A mile a minute
Apr. 2nd, 2009 08:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sarea
Thank y'all for indulging my immodesty re: the bread yesterday, lol. I was obviously way too excited. I was even MORE excited last night when, after 4 failed trials, I finally made real, perfect macarons. They're a French cookie (not to be confused with macaroons) that are made up of simple ingredients, but are incredibly difficult to perfect, because it's all about technique, getting the consistency of the batter right, etc. I don't think my technique's perfect yet, even though it worked this last time (quite by accident), but I think I know enough now that I can reasonably expect to be able to make them again without all the failing. Hopefully.
After talking with my cousin I've rethought my investing strategy yet again. She's done a lot of research on money management, and has a head for this kind of stuff like I never have. She counseled that if I was interested in investing in real estate, that I ought to consider investing in REITs as part of my Roth instead, and use any extra funds I have lying around to invest in mutual funds, as stocks are at bargain prices right now due to the economy. But history has shown that the stock market, which runs the world economy, goes through cycles and of course will rise again, and I'm young enough that I can ride out the tough times (even the Great Depression "only" lasted 10 years). She, and my dad, have pointed out that at the very least, I could pay down my current mortgage, as well as look into refinancing. Anyway, lots to think about. I wish I had a head for this kind of stuff.
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jade_okelani and I have finished the Mortal Instruments trilogy. I really enjoyed the universe Cassie created, and it was a fun, if slightly predictable (but in a good way), ride. Jade and I are even going to collaborate this weekend, which we haven't done in, well, YEARS, to revive our HPverse WIP, If You Only Knew.
I forgot to write about the latest Dollhouse, so here's some brief commentary:
- I'm assuming that this is how they roped Echo into joining the Dollhouse. She got caught being an over-zealous animal rights advocate (I believe in animal rights, but people who do what she did just annoy me for some reason), her bf got killed, and in order to save herself she had to give herself over to them, just as that guy did at the end.
- It's the only conclusion that makes sense, given that they flashed back to that scene during the ep, and drew the parallel w/ that other guy.
- What's stupid, however, is that Echo and the other dolls have no guarantees. Sure they can sign something, but even if the Dollhouse goes against the contract, so what? How would they know? They've had their minds/personalities wiped, so who's to say they're not gone forever? Why would Dollhouse, given their lack of morality, let a little thing like contracts free their dolls, especially when there's no one there to keep them at their word?
- Oh Eliza, I wish you were a better actress.
My cousin and her husband found their copperware and have given them to me. There's a pot, 2 frying pans, and a very small saucepan (I've always wanted a tiny one like this, to heat up oil and such). They are RIDICULOUSLY heavy, like my Le Creuset pots. And I looked for copper pots for the first time online and ... wowzer. Okay then. I think each piece probably cost around $200 (with the exception of the tiny saucepan at maybe half). It makes me glad that I paid for our dinner at Spring Hill.
Speaking of which ... we went on Tuesday, the last day of the Dine Around Seattle promotion. It's a restaurant in West Seattle that K. had been to before, so we didn't do our usual thing of ordering all different things and instead just ordered the stuff she knew was good. And I took my camera, like I wish I had for Crush! (Speaking of which, my lavender soap arrived. Smells so good.) I also posted this to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
food_porn, but they've been kind of slow with getting posts up recently. Sorry for the dupe for those who watch that community, but it's all behind a cut anyway.
Sorry some of the photos are blurry -- it was dark and I didn't use a flash (cuz it's rude to the other diners and because it washes out the colors), but I did what I could with Photoshop to brighten up the images.
Here's the menu. The Dine Around Seattle menu is on top of their regular one.
For her starter my cousin ordered the butter lettuce with radish, parmesan, and citronelle dressing. I don't know what it was, but it was lemony yet opaque, and utterly delicious.
I started with the pork rillette, which came with crostini and thinly sliced apple.
The put-together product:
I had always heard that the clam chowder at Spring Hill was amazing, so we ordered one separately from the DAS menu to try. First they bring the soup bowl with all the ingredients: whole clams, potatoes, pepper crackers, parsley puree, etc.
Then the server brings the creamy chowder and pours it over everything.
Here we've stirred in the parsley puree and have taken a few bites.
