Oldest memory

I have very few memories of my life in Munising (we lived there until I was almost 5). I remember little snapshots of things, like floating parachute men off the deck, falling down the ravine (Becky helped me), and letting Joe talk me into pooping on the floor.

Well, I'm not sure which memory came first. But here's one:

I seem to remember that the room was dim, with a fire going either in a woodstove or fireplace or even just a candle burning, I don't remember how, I just know there was a flame. There might have been a TV, too. I was playing with Duplos on the floor (Duplos are like Legos but bigger). I couldn't figure out how to connect the pieces, and I became frustrated and threw a tantrum. My parents tried to tell me how to do it, but I wouldn't listen and just kept freaking out. Finally, one of them sat down with me (I think it was my mom), and she showed me how the dots on the Duplos lined up to make them stick together. I finally got it!

Other early memories include asking my mom about the birthmark on her face, asking her if she'd ever been married before she met my dad, and wishing I had boobs (I just stuck out my ribs and that seemed close enough).

Today's Lunch:
Peanut butter sandwich (natural peanut butter on semolina bread with sesame seeds)
Plum
Banana
2 chocolate peanut butter maltballs from Trader Joe's

Take Your Kid to Work Day

Yesterday we celebrated "Take Your Daughters and Sons to Work Day" here at the FPL. I'm on the committee that organizes it, and let me tell ya - it was a lot of work. Our committee only has a few people on it so we all have to really pitch in to get the work done. And considering my work duties are rather limited these days, I have a lot of free time on my hands.

After a morning of feeding, entertaining, and trying to calm down a bunch of kids, I was pooped. I left work as soon as I could, then went home and watched Lost (only 1 disc left of Season 2). My groovy downstairs neighbors had me over for dinner (I brought a banana cream pie), and then I watched more TV. I am so glad I have a TV at times like these, where I'm too exhausted to think.

I could really go for a White Russian right now.

Today's Lunch:

• Peanut butter sandwich - natural peanut butter on thick, chewy, nutty wheat bread from Trader Joe's
• Banana
• Plum
• Package of Quaker snack mix, baked cheddar flavor... EVIL! It had so many ingredients I couldn't pronounce that they took up 1/3 of the package. Next time I'll get Fritos.

Pooped

Man, I've just been exhausted lately. I hit the hay around 10:30 and remain in a semi-comatose state until 9:00 am at the earliest. I haven't made it to work before 10:30 all week. Maybe my body's fighting something off so it's good to get a lot of sleep.

We've been preparing for "Take Your Daughters and Sons to Work Day," which is tomorrow. I've been working on a wood identification activity. Hopefully the kids will catch on and it won't be too boring for them.

I'm training for the Syttende Mai 17-mile walk that's taking place May 19. Syttende Mai is Norway's independence day (17th of May), and there's a nearby town that has a huge festival for it every year. Zach and I went to the festival last year and had a good time. This year I'm going to walk 17 miles, which I'm sure will be a blast.

Whenever I encounter a challenge, I use the Peace Corps as a reason to just suck it up and do it. For example, the Syttende Mai walk may come in handy because, while I'm in Africa, I may have to do a lot of walking. And yesterday, on my way to work, I was walking down the sidewalk and noticed that my arms and shoulders had little black flies crawling on them. Yes, it was creepy, but I said to myself, "Listen, Pilon, if you're going to do the Peace Corps you may encounter yuckier things, so toughen up." Yeah, suck it up!

So yeah, that's my life right now.

Today's Lunch:
Leftover curried vegetable stir-fry (fresh green beans, sweet potato, onions, red pepper, radishes, and carrots)
Piece of wheat bread with Smart Balance
Overripe banana

Armadillo cake

I made an armadillo cake for our workplace's Game Feed. There was a variety of salads and appetizers, including venison sausage, salmon spread, and a big fish (I don't know what it was). For entrees, we had wild boar, roasted duck, venison, and fried lake perch. I decided to make a red velvet armadillo cake (I got the idea from Steel Magnolias). Here's an account of how I made it:

I used a football-shaped pan for the top of the body...


