the hussy

Today’s Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee just confused me. The episode was “Take Out/In 2,” for the masochists among you who may want to catch it in reairings this week. She made what she called an Apple Pie Napoleon which involved taking a Sara Lee frozen pie and smashing it up with a fork. She then put it inside baked sheets of puff pastry which were also mashed down with a fork. Then there was some Cool Whip mixed with sugar and cinnamon, and a cream cheese-confectioner’s sugar-cream liqueur. It was really over-the-top and needlessly complicated, and, oh yeah, stupid. Why not just serve the pie with some ice cream? Will that make your friends hate you or something?

There was something called a Redtini. See my earlier rant on things ending in “-tini.” This was a drink that consists of frozen strawberries, Red Bull, and vodka. I’m sorry, but WTF? More than that, she has apparently run out of inspiration for dumb names. Last week, there was the Blushing Martini (so ashamed at its own creation!), during the asinine rose-themed show, which seemed to be an excuse for shilling the products from this website. Lest you say, “Oh, Sarah, she could have bought rose petals, syrup, and soda anywhere,” I saw her on a daytime women’s show called Life & Style (which was seriously many times worse than The View) hawking this exact website. And that stuff’s wayyyy expensive (at least through that site). I’m sure that the flavor of rose petals in nice in moderation. Perhaps that tea is tasty. But I don’t want an entire freaking menu centered around it. Rose water in potato pancakes? Is she high?

I won’t even get started on what I think about her saying crescent rolls taste the same as croissants. And the fact that she’s so proud of using entirely disposable products for her themed tabletop. You go, girl! Keep on keepin’ on with yo’ bad, bad self. Fill up those landfills! No one likes a hole in the ground! w00t!

Ugh, woman. You… astonish me.

I got my PG&E bill today. Last month, it was nearly $60. Stupid expensive gas. So I decided I could do one of three things.

1. Stop cooking.
2. Stop bathing.
3. Be cold.

I chose to be cold. And my new bill was $30. Yay!

You may say, “Sarah, that’s stupid. Suck it up, andpay the extra money to be warm.” There are a lot of blankets and sweaters and tea in my apartment. And I will turn the heater on when I have company. Yes, I can’t wear a t-shirt around at night. I have two comforters and a down blanket on my bed. But I was able to cut my bill in half, and that makes me veryvery happy.

Of course, why buy tortillas when you can make them? I went to Safeway last night and could not bring myself to spend two to three dollars on a pack of eight or ten. Especially when I can make that number for approximately thirty cents.

And I would just like to say, the Massaledarh Sambhar on some diced chicken in a tortilla was a great idea. Yum.

I need to buy some chicken and tortillas. I made the following vegetarian Indian dish last night, and it’s good. It would be even better with some chicken. And in a tortilla. Sadly, it’s not something that can just be eaten on its own. Well, you could try. I certainly did nibble on it last night. But I don’t think it comprises the main course of a meal.

Massaledarh Sambhar (Tomato Rasam)
The Art of Indian Cuisine (modified by Sarah)

1/2 cup yellow split peas
4 cups water
Big pinch ground turmeric
Big pinch black pepper
Big pinch ground asafetida (I don’t know what this is)
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/4 tsp whole mustard seeds
1 bay leaf
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
1 green pepper, finely chopped
2 15-ounce cans chopped tomatoes, drained
1/4 cup chopped cilantro (optional)

Boil the split peas in the water until tender, 20-30 minutes. Leave the lid off, and keep an eye on it so it doens’t boil over. Drain and reserve the cooking liquid. Pass the peas through a food mill, grind them in a big mortar and pestle, or (because you probably don’t have these) pulse in a food processor or blender until creamy. Mix in turmeric, black pepper, asafetida, cumin, cayenne, lemon juice, and salt. Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the reserved liquid and stir to combine.

Heat oil in a large skillet (I used the pot I had used for boiling the split peas, but this probably was not the right choice). Fry mustard seeds until they crack open. Add the bay leaf, onion, and green pepper. Cook, stirring, for 3-5 minutes, until the vegetables are soft. Add the tomatoes and cook for another 2 minutes. Mix in the split pea mixture. Simmer for 15 minutes, adding more of the reserved liquid if it looks too dry. Garnish with cilantro.

Terry’s Pfeffernussen by way of Lydia

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs, well-beaten
1 cup flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
1/2 tsp nutmeg, freshly ground
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp allspice
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp cardamom
1 tsp salt

Heat the oven to 350.

Cream the butter and sugar together, then add the eggs and mix until thoroughly combined. Whisk together the flour, leaveners, and spices. Add to the butter-sugar-eggs and mix to combine. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto a greased or parchment-lined baking sheet.

Bake for 10-14 minutes, or until brown around edges. Cookies will be pretty soft in the middle. Makes around 24.

More Katamari Damacy cosplay pictures- apparently there were a bunch of them at Katsucon this past weekend.

Holy crap! This Dipp is incredible!

This King of All Cosmos… there’s something missing… heehee. Although apparently his head lit up… awesome. Another shot. And another. Here’s the King with his… son? Not accurate by a long shot, but still very cute.

Here’s a big Katamari cosplay group with Ichigo, Kuro, June, Columbo, the Prince, and Jungle. Another group picture. Everyone holding their heads, hee! Casual, but in full costume.

Same group, individual pictures.
Kuro
Ichigo
The Prince
Columbo
Jungle
June

Ooh, not so good. It doesn’t seem to turn out well when people show that they have necks.

This picture just confuses me. There’s a Prince, and… Utena in a Rose Bride dress with a Katamari head. Well, I mean, I guess I get it. The anime, Revolutionary Girl Utena, is all about princes, so I guess it’s a crossover that makes sense. Sort of. In a way that doesn’t make sense at all.

Oh, lord. I have had the ingredients for two recipes for four days now. Why can’t I just make them and be done with it? Why am I spazzing at myself? I found something I want to share, but I feel guilty about going so long without posting a recipe.

Anyway, I found this site, and it’s frikkin’ adorable. Click on “Pics,” and start in on the first page. Powerpuff Girls drawn in different art styles, anime characters drawn in the PPG style. Man, I was clicking through these pages and squeeing my delight. And I’m not a lass given to squeeing. “So cuuuute!” “Love it!” Etc. You should be glad you weren’t here.

Interesting. Check out what this lass has used to make a katamari for her Prince costume (scroll down a bit). Excardon me while I think about whether that’s adaptable to my colors… probably not.

Oh, and speaking of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, there’s a new trailer up at Amazon.

I made the following soup this afternoon. I don’t know, I was trying to get the yumminess that is roasted cauliflower into a soup, but I don’t know if it really worked. I mean, it’s okay, and I’m going to eat it, but I don’t know if I actually accomplished anything. I’d say just go with normal potato-leek soup. Unless you’re really keen on cauliflower and want to do the extra step of roasting it. I think what I’d do in the future is maybe use a few pieces of the roasted cauliflower as a garnish for the potato-leek soup. Maybe. I don’t know.