Larocque and Roll

That green stuff you eat with corn chips February 17, 2005

A few weekends ago, I saw three separate recipes for guacamole on Food TV. Alton Brown had one, Michael Smith had another, and I think the Barefoot Contessa was the third (or Rachel Ray, who irritates me). All were nothing like my guacamole recipe, which is actually my roommate-from-grad-school’s recipe.

Take one ripe avocado (do you know how many tries it took to spell that correctly?). You’ll know it’s ripe because the skin will be a dark, dull green. If it’s shiny, or merely darkish green, let it sit on the counter for a day or two. Cut it in half and remove the pit - you can use the pit to try and grow an avocado plant, but it will take a long time and chances are, you live in a region that does not lend itself well to avocado cultivation. Anyways…

You don’t need to peel the skin off. The skin is thick and stiff, and the innards are soft, so you can scoop them out (this bit only took me, what? Five years to figure out? Up until now, I’ve been trying to peel the buggers. All the while, scooping is so much easier. Duh.) Scoop the soft creamy insides into a food processor or blender - something that will make the mixture smooth.

Add about a tablespoon of lemon juice. You can use fresh lemons, but the stuff that comes in the fake plastic lemons is okay too. Blend a little. Add two tablespoons of mayonnaise, or whatever, to your taste.

You’re going to have to add garlic, and it’s up to you how much you want to use. I usually use one clove, but more is great, too. Chop it finely, and throw it in with the rest of the mixture. Blend briefly.

Now, these are the super-secret ingredients. You may be asking yourself why I am telling you if they’re supposed to be super-secret. Well, I’m telling you so you can add them, but don’t tell your guests what the secret ingredients are, ‘kay? Alright - add a dash of Italian dressing and ketchup (catsup?). That’s it.

Blend the whole thing until smooth. The versions I saw all kept them chunky; they used mashers as opposed to a food processor, so there were still chunks in the dip. But they weren’t as smooth or creamy - it’s just your preference, I guess.

If you leave the guacamole uncovered, or even covered, it will turn brownish (unless you’ve left it on the counter, then it will be fuzzy and green, which isn’t good. Put it in the fridge when you’re done with it.) It turns brown because avocados, like apples, get oxidized when exposed to air, which is why they turn brown. That’s what the lemon juice does - delay oxidization, or minimize it. It’s still good, and if kept in a covered container it can last a week or so.

It’s 6:30am, and I’m up. And I’m listening to something called “The Windmills of your Mind” and I’m getting dizzy

Last night I heard the Worst Version Ever of “Street Fighting Man” by Rod “Honk If You Think I’m Sexy” Stewart. I mean, it was terrible, just awful - he made no attempt to make it sound anything like the original until the very last verse, and then he did the vocal gymnastics. Too little, too late.

If he had made it better by covering it*, I could forgive him. However, he made it worse, he mocked it, and for that I can’t excuse him.

(And I ‘m up because I was having an annoying dream. I was visiting my parents, and I was taking the bus back to Sudbury. When I got to the terminal, I realized I’d forgotten most of my stuff - all I had was my briefcase, my makeup bag, and my t-shirt. The most frustrating thing? I’d forgotten all my reading material, so I was looking at a six-hour bus ride without anything to do except socialize with my fellow passengers. That’s what made me wake up weeping.)

*There are not many examples of songs being made better or more interesting by being covered. Tori Amos’ version of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” is one example. Marilyn Manson’s cover of “These Dreams” is another (oh shush - I liked it!). Johnny Cash doing “Hurt” is a good example.

Remember kids! All of this is my opinion only!

Thank god that’s over! February 15, 2005

It’s a good thing that I decided not to post yesterday. I was in a downright foul mood last night, but I hadn’t been that way all day. There were a few incidents, like crushing the prongs on the extension cord for my block heater, that made me wish I’d not gotten up. The weather wasn’t co-operating either - it was snowing when I got up (ooohhh pretty!), but it was freezing rain by the time I got to work, and then it started to rain shortly after (ummm… not so pretty).

Curling pretty much bit the big one. Even though we were on sheet 4, which is my favourite sheet, we lost big time. I missed several big shots and fouled up a few more, in addition to turning the air blue on a few occasions. Plus I was tired and bored and cold and stiff.