...and a rectangular pan for the bottom of the body, egg-shaped pan for the head (Wilton Mini Wonder Mold pan), and cupcakes for miscellaneous parts. It took about 5 hours to make the batter and bake the cakes. I made two batches of red velvet cake for this recipe.


Next, I assembled the armadillo. I poked the head with a skewer to keep it from falling over, and used icing to cement the cake onto the cake board.


Next I frosted it. I used leftover pieces of cake for the tail, and ended up making the feet out of frosting.


The fun part - I finally got to decorate it. Decorating's so much easier when you only have one icing color and consistency! I used cardstock to make the ears, raisins for the eyes, and almonds for the toenails. I used a petal tip for the stripes and a dot tip for the dots. Easy, right?


The cake was a big hit. Everyone gathered round while I cut it up like a ham. I was pretty proud of it.


Today's Lunch:
Culver's hamburger with red onion, mustard, ketchup, and sweet relish
Plum

My first dessert review

Date: Saturday, April 21
Time: About 1:00
Establishment: Papa Phil's Ristorante Italiano, 2611 Monroe Street

Papa Phil's is known for its authentic Italian entrees. Would their desserts compare?

As I walked into Papa Phil's I felt like I was entering an upscale city restaurant. Plush maroon carpet cushioned my feet. Jazz music played softly overhead. The bar area was empty, as it was lunchtime, but the bartender was a kindly older gentleman who greeted me after I found a seat at a table. Most of the clientele were middle aged and nicely dressed, and I didn't see any kids. I noticed four women at a nearby table who seemed to be having a weekly lunch date. A caraffe of wine sat between them.

Formality wasn't lost to the hurried convenience of many restaurant operations today. Ketchup bottles and parmesan cheese shakers did not litter the tables, nor were there stand-up menus displaying the daily specials. Water was served in stemmed water glasses. A cloth napkin sat neatly on my lap. I noticed and appreciated the use of ceramic ramekins for condiments. The servers weren't the frazzled, hurried, and rude employees I've encountered at other family-owned establishments.

After expressing my interest in dessert, the waitress informed me they had chocolate-pecan cannoli, frozen peanut butter pie, and their famous tiramisu. She said customers repeatedly come back for the tiramisu, so I decided to give it a try.

Tiramisu is identified by its layers of ladyfingers lightly dipped in coffee and liquor, alternating with a light, creamy layer of mascarpone cheese and topped with a faint sprinkling of cocoa. I was informed by the pastry cook that the tiramisu was Papa Phil's family recipe from the old country. It consisted of three layers of storebought ladyfingers with a homemade mascarpone and ricotta filling. I asked what types of liquor were used in soaking the ladyfingers, and he said they use a mixture of brandy, marsala, and orange liquor. He emphasized that the sweetness of the orange liquor helped offset the bitterness of the other alcoholic liquids.

My slice of tiramisu wasn't picture perfect. I had a corner piece, and it had been cut in such a way that the layers were indistinguishable. The mascarpone filling seemed to have seeped out and I had to do some digging to see the ladyfingers. The ladyfingers looked great - evenly soaked with liquor on the top and bottom but still somewhat dry in the middle. The layer of mascarpone on top of the cake looked soft and billowy and was about an inch thick. I took my first bite. My mouth basked in the delightful texture of the creation. The mascarpone filling was light and silky on my tongue. The ladyfingers were soft enough to blend with the filling but still add substance to the cake. While the texture of the tiramisu was perfect, the balance of flavors was disappointing. I immediately tasted orange liquor, followed by a very faint coffee flavor. I was expecting the dessert to taste more like coffee and chocolate and less like orange, so I was a little surprised by this. With each forkful I ate, I noticed more orange flavor and hardly anything else. However, it did not have a bitter alcohol taste that is sometimes present in desserts laced with liquor, and its sweetness was refreshing.

