the book for today was her fork in the road -- women celebrate food and travel. a very good book, though i was disappointed to see that the ruth reichl essay was an excerpt from her book tender at the bone, which i've already read. i've also clammered through 63 pages of notes from a small island by bill bryson, which is very amusing. note the british dictionary at the end. also read: 20-odd pages of naked by david sedaris at b&n. must start scouting more local used bookstores -- it's possible i may go broke before christmas.
after starting notes, though, it seems to me i need a good cockney slang dictionary/history book. did you know bread meaning money is from bread and honey? and raspberry tart = fart, which is why blowing a raspberry is making a stinker-noise. i'm fascinated. plates of meat = feet, shortened then to plates.
also, shirt-lifter is a gay male.
we were going to see santa v. the snowman and vikings at the imax dome but got caught up in the hoopla of shopping at citrus park town center. stupid mall. christen made the enlightened reflection that we see the same damn stuff everytime we go, but we still go. a trip to maida's bookstore beforehand made the trip bearable. i bought 3 books for myself and 4 for ian for christmas -- a couple clive barker (the thief of always, which was a fabulous book for any age) and a couple ray bradbury. after the mall we spent nearly two hours trying to get christen's mop cut (his head's been a bit more bushy than usual) by his barber while ducking the old dude's insistence that he cut christen's hair. the last time that happened it wasn't short enough and was way crooked. no thank you, we'll just wait in line for the good barber.
in light of my fascination with food, i've decided to do a number of lists having to do with those fabulous morself. todays? 5 favorite comfort foods. these are foods that are easy peasy to cook and are nice to make when you're by yourself and don't want to do anything.
1) mac & cheese. i will order m&c absolutely anywhere. mimi's? no good. that little pretentious cafe in old hyde park? marvelous. i make it baked and stovetop, but i won't make boxed anymore. when i was young it was velveeta m&c all the way. those kraft powdered things were fine as long as you didn't think of it as cheese; it was a completely different food. now my usual mac and cheese consists of noodles, a little bit of milk and sliced american cheese. american breaks down so the cheese isn't stringy. my recipe: cook approximately 8 0z. noodles until tender. drain. in same pot lower temp. to med. high, put enough milk in pot to cover bottom of pan. one at a time put about 6 slices of american cheese in pot, using each slice of cheese to stir the mixture. stir cheesiness until well mixed, add noodles and mix. eat until overstuffed.
2) grilled cheese. when i was younger we had a sandwich maker so that we wouldn't burn down the house while making our grilled cheese sandwiches. i bought one when i moved out but it stays permenently in my pantry now (though it does make tasty quick pizza and brownies) and i continue to go with the old standby stovetop version. you know the drill. butter both sides, stick a piece of cheese (or two) in between and grill until right before burnt. some people make it in the toaster oven, but i'm still in awe of mine. it makes toast and cookies?
3) buttered egg noodles. this favorite is due to a memory of mine. see this entry for details. i think you should know how to make it. buy egg noodles (i get those cholesteral-free ones), cook till tender, drain and mix with butter. yum yum.
4) peanut butter and jelly. there's no real consensus. i love smooth peanut butter, christen is a crunchy fan. he loves grape and so do i, though i love rasperry sometimes too. but pb&j is love, man. pure love.
5) cereal. this is a real do-it-yourselfer. apple jacks, corn pops, total raisen bran. it's not the meal that matters, it's whether or not you drink the milk. me? if i'm having another bowl i'll reuse. if it's my last bowl, i drink it.
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