Well Hello There!

Oh hey! I have a blog! Discipline has never been my strong suit, but you know, I am a work in progress.

I am safely ensconced on my couch, sipping a glass of red wine and nibbling on Rainier cherries. Mmmmmm! I went to Pata Negra after work and got some tomate frito (put it on white rice), chorizo, and a super tangy goat cheese rolled in paprika. I've been trying not to gorge on it too much as it was supposed to be our cocktail hour appetizers, but el Capitan just called and won't be home until 7. Guess who gets all the cheese and chorizo to herself? These are the sacrifices and rewards of the fireman-family lifestyle.

I left work before 3pm today due to an exceptionally frustrating situation that remains out of my control. Rather than sit at my desk stewing in my own angry juices, I decided to just leave. I don't mean to be mysterious, but I'd rather not memorialize my rage on the internet. Needless to say, said situation will pass.

Tomorrow I have a meeting in Balboa Park, specifically at the delicious-smelling Mingei Museum. I don't know what it smells like, but it just smells good. Textiles and foreign wood carvings and fresh paint. We're partnering with them for an event in two weeks, so every few weeks for the past few months I've been popping up to the museum to meet with their Marketing Coordinator.



The last time I was up there I walked through my favorite spot in all of San Diego, the Alcazar Gardens. It was such a beautiful day (the miserable May Gray hadn't descended yet) and the flowers were just bonkers. I had to stop and attempt to take artistic pictures of the crazy tall purple flowers. Stalk? Snapdragons? I wish I was better at my flower identification.



Anyway, it was such a pleasant interlude during my work day, I had to stop and appreciate that my job frequently requires that I walk through Balboa Park. Not a bad gig.



Thank God I have another meeting there tomorrow, I need the reminder!

Tortilla Espanola

So I had big plans this weekend to dig into 1080 Recipes, which is THE bible of authentic Spanish cooking. It didn't happen. But, we still ate an authentic Spanish dinner, so that has to count for something, right?



Mmmm...classic tortilla espanola. Here's what you do. Take a tater. Peel that tater on up. Then, you have to cut the tater into small pieces, but not in nice even dices, but like little discs that are sort of thin like. But not too thin. I hold onto the potato and take a paring knife and just slice little pieces off one at a time. It's sort of a pain, but really, you become one with the potato. No you don't, it's mostly a pain. Then, fry those ta-toes up in a TON of olive oil. You can save the oil and use it again the next time you fry up patatas.

Don't burn the potatoes, just fry them so they are happily bubbling in that oil until they are soft. This is why you don't want them TOO thin or they'll turn into potato chips. Once they are all soft and mushy and scrumptiously oily, drain your potatoes.

Scramble 4 or 5 eggs. Make sure you salt the eggs. Don't be stingy with the salt. Then, pour the eggs over your potatoes which you've got sitting in a large dish or bowl, and mush the concoction together. Then, pour the whole shebang BACK into a smallish pan which you have either sprayed with Pam, or coated with a bit more olive oil. Keep the heat relatively low, because the tortilla is thick, and the outside of the eggs will cook much quicker and you don't want to burn them.

Gently pull the sides of the egg away from the pan with a butter knife and let the raw runny stuff in the middle drain down to the sides to cook, forming a new outer edge.

Now comes the hard part. Get a nice big plate and put it over the top of the pan. You are going to flip the tortilla. Don't be afraid, the tortilla can sense your fear. Confidently and strongly hold the plate against the pan, and in one swell foop flip that mother over. Then, sliiiide the whole messy concoction back into the pan. Poke the tortilla with a fork. No, I don't know why, just do it.

Eventually, it will be done. Take it out of the pan, and let it cool to room temp, or you can eat it cold after you refrigerate it for awhile. Or, you can eat it hot out of the pan, but I don't think it tastes as good hot.

Buena suerte!

(P.S. I think it's clear I would be a terrible cookbook writer)

Happy Birthday Bob!

So one of my favorite people in the world is my friend Bob Harvey. Bob has been a long time volunteer at the radio station, and last Saturday he celebrated his 90th birthday. His fantastic daughter Ann was nice enough to invite Shane and me to come to the big celebration that was thrown in his honor.

Bob doesn't really "volunteer" anymore, but he comes to plenty of concerts and happy hours to hang out with the staff and other volunteers. He is quite beloved at the radio station, so we were very happy to celebrate with him.

The thing that's so great and inspiring about Bob, is that he's not OLD. I mean, yes, he's 90 and you have to speak a bit louder than normal and he doesn't drive anymore, but he's the coolest 90-year-old you'll ever meet. He STILL has a personal trainer that he works out with, specifically so he can keep on skiing. Yes, he still skis. He has an easy chuckle, and a great sense of humor. He is so very UN-stodgy, he has the most positive and easy-going attitude, plus, he calls me "doll".

And he would TOTALLY win the David Letterman "What's the Deal with Old Guys and Big Glasses?" contest. But then again...I might be starting my way down that path too...

"Maturity..."

That's what my high school English teacher Ms. Gabay would say to us teens anytime something inappropriate came up in a book or movie, and we'd all start to giggle.

Sadly, I have never embraced maturity. I just worked a 14 hour day, and should have been in bed 45 minutes ago, but no, I'm wasting time on the internet. And thank God! Because if I HADN'T been, we never would have heard about this:

http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2009/03/25/internacional/1238011768.html

I know it's in Spanish, but really, there's no need to worry about the details of the article, just the translated headline: "Giant Penis On Roof of House" and the accompanying picture made me burst into super immature giggles. And then blog about it.

Some young whippersnapper in England did this to his poor parents, and now they're on Google Earth. Well played, young man. Well played.

Slainte!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Here's something completely unrelated to St. Patty's Day, and it's a little late to post it, but I just rewatched it and laughed just as hard as the first 8 times. My love affair with Will Forte grows. Start about 1 minute in...

http://www.hulu.com/watch/52186/saturday-night-live-update-bcs-song

Happy Song

This is just cute and fun.

Good Morning and Happy Valentine's Day!

Hello doves! I know it's a mostly Hallmarkian holiday, but what's wrong with a calendar-based nudge to focus on love? Who says it has to be romantic love only? Maybe I can be all tra-la-la about it because I have found my Sweet Baboo (currently snoring even though he's been asleep for over 10 hours. Seriously, what the French, toast? Why aren't you awake already?) I neglected to get my act together this year so I have no cookies or truffles or cards to share, but I still love you. If you're reading this, you're one of the 8 who do, and I can guarantee you that I love you very much. So! Since I didn't make you a box of cookies this year, here is a pie:


Mmmm.... This is Martha Stewart's recipe for Chocolate Cream Pie, and it is a great recipe. It doesn't take a ton of ingredients, which was particularly handy last weekend when it was raining and I didn't want to run out to the store AGAIN. I really am a fan of custards and puddings, they are quick and easy and really just involve a lot of whisking and paying attention to not burning stuff. Cream pies rule.

Martha calls for a Chocolate Pate Sucree crust, but I have made this pie twice now, once with just a regular Pillsbury readymade crust, and this time, with a nice, thick, graham cracker crust. It also calls for a caramel whipped cream topping, which is sort of advanced, but not completely difficult to do, and it makes for a yummy topping. I skipped it this time around, but highly recommend giving it a try. As you can see from the above picture, we munched it all down before remembering to snap a pic of the finished product. Yum.