Memorial Day

“The brave die never, though they sleep in dust: Their courage nerves a thousand living men.” -Minot J. Savage

Man if there's anything i like more the cooking, it's quotes. TGIMemorial Day! Am i right? 

Here's a good one i stole from good old Davey T: "Today is a day of remembrance, not barbeques and beer. A day to remember the fallen, and thank the returned. If you see a veteran, or an active service member, be sure to thank them. Or I'll find you..."

I believe that's true, he will find you. But also well spoken. I happen to know a Vietnam vet pretty well:

 

 

Who coincidentally want's to celebrate with a bbq and some beer. So that's convenient. Beacuse:

“How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!” — Maya Angelou

 Too true Maya Angelou. (Rhymes!) Additional shout out to Mr Specs who is also a Nam Vet and invited to dinner. And to my Uncle George who was in the military forever and is just in general a personal hero.

First what Phil has preemptively Thumbs uped is a cucumber gimlet:

Which is not the same thing as the cucumber fizz from my last post (though it is the same picture of Phil, i forgot to get one of him drinking it, sue me!)
  

It's basically 2 parts cucumber juice, 1 part gin, and a squirt of lime and simple syrup.Yum. Fun Fact: Cucumber Juice was William Henry Harrison's favorite beverage (according to my high school history teacher so really who knows) and he was an Army General. He also wanted to show he was tough, and didn't wear a jacket to his inauguration speech so 30 days 12hrs and 30mins later he died of pneumonia. Which is why you should always wear a jacked. ALWAYS!

Actually i think it was Zachary Taylor who like cucumber juice. anyway...

Food!

So we've got grilled bread with homemade ricotta with tomato sardine salad or olive oil and basil, grilled shrimp marinated in lime, garlic and cilantro, roasted vegetables, bacon wrapped potatoes, sausage cheddar meatballs. Most of these recipes are from Martha Stewart but the ricotta is from Smitten Kitchen. It's kind of a random spread because i was being as indecisive as congress. 

"Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.” -Mark Twain (nice segway)

Oh, and Banana Cream Pie.

Duh. 

I think Harvey's got the right idea.

But wait, what do you do in the morning with left over bacon wrapped potatoes and sausage cheddar meat balls?

YOU FUCKING SCRAMBLE THEM!

SON.

And then you hope you make it through the rest of your day without having a heart attack.

I am proud to be an American. Because an American can eat anything on the face of this earth as long as he has two pieces of bread.” -Bill Cosby

Thanks Bill. But especially thank you to all those who are serving/have served. 

"These heroes are dead. They died for liberty - they died for us. They are at rest. They sleep in the land they made free, under the flag they rendered stainless, under the solemn pines, the sad hemlocks, the tearful willows, and the embracing vines. They sleep beneath the shadows of the clouds, careless alike of sunshine or of storm, each in the windowless Place of Rest. Earth may run red with other wars - they are at peace. In the midst of battle, in the roar of conflict, they found the serenity of death. I have one sentiment for soldiers living and dead: cheers for the living; tears for the dead." -- Robert G. Ingersoll

The Juice(r) is Loose

 Today me and Nanc woke up and were both like, "Let's buy a juicer!" We both just sat up in our beds at the same time (9:16am EST, roughly) with the same staggering thought. And thus the fates aligned and so our story begins.

Okay, so actually we had planned this last week when we found out they were on sale, anyway...

So oBvi we couldn't just buy one and not use it, duh. Everyone knows you use it everyday for a day and then put it in the closet to collect dust until one day you need it for a really awesome recipe you found and you finally track it down someplace that nobody would ever put it and it's broken for no reason and you forgot to register for the two year warranty because no way you still have the receipt for that crap and you fall to your knees, and shaking your fists into the sky you shout "WHYYyyy!!!" in a really echo-y way. Everyone know that.

Nanc: Let's make cocktails!
Me: Okay! (Phil enters the room) Dad, what kind of cocktail do you want?
Phil: Potroast?
Nanc: As a cocktail?
Phil: Oh, i thought you were asking me what i was thinking about.

