Mondays are Fundays

Courtesy of xkcd

As I mentioned last week we had our first major snow storm of the season, which meant that I had a whole lotta time to kill during the day. So after dodging laundry and enjoying my morning cup of tea, I set up shop in the kitchen while BHE assumed his preferred napping position on the couch.

Lina also in her preferred napping position.,

Meanwhile, I decided to entertain my inner baker and whipped up some homemade Tagalongs using a recipe posted by the lovely ladies over at We Are Not Martha.

For my friends outside the U.S.: We have an equivalent to your Girl Guides, but we call them Girl Scouts. (Well, you start out as a Daisy, and then move up the ranks to Brownie, and then you become a Girl Scout, but you get the idea.) Anywho, much like your GG Biscuits, we sell a nice selection of cookies. Girls join, earn badges, go on camping trips and the like. I made it to Brownie level before losing interest, but I still support the organization during their annual cookie drive. Unfortunately, since the GS HQ decided that sending little girls off to peddle their wares by themselves was perhaps not the best idea, I often miss the cookie sale season. Which makes for a sad Adrienne.

Which is why the Martha posting that made me downright giddy. And while Samoas (aka Caramel deLites) are my favorite, Tagalongs run an extremely close second. The cookies from this recipe are AMAZING!

The recipe actually makes, like, 35 cookies. This is just what's left at my house 4 days later.

Quick notes: Be sure to use a fork or tongs when dipping, otherwise you'll burn your finger pads (lesson learned on my end). Also, like the Sues note, the recipe makes enough batter for some 60 cookies - waaaay more than the amount of peanut butter filling and chocolate dip. Unless you're catering some kind of event or just lack any concept of portion control, go ahead and halve the recipe or simply freeze half of the batter for later use.

You can find the recipe here: http://www.wearenotmartha.com/2011/01/homemade-tagalong-cookies/

We're due for another ice storm tonight, so there's a chance I'll get another day off tomorrow. Which will give me time to come up with a recipe in honor of my soon-to-arrive goddaughter. Any ideas for a starting point would be very much welcome!!

As always, ENJOY!

One last (fairly awesome) thing

If you like gingers or great music then you, dear Reader, are in for a treat!

The ever-so-talented-you-could-almost-hate-him-for-it Garry Schaaf has teamed up with a group of equally super-skilled musicians. The end result is the latest EP release by the Outdoors, which - lucky for us - is available online at http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/theoutdoors/the-outdoors-ep-launch-and-tour The quality of the music almost makes up for Garry's attempt at facial hair.

You can check out tracks and find out more about the band (including - fingers crossed- upcoming tour dates) on their Facebook page and Twitter feed. You can also download their EP for free on their homepage.

Check 'em out if you're looking for something in the smooth groovy and Indie vein and enjoy!

Tickle me pūwherowhero

One snow storm later and I'm still here. (Thankfully.) With a decidedly poor showing of snow in the Baltimore region, I've decided that this winter can't hold a candle to the Snowmageddon of 2010 (*knock on wood*). While I don't look forward to digging out my car/having BHE dig out my car in the mornings, I miss the occasional snow day. It's rare that I get to sleep in, clean house, and bake at random leisurely intervals during the day. Plus, I'm no longer in school, so it's not like I have to make up the class time during the summer.

So imagine my delight when the local meteorologist predicted a 5 - 10 inch snowfall over the course of a few hours. Granted, he skipped over the part where jagged chips of sleet the size and sharpness of thumb tacks would precede the event. Had I known, I might have taken up my boss's offer of a ride home, rather than taking the shuttle and then walking a mile while nature took it's anger out on my face. That shizz hurts!

Snow bully sleet. Not fun.

Anywho, BHE managed to pull into the driveway just as the snow began to fall in earnest and then turned on the tv and hunkered down for the night.

That is, we tried to turn on the tv. We have a satellite dish, which does not hold up well against the elements. So instead of watching normal prime time programming, we surfed the Hi-def channels our tv could pick up. The number of stations was pretty limited, but we did come across something called "Cool TV," which plays music videos and concert clips. Think MTV back when the "M" actually stood for something. That said, I think Cool TV plays a little fast an d loose with its definition of cool. When we first happened on the station, it was playing footage from a Journey concert-- the bassist was a big black dude with a mullet who was wearing tight black leather pants and playing a pink and white polka dotted guitar. The next time we flipped back to the station, we were greeted with this little gem:

Tears came to my eyes we were laughing so hard.

