Hahahaha… This is the funniest, BEST article I’ve seen so far about the MacBook Air. Suck it, haters.
Month: January 2008 (page 5 of 8)
Last night’s culinary experiment was Jamie Oliver’s Lemon Roast Chicken, as inspired by the gorgeous photo on this blog post. (I didn’t get a chance to take a photo of mine before we tore it apart!) I splurged on a free-range, organic chicken from the butcher. In the morning before work, I gave it a rinse, patted it dry, and rubbed it with salt and pepper. (This wasn’t easy. For some reason, whole raw chickens give me the heebie-jeebies. I’m fine with cut up chickens and with other joints of meat, but somehow picking up a whole chicken makes my skin crawl a little bit. I mean, once it’s cooked it’s a beautiful roast and I’m fine with that, but when it’s raw I’m just acutely aware that it’s a DEAD BIRD CARCASS, and I hate birds.) Anyway, I left it in the fridge all day to, I dunno, brine or something. When I got home, I fired up the oven and started cutting up potatoes. I boiled the potatoes, lemon, and garlic as directed, then shoved the (stabbed) lemon and garlic up the chicken’s bum. Forty-five minutes of roasting later, I put in the potatoes and rosemary and tossed them around. I also put a bit more olive oil on top at this point, as the skin on top was looking a little dry. (I would’ve used bacon as in the recipe, but SOMEBODY ate it all.) Another forty-five minutes in the oven and it was done. It ended up being delicious! The meat was moist and I could taste the lemon and thyme in the breast meat. I think when I do it again I might add a little duck fat with the potatoes to make them extra crispy (as this chicken wasn’t that fatty). But in terms of reward for effort, this is a pretty easy way to make a “proper” dinner that will impress just about anybody.
Attention, Hoosiers: Just in case you missed the comment, somebody named “Goldar” has tipped me off about an episode of Happy’s Place over on YouTube. It’s from 1988. Is that the original Happy? In 1988 I would’ve been 11, so I doubt I was still watching it on a regular basis. He looks like the original guy to me, but the voice doesn’t quite match my memory.
If any of you sewing-types want a commission, I absolutely LOVE these vintage-type aprons, especially the ones with the big appliqué flower on the front. And since those are FORTY QUID each, I’d much rather pay somebody over here to make one for me! (Link courtesy of my new co-worker Susi.)
Italian Tuna and Pasta
Oh my, I made a beautiful dinner last night, if I do say so myself! The recipe is from epicurious: Artichokes, Capers, Olives, Lemon Zest, and Italian Tuna on Pasta Shells. (Yeah, it really needs a catchier name.) I followed the recipe pretty much exactly, other than adding a few grape tomatoes as well. It was sooo good. I had to restrain myself from eating it straight out of the bowl while the pasta was cooking. The shells were a little overly large, but it still worked. YUM.
Beware of Peculiar Cat. We definitely need one of those! (Photo taken by Other Andrew and pointed out to me by Bex.)
“A scrapbooking career in shreds.” Fascinating story, even though the stupid website won’t let me read the end of it. More details are over on Jezebel, including the oh-so-delicious quote: “I, seriously, was like the Lindsay Lohan of scrapbooking.” The knitting world hasn’t had a really juicy scandal since that whole Sew Fast So Easy SnB debacle a few years back…
Note to self: Knit these Converse Baby Booties for my nephew Isaiah!
I had a surprise visit at the shop today from my friend Eva, who brought me a present from her recent trip home to Tasmania: some Art Viva knitting needles! They’re handmade from Tasmanian Oak. They’re beautiful and pointy and long, and they’ve got lovely bright red polka-dotted balls on top (that remind me of the mushrooms in Super Mario Brothers). I can’t wait to try them out. Thanks, Eva!
Boy, I haven’t done one of these in a long time, have I? After taking some time off during the whole “buying and moving house” thing, I’m back onto the running with a vengeance. As of today, it’s officially 18 weeks til the Sydney Half Marathon, and I’ve just completed my third week of training. I’m basing my efforts on Hal Higdon’s training plan. Since that’s a 12-week program, I’m using these extra weeks at the beginning to build up my fitness and ease myself into the routine. (I’m very wary of my troublesome left hamstring.) So far I’ve been taking it easy, using the Couch to 5K podcasts to structure my runs and keep me from pushing too hard. I’m happy to report that it’s working! Yesterday I did my longest run since the City 2 Surf: twenty minutes without a break. I know it doesn’t sound like much, but it felt so great to be able to do it and not feel like I was injuring myself. I’m not even sore today! And I’ve got Max challenging me with the Nike+iPod, so the competitive angle is helping.
My only fear with regards to the actual race is the cutoff time. All runners have to make it through the first 11K in less than 70 minutes or you get diverted to the finish line on a shortcut and don’t get an official time. My goal, therefore, is to make this cutoff time. That’s totally doable, right? I’m just going to consider the 11K marker as my real finish line, and as long as I make the cutoff, I’ll be happy even if I have to walk the entire second half of the race.