Metafilter: Making Thing Better For A While Now™ July 22, 2012 10:23 AM Subscribe
This has been a crappy week, personally and (U.S.) nationally. But then I come to MeFi and see this Time Slip post and the comments, and things get a tiny bit better.
So, for the record, thank you mark7570 for the post and thank you Metafilter for existing. =)
So, for the record, thank you mark7570 for the post and thank you Metafilter for existing. =)
Apparently not.
posted by Ardiril at 11:19 AM on July 22, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by Ardiril at 11:19 AM on July 22, 2012 [2 favorites]
You know what else has been almost* completely awesome this month on MeFi? The OK Computer Music Challenge.
* there was this one version of Exit Music that was horrible, skip it.
posted by carsonb at 11:30 AM on July 22, 2012 [1 favorite]
* there was this one version of Exit Music that was horrible, skip it.
posted by carsonb at 11:30 AM on July 22, 2012 [1 favorite]
We neither read nor ready them, terrapin.
posted by andreaazure at 11:36 AM on July 22, 2012
posted by andreaazure at 11:36 AM on July 22, 2012
Nonsequiturious comment about food and/or booze, accompanied by music reference.
posted by jonmc at 11:44 AM on July 22, 2012 [3 favorites]
posted by jonmc at 11:44 AM on July 22, 2012 [3 favorites]
Little secret I can let you guys in on: I have perfected time travel. I've got the proof of concept demo running, for now it does one second at a time into the future. I can't promise that I can get you back, though.
posted by StickyCarpet at 12:10 PM on July 22, 2012
posted by StickyCarpet at 12:10 PM on July 22, 2012
Hey, I missed that post! Thanks for the heads-up, andreaazure.
posted by Kevin Street at 12:17 PM on July 22, 2012
posted by Kevin Street at 12:17 PM on July 22, 2012
Nonsequiturious comment about food and/or booze, accompanied by music reference.
Okay I will play!
I roasted corn in my oven yesterday by just sticking the cob, husk and all, in the oven at 250 for about two hours. It was sweet and crunchy!
Also I've been obsessed with guqin music lately because it is elegantly spare. I love it because it is a perfect illustration of what Debussy said about music being the space between the notes.
posted by winna at 12:38 PM on July 22, 2012 [1 favorite]
Okay I will play!
I roasted corn in my oven yesterday by just sticking the cob, husk and all, in the oven at 250 for about two hours. It was sweet and crunchy!
Also I've been obsessed with guqin music lately because it is elegantly spare. I love it because it is a perfect illustration of what Debussy said about music being the space between the notes.
posted by winna at 12:38 PM on July 22, 2012 [1 favorite]
I had beer and chicken for breakfast and yet I am considering going running.
posted by The Whelk at 12:55 PM on July 22, 2012
posted by The Whelk at 12:55 PM on July 22, 2012
I've been eating Greek seasoned peanuts and drinking beer. The last song I listened to was "Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay" by Otis Redding, one of the greatest recordings ever. I have this in the fridge, which I'll have later.
posted by jonmc at 1:00 PM on July 22, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by jonmc at 1:00 PM on July 22, 2012 [1 favorite]
I ate a terrible hot dog from a tourist place in central London. I knew it would be terrible, but I ordered it and ate it anyway.
But then I got to the lawn bowls club in Brixton and they had beer - beer which they shared with me. They were playing some fairly terrible music though (80s classic hits, Tina Turner, Billy Joel etc).
BUT I went to see Arnocorps last week and I'm seeing Cambodian Space Project this week, and both of those things make me smile. So I'm about 50/50 right here.
posted by Infinite Jest at 1:16 PM on July 22, 2012
But then I got to the lawn bowls club in Brixton and they had beer - beer which they shared with me. They were playing some fairly terrible music though (80s classic hits, Tina Turner, Billy Joel etc).
BUT I went to see Arnocorps last week and I'm seeing Cambodian Space Project this week, and both of those things make me smile. So I'm about 50/50 right here.
posted by Infinite Jest at 1:16 PM on July 22, 2012
I love Otis, but I like his up-tempo stuff a little more, although it's all amazing.
This version of Shake, for instance, with the layers and layers of horn and the drummer going bonkers while Otis keeps it all together with that look of joy in his face as the audience melts down around him is amazing. It might be a desert island worthy track!
posted by winna at 1:50 PM on July 22, 2012
This version of Shake, for instance, with the layers and layers of horn and the drummer going bonkers while Otis keeps it all together with that look of joy in his face as the audience melts down around him is amazing. It might be a desert island worthy track!
posted by winna at 1:50 PM on July 22, 2012
I've move onto Alestorm singing "Wenches & Mead." The song is great and I'm a fan of wenches, but a friend brought some mead back from a renfest and...it was nauseating.
posted by jonmc at 2:10 PM on July 22, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by jonmc at 2:10 PM on July 22, 2012 [1 favorite]
How about drinking good cheap wine and listening to common people by Pulp while not eating. Obviously, food is a luxury...
