Friday Things
1. Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to hang out at the DeLallo store and test kitchen along with Jessica from How Sweet It Is. My family has been frequenting that Italian market since the 1950’s, back when it was just a little market, before it became a national brand. I’m a huge fan of their products and was thrilled to be able to play around there (I whipped up some easy tiramisu!), learn more about the family, the background of the company and where they’re headed. I’ll be telling you more about my visit there this weekend, but in the meantime, as you can see from the photo above, I was in serious love with their kitchen space. I may have asked more than once if I could move in.
2. Most of you know that I am a huge sports fan, so I was totally sucked into the two major sports stories over the last 10 days: (1) Manti Te’o, which, I just have no words. It might be one of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever read. And (2) Lance Armstrong. Did any of you watch his interview with Oprah? I thought it was completely riveting. One of the best interviews I’ve watched in a long, long time.
3. The #1 sign that Pittsburgh had an incredibly mild winter last year: I got my current vehicle in March 2011 and just yesterday had to refill the washer fluid. Some winters I go through at least 2 or 3 bottles! Good news, more snow is on the way today. I am assuming my cozy position.
4. Now that my Chief Culinary Consultant and I are both caught up on Homeland and lamenting the fact that it won’t be back on until September, we’ve been poking around for a new series to start watching from the beginning. We haven’t seen 24, so that’s a contender. I’ve seen tons of people talk about Downton Abbey, but it appears to be more of a “girly” show… thoughts? Any other series you would recommend starting from the beginning that would appeal to both sexes?
5. Last Friday, I came across three separate blogs that were talking about juicing. As in, fruit and vegetable juicing, not steroids. Just making sure we’re clear. I’m not sure if it was International Juice Day or if it was the universe trying to tell me that I am severely lacking in my fruit and vegetable intake. Either way, I was intrigued. I asked folks on Facebook if anyone did this on a regular basis and what their experiences were. I received some pretty positive feedback, so now I’m intrigued even more. Do any of you “juice”? What do you make? How often do you drink it?
6. Did you hear? New Kids on the Block, 98 Degrees and Boyz II Men are touring together.
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New Kids on the Block were my first celebrity crushes in grade school. My very first concert. Their faces were plastered over everything I owned: lunch boxes, Trapper Keepers (ah! Trapper Keepers!), buttons, notebooks, sleeping bags… you name it, my sister and I had it. Boyz II Men soothed my hopeful, fragile, junior high heart. If I had a dollar for every time I played End of the Road, I’ll Make Love to You (so not age appropriate) and On Bended Knee on repeat I’d be rich. And 98 Degrees… by the time they came along I was in college and pretty much past the boy band stage, but I admit to having downloaded some of their songs on Napster (I’m totally dating myself).
When the tour was announced and Pittsburgh was on the list of cities, I emailed my best friend and said, “I sort of feel like we need to go to this.” She agreed. We’ll be there with bells on. For old time’s sake, of course.
7. One of my goals for this year is to master sourdough bread. The thing is, I have no idea where to start. Well, I know I need to start with a starter! I know you can make one, purchase one, etc. For those of you who are sourdough masters, what do you recommend?
8. Last weekend, Kristen from Dine and Dish shared a new time management app that she recently started using: the 30/30 App by Binary Hammer. If you fall victim to the vicious cycle of working hard but not being nearly as productive as you should be (I’m looking straight in the mirror), you might want to check out this app. You can assign different folders, which can house different groups of tasks. Then create tasks, assign a specific amount of time, and the app will let you know when your time is up. I’ve started playing around with it a little bit and plan to put it to work next week, but it looks very promising for helping to stay focused and not getting constantly lost in Twitter, Pinterest or whatever your evil time-suck may be (where did those last 2 hours go?!). If you’ve used it, I’d love to hear how it works for you!
9. Yesterday while I was working, I switched on Pandora for the first time in a long, long time. Usually in the car I listen to satellite radio and at home I listen to a lot of sports talk. I liked the change of pace and playing around with different custom stations. Do you have any favorite Pandora stations, or ones you have created?
10. TGIF! I hope you encounter nothing but calm water and lots of sunshine!
You mentioned listening to Pandora. I’ve found one that I like even more because I can access TONS of various types of music and then save things in a playlist instead of having Pandora pick things for me. I have a playlist for Country, Pop, Christmas, Good Old Days, Kids, etc. I really enjoy Spotify and would suggest you give it a try. Enjoy your recipes a lot. Thanks.
I have my own sourdough starter, have had it for about 2 years now and it is still going strong. I would suggest King Arthur Flour, they have the instructions to make your own or you can buy the starter from them, but it is really easy to make and just keep it going in your fridge, every once in a while pour a little off (maybe a cup or so, make pancakes or waffles) and add some flour and water and let it sit on the counter for a day. King Arthur has tons of recipes also (my favorite is their rustic loaf, it toast up so good).
It’s a short series but then you can watch the movie, check out Firefly on Netflix!