Because I consider the flavor of coffee to be an important aspect of a good tiramisu, I was disappointed with the dessert I had at Papa Phil's. While it was palatable, it didn't have the qualities of a great tiramisu. However, maybe I'll come back and try the cannoli.

Ho freakin' hum

I've been experiencing blogger's block lately. Actually I've been experiencing "everything block" these days. I don't feel like doing ANYTHING. Possibly because the beautiful weather is summoning me outdoors.

I don't want to water my plants. I don't want to clean my office. I don't want to read the pile of mail in my inbox. I don't want to scour the building for a piece of white oak furniture (long story). I don't want to walk to the printer down the hall and pick up the document I just printed. I don't even want to read the Isthmus. However, I finally did something that I'd put off for a long time - I worked on my publication. I sent draft #2 to my former boss, and hopefully I can get this puppy in a journal.

Update: After writing this blog entry, I felt motivated to do something. I jumped to my feet and began cleaning my office. I scoured the building for the white oak (but ended up with American elm, which is equally good). And I went to the printer. Maybe a little bit of whining was all I needed to get my bum moving.

Today's Lunch:
Nasty chicken teriyaki bowl at UW Hospital Cafeteria. Seriously, the teriyaki sauce was all wrong.

Randomness

• I'm finally getting caught up on my laundry
• The Virginia Tech shooting really affected me and I've been glued to cnn.com. I'm not normally a news kind of person so this is unusual behavior for me. Somebody said it might be because I'm getting older and realizing the world isn't safe, nor am I invincible. *sigh*
  
• I have a phone now, yay!
• I'm attending a Game Feed this saturday (a potluck where you bring a piece of wild game with you), but since I don't hunt/fish, I'm making a red velvet armadillo cake similar to the one in Steel Magnolias
  
• I'm working on buying a DVD player off craigslist. Then I can resume my Lost Season 2 obsession
  
• I'm really diggin' Indian food lately. I think I will make a delightful curry for dinner.
• Kitty is a diva.

That's all.

Favorite culinary websites

I like subscribing to newsletters over email, as long as they're full in information I'd actually like to read. Here are some of my favorite culinary websites and subscriptions:

• ProChef Smart Brief, from the Culinary Institute of America - you're sent the headlines of articles about food, and if you're interested in a story, you can just click on the title. One of today's headlines: In Hong Kong, diners fined for leaving leftovers. Very interesting.
  
• Cook's Illustrated needs recipe testers! Once a week you're emailed a new recipe to try, and then you fill out a survey with comments. I had my first recipe last week, and made a delicious beef and eggplant stir-fry in a red curry sauce. Yum! And you don't have to test everything - they encourage people to just try what they feel like making.
• Splendid Table Weeknight Kitchen - every week I'm sent a recipe for a meal that usually includes ingredients outside my usual roster. I don't often make these recipes, but like reading about the ingredients and how to buy them.

Today's Lunch:
Peanut butter and jelly sandwich (natural PB, grape jelly) on wheat bread
Banana
2 cookies

Piece of Cake

I am listening to the most captivating book right now. It's called A Piece of Cake, by Cupcake Brown. Here is the summary I found on audible:

This is the strange, heart-wrenching, and exhilarating tale of a woman named Cupcake. It begins as the story of a girl orphaned twice over, once by the death of her mother and then again by a child welfare system that separated her from her stepfather and put her into the hands of an epically sadistic foster parent. But there comes a point in her preteen years, maybe it's the night she first tries to run away and is exposed to drugs, alcohol, and sex all at once, when Cupcake's story shifts from a tear-jerking tragedy to a dark comic blues opera. As Cupcake's troubles grow, so do her voice and spirit. Her gut-punch sense of humor and eye for the absurd, along with her outsized will, carry her through a fateful series of events that could easily have left her dead.

This book is soooo good that I can't stop listening to it. I took the long way home from work last night, just so I could listen longer.

