Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Recommended: Cold Onions

I happened to catch the show Food Detectives the other night. If you haven't seen it, you aren't missing much. I suppose it is interesting enough-- they address different food myths and tell you the science behind them. I just feel like they made an entire series out of something that could have fit into a one-hour special.

Example: In a recent episode they test the best way to recover from eating something that is too spicy. They try water, soda, beer, bread, and milk. I knew the answer before they even started, and so it didn't surprise me that they saved the milk for last. But that seems to be how every episode goes. Want to know the best way to chop an onion without tearing up? Check out the order of the theories they are going to "test," see which one comes last, and move on with your life.

That said...

I actually sat through the entire onion episode. They tried cutting the onion under water, and a couple other things I don't remember, but the last one... the last one my friends, was to make the onion cold first. They suggested that putting an onion into the fridge about 20 minutes before you need it will significantly cut down the onion chopping cry fest.

I didn't think about it again until tonight. I made a very impressive and healthy (no really, it is!) shepherd's pie. It calls for 2 onions, but I had just one whole onion in the cabinet, and a half-used onion in the fridge. I pulled out the refrigerated onion first and chopped it up without even thinking about it. Then, I took out the onion from the cabinet, and just seconds into chopping, my eyes were burning and tearing and I was wiping my face on my sleeve in an attempt to cut with my eyes open and not forfeit one of my fingers.

And then I remembered that episode of Food Detectives. A-ha! It really works!

I still don't know if I'd sit through an entire episode of the show again, but I would definitely check out all their tests, find out which one comes last... and then do that.

UPDATE: The shepherd's pie was just okay. I wasn't really a fan of the overwhelming thyme flavor. For next time, maybe some grill seasoning or seasoned salt instead? However, the mashed potato/cauliflower topping was delish. It was a nice way to lighten up the mashed potatoes without going full cauliflower mash. I ended up scraping it off the leftovers and saving only that. Heehee.

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Tuesday, June 10, 2008

I Know I'm Not the Only Complainer

My classroom thermometer only has numbers up to 90, but it was way hotter than that, and I am pretty sure that if it got any hotter, the red liquid inside (what is that stuff, anyway?) would have busted through the top, a la a Loony Toon with a fever. The hallway was slightly cooler, and walking past any open classroom door was like walking through dragon breath. A lot of un-A/C'd schools had half days today, but not us. Learning! Is too! Important! So they put on Happy Feet in the air contitioned auditorium and we sat in there.

*****

Ha! Pee-wee's Big Adventure is on HBOFE (whateverthatis) right now. Dude certainly lubs his bike... Lala lalaa!

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Thursday, March 27, 2008

Spring Break: Not the Typical Drunken Fiasco

I have wasted most of my spring break laying around watching things OnDemand because the shows that I usually watch are either in reruns or I'm all caught up. Celebrity Fit Club and John Adams are the two most recent additions to my List of Shame. Well, actually, I will put John on a different list, because that's not so shameful... but the fact that I have added any more "Celebreality" to my repertoire is frightening.

*****

Also today, I decided to take care of me. I've been looking atrocious, and so I decided to get my overgrown brows, chewed down fingernubs, and leather-bottomed feet taken care of. Let me tell you: Never underestimate the power of vanity to make such an improvement in the way you feel. My brows are now nice and tame, which somehow makes the huge zit on my cheek less obvious; my feet are nice and smooth (and if it were just slightly warmer out, I'd bust out my Box o' Flops, which I've been eyeballing every day since the First Day of Spring), and my toe and fingernails match in a bright, lovely shade of Tropical Punch. If only I hadn't spent all my money on this endeavor, I would treat myself to a night on the town.

*****

Alex has been bringing his lunch and dinner to work with him, and since I admire his money-saving attempts, I have been trying to cook real dinners more often so that he can bring the leftovers the following day. And by "trying," I mean I have done it once so far.

What kind of easy things do you cook that would reheat well the next day?

