Kate's Eats & Beats

Why everything that's sposed to be bad make me feel so good?

2011-12-17T23:39:00.002-06:00

Everything they told me not to is exactly what I would

Like majoring in English, or being a professional knitter....

I don't know why, but I've been listening to some tracks from Late Registration lately. Yes, I am the nerdiest, whitest girl you could imagine. But I believe that my affinity for a particular album at certain times is because I need to hear what it has to say. Touch the Sky is my sermon, and Kanye is my preacher. I almost named this post "Damn I was havin' nervous breakdowns; these knitters that much better than me?" (heh, see what I did there?)

I haven't posted here in a long time. Sorry about all the cobwebs. But this has become my public diary, and it felt appropriate to make a post this week.

I have been doing a lot of self-examination and trying to find what makes my heart sing. Well, besides knitting. The knitting thing is actually doing quite well, I suppose, given that I have only been officially pro since August. My patterns are selling pretty well on Ravelry, my wares are featured at two galleries here in town, and I have real business cards! I have also been handpicked for a local art show and I was interviewed by the local paper! But it has been a lot of hard work. I often stay up until 3 a.m. trying to get an order done. Sometimes, I have knitted for so long, my hands will stiffen into permanent needle holding mode and I have to pry my fingers off. I have to admit I love it though. It is truly and deeply satisfying to knit. It has become a necessary spiritual practice. The closest I get to meditation or trying to tap into something outside of and greater than myself.

Even though I spend most of my day at home now, I still don't make much time to cook. However, I recently found a recipe for slow cooker bread pudding. I modified it a bit, (like I do every recipe, because I am inherently subversive.)

You will need:

1 loaf day old bread (like the regular sandwich kind)
1 1/3 c milk
1 apple, chopped
1/2 c walnuts or pecans
1/2 c raisins
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg lightly beaten
1/2 c light brown sugar
1 stick butter, melted

Tear the bread into ~1 inch strips. Place in slow cooker. Pour milk over bread and let soak for about 30 min. Pour in the chopped apple, nuts, and raisins. Stir and mix well. Beat the egg and leave in a medium mixing bowl. Add the melted butter, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla. Mix well. Pour this mixture over the bread in the slow cooker. Set the cooker to low heat and cook for about 4-5 hours or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

This will be a big hit for the holidays! I hope y'all have happy ones, whatever you may be celebrating!

And remember, 'fore the day you die, you gonna touch the sky.

when i look around, i think this...this is good enough

2011-07-24T12:06:00.002-05:00

and i try to laugh at whatever life brings
cuz when i look down i just miss all the good stuff
and when i look up i just trip over things

the above ani difranco quote has been one of my mantras since around 1996. it was even written on my bedroom wall. it never fails me. i have realized that my music is part of my spirituality, and i quote songs like scripture.

so, remember that administrative assistant job i've been complaining about the past few months? well, after a while it wasn't so bad. i really loved the people i worked with. i mean, we made turbans out of bubble rap and danced around to beyonce songs!! and when a friend said, "think of it as getting paid to go and hang out with those guys for 8 hrs" well, i kinda started to like it. i got the hang of things, got more comfortable speaking with clients, and i got a raise!

then the next week i go in to find out they've decided to "throw out the existing business model" and after "restructuring" my position doesn't exist anymore!

so this post is to put you on notice. i officially give up. clearly whoever's in charge of this world does not want me to be a regular working stiff. i am meant to find my own way and carve my own path. i will be my own boss. i will knit until my fingers bleed. i will teach knitting lessons. i will be at every freaking craft show in the the tri-county area. i will sell my patterns on ravelry. i will send my patterns to random publishing companies until someone bites. and i will eventually have my own store, my own publishing company, my own line of yarn and knitting tools. look out, debbie bliss, cuz i'm comin' for ya!

the first few months will be hard. but, god bless my wonderful husband, he fully supports this decision and is willing to do whatever it takes to make this happen. even if that means he has to eat the free vegetables that my former coworker will continue to bring me from her garden. i don't mind at all! check out what i've been scarfing all week:

Easy Baked Zucchini

Cut one large Zucchini into medium-thin slices, lengthwise
Lay flat in a glass casserole dish
Drizzle with Italian Dressing
Sprinkle with pepper and Parmesan cheese
Bake in oven at 350 for about 15-20 min or until cheese is as brown and crispy as you like

MMM MMM MMM folks!

