Elusive Ink

Currently Reading
Fondue
Lou Seibert Pappas


First of all...Yo Gabba Gabba is actually quite entertaining for a preschool show. Much less painful than many others. (Can we say "Caillou"? Way to promote whineyness in children!) But as Molly says "Gabba Gabba" is actually quite tolerable, and her excitement upon first seeing DJ lance walk onto the white screen is beyond cherishable. So, we have all adopted a yo gabba gabba way of life...and somehow the songs swim around my brain all day long. Because of this I've decided that -- compensating for the lack of "gabba gabba" merchandise -- I am making Molly hand painted "Gabbaland" for christmas. I still can't find pictures of the individual lands though, and I am obsessively persnickety about everything looking perfect.

Now, I must ask - does anything wreak of kitchen geek like gaining pure joy from finally finding Turbinado sugar? I have trouble finding specialty foods in our area, and went to Super Target a few days ago to tackle my (incredibly long) Thanksgiving shopping list, pretty much figuring on having to substutite at lest 35% of the things on my list for similar ingredients. I was absolutely overjoyed when looking on the baking asile I found whole wheat flour, organic white sugar, and turbinado sugar. All ingredients that they generally tend to be out of. I've enjoyed spending my day off making all kinds of goodies for Thanksgiving. In my new Le Creuset mixing bowls, no less. Everything ahs turned out perfectly so far, so I'm bracing myself for some kind of monumental disaster. Knowing me, it'll be on something important: a.k.a. The Turkey. :P But I am definitely pleased with how everything's come out thusfar, even my pecan pie is beautiful, and I've fought with pecan pies in the past.

I've several pictures to post later of some of my recent creations, and some tips that have helped my thanksgiving feast get to this point. :-)

For now, I'm off to make a last minute trip to Target for the lemon I forgot -- I'm doing most of the cooking today because I'm going to be out all day tomorrow. I'm very tempted to impulse buy an espresso maker while I'm out...I also need some cookie cutters and a rolling pin, but I'll probably wait and get those at Sonoma.

More later!!
-Lindsey

...making pies, and cranberry jam. :-) Pictures to come.

Oh, and loving my new Le Creuset cookware (and borrowing some that I gave to my mother, for Thanksgiving purposes.) in fact, I went and spent another good bit on a few more pieces today. The insanity continues.

I have worked the past 7 days straight, including a couple of ten-hour shifts and it's been quite tiring, but I look forward to having a few days off to spend with friends, family, study, and enjoy my new pots. And of course blogging with all of my fantastic thanksgiving foods, culinary experiments, and day-to-day ramblings. (With photography, as always...I feel so official now, I have business cards, and a portrait commission for January! :P )

-Lindsey
http://www.flickr.com/elusive-photography

Currently Listening
Razor
Foo Fighters



I know that I should be getting up, grabbing some coffee, rinsing my work shirts and running out the door for another hectic day. At the moment, however, I have no motivation do do anything but lay here snuggled under my covers. As much as I love my job, and as much as I love having money to put towards pots - I couldn't do this all the time. 40-hour weeks are not fun at all. I feel like I haven't seen my family in forever. lol I sat with Molly for about twenty minutes last night and realized I hadn't seen her in two days. She's napping when I leave for work, and by the time I'd been getting home...she was in bed for the night. :(

On the up side, after tomorrow I have three days off, then I do work black friday, but then I have saturday after off. Time to get some studying done, and moreover - lots of baking. :D

Well - I have to go wash my hair and get changed for work. Then I'll be gone for a few hours after work grocery shopping for Thanksgiving.

-Lindsey

Currently Listening
Imaginary Girl
The Silver Seas



Well it's shaping up to be a crazy day. "Not good crazy, not bad crazy, just crazy." Trying to rush through and finish up module 4 in chemistry so that I can just be done with it (I'm making such good progress with that goal -- sitting here blogging!) and I'd really like to submit my lab report today too. Plus, it's shipment day at work...which is never pleasant. Last time we had shipment we had two pallets, took us about a week, and the boxes were so piled we couldn't walk through the store. This time we have eleven pallets and I have no IDEA what we're going to do with it all. It's not like it's a bunch of boxes of packing peanuts, these are HEAVY massive cast iron pots.