 So we decided to make this cocktail which i may have made on this blog before but can't remember/bother checking, and anyway it's delicious.

It's the Cucumber Fizz, as you may have guessed. Also i'm still trying to remember how I juiced the cucumber, because i've definitely made this before, but it remains a mystery. Probably involving ghosts.

So first we were going to Target, but then the time got away from us (Martha Stewart Living and Front Gate came in!) and we were on a strict schedule.

Check out this totally awesome outdoor pizza oven i would get except it's $4000 and why not just build a real one for the same price or less or buy a car:

Well, all you billionaires know where to find it for your next pizza by the pool party. 

So then we had to go to Walmart because it was closer to the movie theater, but the low end juicer there was totally not there, so we checked out kohls instead, and they had one for even cheaper and i only had to spend $26 and not give it to the devil (I hate Walmart, everything about them is wrong).

By then Pompeii is starting:

 

Which is pretty much exactly how you imagine it is. 

And before you know it:

 

It's Juicing time!! (well, with a brief segway to the produce mart and the liquor store, but honestly that part was pretty boring.)

Czech out this sweet juicer in action!

Oh yeah.

This recipe doesn't call for pear juice, but when given the opportunity why wouldn't you add pear juice? What are you, a communist? No, because even they appreciate a delicious cup of pear juice, i'm sure.We got Anjou, Asian Pears (which taste like nothing when you juice them, (turns out))

But also the pear section had prickly pears!! which i'd never seen before or wasn't a memory worth keeping. oBvi i hAd to have one. 

They're better when they're not juiced as well, FYI.

Also i didn't clean out the juice between the prickly and the lemon i was juicing and thus discovered the coolest lemon juice color ever.

 

It's like italian ice, but with out the sugar or the ice.

So much juice!!

 

Now i don't normally like the Vodka, because it smells/tastes like gross, but you have got to try La Poire. It smells more like a ripe pear then a ripe pear. I mean how is that even possible? It is though. And it's delicious. That and St Germain which is made by old men on bicycles collecting Elderflowers in the summer of Paris. What else could you ask for in a liquor? 

Boom.

That's actually the second drink i made. The first one i cut the cucumbers to thick, then i didn't realize you have to drop them in the glass in between layers of ice so i ended up poking through some of them with a wooden spoon handle. Whatever. They're man-ly, so i gave it to Phil. 

I handed it to him, and he did his signature Phil thumbs up, but i was like, "No, you have to drink it!" Which resulted in this:

How relaxing. Also Nanc made Poncit, which dad was like, this so reminds me of being in an Asian restaurant, and Nanc was all, it's Philipino. Which: Close, but no cigar.

Cheers!

And then my bacon of the month club arrived.

 The end.

Soup and Other S's

You know what i love? Food. And "i'm hungry. Somebody feed me, because i'm hungry!" (i don't remember what that's a quote from, but it is, and i say it all the time, and nobody gets it, so i laugh to myself. i laugh, and i laugh).

First soup. I had these left over french onion toasts with gruyere i made for our new years gathering yesterday. There from the new Smitten Kitchen Cookbook. Plus i was just given these new oven safe ceramic dishes i wanted to try out (Spoiler alert: they're awesome).

I wasn't sure which side to put facing up, so i did both ways and threw some Parmesan cheese on top.  Put that shit in the broiler, and move on. (also heat up the soup before you add the toasts).

Sandwich time:

Cajan turkey on foccachini roll with: white american, deli mustard, bacon, and avocado for some greenery. oBvi i made a health food pledge for the new year. Make sure you season the avocado because it tastes good that way. That's a damn fine sandwich.

But wait! Panini, son. 

 If you're using the old school pan/lid approach, make sure you heat both up individually on the stove top, then turn down the heat when your panini-ing you're totally awesome deliciousness or you'll end up with one undercooked side and the other totally burnt as i've learned from past experiences. (also grease your pans). Don't forget about you soup, or the toasts will just get black and you'll have to throw them out except for two that aren't so burnt, so you just push them down into the soup so nobody notices.

