Icees, Twinkies, Orville and puppies...oh my!

Howdy, Folks! The past 7 days have been a real zinger. Not the actual Zingers, because Hostess is kaput. Is it weird that I'm all upset even though I've only had one or two Twinkies in my whole life? I guess I took comfort in knowing they were out there if I ever needed them.

Anywho...two quizzes, an exam, my husband's job, my button-pushing offspring, and my senior research presentation conspired to give me a heart attack. My stress levels were through the roof (which is why I have The Cold That Will Not Quit). Why all at once, Professors? Trying to kill this old gal?

Still, I made it to other side. Phew. And Husband is home from France. Now I can enjoy Thanksgiving and all it has to offer. And by offer, I mean a 5 day weekend. Duh. 

It is Thanksgiving week, so it's only natural that I talk about food. As in, there hasn't been a lot of nutrition going on around here. Stress-relieving comfort foods were the name of the game. But I think I'm back on track. Just in time to swim in gravy.

 

1. This girl earned her Icee. Which I got at Target. Two birds. One stone. 2. Who owned her Icee tongue?  And teeth. I swear I'm a good brusher. I floss every day. Well, close to that. I get tired sometimes. Don't judge. But somehow that Icee manages to make me look like a hillbilly. 3. Hey, Orville! When a lady is in the midst of a crisis and needs cheddar microwave popcorn pronto, you don't give her half a cereal bowl's worth. Besides, the last thing I need to add to the stress heap is a broken tooth courtesy of the 1/2 cup of unpopped kernels at the bottom. No broken tooth, but a lot of broken dreams. Now I know why I never buy microwave popcorn. Fail. 4. While I was knee-deep in homework, Kiddo ate this entire jar of pickles. In one sitting. He's growing like crazy and eating like a rabid racoon...but geez. If I did that, I wouldn't be able to get my shoes on for a week. 5. Those crazy art students decorated the Student Center with canned food sculptures. I want to be an art major. 

6. Target had this beauty last year, but I procrastinated thinking it would go on sale and it sold out. Fast. Determined not to let it slip through my fingers a second time, I pulled the trigger. And it was on sale for 15 bucks. Hurrah! [Merona Sequined Sweater] 7. Ebony and ivory, live together in perfect harmony... 8. A friend just got a new puppy! He is a tiny little nugget of sweetness. Upon holding him, I immediately went into "I want a puppy, too!" mode. Someone needed to throw cold water on me. Thank goodness I snapped out of it, because I do not want a puppy. Yes, I do. 9. I bought a plaid version of these Sorel snow shoes a couple years ago and love them like a turtle loves its shell (I wanted to say "like a fat kid loves cake" but thought better of it. Oh, I just did. Oops.). Upon seeing them recently in the Sundance catalog, I realized that they are, in fact, shoes. Which means it is perfectly legit to wear my slippers warm, comfy shoes in public. I found them for half the price at Sierra Trading Post. Order up a size. Sorel has its own definition of what constitutes a normal shoe size.

Happy Tuesday! 

Icees, Twinkies, Orville and puppies...oh my!

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

A Little Bit of Popcorn Heaven

The kitchen gadget that sees the most action in our house is without a doubt our Whirley Pop popcorn maker.  In about the time it takes to microwave a bag, we can make an amazing batch of popcorn.  Without all the junk.  A little oil + kernels + a little elbow grease = fluffy white pieces of heaven.  So good.  It's nice to be able to control the amount and type of oil, too.  I typically only use about a tablespoon per batch but my husband likes a bit more.  He's naughty that way. We like to experiment with infused olive oils (chipotle is sooo good), peanut oil, or just plain canola oil.  A while back, a friend suggested using truffle salt.  Seeing as I don't have a million dollars or a mushroom-sniffing pig, I possess little knowledge about these expensive little nuggets.  But the salt?  Hello!  Although it's a little pricey for salt (around $8-$15), a little goes a long way.  There are tons of different kinds.  Whenever we are in a fancy schmancy kitchen store, we check to see what they have to offer.

We use either white or black truffle salt.  Black is a little smokier...but they are equally delicious. We've made dozens of batches between these two jars...so they last a while.

 
The process is really this simple: add the oil and kernels to the Whirley Pop, turn on the stove and rotate the lever until the popping stops.  We dump the freshly popped popcorn into a brown paper bag, add the truffle salt to taste and shake it like a Polaroid picture.  Needless to say, we go through a lot of kernels...but our fiber intake is excellent.  While I realize I'm not reinventing the wheel here, it sure tastes like it.  If you don't have a stove top popcorn maker, you should.  We've lost our taste for microwave popcorn which is a good thing.  It just doesn't stack up to the real thing.  Once you go Whirley, you never go back.

This one is shiny and new.  Ours looks rugged and well loved.  That's code for grimy.

A Little Bit of Popcorn Heaven

Wednesday, June 20, 2012