Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope yours is as good as ours!! NOM :)

I defeat you vile Evil-Doer!!!

So....its what...9 am? And already I am making the world a safer place.

How's that you ask?

Well, I have this item on craigslist I am trying to sell and I got a hit, talked to this person all day yesterday. They wanted me to send this thing to ENGLAND. Um....ok. Did you know it's about $300 to send a ten pound box to Manchester? Me niether...but I do now! Anyway, I obviously wasn't going to send anything till i had money, the grand total should be $675 they asked for a pay pal email so they can pay me that way.

Nadda.

Today, I check my spam and low and behold I have five notifications from "Pay Pal." They were a pleasure to read, really, because they were so obviously written by someone too stupid to successfully pull off a crime...at least against me. I mean, obviously if i am just typing i* make mistakes (see?) but would pay pal in a professional message? Of course not.

*sigh*

I only wish you could see the way i would make this bleed red ink for all the horrible editorial mistakes it made... so I will use red highlighter instead :)  Have a looksi:

We hereby inform you that Mrs. Jane Phillips has successfully made the payment using Pay Pal.The payment  has been CONFIRMED. this is to inform you that the cash will clear soonest, we are currently working on your issue, note that Mrs. Jane Phillips has made the payment, but there is problem in your Pay Pal account. so we advice you to go on with the shipping for we are working on your account to enable the money reflect on your pay pal account. We hereby inform you that you can now ship out the item she paid for and you should also send us the Shipping Tracking Number and the estimated number of days of arrival of the shipment for verification purpose, to enable us process your account and make the money available, do note that your account will note be credited if Pay Pal do note receive the Shipping Tracking Number, immediately the details requested of you is received your account will be verified. After this, your account will be processed within 48 - 72 hours of  Shipment and the fund will reflect in (miller_79@hotmail.com )

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Payment Details

Transaction ID:		6NP88926JC037322F
Item Name:
Total:		$6755.00

The last Tuesday in Cali...

You know what comes out today? THIS:

Yes, its been out but for the MAC which is what i have which means I don't have to ninja someone else's computer to play this with my husband. HUZZAH!

In retrospect...there should be a warning on this entry. *NERD ALERT*  or  *WARNING GEEK APPROACHING* something like that. Too late now, can't go back and edit ;) ha! sucker...

It's been a long week. Among other things, I have decided not to have a facebook account. This blog will now officially contain personal things not everyone will care about but my mom will. And mommies matter, dammit, way more than you random people. Meh, thats conjuecture. ugh! rambling! See? SEE?! I am ready for a break and, today, hopefully, that will actually happen. I will be productive today, don't get me wrong. But come this afternoon I will be entering a nirvana like state in the form of a video game involving simulated world domination and enjoying the mental lapse very, very much. 

I wonder if I can make a tasty treat to honor this day..... The boys really seem to like that Dragon's Breathe popcorn....NO NO I will make a popcorn worthy of Sid Meier's Civilization V. Just you wait :)

Rain + Food Network = An Autumn Menu for a Day Off

If I don't have a big family then I am going to be throwing a lot of dinner parties someday. I get these urges to cook, whether there is anyone to eat it or not :) but i typically find someone to eat it with...usually its the guys my hubby used to room with. Starving bachelors will eat anything and that takes a lot of the performance pressure off. I use their kitchen, they eat my food, its a great trade! And we have a ton of fun, I have to admit, because they are usually "bugging" me in the kitchen too. I get all the absurd stories, dirty/cheesy jokes and amusing male banter i could want for entertainment. Its like being younger with my brothers again.... nostalgia and eating always go well together. Hence the holidays.

Since original plans for tomorrow got canceled, i decided i wanted to relax and cook things far too technically advance for myself. This is the menu i devised (thanks to www.foodnetwork.com and pomegranates.org) and will most likely...kind of....loosely base my cooking on tomorrow. i already changed the mashed potato recipe LOL hey, you gotta start somewhere.