Not that I minded the heavy massive cast iron last night when I was bringing our (Mom and my) new pots home. :D Finallyyy. I'll post pictures later, they're so gorgeous. I can't wait to buy more next month.

So let's see...aside from work and school, I am totally hyped for Nathan's visit next week! (A week from today!!! :D) I can't WAIT to see him, and Thanksgiving is going to be phenomenal. I just hope we can get all the groceries in time. Leftover pizza isn't a great Thanksgiving dinner...but I could make it work. (A little red and yellow food coloring can work miracles!) My supervisor was nice enough to give me the 26th off so I could get my computer fixed, and hang out with my friend Caitlin who will be in town for the day from Vermont. She also gave me the 29th off so that I could spend that Saturday with Nathan, which I'm so excited about...now we've gotta find something to plan to do!

Anyway, not much else going on in life right now...I digitized some old photos last night, which I have a feeling I'll share on here over the next few weeks, with the stories and memories that accompany them.

In the meantime...I hate shipment.

More later!
-Lindsey

It will be a English Bulldog named Ziggy, and I will take the time to train her well and walk her often. (Which benefits me, too!)

-Lindsey

Currently Listening
Sky
Joshua Radin feat. Ingrid Michaelson



First of all Joshua Radin + Ingrid Michaelson is absolutely one of the best combinations, possibly ever. They are both favorites of mine, and the other day I stumbled across a couple of duets and my initial reaction was "holy crap! this is amazing!" -- definitely something worth checking out. Now if only Sam Phillips would pair up with David Ford. (And Corrine Bailey Rae with Michael Franti...)

Moving on, I thought I was going to be working today and rejoiced upon receiving a call from my supervisor last night telling me I didn't have to come in if I didn't want to. I didn't. I have so much school stuff to get caught up on, and last-minute Thanksgiving stuff. I am going into work for a bit today, not to work but to *finally* buy my pots. I'm so excited, maybe we'll have some chocolate fondue tonight? :P We'll see. I'm actually not getting any pots for myself until next month. (Next month I'm getting a wok, and a saucier.) I am getting a fondue, mixing bowls, and a utensil crock today though. I'm getting my Mom a pot, and a skillet.

I think I'm discovering that as the holidays near, people are far more difficult. Night before last, I was due to get off work around 6:30 (which is when my coworker would've started closing the store and such on a sunday night) and a family came in at 5:15 and started looking around. The mother told me she wanted to replace all her pots and she wanted our brand. So I spent about an hour and a half with her, picking out pieces, switching them out, I gave her a good discount, and free shipping...then her husband walked in and told her she wasn't going to buy it all impusively and that they'd talk about it and come back, or call and order everything. By this point it was past closing time and they stood there and debated for a while longer. Such is the life of retail I suppose.

I do love the holidays though, I don't even mind the cold weather so much when it's accompanied with holidays. I spend SO much money around the holidays, for several reasons: #1. I love buying presents for people...not even christmas presents, just random gifts. #2. I loooveee winter clothes. I know it's ridiculous, but I honestly do. Scarves, boots, jeans, courdoroy pants, sweaters. It's my "thing." #3. I tend to get inspired to cook more, and end up buying myself random stuff like zesters and magic cooking machines. :P

While I love the holidays, I do try and pace myself...no Christmas music until after Thanksgiving. No planning for Thanksgiving until the month of November. (Although I did break that rule a bit this year, only because I knew I'd be working a lot and I wanted to make sure everything was done.) I don't know why I enjoy November and December so much, but I do. :P

Anyway - I have tons of other things to blog about but I really MUST get some chemistry done, put together a presentation, and then go pick up my Le Creuset! :D