(Sheet 4 is my favourite because of the vaguely naughty advertisement at the one end. I know they’re probably pieces of mining equipment, but “scissor lifts” and “man booms” sound like they wouldn’t be out of place in a well-stocked S&M dungeon.)

I was also stressed out about a thing I had to do after work tonight (work-related so… yeah, no details.) It went better than I expected. Plus, I was listening to Phillip Cairns’ Mud Songs Webcast when I got home, so I’m much more mellow now.

So, to summarize: I did nothing special for V-Day. Go me.

Cookery February 13, 2005

Once again I’ve spent the better part of the evening watching Food TV. And I’m finding that I’m thinking “Umm… ew?” to myself less and less. Now, it’s more like, “Umm… huh. That looks interesting.” It’s a bit of a personal revelation - I’m curious to find out what coconut-encrusted scallops with a light dusting of cocoa powder would taste like. (I don’t think that’s exactly what it was, but I’m paraphrasing - parafooding?)

I’d totally love to be a patissier, someone who makes desserts and sweet things. That would be a cool job, I think.

And if anyone knows how to get on Iron Chef America to be a judge, could you drop me a line?

(Oh, and peanut butter and apple sandwiches are scrumptious. Slice the apple thinly, and layer the slices over a the peanut butter.)

Book Club Verdict: The Devil Wears Prada (and the results!) February 12, 2005

The general concensus was that it sucked. It was too bitter, too full of complaints, and there were no attempts to break free until the very end. We could muster no sympathy for the protagonist, and the antagonist was simply too over-the-top extremely evil. None of us could relate to her plight, although we did recount horror stories about bad bosses that we’ve had in the past, such as the supervisor who spent 10 minutes explaining how to place a stamp on a stamp pad or the executive who tried to deny giving someone permission to attend their sister’s wedding.

Worst of all, there was no plot. It was like one long diary entry, and not a very good one at that. If this book were a friend we had taken out for coffee and told us everything that happened as it did in the book, she’d better not bring it up ever again or we’d get up and walk away.

I felt stressed out reading this book. I finished it last Thursday, on the train home from Toronto, and felt overwhelmed. I’d had a good day, but felt that if anyone asked me to do anything, I’d completely snap at them because they were being unreasonable. Certainly, this is not a good book to read if you want to read something light and fluffy.

And, so now on to the results. This is how things went down:
Other / Stargirl: 1 vote each (1% each)
Violet & Claire: 2 votes (3%)
The Thief Lord: 3 votes (4%)
A Cook’s Tour / Deafening: 10 votes each (14% each)
Happiness(tm): 13 votes (19%)
The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants: 29 votes (42%)

Thanks to everyone who voted.

Voting for the next book club book February 9, 2005

Okay, so we’ve finally set a date and time for our next book club. This means that voting on what I should chose for my turn will end at 5:30PM on Friday, February 11th.

Vote early, vote often, and get your friends and family to vote for the book of your choice.

Zen Spam

This afternoon, I got a spam message in my email at work. It was one of those wierd things, with an oddly described product and a whole bunch of nonsense after it. One of the gems of wisdom that followed the product description went something like, “Every culture gets the circus it deserves. Spain has the bullfights, Italy has the Vatican, and America has Hollywood.”

So, does that mean Canada has the passport office?

(Dude! Rex Murphy! She was in line behind Rex friggin’ Murphy, people!)

It’s too early in the morning

Two things:

First, if you want a Gmail invite, leave me a comment or send me a telegram or something. I’ve got fifty of them to give away. That’s right, you heard me correctly - fifty. Get them while this offer lasts!

Second, I forget what the second thing is. I’ll remember when I’m in the shower and my computer is off, and I’ll swear that I will remember it until I get out and turn my computer back on. However, by the time all that happens, I will have forgotten it again. Maybe it was a belated Joyeuse Mardi Gras/Happy Shrove Tuesday or maybe Happy Chinese New Year.

Gah.

Audio book discovery February 8, 2005

Normally, I amuse myself during the six-and-change hour drive home by listening to the radio or CDs, especially the Rolling Stones, Led Zeplin, Modest Mouse, The Trews, Buck 65, Sloan, and several mixed CDs. It can’t be anything too mellow, which is why I’ve had to take Blue Rodeo, Tom Waits, Lucious Jackson, and Portishead out of rotation.