This recipe also works well with yellow crookneck squash, which is like everywhere here in the South. If you know someone with a garden in the South, they are definitely growing crookneck squash, and they are also going to be begging you to take some once it starts coming in. Thus, it becomes a practically free meal! This is also delicious served with spaghetti.

Remember kids, follow your happiness and success will follow. Don't let the man get you down. May the music heal you. Never pass up a free squash.

until you remember the feelings of a real life emotional teenager

2011-07-11T22:17:00.003-05:00

I was visiting my parents several weeks ago and my mom and I were looking for a box of old broken jewelry to give to a local artist around here that does amazing things with that unwanted stuff. Anyway, during the search I came across a storage bin full of my old diaries and every freakin note that my high school bffs Jen, Sheila, and Tamara had ever passed to me.

You know how we like to walk around shakin' our heads at teenagers tsking, "I was never like that."

You totally were. And so was I. I found my 14 year old self to be quite intolerable.

In fact, here's a list of things I thought about myself that my diary proved were untrue, along with damning quotes from my diary:

I was never boy crazy.

"I <3 Cordie I <3 Cordie I <3 Cordie!!!" *

*And note, by the next page it was "I <3 Matt I <3 Matt I <3 Matt!!!"

I spoke actual English.

"Yay! I don't have any homework tonight! That RulZ! Life totally sux right now! [insert trivial matter blown out of proportion here]. NE-WayZ! Casey is comeing over tonight!"

I didn't watch stupid TV shows.

"They had a special hour long episode of FRIENDS tonight and it was so hilarious!"

I didn't listen to stupid pop music.

"Just got the new Dave Matthews CD! <3 it! It's sounds really good on my new stereo!"

And my all time favorite passage from my freshman year diary (perhaps from any diary ever):

"What if when I called him to tell him I didn't want to go to the movies he thought I meant I didn't like him! What if he really did like me!? This sux! I hate my life! I hate guys! I should just leap off a cliff and fall towards jagged rocks to my slow and agonizing death where wild cannibals are waiting to devour my flesh!"

Granted, that was my freshman year, and I did a lot of growing up and changing over the next couple years. I actually still like my 17 year old self. That girl was AWESOME.

And now for a disgusting recipe that only a hormone-ridden teenage girl could stomach--taken from a note we passed in study hall when we were hungry. I don't remember eating this stuff, I don't think we actually followed through, but the idea...man...what and idea!

Chocolate Pop Tart Sandwich

Take two chocolate pop tarts. (do they still have that flavor?)

Spread peanut butter and/or marshmallow cream on the back side of each pop tart

Push together

BAM! Pop Tart Sandwich!

See? I've always been the svelte health nut you know and love today. NOT!

LoL! Okay 1990s, you can go away now! Thnx BaI!

Except for your music. Your music can stay.

(Totally just turned on the Candlebox album.)

"And then maybe

Some would say your life was sad

But you lived it anyway"

it's time for business that's why they're called business socks ooo!

2011-04-25T19:40:00.002-05:00

oH hai BLog!

Sorry it's been a while. But I actually have stuff to write about now.

I know this is so last year, but I've been listening to Grizzly Bear's Veckatimest like nonstop lately. The more I listened to it, the more it began to remind me of hearing my folks' America albums play as a child. I know comparing America to Grizzly Bear seems strange, but trust me, next time you hear Fine for Now, your mind will go straight to Sandman or Riverside.

I think it is this aspect of Veckatimest that makes it such an appropriate soundtrack to my life right now. I am at a crossroads, having to make choices between childhood dreams or responsible adult decisions. I think I've said this before, but I never ever saw myself with a 9 to 5 office job. I'm too creative, or just plain abnormal and hard to get along with, if we're being honest. I knew even as a child that my future lie in art and creativity, or perhaps some obscure realm of academia where eccentricity is part of the job description. When asked, "What do you want to be when you grow up?", I answered with the following responses: "An archaeologist," "An astronaut," "A writer," "A hermit." ( I clearly liked being alone.) Most little girls answered "Nurse" or "Teacher." At six, I didn't notice I wasn't normal. At sixteen, I noticed but reveled in the fact. At thirty.....oh to be normal! To want to be a nurse and watch college football and read Nora Roberts romances!

