Turkey Day

Thanksgiving is next month so I'm planning my dinner. I've been told I'm doing this considerably late, as most of my friends had there dinners planned as far back as August (or maybe she said April.) So far I have most of the meal planned with the exception of Dessert 2. One dessert will be Gingerbread flavored and the other will be pumpkin.
In December I will be braving the "homemade cakes" category. My dad hits a high note, birthday wise, and so I want to make him a cake I know he'll love. It'll have to be something peanut buttery or something with bananas. I saw a gorgeous cake at Smitten Kitchen that might be just what I'm looking for.

Smarter Choices

It started in my teens when my mom started buying this stuff. The bag always said pop for under 2 minutes but it usually took 3 minutes. Then my family would pour REAL butter on the butter flavored bits and sprinkle with salt.

Mmm microwaved popcorn. It's quick, easy and convenient. It's also full of nice, delicious, additives that decrease it's nutritional value and can potentially make you physically ill. After becoming more aware of how unhealthy it really is I put a permanent ban on the stuff.

In September I caught an episode of Good Eats that was on popcorn. Somehow when a attractive man talks about stuff I listen very well. This month I bought an air popper that resembled the one my grandparents used in the 80's.

What I've learned in the past 12 days:
The convenience of microwave popcorn isn't enough to sacrifice the healthy properties of air popped. In my opinion the convenience is nonexistent. For my microwave, popcorn usually takes almost 3 minutes to pop. My air popper takes about 5. Cutting just over 2 minutes isn't convenient.



Lets not forget the nutritional part*.

Servings (note, 1 serving of air popped is 4x as much as microwavable)
Air popped = ½ cup unpopped
Microwaved** = 2 tbsp unpopped

Calories*:
Air popped: 108
Microwaved**: 120-170 (sometimes as high as 210)

Sodium*:
Air popped: 3.5mg
Microwaved**: 310mg-380mg

I add unsalted butter and salt to our popcorn. Even with the additions, it's still healthier than microwavable.

*Air popped popcorn ... I could only find nutrition facts for 1 cup air popped. ½ cup unpopped is 1 serving according to the bag and it makes about 3 ½ cups.
**A popular microwavable popcorn brand

Learning

In the beginning when I started to learn to cook I would fail and give up. One example is my attempt to roast a chicken. It was overly dry and since then I've never made another. Over the years I've concluded one thing - this method produced zero improvement of my cooking skills.

My method has developed into: try, fail, figure out why, and try again. I'll keep going until I've figured it out. Same goes with trying new foods. If I try it and dislike it I try another method of preparation.

I attempted to make poached eggs and followed these instructions. My first attempt didn't go well because I didn't use enough water. My second attempt went better because I added enough water. Her suggestion to use vinegar was great and I used rice vinegar like she did.

Up next I'll be checking out the store link she provides in a recent post and hopefully get a bottle of Tahitian vanilla extra going.

Life and Death

I started reading the newspaper's website this year. I usually don't because news stories make me really really sad but 2008 hit and boom, I'm keeping track. One side of me thinks this is good to keep up with the news but the other side just wants me to block each site.

One tough thing has been deaths. People who I've known either recently or in the past have died and each time I've cried. I'm usually not one to break out the waterworks, I tend to hate crying.

Recently a guy I knew in middle school was in a construction accident and passed away. I don't know why this has hit me this hard but I'm in tears over it. I haven't seen him since then so maybe it's because I'm picturing the 7th grade him going through the accident?

I'm going to label this as ranting

Paint

My dad wants the house to be painted and I refuse to let him pick the colors. This means I have to pick them. Good yes, but this is quite a difficult task.

We have a fairly neutral colored rug and in the living room we'll be going with more neutral colors. Currently I am torn between coffee bean (a dark brown) and brown suede for one wall in the living room. I wish I had someone to ask.

For the kitchen I am going with sunny colors because the time I spend in there makes me a bit sunny. That's sort of cheesy but it's accurate. Some color names I'm considering are spring squash, lemon butter, pineapple cream, orange ice and peach frenzy.

For the bathroom I'm thinking of either tropical blues, beach tones or a caribbean inspired color set. One problem is I want certain areas to pop out like archways and others I want a smooth look. I've realized how much of a picky perfectionist I am.

I've divorced coffee.

Since my early teens I have loved coffee. I consumed more than my family combined on a regular basis. But in August I initiated a separation and this month I have divorced it. Not just coffee, I no longer rely on caffeine to get me going.

I'm not waking up tired for 1/2 the day, drinking coffee endlessly until eventually around 1 or 2 I'm bouncing off the walls. My family no longer fears the me before my morning cup. I am not the bitch from hell when I wake up and shoes aren't thrown at those who wake me.

Waking up int he morning takes about an hour, sometimes a little more. The hyperness my family once blamed on caffeine is actually my personality, though it's more a energetic me and less hyper crazy talkaholic.

So, to the bonehead who said I could never do this - AH HA! You were wrong!!! Who doubted I could do this? Me.

Iced Tea

My only experience with tea was watching my Nana or Mom drink tea. Nana loved Red Rose and my mom was a fan of Celestial Seasoning's Sleepy Time. Me on the other hand, closest thing I got to tea was Nestea, sweetened and straight from a can.

As an adult I'm experimenting more. Some of my favorites are Chai, Tazo's Passion Iced Tea and Zhena's Gypsy Mango Ginger White. Right now I'm experimenting with brands and hopefully, will get to sample some loose teas. I'm open to suggestions on brands, btw.

For now, I'm trying Pelandrone's current favorite. It's working in the iced tea maker and will be enjoyed before my son gets home. Which I should pick up something before he comes home and destroys my living room! Ah, kids eh?