After picking ourselves off the floor, HBE and I bundled up and made our usual snow-storm trek to Fraisers, our fav dive bar in the city. It's not like we had to worry about making it to work the next day, afterall.

And now, your recipes...

The thundersnow (yes, there was thunder) got me thinking about one of my favorite snow time activities: keeping warm via booze. Not to sound like a complete alcoholic, but few things cheer me up on a snow day like a glass of something that warms you up from the inside out. Minus snowball fights and snow angels of course.

I got bored on the walk home from the bar. Apologies to my neighbor.

So imagine my delight when I came across the following during a recent visit to the wine and spirits shop:

WOOT!

Monteith's is brand of beer I used to enjoy when I lived in Wellington. And while I've seen Steinlager sold with growing frequency (usually during the USA Sevens Rugby Festival), this is the first time I've come across a beer that I actually drank while abroad. AND it's the Black brand! I heart the black brand! And it's just in time for the Investec Super Rugby campaign. Preseason games start tonight!! Which is actually tomorrow in NZ but whatevs! GO Canes! (And Highlanders - I love an underdog.)

Try it if you come across a bottle and send a thank you note accordingly. The games you'll have to catch online.

The other adult themed beverage I can rave about comes courtesy of one of my other favorite bars in the city. Bad Decisions is tucked away in the Fell's Point neighborhood. In addition to it's bacon-theme happy hour and prolific collection of in-house board games (seriously - have you ever been to a bar where you can play Axis and Allies should the mood strike?), the staff at BD can custom tailor a drink to fit your mood. I wanted something creamy and Ana (our lovely bartender) came up with this:

Serious yum.

I'm still not sure what the hell's in it, although I do know that the bottom dark half is made up of coffee-flavored tequilla. (Oh yeah.) The above-pictured beverage didn't have a name at the time of service, so I dubbed it the Businessman's Breakfast. I'm hoping it sticks.

I actually have scads of recipes to post. Turns out I should have added"be a more proficient blogger" to my list of New Years resolutions. Is it to late to call for a mulligan?

(Go Steelers!)

Thursday's Food in Print

I actually DO have a post I've been meaning to drum up (surprise! it's about alcohol!), but in an attempt to be more consistent with my posting, I've decided to dedicate my Thursdays to cool food stories in the media. There's a chance I'll have one or two other themed days, but until then, enjoy this little press hit from NPR...

Gleaning A Harvest For The Needy By Fighting Waste

by BLAKE FARMER

On U.S. farms, gleaning is making a comeback, as a national anti-hunger organization has turned to the ancient practice to help feed the poor. And it also gives farmers a way to use produce that would otherwise be wasted.

In the Old Testament, farmers are told not to pick their fields and vineyards clean, but instead to leave the edges for orphans, widows and travelers. In the modern day, gleaning is more about preventing would-be waste.

Food gets left in the field for all kinds of reasons. Two big ones are that mechanical harvesting misses a lot — and sometimes the crops aren't pretty enough for supermarket shelves.
"The statistics are that 96 billion pounds of food are left, this is pre-consumer food, goes to waste in this country," says Linda Tozer of theSociety of St. Andrew, an organization that coordinates farmers around the Southeast and out West.

And that food-waste estimate, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is going up, not down.
"What we are trying to do is build a network that will take food that would not make it to market for a variety of reasons," Tozer says, "and get it to agencies that are feeding the hungry."

The Society of St. Andrew recently added an office in Tennessee. At Jackson Farms in Pikeville, volunteer Nathaniel Smart, 5, heaved a mesh bag of red and green bell peppers from a scale and dropped it on a growing pile.

Volunteers like Smart and his dad are key to what makes gleaning work — free labor. They went down rows of plants, picking ripe vegetables.

There's nothing wrong with these peppers, but they're not worth farmer Johnny Jackson's time. He says he already has more than he knows what to do with in a chocked-full storehouse.
"You got supply and demand — is the first rule of the deal," Jackson says. "And if you got more supply than you have got demand for it, then it's going to go to waste."

Jackson has nothing to lose. The motivation, he says, has little to do with a biblical command, though he's happy to feed the hungry. He'll also pocket a tax deduction worth the value of what he gives away.

