A trivia tidbit:
Since 1960, the working vocabulary of Americans has dropped from 25,000 words to 10,000 words.
I think that is very sad.
According to my trusty online thesaurus, I could have used such words as "disheartening," "lachrymose," "lugubrious," or "pitiable."
But who talks likes that?
sigh.
Oh, and "tragic." That would have worked too.
13 December 2014
01 October 2014
Adventures In Brining
This actually happened back in November of 2006. I had originally had it on another blog, that is no longer active. It is sort of funny, so I decided to include it on this blog, now that October is here and the holidays are quickly approaching (yes, I know you don't want to think about *that*!)
I hope it makes you smile, just as much as the memory of the situation does for us!
In November of 2006, my husband and I watched a Food Network show called Good Eats, starring Alton Brown. In this holiday special episode, Mr Brown brined a turkey, and said that all turkeys should be brined.
DH turns to me and says, "We should do that."
Now, a few notes here. DH doesn't really cook. Sometimes pancakes on a Saturday morning, but that is it. Any poultry cooking is going to fall squarely on me.
And, I have to be honest, I like my poultry to be pieces of chicken of the "individually-quick-frozen-boneless-skinless-breastmeat" variety. As a matter of fact, my 4 year old ate KFC fried chicken for the first time in her life a few weeks back, and as she ate that drumstick, she was astounded at the fact that there were "BONES in this CHICKEN! LOOK, MOMMY! This chicken has bones!!!" At which point, the "almost" vegetarian 17 year old girl gagged, the 8 year old boy cracked up, and I realized I had of course failed my children's education yet again, since my 4 year old wasn't aware that chickens have skeletons.
So -- I am not real into handling raw poultry. And when the poultry in question is about 25 pounds of slippery, wet turkey, into which I have to stick my hands to pull out the innards....ugh....anyway.....
So, when DH said, "We should do that." I replied with, "Uh-huh."
Which I suppose he could have taken to mean, "What a good idea!" but was honestly meant more like, "Yeah, right."
Thanksgiving approaches, and two days or so before, he says, "So, when do you have to start brining the bird?"
I am aghast! He remembers? And he actually wants me to brine a big ol' raw bird? 17 year old "almost" vegetarian is pulling for a tofurky. Though I am not so sure I want to go to that extreme, I hadn't really planned on doing a whole turkey. And, I have no idea where this brining is supposed to take place.
"Ummmmm...." is my stunning reply.
His face falls. "You don't want to do it?"
Inner sigh.
Inner dread.
Outer smile, with the bubbly reply, "Of course we can! Do you think you could help me?"
"Sure!"
He is excited. I am thinking of cross contamination of salmonella all over my kitchen.
So -- off to Whole Foods to get our Organic, Cage Free, Free Roaming Turkey (this is a concession to 17 year old. Obviously, it must also be gold laced, judging from the price of the thing. ) And I think of the, IMHO, absolutely brilliant idea of using a disposable cooler to brine it in. You know -- the cheapy styrofoam ones at the store. It is cheap enough that we can throw it out afterwards without being *too* wasteful, and solves some of my bacteria ridden fears.
Get the bird home, talk DH into washing and pulling out all the icky inside parts - during which he makes awful faces and says he now understand my aversion to doing this. Into the cooler, covered with the brine and ice. Hurray!! We will have a yummy dinner tomorrow!! That was actually pretty easy!! We congratulate ourselves and head off to other preparations.
A few moments later, I happen to notice water on the side of the cooler. Hhhmmmm. Call DH. We both stand and inspect the cooler, and decide it must be condensation, or maybe I spilled some of the brine as I poured it in. Get a paper towel and wipe it off. Immediately, the pink water droplets show back up.
Uh-oh.
It seems styrofoam coolers are not actually watertight. And if you put a salt brine into them, and a 25 pound turkey, the brine leaks out through microscopic holes in the styrofoam.
ACK!
Salmonella juice is spilling out the side of the cooler, I have a huge ol' bird and no place to put it, and what are we gonna do?