Today's Lunch:
Leftover sorar, a middle-eastern meat pie
Apple
3 Girl Scout Thin Mints

Weekend with my family

I had a delightful weekend hanging out with my parents and brother Tom. A list of all the things we did:

• A full day of window shopping
• Walking around my neighborhood
• Made a beautiful mobile with origami cranes
  
• Attended my coworker Anton's concert (he's in the Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble)
• Went to the concert afterglow party and had wine and cheese
• Bought my first TV - a 20" Panasonic from Wal-Mart
• Hung my kitchen pots and pans, as well as a spice shelf
• Harassed Kitty
• Ate good food - ma's egg salad sandwiches, middle eastern cuisine from Lulu's, Blue Moon burgers, homemade stir-fried beef and eggplant in a red curry sauce, molten chocolate cake, and apple pie
  
• A trip to the zoo (the rhino was my favorite)
  
• Multiple trips to Trader Joe's

And that just about sums it up. It was so much fun!

I'm thinking about moving back to Grayling when my lease ends in August. I could get a job waitressing or doing office work until I leave for the Peace Corps. It would be nice to hang with my family and just kind of lay low for awhile before I leave.

Today's Lunch:
Turkey breast sandwich on wheat with Lite Miracle Whip
Banana

Cooking

I'm a little bummed about an apple pie that didn't come out right. The filling was still crunchy when I cut it open and ate a piece. Bummer.

Right now there's a pork shoulder roast in my oven. I left the skin on and made little slits in the surface with a paring knife. I filled the slits with fresh basil and garlic. It looks really yummy and I can't wait to try it tonight.

Blizzard

Holy crazy weather!

This morning I walked out of my apartment with wet hair, thinking that the little snowflakes falling outside my windows weren't a big deal. I was wrong. By the time I got to work (0.7 miles later), my coat was white with snow and my hair was dripping wet. I couldn't tell if snot was running down my chin or if it was just melted snow. I got one of those "ice cream headaches," but unfortunately it wasn't from ice cream: it was from cold wind and slushy snow driving straight into my forehead.

It was an adventurous walk to work. Now, with the wind howling outside my office window and snowflakes shooting across the sky, I'm a little afraid to leave my office. No hat, no scarf, and just my peacoat. It should be fun.

Today's Lunch:
Turkey sandwich with light Miracle Whip on Trader Joe's semolina bread with sesame seeds
2 multigrain cinnamon-toast rice cakes

Speaking of old teachers...

Thinking of Mr. Lewis's questionable conduct reminded me of Mr. Mike. Yes, his name was Mr. Mike. I took private saxophone lessons from him from 6th to 8th grade. He was a good teacher, but looking back, I remember something about him that was kind of creepy.

I had trouble keeping the beat, so he'd tap my thigh with a pencil to help me. That was okay; our band teacher did the same thing. However, whenever I'd screw up, that dirty old man would scold me and grab my thigh! What kind of grown man (he was in his 60s or 70s) grabs onto a 13-year-old girl's thigh? Talk about unethical! I've always been ticklish there so I'd flinch in my seat uncontrollably while he did it. At the time I didn't realize his actions were creepy, and I'd kind of forgotten about it until now.

Today's Lunch:
Forget my PB&J on stale bread - Petra and I are going to Subway!

Mr. Lewis

How did I start thinking about Mr. Lewis again? Oh yes, it's because of the huge bottle of mouthwash sitting in my bathroom. It brought back memories of my 7th grade english and drama teacher. I remember my sister saying that kids would talk about his bad breath, and that someone (maybe Becky, maybe someone else) saw this huge bottle of Listerine in his car or desk or somewhere, I don't even know where, but they thought he used it to contain the odor emanating from his gullet.

I remember other things about Mr. Lewis, too. Becky and I must have spent a lot of time talking about him, because almost all my memories of him are discussions we had. When he got mad, his eyes would bulge out and a vein would stick out on his forehead. He directed the middle school musical that year.