I have made my own starter and sourdough bread but that was many years ago, maybe I will start again! I have always liked Sunset Magazine’s recipes so thought I would post one that I found that looked very simple.
Sour Dough Starter
Ingredients
•1 cup nonfat or low-fat milk
•3 tablespoons plain yogurt
•1 cup all-purpose flour
Preparation
1. Warm milk to 90º to 100º. Stir in yogurt.
2. Pour into a warm 3- to 6-cup container (glass, ceramic, plastic, or stainless steel) with an airtight lid.
3. Cover and let mixture stand in a warm (80º to 90º) place until it has the consistency of yogurt, 18 to 24 hours; the mixture should be so thick it doesn’t flow readily when container is tilted. A single clot may form or smaller curds may be suspended in clear liquid. Stir to mix in any clear liquid. If liquid turns bright pink, discard the batch and start again.
4. Once a clot forms, add flour and stir untl smooth. Cover airtight and let starter stand in a warm (80º to 90º) place until it is full of bubbles and has a pleasing sour smell, 2 to 5 days. Again, if clear liquid forms, stir to blend mixture, If liquid is pink, discard and start over. To store, cover airtight and refrigerate.
Using and maintaining the starter:
Notes: For most active starter, feed at least once a month. To increase starter supply, in a large container, add as much as 10 cups each of milk and flour to 1 cup of starter. The mixture may need to stand up to 2 days before the clear liquid forms on top.
1. Use starter at room temperature. To hasten, set container in warm water.
2. Use and/or feed starter. To feed, replenish each 1 cup starter used with 1 cup warm (90° to 100°) nonfat or low-fat milk and 1 cup all-purpose flour. Stir to mix well.
3. Cover starter airtight and let stand in a warm (80° to 90°) place until bubbly and sour-smelling, and clear liquid has formed on top, 12 to 24 hours.
4. Stir before using. Store airtight in the refrigerator.
Sunset
MARCH 1998
Thank you so much for sharing this!
I just finished the Homeland DVDs too. Waiting for season 2… Some of my favorities: Game of Thrones (I was surprised I got hooked), The Good Wife (I resisted, but also got hooked). Agree with the other suggestions for Six Feet Under, Dexter and Breaking Bad. Believe or not, I also liked Oz, but that’s pretty much the anti – girly taken to the extreme. Keep us posted.
Although I can’t vouch personally, I have many friends who live for Sons of Anarchy. I’m trying to get my hubby on board. We also like Dexter.
Check out Nicole’s blog – Pinch My Salt – she does a good job of explaining how, when, etc. with a day by day direction with pictures (love those pix). If you have not watched 6 feet under – it was a really good show (quirky but good).
Ooh, thank you Suzanne, I will check out Pinch My Salt. Pictures and a day by day tutorial sound like exactly what I need!
I spent
Loved this post-related to everything you wrote today!
Love the kitchen, I’d move in there too!
I was more a Boyz II Men/Color Me Badd fan (sigh-Bryan Abrams!)
My sourdough starter, Jabba, is 3 years old now, though I don’t bake with him much.
When I was hard core juicing, I would do an orange/apple/carrot combo. Couldn’t get hubby to do green juices.
Hubby & I loved Chuck, try it! Geeky spies!
“24” is an awesome show, but there are a couple of slow seasons in there, but Jack Bauer is on my short list of people I want around during the zombie apocalypse! :) This is going to sound terrible, but I loved the show “Prison Break” but I am a sucker for action-oriented shows with hot men! Just don’t try to watch it all at once, your head may explode.
I just got a sourdough starter from a friend, so it will be fun to learn alongside you! If you can find someone with a starter, I’d guess that’s the more reliable option (along with buying one). I tried starting one from scratch 3 times and failed all times. Maybe because it’s winter? But right now I’m just adding to one to build it up in volume so I don’t decimate it when I need it for a recipe :)
I am sad that Homeland has finished too. If you haven’t seen Lost, that is a good way to waste many hours.
I am HIGHLY RECOMMENDING the show “24” as a series you and your CCC would both love. Fast paced yet easy to follow, twists and turns, intrigue, and a gorgeous star (Kiefer Sutherland), what more do you want in a show? My son and I started watching it a few summers back and loved it. We were in serious mourning for weeks when it went off the air. Let me know how you like it!
I know a lot of people may think it’s gory but, it really does have a great story line, The Walking Dead. I’m also a fan of Once Upon A Time. Lost.. Its an oldy but goody if you have never watched it. The Twilight Zone or The X- Files are always great fillers in between seasons.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/03/07/148120591/into-the-wild-science-of-sourdough-bread-making
Not sure if you want to get into the whole ‘make your own starter’ from somewhere before ‘scratch’ but this article is kind of intriguing…
I look forward to seeing whatever results you come up with, have fun
I’ve been doing sourdough for about a year and I love it. I started out with Baking with Sourdough by Sara Pitzer. It’s a very small cookbook, more like a large pamphlet. The kindle version was on sale for 99 cents so I decided I couldn’t go wrong. It has lots of tips and and pointers and quite a few recipes. It even teaches you how to “catch” wild yeast in addition to making a dried yeast starter. I think it’s great for someone who’s just learning how to work with sourdough.