Call dd17 out to kitchen, hand her a roll of paper towels and say, "Wipe up the moisture, and we will be back in a sec!" She looks at me with horror but for once in her life doesn't argue. It must have been the utter desperation on my face.
Off to the store, to find a plastic container of some sort to hold this bird, and QUICK.
Of course, it is now about 11pm, and there is nothing in the local grocer that will work, and they are closing - they are turning off the lights as we look around for something, anything, that might work. We are starting to eye the plastic hampers.
Then DH looks at the plastic bags. Like the new HUGE ziplock bags that are for storing jackets or blankets? THOSE will hold the bird!
Back home, and maneuver the slippery, wet, and now VERY cold bird into the plastic bag. Back into the cooler. Another plastic bag around goes around the cooler.
I disinfect everything I can. I am thinking I will never do this again.
The next day, I cook the best Thanksgiving Turkey that I have ever made. It tastes SO good. Now I know why Mr Brown espouses brining. And I will brine again.
But it might be with individually-quick-frozen-boneless-skinless-breastmeat.
:)
I hope it makes you smile, just as much as the memory of the situation does for us!
In November of 2006, my husband and I watched a Food Network show called Good Eats, starring Alton Brown. In this holiday special episode, Mr Brown brined a turkey, and said that all turkeys should be brined.
DH turns to me and says, "We should do that."
Now, a few notes here. DH doesn't really cook. Sometimes pancakes on a Saturday morning, but that is it. Any poultry cooking is going to fall squarely on me.
And, I have to be honest, I like my poultry to be pieces of chicken of the "individually-quick-frozen-boneless-skinless-breastmeat" variety. As a matter of fact, my 4 year old ate KFC fried chicken for the first time in her life a few weeks back, and as she ate that drumstick, she was astounded at the fact that there were "BONES in this CHICKEN! LOOK, MOMMY! This chicken has bones!!!" At which point, the "almost" vegetarian 17 year old girl gagged, the 8 year old boy cracked up, and I realized I had of course failed my children's education yet again, since my 4 year old wasn't aware that chickens have skeletons.
So -- I am not real into handling raw poultry. And when the poultry in question is about 25 pounds of slippery, wet turkey, into which I have to stick my hands to pull out the innards....ugh....anyway.....
So, when DH said, "We should do that." I replied with, "Uh-huh."
Which I suppose he could have taken to mean, "What a good idea!" but was honestly meant more like, "Yeah, right."
Thanksgiving approaches, and two days or so before, he says, "So, when do you have to start brining the bird?"
I am aghast! He remembers? And he actually wants me to brine a big ol' raw bird? 17 year old "almost" vegetarian is pulling for a tofurky. Though I am not so sure I want to go to that extreme, I hadn't really planned on doing a whole turkey. And, I have no idea where this brining is supposed to take place.
"Ummmmm...." is my stunning reply.
His face falls. "You don't want to do it?"
Inner sigh.
Inner dread.
Outer smile, with the bubbly reply, "Of course we can! Do you think you could help me?"
"Sure!"
He is excited. I am thinking of cross contamination of salmonella all over my kitchen.
So -- off to Whole Foods to get our Organic, Cage Free, Free Roaming Turkey (this is a concession to 17 year old. Obviously, it must also be gold laced, judging from the price of the thing. ) And I think of the, IMHO, absolutely brilliant idea of using a disposable cooler to brine it in. You know -- the cheapy styrofoam ones at the store. It is cheap enough that we can throw it out afterwards without being *too* wasteful, and solves some of my bacteria ridden fears.
Get the bird home, talk DH into washing and pulling out all the icky inside parts - during which he makes awful faces and says he now understand my aversion to doing this. Into the cooler, covered with the brine and ice. Hurray!! We will have a yummy dinner tomorrow!! That was actually pretty easy!! We congratulate ourselves and head off to other preparations.
