The continuing antics of Gorillagirl

Rotini with Zucchini, Tomatoes, and BACON!!!

Sat, 29 Aug 2009 15:28:13 GMT

I promised I'd post the recipe, and here it is. A super simple and delicious pasta dish.

Rotini with Zucchini, Tomatoes, and Bacon

Serves 6

12 slices of bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 large red onion chopped

1 ½ c dry white wine

12 ounces of rotini

3 cups chopped zucchini (appx ½-inch pieces)

3 large tomatoes, seeded and chopped

1/3 c fresh oregano

1 c. goat cheese – appx 4 oz

Cook bacon in heavy skillet until crisp. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Drain off all but 3 Tbsp of the drippings. Add onion and sauté until soft – about 3 min. Add wine, boil until reduced by about 1/3.

Meanwhile, cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, until slightly underdone. Add zucchini to pasta, and continue cooking until pasta is done. Drain

Add pasta, zucchini, bacon, tomatoes, and oregano to onion in skillet. Toss to coat and heat through, about 3 min. Add cheese and toss to melt.

Because it’s impossible for me to look at a recipe without seeing somewhere to improve it, I made a few changes. Didn’t have fresh oregano, so I used fresh basil and chives instead. While the onions were sautéing, I also added two chopped bell peppers and three chopped banana peppers to them. After reducing the wine slightly, I added the tomatoes and basil, to thoroughly season the sauce. Also, I used cherry tomatoes and didn’t bother seeding them. Finally, I highly recommend using peppered bacon; the onions and peppers got a nice flavor by cooking it in the peppered bacon drippings.

I didn't expect that

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 21:37:43 GMT

So, a certain city just called to offer me a job - yayyyyyy, with the caveat that I have to remove my lip ring - booooo.

Here's the thing, it's just not feasible for me to remove it everyday, and then reinsert when I get home from work. Yeah, it sounds whiny, but the idea of not having my lip pierced anymore is really screwing with my sense of self. Weird, I know, but I have the hardest time thinking of being myself without that reminder of crazy displayed for all the world to see.

So, I am taking the job, and I am removing the lip ring, but I feel like a fake for doing it. I certainly didn't expect to get this emotional over a piercing. And that really is the oddest thing. I recognize that in the long run, it's probably best to not have a visible piercing. Hell, not having it may even lead to me finding my dream job. Maybe I can compensate with a new tattoo??

Fire Vodka

Fri, 22 May 2009 02:10:33 GMT

Ran across this in my mom's recipes tonight. Haven't tried it yet, but am willing to guarantee that it would be fab - and wishiwasyou333 this has your name all over it

Fire Vodka
1 1/2 cups honey
2/3 cups water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
8 sticks of cinnamon
2 whole cloves
3 strips lemon peel, 2 inches each
1 (4/5 qt.) vodka

Combine honey, water, vanilla, spices and lemon peel in large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer 5 min.
Add vodka and remove from heat.
Voila - serve hot or cooled.

Mandarin Orange Bread

Sat, 09 May 2009 22:02:30 GMT

So, it's been forever since I updated here, and now that I'm done writing about marketing in nonprofits, it's time to be writing for fun again.

Lately, I've been messing with a lot of different new recipe ideas, inventing new baked goodies and such. However, often enough, I get so caught up in baking, I forget what the recipe ends up being. I'm trying to change that, and this recipe marks the first effort. In the original I added too much almond extract, but this should work much better.
Enjoy

Mandarin Orange Bread

1 ½ cups flour

1 ¾ teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

½ cup butter, nearly melty

½ cup sugar

1 egg

¼ cup sour cream

1 teaspoon almond extract

2 – 11 oz cans of mandarin oranges, drained and diced.

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix together dry ingredients, set aside.

Cream together, butter and sugar. Add egg and sour cream, mix well. Add almond extract.

Slowly add dry ingredients. (Batter will be very thick, don’t worry, mandarin oranges will thin it out).

Mix in the mandarin oranges.