The restaurant has an open kitchen, so most of the tables have a very good view of it. We sat almost right next to where the food was being plated, and I got a shot:
We both ordered the wood-grilled hangar steak, which is prepared medium rare. It was unbelievably good, even better than the steak I had at Crush, which is saying something. You know that one scene in The Matrix when Cypher dines with one of the Agents and he forks up a tender piece of medium-rare beef? I finally got to have my own. Mmmmm.
It's served with Yukon Gold mashed potatoes and creamed greens. The menu said creamed savoy spinach, but the server told us it was creamed arugula, so there's a bit of a discrepancy.
This is the sort of restaurant that is very particular and proud of the food they serve (with a renowned chef), so they allow no substitutions, which is stated on the menu. That includes how meat is prepared. You don't get to say what you want or don't want on something, and you don't get to say if you want your meat cooked a certain way. They serve the steak medium rare because that is how the food is best/intended to be eaten, so if you prefer well-done meat you either need to go somewhere else or not order it. This is definitely not a restaurant for picky eaters. Some might find this sort of fussiness overbearing; I'm actually a fan. I enjoy that the chef/restaurant takes pride in the food they serve and view it kind of like a work of art -- they know their business.
Normally my cousin is like me, if not more so, about food quality/good chefs, but she's pregnant so she didn't want to eat overly rare meat. She had to practically beg the server to tell the kitchen that she's pregnant, so that they would cook her meat "on the medium side of medium rare." Here's what they brought -- for those who like well-done meat it probably looks the same as mine, but you can totally tell that they did cook it for longer, as it is much more pink than red.
And finally, for dessert we both got the chocolate fudge cake with salted peanut ice cream. I don't usually like peanut-flavored things (I like peanuts and peanut butter, on their own, but not like, cookies and candy and stuff), but this ice cream was awesome. It had hints of honey in it, with salted chopped peanuts, and combined with the cake (which was flourless, so it was basically like soft dark chocolate), it was a really fantastic dessert.
I can't wait for November when DAS happens again so I can go back!
After talking with my cousin I've rethought my investing strategy yet again. She's done a lot of research on money management, and has a head for this kind of stuff like I never have. She counseled that if I was interested in investing in real estate, that I ought to consider investing in REITs as part of my Roth instead, and use any extra funds I have lying around to invest in mutual funds, as stocks are at bargain prices right now due to the economy. But history has shown that the stock market, which runs the world economy, goes through cycles and of course will rise again, and I'm young enough that I can ride out the tough times (even the Great Depression "only" lasted 10 years). She, and my dad, have pointed out that at the very least, I could pay down my current mortgage, as well as look into refinancing. Anyway, lots to think about. I wish I had a head for this kind of stuff.
jade_okelani and I have finished the Mortal Instruments trilogy. I really enjoyed the universe Cassie created, and it was a fun, if slightly predictable (but in a good way), ride. Jade and I are even going to collaborate this weekend, which we haven't done in, well, YEARS, to revive our HPverse WIP, If You Only Knew.I forgot to write about the latest Dollhouse, so here's some brief commentary:
- I'm assuming that this is how they roped Echo into joining the Dollhouse. She got caught being an over-zealous animal rights advocate (I believe in animal rights, but people who do what she did just annoy me for some reason), her bf got killed, and in order to save herself she had to give herself over to them, just as that guy did at the end.
- It's the only conclusion that makes sense, given that they flashed back to that scene during the ep, and drew the parallel w/ that other guy.
- What's stupid, however, is that Echo and the other dolls have no guarantees. Sure they can sign something, but even if the Dollhouse goes against the contract, so what? How would they know? They've had their minds/personalities wiped, so who's to say they're not gone forever? Why would Dollhouse, given their lack of morality, let a little thing like contracts free their dolls, especially when there's no one there to keep them at their word?
- Oh Eliza, I wish you were a better actress.
My cousin and her husband found their copperware and have given them to me. There's a pot, 2 frying pans, and a very small saucepan (I've always wanted a tiny one like this, to heat up oil and such). They are RIDICULOUSLY heavy, like my Le Creuset pots. And I looked for copper pots for the first time online and ... wowzer. Okay then. I think each piece probably cost around $200 (with the exception of the tiny saucepan at maybe half). It makes me glad that I paid for our dinner at Spring Hill.