A few moments later, I happen to notice water on the side of the cooler. Hhhmmmm. Call DH. We both stand and inspect the cooler, and decide it must be condensation, or maybe I spilled some of the brine as I poured it in. Get a paper towel and wipe it off. Immediately, the pink water droplets show back up.
Uh-oh.
It seems styrofoam coolers are not actually watertight. And if you put a salt brine into them, and a 25 pound turkey, the brine leaks out through microscopic holes in the styrofoam.
ACK!
Salmonella juice is spilling out the side of the cooler, I have a huge ol' bird and no place to put it, and what are we gonna do?
Call dd17 out to kitchen, hand her a roll of paper towels and say, "Wipe up the moisture, and we will be back in a sec!" She looks at me with horror but for once in her life doesn't argue. It must have been the utter desperation on my face.
Off to the store, to find a plastic container of some sort to hold this bird, and QUICK.
Of course, it is now about 11pm, and there is nothing in the local grocer that will work, and they are closing - they are turning off the lights as we look around for something, anything, that might work. We are starting to eye the plastic hampers.
Then DH looks at the plastic bags. Like the new HUGE ziplock bags that are for storing jackets or blankets? THOSE will hold the bird!
Back home, and maneuver the slippery, wet, and now VERY cold bird into the plastic bag. Back into the cooler. Another plastic bag around goes around the cooler.
I disinfect everything I can. I am thinking I will never do this again.
The next day, I cook the best Thanksgiving Turkey that I have ever made. It tastes SO good. Now I know why Mr Brown espouses brining. And I will brine again.
But it might be with individually-quick-frozen-boneless-skinless-breastmeat.
:)
30 June 2014
twenty cents
It happened already.
I was in Wal-mart, and it has already begun!
(insert scary music here! .....dum-dum-dum-dum.....)
Back-to-School-Shopping!!!
The rows are already in place, I got my sales flier in the mail today. On the front page -- twenty-four count crayons for .20 cents!
$0.20! What a deal!
And glue, and rulers, and folders, and notebooks!
Oh, my!
⊙_☉
And, yes, we homeschool and all -- but won't I be depriving them if they can't pick out a brand new lunchbox and backpack along with everyone else?!?! We go on picnics, right? (✿◠‿◠)
********************
Okay, but seriously now, I do buy the crayons.
Why? Not because we need crayons.
Our house has enough crayons that I could probably stack them up around the outside of our home like tiny colorful little lengths of timber for our very own unique wax log cabin.
No, I buy them because there is something so nice about opening that new box of crayons.
All in their little ordered rows, their little tips still pristine.
And the way the kidlings get so excited at a new box of crayons.
How one of my children will only take out one at a time as he needs it.
How the other will dump the whole box and line them up - to easily grab the next needed color.
It is like opening up a box of imagination, and creativity, and possibilities.
For twenty cents?
Yeah, that is more than worth it....
I was in Wal-mart, and it has already begun!
(insert scary music here! .....dum-dum-dum-dum.....)
Back-to-School-Shopping!!!
The rows are already in place, I got my sales flier in the mail today. On the front page -- twenty-four count crayons for .20 cents!
$0.20! What a deal!
And glue, and rulers, and folders, and notebooks!
Oh, my!
⊙_☉
And, yes, we homeschool and all -- but won't I be depriving them if they can't pick out a brand new lunchbox and backpack along with everyone else?!?! We go on picnics, right? (✿◠‿◠)
********************
Okay, but seriously now, I do buy the crayons.
Why? Not because we need crayons.
Our house has enough crayons that I could probably stack them up around the outside of our home like tiny colorful little lengths of timber for our very own unique wax log cabin.
No, I buy them because there is something so nice about opening that new box of crayons.
All in their little ordered rows, their little tips still pristine.
And the way the kidlings get so excited at a new box of crayons.
How one of my children will only take out one at a time as he needs it.
How the other will dump the whole box and line them up - to easily grab the next needed color.
It is like opening up a box of imagination, and creativity, and possibilities.
For twenty cents?
Yeah, that is more than worth it....
10 April 2011
*giggle* my dh is so cool!
