tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51544841822925721632024-03-04T23:57:51.172-05:00Do Not Feed the EditorA place for my brain to poke your brain, mainly in the regions that process foody things and wordy things.Lauren V.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14172021546093340143noreply@blogger.comBlogger145125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5154484182292572163.post-60388477315494436652013-01-03T22:55:00.000-05:002013-01-03T22:58:05.030-05:00Introducing the Action Cats!So this one time I co-wrote a comic book script, and my co-author <a href=http://www.adampknave.com/">Adam P. Knave</a> enlisted artist <a href="http://www.twitter.com/#!/eamondoc">Eamon Dougherty</a> to illustrate it, and <a href="http://www.monkeybraincomics.com">Monkeybrain Comics</a> decided that they wanted to publish it, and so this is a thing that exists:<br><br>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNlxT6t9-QyyCRLeBzQPYzn3f2T19dTyrYkELvPtpYIzMnz_O9PDf09yjVR8Vgy6H5dFfRwRdKrucEEaZEKFOi5jwi5_mGRM0sNmBGd2mIluQORkv7StJcZm14WrHOKM0Zl8DK1ZS33mA/s1600/Action_Cats_0101.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="400" width="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNlxT6t9-QyyCRLeBzQPYzn3f2T19dTyrYkELvPtpYIzMnz_O9PDf09yjVR8Vgy6H5dFfRwRdKrucEEaZEKFOi5jwi5_mGRM0sNmBGd2mIluQORkv7StJcZm14WrHOKM0Zl8DK1ZS33mA/s400/Action_Cats_0101.jpg" /></a></div><br>
That's a relatively short sentence, and it's a relatively short comic, but the creative process was enormously long. I wrote a bit about it, in a convoluted way, back in my February 2010 post <a href="http://grammarmonkey.blogspot.com/2010/02/writing-process-as-it-relates-to.html">"the writing process as it relates to interdimensional kittens and moneyhats</a>".<br><br>
I love this book, and I'm so pleased (and a little bemused) that it's a real digital thing now. It's about a team of cats (yep, just regular ol' cats) who sometimes save the world.<br><br> I'm pretty sure Adam & I came up with the idea while discussing <a href="http://grammarmonkey.blogspot.com/2009/12/consumerism-wow-its-december-already.html">this Consumerism Wow post</a> on the phone. (tl;dr shortcut: Scroll to Thingy #9.) (Also, hey look, I accidentally predicted nyancat in that post. Huh.)<br><br>
<a href="http://www.monkeybraincomics.com/2012/11/05/action-cats/">Action Cats</a> is an all-ages appropriate, 23-page one-shot.* If you'd like to read it, it's just <a href="http://www.comixology.com/Action-Cats-1/digital-comic/DIG002170/?refresh=1">$0.99 on ComiXology</a>. Who kindly invited us to be on the <a href="http://blog.comixology.com/2012/11/07/the-comixologist-episode-77-adam-p-knave-lauren-vogelbaum-eamon-dougherty-on-action-cats/">ComiXologist podcast</a> the week that the book premiered.<br><br>
We've gotten lovely reviews from <a href="https://www.comicscrux.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=474:action-cats&catid=12:other&Itemid=66">Tatiana Christian at Comics Crux</a> and <a href="http://thoughtcatalog.com/2012/comic-review-action-cats/">Brad Pike at Thought Catalog</a> (who forgot I exist but wrote such nice things that I like him anyway), plus, as of today, 45 excellent humans on ComiXology. Note to all y'all: Thanks so much to every single one of you for reading -- and especially for enjoying!<br><br>
If you're not among them but you enjoy comics (or cats, or jetpack shenanigans), <a href="http://www.comixology.com/Action-Cats-1/digital-comic/DIG002170/?refresh=1">give it a chance</a>?<br><br><br>
*FOR NOW.Lauren V.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14172021546093340143noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5154484182292572163.post-11601881335753539052012-12-19T23:31:00.003-05:002012-12-19T23:31:57.652-05:00gluten-free christmas cookies - almond, orange, clove<center>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/grammarmonkey/8290315174/" title="gluten-free christmas cookies by grammarmonkey, on Flickr"><img alt="gluten-free christmas cookies" height="500" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8080/8290315174_9b455ab68b.jpg" width="374" /></a></center>
<br />
For me, Christmas cheer means cookies, and I'm not about to leave my gluten-free friends out in the cold. With bright orange, warm clove, and sweet almond, these got the ultimate thumbs-up -- total (joyful) annihilation -- on tree-trimming day.
<br />
<br />
A basic, chewy snickerdoodle recipe is a lovely start for cookies with no wheat flour -- it's forgiving as ol' St. Nick himself. (Let's hope Krampus isn't around.) If you have a preferred flour other than rice or coconut (even wheat), it'll probably work -- just keep the total flour input at 1 and 1/3 cups.
<br />
<br />
<b>Gluten-Free Christmas Cookies</b><br />
<i>Makes 2-3 dozen</i><br />
<br />
INGREDIENTS<br />
<br />
1/2 cup almond flour (store-bought or home-ground -- grind first, then measure)<br />
1/2 cup rice flour<br />
1/3 cup coconut flour<br />
1/2 tsp baking soda<br />
1
tsp cream of tartar (if you don't have this, omit the baking soda and
use 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder to substitute for both)<br />
1 orange worth of zest (~1 tbsp) <br />
scant 1/4 tsp ground cloves <br />
1/8 tsp salt<br />
<br />
8 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature<br />
3/4 cup granulated white sugar<br />
1 egg, room temperature<br />
1 tbsp fresh orange juice<br />
<br />
<br />
METHOD<br />
<br />
Set our your egg and butter and get out your nonstick baking sheets -- or prep regular ol' ones with parchment paper, a baking mat, or a good coating of butter and a tapped-even sprinkle of flour. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.<br />
<br />
Measure your dry
ingredients (zest, almond meal, coconut flour, rice flour, salt, and leavening agent/s) into a medium bowl and whisk to combine.<br />
<br />
In a larger bowl, add your butter and sugar. Using an electric beater on medium speed, cream them together for 2 minutes. Add your egg and orange juice and beat
for another minute to incorporate them evenly.<br />
<br />
Add your dry ingredients to your wet ingredients and mix by hand to combine. It'll be fairly wet and sticky. Drop rounded teaspoons of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving 2 inches between each to allow for spreading.<br />
<br />
Bake for 8-10 minutes -- check 'em at 8. When they're done, they'll be golden around the edges and will look dry on top. Also, they'll be more springy than mushy if you
poke the top with a finger. <br />
<br />
Leave 'em on the baking sheets for a couple minutes to firm up, then remove them to a wire rack until they're cool enough to eat. Or store, I guess. These keep in a sealed container for two or three days, though they'll lose some of their crisp. Try layers of parchment paper between the cookies to preserve crispness.<br />
<br />
If you'd like to make the dough ahead, you could seal it up and refrigerate it for up to a week or freeze it for up to 3 months, then bake on demand.<br />
<br />
<center>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/grammarmonkey/8290326892/" title="gluten-free christmas cookies by grammarmonkey, on Flickr"><img alt="gluten-free christmas cookies" height="374" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8215/8290326892_d09170f174.jpg" width="500" /></a></center>
Lauren V.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14172021546093340143noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5154484182292572163.post-1636952804616075372012-10-31T02:14:00.001-04:002012-10-31T02:25:22.219-04:00a calavera and a girl from a wellHappy Halloween! I had the lovely fortune to be invited to two parties this year where folks are v. serious about their costumes. I reprised <a href="http://www.learner.org/courses/globalart/work/124/index.html">La Calavera Catrina</a> for the first party:<br /><br>
<center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/grammarmonkey/8140701110/" title="La Calavera Catrina"><img alt="Makeup is Ben Nye white and black cake, plus creme pencil for the face details. Dress is a commission, hat is mostly spray paint and hot glue." height="500" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8332/8140701110_7230171619.jpg" width="333" /></a><br><a href="http://www.learner.org/courses/globalart/work/124/index.html">La Calavera Catrina</a>, a proper Edwardian lady-skeleton.</center><br>
Photo by Darrell, the fab party photographer. <br><br>I did a new costume for the second party. A bit of backstory here: I adore horror films. Practical-effect creature features and campy-as-hell sex'n'splatter flicks were the ones I grew up watching 'cause that's what was available from Blockbuster -- and I still have fun dissecting the effects shots and Freudian overtones in those sorts of movies. But they don't scare me. My best-favorite horror movies are quiet, tense, slow-build ghost stories because they freak me right the eff out, and I'm permanently impressed by any film that engenders earnest emotion.<br><br>
I hid my TV for a week after I first watched "The Ring." Which is how, 10 years later, I wound up like this:<br><br>
<center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/grammarmonkey/8140663187/" title="Samara -- or Sadako"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8333/8140663187_6de04fa043.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Wig is Sepia's Misty, dress is by the best Melissa, makeup is Ben Nye white cake plus a couple Kryolan wheels."></a><br>Samara/Sadako from The Ring/Ringu.</center><br>
Photo by the even-gorgeous-undead Melanie.<br><br>
I won the party prize for Scariest Costume. I don't even really like looking at this picture 'cause I creep <i>myself</i> out. Thanks, Japan, for creating my nightmares.*<br><br>
<center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/grammarmonkey/8140691528/" title="Makeup! by grammarmonkey, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8468/8140691528_70a01dfb25.jpg" width="374" height="500" alt="Makeup! Also, this shot scared a very nice person who knew not what he did when he asked for a picture of my costume. All apologies to aptly named gentlefolk."></a><br>Makeup!</center><br>
Photo by one marvelous Matt!<br><br>
All the makeup took a bit less than 2 hours, including a break to eat a sandwich and putter with a DVD-to-VCR transfer that never quite worked out. The design is by <a href="http://audfaced.blogspot.com">Audivila</a>, whose <a href="http://audfaced.blogspot.com/2011/10/samara-little-girl-from-well.html">excellent Samara makeup tutorial</a> I followed every step of the way. Until I got to my limbs, at which point I just slapped on green-grey splotches surrounded by purple-black splotches 'cause my ride came a'knockin'.<br><br>
I owe a few lunches to my friend Melissa, who made the dress in about four hours, from scratch, with no pattern.<br><br>
<center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/grammarmonkey/8140695418/" title="Samara or Sadako with a dog-faced dog."><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8325/8140695418_f79265d46f.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="If Samara had only had a Sassy Gay Dog, everything would've turned out different."></a><br>Probably Samara's parents never bought her a puppy <strike>because she was evil</strike>.</center><br>
Photo by Melanie again, yes.<br><br>
The dog in this picture is actually cowering <i>into</i> me, away from people dressed completely innocuously. She's a rescue pup. She wasn't sure about the wig at first, but kept trying to lick all the makeup off my face once she figured out it was me under the wig.<br><br><br>
*Though really, I find the American version much scarier than "Ringu." One of the few cases where a budget really helped, I think. However, I do appreciate that they're still making sequels in Japan. 'Cause in the latest, Sadako uploads herself into the cloud. And for the special edition disc set, they made a ridiculous <a href="http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2012-07-28/sadako-goes-on-vacation-in-bd-photoshoot">photobook about Sadako taking a holiday</a>.
Lauren V.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14172021546093340143noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5154484182292572163.post-9714884341164492252012-07-19T13:22:00.002-04:002012-07-19T13:33:05.880-04:00recipe: s'mores icebox pieI'm generally a proponent of making food from nothing more than recipe scraps, raw ingredients, motley kitchen equipment, and your own wits. Some days, that's just not feasible. Perhaps -- just for example, mind -- you spent the night before a potluck luncheon out until four in the morning watching <a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/magic_mike/">Magic Mike</a> and then, unrelatedly yet thematically, helping an erstwhile Atlantan introduce her new husband to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clermont_Lounge">Clermont Lounge</a>.<br />
<br />
Perhaps not. The point here is that we all experience lapses in baking-from-scratch capacity, whatever the cause. For those days, it's good to have a backup plan that will allow you to maintain your reputation as an impressive baker with a minimum of work.<br />
<br />
Enter the kitchen blowtorch.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/grammarmonkey/7604415880/" title="s'mores pie by grammarmonkey, who has seen enough action flicks to know that fire is always impressive."><img alt="s'mores pie" height="373" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8001/7604415880_7cc2621ab6.jpg" width="500" /></a></center><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>S'mores Icebox Pie</b><br />
<i>Idea adapted very, very loosely from <a href="http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Chocolate-Smore-Pie-236387" target="_blank">Epicurious</a> (more about that below). You'll need a culinary blowtorch -- I love <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Roburn-Butane-Culinary-Torch/dp/B000ROO032/" target="_blank">mine</a>. Serves<b> </b>eight to twelve.</i>
<br />
<br />
INGREDIENTS<br />
<br />
a prepared 9-inch graham cracker pie crust<br />
a 5-6 oz. box (or the equivalent weight in smaller boxes) of your favorite stovetop chocolate pudding mix<br />
whole milk OR half & half (however much the pudding box tells you you'll need)<br />
a bag of marshmallows, regular- or mini-sized (you'll use ~5 oz.)<br />
<br />
METHOD<br />
<br />
Prepare pudding according to directions on box. If you've got some cocoa powder in the house, toss a couple tablespoons in there for bonus flavor. When it's thickened to your liking, immediately pour pudding into pie crust and smooth surface with the back of a large spoon.<br />
<br />
Refrigerate -- uncovered if your fridge isn't stinky, or covered loosely with aluminum foil if it is -- for at least 3 hours, until pudding is more firm than wiggly. I don't recommend covering the pie with the crust package lid -- the crust will get soggy around the edges from condensation.<br />
<br />
When everyone's just about ready for dessert, prepare your marshmallows. If you have mini marshmallows, this will consist of opening the bag. If you have larger 'mallows, cut them into rough thirds or smaller -- kitchen shears work best for this. Cut up enough to cover the entire surface of the pie in heaps.<br />
<br />
Get your pie out of the fridge. (If you covered it, take care -- lots of condensation will have collected on the cover. Once it's off you can dab any droplets from the pie's surface with a paper towel.) Slice the pie.<br />
<br />
Working with one slice at a time, plate the pie. Pile marshmallows on top of the slice at hand, completely covering the surface. Set your blowtorch's gas output to low and hold the torch 4+ inches away from the marshmallows. Roast 'em, rotating the plate to get as much caramelization from as many angles as possible. Blow out any lingering flames. Serve.<br />
<br />
<br />
ADDITIONS, SUBS, AND ALTERNATE IDEAS:<br />
<br />
You could probably add a tablespoon of whatever booze you like to the pudding during cooking for extra flavor. Whiskey or something orangey would be nice. And I'd be curious to see whether it'd be possible to use a jar of marshmallow fluff in place of the 'mallows.<br />
<br />
Now, if you're having the kind of day where you feel like a superhero of baking, you could just go ahead and make the aforementioned <a href="http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Chocolate-Smore-Pie-236387">Chocolate S'more Pie</a> from Epicurious. I did that one Thanksgiving and it was fairly spectacular(ly messy):<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mariabird/4144468511/" title="IMG_6500 by Maria Melee, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_6500" height="333" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2768/4144468511_7f7ca2088e.jpg" width="500" /></a><br />
The marshmallow layer is browned under the broiler -- which the chocolate layer can stand up to 'cause it's a very thick baked custard.<br /><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mariabird/4144469625/" title="IMG_6504 by Maria Melee, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_6504" height="333" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2746/4144469625_695f0ef73a.jpg" width="500" /></a><br />
Photos by <a href="http://www.mommymelee.com/" target="_blank">Maria Melee</a>. At the moment, I was up to my elbows in molten marshmallow.
