Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Oh I almost forgot.
Yes, I did break down and bought a new (to me) car. It's a 2004 and really low miles and it's tons of fun to drive around. I won't be dumb and describe my car for all the internets (and their accompanying stalkers) to hear, but it's super great. I heart it. My favorite things are the sunroof and keyless entry, but also the fact that I can accelerate with dignity on the westbound 40 on-ramp at Broadway. I'm lucky, even if I have 5 years of budget-straining payments to make now... :P
Baking when it's 90 degrees can make you a little bit crazy
Recently in a brief moment of delusional grocery shopping when I thought that I might like something that I used to eat all the time as a kid, albeit drenched in French dressing, I bought some cottage cheese. Gross, right? I know. I hate milk and I thought I might get some more calcium and protein by eating the stuff and if I liked it as a 5 year old, then why not as a 25 year old.
Not so much. I tried eating it tonight, plain, and it wasn't going over well. Then I nuked a potato and tried to tell myself that it would be just like my usual spud topping of tons of melted butter, salt, pepper, and Parmesan. Also not so much.
So then I decided to Google "cottage cheese recipes" since I didn't want the stuff to go to waste. I mean, I am sure there have been plenty of things I have eaten that had a not so yummy ingredient hidden inside. I could surely find something to use up this gross goo (although I still haven't tried it again with French dressing, but I can't rationalize buying bright orange sauce for one experimental snack).
After a few pages of recipes, I came up with this one here. Intrigued with the concept of cottage cheese in a baked good, and scoffing at the odds that I actually had just enough of every ingredient needed (oh yeah, I also have a pound of frozen cranberries from last Thanksgiving when I made like 4 quarts of a tasty but expensive Cranberry-Pomegranate-Tequila Sauce that I have been trying to use), I set to work.
I mixed things up rather quickly, after unearthing my silicone muffin mold from the bottom of my dusty cabinet and chatted with my neighbor through the kitchen window. I felt like it could actually be pretty tasty, and if not I wasn't going to cry over the loss of the cottage cheese or the cranberries.
After the first batch cooled, I bit into one hoping that it would at least be edible. It wasn't half bad! A little dried out (they don't brown at all so it wasn't that easy to tell when they were done), but okay. Then I got a whiff or a bite of something a little weird. I couldn't put a finger on it, but it was almost a musty bitterness. It was fleeting, and since I am not planning on giving these muffins to anyone else, I didn't care.
The next batch was ready soon after, so I tried one again. Round two seemed even better. But there was that strange odor/taste again.
I thought about it for a while, and then it hit me like a ton of bricks - my old cranberries were giving off the essence of a flipping Lambic beer.
Do you think anyone has ever compared any baked good to such a thing? Doubtful. Really freaking doubtful. I don't know what is wrong with me :)
Not so much. I tried eating it tonight, plain, and it wasn't going over well. Then I nuked a potato and tried to tell myself that it would be just like my usual spud topping of tons of melted butter, salt, pepper, and Parmesan. Also not so much.
So then I decided to Google "cottage cheese recipes" since I didn't want the stuff to go to waste. I mean, I am sure there have been plenty of things I have eaten that had a not so yummy ingredient hidden inside. I could surely find something to use up this gross goo (although I still haven't tried it again with French dressing, but I can't rationalize buying bright orange sauce for one experimental snack).
After a few pages of recipes, I came up with this one here. Intrigued with the concept of cottage cheese in a baked good, and scoffing at the odds that I actually had just enough of every ingredient needed (oh yeah, I also have a pound of frozen cranberries from last Thanksgiving when I made like 4 quarts of a tasty but expensive Cranberry-Pomegranate-Tequila Sauce that I have been trying to use), I set to work.
I mixed things up rather quickly, after unearthing my silicone muffin mold from the bottom of my dusty cabinet and chatted with my neighbor through the kitchen window. I felt like it could actually be pretty tasty, and if not I wasn't going to cry over the loss of the cottage cheese or the cranberries.
After the first batch cooled, I bit into one hoping that it would at least be edible. It wasn't half bad! A little dried out (they don't brown at all so it wasn't that easy to tell when they were done), but okay. Then I got a whiff or a bite of something a little weird. I couldn't put a finger on it, but it was almost a musty bitterness. It was fleeting, and since I am not planning on giving these muffins to anyone else, I didn't care.
The next batch was ready soon after, so I tried one again. Round two seemed even better. But there was that strange odor/taste again.