Speaking of which ... we went on Tuesday, the last day of the Dine Around Seattle promotion. It's a restaurant in West Seattle that K. had been to before, so we didn't do our usual thing of ordering all different things and instead just ordered the stuff she knew was good. And I took my camera, like I wish I had for Crush! (Speaking of which, my lavender soap arrived. Smells so good.) I also posted this to
food_porn, but they've been kind of slow with getting posts up recently. Sorry for the dupe for those who watch that community, but it's all behind a cut anyway. Sorry some of the photos are blurry -- it was dark and I didn't use a flash (cuz it's rude to the other diners and because it washes out the colors), but I did what I could with Photoshop to brighten up the images.
Here's the menu. The Dine Around Seattle menu is on top of their regular one.
For her starter my cousin ordered the butter lettuce with radish, parmesan, and citronelle dressing. I don't know what it was, but it was lemony yet opaque, and utterly delicious.
I started with the pork rillette, which came with crostini and thinly sliced apple.
The put-together product:
I had always heard that the clam chowder at Spring Hill was amazing, so we ordered one separately from the DAS menu to try. First they bring the soup bowl with all the ingredients: whole clams, potatoes, pepper crackers, parsley puree, etc.
Then the server brings the creamy chowder and pours it over everything.
Here we've stirred in the parsley puree and have taken a few bites.
The restaurant has an open kitchen, so most of the tables have a very good view of it. We sat almost right next to where the food was being plated, and I got a shot:
We both ordered the wood-grilled hangar steak, which is prepared medium rare. It was unbelievably good, even better than the steak I had at Crush, which is saying something. You know that one scene in The Matrix when Cypher dines with one of the Agents and he forks up a tender piece of medium-rare beef? I finally got to have my own. Mmmmm.
It's served with Yukon Gold mashed potatoes and creamed greens. The menu said creamed savoy spinach, but the server told us it was creamed arugula, so there's a bit of a discrepancy.
This is the sort of restaurant that is very particular and proud of the food they serve (with a renowned chef), so they allow no substitutions, which is stated on the menu. That includes how meat is prepared. You don't get to say what you want or don't want on something, and you don't get to say if you want your meat cooked a certain way. They serve the steak medium rare because that is how the food is best/intended to be eaten, so if you prefer well-done meat you either need to go somewhere else or not order it. This is definitely not a restaurant for picky eaters. Some might find this sort of fussiness overbearing; I'm actually a fan. I enjoy that the chef/restaurant takes pride in the food they serve and view it kind of like a work of art -- they know their business.
Normally my cousin is like me, if not more so, about food quality/good chefs, but she's pregnant so she didn't want to eat overly rare meat. She had to practically beg the server to tell the kitchen that she's pregnant, so that they would cook her meat "on the medium side of medium rare." Here's what they brought -- for those who like well-done meat it probably looks the same as mine, but you can totally tell that they did cook it for longer, as it is much more pink than red.
And finally, for dessert we both got the chocolate fudge cake with salted peanut ice cream. I don't usually like peanut-flavored things (I like peanuts and peanut butter, on their own, but not like, cookies and candy and stuff), but this ice cream was awesome. It had hints of honey in it, with salted chopped peanuts, and combined with the cake (which was flourless, so it was basically like soft dark chocolate), it was a really fantastic dessert.
I can't wait for November when DAS happens again so I can go back!
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no subject
Date: 2009-04-03 06:36 am (UTC)And re: Dollhouse and Eliza Dushku's acting skill. I'll just say that she plays the blank doll part pretty well. LOL
no subject
Date: 2009-04-03 06:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-04-03 07:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-04-03 09:01 am (UTC)Lady, you don't even know how happy you just made me.
no subject
Date: 2009-04-04 02:28 pm (UTC)Hope all is well with you and Jade; I've thought about you both from time to time. I should have checked your LJ awhile ago.
Love,
Liss xxx
no subject
Date: 2009-04-05 06:36 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-04-05 06:36 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-04-05 06:39 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-04-05 10:04 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-04-10 06:56 am (UTC)It's nice to see you both again - I won't impose, but will drop in from time to time to see how you're doing! xx