That being said, I recently accepted a position as a full time administrative assistant for the same company I have also been tutoring for. Vastly different worlds. I feel as though I have left my empty husk behind me and have emerged, new but....ready? That is yet to be determined. It breaks my heart a little that the thing I'd prayed for, wished for, hoped for the past year came to me just as my knitting career took off too. The reality is, I must eventually choose one. It is impossible to work 40 hrs a week and to knit all the animals customers and potential customers have ordered. I worked so hard SO HARD to build a name for myself in the local arts community, to become the rising star of Lowe Mill....and now I see it all crumbling....more dreams crumbling...

I have been at this administrative assistant position for nearly 3 weeks. During that same time, I have dreamed of Shiva in his dancing Nataraja form almost every night. A Hindu friend said I was blessed to see Shiva, that it meant I had attained peace. It's a beautiful thought, but I don't feel very peaceful. And I must wonder, if Shiva is dancing, what is being destroyed and what is being created?

I don't have any recipes or food adventures to share tonight. But I do have some half price chocolate bunnies to eat.

round hole round hole square peg don't fit

2011-01-12T20:49:00.002-06:00

I've been listening to a lot of TV on the Radio lately. They just seem to fit my mood and c'mon! those lyrics! I sing the title of this post to myself pretty much every time I'm out in public.

WARNING!! BLOG IS ABOUT TO GET MORE PERSONAL THAN USUAL!!

I feel really old and left out lately. Some days I feel like I woke up on another planet and I don't understand the language or dress or customs of these strange creatures. I know all dorks and outcasts feel this way, but sometimes it's particularly lonely because I don't even have a dork niche or subculture that I properly fit into. For example, my husband is a dork outcast. He reads physics books and builds computers and watches Star Trek. But he can go into any room and say, "Computers and Star Trek?" and at least 3 people in the room respond, "Ooo Ooo me too!" I feel like I'm always going into rooms and saying, "William James and knitted animals?" to which the response is, *crickets*.

At the grocery store I am looking at covers of magazines and I don't even know who those people are. My friends sing along to songs at restaurants and stores that I have never heard before. Most of the time, I feel these are things I should be proud of, but sometimes, it just makes me feel like crawling further into my lonely cave. Trying to connect with people, and maintain a connection, is rather exhausting to me. It shouldn't be so hard, ya know?

Well, that's enough whining for tonight. I really didn't intend this to sound as whiny as it probably does, I just wanted to get it off my chest.

I am trying to go back to being strictly vegetarian. It is hard to do all the time. Living with my parents again, I have less control over what's in the house and what's for dinner. But I do what I can. Here's what I've been snacking on this week:

Quick and Easy Veggie Burger Quesadillas

You will need:

small corn tortillas
Morning Star Farms Spicy Black Bean veggie burgers OR MSF grilled chicken style patties
cheese!! (i prefer pepper jack)
salsa

Heat frozen patty as preferred.( I'll admit, I just wrap it in a paper towel and microwave for a min cuz I am lazy and impatient for my snack lol!) Lay patty in tortillas and cover with cheese. Microwave for a few seconds (about 35 is good on ours.) Cut into four triangles and dip into your fave salsa. Yum!

I know it's not terribly healthy, but things like this are good for those of us who are trying to convert to vegetarianism but still crave old comfort food favorites.

all the furniture is in the garage

2010-12-01T22:57:00.002-06:00

5 points for gryffindor if you know what song the title is from!

so dudes! i have not blogged in a couple of months! here's the happy-haps:

living with my parents again is....interesting. it's mostly fun though, and i am not having to work retail during the holidays so yay! thanks, mom and dad!

plans have changed a little. see, one of my professors refused to write me a letter of recommendation to UNA! before you freak out, she had a point. if i really want a life in academia, i shouldn't waste my time and money on a master's degree. instead, i should shoot straight through a ph.d. program. this sentiment was later echoed by my other letter-writing professor and i obviously wanted to listen to people who have been in the biz a while. so i am looking into ph.d. programs and i think i have settled on MTSU but.....

