Tuesday, July 19, 2005

Seriously?!

I mean, I LOVE Rachael Ray, but even if you slap a fancy name on it, does this even constitute as a recipe?!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_26556,00.html

I could make bacon in the microwave when I was 8. In fact, I didn't even know most people cooked it in a pan. My mom had this nifty Tupperware bacon cooker platter thing that had a grease tray and grooves, so it was a way better option for cooking my lifeblood (ie: bacon).

Thursday, July 14, 2005

Best birthday cake ever!


Ok, so this is from my 25th birthday, 2 years ago, but I think it's the coolest darn thing on the planet. And I warned all you about my bacon fetish when I started this blog. My dear talented friend Shannon (aka Red-Faced Wonder) baked it and frosted it. Abso-brill.

Gummy pasta and faux grill marks

Can anyone please explain to me why I delight in Weight Watchers Bistro Selections? What's to love about gummy noodles, perfectly square "chicken" with grill marks (who are they fooling here - I mean, we all know that workers in the entree factory aren't slaving over a grill, individually grillin up 5 trillion lbs of chicken per year) and a sauce that's so loaded with salt that I have to drink 5 extra litres of water to offset it? And it leaves that funky, prepared food taste in your mouth - you know exactly what I'm talking about. It's a kind of coating that you just know isn't right - I mean you don't get that feeling when you eat fruit or veggies or whole grains, aka the good stuff that ain't fun to eat like fake-ass chicken.

Anyway, I had the Bistro Selection for lunch today and utterly delighted in it's weirdness. It's aesthetically pleasing and I don't know why. I actually have never even ordered chicken fettucine in a restaurant. My ex-boyfriend made it for us for dinner once, and I think that's been my only experience.

But one time I was either temporarey blinded by NY's extreme grocery prices or frozen into purchasing while standing with the freezer door open and I decided to go for it. Depending on what state I was in (hungover, half-asleep, happy) I could have just picked the wrong thing entirely. But the first time I had it, I clearly liked it enough to purchase again.

I think what I enjoy the most about these frozen entrees is what appeals to probably every person out there who ever purchases them: easy, one-portion meals that aren't overly bad for you. And sometimes you just want a hot meal. My chicken fettucine only had 5 grams of fat and less than 300 calories. And the processed-ness of it just does something - it makes me nostalgic and comforted at the same time.

Wednesday, July 13, 2005

Ok, so HERE are the baby cheetahs.


Baby Cheetahs!

A few pics of the adorable babies we saw at the National Zoo on July 9.

Monuments, animals, and brews in our nation's capital.

So it's been 4-eva (yes, with the popularity of Entourage, why wouldn't I be channeling Marky Mark from the movie Fear?)

I was in our nation's capital last weekend and had quite the enjoyable time. My friend and I were up at the ungodly hour of 7 AM on a Saturday in order to get crackin' and get to the National Zoo before 1) People crowded the viewing of the baby cheetahs, 2) Said baby cheetahs were too tired to frolick and/or were off-view, and 3) to beat the heat (a 90-degree scorcher was in the works for the day).

I have never been to the National Zoo. The first zoo I've visited in many, many years was the Central Park Zoo this past December, which was a delightful: small taste of some cute penguins, a cool rainforest area (nice way to warm up when it's 35 degress outside) and some other less than ferocious animals. The National Zoo is quite nice. And free. The cheetahs were adorable and we found out that a baby panda had been born just 7 hours prior. A productive day. And on our way out, I saw a parent with a child attached to a leash. Classic. Hey, at least she was in tune enough to know that her kid needs to be on one. I applaud her.

From there we went downtown to check the monuments and join the hordes in hip-packs, short shorts with high socks and sneaks, and cameras. Haven't done the tourist thing since college, so saw some new monuments, like Korea, which was very moving, and the new WWII (got a pic for my dear grandpop's memory). We also found a key new monument, hidden away and perfect for 90 degree afternoons - a snack kiosk selling beer. This was a delightful little surprise, because there's not really anything our forefathers would have enjoyed more than to open their city to us so we can relax by a man-made lake, sipping $2.85 cans of Bud Light (so cheap!), with the Washington Monument to our direct right, and the Lincoln Memorial to our direct left. It's like two of our greatest leaders were looking out for us, blessing us to drink in their presence. Proud to be an American, mos def.

So after 6 beers each, we trudged around some more, sun had gone down a bit, the hip-packs gone back to their hotels, and then just hiked back to the car to get some eats.

And eventful day in our nation's capital. Thank you, Washington, D.C., for allowing alcoholic beverages in your park. You made my day even better.