Here for my Dawgs and Crackahs

BlogHer planning!

2011-06-24T04:02:00.000-07:00

Bought plane tickets! My man decided that he wants to go, since he's never been to San Diego. We're flying in midday Tuesday, going to the baseball game [Dodgers at Padres] that night, the Zoo Wednesday [probably], then Thursday through Sunday is probably time with BlogHer people, and fly home Monday night. Hurrah.

We'll be checking out some of the local brewpubs, of course. We've got a batch of homebrew going right now! It is in the secondary fermenter and we'll bottle it Saturday. Nut Brown Ale from Seven Bridges Organic Co-op in Santa Cruz, California.

We're not fans of either baseball team, but it will be very cool to take in another MLB park! Plus, you can get good seats for way less than at our home park. I found $70- VIP tickets on StubHub for $50-! ($63 with service fees...still!)

WooHoo!

Blog-Her-ing

2011-01-26T20:53:00.000-08:00

I got my full conference ticket for BlogHer '11. [Holiday sale woot!]

I should probably post some entries about my awesome experiences hanging out on the fringes of BlogHer '10. I got to see some of my hometown gals, meet some new folks, reconnect with some of the mommas I'd met at Type-A Mom in September '09. (Am not a mom. Went to help my sister, who is one.)

I also met a rad Australian chick, who was in town with her shoe-designer gal-pal, and we had a rockin' night together. THAT is definitely worthy of a blog entry! ;p

So. Cheers. Figured I should get a little blawg on!

Sensitivity: I have it.

2010-02-05T12:15:00.000-08:00

My fiance said the other day that I cry more than anyone he's ever known.

Well, compared to who? Am I crying more than I used to? (I didn't really get an answer on that, and if I am, that's something to look at in more detail.)

Also: DUH. Most people go to great lengths to avoid being seen crying.

It only makes sense that crying would be seen most often by loved ones, the precious few, the people you trust enough to be vulnerable in their presence.

Sure, I'm sensitive. Quite. I don't cry at Hallmark commercials, but movies, books, blog posts, even the occasional TV show. And, of course, Life.

I've left more comments than I can count, telling bloggers that they've made me teary or misty-eyed, and a few that I am full-on crying. You know what? I'm okay with that.
Like CecilyK's post about being thin-skinned, I think being caring and compassionate makes me a better person. So if I wet a few sleeves with my tears, well, Que Sera. My fiance can damn well get used to it. Heh.*

*To be fair, he's quite good at letting me cry on him--but it makes him sad to see me sad, and of course, he wants to fixit. Sometimes the tears just have to flow, though! As I like to remind him, there are chemicals in grief tears that aren't in onion-cutting tears.

So, I suppose I need to gaze at my navel some more, and try to figure out if I'm crying a lot for me. Wish me luck. ;p

My new creative outlet: Bread Puddings!

2009-01-31T22:22:00.000-08:00

First, VDog did it, adapting this NYT recipe, and I got to sample her Savory Bread Pudding with sausage.
It was NOM, and I decided it was the lovechild of quiche and french bread pizza.

Then, I read CityMama's entry on bread puddings, and I decided I'd have to make a Panettone one, too. (Her entry is really great: bullet points & basics. Mine's more conversational.)

I made a Caprese-style one, mozzarella, basil, and tomatoes. Topped with feta! It was delish.

Next, I had friends over, and we made a triple batch: one 9x9 pan of Panettone, and two 12-muffin tins: one Caprese-style, and one sweet one with egg nog substituted for the cream. They were all FAHbulous.

The other night, I finally got to make what had been brewing since that first taste: Deluxe Pizza - style Bread Pudding!

And, holy gadzooks, you guys, this is over the top delicious.

I used the end of a small-diameter "San Luis Sourdough" loaf, and the last of the Pugliese, which I'd been saving in the fridge since Caprese #1. We'll disregard that being over two weeks ago. ;p

I'll say 10 slices of the small sourdough, four per layer plus one torn up to fill in the cracks.

You'll also need: about 1/2 each, onion, red bell pepper, green bell pepper. Feel free to use more if you wish.