i have an amazing opportunity right now, a real second chance at life. no house, no bills, no kids. basically, it's like i just graduated from high school all over again. i am 18 (+10 lol!) and the world is my oyster. if i major in english again, am i making the same mistakes? i am trying to suppress my naive dreamer tendencies and make some practical choices. i mean, what's wrong with being an optometrist who knows a lot about 18th and 19th century british novelists? so, i am looking into ANY AND ALL other possible outcomes for my future, like forensic anthropology, audiology, deaf education, veterinarian, zoologist, etc. i am taking a year off to try on different hats and see which one makes me truly happy. BUT i am still not listening to anyone else or letting them influence me (well, other than my professors i guess). these are all my ideas.

the one major difference between my previous lifestyle and my current is that I AM NEVER ALONE! in retrospect, i had TONS OF LUXURIOUS FREE TIME before that i took for granted. so, i haven't listened to new music or discovered any new and exciting foods. i listen to my senile grandfather's crazy rants and eat sausage biscuits every morning....*sigh*

i did recently download Florence + the Machine Lungs and LCD Soundsystem This is Happening from amazonmp3. They were just $1.99! If you do not know about amazonmp3, then I feel sorry for you. also, my teeny hick hometown now has A FREAKING ASIAN MARKET OMG!! it is so cute! i bought these awesome wraps there the other day. hmmm let me find a link....http://www.yamamotoyama.com/soywrapper.html

yeah i could've made a hyperlink but i don't want to, okay?

hope you guys had awesome thanksgiving, if you celebrate it. if you dress up as pilgrims and indians you are messed up. if you use the time to visit with loved ones and count your blessings, you win!! i actually did not have to cook anything and i did not eat turkey! and in case i don't post again, merry christmas, happy hanukkah, happy kwanzaa, happy diwali, merry yule....am i missing anyone? lol! HAPPY HOLIDAYS!! =)

can't adjust can't re-learn

2010-09-20T22:47:00.002-05:00

wow, dudes. so much has changed just since last saturday. if you know me at all, you know how miserable i have been in my library science graduate program. i'm not going to go into details or point fingers or name names here, but there was a final straw that broke this camel's back last week. i have dropped out, and i'm moving back in with my parents so i can finally begin my English MA.

just know that i am really excited to be taking control of my life and making my own decisions and following my happiness.

know what else gets me eXcited? the XX album. srsly, best album since MGMT's oracular spectacular. no song on it is bad. i bought it back in july and have been listening to it basically nonstop so i don't know why i am just now getting around to blogging about it!

i have been celebrating my new life at voodoo lounge. we just discovered it a few weeks ago. honestly, best bar food i have ever had. their burger is actually super good. so is their ham and blt sandwich. awesomesauce bloody marys too. i think all the locals that read this already go there, but just in case you don't....it's good crowd there too. obviously jason and i aren't going to go to sammy t's, and kaffee klatch has too many drunk old ppl dancing around to old ppl music. as my friend kyle said, "every time i come here, i'm like, why did i come here?" lol! anyway, back to voodoo. so far, bands have been tolerable, but even better, when they are just playing music, it is awesome 90s stuff like pixies, sleater-kinney, breeders, etc. that special combination of good food and good music is hard to find, and voodoo gets kate's official seal of approval.

did i do something wrong? cuz it's been a long long long time

2010-08-25T11:19:00.002-05:00

today's post is about things that are long overdue, like this post.

this first thing that finally happened that was long overdue was my visit to the Jamaican restaurant on Jordan called Curry in a Hurry. My bestie Porscha, who was defiinitely the highlight of my summer, took me there and OH MY GOD I fantasize about that curried fish snack box everyday now. pay attention, locals. CRAZY GOOD FOOD FOR CHEAP what's not to like??

