Hodge Podge

Fun fact: when i was little and would get sick, I used to take this liquid medicine called "erithromyicin". I'm sure that is spelled wrong but I think it was like non penicillin, penicillin. And it tasted TERRIBLE. My mom used to mix it in orange juice which made it slighly more tolerable but still pretty disgusting. The Mango Lip Balm I bought from Target last week smells and tastes just like that medicine-OJ concoction. Good times! Even more of a fun fact: I have not stopped using it.

Also, I have branched out from wearing my usual silver or gold or pearl earrings to wearing all kinds of fun costume-y ones. Which is find except I am so used to wearing only that kind of stuff that now my left earring hole is infected so I have to take a hiatus from wearing any earrings at all. I feel das nudas. I am debating just wearing one HUGE earring in my right ear to make up for my naked left one. Very Brian Austin Green chic. It's funny though how used you get to some kind of adornment and when you have to go without it you feel so exposed.

I'm going to end on this note: This morning I just threw a fake hissy fit because one of our machines at work is making my life not worth living, and in doing so gave myself a charley horse in my leg that STILL hurts. I rule.

Le Weekend - Je T'aime

How do I love the weekend? Let me count the ways.

Sorry, I am in a romantic mood. Friday does that to me.

Anyway this week has been a doozy. Crazy busy at work. Busy after work. Going to bed way too late and getting up way to early. I'm so glad this looks to be a relatively low key weekend since I need to recharge my batteries a bit and get back into fighting condition. I need to get my game face on. I need to see how many more platitudes I can fit in this paragraph.

My main plans this weekend include the following: Tonight Adam and I are engaging in what has turned into our Friday ritual for the past few weeks (when we are not away) of dinner and a movie. The thing is, by the end of the week, I need to be constantly stimulated or I slip into a coma. I.E. I have been falling asleep before our Friday Night movies are over and these haven't been especially boring films: There Will Be Blood, No Country for Old Men, Saw 2. Yet I find myself snoozing about 3/4 of the way into the movie. Ain't right. So the new plan is eat dinner earlier and start the movie earlier and maybe lay off the red wine (thank god Gin is a stimulant). So we're dining out at the unholy hour of 5:30 for Quincy Restaurant Week (have you taken advantage yet? Dinner for two for $30 - that is a deal and a half!) and then hopefully I can actually finish a movie before succumbing. Now, what to watch?

Tomorrow my plans are to clean clean clean and cook cook cook while Adam is at class as we are entertaining Adam's family for dinner. I'm making my girl Ina Garten's Turkey Lasagna and hopefully hitting up Whole Foods on my way home tonight to assemble some kind of cheese plate. Can a meal involve too much and too many different kinds of cheese? The answer to this is ALWAYS NO. I am searching for some kind of dessert recipe as well. Maybe some kind of tart.

In other news, is anyone watching this season of the Tudors? I am glad that Henry is being a full fledged dick this season so I can finally stop romanticizing him which is so easy to do given the actor who playes him. Also who knew Jane Seymour was such a feminist? Go girl! Not sure how I feel yet about Anne of Cleves being played by Joss Stone. I will reserve judgement until I see more than the clips they showed last week.

There's a Washrag on the Nightstand!*

Ulli tagged me the other day to take a photo of my nightstand and post it. I forgot until last night when Adam did something that prompted me to remember (see below). I did not clean or move anything so here it is in it's messy, cluttered glory!




1. I came home late last night from fantastic dinner at Chez Henri with Andy and Peter. When I walked into the living room Adam said to me quite dramatically "I have something to tell you, you might want to sit down". Of course I immediately inwardly freak out because to me sitting down = bad news. So I'm like "OMG WHAT HAPPENED TELL ME NOW JUST SAY IT". And he's like "I have a gift for you, but it's after 10PM so don't freak out too loudly". And I'm all "OMG YAY" and he said "Go in the bedroom, it's on your nightstand" so I go into the bedroom and what's there on the table? Um, a jury duty summons that Adam FRAMED! If you know me at all you know how long I have lamented that I never get called for jury duty and how I know people who get called every three years and over the summer we had some summer intern fetuses and TWO of them got jury duty that summer and they were barely of age. WTF? Am I not worthy of doing my civic duty? So Not right. But now I can join the ranks of those who have engaged in this our duty as citizens. I know I'm totally romanticizing it and it will probably be a boring day of sitting around but in my mind I will serve on the jury of the crime of the century, just you wait.