</center><br />
<br />
If you try anything different, let me know how it comes out!Lauren V.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14172021546093340143noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5154484182292572163.post-54725063241997736682012-06-06T14:47:00.000-04:002012-06-06T14:47:19.835-04:00thank you, Mr. Bradbury<p>There are a handful of authors whose storytelling and use of the English language made me want to be a writer, back when I was a kid. First it was the humor of Louis Sachar, Roald Dahl, and Norton Juster, the atmosphere of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkein, and Madeleine L'Engle. Later I would pick up Douglas Adams, Tom Stoppard, and Oscar Wilde; Peter S. Beagle, Grace Paley, and Kurt Vonnegut. But right in the middle, in those formative years when brains and bones ache from growth, was Ray Bradbury.</p>
<p>I lost my first copy (my parents' copy) of <i>The Illustrated Man</i> loaning it out to someone -- which is fine, books are owned the way cats are owned: at their own will. But it looked like this:</p>
<p><center><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMtKXtKlsiArFgF6sR5DGU64XUekUseHkg7_Nm7jzxreEWR5FTaBxRQZ4vYnLeJhNNbS7vbP-uqpon1qmhLGY48ym0FFYUzUa5ZSKUYLRD9x5don8j4Z0dCQ3oZ2jDBURbQjeqj2ZK3oY/s1600/illustrated_man.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="400" width="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMtKXtKlsiArFgF6sR5DGU64XUekUseHkg7_Nm7jzxreEWR5FTaBxRQZ4vYnLeJhNNbS7vbP-uqpon1qmhLGY48ym0FFYUzUa5ZSKUYLRD9x5don8j4Z0dCQ3oZ2jDBURbQjeqj2ZK3oY/s400/illustrated_man.jpg" /></a></center></p>
<p>The stories in it were creepy and quiet and sad and joyful. Its characters and scenes were alive, as surely as the illustrated man's tattoos, given breath and motion by Bradbury's distillation of the language. I have always interacted with the world best through writing, and the patterns in his words expanded my idea of what writing could be. Reading that book at that age was a paradigm shift.</p>
<p>I based my youth around writing because of shifts like that, and realized in college, somewhere around my eighth writing workshop in four years, that I enjoy editing far more. I'm skiving off gainful freelance editing employment right now to write this post. I do what I do because of writers like Bradbury.</p>
<p>I'm not a fan of everything he ever wrote, and being from the Internet myself, I'm slightly personally offended by some of the cantankerous things he said about computers and digital communication. But the world is a more wondrous place for his having been in it.</p>
<p>Thank you, Mr. Bradbury.</p>Lauren V.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14172021546093340143noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5154484182292572163.post-57804126754589692032012-04-30T22:58:00.001-04:002012-08-03T10:53:21.921-04:00Town Brookhaven bitesI'm over in the Brookhavenish part of town, which means I've been eyeing the <a href="http://townbrookhaven.net/">TOWN development</a> warily since construction started (and stopped, and started again). It seems, in lots of ways, like a lint trap for everything I dislike about this part of town -- namely traffic and dude-bros of various ages & levels of entitlement -- but it contains food and also beverages, so I've been exploring parts of it over the past couple months. Some initial impressions:<br /><br /><br />The movie theater, <a href="http://cobbcinebistro.com/brookhaven/index.php">CineBistro</a> (an swankish version of the dinner-and-a-movie concept) has nice seats, good snacks, and behind-the-times mixed drinks. Try the popcorn calamari -- a mix of well-seasoned popcorn and tender, deep-fried squidbits, the perfect answer to salt cravings and more-than-just-carbs-level hunger during an action flick. Skip the cocktails -- the mojitos are the only ones that don't rely on commercial sour mix, and mine came with wilted mint and stale limes. I'm hoping that they'll improve and expand their drink <a href="http://cobbcinebistro.com/brookhaven/menu.php">menu</a> in the future (it's neither difficult nor expensive to squeeze fresh citrus, and it makes a Universe of flavor difference). In the meanwhile, the beer list is short but competent, and I'll be sticking with that. If you're planning on eating, do make sure you arrive at least 30 minutes before showtime to place your order at the bar. And don't bring the kids: This theater is 21 and up.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.therebrookhaven.com/">There Bar</a> is one of the small pubs that's cropped up in Towncenter, and it's my new favorite neighborhood hangout for its casual, friendly atmosphere and small menu of consistently tasty pub fare. The chef, Ryan Hickey, formerly worked for <a href="http://www.concentricshospitality.com/">Concentrics'</a> Trois and <a href="http://bocadoatlanta.com/index.html">Bocado</a>, and he's brought those joints' senses of whimsy (and sensibilities about sausage) along with him. If you're carnivorous, ask your server about what meats are in the grinder when you go -- the kitchen's been sourcing a variety of game meats for their burgers and sausage dishes. I haven't had a dish I didn't like, so try what strikes your fancy -- but do go for the garlic rosemary fries on the side. Fresh cut and smothered in raw minced garlic, rosemary, and parsley, they're completely worth the calories.<br /><br />As of early May 2012, you can still expect occasional hiccups in stock and service, and the cocktails are inconsistent at best: classic Moscow Mules have been perfect, but Manhattans came way watered down, and the house creations have been the over-sweet, syrup-thick sorts of things you'd expect in a frat-house kitchen, not a self-proclaimed "upscale dive bar." They have some great local beers on draft and in bottles, though, that are perfect with pub food. There is also the most reasonably priced non-fast-casual joint in the development -- you get plenty of food for the cost. (For more current information than their website offers, check <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/There-a-bar-eatery/124550074254241">There's Facebook page</a>.)<br /><br /><br />The owners of <a href="http://cafeatpharr.com/">Cafe at Pharr</a> (who I desperately wish would redesign their logo to something that reminds me less of Mellow Mushroom) opened an offshoot called <a href="http://www.baciatlanta.com/">Baci</a> that's serving <a href="http://cafeatpharr.com/menu">the usual sandwich & salad suspects</a> during lunch hours and delightful plays on <a href="http://www.baciatlanta.com/images/Baci_Menus.pdf">Italian/American/Asian bistro cuisine</a> at dinner. Try the mussels of the day (ours came in a red wine/fresh tomato/herb sauce that sounds iffy but was absolutely drinkable). The beet salad and burger were also excellent -- the latter involved thin double patties, near-magically cooked to temperature, and is my new city favorite of its kind (previously an honor bestowed upon Bocado's). The staff seems to be family, and be prepared for them to treat you like honored guests in their own home: impeccably polite and a bit familiar.<br /><br /><br />Next time: Noche, Old Blinde Dog, and the Olive Bistro. Let me know what you think if you've been!Lauren V.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14172021546093340143noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5154484182292572163.post-78805696389941650082011-11-30T08:29:00.005-05:002011-11-30T08:43:03.642-05:00things from Klout: Lot18 credit for Superba coffeeFor my readers with hearts too gentle to venture into social media, <a href="http://www.klout.com">this is Klout</a>. It's unpleasant because it turns communication and sharing into a ranked game with no clear rules for winning, and it's kind of interesting because -- well, because even obscured rules are interesting, and because Klout has partnered with advertisers to give its members free stuff. Citizens of the Internet provably enjoy free stuff, and I'm no exception.<br /><br />One of the genuinely cool things about Klout is that they have a forthright free-stuff disclosure policy. Members aren't obligated to talk about the samples & other perks they receive, but if they do, they're asked to disclose that they got it for free. <a href="http://disclosurepolicy.org/">Which is an important thing to do</a> because the act of receiving a gift creates a bias.<br /><br />So the thing is that I don't actually recommend signing up for Klout -- <a href="http://www.schmutzie.com">Schmutzie</a> details a whole lot of good reasons why you shouldn't <a href="http://www.schmutzie.com/weblog/2011/11/20/why-i-quit-klout-why-you-should-too-and-how-to-opt-out.html">over here</a>, including shady privacy issues and the aforementioned unpleasantness -- and I'm really only in it for the free stuff, and eventually, when my sense of morality outweighs my appreciation for free stuff, I'll quit. But I've discovered a few awesome products via Klout, and I wanted to share them with y'all. Here's one of them.<br /><br />This one time Klout gave me a free $20 credit for <a href="https://www.lot18.com/i/Lauren417977">Lot18</a>, with which I ordered coffee from <a href="http://superbacoffee.com/">Superba</a>. (That link to Lot18 is an affiliate link. If you go sign up through it and then buy something, I get credit there.)<br /><br />I adore the roasty bitterness (erm, and caffeine high) of all coffees, and I'm unlikely to turn my nose up at any cuppa. But I do have a binary categorization system for coffee quality: I dilute & soften less-good coffees with milk and I drink tasty-unto-themselves coffees straight. The iteration of Superba's <a href="http://superbacoffee.com/?page_id=154">Classic Blend</a> that I received falls into the latter category. Rich and dense, this coffee smells savory and tastes like wood and chocolate and citrus and caramel. When brewed in a drip cone it has a serious gravity to it, and would stand up to all sorts of heavy, sweet, holiday-spiced desserts -- linzertortes, apple pies, buttery cakes, gingerbread. It's a bit more delicate when brewed in a French press, but still heavier than the description on Superba's site indicates. And it's a kick in the head in the morning, which is generally what I'm looking for.<br /><br />Superba roasts and packs its coffees when you order them and sells only whole beans, which is pretty much the best way to treat coffee -- after a couple weeks, roasted beans begin to go stale, and grinding them expedites the process exponentially. (All pre-roasted & pre-ground coffees go into my add-milk category. And while we're talking coffee snobbery: Get yourself a <a href="https://shop.melitta.com/itemdy00.asp?T1=64+007&Cat=">drip cone</a> & some <a href="https://shop.melitta.com/itemdy00.asp?T1=62+2752&Cat=">filters</a> or a <a href="http://www.bodum.com/us/en-us/shop/prodlist/262/">French press</a>. Using either will improve even the cheapest coffee over using an electric coffee machine.) The company is based in L.A. and claims to source its beans responsibly. Their coffees retail for $12 to $16 per 12-oz. package (which is what good coffee costs), plus $7.95 flat-rate FedEx shipping. For the record, my standard of tasty coffee is <a href="http://www.counterculturecoffee.com">Counter Culture</a>.<br /><br /><br />Most of what Lot18 offers is wine & schmancy things that're out of my price range, and since my qualifications for 'good' wine are a) Is it less than $12? and b) Is it dry?, Lot18 isn't really the best service for me. And at honesty o'clock, I have to admit that I find the site's voice pretentious and their default email setting (2-3 per day) complete overkill. But I can see it being a nifty thing for someone with more cash & feelings about wine than I have. In case you're interested in trying Lot18 out, Klout is offering the first 5 people who use <a href="http://klout.com/perk/Lot18/Lot18?passalong=MTc2Lzg4NTYxNi8y&passalongSig=2b28f80de6f507cfbe6e3b578e631571f7303c081bec9e53418799d213f5b945">this link</a> a free $20 credit there. I'm not sure whether you'll have to sign up for Klout to get the credit, but there you go. Lot18 offers free shipping deals regularly, so make the most of your credit by watching for those.Lauren V.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14172021546093340143noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5154484182292572163.post-4858273108987369222011-11-27T01:33:00.005-05:002011-11-27T03:17:14.926-05:00while I was outOhai. This blog still exists.<br /><br />My editing gig at <a href="http://www.howstuffworks.com">How Stuff Works</a> has been kicking my ass -- mostly all in ways that I love -- and between that, freelance editing, and general laziness, I haven't had much motivation to actually <i>use</i> this blog in the past, what, six months? I haven't even been writing on paper. It's seemed too much like work.<br /><br />Which is really just an entirely lame point of view to embrace. Creation <i>is</i> work, but it's fabulous work. It's the kind of work that makes this whole silly Universe a worthwhile place to hang out in. So ohai, readers. Here are a few things that I've been working on while I was out:<br /><br />Articles on sundry things, such as <a href="http://www.howstuffworks.com/environmental/life/zoology/marine-life/megalodon.htm">How Megalodon Worked</a>, <a href="http://www.howstuffworks.com/supernova.htm">How a Supernova Works</a>, and <a href="http://www.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/afterlife/coffin.htm">How Coffins Work</a> among many others. I get to learn about new things every week and source bizarre images and do grammar every day and work with ridiculously intelligent people, and when it's not overwhelming it's the most fun I've had at a day job.<br /><br />Christopher Buecheler's sequel to <a href="http://grammarmonkey.blogspot.com/2009/11/blood-that-bonds.html">The Blood That Bonds</a>, <a href="http://writing.cwbuecheler.com/novels/blood-hunt/">Blood Hunt</a>. And bits from the third book in the trilogy, The Children of the Sun, which I am studiously not linking because all of the parts of the Internet that pertain to it involve spoilers for the first two books. I do recommend editing nonfiction by day and a vampire novel during your off hours, should you happen to have the editing skills and sense of masochism for it. It blends realities in ways that'll make you research historical details for the novel and expect exciting fight scenes in the nonfiction, and probably improve both ventures in the end.