story. (there's enough peril that i'd be wary of taking small kids.) i was afraid that i would spend a lot of time cringing at contrived embarrassments, but they manage to avoid taking predictable steps.

the only reason i love it less than The Incredibles is that the message is less close to my heart. but it's still awesome. five saffron threads out of five.