I bought some Peeps the other day. They were there, on sale, and it was a nice, small package of five Peeps. they were the cute little purple chicks. I liked the color. Too bad I didn’t like the Peeps.
I wasn’t surprised. This seems to happen every year. The Peeps call me and say, “hey, here I am!” I buy them, I take a bite, I think about how stale they are. Were they that stale when I was young?
So, I think a lot of people have decided that the best thing to do with a package of Peeps is to play with them and have some fun. And what fun they have!
Here are some sites that are great Peep fun:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/photo/gallery/070402/GAL-07Apr02-69859/index.html
The Washington Post has an annual Peeps Diorama Contest. Here you will see creative Peeps photography at its best. Each photo is of a scene from a movie or is reminiscent of something we’ve all seen. It is really worth a visit. Try to guess what you are looking at before you read the caption on the upper left.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/gallery/2008/03/21/GA2008032101983.html?sid=ST2008032102694
Here’s Peep Show II. It is the second annual Sunday Source Peeps Diorama Contest. These photos are of the 37 best entries out of over 800 entries total.
http://www.lordofthepeeps.com/lotp/fotp.html
This is a photo essay of Lord of the Rings done with Peeps (The Fellowship of the Peep). I enjoyed it, and I never saw or cared for Lord of the rings.
http://www.asylum.com/2008/03/18/peep-of-faith-the-most-heavenly-easter-candy-dioramas/
This is a great gallery of the best of the internet peep pictures. Some of them came from my other links, but most were new to me.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/17025280@N00/sets/72157600038845249/detail/
Peeps for Passover photo essay. It depicts the 10 plagues with peeps. It is really creative and inspiring, and definitely fun.
This next link is not really Peeps, but a Peep-inspired set of video games:
http://www.i-mockery.com/minimocks/peep-game/
Here you will find two fun-filled video games, Peeps style. One of them is Peep Invaders and the other one is Peepsteroids (Asteroids). I could see wasting a lot of time here, doing what I do best – procrastinate!
Lastly, here are some great individual photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/metrix_feet/446042714/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/l_stegall/445587074/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/l_stegall/445587070/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fishbowl_fish/447809163/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7400337@N02/437922873/
Friday, March 28, 2008
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Friday, March 21, 2008
The Great Cookbook Throw-Away
Where would so many of us be now without cookbooks? I pay homage to the wonderful chefs and cooks who create and share with the world.
But I have a secret to share with you. Psst..... I have a bit of a clutter problem. Actually, I’ll admit that “a bit of a clutter problem” is a gross understatement. And to make it worse, I have a constant battle going on inside of me, a little devil who encourages me to hate doing something about it.
Let’s put it this way. My husband, Joe, wants me to tell you that I have a high tolerance for filth and squalor. It’s true.
So, things build up, and my inner battle explodes, and I go on a rampage from time to time. A couple of years ago, my cookbooks were at the receiving end of my battle, and I through almost all of them away.
It wasn't that I had a problem with the contents, I just had a problem with their physical existence.
In my personal opinion, bookshelves are ugly. You get a mishmash of books that don’t go together. You squeeze them on these shelves. Loose papers end up between them, magazines, 3-ring binders. Then you end up with a wall that is full of uncoordinated dust-collectors, and I'm very allergic to dust.
But throwing away all my cookbooks was a good thing, and that’s because of computers and the Internet. I was already using the Internet much more than my actual books. The variety of recipes is tremendous, and just a click away. And I can copy and paste them into a Word document, and store them in the clutter-free file cabinet on my hard drive. I can even store them in multiple locations. Oh, and if I still can’t find what I’m looking for, I can do a search. It’s just great.
Not only did the computer help me get rid of the clutter and dust, but there are such great sites to visit. An original recipe is posted, and then all of the people who make it can rate the recipe and comment on it. They can tell us the things that worked, and the things that didn’t. And they can tell us about the changes they made to the recipe and make further suggestions.
My favorite recipe sites are:
· http://www.epicurious.com/
This site is where all of the recipes for Bon Appetit and Gourmet Magazine are stored. They allow you to rate and comment on all the recipes. When a picture is available from the magazine they post it.
· http://www.recipezaar.com/
This is a recipe community where people post their recipes and pictures. Then everyone can try them out and rate and comment. And, they give you all the nutritional information. That’s cool!
· http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/
A sophisticated collection of recipes. I just started hanging out here, and subscribing to the magazine. The only bummer is that you can’t rate the recipes. But I think they are trying to stand apart and I respect them for it.
· http://allrecipes.com/
A friendly recipe community. People post their recipes, others comment, rate, and even add their own photos of the finished product.