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Saturday, November 10, 2007

Current Weekly Watchings: The Sad Truth

America's Next Top Model
Bionic Woman
Bones
Californication*
Dexter
Gossip Girl
Grey's Anatomy
Heroes
House
Law & Order: SVU
Next Great American Band
Pushing Daisies
Survivor: China
Three Sheets
Weeds
Women's Murder Club**


Eagerly Awaiting:


American Idol
Lost

Surely after reading this list, you are thinking, "Who the hell has time to watch that much TV?" Well, the answer is obvious. I do.

I'll admit, I'm not proud of some of my viewing choices. My watching preferences are, for the most part, mindless. This is how I like them. I actually can't watch any DVR'd mystery shows on weekdays because my mind is too fried to concentrate; I even find myself rewinding the fluffier shows because my brain will flicker in and out and I have no idea what's going on.

This is why I'm not a reader. I like to read, and if I find the right book, I love to read. But sadly, my mind won't allow it. I flip through page after page, only to turn back and read them again because the entire time I was looking at words, I was actually thinking about lesson plans and behavior strategies and bills and birthdays and god how do people quiet their minds enough to get absorbed into a good book anymore?

Thus, I will justify my list by saying the crappy shows are my mental massage, and only the "good" shows*** are for my actual "shutupIcan'thearwhatthey'resaying!" entertainment.

* The season is over, so perhaps I should have listed Season 2 under Eagery Awaiting?
** Stupidest name for a show ever in history.
*** Choose the shows that will make me seem the smartest and most discriminating.

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Friday, September 28, 2007

A Boring Night

Alex is in Boston for the night helping his brother move, and tomorrow night I'll be in NoJo for my former roomie's bachelorette party. Alex is totally excited that his brother is moving back to Jersey, and I am totally stoaked (hehe I said "stoaked") about my friend's wedding and pre-celebrations, but. You know. The first two non-boy nights since we moved in together.

Anyway, I've decided to spend my night like I spend every other night: by ordering Chinese food and a movie OnDemand. I started with The Black Dahlia, but it turned out to be one of those movies that left me wanting to know the ending without actually watching the movie. I nixed it about halfway through, and now I'm catching up on the first two episodes of Survivor: China.

Also, I have been out and in approximately seventy gajillion times with the dog. I'd complain, but she is peeing outside instead of in the house, so... progress.

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Monday, October 23, 2006

In My Head

  • Wawa has a seasonal butternut squash soup. It is fan-freakin-tastic, and I'm having it for dinner right now.
  • On Friday I moved into a new classroom. Perhaps you recall my mention of working in a closet? Well this room is the fucking penthouse suite of classrooms: bathroom, 2 sinks besides the one in the bathroom, water fountain, closet big enough to double as a Time Out room, a huuuuuge round window, and vaulted fucking ceilings!!!! Pictures to come soon, once I'm finished unpacking. I feel like Harry Potter, moving from the Closet Under the Stairs to Hogwarts. P.S. Only a teacher could get so excited about a classroom that she curses about it.
  • I borrowed Season 1 of Lost from a coworker. I had always wanted to watch it but didn't start from the beginning, and it seemed like too complicated a show to just pick up and start watching. It is so freakin good, I am angry that I'm going to have to finish this season, borrow Season 2, and then wait for Season 3 to come out on DVD (prob this summer) before I can watch next year's Season 4. And also? If I were to get stuck on a deserted island, I'd hope that it was due to a plane crash and that there was a doctor and a Chinese lady on board. I'd have everything I need, and Between the perfect stitches and herbal remedies, I'd be all set!
  • My Elementary Teacher Standard Certificate finally came! That makes me a real, really real teacher! Woot woot!
  • I attempted to do my laundry in my complex's laundry room this weekend. I fit about 4 towels in the washer for $1.25, and the dryer was 25cents for 10 minutes. Hardly worth it. Guess I'll continue traveling to my parents' to get the laundry done. Oh well. Free laundry and dinner. Not such a bad thing.
  • TheBoy keeps marvelling at how easy it is to make me laugh. I keep marvelling at how freaking hilarious he is.

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