<br /><br />Creative assistance and moral support for a couple of live-action role-playing games (LARPs) that some dear friends run in the Atlanta area, <a href="www.legynds.com">Legynds</a> and <a href="2nddawn.com">Second Dawn</a>. Which is partially unavoidable given that I'm dating one of the owners, and is partially self-prescribed therapy for my wacky anxiety. Which is another thing I recommend -- erm, the self-prescribed LARP therapy, not the anxiety. It's a relatively safe environment in which to experiment with social interaction and performance: Most everyone there will be just as awkward as you or at least sympathetic. And some of them will be dressed as orcs. <br /><br />And this is not a thing I've been working on, but because I like posting pictures:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://instagr.am/p/PA5YA/"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJABneEdCVMkmKx1ZY75gmigfxBAf0_vvDLKRiDcJjG9lhBISrZrp9Gi9haTOAGSalcfbL66sd9V-kzbmc3It1c2KP0l93GnzAIGaFqbZ-gNTXJ76zxMpHMNNXebKk1uRErAt3KEPOEgY/s320/hard-life-puppy.jpg" border="0" alt="my dog doing some serious lounging"title="It is a hard puppy life."id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5679585208504539746" /></a><br /><br />More stuff about things later -- but in fewer than six months this time, I promise.Lauren V.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14172021546093340143noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5154484182292572163.post-46213351243486453532011-05-17T00:43:00.003-04:002011-05-17T01:45:31.749-04:00so much editing it makes my face hurtI got that job that I mentioned interviewing for in my <a href="http://grammarmonkey.blogspot.com/2011/04/full-of-meat-pies-and-radical-life.html">last post</a>! It is with <a href="http://www.howstuffworks.com">HowStuffWorks</a>, and it entails editing all the things. Which is brilliant, really -- I'd forgotten how much I missed editing full-time, and how fun a form of overwhelmed it is to face deadlines that overlap like verses sung in rounds while trying to learn several hundred nitpicky style rules.<br /><br />Of course, I also started working on <a href="http://writing.cwbuecheler.com/novels/blood-hunt/">Blood Hunt</a>, the sequel to <a href="http://grammarmonkey.blogspot.com/2009/11/blood-that-bonds.html">The Blood That Bonds</a>, for <a href="http://www.cwbuecheler.com">Chris Buecheler</a> the week that I got the job, so I really have been editing all the things. Hence the lack of posts -- I've felt like my time hasn't really been my own lately, and I'm only going to get more intense about that over the next couple weeks while I finish my second run through the book.<br /><br />In support, feel free to fax me British tea, European chocolate, and the good sense to not have three cups of mead at the <a href="http://www.garenfest">Georgia Ren Fest</a> and make <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Moresca/106875996003605">large costume purchases</a> based on the fabric texture of a bodice that may or may not be strictly appropriate for my body type.<br /><br />Fax me the latter retroactively, if you would, so I'll have it in time for last weekend.<br /><br />Or just take me to <a href="http://www.drbombays.com">Doctor Bombay's Underwater Tea Party</a> for high tea, because I am fueled almost entirely by sugar, caffeine, and eccentricity these days and they serve spreads like this:<br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/grammarmonkey/5729358486/" title="High tea at Doc Bombay's Underwater Tea Party by grammarmonkey, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3185/5729358486_70fe33df9f.jpg" width="500" height="374" alt="High tea at Doc Bombay's Underwater Tea Party"></a></center><br /><br />Which is pretty much my own personal constructive insanity jackpot.Lauren V.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14172021546093340143noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5154484182292572163.post-15292724204309718992011-04-09T14:07:00.005-04:002012-07-13T14:38:46.147-04:00full of meat pies and radical life changesSo! I have had a few exciting weeks. I got a shiny new iPhone, vacationed out of the country (for the first time ever) in England, got laid off, had my home broken into, and had a rockin' job interview.<br />
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Those last two things happened in the past 24 hours. I kinda want whiskey right now.*<br />
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While I work towards that: Here, have some pictures of some things I saw on my UK vacation:<br />
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<center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/grammarmonkey/7563380776/" title="supermoon_2011 by grammarmonkey, on Flickr"><img alt="supermoon_2011" height="500" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7107/7563380776_60f690bc41.jpg" width="427" /></a><br />The supermoon! And a li'l bit of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reading,_Berkshire">Reading, Berkshire</a>, which is where we were staying. It's maybe 30 minutes west of London via train.<br />
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<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/grammarmonkey/7563194582/" title="IMG_0119 by grammarmonkey, on Flickr"><img alt="St. James's Church, Reading, UK" height="500" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8002/7563194582_f76eb7db5e.jpg" width="500" /></a><br />Reading seemed to be composed mostly of malls, but it also had a lot of old churches (this is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_James%27_Church,_Reading">St James's church</a>), a 12th-century abbey, a large park/walking garden, and a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maiwand_Lion">fuckoff statue of a lion</a>. Like y'do in England.<br />
<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/grammarmonkey/5596570428/" title="Path to the 12th-century Reading Abbey, Reading, UK by grammarmonkey, on Flickr"><img alt="Path to the 12th-century Reading Abbey, Reading, UK" height="500" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5107/5596570428_10f6a24d7d.jpg" width="374" /></a><br />You can see a corner of the aforementioned abbey around the bend of the path here. It was closed to visitors 'cause apparently they're having a hard time convincing its stones to not drop perilously close to people's heads at the moment.<br />
<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/grammarmonkey/7563198026/" title="IMG_0114 by grammarmonkey, on Flickr"><img alt="the heart of the black mulberry tree, Reading, UK" height="500" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7106/7563198026_8a4921fdf5.jpg" width="500" /></a><br />One of my favorite things in the park in Reading was this black mulberry tree that was so old and hunched that the keepers had put large cut branches under some of its limbs to hold it up. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/grammarmonkey/5596590284/">From a distance</a>, it looked like it was rearin' to crawl straight into a Tim Burton flick. From up close, it looked like an octopus tree.<br />
<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/grammarmonkey/7563204774/" title="IMG_0089 by grammarmonkey, on Flickr"><img alt="Minute ~33 of the Reading Half Marathon, March 2011" height="500" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7276/7563204774_848b47216f.jpg" width="500" /></a><br />One day after a ridiculously huge and inexpensive English pub breakfast, we wandered into the middle of the Reading Half Marathon -- this is the second wave of runners around minute 33 of the race, coming through the old town center. The clock tower in the background is the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reading_Town_Hall">town hall</a>.</center><br />
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There's a bunch more pictures up on <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/grammarmonkey/sets/72157626328963691/">my Flickr</a> -- I'll maybe do another post of things I saw in London and Oxford later on, and I'll definitely do a UK food post if I manage to collect my thoughts before I forget them. (I ate 4 meat pies in 5 days, and it was magical.)<br />
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Oh, and all of the square-shaped photos here were edited with <a href="http://instagr.am/">Instagram</a> (username: grammarmonkey). If you have an iPhone and have been living under the same social-media-lacking rock as my wonderful boyfriend, you should check the app out.<br />
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And hey, if you know of any editorial positions open in the greater Atlanta (or Intarweb) area, holla at grammarmonkey[at]gmail[dot]com! You will win my eternal gratitude and possibly some baked goods.<br />
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*I began writing this post on Wednesday, April 6th. I was interrupted by said whiskey, which, fear not, was mightily obtained.Lauren V.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14172021546093340143noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5154484182292572163.post-49419567815373375982011-03-21T17:41:00.004-04:002011-03-21T18:12:00.593-04:00recipe: homemade marshmallowsEver since I realized that it's within my power to <a href="http://grammarmonkey.blogspot.com/2011/01/foodpr0n-homemade-cocoa-marshmallows.html">make marshmallows</a>, I, like a young god high on new-found might & processed sugar, have made a <i>lot</i> of marshmallows. I'm still experimenting with flavors but I've got the technique pretty well down, so I figured I'd share.<br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/grammarmonkey/5487359233/" title="These are coffee-flavored marshmallows. With moody lighting, which does not necessarily make them more delicious (but doesn't hurt)."><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5018/5487359233_00bd4c21f0.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="coffee mallows long" /></a></center><br /><br />What follows is the base recipe. It's kinda long because a) I talk a lot and b) sugar is terrifying so I wanted to explain myself superextra clearly. To minimize v-scroll here, I'll do a followup post in a couple days with some notes on flavorings.<br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/grammarmonkey/5487958496/" title="Clementine-flavored marshmallows (a crowd favorite)."><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5254/5487958496_c236380fb8.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="clementine mallows" /></a></center><br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/grammarmonkey/5352967113/" title="Cocoa marshmallows, in case your s'mores didn't have enough chocolate in them."><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5121/5352967113_cf98a99ef9.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="homemade cocoa marshmallows"/></a></center><br /><br /><b>Homemade Marshmallows</b><br /><i>Adapted from <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/homemade-marshmallows-recipe/index.html">Alton Brown</a>. You can <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09hUICZerV8">watch the 'Puff the Magic Mallow'</a> episode of Good Eats to see the general process, but I actually don't recommend following all of his instructions from that episode.</i><br />Makes ~24 1.5-inch marshmallows or ~32 1-inch marshmallows<br /><br /><br />INGREDIENTS<br /><br />1 package gelatin<br />1/6 cup cold water<br /><br />1/2 cup granulated sugar<br />1/3 cup light corn syrup<br />1/6 cup water<br />Pinch salt<br /><br />1/3 tsp vanilla extract<br /><br />1/4 cup cornstarch<br />1/4 cup powdered sugar<br /><br />~1/2 tbsp butter or oil or etc. for greasing<br /><br /><br />EQUIPMENT<br /><br />Stand mixer with whisk attachment<br />2 spatulas (preferably 1 stiff one for scraping and 1 large & softer one for pressing)<br />Medium saucepan<br />Bread pan<br />Fine-mesh sieve (you can also <a href="http://www.kingarthurflour.com/blog/2011/02/27/dydd-gwyl-dewi-hapus-%E2%80%93-mwynhewch-picau-ar-y-maen/">use a tea strainer</a> with patience)<br />1 ramekin/small bowl<br />1 small (~1-cup) container with lid<br />Candy or probe thermometer<br />Timer<br /><br /><br />PREP<br /><br />Working with sugar is scary because it requires both speed and caution. I like to prepare all of my ingredients & equipment before I start so's I won't forget something and end up with no place to put boiling edible napalm. So.<br /><br />Prep the gelatin: Empty 1 packet of gelatin into a small bowl or ramekin. Add 1/6 cup of cold water (you can go over by a couple teaspoons), stir, and set aside to <a href="http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2009/04/how-to-use-gelatin/">bloom</a> (i.e., absorb the water and soften).<br /><br />Prep the sugar: Add your sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 1/6 cup of water to a medium saucepan. You don't even need to stir it. Set aside.<br /><br />Prep the powder coating: Measure your cornstarch and powdered sugar into a small bowl or resealable container. Stir to combine but don't worry about it being lumpy -- you'll be sifting it onto everything anyway. Set aside.<br /><br />Prep the equipment: Grease <i>everything</i>. Grease the bowl of the mixer up to the rim. Grease the heads of 2 spatulas. Grease your bread pan up to the rim. If your cat likes to get all up in your fries while you're cooking, grease your cat. (It'll thank you later.) Use whatever fat and application method you like best -- I like peeling the paper back from the end of a stick of butter and rubbing it over the surface of the object to be greased, then using my fingers to apply the coat evenly and completely.<br /><br />Okay. <br /><br /><br />METHOD<br /><br />Set up your stand mixer so it's ready to go, and add the bloomed block of gelatin to the mixer bowl. Get out your candy or probe thermometer. <br /><br />Next you're gonna cook the sugar mixture to the <a href="http://www.baking911.com/candy/chart.htm">soft ball stage</a> (240 degrees F/120 C). Place your saucepan full'o'sugarstuff over medium heat, swirling the pan occasionally to ensure even heating. (Because sugar likes being in a crystal state, you generally don't want to agitate sugar mixtures by stirring them -- if you stir, it'll be more likely for a rogue sugar crystal to become the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nucleation">nucleation center of crystallization</a> and make the mixture go grainy. Corn syrup, being syrupy & therefore a stabilizer, helps prevent that, and that's why candy recipes call for it.) When the sugar starts to bubble, place your thermometer of choice in the pan and swirl the mixture continually until the sugar reaches 240 degrees F (120 C). Immediately take the pan off the heat. Turn your stand mixer on its lowest setting, and slowly (carefully, respectfully) pour the sugar syrup down the side of the mixer bowl towards the bottom. The goal here is to keep the syrup moving without risking it hitting the whisk and splattering you. That <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyaLZHiJJnE">would be bad</a>.