posted by schyler523 at 2:15 PM on July 22, 2012
posted by schyler523 at 2:15 PM on July 22, 2012
*passes peanuts*
posted by jonmc at 2:19 PM on July 22, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by jonmc at 2:19 PM on July 22, 2012 [1 favorite]
I'm going to go running and then get a box of wine and watch my sexy vampire soap opera.
posted by The Whelk at 2:20 PM on July 22, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 2:20 PM on July 22, 2012 [2 favorites]
Looking out the kitchen window, I can see a rabbit sleeping under a rose bush. This makes me happy.
posted by Kevin Street at 2:53 PM on July 22, 2012 [4 favorites]
posted by Kevin Street at 2:53 PM on July 22, 2012 [4 favorites]
OMG, there were LEEKS under all of those weeds I pulled! Which means potato leek soup this fall, and that makes me happy indeed.
posted by MonkeyToes at 2:56 PM on July 22, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by MonkeyToes at 2:56 PM on July 22, 2012 [1 favorite]
I am napping at my computer with a kitteh sprawled across my kebordzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
posted by a humble nudibranch at 2:59 PM on July 22, 2012
posted by a humble nudibranch at 2:59 PM on July 22, 2012
I just finished my first triathlon on this beautiful day in Boulder, CO. While I was racing I saw hawks, an egret, a rabbit, prairie dogs and a squished snake. Made great time in the race and then took my dogs for a swim. Pretty decent Sunday morning! Now, who is coming over to help me pack? We are moving on Wednesday and it doesn't look like we will be ready!
posted by rachums at 3:01 PM on July 22, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by rachums at 3:01 PM on July 22, 2012 [2 favorites]
Food and Music? Yesterday, when I walked into my local coffee shop, the song playing was "Get Down On It", making me think happy summer gonna-get-a-cold-brew-coffee thoughts. There was no line, and the moment I hit the register the song hit the "How you gonna do it..." point. So I pointed at the guy taking orders and said "How you gonna do it if you really don't wanna dance? By standing on the wall. Get your back up of the wall." in perfect time to the music.
He did not know the song, and did not know the lyrics. I hope they're still willing to sell me coffee the next time I go there.
posted by benito.strauss at 3:05 PM on July 22, 2012 [6 favorites]
He did not know the song, and did not know the lyrics. I hope they're still willing to sell me coffee the next time I go there.
posted by benito.strauss at 3:05 PM on July 22, 2012 [6 favorites]
I had beer and chicken for breakfast
I kind of want to live in this world. Kind of.
posted by bquarters at 3:10 PM on July 22, 2012 [2 favorites]
I kind of want to live in this world. Kind of.
posted by bquarters at 3:10 PM on July 22, 2012 [2 favorites]
*stares daggers at vrakatar*
posted by jonmc at 3:14 PM on July 22, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by jonmc at 3:14 PM on July 22, 2012 [1 favorite]
You people confuse me.
posted by cjorgensen at 3:22 PM on July 22, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by cjorgensen at 3:22 PM on July 22, 2012 [1 favorite]
Nonsequiturious comment about food and/or booze, accompanied by music reference.
I think I'm going to have a crack at Chicken Etouffee today. Everyone in this household is obsessed with New Orleans at the moment, when I put the baby in his highchair he frets and grumbles until I put the Wild Tchoupitoulas on the kitchen stereo.
The dream of having our second honeymoon at jazzfest 2014 is keeping this housewife juuuuust on the right side of that ol' brink of sanity right now.
posted by Catch at 3:24 PM on July 22, 2012 [1 favorite]
I think I'm going to have a crack at Chicken Etouffee today. Everyone in this household is obsessed with New Orleans at the moment, when I put the baby in his highchair he frets and grumbles until I put the Wild Tchoupitoulas on the kitchen stereo.
The dream of having our second honeymoon at jazzfest 2014 is keeping this housewife juuuuust on the right side of that ol' brink of sanity right now.
posted by Catch at 3:24 PM on July 22, 2012 [1 favorite]
LET'S GO METS!!!
Also, I like food and/or booze.
posted by languagehat at 3:29 PM on July 22, 2012 [1 favorite]
Also, I like food and/or booze.
posted by languagehat at 3:29 PM on July 22, 2012 [1 favorite]
winna: " I roasted corn in my oven yesterday by just sticking the cob, husk and all, in the oven at 250 for about two hours. It was sweet and crunchy!"
I had roasted corn for dinner too, although I do it at 400 for 40 minutes because I am impatient that way. So good. And so much easier to husk and de-silk than trying to do it raw!
It actually feels like summer outside for a change — it's been even colder in the Bay Area than usual this year — and I went by the farmers' market and then to Bed Bath and Beyond (which I can thank AskMe for recommending) to buy a toaster. Only they didn't have the one I wanted so I had to get an ice cream maker instead.
...what? It made perfect sense at the time.
posted by Lexica at 3:30 PM on July 22, 2012 [1 favorite]
I had roasted corn for dinner too, although I do it at 400 for 40 minutes because I am impatient that way. So good. And so much easier to husk and de-silk than trying to do it raw!
It actually feels like summer outside for a change — it's been even colder in the Bay Area than usual this year — and I went by the farmers' market and then to Bed Bath and Beyond (which I can thank AskMe for recommending) to buy a toaster. Only they didn't have the one I wanted so I had to get an ice cream maker instead.
