The power of the remote control

There is just something enticing about a remote control

Ode to Appliances

Back in my pre-marriage days, I could cook, but could hardly bake worth squat. I used to bake cookies and they'd end up burnt and flat. While Mad Scientist and I were dating, I told him about my failure at cookies and he asked me whether or not I waited for the oven preheating light to go off before stuck the cookies in. I told him that my oven didn't have a preheating light and at that moment, my traitorous oven's light went off to indicate that it was done preheating.

Anyway. Don't even get me started on the flaming pizza incident.

Since I've been married, I've actually learned some tricks to baking and have found some great recipes that are delicious. And I've been able to find some kitchen tools/appliances and that I absolutely love!

* KitchenAid Stand Mixer - I love my mixer! I make bread, cookies, pizza dough and much more in it. I especially love my shredder attachment that let's me shred 5 lbs of cheese in about 8 minutes. That's awesome! I hate hand grating cheese.

* KitchenAid Immersion (Hand) Blender - So much easier than a regular blender. I can make baby food, pestos and smoothies with it. You can just stick in a pot of hot soup and puree it. I love how the clean up for this is so easy. I just detach the blender attachment and have one thing to wash as opposed to the 5-6 parts in my regular blender. I'm going to be getting the whisk and chopper attachments to this soon and hopefully they will aid in ice cream making and nut chopping.

* Ice Cream Maker - The theory is that homemade ice cream is healthier for you right? We've had so much fun making and trying new flavors. I love it! Flavors currently in the freezer are Wild Blueberry and Mint Chocolate Chip Magic Shell Swirl (I made that 2nd flavor up myself). Nice thing is Costco sells a half gallon of half and half for about $3.50. I can get about 3 batches of ice cream from that.

* Rice Cooker - In 20 minutes, I can have a nice pot of rice. It also have a stay warm feature so I can make it earlier and it will be hot enough for a meal later on.

* Egg Slicer - Ironically, I don't use the egg slicer to slice eggs. I use it to slice up 4-5 olives quickly for pizza. It is alright for slicing mushrooms too.

(Not So) Secret Agent of Entropy

[Cue Secret Agent of Entropy Theme Song]
Dum dum da da dum dum
Dum dum da da dum dum

He looks like a mild mannered baby,
But his chaos makes you think maybe,
He's not your normal baby,
But he's the (Not So) Secret Agent
Of Entropy.

Dum dum da da dum dum
Dum dum da da dum dum


The toys he leaves in his wake,
No time, it seems to take.
The mess he is liable to make,
Cuz he's the (Not So) Secret Agent
Of Entropy.

Dum dum da da dum dum
Dum dum da da dum dum


The newspapers he likes to crumple,
And the hair he likes to rumple,
Leaves you feeling frumpled.
Oh, why (Not So) Secret Agent
Of Entropy???

Dum dum da da dum dum
Dum dum da da dum dum

Now you think this mess,
Is something we should address,
But he's trying to impress,
That he's the (Not So) Secret Agent
Of Entropy.

Dum dum da da dum dum
Dum dum da da dum dum
[Fade Out]


Note 1: One of the ideas involved in the concept of Entropy is that nature tends from order to disorder in isolated systems. (Second Law of Thermodynamics)

Note 2: Please send in submissions for setting this theme song to music.

A Taste of Berkeley

Last week was a Berkeley week.
It started off with a grand experiment. Up in Berkeley there is a bakery and cheese shop called the Cheese Board. They sale these incredibly delicious sourdough cheese rolls. Obviously, in our current location our access to said cheese rolls is somewhat limited. So several months ago we got the Cheese Board cookbook. Now this is not one of those quick and simple recipe cookbooks, so it wasn't something we could just try one night on a whim. But finally, I worked up the will, and the ingredients to give it a go. It took 11 days to prepare the sourdough starter, and then a bunch of time on Memorial day to actually the cheese rolls. I've never before cooked anything that require throwing ice water into a preheated roaster at the bottom of the oven to create a steamy environment. Now I have. In the end, I was just hoping they would be edible. They were. In fact, they were delicious. Just like I remember from the Cheese Board. Of course, I'm old, so my memory may be a bit faulty.



Later that same week our friends, the SuDuLews, came down from the Berkeley area on their way to San Diego. We had dinner, played games, and they stayed the night. The youngest SuDuLew stayed in n x 1.6 km (where n > 1) and CEDs room. Surprisingly they all went to sleep just fine and little SuDuLew and n x 1.6 km had such fun playing together in the morning that they didn't come out of the room for some time. We all went to Traveltown together. Little SuDuLew likes trains almost as much as n x 1.6 km. He was quite upset though when he learned that he wouldn't be coming back to our house to play.