<br /><br />Once all/most of the syrup is in the mixer (a little syrup loss is totally acceptable), crank the mixer up through its settings until it's going full-tilt. Set a timer for 15 minutes.<br /><br />While the mixer's doing its thang, prepare your bread pan: Put a tablespoon or two of your powder mixture in the fine-mesh sieve and tap a good, thick layer of powder into the bottom of the pan, and a finer coating up along the sides. Unlike buttering & flouring a pan for baking, you don't want to tap the edges of the pan to move the powder around -- it'll clump and stick. Just sift it in there and set the pan aside until the timer goes off.<br /><br />When the timer goes off, peer into your mixer bowl and take note of the texture of the batter -- it'll be sticky and stringy as the whisk moves through it. Measure out your vanilla extract, turn the mixer speed down to low, and pour in the vanilla. Give it a few seconds to incorporate, then turn the mixer speed back up to high for ~1 minute, or until the 'mallow batter reaches about the same stringy consistency that it had before you added the vanilla.<br /><br />Time to get the marshmallow batter into the pan. You'll have to work very quickly because the batter will become stiff and difficult to remove from the mixer's bowl in less than a minute. Put your greased spatulas within reach and turn off the mixer. Clean off the mixer's whisk first, using one spatula to gather batter and the second to scrape the batter off the first spatula and into the mixing bowl (or straight into the waiting bread pan, whichever's easier depending on your mixer setup). Using the same gather/scrape method, firmly scrape the rest of the batter out of the mixing bowl and into the pan. You can just kinda glop it in there -- the important thing is getting as much as possible out of the bowl before it sets.<br /><br />Once you've got all the batter you're gonna get in the pan, use your spatulas to press the batter down into the pan evenly, pushing it into the corners and flattening it out. You should still be working kinda quickly, but this part is much more forgiving. Don't be afraid to press down pretty firmly. If any unaesthetic ridges or stringy trails form along the surface, just run your hands under the faucet, flick off the excess water, and gently smooth the batter out with your damp fingertips.<br /><br />When you're satisfied with your 'mallow loaf, set the pan somewhere where it won't be disturbed for ~4 hours (or up to overnight). You can tent it very loosely with tin foil or a paper towel if you're afraid of things (dust, kids, dogs, etc.) getting into it, but you really want the loaf to be able to breathe and dry out, so don't cover it completely.<br /><br />(Cleaning up after this step won't be as terrifying as it seems 'cause marshmallow goo, while tough to wrangle out of a bowl and into a pan, is easy to wash up. It's made entirely of things that dissolve in water. Yay science!)<br /><br />Once the loaf has rested for 4+ hours, get out a cutting board and sift a good layer of your powder mix on its surface. Sift a layer of the powder on top of the 'mallow loaf, too, then turn the loaf out onto the cutting board. Cut the loaf into 3 or 4 strips lengthwise, dust the whole thing with more powder, and dip the cut edges of the strips into the powder on the board. Then push the strips back together into loaf form and cut the strips widthwise into squares (or rectangles, rhombuses, or other quadrilaterals; no one will care if the delicious homemade marshmallows you give them are kinda misshapen). Dust the whole thing with yet more powder. <br /><br />Pull one of the marshmallows away from the rest, dip each cut side in the powder on the board, and then dust the excess powder off with your fingers, taking special care to make sure that there's no buildups of powder stuck in the marshmallow's crags and crevices (that would not be delicious, and can get gross and grainy if you let it sit).* Toss the finished marshmallow back into a large plastic bag (don't cramp your 'mallows). Repeat with each of the marshmallows.<br /><br />*Boyfriend's hack for this step, which works nearly as well and takes like three seconds rather than 15 minutes: Pull a couple handfuls of well-powdered marshmallows apart from each other and toss them in a colander, then, over your sink, shake and toss the marshmallows to coat with powder. <br /><br />You can store the marshmallows for up to a month in a sealed plastic bag or other airtight container -- they might get a bit stale around the edges after the first couple weeks, but will still be delicious, especially when roasted over fire/melted in cocoa.Lauren V.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14172021546093340143noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5154484182292572163.post-71218368455350738872011-03-12T13:48:00.004-05:002011-03-12T14:05:12.590-05:00non-cookie news also curated hereMy senior year of high school, I was the editor of the yearbook (durr) and I had a few friends in Drama Club, so I spent a good bit of time photographing rehearsals & general backstage poppycock. That year, one Jonathan Lovitz was starring as Seymour in our school's production of <i>Little Shop of Horrors</i>. He was scrawny and sweet but had this crazyhuge stage presence. I'm glad to see that he's still making himself heard:<br /><br /><center><object width="420" height="245" id="msnbc4c25f8" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=10,0,0,0"><param name="movie" value="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32545640" /><param name="FlashVars" value="launch=41993607&width=420&height=245" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><embed name="msnbc4c25f8" src="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32545640" width="420" height="245" FlashVars="launch=41993607&width=420&height=245" allowscriptaccess="always" allowFullScreen="true" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash"></embed></object></p></center><br /><br />I love that Jonathan's story is spreading (you can <a href="http://www.365gay.com/opinion/lovitz-why-i-came-out-in-the-jury-box/">read a further statement from Jonathan on 365gay.com</a>, get an international perspective in the comments of <a href="http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/03/10/new-york-man-uses-gay-inequality-to-get-out-of-jury-duty/">this PinkNews.co.uk piece</a>, or see <a href="http://blogs.villagevoice.com/dailymusto/2011/03/use_your_gaynes.php">the Village Voice's reaction</a> [erm, and Jon's abs]), because this is an important sort of thing to have people talking and thinking about. Part of the conversation I've heard was a counterpoint from another friend of mine from high school, the ever sharp Adam Lane:<br /><blockquote>"Jon: forgive me if I sound like a skeptic, but was the trial somehow related to your sexual identity? I could understand your position if it was, say, a civil-rights trial, or if a criminal defendant was openly gay and you sympathized too strongly with him or her. Otherwise, I'm not sure I see the connection.<br /><br />By way of personal example, I was in a jury pool a few years ago (probably the same court--this was before I left NYC), and was dismissed during voir dire because the criminal defendant was charged with a drug-trafficking offense in my neighborhood. I told the judge that I would be unable to be impartial, first because the defendant was allegedly dealing very close to where I lived, and second (and more importantly) because I strongly believe that our narcotics laws are unjust. While I actually would have liked to have served on the jury, I recognized that advancing my own social agenda was inappropriate behavior as a juror.<br /><br />I believe you when you say that you were not trying to shirk your civic duty. I suppose my ultimate concern with the position you've taken--and this is only if, indeed, the trial was unrelated to the protected class to which you belong--is that, much like voting, serving on a jury is as much of a right as it is a responsibility. As with voting, serving on a jury gives a person a voice in the civic dialogue. By removing yourself from that dialogue, you may in effect be adding to your own oppression."</blockquote><br />Guys, I mostly write about cookies. I'm not going to attempt to debate the finer points of this conversation. But hooray for conversation. I hope that people will continue to find ways of instigating it, publicly and peacefully and intelligently. (And please, add your ideas in the comments or on your own webspace of choice if you're more debately inclined than I.)<br /><br /><br />In completely separate news, just in case you haven't heard elsewhere: You can text REDCROSS to 90999 to donate $10 to the <a href="http://www.redcross.org/">American Red Cross</a>, which is helping provide relief to the survivors of the earthquake in Japan. For an alternative to the Red Cross, you can send a donation to <a href="http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/japan-earthquake-tsunami-relief">GlobalGiving.org</a>. And if you're concerned about a loved one in Japan who you haven't been able to get in touch with, check the Consulate-General of Japan in Atlanta's excellent page of <a href="http://www.atlanta.us.emb-japan.go.jp/earthquakeinfo.html">emergency contacts</a>.Lauren V.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14172021546093340143noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5154484182292572163.post-10909361660319533522011-02-20T22:39:00.005-05:002011-02-21T13:27:15.913-05:00breakfast: the most important meal of the day at any o'clockHaven't been brunching much lately, but I finally got out to try <a href="http://www.rosebudatlanta.com">Rosebud's</a> <a href="http://www.rosebudatlanta.com/our-food-2/our-food/">brunch offerings</a> [which happen on Saturdays (and apparently Fridays, and Monday nights) as well as Sundays, which is delightful because I simply cannot be buggered to go farther than my couch on Sunday mornings]. My ladyfriends & I shared a plate of sweet corn mini-muffins as a starter, which were a bit on the crumbly side but still tender and moist with a nice crisped edge, the perfect vehicle for the whipped butter and rich peach preserves they were served with. The bar was out of one of the housemade components for the brunch cocktail I'd had my eye on, The AT&T (apricot- & thyme-infused gin and tonic), so I ordered a Gingham (gin, lemon juice, and a touch of housemade grenadine, topped off with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cava_%28Spanish_wine%29#Cava">cava</a> & a strip of lemon peel and served in a champagne flute) instead, which was crisp and sunny, just the thing for brunch.<br /><br />For my main dish, I had an openface, house-cured salmon sandwich on <a href="http://www.holeman-finch.com/">Holeman & Finch</a> pumpernickel, topped with citrus-fennel slaw, a fried egg, and a drizzle of horseradish aioli. It was a serious, heavy dish in a bright, Springy way, with good herbal punch from the pumpernickel and slaw. The salmon was a bit thick-cut and therefore slightly chewy for my tastes in places, but the rest of the textures were perfect -- airy bread, crunchy cabbage, and melt-in-your-mouth over-medium egg.<br /><br />I also tasted my friends' mains -- the pastrylike & sticky, sweet-tart "not your momma's french toast", stuffed with Nutella and topped with pineapple compote; a side of creamy baked/herbed/fried potatoes; and the aptly named Nasty Royale breakfast sandwich, which consisted of salty Berkshire ham, melty slices of brie, and savory-sweet truffled egg omelet with truffle honey mustard on a thick, soft baguette, and which gave me the same happy-filthy feeling I get from watching <i>The Tudors</i>. A certain <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/tracyvwilson">@tracyvwilson</a> snapped a <a href="http://yfrog.com/h7yebvj">picture of it</a>. (And hey, Internets, <a href="http://www.twitter.com/#!/amypage">@amypage</a> says hi!)<br /><br />All of the portions were generous-bordering-on-huge, and the staff was unfailingly polite. I'll definitely come back for brunch again -- maybe even early enough to catch the <a href="http://www.morningsidemarket.com/">Morningside Farmers Market</a> next time, or at least with a grocery list for <a href="http://www.alons.com/">Alon's</a>.<br /><br /><br />In other breakfast food news, I finally tried one of <a href="http://www.atlantafresh.com/YogurtProducts.html">Atlanta Fresh's Greek-style yogurts</a> -- the 2% vanilla & caramel flavor. It was dessertlike, rich and thick and creamy, with just a touch of roasty caramel sweetness to compliment the yogurt's tang. The 6-ounce cup had only 3 grams of fat (0 saturated) and a nice 15 grams of protein, but 26 grams of sugar, which is a lot for me. I can't justify paying $2.50 to $3.00 for a single serving of yogurt on any kind of frequent basis (even in support of fab local producers), but it'll make a terrific sometimes-treat. I found mine at the Whole Foods on Pleasant Hill, but they're available <a href="http://www.atlantafresh.com/store_locator.html">all over Atlanta</a>.<br /><br />I also tried a couple <a href="http://www.kalonasupernatural.com/products_yogurt.html">Kalona SuperNatural yogurts</a> this past week -- the 2% strawberry and vanilla flavors, both with cream tops (which are my favorite things for yogurt to have). The texture of the strawberry yogurt was off to me, sort of broken/lumpy/gooey, but the tart & tangy flavor was nice. I liked the vanilla much more overall -- the cream top was intact, the vanilla flavor was strong, and the texture was smooth. With 2.5 grams of fat (1.5 saturated), a minuscule 6 grams of sugar, and 6 grams of protein <a href="http://www.kalonasupernatural.com/products_yog_nutri.html">per each 6 oz. cup</a>, I felt good about eating these (and adding granola). I found them at the <a href="http://www.thefreshmarket.com">Fresh Market</a> on Roswell.Lauren V.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14172021546093340143noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5154484182292572163.post-15376587777499744062011-02-14T13:01:00.002-05:002011-02-14T13:13:07.928-05:00things my authors send me: headwear editionReceiving a package in the mail always makes my day. Receiving physical proof of a friend's labor, determination, and talent makes pretty much the best day ever.