sadly, my fellow food adventurer has moved away to Denver =( i thought it'd be a good time to start something else long overdue: losing weight. so i'm back to keeping a food diary and counting calories. I have gone up almost 2 sizes in the past year, so.....yeah.....the best news i've had today, THERE'S ONLY 30 CALORIES IN A PLUM!! =D

the last thing that is long overdue is my endorsement of Harlem. the band, not the neighborhood. though, i'd endorse that as well, but i've never been. so far, i have not heard a bad song by them. they are fun. and kinda spicy. kinda like Jamaican food. Go get a spinach patty (fried pie!!) and a curried fish snack box right now and turn on some Harlem. you won't remember the last time you were so happy.

there's a place i must go it's not a place that i've seen

2010-07-28T20:01:00.002-05:00

so, i guess i'm going to show my inner goth girl a little more and reveal to you my love of bat for lashes. can't get enough of them lately, especially the song "pearl's dream." but, i mean, you guys already knew i loved siouxsie so is anyone surprised?

what will probably surprise you more is the emergence of my inner surfer girl as i endorse best coast. their track called "boyfriend" has been a particularly frequent earworm.

in other news....i dunno.....i spend most of my time making Frappuccinos and working on my Green Apron Attitudes. i still find time to knit though. i actually had a booth at a craft fair last month and my bunnies were a big hit. i also completed a pattern for an elephant that is pretty cute, just needs a little tweaking.

i have not been very adventurous with my eating or cooking lately. well, except for my newest discovery, the self-mash chocolate peanut butter at EarthFare. no really. it's a big vat of nothing but roasted peanuts and chocolate chips, and you grind it, and out comes the most amazing substance you could think of. i have been making sandwiches of that and strawberries and bananas like every morning for breakfast. i have been most adventurous at work. if any of you frequent a Starbucks, ask the barista to make you one of these things: an iced soy green tea latte with a pump of hazelnut or a soy green tea frappuccino with strawberry puree. i swear, it's delicious! i also love iced soy hazelnut mochas and iced soy caramel macchiatos with hazelnut instead of vanilla. ( i'm kind of addicted to hazelnut....i know it's "pedestrian" but i'm okay with that.)

maybe not from the sources you have poured yours

2010-06-17T21:37:00.003-05:00

Today, I want to talk about covers. You all know I'm a traditionalist and a purist. There was a time, not so long ago, that I vowed never to like a cover better than the original, but well, that creed was obviously abandoned almost as soon as it was thought. Or, at least as soon as I heard The Sundays cover Wild Horses. (Who really likes the Stones anyway?? O no I di int!)

The aforementioned is, without a doubt, the best cover ever EVER. There are a few more that I must admit I like better than the original, and here they are:

1. Joe Cocker's With a Little Help From My Friends. Duh. I mean, you can ask Holly, who is my only rival for Biggest Beatles Fan in the South, I really love my Fab Four. I make out with them in my dreams. But Joe just gave that song a heart and soul it was missing before. Mad props.

2. Deathcab for Cutie's All is Full of Love. I can't really say that I like it better than Bjork's but it is definitely a tie.

3. Indigo Girls' Romeo and Juliet. Come on guys, I know you all ripped your dad's Dire Straits albums into your iTunes. Don't be embarrassed. But just so you know, the Girls version is so raw and emotional compared to the original.

4. The Cardigans' Iron Man. I apologize, especially to Nicole, for this one, but I've always leaned more towards the 1960s pop/bossa nova stylings of the Cardigans than I have towards metal. Don't get me wrong, though, I still have much love for the Prince of Darkness and Black Sabbath's Paranoid gets pretty heavy rotation on my iPod.

5. Jose Gonzalez's Heartbeats. I have mentioned in previous posts how much I love LOVE The Knife, and Karin Andersson's solo as Fever Ray, but just when I thought I couldn't love Heartbeats anymore I hear Jose's cover. And just so you know, unlike most people, I knew the original Knife version first, because, as you well know, my love of Nordic electropop usurps even my love of breathy acoustic folk.

6. Michael Andrews' Mad World. All ya'll at least have Tears for Fears' greatest hits or something. If not, you should. They actually rock! But I have to admit, as much as I hate hate HATE Donnie Darko, I really love this song.