...what? It made perfect sense at the time.
posted by Lexica at 3:30 PM on July 22, 2012 [1 favorite]
I thought about 400, but I was afraid it would catch on fire. Do you soak it in water first or just position dry?
posted by winna at 3:50 PM on July 22, 2012
posted by winna at 3:50 PM on July 22, 2012
What I'm doing these days is muddling a little bit of mint and blueberries. Adding ice. And lemonade. And bourbon. Makes for good evening porch-sittin'.
posted by .kobayashi. at 3:51 PM on July 22, 2012
posted by .kobayashi. at 3:51 PM on July 22, 2012
Man autocorrect just hates me today. That was supposed to be 'put it in dry' re the corn.
Now I'm having a glass of wine and a homemade taco while watching Friday Night Dinner, which is hysterical.
posted by winna at 3:52 PM on July 22, 2012
Now I'm having a glass of wine and a homemade taco while watching Friday Night Dinner, which is hysterical.
posted by winna at 3:52 PM on July 22, 2012
As a reward for running seven miles i get to have bourbon
posted by The Whelk at 4:00 PM on July 22, 2012
posted by The Whelk at 4:00 PM on July 22, 2012
Made coffee cake with blueberries this morning. That's how Sunday mornings should be.
posted by sciencegeek at 4:02 PM on July 22, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by sciencegeek at 4:02 PM on July 22, 2012 [1 favorite]
My reward for bourbon is metafilter.
posted by cjorgensen at 4:02 PM on July 22, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by cjorgensen at 4:02 PM on July 22, 2012 [1 favorite]
My reward for metafilter is running seven miles?
THE CYCLE OF LIFE IS COMPLETE.
posted by winna at 4:16 PM on July 22, 2012
THE CYCLE OF LIFE IS COMPLETE.
posted by winna at 4:16 PM on July 22, 2012
I can totally read metafilter on the treadmill.
I think I've made an FPP from the treadmill.
posted by The Whelk at 4:27 PM on July 22, 2012 [1 favorite]
I think I've made an FPP from the treadmill.
posted by The Whelk at 4:27 PM on July 22, 2012 [1 favorite]
Corn husks don't catch fire at 400, at least not within 40 minutes (that I've experienced, that is). I just put the ears straight on the rack and then turn/rotate them every 10 minutes or so. Then about 5 minutes cooling time, husk and desilk, and apply your corn toppings of choice. I've been working on developing a corn spread recipe based on coconut butter, smoked paprika, and lime. Very tasty.
.kobayashi.: "What I'm doing these days is muddling a little bit of mint and blueberries. Adding ice. And lemonade. And bourbon. Makes for good evening porch-sittin'."
My IPA is still refreshing and enjoyable but now feels a mite less festive than it could be. *sigh* Oh, well. I have neither a porch nor a stoop on which I could sip said muddled fruity bourbon lemonade (REALLY DEEP *SIGH*) and so must make the best of what's available.
posted by Lexica at 4:29 PM on July 22, 2012 [3 favorites]
.kobayashi.: "What I'm doing these days is muddling a little bit of mint and blueberries. Adding ice. And lemonade. And bourbon. Makes for good evening porch-sittin'."
My IPA is still refreshing and enjoyable but now feels a mite less festive than it could be. *sigh* Oh, well. I have neither a porch nor a stoop on which I could sip said muddled fruity bourbon lemonade (REALLY DEEP *SIGH*) and so must make the best of what's available.
posted by Lexica at 4:29 PM on July 22, 2012 [3 favorites]
During a brief thunderstorm, I just baked these cookies; but since it's now over and the sun is out, it's too hot to eat them fresh out of the oven. I'm afraid I'm just going to have to let the cool and use them to make ice cream sandwiches later. In the meantime, I'm having a gin and tonic and listening to every single thing from that freaking wonderful Kelly Hogan post today, along with this playlist, while I read the entertaining story about her in the June 2012 Oxford American in between waiting for parts of the watercolour painting I'm doing on a cardboard box to dry. The box is going to become a savings bank for a trip to the Catskills in August. Thanks, MetaFilter. You're providing the soundtrack and the bookends for activities on a quiet weekend.
posted by peagood at 4:31 PM on July 22, 2012
posted by peagood at 4:31 PM on July 22, 2012
My IPA is still refreshing and enjoyable ...
Oh damn you, now I will have to steal my husband's credit card somehow and go on a B double E double R U N.
posted by Catch at 4:31 PM on July 22, 2012
Oh damn you, now I will have to steal my husband's credit card somehow and go on a B double E double R U N.
posted by Catch at 4:31 PM on July 22, 2012
We used to bake unhusked corn in the oven all the time, usually above 500 fahrenheit. My Dad learned about it from watching Nero Wolfe.
posted by Kevin Street at 4:49 PM on July 22, 2012
posted by Kevin Street at 4:49 PM on July 22, 2012
*does Celsius to Fahrenheit conversion*
Actually, it was above 600F. Just bake it for forty minutes at the hottest temperature you feel confident with.
posted by Kevin Street at 5:09 PM on July 22, 2012
Actually, it was above 600F. Just bake it for forty minutes at the hottest temperature you feel confident with.
posted by Kevin Street at 5:09 PM on July 22, 2012
Hey, corn-eaters! Have you seen this trick? Does it really work?
posted by peagood at 5:11 PM on July 22, 2012
posted by peagood at 5:11 PM on July 22, 2012
I'm eating some Belgian chocolate I got today. London had a warm day for a change and the coffee place was playing a Rolling Stones best of on low volume. The only thing missing was a cat on my lap.
posted by ersatz at 5:20 PM on July 22, 2012
posted by ersatz at 5:20 PM on July 22, 2012
I just bought a copy of Dvorak's Slavonic Dances for a dollar at a stoop sale, and then I went home and listened to it while eating ice cream and drinking beer.