2) I always have a glass of water next to the bed because I always wake up parched in the middle of the night. Blame it on the before bedtime glass of wine but it is a neccesity.

3) The little blue bag. This one is actually from my birthday. As you recall I was sick with the plague and opened my gift in bed and I should have removed the bag and put it with all the other pretty bags I save that I can't bear to throw out BUT I like looking at it. So it stays.

4) Nail polish remover. I am a huge fan of doing my nails in bed.

5) A delicious vanilla candle. I know candles are the new sad thing but I love them. I have candles all over my apartment: tapers and pillars and jars O MY. Love them. Plus I light a candle after I do my nails so the room doesn't smell like nail polish.

6) Various cards - I think these are Valentine's Day card from Adam and a birthday card from my parents. Again I just like having them around.

7) Tons of nail polish. I told you about loving to do my nails in bed, right?

8) Diva the Pig! A gift from my super talented super fabulous artist friend Nicky! . I coveted this sequin and pearl adorned swine and then Nicky was sweet enough to give her to me as a gift. Now she watches over me while I sleep and reminds me to always try to be fabulous.

9) A heap o' books. Everything from Elizabeth Bishop and Zora Neale Hurston to Barbara Taylor Bradford and Jodi Picoult. I never know what I'll feel like reading before bed so I figure it's better to have a big pile around. That, and these books aren't pretty enough to go in my color coded bookcase in the study (I'm sick, I know).



* If you know what the title of this post is from, we're probably meant to be best friends.

Two Things I Hate Today

1) Pants without pockets.

They haunt my life. As I have oft complained about, I have a 34 inch inseam which makes pant shopping a needle in a haystack adventure. So when I find pants that are long enough for me to wear heels with AND cute I get very excited. I may even do a pants dance. But I find that more often than not cute,very long pants do NOT have pockets. Like pants designers got together and decided people who are tall have no need for pockets and we should be glad we even found pants at all. Not. Right.

2) Allergies.

I can tell that spring is here because last night I could not stop sneezing and today I have so much sinus pressure I feel like I'l lifting 20 lb weights with my face. My cheeks are going to be so ripped! I have very persnickety allergies too. I had them really bad in middle school (during which time I took Seldane D which I loved but which made me feel like I was high on crack. It was later pulled off the market for causing heart attacks. Crack can do that to you I guess). Then in high school and colleeg they dissapeared. Now in the winter of my twenties they are back with a vengeance, signaling the change of seasons and the the climb of Claritin's stock price. I take heart in the fact that I don't have it as bad as my friend's dog, who also has allergies and is so small when he sneezes he hits his head on the ground. Aw!

Three Things I Like Today

1) Solid Perfume.

Last time I mentioned solid perfume on this blog I got hate comments about being a hippie. Now I am FAR from a hippie (Patchouli makes me nauseous and I have a skin allergy to hemp) but I do love solid perfume. I found a store in Portland that carried Pacifica line which I loved so I bought a tin of their "Tahitian Gardenia" and am quite in love with it. What's great about it is it's small and can't leak since it's you know, a SOLID so you just throw the tin in your purse and when you want a little pick me up rub a little on your wrists and behind your ears. Divine!

2) My parent's collection of old school cookbooks particularly The Frugal Gourmet

Who doesn't remember my man Jeff Smith? His frugal ways are especially relevant in these times and his recipes are a newt mix of classic and weird. His fennel dressing is to die for, you can throw it on anything pretty much and instantly improve it. For more of his recipes check this site out. My mom also has a collection of rando cookbooks from church bazaars and craft fairs and those are really my favorite kinds of cookbooks. I read them like actual books!

3. Party Boy videos on You Tube.

There was a time in my life when I LOVED Jackass and thought it was the most hilarious show ever. I may or may not have seen the movie in the theater. Particular the stylings of one Mr. Chris Pontius as "Party Boy" were my FAVE. If you haven't watched the show, Party Boy basically shows up in public places in a track suit with a radio and starts playing techno music, stripping down to a thong, and humping stranger saying things like "Doesn't this just make you wanna DANCE?". If loving that is wrong, I don't want to be right.

