I roasted another turkey. I reign triumphant. Well, as long as no critters have jumped it, whilst it has been cooling outside!

I have been hella crabby, the past week. No, it's not anywhere near that particular time of the month... it's all just bass ackwards, and I am exhausted. Stupid life, figure yourself out!

Saw "New Moon" and liked it, despite the Limburger Factor.

Dreams with my brother, so often. He never says anything, and it upsets me.

Going to rescue the turkey & go to bed.

Holy crap, I am the goddess of turkey noodle soup. I want my soup to last forever. I was going to make curried turkey, but I ended up doing soup.

Alas, I couldn't even tell you what all I tossed into the pot, besides onion, celery, carrots, leftover turkey, cooked rotini, aleppo peper seasoning from Penzey's, Kosher salt, smashed garlic, a lot of pepper, epazote, a shake of ground chipotle, 2 bay leaves and... and... whatever it was that made it taste so damned good.

Made with lots of love & happiness. I can even see my kitchen. It IS in there, somewhere! Hallelujah, I can actually cook now.

And now... maybe I'll see about that curry.

Chers & All

 ... And because food is my undeniable crutch, I went to Penzey's to buy Epazote (where you buy 4 one-ounce bags for the price of a four-ounc, and it's actually quite nice that way!), some whole chipotle chiles, and some ground chipotle chili powder, as well as some more Chile 3000 seasoning. I also scored my free wee container of poultry seasoning (which I actually haven't tried-- I've used McCormick's for years), and felt rather triumphant. Then I realized I was missing something... CAKE.

 Yes, I've been hankering for cake. And I'm evil, awful, weird. I am very picky about my cake. I don't mean to be, but each time I spend good money eating crappy, nasty, no-good food, the less time & money I want to spend, period.
 So I am happy to report that when I screeched to a stop 500 yards away from Cafe Latte (my apologies once again to the handsome brunette who gave me his fist-- I guess your manners are about as good as my driving, today) to buy a bowl of delicious Swedish sausage-potato soup ( a little salty, but that will be OK for most folks other than me) and a slice of lovely carrot cake. Once more, my faith in Cafe Latte is restored. I have had good food! I guess it's a hit & miss, rather like the Birchwood Cafe (my other favorite place to go). 


 And the bonus to all of this-- it is fricking unbelievably BEAUTIFUL outside. If you live in central MinneSnota, for Hannah's sake, get OUTSIDE today! You won't regret it.

 Crap, and later remind me to tell you about Victor's on Grand-- I totally forgot to post about it.

 OK- time for work. Cheers!

 So how long does it take a 22lb. turkey to thaw from frozen, in a fairly cool fridge? Hmmm.

 Eventually, I'd like to cook it before Thanksgiving. I'm going out for Thanksgiving, this year (Lake Elmo Inn's brunch!). Somebody else can go through all of that work & cleanup for 2 people, thanks very much!

 Hmmm. Hope it's thawed out by Wednesday, cuz that's about as long as I want to/can wait. I am going to make turkey soup, sammies, etc. Everything you get tired of, after eating so much for The Meal. Not me. This is the beginning of many delicious dishes that I am going to make, this month. Thirty-nine cents/lb., folks. That's a helluva lotta bird-- that's a helluva lot of cheap meals. 
 The bird is big enough to take a long while to make (for once, I actually need the size to compensate for time, so I can get it done while at work), plus provide me with a lot of meat, and a fabu carcass for soup base. Yummmms.

 And now.. I'm falling asleep at my keyboard. No bad thing, because it's about that time anyway.

 Cheers!
 
 

 Oh crap, Jennifgrr-- your birthday is on Friday! I just remembered. Ooof. Short-term memory span. I will send you something. I hope!

 However, I am glad to remember much of anything, some days. Stress has eaten my braaaiiin. Except for today; today was the last day of my lovely vacation (I was forced to go home on Wednesday, had a fabulous time with Superior Ronda on Thursday, yesterday mum came down to visit (we watched a ton of movies, including the long-drawn but well-done "Australia," with Hugh Jackman) and today I cooked. I cooked allllll day, and it was bloody magnificent! Chili, bread, squash, delidious pulled pork...

 I also shoved my face into an Epic Fail cake. Mum and I were both envisioning something else & it didn't quite make the mark. I simply had no choice. It was my punishment for making such heinoustrocity! OK, not really I was laughing so hard before & aft that I nearly inhaled some through my nose!
  Argh. I mean, I followed the recipe & everything, but it just wasn't... it wasn't chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting, nor was it peanut butter fudge. Which was what both of us were actually hungry for. Go figure.

 And now...
 I shall wish you a happy NoRemember, Folks.

 My work day returneth. And don't forget to set your stupid clocks back.

Why didn't I think of this sooner? D'oh!

 If I remember, when I remember, I'll post whatever new music I've found for the day. My reference may only be to one song from a particular artist, from one or more of their albums, but that doesn't mean that you will or won't like the rest of their work--that's for you to decide. I just want to introduce the music. My taste usually runs on the melodic, "non-loud" side. I dunno, I used to listen to louder/more violent music, but my ears are aging, or something. I just cannot listen to some screaming & growling & carrying on, any more. The notes (or lack of them) make me cringe.

 Now, then... Let's see--  no making fun of me when I find bands that have been around forever, have split up, members have died, etc. We find music for a reason, I think. I think it's awesome that we have it, period.