Fill 3 greased mini-loaf pans and sprinkle lightly with cinnamon and sugar. Bake for appx 40 mins, or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Another New Year, means another birthday

Fri, 26 Dec 2008 19:35:13 GMT

Yup, as if you haven't had enough celebrating between Festivus, Xmas, and upcoming NYE, sevenian and I are throwing a joint birthday celebration. Poor sevenian thought he's slip his under the radar, but I am just too sneaky for that and convinced him to celebrate with me.

So, Saturday, January 3rd come prepared to imbibe copious amounts of alcohol at Mortimer's - Gringo side. The fun begins at 8, and while gifts are not required, your presence is.

Questions? Leave a comment or DM me through Twitter.

We all know the economy's in the tank...

Fri, 05 Dec 2008 23:34:14 GMT

...so let's make gift giving easy and fun this year.

Yup you guessed it - A White Elephant party.

The rules are simple, bring one wrapped gift under $20. Look, that's all you have to do and you've completed gift giving for all your friends.
We'll draw numbers, drink, and fight for gifts. And of course, like any good Festivus celebration there will be the customary airing of the greivances and feats of strength. What could be better?

You and your gift will be expected to show up at FVR's place at 8 pm on Saturday, December 20th, and if you want to bring drinks to share, all the better. Otherwise, they'll be snacks and cookies galore. In fact, if you want your Festivus cookies, you'll need to show up there to get them, no deliveries this year.

Questions? Directions? Leave a message here, or DM me through Twitter.

ow ow ow

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 18:52:03 GMT

I've had an earache for the past week that today has reached epic proportions. I feel like I could cheerfully stab my own eardrum out if it would get the fluid to drain out.

Now that you have that lovely picture in your mind, there's a place up the street that does ear candling. Have any of you had it done? Did it help?

Doesn't your mind work like this too?

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 19:11:17 GMT

So last night, I was chatting with D's stepsister. Like me, she's about to graduate. I mentioned being on track for graduating with honors, when she suddenly looked at me intently and said, "One day, it would be neat to crawl inside your head and see how your mind works."
Without thinking, I replied, "I didn't have any choice."
"Do you really mean that?"
I thought about it for a second and realized yes. "I set a goal, there's no other option."
W just stared at me like I was some kind of alien.
But then I started thinking, I know FVR acts the same. And I'm pretty sure all of you do too. Cause truth be told, I just don't get people who don't think like that.

Rats

Sun, 26 Oct 2008 20:39:24 GMT

As you all probably know, I'm in the midst of my Org Theory and Behavior class. As a part of this class we have to create a case study of a former place of employment. In the course of writing the case study, I was reminded of a story that my co-worker had sent me.

There was a study done a few years ago that found a rat can swim in a pail of water for about 8 hours before it eventually exhausts itself and drowns. The study was repeated but just before the rat gave in it was removed from the pail for an hour and allowed to dry off. It was then put back into the pail of water where it was able to stay alive for up to 24 hours--three times the original time. Why? It had a sense of hope. That if it held on for just a little longer, it would be saved from the pail again. Think about that next time your manager offers you a piece of candy or lets you go home 15 minutes early.

Go read this!

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 18:40:17 GMT

I've been reading Chasm City by Alastair Reynolds, and I cannot say enough good things about it. Reyolds was the guest of honor at last year's MiniCon, so I picked up his first book, Revelation Space. Then in a stroke of luck, ran across this one at a used book store, though for the life of me I can't figure out why anyone would want to get rid of this book. Reynolds sci-fi is intricately written, and this one reminds a bit of Cryptonomicon. The only subject matter in common is the underlying thread of war, but the style is similar, and like Stephenson, impossible to put down.

Recipe: Chicken stuffed with pepperjack, wrapped in bacon...

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 05:44:11 GMT

...which those more inclined to less descriptive monikers would call a Colorado Chicken Breast.

