Found it! Or: Food photography is not my strong suit...

I'm a little grossed out by this picture. I realize my mind is in the gutter, but I would imagine that a food stylist's biggest challenge is making sausages look less weiner-y. Also, making sure the mashed potato/ice cream doesn't melt.

Soup, There It Is

Brrr! Man, it's cold, as evidenced by the news, and by the gigantic icicle Lyla tore off of her house with her bare hands. I absolutely can't complain about the cold in San Diego when I see below freezing temperatures where my friends are. Who am I kidding, of course I can.

Since the mercury has been dipping into the 50's lately, that means it's soup weather in San Diego. Lately I have been really into the radio program The Splendid Table. I love listening to the podcasts which are hosted by the delightfully unsnobby yet super knowledgable Lynne Rossetto Kasper. She sounds like she's been smoking for far too long, but she speaks with a smile, and I like that. I also receive her weekly e-newsletter, Weeknight Kitchen. It usually only has one, maybe two recipes, but they are always simple and delicious and relatively doable on a weeknight.

May I recommend the Winter Squash Soup and Stout Batter Bread? The bread is suuuuper easy, and is the PERFECT way to use up the cans of Guinness I scored from a Ring party like 3 years ago, thinking Shane and I would work through them nice and easy. I kept waiting and waiting for Shane to drink them...then I finally threatened to throw them out...BLASPHEMY!! How dare I think to throw out good beer?!? And then this recipe landed in my Inbox. Victory! Dense, beer-y, moist, and yummy.

The soup is nice and yummy and easy as well. Actually, the hardest part is peeling and chopping the butternut squash, but thanks to thekitchn.com, there is an easier way than just going at it with a vegetable peeler. Don't leave out the heavy cream at the end, I know it's optional, but it's only a half cup, and it makes it so thick and creamy. Scrumdiddly.

Oh, you want the recipes? Well, for some reason I can't find them on the Splendid Table website (guess the lovefest is over...sigh...), but if you shoot me an e-mail or make a comment, I'll forward you the newsletter issue it came in.

The best part? WHERE THE HECK ARE THE PICTURES I TOOK??? I have no idea. I have been stumbling over these pictures for months now, waiting to write about this soup, and now I can't find them. Good gravy. So, I guess I'll just leave you with an oldie but a goodie:

Let's Reminisce

Is that how you spell reminisce? I am still in Colorado (we finally escaped the icy clutches of Grand Junction), enjoying soup, babies, hot buttered bourbon (oh yes), and all around good times. Last night we were watching an old SNL episode (the one with Josh Brolin), and the fantastic Will Forte was on Weekend Update doing his bizarre and awesomely hilarious Tim Calhoun personality. This brought back memories of one of the funniest things ever, which Kelly, Ross, and I promptly found online (or rather, a version of it), and laughed hysterically at. Also, note to NBC: STOP TAKING YOUR SNL CLIPS OFF YOUTUBE. You're only hurting yourselves, because your own website stinks. Thank you. Now, enjoy:

Guess Who's Stuck in Grand Junction?

That's right, The Wendels. Sigh. It's almost 7am in Colorado, and the pass over the mountains through Vail is closed. So, we sit in our hotel, hoping it opens soon. We're so very close to our final destination...but no cigar. Melt, snow, melt! Plow, plows, plow! Also, stop snowing, sky. Thanks.

Sweetness

Oh hi there. It's been a very hectic few months, all filled with fun things. An engagement, two weddings, a protest, and 60 miles of walking, and it's been a busy fall. I'm going to write a longer post (I swear) about the 3-Day, but I'm sitting here eating ice cold chunks of 70% Scharffen Berger chocolate, so I thought I would discuss some of the sweet treats I whipped up this holiday season.

There was a Cake Walk at City College (for what, I'm not sure), so I thought I would make some cupcakes and try and participate in my campus community. I'll spare you the longer tale of how my gorgeous cakes were greeted with indifference (an outrage! i even wrote an indignant e-mail!), but I'll happily share a blurry picture of my marzipan leaves:


I visited the monkeys in Colorado for Thanksgiving, and managed to leave my camera there. Alas, I was unable to document this year's co-worker treats. Thanks to my idol/mortal enemy Martha Stewart, I had a delightful time learning how to use a candy thermometer when I made Fleur de Sel Toffee. And Deb at SmittenKitchen.com has a fun recipe for Orangettes that I modified just a skoosh. I only dipped half of each peel in chocolate, and I also rolled a batch in superfine sugar. Yummy stuff.

And now, some random observations. Unless you are a professional soccer player, a homosexual, or a 15-year-old boy, you should please stop doing your hair like this:



Secondly, I'm watching some sort of Celebrity Skifest on CBS right now, and they just BEEPED out Larry David saying the word "testicles." This is what we've come to, Focus on the Family?? IT'S A BODY PART!!! Thank you.

Thirdly, this guy needs to be stopped:



You may know him from the cable company commercials, his featured role as Agent Cho on The Mentalist, or his two-episode arc as Chaplain Alan Lantz on The Unit. Or maybe you were minding your own business, pumping gas at the Shell station at the entrance to the 163, and this clown "knocks" on the glass of the TV that is perched above the pump. Thanks, NBC "Fuelcast" for forcing this guy into my life even more than he already is.

Toodles!

I Love...Kaiser?

No, I haven't hit my head. And I still yearn for the day I can throw my Kaiser card in the trash and go back to being a Sharp baby. However, I must say, the commercial I saw for Kaiser last night is brilliant, inspiring, and just plaing awesome. I thought "I want to be THAT kind of old lady! How fun!" Then I said to Shane, "See!! People with TiVO miss these awesome commercials!!" So, for my DVR-loving friends (of which I'm sure I will be one soon), I post my new favorite commercial:

This Was Much More Fun

This was my 4th Presidential election, and oh boy was it the most fun. My first one in 1996 was super anti-climactic. I was voting absentee while at UCLA, and I truly couldn't decide who to vote for: Clinton or Dole. I decided to skip it and work through the rest of my ballot, thinking I would go back at the end. Well, I forgot, so I never did vote for President that year. I still feel like a total dope.

2000 was very different. I had been working for Congressman Gephardt in DC for less than 2 months, but had decided long before then that there was no way I was voting for Dubya. I was excited when my co-workers invited me to tag along to The Mayflower Hotel for the big DNC viewing party in one of the ballrooms. When they called Florida for Gore--HOORAY! But then they took it away--BOOOOO! Well, it was a long night, as we all now know. The ultimate outcome then, and in 2004, was...well...beyond frustrating. But let's move forward, hmmmm?

I had grand plans last night of an Election Party, complete with patriotic foods and Uncle Sam hats for everyone! But then I realized I was far too busy and tired to get my act together. So I headed up to the bastion of progressive politics known as Menifee. To my utter delight, my fiance (who I was previously grumpy at for NOT being into my brilliant Uncle Sam hat idea...costume scrooge that he is) had put together a collection of patriotic meats and cheeses: red salami, white goat cheese, and stinky blue cheese.

We baked up an apple pie, fried up some chicken tenders and watched history being made. All this after going to the polls in the morning and having a jolt run through me when I opened up my ballot. I've never had a voting experience like it, what a thrill. In the words of The Tipsy Historian: BEST VOTING EXPERIENCE EVER!