I win.
posted by Sara C. at 5:22 PM on July 22, 2012 [2 favorites]
I win.
posted by Sara C. at 5:22 PM on July 22, 2012 [2 favorites]
Does it really work?
Not too often, I'd think. The fine silk under the leaves is often stuck between rows of kernels, so it wouldn't just slip off like a glove. Maybe after cooking, though. The person in the picture is wearing an oven glove, so that cob is probably pretty hot.
posted by Kevin Street at 5:23 PM on July 22, 2012
Not too often, I'd think. The fine silk under the leaves is often stuck between rows of kernels, so it wouldn't just slip off like a glove. Maybe after cooking, though. The person in the picture is wearing an oven glove, so that cob is probably pretty hot.
posted by Kevin Street at 5:23 PM on July 22, 2012
I'm making mason jar cakes today, ya'll.
Cinnamon-bun butter, kahlua*, and a black & white lava.
*if I don't drink it all first.
posted by ApathyGirl at 5:30 PM on July 22, 2012
Cinnamon-bun butter, kahlua*, and a black & white lava.
*if I don't drink it all first.
posted by ApathyGirl at 5:30 PM on July 22, 2012
Is it just me or do all of those Pinterest "tips and tricks" sound completely stupid? I don't know if folks don't use an authoritative enough tone, or what. There's something about the breathless "I never would have thought to do this, but it totally works!" approach that causes me to assume it's bullshit.
posted by Sara C. at 5:41 PM on July 22, 2012
posted by Sara C. at 5:41 PM on July 22, 2012
I ate delicious popcorn at a movie theater for the first time in almost 2 years.
posted by chiababe at 6:12 PM on July 22, 2012
posted by chiababe at 6:12 PM on July 22, 2012
I ate delicious popcorn at a movie theater for the first time in almost 2 years.
Man, once every two years is a pretty good hit rate for finding movie popcorn that's delicious.
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 6:30 PM on July 22, 2012 [1 favorite]
Man, once every two years is a pretty good hit rate for finding movie popcorn that's delicious.
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 6:30 PM on July 22, 2012 [1 favorite]
Riverview Theater in Minneapolis. Beautiful theater, cheap movies, and the best movie popcorn on the planet. Popcorn so good people come in off the street to buy it without even seeing a movie.
posted by villanelles at dawn at 6:35 PM on July 22, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by villanelles at dawn at 6:35 PM on July 22, 2012 [1 favorite]
I was in Banff yesterday and saw a baby elk, elking? It was awesome; my golf not so much, but it was an awesome day to be in the Rockies. I am now sipping peppermint tea and listening to the cat snore.
posted by arcticseal at 7:16 PM on July 22, 2012
posted by arcticseal at 7:16 PM on July 22, 2012
I went for a bike ride tonight after church and made it to the covered picnic table area in the park JUST as it started raining, so I had to stop there. But! There were some kids on bongo drums and some older men talking about fishing, so we all sat and watched the rain pour from the eaves and listened to the drumming. It was lovely.
posted by janepanic at 7:25 PM on July 22, 2012
posted by janepanic at 7:25 PM on July 22, 2012
daiquiris happened
posted by elizardbits at 7:48 PM on July 22, 2012
posted by elizardbits at 7:48 PM on July 22, 2012
im all burpy
posted by elizardbits at 7:49 PM on July 22, 2012
posted by elizardbits at 7:49 PM on July 22, 2012
I totally spent this weekend writing fan fiction you guys
posted by The Whelk at 8:00 PM on July 22, 2012
posted by The Whelk at 8:00 PM on July 22, 2012
and it is super awesome
posted by elizardbits at 8:01 PM on July 22, 2012
posted by elizardbits at 8:01 PM on July 22, 2012
Oh god you people are the reason I have been reading Avengers fanfic compulsively. No more!
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 8:05 PM on July 22, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 8:05 PM on July 22, 2012 [1 favorite]
I have made a promise to the friends I dragged to Snow White and the Huntsman to write slashfic to make up for it. Thus far I have managed to avoid fulfilling it, but...