1 small (tiny!) can tomato paste
4 eggs
2 cups half and half [my grocery store was all out, so I mixed milk and heavy cream]
~1.5 cups cheese, I used mozzarella and a bit of cheddar, pre-grated (2 lb. bags are pretty cheap, especially on sale)
1/2 package Gallo pepperoni (about 4 servings or 35 slices)
(I'm planning to make a vegetarian version for a friend, with sliced black olives instead of pepperoni)

Spray your pan with non-stick stuff, or grease it with butter.
Dice all your vegetables.

Arrange the bread in the bottom of the pan
Distribute half the vegetables evenly in the pan
Place 25 slices of pepperoni in a slightly overlapping, 5x5 configuration
Sprinkle half the cheese over.

For the second layer of bread, spread each piece with a thick smear of tomato paste.
Manage to use the whole can with the aid of the skinny spatula.
Layer the next 10 pieces of pepperoni so they don't touch. Feel free to use more if you'd rather, or substitute sausage--I wanted to put sausage in this, but couldn't find any pre-cooked nubs and didn't feel like cooking it from scratch.
Add the cheese, then the vegetables: having all those onions and peppers get caramelly from the direct heat exposure is Awesome.

Once all the ingredients are arranged, turn on your oven to 350, scramble your eggs, add cream, and mix it up.

Very, very carefully, pour your mixture into the pan. I might even do this after the first layer in the future, because I had some spill over the edges and onto the counter, despite my best slow-pouring intent. The wall of pepperoni is almost certainly to blame. This hasn't happened with any of my other puddings.
(That is, pour half the mixture in after the first layer, and the rest after the second layer.)
I use a pourable measuring cup to help with the gentleness. It works especially well when making things in the muffin tins.

Bake for 45-50 minutes, until golden brown and bubbly.

I imagine you could use 1.5x the ingredients, and make this in a 9x13 pan. The 9x9 pan yields 4-8 servings, we got 6 this time. Serve with a hearty side salad to feed more people.

The yum:

Pumpkin cakey bread!

2008-12-08T04:21:00.000-08:00

Adapted from this recipe:

I made pumpkin cakey bread the other day and added a cup of 60% cocoa Ghirardelli chocolate chips, a handful of candied ginger, chopped, and golden raisins. It was awesome. I had to use a cake pan, which was good, but will definitely make muffins next time!

I doubled the recipe, using a 15 oz can of pumpkin, and used pumpkin pie spice and some fresh ground cinnamon in place of the suggested cinnamon and ginger. Didn't have the pepitas, but what I had was great. May add pecan next time.

The double batch made one super 9" round pan. It was a bit gooey in the middle and fully cooked on the outside. Cooked about 45 minutes, knife came out clean but the center was almost too raw, whereas edge was cakey-bready-perfect, like a nice zucchini bread.

Didn't get a picture. It was too yummy! :D

These pumpkin swirl brownies look great, must make soon!

No on 8, SF rally!

2008-12-04T03:33:00.000-08:00

OMG, y'all, I finally managed to upload my No on 8 rally photos!
I blame camera battery. And laziness. But still, they were on my computer mere moments before I uploaded to flickr, which I'll take as a win. :D

There are many great posters, but the Liz Taylor one I chose for the cover may be my favorite. :P

~~I would have embedded it here, but blogger is thwarting me, and my attempts at html are apparently not good enough.~~ ;p

Heh. The photo uploader was in another window. Silly me!

Written & Print-Screen'd last night

2008-07-04T01:16:00.000-07:00

Perfect fireworks weather, eh? Bf and I had that last year in western New York state, too.
But folks in my neighborhood have been setting them off for about two weeks, so... a few more tonight, for sure.
So yeah, definitely bring some warm stuff to BlogHer. If you're planning to check out the beach or Wharf, a leather jacket would not go amiss. Even on a nice day, it is windy by the water!!!
A few years ago the Burning Man newsletter, the JRS, said, "here in San Francisco, where it is 55 degrees year-round...", and I assure you, they were only partly joking. :P
Certainly this is a good amount warmer than our winter weather, with lows that occasionally dip into the thirties.

6 Random Things Meme from VDog

2008-07-02T16:31:00.000-07:00

The rules:
1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
5. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.
6. Let your tagger know when your entry is up.

