Who Needs Technology?

(Comic By: ToothpasteForDinner.com)

Dearest Nesters,
My most sincere apologies for my sporadic posting of late.
It seems that the innards of my MacBook are not, at all, like pie filling.
And so, I had to take him to someone with knowledge of a technical nature.
Anyway...as always, my Mac Genius told me that my hard drive or battery or both are toast, so, he's being "fixed up".
Yada yada yada.
If he weren't my computer, I wouldn't give two shits either.

But here's an event you should definitely check out, sent to me care of a lovely reader, and fellow Nester, Dana:



Yes Nesters, I do knit AND crochet.
Actually, all you knit-freaks out there will be sad to learn that I find crochet to be far more dignified, yet, far less difficult than knitting.
But, I've been crocheting the same blanket for the past 2 years.
So, I'm a little slow on the uptake.

But, if I do motivate any time soon, I will totally head over to the Slope side! Thanks Dana!

In the meantime, when my compy is feeling better, I'll post some pictures of my mammoth blanket!!!

Have a Happy, Happy Hump Day!

A Little Dish Music

Call me crazy, but, I love doing dishes.

It's my therapy.

I have a dish schedule, a dish routine, and a deep love and respect for rubber gloves.

Sure, sometimes after entertaining, I procrastinate a little.
I've winced once or twice at the caked-on sauces and dried-on rice grains, but, overall, I like standing in front of the sink.

One of the best things about doing dishes is listening to my music. I have a dinky-boom-box my Dad got me in high school that lives on our kitchen table and I pop in all my favorite CD's and listen to my favorite radio station.

These are the moments I treasure. And, though you may not want any insight into my soul, here it is anyway, my most listened to dish music...maybe it'll inspire you to go get some Casabellas and step up to the sink.

#1


#2


#3


Or, maybe you're like this bitch:


Of course she doesn't! She's too busy being a filthy whore.

FUCK DISHWASHERS.


Dish time. = Me time.

Call me sad, but, bubbles and suds make me very happy.

Have a great weekend...and don't let those dishes pile up!

Staple-tabulous!

It's bad enough that I LITERALLY live across the street from a McDonald's.
But, a STAPLES?

C'mon people.
Why the fuck do we need a STAPLES under the BQE in the most random and untraveled area (by office supply consumers anyway) ever?

Well, the answer is, we don't.

But, being the optimist I am, and given that change is something I welcome, generally, I'm trying to look at the bright side of this situation.

addROC and I have decided that these are the pros thus far:

1. If we ever run out of printer toner, we don't have to schlep anywhere. Good thing we NEVER need printer toner!

2. There's a huge fucking parking lot, so, when my Moms comes for dinner she can park her caboose in the STAPLES parking lot. Sweeeeeet!

3. The huge red STAPLES sign matches the McDonald's Golden Arches.
I like matching.
Matching is good.
Especially as I am lulled to sleep by the bright neon lights and the hum of the BQE (thump-thump, thump-thump).
It's like sleeping in the woods...only better! Fuck 'dem crickets!

So, come on over to the new STAPLES on Meeker btw. Kingland and Morgan Aves. when that shit opens!

After you shop-your-office-supply-ass-off, you can come get drunk with me and addROC, and we'll look out on all the corporate lights!

Who needs the fuckin' skyline?

Nester of the Week Update!: Christopher Kimball

Y'all know how much we love Christopher Kimball! So, it is a pleasure to announce that he will be appearing up in The Shops at Columbus Circle at Borders Books and Music for a book discussion and signing.

His new book:
America's Best Lost Recipes



We're pretty gosh darn excited.

And, yes, we'll be there in our nerdy glory, waitin' to meet the man himself.

Come out and support Chris! It's a one night only engagement!


CHRISTOPHER KIMBALL BOOK SIGNING
Borders Books and Music @ The Shops at Columbus Circle
10/16/2007 (TONIGHT!!!)
7:00PM - 9:00 PM
212-823-9775

Book Club with The Bitch: The Soul of a Chef

I just picked up this book:

The Soul of a Chef: The Journey Toward Perfection
By Michael Ruhlman

I just finished chapter one...and I'm thirsty for more.

It's a sort of on-the-edge-of-your-seat cooking/literary experience.

I love Ruhlman's style because his passion obviously lies with his subject:
Cooking, Food, the Process, and the Place of the chef.

Yet, his literary sense has me wondering what's more intoxicating, the verse that describes the action, or the action itself?

I invite you to join me for this read, and, a month from today...I'll come back and we'll discuss?

Any takers?

Well, regardless, I'm reading this thing...and, so far so good...

Go pick one up!

Munchies.

Mmmm...snacking.
One of my favorite pastimes.
But, seriously, what has the world of snacks really come to?

And, where should we draw the line?

Caffeinated Sunflower Seeds:


First it was PowerBar^©.
Then it was Red Bull^©.
And now...Sumseeds^©?

Seriously? Can we not take a vitamin or get a Jamba Juice^© on the way to work?
Have we really sunk so low as to give our Sunflower seeds an energy boost?

Yak.

Calbee Aromatic Grilled Corn Stick^©:


Oh, crazy Asian snacks...what would we be without thee?

On a base level, yes, the idea of this snack is kinda repulsive.
BUT:
I'd still try it.