So, it's been a hella long time since I updated this. And, it's been like the sword of Damocles. I think about it every day, but am loath to act for fear it will all come crashing down. But @opheliac9 has asked me for a recipe, and posting it here seems like the best way to reintroduce myself to LJ.

After making the original for D, I’ve adapted it here, so it resembles many of my recipes, no actual measurements, just do what looks good to you.

Ingredients

Some chicken breasts, depends on how many you want to serve, or go crazy and use boneless pork fillets

Bacon

Bell peppers, my preference is one green and one yellow, sliced into strips

Pepper jack cheese

Pound the chicken breasts flat. The easiest way is to place the chicken between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and go crazy with your rolling pin.

Once the chicken is just about 2x its original size, you’re good. Line the breast with thinly sliced pepper jack. Place a couple of the bell pepper strips at one end, and roll the whole mess up. Wrap this bad boy with bacon. If you have a hard time keeping it rolled, use some butcher’s twine to tie it up.

Bake this deliciousness at 375º for about 35 min, or until internal temperature is 175º. Serve, sit back, and reap the praise. I swear, this dish is guaranteed to please.

And there you have it, my re-entry into LJ.

Weenie roast

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 21:44:12 GMT

Everyone knows how much I love bonfires so, next Saturday, August 9th, there'll be a bonfire/weenie roast here at the house. We'll be starting about 7 and going into the wee hours of the night.
I'll provide stuff to roast and some killer homemade salsa from the garden. You bring beer or whatever girly drink strikes your fancy, and if you think you have some killer dish that everyone needs to try, bring that too.
DM me through Twitter if you need the address

Professor what's another name for pirate treasure?

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 02:22:16 GMT

Well, I think it's booty....

I was working in the garden tonight and this is the booty I reaped

Also harvested strawberries and herbs, which I'm currently drying. The pic above only represents the booty that was so ripe, it would rot if I didn't harvest it. Much to my chagrin I am overwhelmed by the bounty of the garden. So, it's time for me to learn to can things.

My plan is to make huge batches of salsa, but I have no experience canning. I'm worried that I'll make all of it, pass it off as gifts, and come to find it's rotten. Have any of you canned before?

And to prove that there is life after moving to Anoka...pics from my walk today

There were a ton of these bugs caught up in giant spiderwebs

Aww, they're kissing

My favorite place in MN

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 16:47:58 GMT

So, the best investment I've made this summer is my state park pass.
Yesterday it was so miserably hot, I thought that I'd go north to see the waterfall I missed at Banning State Park. But once I neared Banning, I realized that I was only 30 miles from the Moose Lake Geological and Agate Center, so I kept going. The geological center was a bust, a bigger let down than even the Hinckley Fire Museum. It was just a little room off the state park office with a handful of agates in display cases.
But there was a lovely lake that I hung out at for awhile

More of Echo

With the breeze off the lake, it was much cooler than in the city. Getting back to the car, I realized that hey, I was only about 20 miles from Jay Cooke State Park, which was another waterfall I'd missed, so north it was.

The road to the park follows along the St Louis River, and before I even got to the park, the views were beautiful. Despite the fact that I had to hike across a creepy suspension bridge, this is easily my favorite place in MN

Stunning views

Once again I realized I was only about 20 miles from a place, so I headed to Duluth, planning to stay overnight in Superior, WI. But it was just as hot in Duluth, and after Jay Cooke the views just weren't doing it for me, so home it was.

Although I'm fast becoming the master of daytrips - I think I'll take a break from them for a bit

Worst fortune of evah

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 22:16:43 GMT

D and I went to Sawatdee for dinner on Sunday. Inside his fortune cookie was this

Chasing Waterfalls Day 1

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 12:44:04 GMT

Thanks to Knoxious, I can't call my road trip anything else. At least, thus far I've managed to keep that song from infesting my brain.

So a quick update and a few pics before hitting the road again - no wireless at my Grandparent's so I'm camped out at a caribou inhaling caffeine in prep for today's whirlwind tour.