Speaking of covers, Jason and I found some clay pots (ya know, for making Vietnamese clay pot dishes) for six bucks at the local asian market! We are freaking addicted to ordering them at our fave Vietnamese restaurant, but sometimes we don't want to leave the house, and sometimes we don't have money, so we wanted to try it at home. We are going to try them out tomorrow night! I am excited! The Vietnamese ladies checking us out last night were all "Oh ya'll are going to make clay pot?" And I said, "Well, we're going to try" and they laughed and said "It's easy!" But on the way home, Jason and I were joking about making a cross cultural cooking club, and like asking Vietnamese people and Indian people over to teach us how to make clay pot and rasmalai, but we couldn't think of any distinctly American dishes to teach them, and even so, ours don't seem as culturally significant; there's no sense of "ceremony" attached to say, turnip greens and corn bread, like I feel there is when I'm attempting to make rasmalai. If you guys got anything to say about either of these topics, whether it's culturally significant American dishes or your favorite covers, please feel free to comment. I'd love your insights.

there was nothing to fear and nothing to doubt

2010-05-03T23:32:00.002-05:00

So, I will soon be unemployed. Do not be dismayed, friends, this is my choice. I am excited about staying home and cleaning the house and reading and knitting and writing my book! (yeah, I'm one of "those people" are you surprised? shouldn't be! get over it!) I'm gonna "find myself" and all that good stuff.

I will also be cooking a lot more. Here are a couple of things I've been eating a lot of in recent weeks:

Vegetarian Quiche

1 deep dish pie crust
8 eggs
large dollop of sour cream
handful of cheese
2 vegetarian sausage patties
handful of fresh spinach
a few sliced grape tomatoes
salt, pepper, rosemary, basil

place pie crust in oven at recommended heat for about 9 min, just to get it a little stronger. whisk eggs and sour cream together. place fake sausage patties in food processor and whee! pour now sausage crumbles and all that other junk into eggs. season to taste. take out pie crust and pour egg junk in there. bake until good ya'll! eat it! yum!

Chick Pea Burritos

jalapeno cheddar flour tortillas (yes they are real and THEY HAVE CHANGED MY LIFE)
1 can chick peas
spanish rice mix
salsa
mixed baby greens or spinach leaves
sour cream
cheese

cook that rice! let it cool! open those peas! rinse and drain! lay some greens in that tortilla! spoon on some rice and chick peas! slap on some of that other stuff that you like! roll it up, ya'll! eat it!!

*Since Jason feels that a meal without meat is not a meal, I put chicken nuggets in his. (but guess what...THEY WERE FAKE MUHAHAHA! shhhhhhhh!)

So far, I have talked a lot about new bands that I like in this blog, but it is important to give some shout outs to old standbys. The following is a list of artists or albums that I am never not listening to these days:

Radiohead. All albums. All day, every day. No, srsly.
Fleetwood Mac-Tusk-NUFF SAID
Bjork-All albums, but especially Vespertine lately
Jethro Tull
Neil Young
Elliott Smith-XO
Sinead O'Connor-I do not want what I haven't got
The Cure
Siouxsie and the Banshees
The Cranberries
Lisa Loeb & 9 stories-Tails

The lesson for today kids, eat your veggies and make new friends but keep the old.

i know we ain't got money but i'm so in love with ya honey

2010-03-18T17:45:00.002-05:00

So Jason and I are officially poor. I mean fo rillz. We went from broke ass to ass broke. Luckily, one of my greatest talents is making delicious meals from random foodstuffs. Just in case you are ever in my situation, (and I hope that never happens) let me share with you here some of my favorite poor people's feasts.

Skillet Potatoes

You will need about 3 or 4 chopped potatoes, 1 chopped onion, small bag of frozen green beans (about 1-2 cups), a couple of cloves of garlic, crushed, and about half a bag of Boca crumbles. ( You could use ground beef, but I actually prefer the crumbles. They are cheaper, last longer in the freezer, and healthier. They also add a good mushroom flavor to the dish.) You will also need a little oil for the pan and some rosemary for flavor.

Heat about 2 or 3 tbs oil in large cast iron skillet over medium heat. (I used a blend of olive and canola.) Add potatoes and cook until they start to soften. Then add onion. Cook together until potatoes are nice and brown. Add green beans and Boca crumbles and garlic. Cook until everything is all nice and delicious. Enjoy.