The musical was Ducktails and Bobbysox. I had the part of Bertha, a dorky girl who sings a song with Wilbur, a dorky boy. The song was called "Star Love," and my mom would call me her "Star Girl." I remember Becky saying that Mr. Lewis said that I was dorky enough on my own so I didn't need to act for the part. I remember when we got our scripts, he charged us $5 for them, and Becky later told me that he was pocketing the script money, that they didn't really cost the school anything. And how did Becky know this? She's two years older than me and was in 9th grade taking his drama course. Apparently he told the older students all sorts of juicy information that was kept from us little kids.

He didn't stick around for very long, maybe 1 or 2 school years. And he wasn't exactly a memorable teacher, like he didn't inspire me any more than anyone else. It's just that the bottle of mouthwash brought back a flood of memories. I wonder what he's doing now.

Today's Lunch:
Leftover chili
Pretzels

The Unhealthiest Lunch Ever!

Today for lunch I had Chocolate Shoppe Cake Batter Fudge ice cream in a sugar cone. Then, when I got back to work, it was popcorn day, so I had a bag of greasy, salty popcorn.

Did I mention I treated myself to a hot chocolate from a shop on my way to work? It was a mixture of brown and white chocolate, and I forgot to ask for skim milk so it was probably really fattening.

It was all so yummy, I think my chocolate fix has been taken care of for a couple of days. Poor Mr. Sandwich will have to wait another day to be consumed.

Chuckle, chuckle

UCLA STUDY (VERY INTERESTING & SHORT)

A study conducted by UCLA's Department of Psychiatry has revealed that the kind of face a woman finds attractive on a man can differ depending on where she is in her menstrual cycle.

For example: If she is ovulating, she is attracted to men with rugged and masculine features.

However, if she is menstruating, or menopausal, she tends to be more attracted to a man with duct tape over his mouth and a spear lodged in his chest while he is on fire.

No further studies are expected.

Holy pokeage

Today I had my Peace Corps medical clearance physical. In addition to all the fun that goes along with a physical, I had a lot of needles shoved into me. I had vaccine boosters for:

• polio
• tetanus-diphtheria-pertussis
• the first installment of the HPV shot that just came out

I'm so happy I got the HPV shot - you can only get it if you're under the age of 26, and by the time I finish the series it will be close to my 26th birthday. In a month I'll come back for the measles-mumps-rubella vaccination.

They also did a tuberculosis test - they injected a small amount of liquid just under my skin, and if it swells, it means I've been exposed to tuberculosis and will have to get a chest x-ray. So far it hasn't swelled, so that's good.

I got poked again for blood work. They took 7 vials of blood to test for:

• blood count
• HIV
• Hepatitis BsAntigen
• Hepatitis BcAntibody
• Hepatitis C
• G6PD titer, which the lab assistant had to look up because no one's heard of it. According to this guy, it's a rare blood disease that is insignificant unless you get malaria.
  

The actual physical took about an hour, which is a really long time to spend in a doctor's office. It's because the Peace Corps wants to know every teeny little detail about my health. We're talking a hearing test, checking all reflexes, looking at my spine (brought back memories of those scoliosis tests in middle school), breast exam, traumatic anal exam, you name it.

Today's Lunch:
Leftover sirloin steak (pan-seared) with boiled red potatoes

More about walking

Are you smarter than a 5th grader? Take this quiz to find out (I got an 80%).

I can't believe how happy I've been lately.

I've been walking Buddy, the land-people's dog, and it's a total blast. Whenever we see a squirrel or a rabbit, he stops suddenly and stares at it. Then I will stop and stare at it, too. I loosen up his leash, and then *bam!* he makes a lunge for it. It's not like he ever catches anything, but I like to egg him on by whispering to him things like "all right, Buddy, let's catch that little squirrel. Are you ready, boy?" Sometimes we run for a few yards down the sidewalk, just for fun. And I like to keep a dialogue going. Mostly just silly conversational stuff that any bystander would think was strange. We have a good time. I'm even getting used to picking up his poop.