The Hood's Been Good To Me, Ever Since I Was A Lower Case G

Sometimes I think I really want to make a Friday Mix. That would, of course, include only songs that mention the word Friday. There are quite a few of them out there and they are all AWESOME such as "Hey Mr DJ" which I featured here a few weeks ago and of course, this gem which will always remind me of my time at UMASS Amherst ("Southwest does it like nobody does"). What what!



In other news I have a 1/2 day and then Adam is picking me up and we are off to the Granite State for the weekend. Portsmouth or bust. Given our boozy endeavors of the past few months, I had the bright idea it might be fun to start yet ANOTHER blog. This one I will be co-blogging with this dude I live with some of you may have heard of him? Adam? Anyway given our propensity to attend fun beer/wine related events and my propensity to keep everyone abreast of what I'm doing at all times, we've launched:

Brew England - Blogging the Brewpubs and Breweries of New England.

It's in it's formative stage now, but I hope you will check it out, add it to your reading list. We'll be blogging about our brew trips, local brew pubs and we hope to get some weekly themes going like " Trappist Tuesdays" and "Wine Wednesdays" (I know, wine on a beer blog SACRE BLEU but if I am involved, there will be at least a modicum of wine talk).

We will be updating this weekend from Portsmouth and posting pictures. It should be fun. Or at least mildly buzzed.

Now Tip, Baby Tip.

My dad recently turned me onto the website TripAdvisor.com, to use when Adam and I are booking our New England Brewery Weekend trips. It's a good site to check out hotel reviews before you book in an unfamiliar city and restaurant reviews to get an idea of where you might like to carb up after sampling beer for an hour or two.

Often times when checking out restaurant reviews, the bad ones are usually accompanied by someone stating that the service was SO bad that they could not leave a tip. This is a point of contention among people I know. I think half of the people think that absolutely, a tip is to be earned and shoddy service is to be reflected in withholding the tip. And then the other half just always tip no matter what like it's built into the bill.

I fall into the second category. I have had some bad service in my life, but never SO BAD that I feel like I can't leave a tip. I have found that mentioning during a meal that service is lacking usually gets you a reasonable explanation or maybe a free drink at least so there isn't a need for me to voice my dissatisfaction by holding onto that 15-20%.

But then again some of the horror stories I have read on TripAdvisor have me second guessing. Like the person whose bad experience was capped off when she asked her server if he could recommend the clam chowder and he said "You're a grown up, make your own decision". Jeez luiz!

So what do you think? Have you ever not tipped and if so why.

The Countdown Is On....

.The countdown to Spring, that is!

And it cannot come quickly enough. I yearn for open toed shoes and fun skirts and for there not to still be little piles of disgusting dirty snow everywhere and for asparagus to be back in season and for eating breakfast outside at French Memories and for not even have to consider bringing a coat with me and et cetera et cetera.

Around October I always get excited for fall/winter, always romanticize the snow and for the first few snow storms it's all cute and great but by this time of year? SO over it. Snow is that guy who seems like a good idea to date but after one date he will NOT leave you alone so after a few months you are really completely over it. Snow does NOT get the hint. And frankly if it snowed again I might just lose my mind. Then of course by October again I will be all "f*ck the sun, bring on death and cold". Such is the temperment of a New Englander.

Anywho its's been quite busy around here. Over the weekend Adam and I attended a wine tasting at Curtis Liquors in Weymouth. We have been to a few of them and usually have a great time and learn a lot. This one was a lot less packed than they normally are so we really got to chat with the wine reps. I have been on a hunt for new whites to love, since I am off Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio and it's getting lonely hanging here in the corner with only Chenin Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc.

Enter three new faves:

Nearly any Chilean Riesling -- rResling has this reputation in the US for being sticky sweet, and a dessert wine. And many are, but an equal amount are NOT at all sweet and actually quite dry (which I love) and delicious. Surprising and good to know!
Gewürztraminer- I wish this had a simpler name because I feel like the main reason I have not been ordering it when dining out is becase I have no idea how to pronounce it. Another crisp, delicious white. And I think I can get away with just saying "Gewurz".
Alamos Torrontes - tastes ( to me) like a high end, citrusy New Zealand sauvignon blanc. But only costs $10. What's not to love?