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivzM-EMTgZaqCDoWRJxPnPQKyogxavKeXOZXKLbLo8rvKottDfDWClU76xrRfxp8h12PRJ3MP1a6GLFsYLboDeoq41jmy4RMCIMaExXhV-AoweNHOOF7hefNUEmRsDgafFZPKaxTIs2tg/s1600/tbtb.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 262px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivzM-EMTgZaqCDoWRJxPnPQKyogxavKeXOZXKLbLo8rvKottDfDWClU76xrRfxp8h12PRJ3MP1a6GLFsYLboDeoq41jmy4RMCIMaExXhV-AoweNHOOF7hefNUEmRsDgafFZPKaxTIs2tg/s320/tbtb.jpg" border="0" alt="me holding a copy of The Blood That Bonds, a novel by Christopher Buecheler"title="In this picture, I am having a better day than the nice lady (Two) on the cover."id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573330316298865490" /></a><br /><br />That's a 3-dimensional copy of <i><a href="http://www.thebloodthatbonds.com">The Blood That Bonds</i></a> by Christopher Buecheler that I'm holding there, because it exists in 3 dimensions now. You <a href="http://grammarmonkey.blogspot.com/2009/11/blood-that-bonds.html">may remember</a> that this is a vampirical, romantical horror novel that I helped copy edit in the wayback. You can still <a href="http://www.thebloodthatbonds.com">download the entire book for free</a> in a variety of formats, but if you're into books having mass, volume, and that particular papery/gluey/inky scent, you can get yourself a version with <i>all</i> of those qualities for $13.99 plus shipping from <a href="https://www.createspace.com/3491262">CreateSpace</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Blood-That-Bonds-IIAM-Novel/dp/1453878696/">Amazon</a>, or <a href="http://www.thebloodthatbonds.com">direct from Christopher himself</a>. It's really nicely printed, on thick, 6" by 9" pages, and my name is in it, so if my grandmother ever visits you you'll have a surefire way to impress her.<br /><br /><br /><br />I also received a package recently from <a href="http://www.adampknave.com">Adam P. Knave</a> and <a href="http://www.ngc2632.com/blog/">Laszlo Xalieri</a>, the contents of which were 100% more <a href="http://grammarmonkey.blogspot.com/2009/10/its-always-sunny-in-lobsterdelphia.html">lobster themed</a> than what Christopher sent:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9TI8z7ouCsrRqyE9VPE3za77JL_PrwGs7r1wleQfhrK3d1T2zqFiB82h9GL-4iyBz67zaNKkUdUyfcPw2lZdiHYxAsNBdHArSOgCgPVhgwMl2Fqa1y0vlcplfUtlZ71_HVBJK-Htlr_M/s1600/lobster+set.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 262px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9TI8z7ouCsrRqyE9VPE3za77JL_PrwGs7r1wleQfhrK3d1T2zqFiB82h9GL-4iyBz67zaNKkUdUyfcPw2lZdiHYxAsNBdHArSOgCgPVhgwMl2Fqa1y0vlcplfUtlZ71_HVBJK-Htlr_M/s320/lobster+set.jpg" border="0" alt="me wearing a woolen lobster hat and mittens"title="My favorite part about this picture is how the lobster on my left hand is apparently drunk."id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573608049005839218" /></a><br /><br /><br />Though, to be fair, the contents of either package make a perfectly fine hat.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjymu89-uuFdu-gkbRQPjsPce_wwrJfHg-BszOu5H98o7GDBp4WZodWNQkTCm_0zykCN0a98IEve5mWMNHFNJX1BFko68SgwtH0pcNK4bRXlCU38vE5C4n2-9Okx8gUtFHj9kJcWbITLm0/s1600/tbtb+hat.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 262px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjymu89-uuFdu-gkbRQPjsPce_wwrJfHg-BszOu5H98o7GDBp4WZodWNQkTCm_0zykCN0a98IEve5mWMNHFNJX1BFko68SgwtH0pcNK4bRXlCU38vE5C4n2-9Okx8gUtFHj9kJcWbITLm0/s320/tbtb+hat.jpg" border="0" alt="me wearing a book as a hat, which I do sometimes"title="It makes a good hat!"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573329050446047586" /></a><br /><br /><br />And hey, happy Valentine's Day, friends! I less-than-three you.Lauren V.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14172021546093340143noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5154484182292572163.post-67393708750438082082011-02-09T10:12:00.005-05:002011-02-12T16:24:04.040-05:00re: your brains (Zombiesque!)My dear, bebearded friend <a href="http://www.ngc2632.com/blog/">Laszlo Xalieri</a>, who formerly guest-starred in this textual/pixelated adventure of mine as a lecturer at the <a href="http://grammarmonkey.blogspot.com/2009/09/following-up_18.html">Atlanta Zombie Symposium</a>, has a story in a newly published book of short fictions written from zombies' points of view.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://moblog.net/view/947943/zombiesque-autographed"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjI1YycPF1EfIJIdObfIpjhIwGwKaTx0LlOLvvo7fvaLlE8kRZ3OZhR4g-OMBz1t6CXTaLm7T8cjSLg2i0BCBEKfOp9ZpSdzofiLfhxSFhdyInp8WtIFikxp24yiFYMHnWXbY_mFdULf8/s320/zombiesque-autographed.jpg" border="0" alt="Zombiesque book cover"title="photo by Xalieri, from his moblog"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572913006191459634" /></a><br /><br />It's called <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Zombiesque-Stephen-L-Antczak/dp/0756406587">Zombiesque</a>, and it's available on Amazon for only $7.99, and you need something new to read. (You <i>always</i> need something new to read. No matter how many unread books you already have cluttering your bookshelves/other horizontal home surface areas. Don't argue, you'll risk giving me a catastrophic paradigm shift proportionate to the number of pages in <a href="http://grammarmonkey.blogspot.com/2010/06/reading-list-summer-10.html">all of my unread books</a> combined.)Lauren V.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14172021546093340143noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5154484182292572163.post-29009850604555145082011-01-26T18:54:00.005-05:002011-01-26T19:43:59.228-05:00consumerism wow: the further misadventures of Mitty MattIn a completely failed attempt to do a double-super Consumerism WOW holidextravaganza, Adam and I have posted dual (dueling?) January episodes! The followup to <a href="http://grammarmonkey.blogspot.com/2011/01/consumerism-wow-post-holiday-patterns.html">my post</a> <strike>has been up for a whole week and I'm a bad consumer-friend</strike> is <a href="http://www.adampknave.com/2011/01/18/consumerism-wow-jan-11">up on Adam's blog</a>! Here's a preview:<br /><br /><br /><center><b>Thing #1</b></center><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://katiecandraw.bigcartel.com/product/f-k-you-box-cat-mini-book-digital-download"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIEPGpO96xY9EiPK6VNI0xE0TSmgclSGiPExND35TNbUMGslYnF2Jy-zQoBjU1LIK0tsmSYdQWPm7N4X0FfAt9y30MfoseBEvJaz17o7fvIBAh77_zCXNAdqKc5CVDjIhlL3jqN-lBxzU/s320/thing1jan11.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5566650239020550674" /></a><br /><br /><b>Lauren</b>: You are teaching your cat to speak and read English with help from a kitty that she’ll identify with! ….Adam, this is a very bad idea.<br /><br /><b>Adam</b>: No, it’s a great idea! Then she can stop just mindlessly whining and actually communicate her wants and needs and… all right perhaps this will end badly. But I must try. For science!<br /><br /><br /><center><b>Thing #3</b></center><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="<br />http://skreened.com/fbodstudios/danger-do-not-look-into-laser-with-remaining-eye"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 149px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6OAZQ5Wd77wWJm9GrbjqvVhnlhyphenhyphenVuOld7wfNpDfo0fs7ocCoyNbkw0_5mfu98M3om7A2OGGgESsVKgt_oxThzjykrsx7co4P-Rc0WZydu1_zC5CMx5lT1zffcFE2wdcrZ_Ew-xjUyc1M/s320/danger-do-not-look-into-laser-with-remaining-eye.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5566653653659917042" /></a><br /><br /><b>Lauren</b>: Is – is this why you’re teaching your cat how to read? You did not tell me that kitty had to get an eye patch.<br /><br /><b>Adam</b>: Kitty does not need an eye patch, I would never let my cat be harmed like that! No this is for, uhm, my good friend… Mitty. Mitty Matt. He, uhm, was walking around, pacing really, while I was doing experiments and now he needs an eye patch. Mitty Matt. Who already speaks English and can read because he is human and not a cat.<br /><br /><br />Click through to <a href="http://www.adampknave.com/2011/01/18/consumerism-wow-jan-11">Adam's blog</a> to read the rest! I can very nearly promise that no cats were harmed in the writing of this episode. It's likely that at least one was severely annoyed, and that a <a href="http://grammarmonkey.blogspot.com/2010/11/feliz-el-too-busy-to-update-mes.html">dog who was raised in the wild by cats</a> felt slightly neglected for having not been mentioned <i>again</i>, but <i>c'est la vie d'un chien instruit dans le sauvage par des chats</i>. (I got that translation from babelfish. I don't know any French that isn't food & cooking vocabulary. I hope I haven't just inadvertently called anyone's grandmother a transitive sausage or something.)<br /><br />And hey, the book featured as Thing #1 is no longer available in print, but it's being offered as a <a href="http://katiecandraw.bigcartel.com/product/f-k-you-box-cat-mini-book-digital-download">digital download</a> for only 2 American dollars! Friends, this is the future of the publishing industry we're looking at <i>right here</i>.Lauren V.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14172021546093340143noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5154484182292572163.post-60753690322412087662011-01-15T11:24:00.000-05:002011-01-15T11:27:14.791-05:00foodpr0n: homemade cocoa marshmallowsThe first thing you learn when you make marshmallows from scratch is that <i>Ghostbusters</i> was lying to you. That is <i>not</i> how marshmallow goop behaves. (They used shaving cream.) Actual marshmallow goop is far more insidious, more inexorable, more <i>sticky</i> than the deceptively benign horrors that our comedic but intrepid heroes faced back in 1984.<br /><br />That said, the payoff of working with marshmallow goop is well worth the effort:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5121/5352967113_cf98a99ef9_z.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 640px; height: 427px;" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5121/5352967113_cf98a99ef9_z.jpg" border="0" alt="homemade cocoa marshmallows tumbled in a pan"title="Worth. It."/></a><br /><br />I'd be posting a recipe right now, but at this point I'd just be plagiarizing <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/homemade-marshmallows-recipe/index.html">Alton Brown's excellent instructions</a>. I'll get back to you later, once I've had the chance to perfect a few wacky flavors.<br /><br />These cocoa marshmallows were made exactly according to Alton's recipe, except I only made 1/3rd of the recipe (which fit perfectly in a bread pan) and added 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder to the 'mallow batter in addition to the vanilla (having turned the beater speed down first and up again afterwards to prevent splatter), plus another 2 teaspoons of cocoa powder to the cornstarch/powdered sugar coating mixture.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5204/5353579882_ef2ac02182_z.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 427px; height: 640px;" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5204/5353579882_ef2ac02182_z.jpg" border="0" alt="more closeup detail of homemade cocoa marshmallows" title="Perhaps someday I'll level up to round marshmallows."/></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5041/5352966867_4bc1cdaf58_z.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 640px; height: 427px;" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5041/5352966867_4bc1cdaf58_z.jpg" border="0" alt="homemade cocoa marshmallows in a messy pan" title="That smudge on the pan is only the smallest sign of the sticky terror I faced."/></a><br /><br />Of course, s'mores had to happen immediately. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5126/5352967313_2dc25e80ea_z.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 640px; height: 427px;" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5126/5352967313_2dc25e80ea_z.jpg" border="0" alt="a s'more made with a homemade cocoa marshmallow and Lindt milk chocolate" title="Being snowed in is okay when you have double-chocolate s'mores."/></a><br /><br />The only potential downside here is that now I want to make marshmallows in all the flavors. Like banana, and espresso, and Nutella, and whiskey, and caramel, and chai, and Earl Grey. It'll be the tastiest pain in the ass there ever has been.Lauren V.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14172021546093340143noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5154484182292572163.post-81459553715102859432011-01-09T15:50:00.007-05:002011-01-09T19:02:14.700-05:00consumerism WOW: post-holiday patterns of villainySO. As I began the process of publishing this episode of Consumerism WOW (in which the gig is this: I provide a list of shiny things, <a href="http://www.adampknave.com">Adam P. Knave</a> guesses why I want them, and I tell you why he's <i>wrong</i>), it came to my attention that many of you failed to procure holiday gifts for me. An unintentional oversight or postal mishap, I am sure! Whatever your reason, excuse, "legally" binding contract, or commitment to The Sleeping Elder Gods of the Deep that has prevented you from giving me something, I forgive you. Perhaps you were merely wanting for a gift idea! Here's 10, slackers. My birthday is May 29th. Perhaps you can get it together before then, hmm?**<br /><br /><br /><br /><center><b>Thing #1</b></center><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/supplies/e5d4/?cpg=146H&head"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 205px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJQAfQDKFLzOA20VCaZfwTtjsNTU3RaTukx5NDYwOfCrJVJMGaUgH0PTlpGsLCn3Djj19c6iwAvCHwl9VqR1i-MIumH_9jqurNrOJvCgTdYOdiBGYFyTonLn8fF0bXpA1_d3xzyKwd4wo/s320/e5d4_pac_man_moleskin_notebooks_grid.jpg" border="0" alt="Pac Man Moleskin Notebooks"title="for sudden ideas and NOMs"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559239852701572482" /></a><br /><br /><b>Adam:</b> This is a secret warning to people who want to bring you food that, in actuality, you eat tiny bits throughout the day. NOM. NOM. NOM.<br /><br /><b>Lauren:</b> Well, that's true! And very much exactly how hypoglycemia works. But mostly I just want one of the smaller notebooks because, despite having a blog and a job on the Intarwebs, I'm better at thinking on paper than I am on a keyboard.