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 9:03 PM on July 22, 2012
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 9:03 PM on July 22, 2012
I am proud that I managed to work in a reference to both the Big Lebowski, Dollhouse, and the Nostalgia Chick.
posted by The Whelk at 9:06 PM on July 22, 2012
posted by The Whelk at 9:06 PM on July 22, 2012
(also about half the story is going to be about social media moderation for some reason I blame you metafilter)
posted by The Whelk at 9:11 PM on July 22, 2012
posted by The Whelk at 9:11 PM on July 22, 2012
Oh god. Cheesecake, blueberry blintzes, iced coffee with a dollop of Bluebell coffee ice cream, a half-sour pickle, Dr. Brown's Cel-Ray soda, raspberry rugelach, award winning matzoh ball soup - all while listening to a 1940's radio station. I love my job.
posted by MexicanYenta at 11:04 PM on July 22, 2012
posted by MexicanYenta at 11:04 PM on July 22, 2012
More small, good things: First ripe tomatoes; the Homesick Texan's carnitas; the little turkeys that perch on my back when I go in to feed them; the sound of scratching from inside eggs, which means that something's about to hatch; fresh garlic; huge sunflowers; and quiet time for coffee before the kids wake.
posted by MonkeyToes at 5:21 AM on July 23, 2012
posted by MonkeyToes at 5:21 AM on July 23, 2012
Yay, a thread about small good happy things!
Is "half a fuck-ton" a recognized unit of measurement? Because that's about how much fresh pesto is now in my freezer; I signed up for the canning/preserving share at my CSA this year; on four separate occasions this summer, on top of the box I usually got, I would get a huge buttload of some particular thing that I could then process as I chose. This Saturday was the first such distribution - twelve bunches of fresh basil. I had to keep it in two buckets in my room all weekend until I got a chance to get enough parmaesan and pine nuts and then get into the kitchen. It took me 3 hours last night to strip all the leaves and process it all down, but the reward was five and a half cups of pesto sitting in my freezer and waiting to be used. (And that was only half of the basil -- I chopped up the other half all on its own and stuffed that into ice cube trays and froze it that way. I will be set for basil until next summer, I think.)
I also discovered Brooklyn Kitchen finally, and it's a good thing it's so hard to get to from my apartment because otherwise I would go totally broke (I spent a hundred dollars on canning supplies as it was, including an investment in a genuine honest-to-god pickle crock).
So in short, I spent the weekend turning into some weird hybrid of Brooklyn Italian Grandmother and Portlandia character.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:42 AM on July 23, 2012 [5 favorites]
Is "half a fuck-ton" a recognized unit of measurement? Because that's about how much fresh pesto is now in my freezer; I signed up for the canning/preserving share at my CSA this year; on four separate occasions this summer, on top of the box I usually got, I would get a huge buttload of some particular thing that I could then process as I chose. This Saturday was the first such distribution - twelve bunches of fresh basil. I had to keep it in two buckets in my room all weekend until I got a chance to get enough parmaesan and pine nuts and then get into the kitchen. It took me 3 hours last night to strip all the leaves and process it all down, but the reward was five and a half cups of pesto sitting in my freezer and waiting to be used. (And that was only half of the basil -- I chopped up the other half all on its own and stuffed that into ice cube trays and froze it that way. I will be set for basil until next summer, I think.)
I also discovered Brooklyn Kitchen finally, and it's a good thing it's so hard to get to from my apartment because otherwise I would go totally broke (I spent a hundred dollars on canning supplies as it was, including an investment in a genuine honest-to-god pickle crock).
So in short, I spent the weekend turning into some weird hybrid of Brooklyn Italian Grandmother and Portlandia character.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:42 AM on July 23, 2012 [5 favorites]
What has been good this weekend was going to the English shop to buy some comfort food (PIES!1!) as well as some cider and perry beverages, stocking up on nice German beers (heifenweissessen (which is the sort of word you know how to spell, just not how to stop), bocks and pilsner) then sit in the garden all weekend and drink them. Also the city council put in a flowerbed in front of the house (ripped up the bricks, used them for a wall) so I could plant some nice flowers in front of my bedroom window and get people to not stand right next to it having an argument yah!
Not so good: it's Monday.
Better: still got some beer in the fridge for when I get home...
posted by MartinWisse at 6:49 AM on July 23, 2012
Not so good: it's Monday.
Better: still got some beer in the fridge for when I get home...
posted by MartinWisse at 6:49 AM on July 23, 2012
How do you stuff it in cube trays and freeze it? There's acres of fresh basil about but it goes bad so quick I would love a new way of saving some.
posted by winna at 7:47 AM on July 23, 2012
posted by winna at 7:47 AM on July 23, 2012
My husband is back from a business/pleasure trip to Nova Scotia (which was very much improved by advice and recommendations in some past AskMes), and he brought the sun back with him. So the flowering plants on my balcony are now perking up and flashing their colors joyfully while Pusslikeso is blissfully stretching and blinking and purring on a cushion when I drink my coffee out there.
posted by likeso at 7:49 AM on July 23, 2012
posted by likeso at 7:49 AM on July 23, 2012
Winna: I just threw it in the food processor and chopped it all fine like I was making pesto, then stuffed it into the trays with just enough water so there wouldn't be any weird air pockets in each cube and popped it in the freezer.