Pork Loin with Fig and Port Sauce

Ingredients

Sauce:

• 2 1/2 cups port
• 1 1/4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 8 dried black Mission figs, coarsely chopped
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Pork:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves
• 1 tablespoon salt, plus additional for seasoning
• 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, plus additional for seasoning
• 1 cup canned low-salt chicken broth
• 1 (4 to 4 1/2-pound) boneless pork loin

Directions

For the sauce: In a heavy medium saucepan, combine the first 6 ingredients. Boil over medium-high heat until reduced by half, about 30 minutes. Discard the herb sprigs and cinnamon sticks (some of the rosemary leaves will remain in the port mixture). Transfer the port mixture to a blender and puree until smooth. Blend in the butter. Season the sauce, to taste, with salt and pepper. (The sauce can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Rewarm over medium heat before using.)

For the pork: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.


Stir the oil, rosemary, 1 tablespoon salt and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper in a small bowl to blend. Place the pork loin in a heavy roasting pan. Spread the oil mixture over the pork to coat completely. Roast until an instant read meat thermometer inserted into the center of the pork registers 145 degrees F, turning the pork every 15 minutes to ensure even browning, about 45 minutes total.


Transfer the pork to a cutting board and tent with foil to keep warm. Let the pork rest 15 minutes. Meanwhile, stir the chicken broth into the roasting pan. Place the pan over medium heat, and scrape the bottom of the pan to remove any browned bits. Bring the pan juices to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.


Using a large sharp knife, cut the pork crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Arrange the pork slices on plates. Spoon the jus over. Drizzle the warm fig sauce around and serve immediately.


Blue Cheese Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients

• 2 pounds Yukon golden potatoes, washed and quartered
• Salt
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 4 ounces blue cheese, crumbled
• Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Place potatoes in a large stockpot and cover with cold water. Add salt and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to medium and cook until fork tender. Drain well. Add back to the pot that they were cooked in.

Meanwhile, heat butter and cream until hot. Add the crumbled blue cheese and stir together. Add sauce to potatoes and mash until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

Spiced Pomegranate-Apple Cider
 

A classic fall and winter beverage tastes even better with the addition of fresh pomegranate juice. To serve chilled, after the mixture has steeped, store sealed in the refrigerator.

• 6 cups apple cider 
• 6 cloves
• 2 sticks of cinnamon, about 3 inches in length 
• 1-1/2 cups pomegranate juice* SEE POMEGRANATE JUICE RECIPE 
• 1-1/2 cups rum (optional)

Directions

Heat apple cider, cloves, and cinnamon until juice just reaches a simmer; remove from heat. Let steep, covered, one hour. Stir in pomegranate juice. For each serving, heat 3/4 cup juice mixture (do not boil); stir in 3 tablespoons rum.
Makes 8 servings.


*UPDATE*
I made all of these and i admit it....i followed the recipe. Almost to the letter, i added a cinnamon stick (I know HUGE right? meh i like cinnamon and i didn't regret it either) What can i say, i needed structure. Too much has been out of my control and everywhere, especially today, so where my cooking is normally a way for me to bust out of control a bit and get creative, this time I had to stick to the recipe just to get through it at all. Not because they were hard, but because it's what i needed. I am happy to say everyone enjoyed the meals, every course was a hit. So over all....a win :) Thanks Food Network.

Dear Blog

I swear I'm not neglecting you, I just have so much going on I can't manage any new crafting ideas! Moving is a pretty all consuming mental process. Not to mention other things going on as well. I think this November wins the prize for most transitional month of my family's life. Anyway....just hang in there for a couple more weeks and I'll be back! I promise!

I just have to say....

SO....I color coded my storage unit. Its like....a dream come true. You would not believe how many boxes I have of books. Not to mention all the yellow striped craft boxes! You can tell a lot about a girl by the contents of her storage unit and mine says "efficient craftaholic introvert" aaalll over it.  I am not sure why I am this excited. Maybe its because I know finding things in there will be so much easier! Maybe I just want to brag because this took me eight hours to do and my hip joints and lower back are currently reminding me I normally have a desk job. But then again, maybe it goes even deeper. There was some archeological evidence supporting a strange love of filing from a young age. DANG IT! I should have taken a picture! Then I could say "See Article 1.A" and show this lovely picture of the accordion file I still have from when I was a kid. I know this because on the front in big green letters it says my name, address and phone number. I was even smart about it, I put "Lucinda Lane" instead of "Dena Court" so if anyone found it at school then they wouldn't have proof I was being snuck into that district.

...I am pretty sure this means I should have been a spy...

                                      ....A spy with great fashion sense and the ability to make anything given scissors the right amount of glue.