It' always nice to learn something new and if that something new involves drinking, so much the better. If you live in the area I highly suggest getting yourself on Curtis Liquors email list. Their spring beer tasting is coming up in April and there GRAND wine tasting is in May.

This weekend I also attended the birthday party of the Chris, with whom I have been "blog friends" for like 6-7 years but have never actually met. We would make plans but then never got it together in time to see them through. So when he sent me the evite to his birthday bash though, I knew the time had come. Adam and I both had a really swell time, his friends are great fun and we look forward to seeing more of Chris and his fabulous wife Liza. I love blog friends!

Moving on....since my parents are in Florida for the next month or so Adam and I are back on dog duty and loving hanging out with this shaggy dude

I made a corned beef and cabbage dinner for Adam and my brother last night and it came out fantastic! I know corned beef is not complicated (oh hai, boil for 3 hours and then eat) BUT I had never made it before so I was pleased it came out well AND it was Adam's first time ever having corned beef and he loved it.

My intentions were to make a Chocolate Bailey's Pudding Pie but I forgot that I can't make pie crust. At all. My mom makes the best pie crust on earth and has given me endless tips and tricks and it still never works out. I make sure the shit that has to be cold is cold. I use the food processor. I have tried using a pastry blender. I have used my fingers. NOTHING! But a quick call to Adam to pick up some frozen puff pastry on his way home saved the day. Some peeps on Twitter asked for my pie recipe but since I didn't even make it, I will post what I DID make:

Chocolate Bailey's and Whipped Cream Napoleons.*

1 packet of Chocolate Fudge Sugar Free Fat Free Jello Instant Pudding
1 cup Baileys Irish Cream (4 nips!)
1/2 cup fat free milk
1 cup homemade whipped cream.
1 package frozen puff pastry.

Prepare the pudding, using 1 cup Baileys and 1/2 cup milk. Beat until thoroughly mixed and chill until firm.

Defrost your puff pastry. Cut each piece into 3 sections, along the fold. cut each section in half.

Bake on greased cookie sheet at 400 for 15 minutes.

Remove and let cool.

Split each section apart so you have two layers of each and double the puff pastry parts.
Go to town building your Napoleon: 1 layer puff pastry, spoon on some pudding, one layer puff pastry, spoon on whipped cream, and so on. Chill for about 30 minutes before serving. You will get 4 good sized and delicious Napoleons.

And what's fun is you could totally play around with this. You might be able to do vanilla instant pudding made with coconut rum, or butterscotch schnapps with butterscotch pudding. Why should plain old Jello get all the booze while Pudding has to be sober?

And so here we are: I am researching hotels for a somewhat impromptu trip to Portsmouth, NH for the weekend. On our endless quest to visit as many local breweries as we can (crossed Longtrail, Harpoon and Shipyard off the list recently) we figured this would be a good next step to tackle Smuttynose and Redhook not to mention that the shopping and dining in Portsmouth are both good times!

So, now I blogged and I can relax. Phew.

Oh, Here I Am

Oh hai. It's me. The deadbeat blogger.

The long and short of it is work is insane lately. While I can muster the time and inclination to twitter somewhat relentlessly (my wit only comes in 140 character or less bursts these days) , this blog is kickin' it with tumbleweeds and has become somewhat of a decrepit shanty town. Apologies for that.

I hope to be back in action soon. In the meantime ponder this scenario.

You are out at a bar. The gentleman seated next to you is visibly handicapped and appears to have some kind of palsy possibly MS or something similarly related. You and your boyfriend chat with this nice man about the Bruins game being broadcast on the TV hanging over the bar. When he goes to order a drink, the bartender denies him. You immediately assume the bartender is misreading the man's slurred speech and affected manner as drunkenness when it's really not his fault and he clearly has some kind of illness. You get a little righteous. You may seek out a manager. You feel indignant!!

Until the man, belatedly, informs you that he is, in fact, stinkin' drunk.

Good times!

Friday Night and The Weekend's Here I Need To Unwind With A Party*

Friday in the house!!

