I found a massive package of pork ribs at Kroger recently and thought, “how hard can it be?”
Pork ribs were not as easy as tacos, but I think they turned out alright. One thing that I am really glad that I did is to get all of the cleaning supplies and trash can out before I started cooking. This made the process much easier.
The ribs were a little messy, but delicious. However, next time I’ll be more careful before getting a massive cut of meat like that again.
I’ve never heard of “cedar-planked salmon” before, but the package at the grocery store convinced me to give it a whirl.
I made the salmon with a bed of bacon-infused rice, which turned out to be the best part of the meal.
Proof that home cooking is not necessarily healthier — Michael figured out how to make a fast-food style breakfast sandwich at home.
The ingredients were simple enough and available at the local grocery store — English muffin, cheese, egg and sausage. I think the German breakfast sandwiches are probably healthier, but perhaps it’s time for a breakfast salad instead. 🥗
I grew up splitting time between Germany and the U.S., so soft-boiled eggs and breakfast sandwiches are part of my morning routine.
Like everyone else, I took up baking since this great work from home experiment. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize that I purchased a mini-muffin pan and regular-sized cups until I started mixing…
I celebrated last New Year’s Eve in Minnesota and now I am ending the year as an official Texan.
2015 was wonderful, but exhausting.
James Sanna and Aaron Kraemer getting married in Boston.
A bloody Mary and the New Yorker Magazine at the Washington DC airport.
Alyssa Edwards at the Dallas Gay Pride iLume block party.
Dancers at the iLume block party.
A dramatically lit mansion in Highland Park.
We tried a new Vietnamese restaurant by the Townhouse recently. The best part of the trip was the coconut drink which was served in an actual coconut.
Tader and I decided to order the “seven courses of beef” dish which was way more food than we needed.
I saw this at the Uptown Rainbow Foods grocery store today:
My first reaction was: “What a fugly box.”
Matt and I are at the Saloon. I see a Hispanic guy wearing a thin white button down with a gaudy silver pattern on the back. He also has a “female” friend who made me instantly homesick for Miami – flat ironed hair, tight tank top, fake breasts, scandalously short skirt, and dangerous stilettos.
I couldn’t resist.
Me: “Oh gurl, you’re beautiful!”
Yamile: “Why thank you!”
Me: “I’m from Miami. You’re taking me back right now.”
Yamile: “Oh my god! We are from Miami!”
I was in high school when I watched Supersize Me. At the time, I ate at McDonalds twice a day, every day. The movie didn’t phase me, and my drive-thru habits continued. 1
After reading Jillian Michael’s “Master your Metabolism” my grocery list turned into that of a hippie yoga teacher, but drive-thrus were still the norm when I didn’t make time to stop at the grocery store.
My eating habits consisted of fruits, vegetables, and fresh meat mixed with fast food and vending machine “food.”
I realized that my eating habits reached the disgusting level last week during my summer school final exams. I felt queasy and sleep deprived, and my stack of bluebooks was surrounded by cups of vending machine coffee2, two bags of pretzels, a bag of generic vending machine salted trail mix, and a box of Mike & Ikes. Sure, I had healthy food at home, but this crap was somehow in front of me.
Sometime between my Professional Responsibility exam and my Wills & Trust exam I decided this had to stop.
That day I decided to ditch the vending machine food and the late night fast food trips.
On Saturday, Jill and I were pulling a marathon work day, and we decided to take a break and fetch lunch. I decided to shake up the new “healthy” diet with a strategically timed trip to Culver’s.3 I figured that a burger wouldn’t shake things up too much…
…and I was wrong.
We get back to work, I eat the burger, and twenty minutes later we hear a loud cranking and gurgling sound.
Jill: “Oh my god, is that your stomach!?”
I give her a pathetic, panicked look and flee to the restroom.
Culver’s was officially axed from the diet.
Today, I axed all the other fast food restaurants. I saw the movie “Food Inc.” and I think it finished the diet change that Jillian Michaels started.
Jillian described how disgusting most food is, but it is one thing to read about how gross food is, and it’s another thing to see it.
The reason why Supersize Me didn’t change my eating habits is because I lost weight on my straight-McDonald’s diet. Supersize Me didn’t disgust me because I knew that fast food was made from poorly treated, hormone pumped animals and chemically engineered potatoes. So what?
Food Inc. answered the “So what?” question.
I knew Minnesota was cheaper than Miami but dang – the portions are ridiculous here. I went to the Pagoda pan-Asian restaurant and ordered this $8.99 dish. And erm…. Yeah. That’s too much food. It doesn’t look like a lot but that plate is like 10×10 inches of nothing but meat. PETA would flip.
Another thing that’s killing me is the drink specials. The drinks are about $2 cheaper than in Miami and there always seems to be a 2-4-1 or 3-4-1 special going on. My problem is that I’m not a huge drinker, and at some clubs they don’t give you a ticket… they just hand you two beers.
There’s no graceful way to doublefist beer at the clubhouse. You’ll look like you have issues every time.
So the result of the Minnesota portion problem is that I’m always lugging around a to-go box.
And yes, there’s one sitting on my coffee table as I’m typing this.
The University is only about two miles from downtown so I’ve spent a lot of time roaming and playing tourist. I love the sculptures that are all over downtown.
These guys are my favorite. It’s like the bird turds have come to life and decided to garden!
So apparently the Mary Tyler Moore Show was based here… as a kid I assumed all city shows took place in NYC. Oops!
Moving to Minneapolis a month early was a good idea. I’m meeting my housemates sort of one-by-one as they move in instead of in a huge group a few days before school starts. I also get to explore at a relaxed (and random) pace –“Oh let’s see where this bus goes to!”
One thing that has been on the to-do list is City Hall.
City Hall!
Stained glass windows in City Hall
I was a history major as an undergrad and I’m a huge sucker for historic buildings. City hall didn’t disappoint – a highlight was the heroic statue in the middle of the lobby.
“Father of Waters” by Larkin Goldsmith Mead
The downtown Barnes & Noble has become my downtown hangout spot. It has window seats facing Nicollet Avenue – the people watching is amazing. Today however, the entertainment was inside,
Lady sitting behind me (to her friend): Our new couch is AMAZING. This must be the best time in our marriage because we must have tried seven different positions last night – the sex has never been better!
Umm… maybe they’ll name the baby Ikea?
Other snippets:
And I realize my posts are incoherent/in snippet format. Things will shape up once I get out of my wide-eyed tourist mode.