On my walk to work today, I passed a pretty tulip that's been in the process of blooming. I think I will take a picture of it every day to record its progress, just as something fun to do (ah, the wonders of having a digital camera). I've been getting up so late (9:00) that I don't get to work until 11:00, so I haven't had the gumption to make myself even later by taking pictures of things on my way to work. But one of these days I will actually do it.

Sometimes I'll listen to the radio on my headphones as I'm walking, so I'll often be walking down the sidewalk with a big grin on my face because Bob and Tom are being funny or The Splendid Table is being its usual clever self. It must look weird to passing cars, but that's okay.

I also have this condition that I've named "The Gawk of the Single Person." Seriously, every time I see a relatively attractive-looking guy, I automatically say in my head, "how you doin'?" a la Joey Tribiani. It's ridiculous. I think if I saw Bob Dole on the street I would look him up and down and say in my head, "how you doin'?" Sheesh.

Kitty must've been exploring yesterday, because when I came home she had soot on her back, paws, and chest. It's really noticeable because she's so white. There's this ghetto closet in my bathroom that isn't quite finished so it opens up into the wall. I think Kitty's been hanging out in the wall and getting dirty. She looks like a little chimney sweeper from a Charles Dickens novel or something.

Today's Lunch:
Turkey sandwich on whole wheat with light Miracle Whip
Banana
Pretzels
Small piece of dark chocolate

Diggin' my new situation

I like living alone and being single. So far it's going really well. I've even lost 2 pounds in the last couple of weeks.

I brought the cat and my mattress home over the weekend. Kitty seems to be adjusting to the new place pretty well. She just walked around meowing for the first couple of hours, probably because she was still traumatized from the (in her opinion) long and frightening car ride.

And as I mentioned earlier, I've even lost 2 pounds. It helps that my apartment's on the third floor and I keep running up and down the stairs, bringing things in and doing laundry in the basement. My 20-minute walk to work is a nice way to get the ol' blood circulating and get some fresh air. Also, I haven't been eating as much. It's amazing how much less food I eat when I don't have anyone else to cook for. I don't need to make something for dinner when I'm not even hungry, so I'm happy to settle for some hummus with pita chips/crackers and some baby carrots. However, I do have this insane chocolate craving, so I may need to buy some Hershey's Kisses soon before I find myself awake at midnight in the kitchen devouring plain cocoa. :)

My apartment's coming along nicely. I finally have my bed set up and am working on the kitchen. God, I have a lot of kitchen stuff. I'm going to buy some hooks to hang my pots and pans from the ceiling, but first I need a stud-finder (insert joke here, ha ha) and a drill. Once I get the place set up I'll take some pictures.

The most exciting thing about having a new place is buying all the new stuff that goes along with it. There's just something fun about getting new towels and dish towels and a new mop bucket and little garbage cans and Kleenex boxes. Maybe I just like new stuff, but to me it seems like it all represents a new beginning.

My newest gig

I was browsing around on craigslist and learned that an online magazine, Dane101, needs food writers. I love food and eating and writing, so I emailed the editor and told him I'm interested. He responded and said I could review anything I wanted. I was trying to decide between pizza and desserts, as I consider myself a connoisseur in both categories. I finally decided on desserts because I wouldn't have to worry about the leftovers.

So I'm going to be reviewing desserts!!

I'm so excited. I'm going to include locally-owned restaurants, bakeries and chocolatiers, and am wondering if I should do chain restaurants as well (I'll ask the editor what he thinks). I'll get paid $10 per story (which should cover the cost of the food) and can do 2 stories a month. Yay!

I'm compiling a list of restaurants that are worthy of exploring. I'm going to take into account everything from the atmosphere of the establishment to dessert qualities like mouthfeel and presentation. It's going to be fun.

Today's Lunch:
Turkey sandwich on whole wheat with light Miracle Whip and cheddar cheese
Banana
Baby carrots