I could use a weekend too, I tell you what. This has been a busy week workwise and socially! I have also seen my parents a lot which is nice. It's always nice to catch my mom between trips: after returning from her two months abroad she and my dad are leaving in a week or so for a month in Florida. Which puts me and Adam back on Bodhi-duty but we don't mind. Look at that face!



Anywho, last night was me and Andy's annual night out at Shecky's Girls Night Out. You really can't go wrong with this event especially now that it's FREE. I reccomend registering for the next one in August here. For those who don't know it's basically a shopping party with lots of different vendors and lots of free drinks. What's not to love?

Since this was our 4th or 5th time doing this kind of event we knew the drill. We got there right when it opened at 5PM which is really the only way to do it because at that point you can almost always find street parking (which in the South End is RARE), there aren't too many people there and you can get to all the tables, no line for cocktails, better selection of stuff.

We were both kind of out of hand almost immediately. For instance, the coat check was free but you had to fill out a Verizon Wireless card and enter some lame contest to take advantage of it. The card asked for your cell # which I am loathe to give out so I put a fake number down. After doing this, I heard one of the coat check girls tell someone that they text you your coat check number so i was like "Oh I am glad you said that because I totally just put a fake number down" and she glared at me and said sarcastically "Oh yeah people always do it, it's SUCH a fun game". WOAH! Sassed almost immediately! Look at me go!

And then there was Andy who told the people selling Discounted Designer Sunglasses that he had an iPhone and was going to verfiy prices online to see if they were trying to dupe us.

We = a good team.

Anywhosies I ended up purchasing two awesome items. A feathered headband

(like this, not from this vendor (whose stuff btw is amazing!) BUT it looks just like that)

And then of course a fabulous cerulean, sequined kaftan like this because I sometimes just want to lounge around my apartment feeling like an Arabian princess.

After an hour and a half at the event we packed it in and headed to our usual apres-Shecky's venue: The Ashmont Grill. Where we ran into not one, not two but THREE of my coworkers all of whom were there with seperate parties. Love it! Today everyone else is asking why they weren't invited to the apparent meeting last night.

After dinner and drinks I then went to CVS and threw a small fit that a perscription my doctor called in for me at 5PM was not ready at 9PM. Four hours seems like ample time to fill a bottle with medicine, oui? Why did I need this medicine? OH hai, I have thrush. You know, like nursing babies get? I got it from the steroids in my inhaler.

Who wants to make out!?

No one?

So the fact that the weekend is upon us, and that it's going to be such a gorgeous one makes me HAPPY! Tonight Adam and I are dining at one of our fave restaurants and then kicking it high school style and hitting up the South Shore Plaza for some Friday Night Shopping. Saturday my mom and I have big plans that involve the Talbots Outlet (weird) and the Derby Street Shops then at night Adam and I have a date with our friends Jenn and Mike. Sunday who knows? Maybe I will actually clean my apartment. Quel novelty!

*And now for a little Zhane to get your weekend started off on the right foot.

Peel Me A Grape

So many of my memories are tied up in songs. I love when I am just going about my day, and I catch a few notes of a song someone is playing and it propels me into a fun memory of something that happened years ago.

This morning I came in early to get some work done and I thought I was alone but I heard someone playing music nearby. I walked over to a coworker's desk...I thought I heard something that sounded familiar.

"Is that Diana Krall?" I asked her.
"Yeah do you know her? I love her!".
"GOD yes I do. And this song is probably my favorite!"

The song, was Peel Me a Grape which reminds me so acutely of being 18 years old that I have half a mind to go get my tongue pierced.

When I was 18 I, as I have mentioned before, took a year off before going to college, moved into the city and did City Year. To supplement my income (and pay for my piercings, tattoos, and Absolut vodka I was so fond of) I decided to get a part time job. Now, I had always loved jazz in the way that I felt like I SHOULD love it. ....but I knew pretty much nothing about it. So I decided that working at the Jazz Room at HMV in Harvard Square would be a good idea since I would learn a ton about jazz with the added bonus of discounted CDs.