Although, someone told me that the REAL secret to how to freeze basil, either just plain like that or in pesto, is to BLANCH the leaves first; just get a really big pot of water boiling on the stove, then dump the leaves in, push them down to the bottom with a spoon and scoop them right back out, then dump them in a colander and run them under cold water. I did that with everything first and it seemed to keep the leaves really, really green. There was also enough water on the leaves after that that I dumped them into the food processor just like that and pureed them, and that seemed to be just enough for the freeze-in-ice-cube-trays thing. (For the pesto, I gently squeezed the water out with my hands first.)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:11 AM on July 23, 2012 [2 favorites]
Although, someone told me that the REAL secret to how to freeze basil, either just plain like that or in pesto, is to BLANCH the leaves first; just get a really big pot of water boiling on the stove, then dump the leaves in, push them down to the bottom with a spoon and scoop them right back out, then dump them in a colander and run them under cold water. I did that with everything first and it seemed to keep the leaves really, really green. There was also enough water on the leaves after that that I dumped them into the food processor just like that and pureed them, and that seemed to be just enough for the freeze-in-ice-cube-trays thing. (For the pesto, I gently squeezed the water out with my hands first.)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:11 AM on July 23, 2012 [2 favorites]
I realized the music in that little shop on Valencia Saturday was the Velvet Underground playing "Sunday Morning" because I'd recently found somebody's homemade disk of the Velvet's first record, which somehow I'd never heard before. When I got back to my car, it had received a $72 parking ticket but it was such a nice day, I didn't mind.
posted by Rash at 9:18 AM on July 23, 2012
posted by Rash at 9:18 AM on July 23, 2012
Ahh that sounds like a great plan! I will now be able to have fresh garden basil in winter. Well, some, anyway, since my freezer is the size of a shoebox.
posted by winna at 9:20 AM on July 23, 2012
posted by winna at 9:20 AM on July 23, 2012
I'm eating the Oreo Donut from Dunkin', chased with a Genesee. It's good.
posted by jonmc at 9:44 AM on July 23, 2012
posted by jonmc at 9:44 AM on July 23, 2012
Wow! A thread where I can driveby posting random stuff without a rap on the knuckles from cortex!
Oh Wow!
*scrabbles through seeking something suitably random*
posted by infini at 10:10 AM on July 23, 2012
Oh Wow!
*scrabbles through seeking something suitably random*
posted by infini at 10:10 AM on July 23, 2012
Oh shit when did this thread get overrun with hedonists? Somebody get the hose!
posted by carsonb at 11:06 AM on July 23, 2012
posted by carsonb at 11:06 AM on July 23, 2012
Oh, forgot the last step to the freezing-basil-thing - you of course can pop the cubes out of the ice cube tray once they're all frozen and stuff them into a freezer bag. (you can also leave them in the trays if you want, of course, if you wish....)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:40 AM on July 23, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:40 AM on July 23, 2012 [1 favorite]
Wow, major food envy. Well yesterday I oven-roasted about a pound of broccoli in a 1/2 tsp:1 tsp mix of bacon fat & olive oil + garlic. It might have changed my life.
posted by smirkette at 1:05 PM on July 23, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by smirkette at 1:05 PM on July 23, 2012 [1 favorite]
THANK YOU smirkette and EmpressCallipygos! I now have some clue what I'm going to do with the metric shitload of basil and broccoli my garden seems to be producing.
I reserve my disapproving scowl for the goddamned tomatoes(tm) which apparently refuse to ripen. But I'LL SHOW THEM cos I just pruned off 75% of their overly-abundant foliage :P
seriously, trying to grow tomatoes in Colorado is a fool's game and anyone who tells you any different is likely attempting to sell you $100 water walls that are nothing short of fancy highrise slug apartments
posted by lonefrontranger at 2:24 PM on July 23, 2012 [1 favorite]
I reserve my disapproving scowl for the goddamned tomatoes(tm) which apparently refuse to ripen. But I'LL SHOW THEM cos I just pruned off 75% of their overly-abundant foliage :P
seriously, trying to grow tomatoes in Colorado is a fool's game and anyone who tells you any different is likely attempting to sell you $100 water walls that are nothing short of fancy highrise slug apartments
posted by lonefrontranger at 2:24 PM on July 23, 2012 [1 favorite]
... $100 water walls that are nothing short of fancy highrise slug apartments
So I'm thinking that'd make a fun cartoon, but wait what'd it be like oh, you know it'd probably be a little like Pueblo living with people using each other's porches as access points and roofs as porches all the damn time and sayonara privacy, but given the rapid pace of slug life it'd probably be even more like they are basically in your house forever and I'm not having any more coffee just this moment.
posted by likeso at 2:59 PM on July 23, 2012 [1 favorite]
So I'm thinking that'd make a fun cartoon, but wait what'd it be like oh, you know it'd probably be a little like Pueblo living with people using each other's porches as access points and roofs as porches all the damn time and sayonara privacy, but given the rapid pace of slug life it'd probably be even more like they are basically in your house forever and I'm not having any more coffee just this moment.
posted by likeso at 2:59 PM on July 23, 2012 [1 favorite]
without a rap on the knuckles from cortex!