Six Random Things About Al_Pal:

1. I love making delicious, stupidly salty food from pantry items. I’m considering a blog to list the recipes.
2. Every one of my fingers, except my right thumb, are double-jointed.
3. When I’m not checking out this group of family-journals, I’m with my "freak family" of Burning Man people, or my "geek family" of Harry Potter fans.
4. In fact, I’m going to a convention for HP fans in Chicago this August...and taking my boyfriend with me.
5. In the past, I went to a few cons with my youngest sister – so this promises to be a different experience!
6. I love living in San Francisco, but am also very glad that I’m in the ‘beach town’ part of the city. It’s quiet and mellow, but I can hop on a light-rail [trolley] and be downtown in 20-40 minutes.

Um...I don't really have six people here, at least not yet. Maybe if I decide to integrate some of my Burner friends into my Auntie life, I can tag... But I'm usually a tag-killer anyhow. I guess that is a seventh random thing!

The chickpea salad was Yum!

2008-06-27T23:40:00.000-07:00

Oh yes! So good. I didn't end up using artichoke hearts, but I did manage to use mozzarella, by taking four string cheese sticks, quartering them lengthwise, then slicing them all. There is a nice view of the "rounded cube" of cheese in this photo. :D
This pasta salad was very well received! Like I said in my previous post, I used fresh basil, but I didn't use any of the other suggested herbs, just salt and pepper. Yum!

Chickpea & pasta salad

2008-06-23T23:59:00.000-07:00

Friend shared this recipe. I'm out of tomatoes and not willing to go to the store, but I'm going to try pasta with chickpeas, black olives, red onion, red bell pepper, fresh basil, and vinegar and olive oil. Maybe artichoke hearts!

Parent blogging article; thanks to V!

2008-05-12T01:57:00.000-07:00

In parenthood, sometimes a blog is born
Pretty interesting. Mentions BlogHer, Twitter and a few stats.

Thanks to VDog for hosting an awesome Mother's Day celebration! ;D

New widget, Lil' green patch

2008-05-11T01:34:00.000-07:00

Yeah, it's from the ~~dread lord~~ Fazebook that I found the Green Patch, but it is quite rather fun and hooray for saving a bit of rainforest without having to spend money. Heh. :P

The widget does NOT take you to the book of fazing. :P
[though I'm unsure what their options are. Guess I should check that out]

completely overcast today

2008-05-02T13:42:00.000-07:00

I'll see if it's any clearer downtown...
I was reading Bossy's SF recap and saw a comment about "are the skies always blue in Cali?"
Nope. :P
the famous SF fog is saying Hai.

2008-01-08T18:20:00.000-08:00

VDog offered up this meme for making an album cover...and I got some pretty fun results. The instructions are on her page there [and I think she's the only one who might ever read this] so I'll just list mine.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenny_McCormick Kenny from South Park! Hee!

You can't separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom.
Malcolm X, Malcolm X Speaks, 1965
US black nationalist leader (1925 - 1965)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamesrdoe/2168143262/

My Saturday response to Haiku Friday

2007-10-27T20:06:00.000-07:00

Saturday night out?
The music calls, but will our
bodies heed the call?

Bionic leg so
Tired. I love to dance--is
there enough Advil?

Off to the shower
Energy I hope for now
To show my costume

:D *crosses fingers*

This cre8buzz thing is pretty spiffy

2007-10-17T17:32:00.000-07:00

Wow, so many visits and comments already!
It is pretty intoxicating.

I'm torn between wanting to start a Burning Man community there, and recognizing that Burners are already deeply rooted at tribe.net. Thousands of people are there, with their oodles of friends and photos. A few people might venture over, for the fun of it, but I imagine that since tribe is the site of their Burner interactions, they may well want to focus on some other aspect of their lives here.

I rather like the idea of emphasizing my photography, since that is what I am working towards. They may want to focus on their art, or vehicle, or parenting.

In the meantime, I need to get myself over to visit VDog and Little Man, and maybe upload a few more photos at cre8buzz.
Who knows, maybe I can elevate my ranking. :P

Interacting with sis and nephew, for great justice

2007-09-10T16:51:00.001-07:00

That's about it, for now. Really.
Well, and stories about my dog-niece [the dignified Princess] and the greater Cracker family. ;D