More later,
-Lindsey

Currently Listening
Lose Yourself
Eminem



I'm not a huge sweet potato fan, and never choose to use sweet potatoes if other alternatives are available. I'm not very picky at all, but sweet potatoes just happen to be one of the few things I don't like. Because of this, I groan inwardly (sometimes outwardly) when upon preparing my lists for a holiday meal, my Dad insists that we have a sweet potato casserole. I can't help but wonder why such an intelligent man could be so duped into believing a mass of yams, brown sugar, and marshmellows is a good idea. (Moreover, one that should be perpetuated?) So this year...in search of some healthier alternatives for Thanksgiving I stumbled upon 101cookbooks.com (which I've mentioned in a few earlier posts) and found this fantastic recipe that made sweet potatoes look appealing to even me.

The first time has never been a charm for me, however, and rather than risk trying something new (only to have it turn out terribly) for thanksgiving, I decided that a trial run was in order. I halfed the recipe and made a small portion of Vanilla Mashed Sweet Potatoes to try them out. They were actually a surprising success, I didn't alter the recipe much...and aside from going a bit overboard with the cream (giving them a slightly thinner consistency) - they turned out perfectly the first time around.

Overall though, a great recipe that I look forward to using to replace our old, disgusting marshmellow tradition.

Currently Listening
Oh What a Day
Ingrid Michaelson



Man, just when I thought things couldn't get more complicated, they have. It's become even more pressing that I get caught up NOW!

In essence, I'm working pretty much the next 11 days straight - and then it's Thanksgiving. =/ Man, where has the year gone?

Don't even have time to write more tonight. Maybe tomorrow.

-Lindsey

Currently Listening
Lose Yourself
Vitamin String Quartet



I woke up tired this morning, always a sure sign of getting sick. I fought something for a few weeks, and now I've got this awful cough, all last night and today. Can't seem to shake it, despite massive quantities of cough drops, and herbal tea. I studied far too little this morning, and then had a decently enjoyable history class. Having no desire to try and cram my already snot-filled head (see? feeling cynical...another sign of getting sick.) with chemistry homework so I decided to venture into the world of leavened breads. Bread is one of the few things I've really no experience whatsoever with, as far as baking goes. I've made cakes, cookies, cheescakes, tarts, pastries, etc. etc. etc. and I decided today was the day to give bread bowls and cinnamon rolls a shot. I was foolish enough to make this spontaneous attempt when I didn't honestly have all of the exact correct ingredients on hand (Mostly the right kind of flour) and had done absolutely no research on breadmaking. But there I dove, right into the midst of a doughy chaos, mixing and kneading the bread for the bread bowls. Oh-so-cleverly adding a little garlic, and a little rosemary. The bread bowls would've been fine, had I not overkneaded the bread. Whups! There went the yeast's power-to-ressurect. "Merry Christmas, Grandma, here's a new doorstop for ya!" My poor breadbowls looked more like heavy rocks, in the end. But I'd learned my lesson, and out came the cinnamon roll recipe.

Instead of kneading by hand this particular recipe called for a bread maker (which conveniently, I had.) so it did all the kneading for me. Well...after kneading the dough for about fifteen seconds in the large bowl, I decided it had been long enough. Because of course, I wanted these to RISE...no overkneading this time! The sticky dough was a lot more like goo than dough at this point, so my mother suggested that I spray my hands, and the dough with olive oil before proceeding to roll it out onto the counter. So despite the fact that the pan they were about to grace was already liberally sprayed...olive oil coated my hands and the dough in front of me. Voila, no more sticking! I followed the directions explicitly, and left the cut cinnamon rolls in a warm place, covered with a damp cloth for forty-five minutes. I eagerly returned to my pan...and still, no rising. Despite this fact, they looked decently fluffy so I put them into the oven at the appropriate time. I proceeded to clean up, and make the frosting for the cinnamon rolls. Finally, I pulled them out, only to find masses of curly-bob thick, doughy, hard lumps in a pool of bubbling cinnamon oil. Ick...