He's on vacation and I was busy almost breaking my ankle but if it's just a schmoopy thread, we mostly don't care. If it's a thread where we have to get some work done, less okay, and cortex gets back tonight.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 3:08 PM on July 23, 2012
He's on vacation and I was busy almost breaking my ankle but if it's just a schmoopy thread, we mostly don't care. If it's a thread where we have to get some work done, less okay, and cortex gets back tonight.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 3:08 PM on July 23, 2012
*feels publically raked over coals for lighthearted in context joke knowing all the above and when was the last time I did that and even Burh called me out*
*flounces out with a sore pout*
posted by infini at 3:10 PM on July 23, 2012
*flounces out with a sore pout*
posted by infini at 3:10 PM on July 23, 2012
Regarding pesto, my husband grinds it with garlic and a little olive oil in the mortar, (no pine nuts),and then preserves it with a good layer of olive oil on the top in baby food jars. They don't take up a lot of room and you can stack them in the back of the fridge.
They last ages. It's the best thing ever to have it sitting there handy to whack a big spoonful into a pasta sauce or whatever.
We always intend to harvest more basil, and always kick ourselves in mid winter when we run out.
posted by Catch at 3:14 PM on July 23, 2012
They last ages. It's the best thing ever to have it sitting there handy to whack a big spoonful into a pasta sauce or whatever.
We always intend to harvest more basil, and always kick ourselves in mid winter when we run out.
posted by Catch at 3:14 PM on July 23, 2012
jessamyn, how did you almost break your ankle?
(infini, get your butt back in here! I've got ice cream for that pout. It looks sore.)
posted by likeso at 3:16 PM on July 23, 2012
(infini, get your butt back in here! I've got ice cream for that pout. It looks sore.)
posted by likeso at 3:16 PM on July 23, 2012
I stepped in a hole! And now I have one robot foot, which is less cool than you'd think.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 3:18 PM on July 23, 2012
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 3:18 PM on July 23, 2012
Can you put that icecream pack against my ears? My hot flashes tend to consist of burning on the tops of my ears. Did I tell you what I yelled at my client today?
posted by infini at 3:21 PM on July 23, 2012
posted by infini at 3:21 PM on July 23, 2012
Okay, now I'm seeing you operating one of your feet with a remote control. Which would be tiresome, especially when the batteries run low mid-walk into town or when you lose the remote and it's not down the back of the sofa cushions.
What is a robot foot? What is it?!
posted by likeso at 3:22 PM on July 23, 2012
What is a robot foot? What is it?!
posted by likeso at 3:22 PM on July 23, 2012
Yes, infini hon, no judgement re ice cream placement. Ever. And, no. What did you yell at your client?
posted by likeso at 3:23 PM on July 23, 2012
posted by likeso at 3:23 PM on July 23, 2012
*imagine the all caps*
"I need my mommy and I want to go home"
*cough, blush*
posted by infini at 3:25 PM on July 23, 2012
"I need my mommy and I want to go home"
*cough, blush*
posted by infini at 3:25 PM on July 23, 2012
I NEED AN ADULT.
posted by The Whelk at 3:30 PM on July 23, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by The Whelk at 3:30 PM on July 23, 2012 [1 favorite]
Oh dear.
If you'll allow me, infini, I will surrogate for a sec: Oh, hon. You must be a bit overwhelmed right now or you wouldn't have said that. And it's alright, every single one of us says and does things we wish we hadn't every single day. Grandmother used to say, "that's why there's erasers on pencils, sugar." It's okay, hon. It'll pass.
Now come over here and have your ice cream any way you like it.
posted by likeso at 3:33 PM on July 23, 2012 [1 favorite]
If you'll allow me, infini, I will surrogate for a sec: Oh, hon. You must be a bit overwhelmed right now or you wouldn't have said that. And it's alright, every single one of us says and does things we wish we hadn't every single day. Grandmother used to say, "that's why there's erasers on pencils, sugar." It's okay, hon. It'll pass.
Now come over here and have your ice cream any way you like it.
posted by likeso at 3:33 PM on July 23, 2012 [1 favorite]
It was Rwanda that did it. 48 hours - lost luggage, found luggage, ransacked luggage received with broken lock, theft from hotel room, all the people I met with scars and missing body parts and stories and he would not shut up about all the corpses he had seen when he'd last been there working in emergency NGOs. I've been his handholder, nanny, therapist, breast feeder, COO, CEO, nursemaid and janitor since February. But when I ask to go home at the end of the month when he goes off on vacation for the month of August he started whining about all the fascinating work I could do while I stayed on for that month. And I've been having hot flashes and a gum infection from all of the above.
/suppresses all caps ;p and hugs likeso and The Whelk and Jessamyn that foot must hurt, so sorry, etc sigh.
posted by infini at 3:44 PM on July 23, 2012
/suppresses all caps ;p and hugs likeso and The Whelk and Jessamyn that foot must hurt, so sorry, etc sigh.
posted by infini at 3:44 PM on July 23, 2012
Hoo boy, no privilege like boss privilege! Yep, overwhelmed, and you've been at it since February. Damn. Well, hon, I think it's a good thing you said what you did in the way that you did. Showed him you need a vacation, too. :)
posted by likeso at 3:53 PM on July 23, 2012
posted by likeso at 3:53 PM on July 23, 2012
Yeah, I just sent off an email to the travel agency cc'ing him and let him know this was non negotiable, though I apologize for the outburst etc but need time off for R&R. Thank you, likeso, I didn't realize I needed to spill this. End of the dump now :)
posted by infini at 3:56 PM on July 23, 2012
posted by infini at 3:56 PM on July 23, 2012
Today I Learned; Jessamyn has a book simply called BEES.
posted by The Whelk at 4:02 PM on July 23, 2012
posted by The Whelk at 4:02 PM on July 23, 2012
infini, good for you! Well done, I'm proud of you. And see you get that gum infection sorted, mind.
