Friday Things
1. Truth: The Christmas decorations are still up at my house, and I’ve been turning them on every single day. Tree lit, banister garland lit, nativity lit, mini ceramic tree in bathroom lit, outside lights lit… they’re all on! I like to milk the holidays for as long as possible. So far, so good, but I have a feeling they’ll be coming down this weekend. It was fun while it lasted!
2. Today I was slated to serve jury duty. I was totally prepared to rant about how receiving THREE jury summons in five years seems a tad bit excessive (seriously, it is). As instructed, I logged into the county website yesterday after 4pm, entered my juror number and date to appear, and… BAM! It said I was “hereby NOT REQUIRED to appear”. I got up and did a little dance. It totally felt like being in grade school, sitting with your pajamas on, watching the snow fall outside, and then seeing a school cancellation along the bottom of the television before you go to bed. Sheer delight!
3. I could totally live on Lindt truffles. Turns out, quite a few people in my life know this about me. Between Christmas, Valentine’s Day, my birthday and Easter, I haven’t run out truffles in like two years.
4. I get a lot of questions from readers about what I do with all of the food that I make. The answer is, it depends. Sometimes it gets eaten for dinner (leftovers for lunches!), dessert, frozen, shared with company, made for a get-together, sent with my mom to work, etc. I did want to let you in on one new way that I’ve found to share extra goodies that I have. My grandma volunteers once a month for the local food bank, so she gives me a call a few days before to remind me which day she’s going, and I package up any goodies that I’ve made and drop them off to her she she can give them out when she passes out food. I just thought I’d share, since so many people ask, and I know many of you bake a lot as well – it’s a great way to get some extra goodies out of the house and to make someone’s day in the process! :)
5. I mentioned on the BEB Facebook page that I’m overhauling my magazine subscriptions. I currently receive Real Simple, Cook’s Illustrated, Cook’s Country and Everyday Food, after paring down last year. I’m thinking of adding something along the lines of Women’s Health/Self/Shape and maybe a news magazine. What do you receive? Any good recommendations?
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6. Hockey is back! I think it was the fact that my mom bought me the “All I Want for Christmas is Hockey” t-shirt after seeing me mention here (she’s such a cool mom)… good karma :) I’m excited for the schedule to be announced and for tickets to go on sale… my bank account, not as excited. So much for, “well, at least I didn’t spend a ton of money on tickets this year”. Oh wait. Nevermind.
7. Confession: I feel like the whole food-centered Internet universe has gone crazy for quinoa. I’m totally the goofy-looking girl standing on the other side of the playground watching everyone else play games and not having a clue. I’ve had quinoa before, but… I just don’t get it. Is it because it’s healthy? What am I missing?
8. I finally got around to seeing the Jack Reacher movie, which I was totally pumped about since it was filmed in Pittsburgh. All of the views of the city were amazing, and the movie wasn’t bad. It didn’t quite live up to the other movies we’ve seen in the last few months (Lincoln, Argo and Skyfall), but it was decent… I gave it a B-.
9. Things I’m currently craving: Five Guys. New episodes of Homeland. A really good brownie. A fresh bagel with cream cheese. A new Sherlock Holmes movie.
10. TGIF! Have a roar of a weekend! (If I dressed Einstein up for Halloween, this would totally be his costume! On a related note, how funny was this story?)
My mother has that EXACT same Nativity scene! I remember playing with it as a kid. The handing angel in your photo was my favorite. There’s a curve in her robe that was just the perfect size for my finger, almost like an imprint. I can see it in the image; it’s the indentation in the robe by her left knee. So many memories right there!
I always love reading your Friday things!
not impressed with quinoa – but love the lion pup! Happy Friday!
So happy to hear that there are others who don’t get the hype around quinoa! I tried it for the first time on Tuesday and I was not impressed. The texture is gross and it doesn’t taste like anything. On top of that, you have to rinse it and if you spill some, the little seeds get everywhere. I was still finding seeds the next day!
Yes, quinoa is good for you, but I’ve never been able to eat something purely because it is good for me. I highly recommend trying Heidi Swanson’s quinoa patties. They are so delicious and adaptable to whatever veggie/cheese/herb you have on hand. Not only do I make them often but they are really one of my favorite things to eat for dinner.