So, after my terribly epic fail learning experience I made a trip to the grocery store, aka Target, to replenish everything I'd used up and grab some necessities. (Praying that no one I knew would see me, despite the fact that I used to work there, because I looked horrible and sick.) I managed to make it out of there with all the necessities, and the ingredients to make a quiche, and cranberry jam. Upon returning home, I decided that I refused to end the evening on a failure, so I pulled out all the quiche making ingredients and whipped them together. Egg, Spinach, Ricotta Cheese, Onions, and I added some garlic and Brie for good measure. (Brie is fantastic in stratas, lasagnas, and quiches.) Finally, a success. The Quiche turned out brilliantly and I'm very very pleased. To the point where...now, I must go to sleep because I have work tomorrow.




More tomorrow.
-Lindsey

Currently Listening
Daydream in Blue
iMonster



Lots more excitement in the past 24 hours - found out last night that my friend Caitlin is going to be in town over thanksgiving (all the way from Vermont) and I'm going to be able to spend some time with her. So I'm pretty hyped about that.

Other than that, juts everyday life I guess. I have a grocery list going in a draft email, a client list in a textedit document, a lab report minimized in Pages, and am actually using my chemistry book as an elbow rest. Tonight I'm going out with some friends to see Plan 9 From Outer Space at our local theater. (Yes, the one I raved so excitedly about back in May.)

I thought I might have something profound to say today. I don't. More later.

-Lindsey

Currently Listening
Miss Gradenko
The Police



Ya'know...I started thinking how frivolous I must be sounding lately. Expensive pots, beautiful new ring, and coach watch. The truth is, I'm really pretty frugal...I wait to buy clothes until they're 75% off at Kohls if I can manage it. When I do spend substantial money on something, I make it last. (Generally: Coats, Jeans, Slacks) I get pants tailored, never put them in the dryer, and make sure they're always washed correctly. I can still wear the jeans I bought over a year now, and provided I don't get any bigger they will last a while longer. I do need to have the cuffs fixed on one pair, and another few taken in...but it's so much cheaper than buying a new pair of jeans. And they're good quality in the first place, good fit and fabric. As far as the pots go...I get a substantial employee discount...and they're quality, lifetime guaranteed pieces. It's incredible to see ladies coming in to buy stuff, saying they had a pot for 40 years, and something happened to the pot, and Le Creuset replaced it for them, totally free. And the watch, was on an incredible sale.

Essentially, I find great deals on nice things...or invest on nice things, on rare occasions...but make them last. This is particularly important for me since I've got to start thinking about college costs, and making decisions that will truely effect my future. While I'm sure it will be incredible regardless, it's hard knowing which decisions are the right ones to make. For instance, I really wanted to live and work overseas next summer...then I realized I couldn't get a work permit to work overseas for that short amount of time. So I decided I'd just save up and make a trip. It's always been really important to me to absorb the culture of other countries and experience the world while I'm young, and unattached. Unhindered by family, career, etc. I just have a feeling that once I get all caught up in college, and then a career, and then a family...years will slip away and I'll really regret it if I don't do some of these things that I've had on my heart for as long as I can remember.

It all sounds really reasonable - except for the fact that if I want to get into the college that provides me with the BEST opportunities to build a good career in fine arts, I have to go through the expensive summer portfolio course next year. Which means, trip cut short if not cancelled altogether. Kind of a no brainer, right? College is more important, but I can't help thinking there must be a way for me to figure out how to afford them both. We'll see.

Speaking of growing money...I've been looking into investing. I don't have a ton of experience in the area, but I've got help from a few people I really trust and it seems like a smart move to make while stocks are so cheap. The market's down right now, but it's a good time to buy because eventually it's going to go back up, and I could honestly make quite a good bit off of it.