<br /><br /><br /><center><b>Thing #2</b></center><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.cakespy.bigcartel.com/product/t-shirt-cupcakes-unicorns-rainbows-and-hearts"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHJA0B9gqTXK_FeFHGlgSOgzULaqjHF4ui7i0at7AJ-133n-5aN-tsXiv8x138AlxJaY6h81XXeZgUKsZDvyfOhx6VwvUF8Ib9SYYECek5p2emxib7iPhfyKIWzVubIlEZjn126WoKuXA/s320/cupcakes+and+unicorn.jpg" border="0" alt="a shirt with all the things I love"title="missing: marshmallows and winged kittens"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559242312776479602" /></a><br /><br /><b>Adam:</b> Ahh I see someone made a graphical representation of your dream journal, Lauren! How did you convince them to do that?<br /><br /><b>Lauren:</b> I had the anthropomorphic dream cupcakes send the artist a fax! Durr. Did you not realize that <a href="http://twitpic.com/3c8o1q">cakefax</a> goes both ways?<br /><br /><br /><center><b>Thing #3</b></center><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.spiceandtea.com/green-chili-sugar-p-483.html"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 254px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM9cHizpT4uczcW2EjRY3TGLqxpEcJQb3bLMtifKGw3xsWO4wdqqlaSdJ9d3h6cdrw5uMb5PkgUpBTxPnJ1V1_dS7KhKIuqGuBafRq_gSNdWLCJbcAevzn4gAUksr7XN54y0ujV19ScFg/s320/Sugars_-_Green_Chili1_reduced-1.JPG" border="0" alt="green chili sugar"title="sweet + hot. like _____"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559278821447513650" /></a><br /><br /><b>Adam:</b> You want to lay this out and then tell people "Oh no, it's just sugar. For your coffee," and then sit and snicker as they find out it is <i>le spicy</i>.<br /><br /><b>Lauren:</b> I would never do that to coffee! But Adam, I'm running out of ways to shock people with my baked goods. They're used to me putting <a herf="http://grammarmonkey.blogspot.com/2008/10/recipe-double-chocolate-bacon-cookies.html">meat in cookies</a> already. I need to step up my game. (Also, I would totally do that to chai or hot cocoa.)<br /><br /><br /><center><b>Thing #4</b></center><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.kidrobot.com/Toys/ZipperPullsKeychains/YummyDonutsEnamelZipperPull1Inch.html"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV7kQaycFypw-ekHYUSi6i2K4RqkdIkR6jTF11XR7jvkq8tD5JO08n3O1IAREOsZszwTUGkJG_0m-qqEebXgQxoEKt2CSYz4VZQlwT7E4h3MqSfTlKfpq8Bmn7JujWexAX3ZO0FACf-t8/s320/YummyDonutsEnamelZipperPullbr1Inch_large_image3_17994.jpg" border="0" alt="Yummy Donuts zipper pulls"title="hypoglycemia is a sad story made better by metallic, anthropomorphic donuts"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559279982475356658" /></a><br /><br /><b>Adam:</b> Whenever you open a hoodie. Wherever you need to get in a bag. Each time you unzip your pants. They'll be there. Tiny donuts. And you can tug at them, to ease your pain of not having real donuts to eat.<br /><br /><b>Lauren:</b> That is <i>also</i> exactly how hypoglycemia works. (C'mon, they're such cute donuts! And one of them is sad 'cause he got ate! And the artist, <a href="http://www.mypapercrane.com/">Heidi Kenney</a>, is fantabulous!)<br /><br /><br /><center><b>Thing #5</b></center><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.ladiesemporium.com/store/001101.php"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 285px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIkyC8LKK0-PRad3L_wPm7Meixqg88ZJlnYccdV9nCtf6gAa30bXZGj1ISkwT0f8F9IHx5B53shnoxkT1efVGMW2fZUfdGGFGkL-Y9ZcrOto0uXN3H91A-E1wyCTB6D-OE1nRZwa9qLPU/s320/parasol.jpg" border="0" alt="Battenberg lace parasol"title="looks & thwacks good!"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559285333891062674" /></a><br /><br /><b>Adam:</b> Uhm, I hate to be the one to tell you, but not only will this not do anything to keep the rain off, but if you use it in sunlight to protect your oh-so-dear-lord-get-some-sun skin you'll just tan in a lacy pattern.<br /><br /><b>Lauren:</b> I don't tan, I burn and then peel to white. But I suppose I wouldn't want to burn in a lacy patter, either. I appreciate your advice, and promise I'll only use it as a sunblock on cloudy days. (Though mostly, I want it as a <a href="http://gailcarriger.com/alexias_london.php">defensive weapon</a> and <a href="http://grammarmonkey.blogspot.com/2010/11/feliz-el-too-busy-to-update-mes.html">skeletal accessory</a>.)<br /><br /><br /><center><b>Thing #6</b></center><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.klwines.com/detail.asp?sku=1025568"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 134px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglolKDNqH15QVqqy4k_fppxSTdGOOKaT2tDv3gyvOMPjS1qn9Q1C5jtDNa39ZV2hkaDcKiQevv-BT_6P4Tud5ySh19RIIo3VO4prBwxQACQg5DTVhhPXAXaDDrTIKvXtwxETXpnzYVaGg/s320/los+danzantes.jpg" border="0" alt="Los Danzantes mezcal"title="hard to find. tastes like scotch and tequila had delicious babies."id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559286168647486370" /></a><br /><br /><b>Adam:</b> We need no reason or excuse for booze. Carry on.<br /><br /><b>Lauren:</b> I should hope not! Especially for excellent, smokey-leathery scotch-whisky-esque reposado mezcal tequila.<br /><br /><br /><center><b>Thing #7</b></center><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.villainess.net/extrait-sampler.html"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6uD_L589257FFEySVJJts65rMmRVH0Kw1EdKbDP5LLmwJ3TrgKD3meASnC9QvGy0izQu-92MUJxR-ic90uC0vtAI8XuAVR29JA-43HHVuvfjLA6tArkx-mbvIItSVxUdRZthlY5l8iyc/s320/perfume_sampler.jpg" border="0" alt="Villainess perfume sampler"title="so many sniffs!"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559288105888793778" /></a><br /><br /><b>Adam:</b> This is for your crime fighting career as "The Perfume-agator" isn't it? Throwing bombs made of the stuff to mark and later hunt down criminals. Your secret is safe with us, Lauren!<br /><br /><b>Lauren:</b> That would be the worst plan ever! I would track down the bad guys and they'd smell so nice that I'd just nuzzle them. I would-- be every conflicted, sexually tense superhero ever written. No, I just want to dab a little bit of each of these scents on myself and find The One that makes me smell like sexy cookies served with whiskey-laced tea (Earl Grey, hot).<br /><br /><br /><center><b>Thing #8</b></center><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/62733967/calavera-necklace-with-heart-eyes-and"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 270px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH9LaC61AMPgXC_9-3BBuBl6SS-ew_A-MNfNWaVYbVYhHnGwE_2Whmt4ZFixwwydY4YfHtCOqQMV8BlMiN0Zx_zwRhrUc8KqcmVaYS4zDWg7A0A1Pt5875xLSVPzrfQ93YyUMnf4Eyv4Y/s320/calavera+necklace.jpg" border="0" alt="calavera necklace"title="id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559290578115061042" /></a><br /><br /><b>Adam:</b> Is… is that Hello Kitty's skull? What have you done with Hello Kitty? Hello? Kitty?<br /><br /><b>Lauren:</b> Not Hello Kitty! It's a calavera -- a skeleton that's excited to be a skeleton 'cause the prevailing cultural belief system of its (previously inclusive) people celebrates and honors it! ....But you can't say that Kitty <strike>didn't</strike> wouldn't have it coming.<br /><br /><br /><center><b>Thing #9</b></center><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/60829610/red-metallic-genuine-stingray-cuff"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLnsJ2M3uizLzTOHT0VCp3rIC1DUeh6B61RzCOyoq5MZ_omqHEW7W13Xauwx1x1gAXp6ih_BfxOSOa96sKjLQ-V3vgkJjrRIQ97M7cCr7omr1JK9CFAIVtZuaZXMBKEINoSD1r2iGLPmI/s320/stingray+cuff.jpg" border="0" alt="bracelet made from shiny, red-dyed, responsibly sourced stingray"title="pretty bracelet, made from stingrays!"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559292572013128162" /></a><br /><br /><b>Adam:</b> I'll be honest here, kid, I thought this was made of roe at first and wondered why you wanted to wear eggs. And then it kinda made sense. But that isn't what this is at all and now I wonder why it isn't an egg bracelet.<br /><br /><b>Lauren:</b> Roe doesn't have the structural integrity to form a bracelet, Adam, that's why. ....Unless maybe you find a way to magnetize them, like organic, squishy <a href="http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/science/bbe8/">Bucky Balls</a>.<br /><br /><br /><center><b>Thing #10</b></center><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/springerle-rolling-pin"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 225px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyFJHnB51QZG4y4ai7rXNFFWPUhH8HCgG6-xwKohDNB6Ve4dYmPEEh61e2NN7NrJdaY4-s5Fvzmadi2oD3WwwSoCkAJAu9CY-6aZW16PidOoVKecONLOWgGojgD1sIc7eMYzLxn1ufRI0/s400/rolling+pin.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559295623036066418" /></a><br /><br /><b>Adam:</b> Do you really think that if you smack people hard enough with this that you can leave fun patterns on them? Really?<br /><br /><b>Lauren:</b> Well I mostly just wanted to leave fun patterns in shortbread cookies which I could then mail to people like you, but y'know, that's a <i>much</i> better idea. I shall be a supervillain with lace-pattered sunburns and shortbread-patterned victims, and the world shall tremble before my fearsome patterns of destruction!<br /><br /><br /><i>Until next time, my dear consumers! BWA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA<STRIKE>cough</strike>!</i><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />**Taking a quick step back (up? diagonally?) from Consumerism WOW, I just wanted to put in that while I covet many, many commercially available products, the best, most favorite gifts I've received have been handmade by friends & family. No one ever needs to give me stuff. Certainly, no one ever needs to <i>buy</i> me stuff. (But if you're gonna, I would earnestly appreciate owning any of the things I mention in any Consumerism WOW episode.)Lauren V.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14172021546093340143noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5154484182292572163.post-67453806567715853862011-01-02T01:53:00.003-05:002011-01-02T02:18:25.828-05:00good tidings of comfort and few-to-no molten sugar burnsHappy New Year, faithful readers! I hope it's treated you well so far. (It treated me to a mini-marathon of <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460627/"><i>Bones</i></a> [can I register to receive one of each of the Deschanel sisters as a late Christmas present? theyaresocute], not entirely losing at <a href="http://www.bungie.net/Stats/Reach/Default.aspx?player=your%20emo%20kid">Halo</a>, and eating wonderful holiday treats from wonderful friends plus pork chops & sauerkraut and kale and roasted root vegetables cooked by an also-wonderful dreamthrum. I will gladly take a whole year of these sorts of small delights.)<br /><br />If you're like me in that you're not quite ready to give up holiday foods yet, check out <a href="http://www.curvygirlguide.com">CurvyGirlGuide's</a> collection of <a href="http://www.curvygirlguide.com/good-eats/go-to-holiday-dishes/">go-to holiday dishes</a> -- they featured a few of mine! <br /><br />I'm hoping to have some new ones to share with you soon. Things I've made in the recent past that I'm looking forward to refining in the near future include baklava and peanut butter cookies. If you've got any secrets to either of these, let me know! I will give you shoutouts & lurve.<br /><br />And in further culinary adventures, tomorrow I'm gonna try making marshmallows! Wish me luck & few-to-no burns from molten sugar, and I'll let you know how it goes. But first, sleep, a quick run out for graham crackers and Hershey's bars, and the building of the sort of fire that will produce good hot coals. In that order, yes.Lauren V.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14172021546093340143noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5154484182292572163.post-31962866342823393942010-12-24T00:51:00.005-05:002010-12-24T01:57:32.786-05:00recipe: linzertorteSome facts about the linzertorte: 1) It is basically an almondy cookie cake. 2) It is filled with raspberry jam. 3) It is spiced to taste like Christmas. 4) The amount of effort it takes to make < the amount of impressed your friends & family will be. <br /><br />By "facts" I might've meant "reasons why linzertortes are a holiday tradition in my family". Here is one additional reason:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRRuyads5VAKI8ezXVsxNZlp0Oy9dsbBpiMUOuQh_UGYcBrmQV37aSNa-A41WTZ_VBqE_OSMWBaiRnXLC3NNj7Rn2Wv-oEs8CWmVfyb0uoxI2hRwWp732qeQKD63et2jfL3KxUJrqKHdg/s1600/_MG_4750.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRRuyads5VAKI8ezXVsxNZlp0Oy9dsbBpiMUOuQh_UGYcBrmQV37aSNa-A41WTZ_VBqE_OSMWBaiRnXLC3NNj7Rn2Wv-oEs8CWmVfyb0uoxI2hRwWp732qeQKD63et2jfL3KxUJrqKHdg/s320/_MG_4750.JPG" border="0" alt="linzertorte"title="photo by dreamthrum!id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5554137771816837666" /></a><br /><br />I never feel like it's really the holidays until I've made one of these. It's the perfect thing to take to parties, and can safely be made a day or two ahead (fact 5: it's tastier after a day or so) and/or in steps, as your schedule allows.<br /><br /><b>Linzertorte</b><br /><i>Adapted from The Joy of Cooking, <a href="http://www.notderbypie.com/linzertorte/">Not Derby Pie</a>, and <a href="http://www.joyofbaking.com/LinzerTorte.html">The Joy of Baking</a>.</i><br />Serves ~12 (it's very rich, so small wedges will do)<br /><br /><br />INGREDIENTS<br /><br />1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour (If you like/have white-whole-wheat, 1/2 c. of that plus 3/4 c. all purpose also works)<br />1 c. almond flour (or fine-ground blanched [skinless] almonds)<br />1/2 tsp cinnamon<br />1/4 tsp cloves<br />1/4 tsp salt<br />1 tsp lemon or orange zest (1 lemon or ≥1/2 orange worth)<br /><br />2/3 c. white granulated sugar<br />3/4 c. (1.5 sticks) butter<br />2 egg yolks<br /><br />1 1/4 c. (~1 jar, ~10 oz.) tasty raspberry preserves<br />2 tbsp fresh-squeezed lemon or orange juice<br /><br /><br />METHOD<br /><br />Add your dry ingredients into a medium bowl (you can zest the citrus straight into the bowl to capture all the good zesty oils) and whisk to combine.<br /><br />In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar for ~3 minutes, until they've lightened in color and texture. Beat in the egg yolks for ~1 minute until well incorporated. Stir in the dry ingredients, 1/3rd-ish at a time, until well combined.<br /><br />Divide the mixture into 2 parts, one a bit larger than the other -- about 60%/40%. Ball & smush one part in your hands until it's happy (read: non-crumbly) enough to stay in ball form, then flatten it slightly into more of a disc. Do the same for the other! Wrap each disc separately in plastic/foil/a sandwich bag and pop them both in the fridge. They need to chill for 30 minutes at the very least, and preferably at least an hour. They will not be harmed by hanging out in there for a whole day, in fact, if you find that you've got Other Things To Do.