/mom subroutine
re-initiating friends-on-equal-terms mode
(hug)
jessamyn, yikes! That there is a stormtrooper's foot. And the bandage on the wound above looks substantial. Yes, OWIE.
The Whelk, in the vicinity of two other books: Getting Even and Fire. eep
posted by likeso at 4:08 PM on July 23, 2012
/mom subroutine
re-initiating friends-on-equal-terms mode
(hug)
jessamyn, yikes! That there is a stormtrooper's foot. And the bandage on the wound above looks substantial. Yes, OWIE.
The Whelk, in the vicinity of two other books: Getting Even and Fire. eep
posted by likeso at 4:08 PM on July 23, 2012
Its about time the bees got even. Nothing short of genocide, I tell you.
posted by infini at 4:09 PM on July 23, 2012
posted by infini at 4:09 PM on July 23, 2012
Aaand now there are squadrons of bees armed with flamethrowers diving in formation at my head. Pusslikeso seems to be catching the vision. Or maybe there's another one of those dastardly invisible moths about. Could be the mothership, of course.
posted by likeso at 4:29 PM on July 23, 2012
posted by likeso at 4:29 PM on July 23, 2012
Its about time the bees got even. Nothing short of genocide, I tell you.
posted by The Whelk at 4:35 PM on July 23, 2012
posted by The Whelk at 4:35 PM on July 23, 2012
The bees book is actually called BEES BESIEGED. It's still on the "to read" pile.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 4:38 PM on July 23, 2012
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 4:38 PM on July 23, 2012
Just noticed the title of this post. How apt.
*sits back and waits for The Whelk to dig up relevant appropriate imagery*
posted by infini at 4:50 PM on July 23, 2012
*sits back and waits for The Whelk to dig up relevant appropriate imagery*
posted by infini at 4:50 PM on July 23, 2012
*sits back and waits for The Whelk to dig up relevant appropriate imagery*
posted by The Whelk at 4:56 PM on July 23, 2012 [3 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 4:56 PM on July 23, 2012 [3 favorites]
Pity that can't be sidebarred ;p
posted by infini at 5:11 PM on July 23, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by infini at 5:11 PM on July 23, 2012 [1 favorite]
This weekend I went to two awesome shows -- Ziggy Marley and John Mayall! yeah, good weekend.
posted by wallabear at 6:02 PM on July 23, 2012
posted by wallabear at 6:02 PM on July 23, 2012
Oh, damn, I know that boot....you don't have to go up and down stairs, do you? (That part sucked.)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:10 PM on July 23, 2012
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:10 PM on July 23, 2012
Ugh those boots are horrible!
At the gym the other day on TV I saw a dude in a baseball game RUNNING in one of those boots - I admired his chutzpah and thought he was crazy.
Don't go rounding home until the boot is off is all I'm saying.
posted by winna at 7:40 PM on July 23, 2012
At the gym the other day on TV I saw a dude in a baseball game RUNNING in one of those boots - I admired his chutzpah and thought he was crazy.
Don't go rounding home until the boot is off is all I'm saying.
posted by winna at 7:40 PM on July 23, 2012
Metafilter: don't go rounding home until the boot is off
posted by Sara C. at 8:09 PM on July 23, 2012
posted by Sara C. at 8:09 PM on July 23, 2012
I'm trying to find the best intro to boxing class in NYC.
posted by The Whelk at 8:10 PM on July 23, 2012
posted by The Whelk at 8:10 PM on July 23, 2012
you don't have to go up and down stairs, do you?
My apartment is up 28 steps. So as long as I don't need to go anywhere, I'm good.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 8:13 PM on July 23, 2012
My apartment is up 28 steps. So as long as I don't need to go anywhere, I'm good.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 8:13 PM on July 23, 2012
Mine is up 78 steps. I broke my foot in January.
Everyone, be REALLY nice to Jessamyn for the next month; trust me, she'll need it.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:21 PM on July 23, 2012
Everyone, be REALLY nice to Jessamyn for the next month; trust me, she'll need it.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:21 PM on July 23, 2012
Man I twisted my ankle like three years ago and even that made going outside ( or to the bathroom) a complete taxing adventure.
posted by The Whelk at 8:27 PM on July 23, 2012
posted by The Whelk at 8:27 PM on July 23, 2012
I twisted mine 6 years ago and used to live on the steepest part of Mason St in SF - took me a month just to be able to get milk.
posted by infini at 12:53 AM on July 24, 2012
posted by infini at 12:53 AM on July 24, 2012
You are not logged in, either login or create an account to post comments
posted by terrapin at 11:18 AM on July 22, 2012 [2 favorites]