Now that's a damn fine Panini. 

i'm gonna eat it and watch these two documentaries i got from the library. It's good to remind yourself about the world's problems sometimes so you can actually get excited about picking up game of thrones again and hiding in a world of fantasy for 3 chapters before you once again remember that it's over detailed and long and you just can't get yourself to pick it up again for several months. Maybe i'll just watch the tv series. 

Hot coffee is about the lady who spilled McDonalds coffee on herself, sued the company, and was rewarded 2.9 million dollars (but actually $480,000), and how she actually does have these gross third degree burns, and has to get like skin grafted and stuff, and is actually the 700th person to fight them because all she asked was that they pay for the medical bills because the coffee was actually way to hot for McDonalds own written standards, and how industries (specifically the tabacco one) try to pay state legislators to pass laws about frivolous lawsuits against them thereby obstructing our freedoms, and denying justice. It's actually kind of boring, because they make their point in 2 mins after giving you a guilt trip about the old lady and her coffee.

ugh you know when your stomach is kind of gargaling and you know somethings just not right? Also i got this fortune cookie this morning.

Which is why i'm making baked ziti for dinner (in a skillet!).

Secrecy is about how the government keeps secrets - no shit. i'll let you know.

But first this video. I watch it probably 7 (teen) times a day. I also watch clips of an old British reality show on youtube, because i just can't help myself.

I love you, Samantha Barks.

Storm Watch 2012: SANDY!

There's a storm a comin'! and let me tell you guys "A hard rain's a gonna fall." You may have heard... But in the mean time i'll "rock you like a hurricane!" with my awesome blog because, we had to be prepared for "When the rAins came." I mean, "Have you ever seen the rain?" because i want to know. And at least it's not "red rain," i mean that would just be ridiculous. But in the mean time, "this is the story of hurricane" or at least the beginning of one because, "Baby when the lights go out," it will be sort of hard to blog.

But don't worry! We're prepared. Taped windows!

 If they have to come evacuate us all they'll see is bloody hand prints.

What do smart people eat during a hurricane?

Smart Food. Ha! and copious amounts of comfort (junk) food.

Or maybe that's just my excuse for buying nothing healthy this shopping trip.

Fire wood! 

Note the safety door (our fireplace sort of had an accident last week, perfect timing).

"Walk'n on walk'n on broken glaAasss!" But no worries, out landlord was a peach and came in yesterday afternoon to put the new door in. (That's how long i've been working on this blog.)

Water!

Bat pinata!

You just can't weather a hurricane without one (we were supposed to have a little halloween get together before Sandy shat all over it). It's funny how shopping for a hurricane is kind or similar to shopping for a party. A camping party!

Candles bitches!

 And every other lighting device known to man. I'm really excited about the glow stick bracelets in particular.  (we had to get to target when they opened yesterday at 8am because flashlights and batteries are high in demand.) They got in four flashlights yesterday (really, 4?) and we bought three of them (cause we're not THOSE jerks who take them all). Good thing we were the first people to reach that section.

Meanwhile, in other survival supplies:

Beer!

 Remember you gotta finish off the cold stuff first with power loss.

Wine!

Because warm beer? where are we, England?

And for when all else fails:

liquor. Hey, it could be weeks!

Originally i just came home with a case of water, two bottles of wine, and a ritter sport, but my room mate was like, "i don't think that's gonna cut it."

The water's already started rising up the coast, and emergence evacuations are in effect for half my county. Also because there's a full moon tonight the tides are supposed to be even worse. Which... sucks. Especially since it would have been awesome to have an almost full moon (waning gibbous, if you will) on Halloween. I know! instead let's have a shit load of water, and destruction. That's a fair trade.

Seriously though, we're in a safe-ish area, so no worries. For all of you who are effected by this, remember: Be smart, be safe, and good luck. Also shower while you can.