When I went for my interview I was entirely unprepared for the "Jazz Knowledge" test they gave me. However as luck would have it my would-be boss was a fabulous gay man who got a kick out of the idea of an 18 year old jazz neophyte being thrown in the mix with a bunch of mostly middle aged male jazz experts. And it worked out great! I worked with really great, really knowledgeable people, I learned a lot. It was a sweet sweet gig.

I worked a few nights a week from 6-10PM and by 8PM or so the store was usually dead so I would have the jazz room entirely to myself. I had discovered Diana Krall's "Love Scenes" album thanks to the recommendation of a coworker and was fond of playing it on repeat while I was working. In particular the song Peel Me A Grape which I thought was exactly about the kind of woman I wanted to be. Don't try to fool me, bejewel me.! Polar bear rug me, don't bug me! Many a night I sashayed around the jazz room, alone, blasting this song and singing into a duster. And many a time I was caught by an amused late night customer or two. (I think I am to thank for a rise in "Love Scenes" sales from October to December of 1998). But it was a great time in my life, being young and carefree, and hearing that song again just makes me SMILE.

And then I have to smile again because you know what? I still AM young (29 is young shutup) and I am still pretty carefree! I may have switched out the penchant for piercings for a penchant for shoes and the Absolut for Tanqueray but that song still does it for me. And you know what, I don't think there is anything wrong with wanting a grape peeled for you from time to time!

In fact today I went right on iTunes and bought the album again so maybe I will be doing a little sashay around my cubicle later only this time with a roll of plans as a mic.

Peel me a grape, crush me some ice
Skin me a peach, save the fuzz for my pillow
Talk to me nice, talk to me nice
You've got to wine and dine me

Don't try to fool me bejewel me
Either amuse me or lose me
Im getting hungry, peel me a grape

Pop me a cork, french me a fry
Crack me a nut, bring a bowl full of bon-bons
Chill me some wine, keep standing by
Just entertain me, champagne me
Show me you love me, kid glove me
Best way to cheer me, cashmere me
Im getting hungry, peel me grape

Here's how to be an agreeable chap
Love me and leave me in luxury's lap
Hop when I holler, skip when I snap
When I say, do it, jump to it

Send out for scotch, call me a cab
Cut me a rose, make my tea with the petals
Just hang around, pick up the tab
Never out think me, just mink me
Polar bear rug me, dont bug me
New thunderbird me, you heard me
Im getting hungry, peel me a grape

CVS and the Snow Angel

The silver lining of having to commute by car to work is that I can basically dress in a manner that has little to do with the weather outside. Not that I am rolling up here in a strapless dress in the dead of winter. But I don’t wear a heavy winter coat. I dislike driving with a bulky coat on and since on most wintry work days I am barely outside, I get away with wearing a trench pretty much year round. And snow boots? What be those? I have a pair of plaid wellies I wear as needed but even then in most cases my landlord does a good enough plowing job that even after a snow storm I can teeter in heels to my car and then teeter safely from my car to my office door without ever needing things like ‘traction” and “water resistance”.

SO that’s all well and good. Until something makes you have to walk somewhere other than from your apartment to your car and your car to your office.

You should also know that I am SUPER ANAL about having enough windshield wiper fluid in my car. I use it constantly, I don’t like having even a speck of dirt in my line of vision. Also have you known the sheer terror of realizing you’re out of fluid and then a Mac Truck whales past you and deposits a buckets full of sludge and salt onto your windshield and suddenly HI you’re in the left lane of the mass pike traveling 70MPH and can literally not see ANYTHING. So yes if I cannot drive knowing I don’t have much fluid left. So on my way to the highway this morning when I went to spray my windshield and it was more of a drip than a spray I got myself to the nearest CVS to pick up a new bottle.

Only the closest CVS looked like it hadn’t been plowed since yesterday afternoon. Cripes!

I parked as close to the storefront as I could, which was still about 15 feet away. And it was when I got out of my car and literally couldn’t get enough traction to stand that I realized yeah breaking in my new dark gray patent leather 3 inch heel pumps today was in fact a terrible idea. Maybe had I not had to stop it would have been fine but as I stood, swaying on the icy snowy concrete in my heels staring longingly at the front door of CVS mere feet away, I cursed myself. I took a small step, and slid. My fingers gripped the hood of my car as I edged myself to the front. There was a light post about 6 feet away so if I could slide over to that I would only have another 6 or so feet to go. I can do it!