Ramen Especial

I can't take all the credit for this one, as it was inspired by a friend's family recipe. As you know, ramen is like 15 cents a package. And it's delicious. MMM MMM MSG. It can be made even more delicious and questionably nutritious with the addition of the following:

Cook any flavor ramen according to package. Add 1 sliced hot dog (or faux dog), 1 kraft single, and a handful of frozen lima beans.

Earlier this week, my friend was like "SXSW sux! I don't know any of those bands and it's in Texas!" and I was all "I know right!?" But then I found out Morning Benders and Local Natives are there and I totally wish I was too....

How we move from A to B it can't be up to me

2010-02-03T21:40:00.003-06:00

So I have to admit I'm a little bit in love with Lykke Li. I know I know, I'm such an indie-girl poseur!

I have ample evidence that my obsession with Nordic chick electro pop goes way back. The first CD I ever owned was Ace of Base's The Sign. This was logically followed by Bjork, The Cardigans (i.e. Gran Turismo), The Knife, and Ladytron. I'm sure there's more to come.

NEways...

Creme brulee, people. It's the most amazing substance on earth, if you do it right. I search for an equal to Jason's, since he is cruel and refuses to make it for me ever again, at every restaurant I enter, but, alas, most of the time it is gross. Vanilla pudding mixed with mascarpone crap. Today, I went to Wild Flour Bistro. My lunch was so-so, but my layered creme brulee was AWESOME! It wasn't as good as Jason's, but it was the closest I've come in the past 6 years! Real French Grandma custard. I recommend it, locals.

*You may be wondering why I don't make it myself. Let's just say me and French cooking don't get along. Jason has the Cajun advantage. Wish ya'll could all try his pralines omg!

How come it takes some people so damn long

2009-12-25T22:03:00.002-06:00

I know, I should be enjoying my gifts and playing games with my family. But, I have been so irked listening to all these year-end "Best of" lists. I'm sorry, all other music bloggers in the world, but Animal Collective is not that good. You need to get over it. A lot better music was made this past year. Along the same electro-pop veins even. Passion Pi and Fever Ray did way more innovative things with sound and still let it be music. Animal Collective tracks are often a cacophony of noise, to me, and believe me, I'm usually into that stuff. I mean, I think Medulla is Bjork's best album of all time. So yeah, I'll make my Top Five of 2009 list:

1. Fever Ray-Self Titled-Best Track: When I Grow Up
2. Passion Pit-Manners-Best Track: Little Secrets
3. Grizzly Bear-Veckatimest-Best Track: Two Weeks
4. Kings of Convenience-Declaration of Dependence-Best Track: Mrs. Cold
5. Neon Indian-Psychic Chasms-Best Track: Deadbeat Summer

Other awards go to Washed Out, for best 2008 album that people are just now listening to, as well as best use of a MLIS degree. Another award goes to the band Girls, for being my greatest guilty pleasure of 2009. Favorite track is Lust for Life, of course, but Laura is good too. And no, they don't cover Iggy Pop.

Since this I feel obligated to include something about food in a post, as this is eats and beats, not just beats, I will also create a Top Five Foods of 2009:

1. jalapeno hummus
2. Publix italian sub with jalapeno havarti
3. toasted pine nut cous cous with chick peas
4. little debbie raisin cream pies
5. turkey jerky

Merry Xmas, ya'll.

I pushed a note under your door

2009-11-17T00:37:00.003-06:00

Dudes, I am in love with Andrew Bird. I have listened to his album Noble Beast, like, three times in its entirety today. My favorite tracks are "Not a robot, but a ghost" and "Anonanimal." I am dying to check out his other albums.

I have had a lot of spinach to cook this week. I made some curried spinach with chick peas, as my brother-in-law recently gifted me about 2 lbs. of curry powder (!!) I also had some potatoes to get rid of, so last night I made a casserole that involved a layer of thinly sliced potatoes, a layer of fresh spinach, lunch meat ham cut in thin strips, and chopped green onion, then another layer of thinly sliced potatoes. I then poured about a third of a stick of butter over the whole thing and, of course, sprinkled cheese on top. (Butter and cheese make everything better!) I baked this at 350 until it looked good. (I only use my oven timer if I am dying my hair. ) Tonight, I made this awesome pasta with spinach, toasted pine nuts, anchovies, and garlic. I did not make this recipe up, but I was impressed with my skills all the same. When am I not? Today a patron heard me saying that I had few things to brag about, but my copyright date finding skills are unparalleled. She then reminded me that "Miss Katie" is awesome at recommending children's books about cats. Sorry. I'm cooler than you. Try to deal.

if something in the deli isle makes you cry

2009-08-23T21:34:00.002-05:00

So, who else is creeped out by those new McDonald's commercials? I don't like posting videos. It makes people feel like they have to watch them and they take up space. You can look them up if you want to. I'll just tell you about them.