I thought about it for a while, and then it hit me like a ton of bricks - my old cranberries were giving off the essence of a flipping Lambic beer.
Do you think anyone has ever compared any baked good to such a thing? Doubtful. Really freaking doubtful. I don't know what is wrong with me :)
Friday, August 10, 2007
Broke. (Or, The Honda Gods Hate Me)
***Note: The dollar amount below has been changed to $700!!!!!!!!!!! It may be time for Colleen to get a new ride. I told them to hold off on the work till I decide...this was NOT in my budget! ;) ***
As you may or may not know, my drivers side door lock mysteriously broke over a month ago, and ever since I have been forced to climb in and out of my car through the passenger side. No amount of prying by myself, my mom, or Norm the mechanic has been able to get the damn thing un-jammed, so finally I gave in and took it down to the Honda dealership.
They called this morning with a first glance estimate. About $400. That's right, and that's without replacing the inside door panel which they most likely will break while trying to access the lock and latch. It's absurd, but I don't have a choice. I was next to tears when I told the guy to just go ahead.
The thing is, my plates just so happen to expire at the end of this month, which means a safety inspection and an emissions test (my car just missed the cut-off for emissions-test exemptions. All cars older than '96 don't have to test for emissions anymore beginning SEPTEMBER 1. Oh the irony). Needless to say, I can't take it through the emissions test without the door being able to open, and I know it can't pass a safety inspection without the same. PLUS it's been smelling really exhaust-y lately, so it's not even a shoe-in to pass THAT test without even MORE work.
I just finished paying off the LAST $400 car repair bill from March, and now I'm starting all over again. I'd like to start getting ahead, and I don't see how I could be without a car. I'd get to and from work okay, but not much else. We don't have public transportation that's conducive to non-commuter use.
Plus I have been insanely good about staying on a budget now for about a month. I mean completely nitpicky about where every last dollar gets spent, staying in most of the time, and cutting back on almost every single thing I enjoy. I flippin used up my travel shampoos before I would go buy another bottle of the stuff (with coupon), for pete's sake. I've eaten hot oatmeal for breakfast on days when it's 85 degrees at 8 am because that's all I had! I don't really get why karma has to kick me in the butt so much. I hate being a slave to plastic, but life doesn't seem to give me many other options.
Well, I just needed to vent. And now I need to work. It's gonna be a slow one today I fear, as usual. My job require very little actual brain function, even when I'm busiest. And that just means more time to wallow in self-pity ;)
As you may or may not know, my drivers side door lock mysteriously broke over a month ago, and ever since I have been forced to climb in and out of my car through the passenger side. No amount of prying by myself, my mom, or Norm the mechanic has been able to get the damn thing un-jammed, so finally I gave in and took it down to the Honda dealership.
They called this morning with a first glance estimate. About $400. That's right, and that's without replacing the inside door panel which they most likely will break while trying to access the lock and latch. It's absurd, but I don't have a choice. I was next to tears when I told the guy to just go ahead.
The thing is, my plates just so happen to expire at the end of this month, which means a safety inspection and an emissions test (my car just missed the cut-off for emissions-test exemptions. All cars older than '96 don't have to test for emissions anymore beginning SEPTEMBER 1. Oh the irony). Needless to say, I can't take it through the emissions test without the door being able to open, and I know it can't pass a safety inspection without the same. PLUS it's been smelling really exhaust-y lately, so it's not even a shoe-in to pass THAT test without even MORE work.
I just finished paying off the LAST $400 car repair bill from March, and now I'm starting all over again. I'd like to start getting ahead, and I don't see how I could be without a car. I'd get to and from work okay, but not much else. We don't have public transportation that's conducive to non-commuter use.
Plus I have been insanely good about staying on a budget now for about a month. I mean completely nitpicky about where every last dollar gets spent, staying in most of the time, and cutting back on almost every single thing I enjoy. I flippin used up my travel shampoos before I would go buy another bottle of the stuff (with coupon), for pete's sake. I've eaten hot oatmeal for breakfast on days when it's 85 degrees at 8 am because that's all I had! I don't really get why karma has to kick me in the butt so much. I hate being a slave to plastic, but life doesn't seem to give me many other options.
Well, I just needed to vent. And now I need to work. It's gonna be a slow one today I fear, as usual. My job require very little actual brain function, even when I'm busiest. And that just means more time to wallow in self-pity ;)
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