I don’t do audio books well, partly because I’m too easily distracted and I’ll either drive into a ditch or miss some crucial plot element. I’m also partly worried that the narrator will be monotonous and bore me to tears. When we were little, my sisters and I would listen to them, especially on long trips Down East. But now, they don’t really do much for me.

A few years back, I tried to listen to Hoot on tape, but was unsuccessful. No offence to Chad Lowe, who was doing the reading, but it didn’t interest me. I’d read the book and quite liked it, so maybe it was the fact that I could have read the book on my own in the time it took to listen to the first two (of six) tapes.

I was especially wary of books read by the author because, what if they don’t sound like the voice I hear when I read their books? I’d be crushed with disappointment.

The reason this is significant is that the local library only had Augusten Burrough’s Magical Thinking on audio CD, and I’ve been wanting to read it since before Christmas, when I heard a review of it on the CBC. The first book I read this year was Sellevision, and I liked it.

(On a completely tangentially related note, I never formally announced any interest/disinterest in joining the 50 Books Challenge - read fifty books in fifty weeks. I planned to announce my participation around week 20, when I will have read my 50 books way ahead of everyone else, and could childishly taunt the other participants with a hearty “Eat my dust, suckers!”)

Well, it took me all the way home and a large part of the way back to here to listen to the whole thing, plus fifteen minutes while I was unpacking (The Ongoing History of New Music was on when I left home. I love me some Alan Cross!). And I enjoyed it!

Burroughs doesn’t sound exactly like what I had imagined, but I wasn’t upset by that. His voice was well-suited to the essays he read, which were snappy and biting and occasionally hilarious (”Beating Raoul” had me cracking up all the way through Barrie). Sometimes, they were even sad (”Mark the Shrink”). I could have read the book in a quarter of the time it took me to listen to them, but it wouldn’t have been the same. (My favourites would have to be “Last First Date” and “Key Worst.”)

I’m looking forward to the trip home at Easter, when I will be listening to David Sedaris’ Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim.

Time flies February 7, 2005

Where do I start, where do I begin?

Toronto and the conference were a blast. What was three days felt like five. Wait - Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Huh. I guess it was actually five days altogether. Well, okay, what was five days felt like a week. (Hey, it’s my blog - I reserve the right to change my story!)

The short story: only two new books made it home with me, plus two comic books, all from The Beguilling, who are an awesome library-friendly comic book store. Last year they were also at the conference, and this year they participated in a number of sessions on graphic novels, comics, and manga. Many hours were spent catching up with friends and former co-workers and classmates over lunches, coffee, and martinis. The sessions I attended were terrific (with the exception of the technical details of a project that I nearly dozed through at one point.) I don’t often get my geek on and flaunt my librarian “cred” here, so I’ll spare you the details.

(To hell with that - the big reason I love going to these types of conferences is because I always come away feeling professionally “refreshed” and excited about my job. It’s energizing to hear about what other librarians are doing, and how I can take the lessons they learned and apply them to my job, whether I’m a public librarian or a library consultant.)

Also stowing away in my luggage: plenty of Lush products and copious amounts of yarn. H’oh boy, did I ever pig out on the yarn front! In my defence, I will state that everything I got at Romni Wool and Lettuce Knits cannot be found either up here or in Guelph. And it’s all so pretty!

As well, I managed to fend off a cold with Echinacea, raw gingerroot tea, and vitamin C drops. I felt crappy Thursday, but managed to pull off Friday and the rest of the weekend with minimal difficulties. Saturday night we celebrated my Dad’s birthday. I started a pair of socks with some Briggs & Little I got the weekend before (or was it two weekends before? Oh well…) Due to the fact I had to completely unravel one of the mittens I made last week because I couldn’t pick up the dropped stitches, I may have the socks finished before summer.

(Later update: I’ve had to frog the mitten yet again because I realized I was doing a 2×2 ribbing on the cuff, when I’m only supposed to be doing a 1×1 ribbing. GAH!)

Much more to blather on about, but I’ll break it down into several, easy-to-manage posts.