 I'll figure out how I want to present this as I go. Or not. You know me. So here goes:
 
 Today's find: Robert Francis, via iTunes. First track listened to: "Keep on Running."
  I am highly amused by the fact his entire album, "Nightfall," is a whole lot of genres mooshed together, with nice results. Classified as alternative, the album still has plenty of modern country, 50's-esque, folk, etc. flavors.  
 His debut album, "One by One," is gentler, more folksy, and I prefer it over "Nightfall." It is with as much (if not more) experimentation in instruments (a glockenspiel! how cool is that), and I love his vocals. 
 Favorite track off of "One by One" : "The Devil's Mountains."

 And now... off to breathe deeply of the incredible scent of just-baked apple pie!  I made it  for my co-worker M., for her 50th birthday.

 Cheers

 

 Gawd, this is good! 
 
 I'm savoring a luscious Austrian white-- Höpler's Grüner Veltliner Guttenberg, 2006. I have a totally useless palette, but what I managed to say in between smiles was "this is a mouthful of joy!" It's a sweet white, with a clean finish.  

 And that's all I have to say, for the moment.

 Cheers!

*Raineth dials a SBX number*

"Hi guys. Could I put in an order for a venti latte with extra foam? I'll be there in 20 minutes."
"Is this Raineth?"
"Uh, yes!"
"Oh, OK! Do you want a triple or quad shot with that?"

 *sigh*

 I am the height of, and also the epitomy of,  Lazy with a big  damned "L," and they know me too well. Seriously.

But they rule, for making me coffee in advance. I'm too impatient to wait for my quad-shot to be made. Even whilst visiting via the drive-thru.

However, I was kept nicely fueled all evening, and that's a good thing.

Cheers & What Not

I like it when I become crabby & decide to do something about it.

( More Blather, Yeah! )

The month is slipping away. I'd go chasing after it, but I have this sneaking suspicion that all I'd find is snow, yuck!

AND!
An official invite for Friends-- or  those who are interested:
I will be having my official Unbirthday gathering (whether it's just me, Weasel & my mom or a few more) in Hastings at Schaar's Bluff, come Sunday, September 27th. It will be a basic picnic/steak or burger-type series of food stuffs, with a potluck option-- depending on number of folks. I am honestly not expecting many, as I am fairly far away & this is not much notice.
 I plan on being out there for most of the day, at least after 11am, and lounging by fire. I will be starting things on fire. Because that's very necessary. I don't know where I'll be hanging out, as of yet... probably in or by the East picnic shelter (even though I haven't reserved it-- turns out I needed one more day in advance to do so--DUR). As far as I know, unless the spot is reserved, folks are still welcome to descend upon it.
I will have a Plan B in place.

Jackanapes need not arrive.

I really want to have a Hot Chocolate Party in the winter, I've decided. All manner of nom-nom treats & of course a spotlight on real hot chocolate (the kind you almost have to eat, it's so rich). Hmmm. More on that later. Any thoughts?

OK, off to try to wake up & de-ouch. I am definately a stereotypical American-- I can't even walk 5 miles without feeling it the next day. Sheesh. Must. Move. More!

Anyway... Really & truly trying to wake up, now...

Cheers & All

Aaaaaaaaauuuughhhhhh!  I ruined my beautiful potroast!
This is an emergency! Gah! Oh, how could I have done something so simple, evil, wrong?! Just shoot the cook!

OK, not really. Don't shoot the cook. She was exhausted & tried her best, and is wavering as she sits... waiting to get ready for a closing shift at work.
I am so  very, very not anywhere remotely present or accounted for, today.
 I totally overcooked the poor beef chuck (forgot to remove the tin foil so that is could roast, instead of ending up boiling and drying out, more or less), and there's obviously no time to roast another one. *sigh*

Word to the wise: DO NO, I repeat, DO NOT cook when you are so tired that you honestly have no idea why you turned the oven on.

Cheers & Snores

 This one thing, I know: the rains that are falling now are autumnal rains. They are early, and the light is still weird.

 On a good note, Harvey will finally have services on Monday... apparently Fort Snelling takes a blast of dynamite to move it along , in preparation for Veteran burial services. Harvey was a Vietnam Marine vet, in the worst of the worst... his platoon lost most of its men. He didn't talk about it much.

I am having pizza, a handful of carrots, cherry tomatoes & pizza for dinner. I am nigh exhausted & can't be bothered to do much else.  I might just watch David Tennant arch his brow in the Dr. Who style, for an hour or so...  but now I am off...

Cheers & All

            
 Err, either I have a Lawn Fairy, or I'm going to get a nice, fat bill from the Park Office for them having to mow my lawn. It looks great, except that I didn't do it. I've been meaning to, but between the rain & ill-timed work shifts, it just didn't happen. I hope they didn't step in rogue Weasel poop. Sometimes I think he's done, I pick it up, turn around, and he's run off to go squat in a different spot. Gah! 

 Today at work I was told about a restaurant I had never known about, which is an absolute horror, seeing as I once lived less than five minutes from it. Well, no wonder I never knew about it; it's cleverly hidden by a good number of rigs, and the road to it is "ULP!"-inspiring. Very dark. Very dangerous-looking. Very abandoned-looking from the outside, if there hadn't been about 40 trucks guarding it with softly growling engines. The place, Stockmen's Truck Stop, is a typical mid-stride, Midwestern truck stop. Nice older waitress who drawled & called me "Honey," and served damned good burgers. Oh, goodness. 
 ( Read About Stockmen's! )