<br /><br />When the dough is chilled and you're ready to bake, butter & flour a 9-inch springform. (A cake or tart pan would also work, provided it's at least 2 inches deep.) Prepare to roll your dough out: sprinkle some flour on a large surface (I like sticking a piece of wax or parchment paper to the counter with a few drops of water and rolling on that for ease of turning the dough and moving it into the pan, but your mileage may vary if you can't get the paper to stick), get some flour on your clothes/face/hair, rub your rolling pin down with some flour, panic. <br /><br />Next, stop panicking. This is not pie crust, this is cookie crust. It's really forgiving. Take out the larger piece of dough and roll it out into a big, evenly thick, mostly circular shape that's ~1-2 inches larger in diameter than your pan. A few cracks around the edges are okay -- just pinch them back together. Drape the dough down into the pan as centeredly as possible and press the bottom down and the sides up. The sides need to be 1/2 to 1 inch high -- just high enough to hold your jam. You can smoosh the dough around, breaking chunks off where there's too much and adding them where it's sparse -- like I said, not a pie crust.<br /><br />This is a good time to preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.<br /><br />Measure out your jam into a small bowl and mix in your citrus juice, then pour/spread the mixture evenly into the crust. <br /><br />Take the second half of the crust out of the fridge and roll it out into an oval that's about as wide as your pan the short way across -- it'll be a bit thinner than the bottom crust was. With a large, flour-dusted knife, slice it width-wise into strips 1/2 inch wide. <br /><br />Now, if you're very motivated you could <a href="http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/how_to_make_a_lattice_top_for_a_pie_crust/">lattice the strips properly</a> across the top of the jam-filled crust, but what I do is just lay one set of strips down across the top, 1/2 inch apart and parallel to each other, and then lay a second set down perpendicular to and right across the top of the first set. It'll still look plenty pretty. If you do it my way, I think it's helpful to start in the middle with the longest pieces and move towards the edges with shorter pieces. <br /><br />Either way, you're going to want to press the ends of each strip down into the edge of the crust. Trim off any extra lengths and smoosh them down into any gaps between the strips, and use any leftover dough to further even out the rim of the crust. I like rolling the excess dough into snakes and using strips & bits of those to fill in the gaps.<br /><br />I brushed an egg wash onto the linzertorte pictured (beat 1 egg with a fork and then use a pastry brush to spread a thin layer over the crust), but it's not necessary. Iiii actually think it's prettier without it.<br /><br />Pop the torte in the oven and bake for 40 minutes, or until it smells lovely and the crust is golden brown and pulling away from the edges on the pan. It'll be crumbly & sorta dry when it's warm and will get better the longer you let it sit, so try to let it cool completely before serving -- it might take a couple hours. You can decorate it with a bit of powdered sugar (put a tablespoon or two in a fine mesh sieve and tap the edge while holding it over the torte to sprinkle it on) if you like. The torte will be even nicer the next day, once the jam has had a chance to seep into the crust a little and all the flavors have really melded, so I recommend baking it a day ahead if you have time, or saving a slice for breakfast if you don't. Just seal it up in airtight containers and finish it within a week or so if there happens to be any leftover.Lauren V.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14172021546093340143noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5154484182292572163.post-12287364208800740322010-12-22T14:03:00.004-05:002010-12-22T14:30:07.207-05:00bathy congratulations!Real quick, and with many thanks to humankind for working out how to put wifi on airplanes so that we wired kids never have to be far from our Internet surfboards:<br /><br />Congratulations to WendyLady, the winner of <a href="http://grammarmonkey.blogspot.com/2010/12/review-happy-manatee-bath-products.html">my contest</a> for a bathy gift from <a href="http://happymanatee.com/">The Happy Manatee</a>!<br /><br />Thanks to everyone who dropped by and entered -- hopefully I'll be able to post another contest soonly. In the meanwhile, did you know that The Amazing Screw-On Head is the best <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Amazing-Screw-Head-Paul-Giamatti/dp/B000KJU16E">short film</a>/<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Amazing-Screw-Other-Curious-Objects/dp/1595825010/ref=pd_cp_d_1">comic book</a> thing ever created? Because it is! And if you disagree, then pardon me if I say "Poppycock".Lauren V.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14172021546093340143noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5154484182292572163.post-76532527773036608372010-12-12T21:12:00.002-05:002010-12-12T21:30:19.261-05:00review: The Happy Manatee bath productsFacebook is perhaps not entirely a social time machine of evil. It occasionally reconnects you, not like a disgruntled switchboard operator hoping to break all the phone jacks but rather like a gentle breeze returning a fallen leaf to the cradling branches of its tree, to good people. Like, for example, my friend Breena, who once drove from Tallahassee to Gainesville to pick me up for hangouts because I didn't have a car in college, and didn't even hate me when my grown-ass ass had to ask for instructions on how to pump/pay for gas. <br /><br />Breena and her husband recently started up a line of bath & beauty products out of South Florida under the name <a href="http://happymanatee.com">The Happy Manatee</a>, and since I like soap and they like me, they sent me a bunch of samples to try out. I'm perhaps obviously biased, what with the owner being a friend of mine and having received free samples, but what follows are my honest, objective-as-possible opinions about the products I tried.<br /><br /><br /><b><a href="http://happymanatee.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=38_40&product_id=88">Gingerbread Salt Scrub</a></b> [$7.99 for a huge tub]<br />I'm a) wary of scrubs and b) in love with this stuff. The former is because my skin's pretty sensitive (read: acne prone, with a tendency to flake & fall off at the very thought of exfoliation & other preventional attempts), and the latter is because this scrub is blissfully massagey without being scratchy, with a lot of moisurizing oil and a comfortingly warm, very clovey ginger-cinnamon-spice scent that will last a couple hours on your skin if you don't wash it off. It'd be great for unwinding by yourself or with a showerfriend (nod-nod-wink-wink-say-no-more). Use it before you soap up for a little moisturization, or afterwards for a whole, whole lot. I'll get several applications out of this tub. My only gripe about this stuff is the snap-lid container, which becomes difficult to open when it's oily and wet, which is necessarily what happens in, say, a shower. It might be easier to use in a bath, or when the container has seen a bit of wear. They've also got a <a href="http://happymanatee.com/index.php?route=product/category&path=38_40">Peppermint Salt Scrub and a Coffee & Sugar Scrub</a>.<br /><br /><b><a href="http://happymanatee.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=38_35&product_id=69">Peppermint soap</a></b> [$4.99 for an averagely bar-sized bar]<br />This soap smells lovely, like a meltaway peppermint candy with just a hint of vanilla. It foams up really creamily with lots of suds and practically no scent other than a touch of sweet cleanness when used with a loofah (the peppermint comes out more, like tea, when it's used directly), and the scent lingered on my skin for maybe half an hour after my shower. The soap is marbled red and white, with a sweet surprise of red glitter scattered sparingly throughout. When used all by its lonesome for test purposes, it did leave my skin a bit dry -- but that's mostly just my sensitive skin + dry winter weather. I'd absolutely recommend this as a body soap for people have sturdy skin or who don't mind moisturizing after a shower, or as a hand soap to everyone. They've also got <a href="http://happymanatee.com/index.php?route=product/category&path=38_35">6 other scents & formulas</a> that I'm not going to read about right now because I have a weakness for soap and currently own more than I'll use in a year.<br /><br /><b><a href="http://happymanatee.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=37&product_id=54">Cocoa Body Lotion Bar</a></b> [$4.99 for 2 1-inch-square bars, 1.5 ounces total]<br />In bar form, this solid lotion smells like -- well, like a piece of chocolate. Just from the cocoa butter it's made with, apparently! It comes wrapped like a chocolate, in pretty gold foil (which is a bit difficult to peel off when the bar is cold -- you might want to warm it in your hands for a minute or so before trying to remove the foil). Once it's settled into my skin it smells a bit less sweet and more musky/dusty/sexy, and the scent lasts a good couple hours but doesn't have very much throw, which I like in a lotion. It feels greasy until it soaks in, but that's how solid lotion bars go -- it's a very rich sort of moisturizer, best for when your skin really needs help. A little is quite enough to get along with, so even though the bar is only about an inch square, it'll last me awhile.<br /><br /><b><a href="http://happymanatee.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=37&product_id=75">Mint Chocolate Body Butter</a></b> [$9.99 for a 6-ounce tin]<br />This stuff smells and feels sinful. I'm honestly not big on lotions, but I keep coming back to this -- the texture is velvety, and it smells like Thin Mints. Like the Cocoa Body Lotion Bar, it's a bit greasy on your skin until it's had time to soak in, so give it a few minutes after application before you go putting on nice clothes. The mint fades and the chocolate amps on me after it's been on awhile, going more musky/dusty/sexy. I think it's got maybe a tiny bit more lasting power and throw than the Cocoa Bar, but not by a lot. Just thinking about it makes me want to go put some on. I apply lotion sparingly, and this tub will last me just about forever. They've also got <a href="http://happymanatee.com/index.php?route=product/category&path=37">3 other body butter scents</a>.<br /><br /><b><a href="http://happymanatee.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=41&product_id=90">Baked Goods Candle</a></b> [$10.99 for a big ol' Bell jar filled with candle]<br />When I first received it, this candle had an almost overwhelmingly strong bakey/cinnamony scent, but I left it to cure for a few weeks and it mellowed into something quite gentle and nice, like snickerdoodles (and this coming from a monkey who prefers subtle, cleaner, more boylike scents in candles). As it burns, it mostly just smells waxy -- you really only get the bakey scent by sniffing it directly, and when you blow it out -- which I consider a candle win. I haven't had it lit for very long, but it didn't smoke or sputter, and seemed to be slow burning. I'm looking forward to reaching the other layers to see what they smell like. And I love that it comes in a Bell jar -- makes it easy to minimize the scent when you're not using it. They've also got <a href="http://happymanatee.com/index.php?route=product/category&path=41">10 other candle scents</a> and <a href="http://happymanatee.com/index.php?route=product/category&path=41_42">3 massage candles</a>.<br /><br /><b><a href="http://happymanatee.com/index.php?route=product/product&keyword=cleopatra&category_id=0&product_id=98">Cleopatra's Milk Bath</a></b> [$5.99 for a 6-ounce tin]<br />My tablespoon-sized sample of this wasn't quite enough for a tubful of water (I suspect you'd need at least twice that much for a full bath), but it softened the water and gave off a gentle, cleanly pretty, soft citrus-rose scent. I used mine in the teabag it arrived in to mitigate potential flotsam (you might want to do the same if you don't like floaty bits in your bath), but the rose petals, lavender buds, and orange peel would probably be very pretty when used loose. It's just a tiny bit pinkish from the rose petals, which you shouldn't leave sitting in your tub, as they might leave a stain to be scrubbed. I'm curious to try using more!<br /><br /><b>Japanese Cherry Blossom Fizzie</b> (currently only offered as part of <a href="http://happymanatee.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=43&product_id=99">gift sets</a> [$14.99 for a bar of soap, 2 fizzies, and 2 lotion bars]) <br />If the Milk Bath smells pretty, the Cherry Blossom Fizzie smells sexy. Possibly dirty-sexy. In an excellent if incongruous-to-bathing way. It's floral and musky, and I could swear that ylang-ylang is involved in it somehow. One li'l hemisphere was enough to just lightly scent my bath, but I'd probably use two next time 'cause I'm so enamored with the scent. The fizzie action was excellent and entertaining, not at all lackluster the way some bath fizzes can be, and it had just enough olive oil in it to make the bath moisturizing without the tub getting all slippery. The light pink color only barely affected the bathwater. They offer <a href="http://happymanatee.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=43">3 other fizz scents</a> in other gift boxes.<br /><br /><b>A Note on Packaging and Ingredients</b><br />Though the packaging isn't anything fancy, it's all very greenly minimal, mostly practical, and (best of all) mostly reusable. Though the ingredients aren't listed in full on the website at the moment, they're similarly minimal and practical, generally vegan and with no preservatives. I'm picky about what I put on my skin (see above re: sensitive and acne-prone), and I felt good about using everything I received. If you have any questions about their products, I'm sure The Happy Manatee staff would be <a href="http://happymanatee.com/index.php?route=information/contact">glad to answer them</a>. Or leave a comment here, and I'll get answers back to you as soon as I can!<br /><br /><b>And hey,</b> as a thank-you to Breena for sending me things and to you for reading (or, y'know, scrolling) this far, <b>I'm offering a contest!