Here is a picture from the show my husband works on with Cirque du Soleil.
He's projecting the images that are behind the performers.
The show recently won an international award from the Themed Entertainment Association.
He's projecting the images that are behind the performers.
The show recently won an international award from the Themed Entertainment Association.
It took so many, many years to get here, I think sometimes I am still in shock.
19 December 2008
Desert Snow!
Vegas got an unusual weather system - which included it starting to snow at my house right around noon, and continuing on for hours! (It snowed where I lived in Phoenix one time in 18 years, and it lasted for about 10 minutes, and that was it.) But, yesterday, my kids got to see, and play in, honest-to-goodness (albeit a very dense and wet) snowfall.
It has been 30 years since Vegas has seen snow like this.
There was a snow-day called for the local schools - the first time that Clark County has ever had a snow day!
Now, I love snow. I *love* it. So to say that I was excited doesn't even begin to cover it. I called my mother about every hour, to say, "It's still snowing!" followed by joyous giggling.
Yes, it was dark out. But this was the first time Starburst had ever even seen snow! No taking chances it would start to rain and wash it away. We obviously don't have the appropriate clothes for snow. She didn't care!
There wasn't quite enough for a snow fort - but a snow barricade works too! Firefly hides out behind his.
Snow Angels!It warmed up today, and most of it melted away. But, it was beautiful and magical and finally, something I actually like about living in Vegas!
12 December 2007
Play Silks!
I was reading a thread on a forum, when a friend offered to put up on her blog a tutorial on dyeing playsilks with Kool-aid.
How very neat! A way to dye silks, and I didn't even have to wear gloves or worry about fumes? I could do this!
I proceeded to convince the husband to order me some silks from Dharma Trading, so that I could dye them for Sunburst. He obliged, which shows just what a great guy he is, because I often make grand plans craft related, buy lots of materials, and then fall very short on the follow through.
So, I got my silks, and then, I raided our Kool-aid stash.
I used Lemon-Lime (green), Pink Lemonade (pink), Lemonade (yellow), Grape (purple), Orange (haha - orange), and Ice Blue Lemonade (Blue).
Huh - we have a lot of lemonade variations, don't we?
Anyway, you soak the silks in a water/vinegar mixture for a short while, then put water, a splash of vinegar, and Kool-aid packets into each bowl. For instance, the blue and green only had two packets, whereas I used 4 each for pink & yellow, figuring they were lighter colors.
The coolest part was the way that the water in the bowl turned clear as the silk soaked up the dye. Before I put in the silk, the purple looked black, and when I was done, the water was basically clear. Very neat.
After rinsing with cool water, hanging a dry, and a quick run through the dryer, I have the finished product!
They came out with a lovely variegated pattern, that I was hoping they would have, but wasn't sure how to achieve on purpose ( I used small bowls, so some sections pulled in a lot more color.) The pink/yellow was the only one I did multi-color on a single silk, and I am really pleased with the results.
So, Thank you Mary! This was so much fun, I am really wanting to do more. I love easy crafts, and the whole kitchen smelled so fruity too.
How very neat! A way to dye silks, and I didn't even have to wear gloves or worry about fumes? I could do this!
I proceeded to convince the husband to order me some silks from Dharma Trading, so that I could dye them for Sunburst. He obliged, which shows just what a great guy he is, because I often make grand plans craft related, buy lots of materials, and then fall very short on the follow through.
So, I got my silks, and then, I raided our Kool-aid stash.
I used Lemon-Lime (green), Pink Lemonade (pink), Lemonade (yellow), Grape (purple), Orange (haha - orange), and Ice Blue Lemonade (Blue).
Huh - we have a lot of lemonade variations, don't we?
Anyway, you soak the silks in a water/vinegar mixture for a short while, then put water, a splash of vinegar, and Kool-aid packets into each bowl. For instance, the blue and green only had two packets, whereas I used 4 each for pink & yellow, figuring they were lighter colors.