In the meantime i think i'll just curl up on the couch with coffee and a warm blanket and watch the storm.

21 ways to use a book light: a novella by Phil Pappas

I'm not actually sure there are 21 ways to use a book light, but if there are, Phil will find them.

Reason #1

Grilling burgers after sunset. Also: wearing the emperor's cloak (It's actually a sweatshirt with the sleeves tucked under... for reasons unknown).

I didn't really do anything today, if you want to know the truth (well i sort of worked on bat pinata, but that's another blog).

This weekend Nanc and i saw two movies (can you believe it?!) The first of which was Argo, which was very good. It's one of those incidents in history that you're like, "Really?" Like finding out Hinkley's reason for the attempted assassination of Richard Nixon was to impress Jodi Foster. I mean, really? (yes.)  Anyway emotions about Ben Affleck aside, it was very watchable.

When i was in California we often went over to my cousin's houses for dinner/movie nights. Sometimes on these nights i would pick a not well known movie, and my cousin's developed the title of "Lauren Movies" aka: movies nobody would have seen if i hadn't brought them into their lives (not necessarily a good thing). 

 When Nanc and i walked out of the theatre and she exclaimed, "Well, that was an interesting movie." i knew the "Lauren Movie" had struck again. But you have to understand that they're not bad movies, they're just movies that don't appease the masses, but to speak to those willing to listen... or sometimes they're just bad indy films that have a soft place in my heart ("All I Want").

The Perks Of Being A Wallflower, in my opinion, was lovely. That being said i'm also a huge fan of the book (it's almost like i wrote a blog about it), and Emma Watson: the only Emma i'll always be crazy about (wait... except Emma Stone. Duke it out ladies).

Seriously though, some of my favorite quotes ever:

"There's nothing like deep breaths after laughing that hard. Nothing in the world like a sore stomach for the right reasons." 

 "Everyone else is either asleep or having sex. I've been watching cable television and eating jello."

 "Maybe it's good to put things in perspective, but sometimes, I think that the only perspective is to really be there."

“We accept the love we think we deserve.” 

"Enjoy it. Because it's happening."

"Just tell me how to be different in a way that makes sense." 

"You can't just sit there and put everyone's lives ahead of yours and think that counts as love. You just can't. You have to do things."

"And in that moment, I swear we were infinite." 


Really i could go on all day, the point is see the movie, or read the book, or do what you're going to do, but do it, because it's so much better then not doing it. Exactly.

Apple Picking

So I was having a bad day, enough said. But Nanc is the perf pal and was like, "want to go apple picking?" yes. Because that's what you do on a perfect fall day, duh.

Also Nanc was a perfect wingman, because being me i totally couldn't help myself from climbing trees (how can you not?), and she was all, "hide! there's a truck driving by!"  

 We picked Cortland, a couple Macs, and Henry David or something (of the heirloom variety). Then we made Apple Crisp:

Or really Nanc made apple crisp and i peeled apples. 

It's really just peeled apples cut up with a heavenly cinnamon flour layer on top.

It turns out sour apples are the best for cooking, which was proven true by our heirloom bounty. While they were cooking mom was like, "why don't you make some of my home made hot chocolate and sit by the fire your dad made outside?"

It's good to be a Pappas.

So my mom went to the health raffle (i don't know the details or what 'health'), and won!

It's an ionizer.

me: what's an ionizer?
dad: it cleans things.
me: does it clean the counter?
dad: of course, it's an ionizer.
me: does it clean the floor?
dad: it's an ionizer!
me: does it clean furniture?
dad: it's an ionizer!
me: does it clean clothes?
dad: it's an ionizer!
me: what exactly is an ionizer?
dad: i have no clue.

actually no one here does, but we have one!

Meanwhile:

Some fucking delicious shit was concocted. If you think (or haven't yet experienced) just picked apples are delicious, try them baked with cinnamon. Throw some whipped/ice cream on top of that and it is "the shit!" Happy Fall y'all (ha, rhymes)!