Wednesday, January 10, 2007
This month’s obsessions: Japan, Bread, and Bookworm Adventures.
Back in California after x-mas. Had a good time up there and then came down and had a good time at a New Years Party with the nerds at Enigma. Some highlights from the party:
--Drinking a created beverage called the ‘Times Square’. It’s some alcohol, and then you put in club soda (because you want to go out to ‘the clubs’) and then you drop in a scoop of ice cream (watching the ball drop). Not bad.
--Kissing J(5) at midnight. Actually, kissing J(5) at precisely midnight because someone brought an atomic-synched clock, so we were dead-on, let me tell you.
--Trying out, for the first time, *real* balsamic vinegar. Which frustrates me, because these ‘kinda balsamic vinegar’ brands actually say, on the bottle, ‘balsamic vinegar from Modena’, and it’s *not*. What the heck am I supposed to be looking for? Maybe I just need to look for more aging. (Gold label).
So, obsessions, in order:
Last weekend, J(5) and I purchased our tickets to Japan. Hurrah! I’ve been talking for years (years, seriously) about going to Japan, and I’m finally taking the plunge. I was rather expecting that I would get on some sort of guided tour, because I, (1) don’t speak Japanese and, (2) wanted to see as much of the country as possible. As it turns out, it was going to be pretty extra expensive to do, and would not have been as long a vacation as I wanted. Instead, I’m going to plan it out myself, and let the adventurous spirit of the vacation carry us where it will. Especially as I don’t speak the language. That’ll be exciting. I got a phrasebook, though. And I’m studying. Yeehaw.
Bread is delicious. It is also easy to make and very versatile. And I’m really getting into it. And I’m being pretty durn serious about how I’m going about it, too. I’m trying basic recipes and then varying a single thing to see how it changes the bread. Doing different aging times, different flour types, different lengths of kneading, etc. It’s a lot of fun to do, not to mention that I’m saving lots of money on…uh…bread, I guess. And when you eat it fresh, it’s soooooooo good. Making my mouth water just thinking about it. And then later, when you want to make a sandwich and you whip out the own bread that you made with your own hands? That’s just a great moment. I got a book on different breads of the world, mostly because it had lots of pretty pictures and it was on crazy-sale at borders. (Those books are pretty fun).
So far my favorite type that I’ve made is actually pizza dough. Which is just regular bread + olive oil, sugar, and a lot of kneading. It’s really tasty. But I’m taking my basic bread seriously. Slow changes, careful examination, and proper learning of the basics. I want to be good at bread, not just know a lot of recipes. So yeah, I’m a little obsessed with bread.
Also, I picked up Bookworm Adventures, which is a really fun game to play, let me tell you. I’ve always been a pretty big fan of the ‘make words out of random letters’ game, and this one wraps it up in a RPG where you level up and fight crazy monsters. I’ll tell you what, this thing is fun.
Also, K is coming to visit. And that’s going to be some crazy fun.
Mkay, and…I’m done. Peace!
-N
Back in California after x-mas. Had a good time up there and then came down and had a good time at a New Years Party with the nerds at Enigma. Some highlights from the party:
--Drinking a created beverage called the ‘Times Square’. It’s some alcohol, and then you put in club soda (because you want to go out to ‘the clubs’) and then you drop in a scoop of ice cream (watching the ball drop). Not bad.
--Kissing J(5) at midnight. Actually, kissing J(5) at precisely midnight because someone brought an atomic-synched clock, so we were dead-on, let me tell you.
--Trying out, for the first time, *real* balsamic vinegar. Which frustrates me, because these ‘kinda balsamic vinegar’ brands actually say, on the bottle, ‘balsamic vinegar from Modena’, and it’s *not*. What the heck am I supposed to be looking for? Maybe I just need to look for more aging. (Gold label).
So, obsessions, in order:
Last weekend, J(5) and I purchased our tickets to Japan. Hurrah! I’ve been talking for years (years, seriously) about going to Japan, and I’m finally taking the plunge. I was rather expecting that I would get on some sort of guided tour, because I, (1) don’t speak Japanese and, (2) wanted to see as much of the country as possible. As it turns out, it was going to be pretty extra expensive to do, and would not have been as long a vacation as I wanted. Instead, I’m going to plan it out myself, and let the adventurous spirit of the vacation carry us where it will. Especially as I don’t speak the language. That’ll be exciting. I got a phrasebook, though. And I’m studying. Yeehaw.
Bread is delicious. It is also easy to make and very versatile. And I’m really getting into it. And I’m being pretty durn serious about how I’m going about it, too. I’m trying basic recipes and then varying a single thing to see how it changes the bread. Doing different aging times, different flour types, different lengths of kneading, etc. It’s a lot of fun to do, not to mention that I’m saving lots of money on…uh…bread, I guess. And when you eat it fresh, it’s soooooooo good. Making my mouth water just thinking about it. And then later, when you want to make a sandwich and you whip out the own bread that you made with your own hands? That’s just a great moment. I got a book on different breads of the world, mostly because it had lots of pretty pictures and it was on crazy-sale at borders. (Those books are pretty fun).
So far my favorite type that I’ve made is actually pizza dough. Which is just regular bread + olive oil, sugar, and a lot of kneading. It’s really tasty. But I’m taking my basic bread seriously. Slow changes, careful examination, and proper learning of the basics. I want to be good at bread, not just know a lot of recipes. So yeah, I’m a little obsessed with bread.
Also, I picked up Bookworm Adventures, which is a really fun game to play, let me tell you. I’ve always been a pretty big fan of the ‘make words out of random letters’ game, and this one wraps it up in a RPG where you level up and fight crazy monsters. I’ll tell you what, this thing is fun.
Also, K is coming to visit. And that’s going to be some crazy fun.
Mkay, and…I’m done. Peace!
-N