Potentially pay for a car, college classes, etc. etc. etc. The big things. The important things.

Of course, if I DO go through the summer course and get accepted to the college...and somehow get some kind of phenomenal scholarship to be able to actually afford attendance, they're going to provide me with so many opportunities to broaden my horizons. Study abroad programs, internships, etc. etc. etc.

Ahhh...so many decisions. Lots to think about.

And so I keep thinking...

Until tomorrow!
-Lindsey

Speaking of beautiful (oh, and Nathan, whom I adore) Nathan was sweet enough to make it possible for me to purchase a beautiful new watch. It really is pretty stunning...Coach brand, with twenty little diamonds around the watch face. Great quality, and I got it at a GREAT price. Definitely the benefit of working at an outlet, 75% off outlet prices on holiday weekends. Huge veterans day sales this weekend have definitely worked to my benefit.


In other news, I have resurrected my love for Star Trek...we've been rewatching some Deep Space Nine, and I'd forgotten how much I adore this show. The storylines following the genetically enhanced characters, in particular. Jack, Patrick, Serena, and Lauren, such sympathetic characters! Such a phenomenal show overall, with cherishable relationships, and (for the most part) great stories.

Anyway - I'm so glad to be at home, after three days at work, I get worn out - and I'm SO ready to try and get caught up in chemistry. It's really been weighing on me, and I'd like to be caught up to a point where I can really enjoy Nathan's stay. I was able to come home a little early tonight, and haven't been feeling well...probably gonna head to bed pretty soon.

More later!
-Lindsey

Currently Watching
Just Like Gwen & Gavin
Gilmore Girls Season 6



The Fondue Debacle.

I do sorta love that word: Debacle. Well a few posts ago I was celebrating the purchase of my first Le Creuset piece. (Ironically, NOT from the store that I work in.) I got a great deal on the pot for a 1.5 qt. fondue in the flame (Orange) color, which matches the other things I plan to buy on the 16th when I get my fantastic employee discount. I was very excited on Tuesday to recieved the package from the ebay seller from whom I bought my lovely fondue pot, and managed to pull myself away from chemistry long enough to open the box and (to my despair) found a large ugly-as-he** copper frying pan. Ugh. Fortunately, one quick email to the seller and MY fondue pot was on it's way. A few days later...and it finally arrived. (FedEx guy picked up the frying pan same-day, and hopefully it's new owner appreciates it way more than I would've.) I would be all excited that I could now make fondue...and I suppose technically I could. Because Le Creuset pieces can be used in the oven, freezer, fridge, dishwasher, AND stovetop. But I'll have the stand, burner, and forks for it next week...then it will be even more phenomenal.

Working...or not.

Have I mentioned I have the most phenomenal (if not, at times, the most boring) job ever? The other day the supervisor handed me a picture and says "Make the tables look like the pictures." What could be more fun than building displays? I mean...being PAID to build displays. I do that kind of stuff on our dining room table for free. :P Although then there are days like today...slower than molasses. Despite the fact that it was sunny, I couldn't help but think of the oh-so-melancholy and classic quote:

The sun did not shine.
It was too wet to play.
So we sat in the house
All that cold, cold, wet day.

I sat there with Sally.
We sat there, we two.
And I said, "How I wish
We had something to do!"

Too wet to go out
And too cold to play ball.
So we sat in the house.
We did nothing at all.

So all we could do was to
Sit!
Sit!
Sit!
Sit!
And we did not like it.
Not one little bit.

So yeah...our a/c was broken and we had NO customers. Jack and I sat, and looked up employee prices. I've decided to make it a habit to take books so I can study when it gets like that. Otherwise, it's just wasted time, which definitely aggravates me. Then I got to fight with the a/c repair guy. Big fun. Not that I'm complaining, I don't come home dead tired, I love the product, my discount is phenomenal, and the pay is great to sit there and do nothing. (Or, if I remember my books, getting paid to study!)