There is one other site that used to be a favorite. I’m posting it here with a warning:
http://www.cookinglight.com/cooking/
I’ve been subscribing to Cooking Light for many years now. Recently, however, their online collection has been merged with their sister magazine, Southern Living. I don’t like that. If I’m searching for Cooking Light recipes, I don’t want the high fat and calorie recipes of Southern Living coming up in my search. If I wanted that, I’d go to their site. So all be warned. I am visiting this site a lot less often since they changed it.
But I have a secret to share with you. Psst..... I have a bit of a clutter problem. Actually, I’ll admit that “a bit of a clutter problem” is a gross understatement. And to make it worse, I have a constant battle going on inside of me, a little devil who encourages me to hate doing something about it.
Let’s put it this way. My husband, Joe, wants me to tell you that I have a high tolerance for filth and squalor. It’s true.
So, things build up, and my inner battle explodes, and I go on a rampage from time to time. A couple of years ago, my cookbooks were at the receiving end of my battle, and I through almost all of them away.
It wasn't that I had a problem with the contents, I just had a problem with their physical existence.
In my personal opinion, bookshelves are ugly. You get a mishmash of books that don’t go together. You squeeze them on these shelves. Loose papers end up between them, magazines, 3-ring binders. Then you end up with a wall that is full of uncoordinated dust-collectors, and I'm very allergic to dust.
But throwing away all my cookbooks was a good thing, and that’s because of computers and the Internet. I was already using the Internet much more than my actual books. The variety of recipes is tremendous, and just a click away. And I can copy and paste them into a Word document, and store them in the clutter-free file cabinet on my hard drive. I can even store them in multiple locations. Oh, and if I still can’t find what I’m looking for, I can do a search. It’s just great.
Not only did the computer help me get rid of the clutter and dust, but there are such great sites to visit. An original recipe is posted, and then all of the people who make it can rate the recipe and comment on it. They can tell us the things that worked, and the things that didn’t. And they can tell us about the changes they made to the recipe and make further suggestions.
My favorite recipe sites are:
· http://www.epicurious.com/
This site is where all of the recipes for Bon Appetit and Gourmet Magazine are stored. They allow you to rate and comment on all the recipes. When a picture is available from the magazine they post it.
· http://www.recipezaar.com/
This is a recipe community where people post their recipes and pictures. Then everyone can try them out and rate and comment. And, they give you all the nutritional information. That’s cool!
· http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/
A sophisticated collection of recipes. I just started hanging out here, and subscribing to the magazine. The only bummer is that you can’t rate the recipes. But I think they are trying to stand apart and I respect them for it.
· http://allrecipes.com/
A friendly recipe community. People post their recipes, others comment, rate, and even add their own photos of the finished product.
There is one other site that used to be a favorite. I’m posting it here with a warning:
http://www.cookinglight.com/cooking/
I’ve been subscribing to Cooking Light for many years now. Recently, however, their online collection has been merged with their sister magazine, Southern Living. I don’t like that. If I’m searching for Cooking Light recipes, I don’t want the high fat and calorie recipes of Southern Living coming up in my search. If I wanted that, I’d go to their site. So all be warned. I am visiting this site a lot less often since they changed it.
Recipe: Asparagus in Warm Tarragon-Pecan Vinaigrette
One of the few cookbooks that survived my rampage was Vegetable Heaven by Mollie Katzen. I used it more than the others, and was unable to part with it.
The author, Mollie Katzen, had a public television show that was the companion to the cookbook. Joe and I had just moved to Nashua, NH together and I had my tiny little galley kitchen (my kitchen now isn't much bigger). She inspired me that day when she made this recipe on the show and I just had to have the book.
Over the years, I made the recipe so many times that I became confident to make it without a recipe, making slight changes to suit my taste.
Thoughts on this recipe:
- I always look for thin asparagus. I think that it's more tender, and less fibrous. When you cut the asparagus, leave the tips in tact!
- A time saver is to buy the already chopped and toasted pecans available at Trader Joe's. Gosh, I love those things. BTW, they do it with almonds too.
- If I had it on hand, I'm sure that 2 Tbs. fresh tarragon would be better than the dried stuff I use.
Asparagus in Warm Tarragon-Pecan Vinaigrette
adapted from Mollie Katzen's Vegetable Heaven
One bunch of fresh asparagus, cut on a diagonal into 1" pieces
2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1-2 Tbs balsamic vinegar
1 Tbs sugar
1/4 cup pecans, chopped and toasted
2 tsp. dried tarragon
2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1-2 Tbs balsamic vinegar
1 Tbs sugar
1/4 cup pecans, chopped and toasted
2 tsp. dried tarragon
Mix the vinegar, sugar, and tarragon together and set aside.
Sautee the asparagus on a high heat till just tender (3-5 minutes). Add the vinegar mixture. Let it sautee for one more minute. Toss in the pecans and it's ready to serve.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
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