Breaking bad or lost!! You won’t be disappointed!!
My fiance I an just finished watching Sherlock on Netflix! It was fantastic and definitely appealed to us both. The only bummer is that the third season has just started filming.
What a week!
You should give Game of Thrones a try! I was hesitant at first because the whole fantasy genre doesn’t really appeal to me, but I got really into all of the political intrigue. My boyfriend and I loved it, and you can get all caught up before the third season comes out in March!
Hi Tiffany, Thanks for the recommendation, we are actually big fans of Game of Thrones as well. We’re waiting for that one to come back, too!
Downton Abbey is AMAZING!!!! Not “girly” at all – my husband LOVES it!
I have seen NKOTB in concert two times now, and I had an awesome time. The first time was just them, the second time was the NKOTBSB tour (new kids and backstreet boys.) Also a fun time. My husband actually went to the first one with me – it was a funny wedding anniversary present actually – and I think he was not at all prepared for the hysteria of a boy band concert, even if most of the crowd was in their 30’s! He looked a little overwhelmed at all of the screaming, that never abated. He did grudgingly admit that they were pretty good!
The season of “Justified” just started back up on FX a couple of weeks ago. It’s cop and bad guy stuff, but it’s comical, too. Timothy Olyphant isn’t hard to look at either! I also watched the first episode of the new series “Following” with Kevin Bacon on Fox, which I thought was gripping, although creepy. I think Fox may have a hit on their hands. I like cop shows!
Lance Armstrong is a huge disappointment to the sports world, just like Barry Bonds and so many others that continuously lie about using steroids. People make mistakes every day, the most important thing is just to own up to it when you’re caught red handed.
Have a great weekend!
Ditto on Justified! We love that one too.
24 is great, but gets old after a couple of seasons. I watch an embarrassing amount of TV and my two favorite shows are:
Sons of Anarchy (it is a little more male-driven, but I think it’s one of the best shows on TV…husband and I love it! And there’s great eye candy for the ladies)
Breaking Bad (so intense but so so so good!)
Have a great weekend in the snow! It’s freezing in NYC and I’m ready to go into labor any day now, so we’ll be drinking hot cocoa and watching Sons of Anarchy season 5 this evening :)
Breaking Bad and King Arthur sourdough all the way~ Looks like it gearing up to be a snow day here in OHIO!
Sometimes I swear we’re sisters from another mother ;) So many things in common in background, etc. Some of your recipes and references to your grandmother fill me with memories of my own mom and was italian.
Yes to Downton Abbey but we just got hooked on the new Kevin Bacon series “The Following” that jsut started the other night. They have the premiere encore on tonight on Fox at 9:00.
Falling Skies on TNT one of the best series the hubby and I’ve watched! You have plenty of time to watch first two seasons before new one. Its a summer series. Anyone we’ve told to watch it comes back and thanks us because its so good.
I have been following your blog for a few months now and have really been enjoying it. I’m pretty well seasoned in the kitchen and ‘Love, Love, Love’ real recipes from real people. Thanks for taking the guesswork out of it! I also consider my husband and self to be very seasoned in the television and movie department. Lol, I know it’s terrible! We just started with season 1 of Homeland and are loving it! If you want to keep with that same tone, then 24 is definitely the way to go. My hubby and I both started it separately and it was so intense and captivating that we mindlessly lost sleep and kept late/early hours telling ourselves “ok, just one more episode and I’ll go to bed.” It was like going into withdrawal when we got all caught up and only got one episode per week! You’re lucky, if you do watch it, that you can watch fluidly without interruption. If you want something light, Psych is really cute and funny. The new season hasn’t started yet, so if you get on it you can get caught up and TiVo the new season while doing so! In any case, good luck with the search! Can’t wait to hear what it is.
Hi. When I saw you asked about juicing I had to comment. I got a nutribullet for Christmas and I love it. Its different than juicing – no waste. It breaks all the fruits and veggies down so you can better absorb them. I felt like I was seriously lacking in my fruit and veggie intake too so figured I would try it out. I try to have a smoothie/drink/blast whatever you want to call it everyday. Clean up is super easy. Just rinse the blade and cup. I can’t handle the taste if I put too many veggies in so for now I’m mixing fruits (mostly fruit) with spinach or greens, experimenting as I go. There’s also a milling blade but I haven’t used that yet. If nothing else I’m still using it and I’m getting a lot more fruits than I was before! As for shows – my husband and I are huge Sons of Anarchy fans (on FX). One warning: it’s pretty graphic / violent.
Love your website. I have made quite a few things I have found recipes for on your site and they have been wonderful! In fact, I always your website as a first go-to for recipes for everything! For a TV show to watch, try Suits on USA and White Collar is very good as well.
Michelle~ Seriously the most adorable Picture of Einstein.!
Hi Dawn, It’s not Einstein, but I think it’s his twin!