Another exciting thing, Nathan's coming for Thanksgiving!!! :D I'm so excited. (Mostly to show off my cooking skills...haha, maybe not.) Should be a ton of fun. I'm thoroughly excited, since I thought it would be January before we got to spend time together again. Anyway - I'm getting verrryyy sleepy. I'll write more tomorrow if I'm not too swamped with work and Chemistry.

-Lindsey, who is off to pull her jello out of the fridge.

Currently Reading
Making Money from Photography
(In Every Conceivable Way)
Steve Bavister


Good morning! Well - I SHOULD be getting ready for work, but I couldn't resist jumping on to write a quick post. I just finished a piece of this amazing apple cake with my coffee this morning. One of my recent culinary concoctions. I started with a base of this recipe...and then made some adaptations - namely, I threw together a crumb topping to top it off, to offset the fact that I used tart green apples rather than red apples. I also didn't have any buttermilk, so I used regular milk, didn't seem to affect it much though. (My family tends to prefer crisper apples in baked goods.) 101cookbooks.com is pretty fantastic, btw. Especially for anyone who doesn't love meat. Definitely a recipe to keep around. Took me about 45 minutes, but I have a feeling I could whip it out in 20 minutes the next time.




Anyway, I should probably be heading for work. (Which will only make me hungrier...the detriments of working at a cookware store.) More later!

-Lindsey

Currently Reading
Falling Cloudberries
Tessa Kiros



I'm not sure if it is my new job, or the time of year - but I've been inspired to start cooking again over the past few months. I used to cook all the time, but I think somewhere along the way I convinced myself that it wreaked of domesticity, and therefore was a horrible thing to become. In retrospect, maybe I mislead myself a little in the belief that any resemblance to a domestic homemaker was bad. I'm not sure what lead to my strong desire to disassociate myself with that stereotype, but whatever it was...I'm glad that it's not carried over into this new phase of life.

In the past several weeks, I've made whole grain poppyseed cookies, crepes, apple cake, organic carrot cake, and a few other wonderful recipes. Since my blog has always sort of had a living, breathing life of it's own - and a desire to grow and broaden it's horizons as much as I do, I've decided to add a new category dedicated to this resurfaced interest in culinary arts.

You know what's absolutely crazy is that I'm already thinking about Thanksgiving. I suppose it's not that far off, but I'm not generally the sort of person who plans that far ahead. I've been making our thanksgiving dinners for the past 3 years or so, and am particularly excited about it this year because I'm trying out some new, healthier alternatives. Ramekin Pumpkin Bread, rather than twice baked potatoes - whipped vanilla/butter yams - homemade cranberry jam...the list goes on. I'm doing "trial runs" on most of these recipes so that my thanksgiving table is BEAUTIFUL.

Anyway - I'm going to run now, but I fully intend to post a picture of the Apple Cake I made today later on.

-Lindsey

Currently Listening
I Need Love
Sam Phillips



I'm trying to overcome what has seemed to me like a horrendous day. Granted, I'm in a terrible mood. But those "bad" things that could be comical aren't seeming funny at all at the moment. Like, instead of receiving my beautiful flame le creuset fondue today...I got a copper frying pan. My chemistry class went terribly, and I'm still struggling to catch up. (And...here's some hope for ya...my chem sub who happens to be the book author just happened to say "this is a fast paced course and you have to ask questions, because if you fall behind...it's pretty impossible to catch up." Wow.)

To top it all off...I'm absolutely sick of hearing about the election. I've stayed out of it as far as taking sides thusfar. But I am going to say one thing: I'm sick of my liberal friends gloating, and equally sick of my conservative friends mourning. It's not the end of the world, nor is Obama some kind of savior...yes it has an affect on us. Just pick up, and move on. For better or worse. I'm just trying to ignore all of the melodramatic status messages from everyone.

I think that's about the end of my annoyed rant for now. dinner's ready...maybe that will make me feel better.

-Lindsey