I love your blog but really enjoyed todays post. we always leave our decorations up until Epiphany. Your jury post had me laughing (I too get more than my share but that’s another story) and brought back memories of snowy school mornings. We had a telephone network to notify us of school cancellations so it was great when the phone rang early in the morning. On snowy day our elementary school principal would have kids go outside with a ruler and when the depth hit the magic number he would begin the process of closing school for at least that day. In high school (we were bussed to another town) we loved to hear the announcment that we were to board our bus. Of course the ones that stayed behind weren’t too happy.
I also don’t get the quinoa.
Lindt truffle balls are my favorite. Melty creamy yum! About an hour from where we live, there is a lindt factory outlet (in Kittery, Me). We go a few times a year to stock up. I’m feeling like a trip soon….
What a fantastic idea to get rid of leftover goodies! I will need to look into doing the same. Did you see Django Unchained? I saw it on New Year’s and really enjoyed it so I recommend :) I think this weekend we are going to try for Argo (hopefully it will be back out in theaters!) and Silver Linings Playbook! Happy Friday!
Hi Rachel, I haven’t seen Django Unchained, but have heard great things about it. Argo is absolutely fantastic – enjoy! :)
I am with you on the quinoa – don’t know why everyone feels like they have to use it in everything! I’ve had it in soup, it’s nice, but I don’t feel like I need to make quinoa cookies anytime soon.
everyday food was discontinued as of december 2012. they’re doing it as a quarterly supplement only for martha stewart living subscribers.
I get your blog by email. I had to chuckle today at the real difference between the email version, and the version on the blog. The section on issues from readers (well, questions on the blog) was hilarious in email and made me wonder if you originally wrote it in some language other than English and the translators got hold of it. This sentence gave me a headache trying to figure it out. ..”My grandma ounce volontaires month for the local food bank, so she call me Gives A Few days before to remind me she’s going Which day, and I package up goodies that I’ve made Any and drop ’em off to her “
Hi Joan, I just checked my email (I also have the email version sent to myself in case there are any issues), but it looks perfectly normal. It reads exactly the same way it appears here on the site, albeit formatted for email. If you can send me the type of email service you use, I can check to see if there is an issue of any kind.
I use Yahoo for my email. I just retrieved the original email from my trash bin. Everything was as you wrote it on the web site. However, the sentence I had in quotes was taken from the email.
I don’t pretend to understand what is going on, but thanks for looking into it.
Joan
2 questions:
1. Fav lindt truffle?
2. Have you ever had Betsy Ann Truffles? May actually be better amazingly…
~Jess (transplanted Pittsburgher and fellow Duquesne grad!)
Hi Jess! Oooh, so hard to pick a favorite truffle, it all depends on my mood. I do love the dark chocolate, peanut butter, and milk chocolate. I’ve never had Betsy Ann truffles, although I’ve had more than my fair share of other Betsy Ann chocolates! I’ll have to try their truffles!
Lindt’s extra dark truffles are my absolute favorite truffle! They come in a black bag. I have no idea what the hype is about quinoa except there are a lot of gluten free people out there now and it’s a good option for them. I’m not fan. CANNOT wait for the Pens to start playing again! I’ve been jonesing for hockey in the WORST way! And finally, I’m getting around to taking down my Christmas decorations today (sadly). The house always looks so empty without them. Maybe I need to go buy some winter or Valentine’s Day decor to perk it up a little. Happy Weekend, Michelle!
I’m not much of a kale fan, either. Or quinoa.
Totally agree with you on the quinoa thing… I don’t get it either. I’m just not a fan of it. Every time I try a new recipe, we end up barely eating it!
Mmm, a burger and bag of fries from Five Guys sounds awesome right now. At 9:00 in the morning. I get Shape, Self, Fitness, and Women’s Health and my favorite is Women’s Health and Shape is next. I think WH just has a nice variety of articles that don’t feel like filler, and I feel like I actually learn something from the magazine. Plus the articles will often span just two pages so you don’t have to flip to the back to read one more column of text.
I work with several men who don’t get home baked anything so extras are always appreciated here at work. Adding the local food kitchen is a wonderful idea.
I used to get Self and I enjoyed it, but I barely get through my Real Simple every month to add any.