Using my heels as ice picks and with my arms straight out on either side like a tight rope walker, I picked and slid myself within reach of the light post and then threw myself at it. Clinging to it I tried to pick out the least icy path to the sidewalk when an angel of mercy appeared in the doorway of CVS. A store employee!

“Having some trouble?” he asked me.

“Yes a little. These were the WRONG SHOES to wear” I said, laughing and totally embarrassed.

“Can I help you out?” he asked, walking towards me.

I of course agreed and so he, a vision in Timberland boots, came out and let me grab his elbow to walk me into the store AND was nice enough to walk me back to my car when I was done purchasing my windshield fluid. And they say chivalry is dead! I would not let him to fill my car for me but I did not mind that he watched me slipping and sliding doing it myself and laughed a little at me. I definitely deserved to be laughed at but hey, a gal has to do SOME things on her own.

There are two points to my story:

1) I say it all the time but being walked across a street by a young man? Is there any doubt that I’m 80 years old?
2) People are nice, even if I am kind of stupid.

Birthday Wrap Up and a Recipe

How great is it NOT to feel like sh*t?

Seriously. Nothing makes you appreciate feeling fine more than a week's worth of feeling utterly sh*tty. I'm so glad to be on the other side of it now. Whew!

So even though I was feeling wretched and low last week because I was bedridden and lousy on my actual birthday, my party this Saturday MORE than made up from it. About 20 of us descended on Tavolo in Dorchester for some cocktails and antipasti and delicious Italian food. They treated us like gold and I would like to give a special shout out to Megan, their events planner. If you are planning a special dinner/party I would definitely recommend checking Tavolo out.

Anyway it was so great to see my lovely friends who spoiled me rotten and I appreciate everyone coming out! Ever the deadbeat, I took not one picture. But I did steal a few from other people and threw them in my flickr stream. Holla.



Moving on.

Yesterday I was quite productive for a Sunday. Adam had to go off and study for a math test and so I felt somewhat industrious so I decided to whip up some Roasted Pepper Sauce. Here is the thing about Adam and me. We are food shopping opposites. I will go and buy two peppers for a recipe and get home and realize I need three. Adam will go and buy eight peppers then come home and realize he only needs one. So since Adam was on food shopping duty last week, we have an overabundance of peppers in this piece and I decided, why let them go to waste? I found this delicious sauce recipe in my Joy of Cooking Cookbook and it is just PERFECT for any kind of roast meat. I served it over roast pork last night but I think it would be amazing on roast beef or chicken and well. It's a great way to use up some extra peppers and kill a few hours on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Roasted Pepper Sauce
(makes about 2 batches..I froze 1/2 for later)
3 large red or green peppers
vegetable oil
1/5 cups chopped onion
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
1/4 tablespoon cinnamon
1/4 tablespoon pepper
2 cups beef or chicken broth.

Preheat your oven to 400.

Brush peppers with oil and place on foil lined baking sheet that has rims (or the peppers will slide right off).



Roast peppers, turning about every 10 minutes as black spots appear, for 40 minutes.

Place roasted peppers immediately in a bowl and cover with a plate. Let steam for 10 minutes. This will make the skin super slippery. SO much so that you can peel it right off the peppers once they are cool enough to handle.

Blot skinned peppers with paper towel and roughly chop.

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Heat about 1 tbsp veggie oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chopped onion and cook until just beginning to brown, about 7 minutes.



Add pepper, garlic and spices. Cook for about a minute.



Add broth and bring to a boil. Partially cover and simmer for about an hour.



It smells SO GOOD! All smoky and sweet and delicious.

Remove from heat and let cool until you can safely blend it in the food processor or blender. Process until smooth.

At this point the sauce is done! You can portion out half and freeze it for later and then keep the remainder in the fridge until you're ready to serve it. When you are done cooking whatever meat you plan on serving with it, remove the meat from the pan to a warmed plate and pour the sauce into the pan drippings and heat until hot.



It's really a simple but elegant sauce. This would be great for a dinner party since you can make it ahead and then just have it ready for whatever meat you are serving!