My first waterfall was a bust. I hit Banning State Park just north of Sandstone. According to the helpful park ranger the rain was supposed to hold off until the afternoon. So I thought I had time to enjoy myself and meander around the park.
Evidence of such

Here's the Kettle River Rapids.

Checking my map, I saw that the waterfall was about 2+ miles farther in, so I began hiking - although I'm sure the idea of me and a map hiking in the woods brings a great many jokes to FVR's mind, and some of them would be true. I managed to get myself a tad turned around, just as the skies let loose. I had me an umbrella, but this was a deluge. More evidence

Just 15 minutes prior to my initial traversing, this rockbed was dry.
Unfortunately, I appeared to be in my "not quite thinking things through" mode. So I had taken a trail referred to as Deadman's Trail. Awesome, right? Yeah, not so much when the trail begins to wash out and you're 2 miles from the car. I did make it back to the car. The skirt I was wearing, although spread out in the sunny car all afternoon (it was sunny and warm in Hibbing) is still sopping wet this morning.

All was not lost though, I explored Cloquet. There's not much to see, but I've always wondered. And I found this in the parking lot of the Frank Lloyd Wright gas station

I have no idea what it is or even a clue to its purpose, other than entertaining me.

Made it safely to Hibbing, and my grandparents took me on a mini tour of Hibbing and Chisholm, something I haven't done since I was a kid. We went to Bob Dylan's house, the Hull Rust Mine, and Iron Man in Chisholm. Here's the mine

It always amazes me that something that so invasively strips the earth can be so beautiful.

Even more pics here
And now the intrepid explorer begins her journey farther north, armed with tales of attacking moose and hopes of an actual waterfall

Road Trip!

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 16:11:11 GMT

In my world, road trips are always better if they're impromptu. I've been wanting to head up to Duluth/Superior all summer. Initially, D was going to join me, but between his work, and my schooling we just haven't been able to coordinate schedules. So, I'm leaving Thursday.
But rather than just dick around Duluth, which I've done a number of times, I decided this road trip needed a theme. And it's waterfalls. Thanks to the magic of the superweb, I discovered that there's actually quite a number of waterfalls in MN.
The plan - head north on 35 and hit one waterfall somewhere in Pine County on the way to Hibbing. Overnight at the grandparents, and then hit 4 waterfalls just north of there. From there, I'll head to Superior, where there's 3 waterfalls within a 15 mile radius. And from there ???
Can anyone think of anything kitschy or must see in Northern MN or WI?

EDIT: Thursday's plan still looks good, but it appears that many of those falls are either on private land or inaccessible other than by boat - who wants to see a waterfall while in a boat I ask? Anyway, Friday it looks like I'll head towards Grand Marais, Saturday backtrack and stay overnight in Superior, and head home Sunday am

Look at me go

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 03:30:28 GMT

Wow, this has been a most productive weekend. I’ve been in sort of a funk lately, but this whirlwind of activity has certainly taken the edge off,

Just look at all this…

Friday – battled the heat to attack the dirt that had dared to show its malevolent face upon my threshold.

As a reward for that met opheliac9 chadvalentineand wishiwasyou333 at the CC Club, stuck around long enough for the storm to pass over, and got some amazing pics.

Saturday – a day of kitchen creations. Woke early and treated myself to the awesomeness that is double smoked bacon. Then decided to bake, bake, bake. First cookie, Apple Cinnamon Chip Cookies, were a disaster. Had a basic recipe that I was adapting, but had way too much butter. Bah!

So I decided to take a break and head to the River Fest – a glorified craft shown, unbeknownst to me. But meandered to the used book store on the way home, and scored a great Ursula K. LeGuin book.

Then, back to the kitchen, created AWESOME Peanut Butter/Butter Brickle cookies.

Peanut Butter/Butter Brickle cookies
1 cup butter

1 teasppon vanilla

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar, packed

2 eggs

1 cup peanut butter

3 cups flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 package toffee chips

Preheat oven to 375. Cream butter, vanilla, and sugars until light and fluffly.