Good luck getting those decorations down and put away.
I just had to share that our Christmas decorations are still up and being lit/enjoyed on a daily basis. I have no plans of taking them down until MLK weekend! I also was summoned for Jury Duty this week – went in on Tuesday, got placed on a Jury around 3:45 Tuesday afternoon, and had to return for the entire day on Wednesday for the trail! Annoying at the time yes, but pretty good to be apart of the process :-)
I LOVE Lindt truffles too! I only got one little bag this year, and it’s gone! That’s a good thing since I started Weight Watchers this week! I am craving 5 Guys too! I think I always crave that place…probably not a good combo with weight watchers;)
Epiphany just passed (january 6) so, you’re not far off on the Christmas decorations! After all, the 12 days of Christmas represent the 25th until Epiphany, not earlier in December :) As for magazines, I too loved Everyday Food and was incredibly bummed to receive their message this fall that it was being discontinued and “folded in” to Martha Stewart Living a few times a year. It was a perfect size for taking along with me in my purse, plus I used the recipes constantly! I do really like the Food Network Magazine and I agree with another reader that Southern Living is a very nice magazine with good recipes. My mom ordered it for me after discovering she liked it too. We’re not Southern. We live in Michigan! Fitness is a good women’s health magazine too!
That’s one of the good things about being Catholic, Christmas keeps on going into the new year!!!
I have a ceramic tree in the bathroom s well, took down the decorations yesterday, I love CHRISTmas too! Is that a basket of money on the ground, were they begging with the dog as their pawn??? Some people never cease to amaze me, that is pathetic!
Maybe they’re using the money as a fund raiser for some worthy cause.
Oh! I never even noticed that!
I usually take my baked goods to work and give some extras to my family that lives close by, too. I like your idea about giving to the local food banks, though! Something to consider. Thanks!
Women’s Health and Shape are two really great fitness magazines, they are always packed with good info, work outs, recipes, etc.. Right now the only subscription I have is to Food Network, surprise surprise haha, but I’m thinking about subscribing to one of the above again too
The dog is cute!! For magazine subscriptions I love Health, Fitness and Cooking Light magazine! However I also get Woman’s’ Health and Self. I need to scale back a little. I don’t even get to read them all.
I think that is wonderful that you donate food you make!!!
Have a great weekend!!
My favorite magazine and the one I will always subscribe to is Southern Living. It has a great mix of travel and food.
An Australian cooking magazine I’m very obsessed with at the moment is Gormet Traveler. I’m not sure if there is an American version or if they ship to the US, but man. Check it out. The recipes are amazing, they review chefs and restaurants, display tons of different new cutlery and stoneware and the best bit – they are always doing articles on various countries and their cuisine. Fantastic combination of cooking and culture!
*Gourmet Traveler. I’m ashamed I spelled that wrong!! lol!
1) I LOVE Lindt truffles, but I think I love the bars more :) I actually ordered their 13-bar sampler set for a Valentine’s Day gift for my husband…it was 50% off! Super excited to get it!
2) I have tried to enjoy quinoa, but I find the only way either my husband and I will eat it is if it’s LOADED with cheese, which kind of negates the healthy part of it. I’m glad to hear I’m not the only one not super obsessed with it!
We are with you on the holiday decorations.*_* We did pack away all the colored light decos last Sunday. (didn’t want them to be frozen in the ground again !) but still have all the clear lights up everywhere (candles, window icicles, etc) inside and out! Sort of eases us into the January blahs. Glad to hear that you do it too! Have a great weekend…when do the Pens resume play??
LindaD
Hi Linda, Word is that the NHL season is going to start next Saturday, the 19th. They haven’t released the schedule yet, but it sounds like we’re going to be playing in Philly in an afternoon game.
Dude! I so feel you on the quinoa thing. I could leave it or take it…then again I feel similarly about kale which I’d eschew for Swiss chard any old day.
As for interesting magazines, it’s the total opposite of self or shape, but the smithsonian magazine in FASCINATING. Pricier, but much more interesting..,,
Mmmm Five Guys – love that place! Had it for dinner tonight. And I’m super excited for hockey. Hope my Yotes do even better than last year (it’ll be tough to top for sure)