Scenario 1:
Ronald leads small children to an observatory platform thingy. He makes stars in the sky and all the children ooh and ahh at his limitless power.
Message:
RONALD IS GOD!! EAT MCNUGGETS!!

Scenario 2:
Ronald tells children, who are all hanging in a McDonald's parking lot, that he cannot play with them because he has to go to work. Then he drives his car around the parking lot for a second, gets out, and says Okay I can play now!!
Message:
RONALD CAN REPLACE YOUR FATHER!! EAT MCNUGGETS!!

I am also creeped out by Pop-Tarts and Cinnamon Toast Crunch commercials. Pop-Tarts are apparently sentient creatures that have friends and love interests and meaningful lives until we come and eat them....ALIVE! Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal pieces are smiling cannibals.

WHA??????

But I turn on some Au Revoir Simone and I am soothed. My fave track of theirs right now is called Shadows. You should download it jetzt! You should also try to find one of their videos. They are totally what I'd be if I had a band.

As for my moment of food genius this week, I made some fruit cobbler (mostly peaches, one plum and an apple that needed to be eaten) with a cinnamon sugar Bisquick topping and it was great. Super easy too. I can't really post a recipe because nothing was measured. You'll just have to wing it like I did. There's probably a similar recipe on the internet.

Summer time time time, child, the livin's easy

2009-08-16T18:44:00.003-05:00

Summertime is hot down here in the South. It is definitely too hot to cook. That's why I have been existing on cucumber sandwiches for the past few months. Everyone knows a recipe for cucumber sandwiches that they got from their grandmother or an old lady at church that they think is the best. They're wrong. Here's why:

Cucumber Sandwich version 1.0

You will need:
2 slices good whole grain bread. I get mine from Publix bakery.
Cream cheese
Cucumber, very thinly sliced
Mrs. Dash seasoning or lemon pepper

Lightly toast bread. Spread thin layer of cream cheese on both slices. Evenly arrange thin slices of cumber on a piece of bread. Sprinkle with Mrs. Dash or lemon pepper. Lay other bread slice on top. Eat.

Cumber Sandwich version 2.0

You will need:
2 slices good whole grain bread
Hummus
Cucumber, very thinly sliced

Though I have an excellent recipe from a vegetarian friend for great homemade hummus, it never turns out as good as hers. So until "Mandi's Hummus" is on grocery store shelves, Sabra will have to do. I prefer the kind with roasted pine nuts, but you can buy any flavor you like. Toast bread lightly. Spread a good thick layer of hummus on one slice. Evenly arrange thin slices of cucumber on top of the hummus. Place other slice of bread on top. Eat.

Both of these sandwiches can be "jazzed up" with a slice of tomato, if you so choose. However, only homegrown tomatoes are worth eating; grocery store tomatoes are bland and mealy, so you must go to a farmer's market, your own backyard, a neighbor's backyard, etc. to get a decent tomato. It doesn't matter what kind. Anything from Roma to German Pink is good eatin'.

Pour yourself a glass of ice water infused with mint and lime. Put on some good music from the 1930's or 40's, like Glenn Miller or maybe some mellow indie stuff like Grizzly Bear or Iron and Wine. You are now in Southern Summertime Heaven.

Wilkommen!

2009-08-13T20:45:00.000-05:00

Hi, interwebs. My name is Kate. I love food and music. I am conceited and self-important and I think that other people care to know what I'm eating and listening to, and that they want me to tell them what to eat and listen to. So, I made this blog.

I'm not very inspired tonight, but I will tell you that I have lately been unable to stop playing Fever Ray.