</b> One lucky commenter will win a small <a href="http://happymanatee.com/index.php?route=product/category&path=43">gift box</a> of their choice from The Happy Manatee! Just leave a comment with your email address and the name of the small ($14.99) gift box you fancy (for yourself or someone deserving of a good pampering), and one week from today, on Sunday, December 19th at 5:00pm, I'll randomly draw a winner to receive their desired gift. You must comment with your email & the name of a gift box to enter, but I'll give you an extra entry for linking to this post publicly on Twitter, Delicious, and/or Facebook, for a possible total of 4 entries! Just comment with a link to your tweet/delish/FB post so's I'll know you <strike>aren't a dirty liar</strike> did it. Good luck, and happy bathing!Lauren V.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14172021546093340143noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5154484182292572163.post-65749003581779471242010-11-25T02:05:00.007-05:002010-11-25T03:22:53.993-05:00Thanksgiving can also have tricks and treatsHappy Thanksgiving, American compatriots! If you're looking for something to do with that extra bag of cranberries you accidentally bought, I recommend <a href="http://grammarmonkey.blogspot.com/2009/12/recipe-sugared-cranberries.html">sugaring them</a> for a pretty table setting/delicious cranberry candy 2-hit combo.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://grammarmonkey.blogspot.com/2009/12/recipe-sugared-cranberries.html"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKgNLAW0VJ6dynUyfkBnarmqx6DW6gMwcYdoRKImVYhh-4RE22fqCOeM18W0C6ekNQRpurkRcBVSjrDUL5M-FTeUxW8aD3HE3GsS6FJdTH6Py7D-sZ3j6JUYk_-6qbmGuPkk7exHlCfAM/s1600/sugared+cranberries2.jpg" border="0" alt="sugared cranberries on a table set for Thanksgiving dinner" title="Photo by Maria of http://www.mommymelee.com!"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5543384571683522034" /></a><br /><br />My contribution to the dessert table this year will hypothetically be <a href=http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Pear-Butterscotch-Pie-354993">this Pear Butterscotch Pie from Epicurious</a>. "Hypothetically" because it's in the oven right now, and it's looking a lot more like one of <a href="http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=23881791723">Mrs. Lovett's pies</a> than the thing in <i>Gourmet</i>'s picture, and we're out of tin foil so I can't tent the edges of the crust to prevent overbrowning. [Though really, if I manage to not set it on fire I'll be doing better than I have with Thanksgiving dishes in the past. (I apparently only bust out the <i>en fuego accidental</i> for special holiday occasions. It's the best hostess gift ever? It's thematically warm & stressful?)] Will let you know how it turns out!<br /><br /><br />In the meanwhile, a non-caloric holiday treat: <a href="http://www.adampknave.com/2010/11/22/consumerism-wow-with-adam-and-lauren-–-nov-’10">a new episode</a> of <a href="http://grammarmonkey.blogspot.com/search/label/consumer">Consumerism WOW</a> by Adam & me! Adam picked the things we talked about this month, including but not limited to this shirt design:<br /><br /><center><b>Thing #5</b></center><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.threadless.com/product/2480/Yeah/"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 145px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXIcipNtGj4FOvmsAIO7w-yMAGi7Li3BBRpCdvbre8uH46CpwUnfOyiY6bOezz3fcbRY9HbYXGCJtxvWvGuSbaj_yI8DwoiSwd0iOXI1ZqI7-rCOZnJInnTbvVtVKlHMRK-XCfpFuCyjA/s400/thing5nov10.jpg" border="0" alt="a happy exclamation point"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5543392041451050338" /></a><br /><b>Lauren:</b> Your dour demeanor so frequently belies your gleeful mood that you want to reassure people that on the inside, you are super excited about everything. OR you want to trick people into thinking that you’re super excited about everything so they’ll be off their guard for the unequivocal pants-kicking that you’re about to deliver them.<br /><br /><b>Adam:</b> Well now that you explained about the pants-kicking my success rate at fooling people is going right in the toilet! And hey, I’m not <i>dour</i>, Lauren! I am <i>inscrutably magi-cranky</i>, thank you very much. <br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.adampknave.com/2010/11/22/consumerism-wow-with-adam-and-lauren-–-nov-’10">Visit Adam's blog</a> to discover his nefarious consumer desires and learn some Science! He sure learned me about rainbows.Lauren V.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14172021546093340143noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5154484182292572163.post-61068903765854249232010-11-12T00:03:00.003-05:002010-11-12T16:12:46.544-05:00recipe: Not Quite Mom's German Apple CakeHalloween may have super-sneak-ninja attacked me this year, but I had Fall all figured out. The day that the scent of cinnamon brooms battered me at my first step into my local grocery store, I bought some Granny Smith apples, went home, and apropos of no greater occasion than the season made this version of my mom's German apple cake.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeDejRxswqRu3gAWyqES5Z2q0c-b7-Q0dTJEwcXsnFo1nOTBcx7vY0t7_8ZIpETeaRhIPjUs9O7K3FxLGB_ou9FbVr3MvlIsZHhu2ErBXysMcU3VXijWrm2ymM5QDlR6LnZ1YIK4jpHc8/s1600/apple+cake.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 262px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeDejRxswqRu3gAWyqES5Z2q0c-b7-Q0dTJEwcXsnFo1nOTBcx7vY0t7_8ZIpETeaRhIPjUs9O7K3FxLGB_ou9FbVr3MvlIsZHhu2ErBXysMcU3VXijWrm2ymM5QDlR6LnZ1YIK4jpHc8/s400/apple+cake.jpg" border="0" alt="cake topped with chopped apples, with a wedge cut out"title="I left this one in a bit too long, as you can see from the dark-edged applebits, but it was nonetheless delicious.*"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5537441530834985362" /></a><br /><br />If you wanted to be proper about it, you'd use all white flour and all white sugar in this cake to achieve the sweetest richness, and you'd slice the apples thin-thin-thin for <a href="http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Apple-Galette-235860">galette-style decoration</a> and chewy caramelization. My modifications yield an earthier, more everyday cake for those of us who don't own a mandolin and have come to comfortable terms with the fact that we'll wind up eating leftover cake for breakfast, and will feel better about it if there's a bit of whole wheat flour involved. <br /><br />Dense and buttery with a bright, tart kick from the apples and a warming touch of cinnamon, this cake is Fall comfort. Unmodify it for a fancy party treat, or try my relaxed version for a laid-back, party-optional sort of thing.<br /><br /><br /><b>Not Quite Mom's German Apple Cake</b><br /><i>Serves 8-12 people.</i><br /><br /><br />INGREDIENTS<br /><br />3 granny smith apples <br />1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon<br />1/4 cup sugar<br />half a lemon, de-seeded as best as possible<br /><br />2/3 cup all-purpose flour<br />1/3 cup whole wheat flour<br />1 tsp baking powder<br />1/2 tsp salt<br /><br />2/3 cup white granulated sugar<br />1/3 cup brown sugar<br />1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened<br />2 eggs<br />1 tsp vanilla extract (or 1/2 vanilla bean, scraped)<br />2 tbsp bourbon, if you've got it<br /><br /><br />METHOD<br /><br />Peel & core your apples, slice them into wedges, and chop the wedges into roughly equal-sized chunks. As you go, place the resulting applebits in a medium bowl, tossing them with a squeeze of lemon juice to prevent browning each time you add a batch. Once all 3 apples are chopped, add the cinnamon & sugar and toss/stir/muss about with your hands to coat the apples. Set aside to macerate (i.e., soak & soften) while you prepare:<br /><br />A pan! V. important to the cake-making process. I used a 9-inch springform for the cake in the photo, but a <a href="http://www.joyofbaking.com/PanSizes.html">larger round or square</a> should work so long as you shorten the baking time. <a href="http://grammarmonkey.blogspot.com/2009/08/recipe-orange-chocolate-raspberry.html">Butter and flour</a> your pan of choice and set aside.<br /><br />Set your oven to 350 degrees F.<br /><br />Measure your dry ingredients out into a medium bowl and whisk gently to combine.<br /><br />In a larger bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, cream together your butter and sugar for ~3 minutes or until the mixture has lightened in color and texture (indicating that cake-buoying air has gotten into it). Add the eggs, vanilla, and optional bourbon and beat for another 2 minutes to combine thoroughly.<br /><br />Add your dry ingredients to you wet ingredients and stir with a spoon/spatula/other nonelectric device to combine. The batter should be shiny and smooth (keep stirring if it's not). Pour it into your prepared pan and wiggle the pan to distribute evenly.<br /><br />Drain most of the liquid from your apples (they can be wet but shouldn't be dripping) and scatter the pieces across the top of the batter, pressing them in just slightly.<br /><br />Pop the pan in the oven and bake for 60 minutes. Well, check it around 50 minutes. You're looking for the sides of the cake to be deep golden and pulling away from the pan, for the liquid between the apples to be sizzling merrily, and for little bits of batter to be poking up between the pieces of fruit.<br /><br />Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan until said pan is handleable, then either remove it from the springform, carefully <a href="http://www.ehow.com/how_5991434_do-cake-pan-breaking-it_.html">flip it out of your non-springform pan</a> (using a plate to flip with instead of a wire rack), or simply slice and serve the cake from where it is. Seal tightly and refrigerate any leftovers, which should keep for a week.<br /><br /><br />*If you leave it in the oven too long, no worries: you can abuse this cake and it'll still come out okay. As long as it's not actually charred, just stick it in the fridge in a tightly covered container overnight and it'll be lovely and moist the next day. When you eat it for breakfast. Because that's what responsible adults who have used whole wheat flour do.<br /><br /><br />[I previously posted an <a href="http://grammarmonkey.blogspot.com/2008/11/recipe-spiced-pear-cake.html">iteration of this recipe done with pears</a> instead of apples, which is lovely if you have <strike>heathens</strike> friends who dislike cooked apples.]Lauren V.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14172021546093340143noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5154484182292572163.post-35026866749055310482010-11-04T00:11:00.009-04:002010-11-04T01:45:43.879-04:00feliz el too-busy-to-update mes!Faithful readers! Fear not, for I have not abandoned you (entirely)! The past few weeks, I've been quite busy traveling to Boston again, doing that aforementioned job-what-makes-me-work thing, and making Halloween happen (I mean, not for <i>everybody</i>, but for some 80 people, anyway).<br /><br />While in Bostontown I ate <a href="http://www.thebutchershopboston.com/">here</a> and <a href="http://www.arianarestaurantboston.com/">here</a>, and had a tasty cocktail <a href="http://deepellum-boston.com/">here</a>. More about that later on when I have <strike>fewer wines and encroaching bedtimes</strike> the wherewithal to serve up proper foodpr0n. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikVG93pbB-pjSso4LGKhNornHrWHFwJ0FeQeoZ3ZCxMPsC4bJbNsou8TA1U7947mDYvVMdgn-6QTErkPrhyQw-JktUOeQ16i0Fmc_yWVQYPRUm3ZdQWi4Oj_h-Uy6NoVOyQkroxybTgF0/s1600/dog.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikVG93pbB-pjSso4LGKhNornHrWHFwJ0FeQeoZ3ZCxMPsC4bJbNsou8TA1U7947mDYvVMdgn-6QTErkPrhyQw-JktUOeQ16i0Fmc_yWVQYPRUm3ZdQWi4Oj_h-Uy6NoVOyQkroxybTgF0/s320/dog.jpg" border="0" alt="a dog that is really excited about getting pet"title="Dog is in her customary place under my desk, sending me IMs that say 'PETTING NAO PLS YES, I WILL MACH UR SALLEREY'."id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5535556484693814898" /></a>Here in Atlanta I've been living the questionably glamorous life of a Social Media Nomad, which comes with an 80s-Saturday-morning-cartoon-style theme song, frequent visits to coffee shops with patient baristas & free wi-fi, and a really psyched dog (<i>see illust., right</i>). One of these days I might post a whole entry about all the coffee shops in town, and about how I'm spending too much money on <a href="http://www.jenisicecreams.com">Jeni's Ice Creams</a> at <a href="http://www.starprovisions.com">Star Provisions</a> and on sandwiches with Vietnamese-style pickles at <a href="http://www.bocadoatlanta.com">Bocado</a> now that I'm occasionally hanging out around the West Side. Until then, you can count on me to be fading in and out of shadows, a loaded MacBook on my back.<br /><br />Somewhere among all that dull "necessary" stuff, Halloween happened! Through careful planning and wonderful friends, I managed to make this <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Calavera_Catrina">calavera Catrina</a> costume go (please excuse the mess):<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Dqqxo2ROfQIpkIBnck90sLWfU_wCWcO1_oQOHw4A_JJThd-CYcS-_Mc58OuMrg7y-F8vVSXjKUZs7ajGgQlFNv4PjAnjb5thsCCIaA99MxO9WBX0WiBdj5WfcFiyJcR-H-hA8a2vSDA/s1600/catrina"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Dqqxo2ROfQIpkIBnck90sLWfU_wCWcO1_oQOHw4A_JJThd-CYcS-_Mc58OuMrg7y-F8vVSXjKUZs7ajGgQlFNv4PjAnjb5thsCCIaA99MxO9WBX0WiBdj5WfcFiyJcR-H-hA8a2vSDA/s400/catrina" border="0" alt="la calavera Catrina costume with an Edwardian-style dress"title="My friend Melissa pointed out that every time someone went to snap a photo, I pulled some kind of make-Tyra-proud stance & expression. I blame fierce & fashionable soul of Catrina. Photo by Liz J.!"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5535563392927079058" /></a><br /><br />A seamstress friend, Jennifer, made the Edwardianish dress for me -- and if anyone else out there is looking to commission a garment (not necessarily Edwardianish), contact me and I'll get you in touch with her 'cause she's fabulous. The crucifix was cobbled together with bits from the jewelry-supply sale rack at Michael's, the makeup is <a href="http://www.bennyemakeup.com/">Ben Nye</a> cake and grease pencil, the gloves are Leg Avenue fingerless things from <a href="http://www.sockdreams.com">Sock Dreams</a>, and the hat is all the spray paint, ostrich feathers, 50-cent ribbon, and hot glue that you can apply to a straw hat while in a mild state of hat-panic on the afternoon of your Halloween party. Both the makeup & hat were completed with the gracious assistance of a certain <a href="http://www.dreamthrum.com">dreamthrum</a>, who I guess I like pretty well.<br /><br /><br />So! What've you been up to?Lauren V.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14172021546093340143noreply@blogger.com2