Yes, maybe we have resorted to tiny-litte-corn-cob-chips, but, at some point we have to decide if it's disgusting or just plain innovative.

For this, I say yea.
I mean, really, who doesn't like mini food?

Sobriety Checkpoint: Oktoberfest!

I may be The Brooklyn Nester, but, I don't limit myself to my lovely, "little" borough.
One of the things that's great about living in Williamsburg is that we're so close to the city.
And, while I may have been born and bred in Brooklyn, my very-first apartments and my very-first love affair with a neighborhood was with the East Village and Alphabet City!

So, with Oktoberfest upon us, we went out to celebrate addROC's heritage at Zum Schneider.
They had an awesome, not-to-mention super fun, authentic Bavarian band that played to the packed crowd as we guz-guz-guzzled our huge German beers!

And then the rest gets a little blurry...literally...


Why, you ask? Well, Zum Schneider has these beers on tap especially for Oktoberfest, mmmm:

Hacker Pschorr
Hofbräu
Ayinger
Schneider Wiesen Edelweiss

The band only has a few performances left so...go and check them out!

So, as always, from me to you, Prost!


Zum Schneider
Avenue C at 7th Street

Mös'l Franzi and the Ja Ja Ja's
Live Oompah Dates:
Tuesday, Oct. 9 6-9pm (TONIGHT!!!)
Saturday, Oct. 13 4-7pm
Sunday, Oct. 14 4-7pm

As though a rose should shut, and be a bud again.

While busying one's self with Nester-like activities, it's easy to get caught up in the bigger projects.

There's cleaning the bathroom, doing the dishes, baking bread, baking pie, baking cookies, dusting (occasionally), and of course, when all is said and done, collapsing on the couch with a large, frosty, alcoholic beverage.

But, if we are truly to be great Nesters, we must remember to tend to the small things as well.

Like flowers.



While shopping in Union Square's Greenmarket I came across some beautiful and inexpensive roses. And, when I got them home and put them in some water, I realized that the most simple change, a touch of color, made the room look so much more inviting.

And, I got to utilize this Hefe Weissen glass that I "found" at some bar and never use. It doesn't fit into any of our cabinets and it's been sitting like a lone soldier on the counter for months:



So, voila! Wonderful. Simple. Cheap.

It is in the small stuff. Apparently.

Rising to the Occasion

So, as you may or may not know, I am suddenly and inexplicably all about baking bread. And, I was about to make my maiden voyage...

addROC was going to make a scrumptious pasta bolognese to compliment my fresh baked bread and it was all planned and perfect.

Then, I get the call from addROC: "Baby, I have to work late, so, either you have to make the bolognese, or, we're not having it tonight."

I was so sad. The thought of my not-even-baked bread without a delicious dish to compliment it...well...what was the point?

So.
Stop the presses.
Holy Fuckin' Shit.
I made dinner.

And it was fabulous! I'm so proud and just a smidgen more confident. But, it was a great way to end the week! Feast your eyes on MY feast!

The bread rose! Amen! And it was crusty and delicious!



Then...I started the sauce...


(I totally stole this recipe from one of my favorite bloggers, Mrs. Hess of Last Night's Dinner. I stole her basic tomato sauce recipe and added lean ground beef before I let the sauce simmer.)

Then...it was time for plating the parpardelle!


So wonderful. Even though my sauce was a tad watery, it tasted like a dream.
And, the lightness of the sauce was great for mopping with fresh-baked bread!

And so, I ride into the sunset, loaves of bread bouncing at my sides...

Have a great weekend! Bake something! It feels (and tastes) SO GOOD!

Bread on the Brain

Tonight will be my first attempt at bread making.

The Breed of Bread: Crusty French.
The Accompanying Meal (care of addROC): Pasta Bolognese.
The Tension: Mounting.

There is a certain thrill that comes with bread making, because, well, you can do everything right, and still fail dismally.

My memory takes me back to my kitchen in Bay Ridge, my youth, and my mother trying to bake focaccia bread. Trying being the operative word. She would knead and knead, and the dough would never rise. Even though she left it in a covered bowl by the radiator for hours...

The one time the dough humored her, doubling in size, the final product was still appalling. She pulled the stone from the oven, with a beautiful loaf upon it, but, alas, it was like rock. We could have chipped ice with that shit.

Perhaps I will face the same fate...but, when all is said and done, I won't be eating bread out of a can:

Crazy Japanese.

The New Frontier

With pie tensions mounting, and a daunting amount of tried-and-true recipes to attempt, I felt the sudden urge to flee my kitchen.

It was then, I realized, it's time pie and I had a trial separation.

I'm pied out. Though my love for pie has just been unearthed, I need a new obsession. An obsession with less leftovers and more versatility. And, it didn't take me long to find one.

Yeasted Breads.

I can hear you baking Pros out there chuckling and scoffing at my presumptuous endeavor.

"The nerve. She thinks because she's mastered pie dough that she can take on the stubborn task of yeasted breads? Ha!"

Well, presumptuous I may be, but, it's getting colder, and I want to be nestled up in my apartment watching old episodes of Felicity, and inhaling the sweet, sweet perfume of fresh bread baking (or burning) in the oven.

So, I go forth...into the unknown...

And my one hope is that, like the sun, my dough will rise!