Wow! -- This sucks!!


I just looked at the number of subscribers that I have to my blog.  I had no idea!
As a result of my perceived lack of public interest in my blog/podcast, I let it wane.
I repeat, I suck. 
Well, now that I have a laptop and no excuse for not working on this thing, here I go again.

Rather than babble, I'll just jump right in!
What the heck have I been doing?

Uhh...


Gaining weight!
LOL
Aren't we lucky to live in the land of milk and honey?
Good grief.  I think I've gained and gotten comfortable with another 5 lbs.

My job became ridiculously stressful for about a year and a half.  I was so exhausted after work that I would grab take-out, come home and go to sleep.  It's no wonder where the weight came from.  Needless to say, my health suffered and my doctor fussed.
Then,  I start hearing all these things about how stress can cause weight gain.  What the heck -- can I catch a break?!  So I've started watching my caloric intake, drinking more water and watching my stress levels.
Exercising -- well, not yet -- but I'm thinking about it


Decluttering
Well, not much has happened in my continuous quest to declutter.  I got rid of all that acrylic yarn only to gain a new member of the family - a new brother-in-law.   My regular listeners/readers will recall my (unprofessional) stance that acrylic yarn makes the best afghans for gift giving.  They are incredibly durable, come in the most fun colors and are machine washable.  Well, my new BIL wants one in 3 shades of blue -- so I'm probably off to the craft store to pick up about 9 super skeins. 

I just thought of something else, I unloaded a bicycle -- that should count for something.
It was an old Huffy that I'd had in my basement for years.  I've since bought a great Raleigh that is probably 15lbs lighter,  fits my long legs better, and I just look generally cuter on when I bother to ride it.

I did shed a bunch of clothes from my closet -- I just had a bunch of stuff that I didn't wear any longer.
So why was I keeping it?  Heck if I know!  I culled a 40 gallon bag full of stuff that was in really good shape and donated it to charity.  Hopefully they will make someone feel like they found a good deal.


Cluttering

Appliances--  No -- you can't blame the weight gain on this.  If anything, the weight gain was probably minimized since I have been cooking more frequently and getting take-out LESS frequently since the purchase.
Anyway,  I purchased the Cuisinart 600 Electronic Pressure cooker.  Folks, you have got to check this thing out.
Except for the fact that I like collecting stuff, I don't know why it caught my eye.  But after reading more about it, I knew I had to have it.  We all know something about pressure cookers -- right? Mom or grandma had one.
Typically what we remember is that we were told to stay away from it because it was "dangerous and could explode!"
I remember that it was this huge, ugly, stained, heavy pot with a locking lid, a whistling jiggler and it was scary.
Well, not this beautiful electric one -- OMG!  This thing is great.  First off, it's a counter-top model. 
It couldn't be easier to figure out and I feel completely safe using it.  The first couple times I used it, I didn't have enough liquid in the inner cooking pot.  Well, it shut off.  First I was annoyed -- then I realized that it was operator-error.  Unlike my moms old stove-top model, this thing has at least three safety features the keep me from blowing up the kitchen or wrecking a meal.  If the pressure goes too high it turns off.  The temperature is electronically controlled.  If the moisture content gets too low --it turns off.  When you set it to cook with pressure, you set the number of minutes you want it to cook.  I love it. 
Here are some things that I have cooked so far;
Bratwursts  -- nothing fancy just a local brand).  I put 5 of them onto a wire rack that came with and fits inside the inner cooking pot.  I sprinkled them with some dried garlic, some finely ground black pepper  and I poured about a 1/2 cup of beer into the bottom of the cooking pot.
The brats were ABOVE the beer line.  I set the pot to high pressure, locked the lid and hit start.
Those delecious sausages cooked to perfection in about 8 minutes.
BUT!! of course they weren't browned -- right?  That's whats so freakin' cool about this particular pressure cooker.
It has settings for browing, simmering etc..  I simply used my silicone coated tongs, lifted the wire rack out and dumped out some of the beer.  This left the brats on the floor of the cooker to brown for a couple minutes.
I turned each one once and they were beautiful.   I don't like it when my hot dogs or brats split during cooking.  They dry out.  So piercing them to check for doneness doesn't appeal to me. 
With the pressure cooker, there was no concern about doneness.  I love this thing!
Dang! -- I kinda want a brat now.   Yummy -- a lovely hot brat on a super fresh deli roll with some honey or spicy mustard.  See? as a result of that craving this entry may get a lot shorter. (sigh)

Since sneaky, greedy people are trying to make small fortunes with hidden copyrights on internet images (money grubbing rat bastards), I'll take a photo of my pressure cooker and post it. 



    


Oh  - I have to tell you about one other thing that I cooked in it -- freakin' split green peas with ham.  WOW! 
They cooked to perfection in less than 20 minutes.   I eyeballed the whole thing -- no recipe.   Do some research on this puppy.  Obviously the device saves time and energy (electricity).  And for the summer months, it allows you to cook real food real fast without heating up the entire kitchen.
Oh --one more thing before I forget --I made boneless pork ribs in it -- yep -- you heard me -- BBQ pork ribs. 
I browned them  just like the brats.  Then I doused them with barbeque sauce and returned them to the pot to simmer and get all sticky and crisp-ity with sauce.  Whew!  I'm getting hungry.
Anyway, they sell this thing at your local kitchen/appliance stores for $149.  The BF managed to get one when they were onsale for $99 -- PLUS he got an additional 20% off that!  Lucky duck!


Projects

Knitting -- I can't wait to knit the Somewhat Cowl!
http://knitandtonic.typepad.com/knitandtonic/2005/12/the_somewhat_co.html
In case that link doesn't work -- just do an Internet search on "Somewhat Cowl".  There are several folks out there who have made them an posted images of their finished projects.
I was just hunting around for something to create from this silky wool that I'd purchased and I found the Somewhat Cowl on the Internet.  I was so excited about it that I actually bought the pattern. 
As soon as I figure out WHERE I put the yarn, I'll start it.

More Knitting --   Okay -- really,  I have collected some more crafty crap and some more yarn -- but it was only the good stuff.
As for yarn, I've knitted a flat purse and felted it. Ive been trying to carry my lunch to work more often so I decided to knit something that could hold maybe a sandwich, a yogurt and a can of soda or a bottle of juice.  I didn't use a pattern and suprisingly, it turned out great!
Did I ever mention how much I love electiric lime green?   OMG combine that with black?  I'm in heaven.
It's actually neck-n-neck with  my passion for purple.   

Sewing
The BF and I went to a company formal and I made my dress for the occassion.    I guess I might as well take some snaps of it since we didn't take a single photo while we were there.  He wore a very sexy stylish tuxedo.
I gave him a swatch of the fabric I'd picked for my dress and he got a matching vest -- he looked quite HOT!
My dress came out great -- It wasn't the one I wanted to make but it worked out.
I used a pretty purple satin.  I'll add a few snaps of that too.





Finishing it up

Okay, before I turn this into a "thing" I'd better wrap it up.  I tend to bite off more than I can chew -- or rather more than I'm willing to chew.  If I keep this short, I won't freak myself out with an unreasonable goal of a HUGE entry for next time. 

I felt the need for a day off today -- so I think I'll treat myself to a cup of english tea -- milk, sugar and bitter black tea.  Then maybe some brats??

Soon
Justlinda Online