The coolest part was the way that the water in the bowl turned clear as the silk soaked up the dye. Before I put in the silk, the purple looked black, and when I was done, the water was basically clear. Very neat.
After rinsing with cool water, hanging a dry, and a quick run through the dryer, I have the finished product!
They came out with a lovely variegated pattern, that I was hoping they would have, but wasn't sure how to achieve on purpose ( I used small bowls, so some sections pulled in a lot more color.) The pink/yellow was the only one I did multi-color on a single silk, and I am really pleased with the results.
So, Thank you Mary! This was so much fun, I am really wanting to do more. I love easy crafts, and the whole kitchen smelled so fruity too.
webkinz
Do you know about Webkinz?
I didn't.
Maybe we do *occasionally* miss some of the latest fads because we homeschool. But usually, I am at least aware of current trends. I had no idea how popular these plush little things are.
They are like beanie babies, but on steroids. Really. They are desperately cute, and oh-so-cuddly.
And like crack for small children.
I'm not kidding.
Webkinz = Kiddie Crack.
Because, when they get a Webkinz, there is a code, and you take this code and go online and there - on the screen - is a virtual version of your pet! How cool! And you can buy them clothes, and play games with them, and take care of them. Wow!!!
And then, you find out that there are codes everywhere, on all sorts of things. Special codes. Codes that get you special treats, features, etc in Virtual Webkinz Land. And then the whining begins...
"Moooommmmm, can we get on webkinz.com?!? I need to tell my pet I love them everyday, or they will get unhappy!"
"Moooommmmm, I need to get: (the lip gloss, the body spritz, the charms, the clothes, the bookmarks - each with its own SPECIAL SECRET CODE!!!) for my pet, pleassssssse?"
"Moooommmmm, when my year is up can I have your credit card so I don't lose all the prizes I have won?" (Seriously, my child just asked me that. I laughed. Hard.)
Now, you may wonder why we even have these little critters. My Uncle, who I will now refer to as Uncle Dealer, got them for my children, in an attempt to have all the grandkids/cousins have a way to stay in touch. I figured, oh, okay, sounds cute, and they can connect with their cousins online.
But instead I have strung out little junkies who need their webkinz fix.
However....
it is a good motivator...
"Finish your Math, or no webkinz."
"Do your chores, or no webkinz."
"Stop whining, or no..."
...you get the idea...
bad Mommy :)
I didn't.
Maybe we do *occasionally* miss some of the latest fads because we homeschool. But usually, I am at least aware of current trends. I had no idea how popular these plush little things are.
They are like beanie babies, but on steroids. Really. They are desperately cute, and oh-so-cuddly.
And like crack for small children.
I'm not kidding.
Webkinz = Kiddie Crack.
Because, when they get a Webkinz, there is a code, and you take this code and go online and there - on the screen - is a virtual version of your pet! How cool! And you can buy them clothes, and play games with them, and take care of them. Wow!!!
And then, you find out that there are codes everywhere, on all sorts of things. Special codes. Codes that get you special treats, features, etc in Virtual Webkinz Land. And then the whining begins...
"Moooommmmm, can we get on webkinz.com?!? I need to tell my pet I love them everyday, or they will get unhappy!"
"Moooommmmm, I need to get: (the lip gloss, the body spritz, the charms, the clothes, the bookmarks - each with its own SPECIAL SECRET CODE!!!) for my pet, pleassssssse?"
"Moooommmmm, when my year is up can I have your credit card so I don't lose all the prizes I have won?" (Seriously, my child just asked me that. I laughed. Hard.)
Now, you may wonder why we even have these little critters. My Uncle, who I will now refer to as Uncle Dealer, got them for my children, in an attempt to have all the grandkids/cousins have a way to stay in touch. I figured, oh, okay, sounds cute, and they can connect with their cousins online.
But instead I have strung out little junkies who need their webkinz fix.
However....
it is a good motivator...
"Finish your Math, or no webkinz."
"Do your chores, or no webkinz."
"Stop whining, or no..."
...you get the idea...
bad Mommy :)
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