But Jackson also says that it's hard to plan for gleaning. He has just a few days between when he's decided he's sold all he can, and when the produce goes bad.
On short notice, the Society of St. Andrew gathered a preacher, a Girl Scout troop and a few neighbors, like Mary Beth Sanders.

"I just got an e-mail, some farmer friends passing around word of this activity," she says.
Sanders' frayed straw hat gives her away as a part-time farmer. But even she is surprised by how much goes to waste.

"I mean, you pass farms up here all the time, just peppers rotting on the ground, or on the vine," she says. "It's not cool."

On this day, the scales have measured more than a thousand pounds of produce. Volunteers pack the rescued rations in a church van and a pickup truck, bound for a food pantry and the sheriff's office.

Tozer says her gleaners could spend all weekend here picking several thousand pounds more, but she has her own logistics problem. No one else is lined up to take the vegetables.

"Isn't that horrible?" she says. "But we have done this much, and that's more than if we hadn't shown up, so that's the way we've got to look at it."

Tozer's organization gleaned more produce than ever last year — 18 million pounds. But that's still small potatoes compared to how much will never make it to the dinner table

A New Year/A New Touch of Crazy

The next one's in 2012. Who's game??

Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge

Saturday, January 8, 2011 and Sunday, January 9, 2011

Sign up for Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge with 7500 of your closest friends!

Are you looking for the ultimate test of endurance? Then compete in Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge where you will run the Half Marathon on Saturday and then the Marathon on Sunday. If you finish both races in the time limit you will be awarded the coveted Goofy medal.

You must register for Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge to receive the Goofy medal upon completion of both races within the pacing requirements.

Each participant's $310 registration in Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge will include:

• Race Registration for both the Half Marathon and Marathon
• Official Race Handbook
• Commemorative Champion® Race Tech Shirt for Marathon, Half Marathon and Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge
• Goody Bag
• Disney's Health & Fitness Expo including our world-class Speaker Series
• Event Weekend Transportation for ALL WALT DISNEY WORLD® Resort Hotels
• Special Goofy Personalized Bibs (Register by 11/1/10)
• On Course Refreshments
• On Course Disney Entertainment
• Post-Race Refreshments
• Family Reunion Area with live entertainment and characters
• Post-Race web site with direct access to your race photos, results and custom finisher certificate
• All runners who complete both the Half Marathon and Marathon will receive the special Goofy medal in addition to the Mickey and Donald medals from the individual events!
• Disney magic you won't find anywhere else!

**Dates, times and prices subject to change. All races are subject to capacity limits and may close at any time.**

SQUEE!!!

Snow down South: Veganized Eggplant Parmigiana

Happy holidays from sunny South Carolina, where 2 1/2 inches of snow managed to overtake my parents' neighborhood in a single night and throw off our travel plans by an entire day. Who says there's no such thing as climate change?

Anyway, our holiday traveling has finally, FINALLY come to an end, and now Tony (aka Best Husband Ever, aka BHE) and I can chill out at home for a bit and play with our respective Christmas presents. (Him: new power tools; Me: a Nook)

Prior to taking off for locations up and down the East Coast, BHE and I managed to visit M&M of ex-boyfriend collection fame for some good eats. Well, the Lady M and I had some good eats; the boys had a man date to go and see Tron Legacy. (They both liked it.)

Lady M is a whiz at veganizing recipes, so we took the time this evening to prepare some Panzanella (already a vegan recipe) and a tweaked version of Mario Batali's Eggplant Parmigiana.

The eggplant was SIGNIFICANTLY less involved than the panzanella, the steps to which included roasting tomatoes and reducing the rendered juices with wine for the dressing. It was amazing, as ever - and the eggplant dish pretty much puts itself together. (Daiya makes an tasty vegan mozzarella cheese you can use in the recipe.) BHE thought the slices were too thick to really enjoy, but I thought their size gave them more of a steak-like texture that added to the dish.

Monster Cat kept an eye on things while we were in the kitchen. He later went on to eat a whole mouse, proving veganism is not in fact for everybody.

Check out Mario's recipe and try it for yourself. While I'm afraid I don't have the exact recipe the panzanella we used, I've had good luck in the past with Ina Garten's take on the dish.

We're nearly a week into the new year already. Break any of those resolutions yet? :)