Add eggs, beat well. Stir in peanut butter.

In seperate bowl mix dry ingredients. Gradually add to peanut butter mix.

Stir in chips.

Form dough into balls, place on ungreased cookie sheet and flatten with fork.

Bake for 7 to 10 min.

When I walked out for a smoke break after those cookies, the green tomatoes caught my eye. Yup – it was fried green tomatoes all up in that kitchen!

Sunday – the whirlwind continues…up early for the Farmer’s Market, sanded and painted the front hall (BAH), dyed my hair a shocking shade of black cherry, made an amazing Provencal pork chop mess, worked in the garden, and then topped it all off with even more yard work. I’m now relaxing on the couch with a lovely glass of wine. And looking forward to doing keeping the motivation going tomorrow. Am going to bust my ass on all that homework hovering out there, so I can go out of town next weekend.

Upcoming shows

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 22:04:02 GMT

I'm going to see Birthday Suits July 11 at the Turf Club. You should come. If you don't know who they are go here and GET ROCKING!

Am also going to Stasiu's, of the regal urinal fame, to see Awesome Snakes on July 25. A W E S O M E - Awesome!

There's a car in that dumpster

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 16:25:02 GMT

Now that I'm over being tricked, this is a pretty cool advertising scheme...

On Sunday, we were driving up to Hinckley for brunch with the grandparents, when FVR suddenly exclaimed, "There's a car in a dumpster!" Now, thinking that would be a pretty cool prank to pull on someone we determined that we would swing by and get a better look on the way home, and this is what we saw

Now, it turns out that this is an advertisement for taking the bus. Not a bad scheme, since we weren't the only ones to pull off the highway. I like to think that the state trooper there was fooled too.

And the obsession continues

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 21:02:47 GMT

Yup, more garden pics. I promise not to subject you guys to this on a daily basis, but it's one of those moments when the hard work starts to pay off.

Garden Babies! The fruits of my labor (and a vegetable)

Yes, it's another meme

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 19:30:18 GMT

but I think this one's better than most. Get your creative juices flowin folks

If you read this, if your eyes are passing over this right now, even if we don't speak often, please post a comment with a completely made up memory of you and me. It can be anything you want -- good or bad. When you're finished, post this little paragraph on your blog and be surprised (or mortified) about what people don't remember about you. Or, if you don't want to post it, but want a completely made up memory from me, say so at the end of your comment and I'll reply with one. But consider posting. It's fun to see what utterly unbelievable nonsense comes up.

My current obsession

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 16:34:17 GMT

Wow, even though I read through other people's entries nigh on every day, I just realized that it's been over a month since I posted...

What's been keeping me busy, you ask. It's this monstrosity that has been taking up most of my time

Once again, when it comes to gardening, I seem to have lost all control. I will soon be wealthy in peppers and tomatoes, not to mention herbs, strawberries, and onions - oh my.

It's weird, one would think that with me not working right now, I would have a plethora of time to just laze around, surf the web, and play video games, but I keep finding all kinds of odd tasks to keep me occupied. School has a lot to do with that, of course. And that said, it's off to read vivid and fascinating nonprofit law cases.

Another rotten day at work

Thu, 01 May 2008 23:27:40 GMT

Seem to be having so many of these lately. Bah!
So, took my lunch break at Lake Harriet again. These pictures are keeping me sane, so I share them with you...

FVR and Alex's annual pub crawl

Thu, 01 May 2008 20:03:24 GMT

That time of year again, the annual pub crawl through NE Mpls in honor of FVR and Alex...

This year it's a two parter...

Part I: Pizza and Cake at Alex and Desi's house.
Kids welcome.
Saturday, 6pm
(Msg me through Twitter for the address and RSVP info)
RSVP, so we'll be sure to have plenty of food.

Part II: Pub crawl
No Kids, only childish adults welcome.
Starting: 8:30pm-ish at Psycho Suzies and from there ???
Ending: Wee hours of the night somewhere in NE