Month: October 2003

  • Recipe Time! I made a couple loaves of Zucchini Bread last week for my co-workers and it turned out really well. Some of them wanted the recipe, so here it is.(Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book)

    Ingredients:
    1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
    1 tsp ground cinnamon
    1/2 tsp baking soda
    1/4 tsp baking powder
    1/4 tsp salt
    1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
    1 cup sugar
    1 cup finely shredded, unpeeled zucchini
    1/4 cup cooking oil
    1 egg
    1/4 tsp finely shredded lemon peel

    1. First mix all the dry ingredients together in a bowl: flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg.

    2. In other bowl combine the wet ingredients: sugar, shredded zucchini, cooking oil, egg, and lemon peel. (For the zucchini, I just trim off the ends and then attack them with a grater.) Mix well, then add in the dry ingredients. Stir it til it’s all moistened as best you can. It’ll be super lumpy. The wetness will really depend on how watery your particular zucchini were.

    3. Grease the bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides of your loaf pan. (Not all the way up the sides, because otherwise when you take the bread out it’ll fall. This way it sticks a little bit and doesn’t collapse.) Spoon in your batter and then chuck it in a 350°F oven for 55 to 60 minutes. Check for doneness by inserting a toothpick close to the center. When it comes out clean, the bread is done!

    I cool the bread in the pan on a rack until it’s touchable; then I slide a knife around the edges and pop the loaf out. Then I let that cool for a little while longer on the rack. It’s best if you can actually wrap it in foil and let it sit overnight (it’s easier to cut that way), but I think it tastes best warm from the oven smothered in butter, so it’s up to you.

  • CouchCam is back! Also, my Running Log has been taken down indefinitely. I’m still running but I’m focussing more on my lifting workout. I just didn’t want y’all thinking I was a big slacker. 🙂

  • ND wins, and more importantly, we actually managed to score some touchdowns! Whew.

  • Mac versus PC. The Sydney Morning Herald decides to settle the issue once and for all… and guess what? The Mac wins. Boo-yah!

  • Thanks to Amy’s tipoff, I’ve discovered that the USA is indeed playing France in the Rugby World Cup on Halloween. How’s that for a grudge match? I’ve been trying to get tickets but apparently the “allocation is sold”. Bastard. I was really looking forward to painting my face, eating some freedom fries, and sticking it to those cheese eating surrender monkies. I guess we’ll just have to watch from a pub…

  • Friday Five:

    1. Do you watch sports? If so, which ones?
    Currently I watch rugby union and cricket (plus the occasional big event, like the AFL Grand Final or the SuperBowl).

    2. What/who are your favorite sports teams and/or favorite athletes?
    I’m a Domer, so of course I bleed blue and gold. The closest MLB team to my hometown is the Cubs, so GO CUBBIES! Other than them, I pick my teams based on players that I like. I cheer for the Mets because I like Mike Piazza. I cheered for the 49ers because I like Steve Young. I cheered for the Pacers because I liked Larry Bird and Rik Smits. And I really like Steve Waugh, the Australian cricket Test captain.

    3. Are there any sports you hate?
    Anything involving a motor (i.e. NASCAR, Formula 1, or moto-racing), which unfortunately seems to be all that’s on telly here on Sunday afternoons.

    4. Have you ever been to a sports event?
    Of course, silly. I’ve been to baseball games (Wrigley and Shea are definite highlights), cricket matches, rugby matches, and of course many college football games. Not to mention all the Little League games of my brother’s I sat through…

    5. Do/did you play any sports (in school or other)? How long did you play?
    I played tennis all through high school and was the #1 varsity player my senior year. I still sucked. In college I played football for my dorm for three years and occasionally filled in for volleyball and softball.

  • Shh. I might have a new job. I had an interview recently and it went really well. Company is cutting-edge yet fun, and I’d earn more than I do now. Plus I’d get to work on one of the world’s most popular applications. I don’t want to jinx it just yet… but maybe I can give you a hint.

  • Matthew Hayden broke the all time test scoring record today with 380 against Zimbabwe. Man, I wish more of you watched cricket so you knew the significance of this. It’s the equivalent of breaking the season home run record in baseball (before that became a commonplace event). Good on ya, Hayden.

  • Harry Potter Casting News: Emma Thompson will play Sybil Trelawney, Harry’s dreaded Divinations teacher, in Prisoner of Azkaban. Cool. I kinda pictured Sybil as older, but I’m sure Emma will be able to pull it off. (Luckily Gilderoy’s not around in this one, huh?) Although, what’s this about the movie not coming out til next June? I thought we could expect it this year, same as the last two. Damn.

  • AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE! OI! OI! OI! The Rugby World Cup starts today and I’m pretty fired up. Sure, the Poms and the Kiwis are favored, but I think Georgie and the boys can pull it off. And hey! Even we Yanks have a team. GO EAGLES!