In a few days, I will be a real grown-up.
I am hosting Thanksgiving dinner, and doing almost all of the cooking. The menu...
Starters: cranberry goat cheese, cheddar, brie, chianti sausage, crackers, and olives
The dinner:
Brined fresh Kosher turkey, roasted on root vegetables, basted with white wine/butter
Cornbread chesnut stuffing (in bird)
Riesling gravy
Oyster dressing
Mashed potatoes
Roasted brussel sprouts with bacon
From-scratch green bean cassserole
Cranberry relishes--regular and weird pink
Sweet potato casserole (Andy's mom)
Homemade crescent rolls (my mom)
Apple, pumpkin, and pecan pies (Andy's grandma, sister, and my aunt)
I think that's it. I'll link to recipes once I've determined their worth. Here's hoping...
Monday, November 22, 2010
Leigh's Favorite Things Episode
As I was eating my after-school snack of canned Mediterranean sardines, I realized that I would put them on a "Favorite Things" list, which then made me think about Oprah giving out sardines to a terribly disappointed audience.
And then I decided to make my own Favorite Things list. As I'm writing these entries, I will imagine this:
We've got John Travoooltaaah!
Sardines
Sardines are good for you--packed full of Omega 3's (which we don't get enough of in our American diets), and are a low risk for high mercury. They are also surprisingly delicious. Be wary of bone-in sardines, though. They are easy to de-bone, but the first time I accidentally chomped into a vertebrae--yikes. King Oscar's Mediterranean sardines are my favorite so far, because there are bits of herbs and olives in the marinade. A+.
hulu
There's no way to talk about our lack of cable/network TV without sounding like a pretentious a-hole, so I'll avoid that. hulu is wonderful, though, for those of us who still need a little TV fix now and then. Thanks to hulu, I finally got to watch the entirety of My So-Called Life (which was exactly as perfect I knew it would be when I was an adolescent with dance lessons during its air time), and get to keep up with 30 Rock, The Office, Community, Parks and Recreation, SNL, and Days of Our Lives (that's right, I said it). Even with those few shows, I don't understand how we had time to watch so much TV before--we have to squeeze "our shows" in. (Days of Our Lives is my one fall-asleep-on-the-couch guilty pleasure, and I'm not ashamed to admit it.)
Green Smoothies
Yeah, yeah, I know it's better to make your own in the morning--but that's not going to happen right now. I like Odwalla, Naked, and Bolthouse Farms equally well, but the latter seems to nutritionally pack the most punch for your dollar. Other honorable mentions that make me feel good in the morning: Trader Joe's Prenatal Vitamins (evidently Rainbow Lite brand) and DHA/EPA fish oil tablets, and Gala apples.
Trader Joe's Nourish Spa Shampoo
This is a staple in our house. It's sulfate-free, which is good for dry hair (me) and oily hair (Andy). It doesn't strip oils (sulfates act as detergents), so oily hair doesn't then overproduce oil, and my curls are happier. It does have parabens, which I otherwise avoid. Otherwise it's an absolute steal at ~$2.99 per bottle. The conditioner isn't thick enough for me, but some might be OK with it.
Sherwin-Williams Paint
When we were re-painting almost every room in our house when we moved in, we used Sherwin-Williams paint (Superpaint, and some Duration we got on sale). Its one-coat promise held true, and it was so easy to paint with. I linked to the historical pallets, which we borrowed heavily from. We just got finished doing some exterior painting, and used Lowe's Valspar brand for it (siding and porches). We decided to go cheap because A. we needed to, and B. much of our exterior work (especially the termite-nibbled porch) was akin to polishing a turd (or painting a turd). What a difference... Pay a bit more if you can, especially on interior painting, as it will take less and be better all around.
Le Creuset
Ha! I just visited this site to link it, and the front page boasts Le Creuset as one of Oprah's Favorite Things.
(It's also the most spendy thing on my list, so go figure.)
Le Creuset is like Mac products to me, or small hatchback foreign cars. I do have a few solid reasons to want certain products (my MacBook, my great cast iron pot, my little Scion)... but then I just get caught up in a strange world of wanting ALL of the products, even if I don't really need or want them (for example, I want an iPad even though the iPod is just too much technology for me). I realized this after going into a Le Creuset outlet over the summer--I wanted everything, even the things I thought were kind of ugly. It's a disease. But the products are still awesome.
Gap Outlet
Thankfully, I have a Gap card (fake money!), which works at Gap, Gap Outlet, Old Navy, and Banana Republic. Without it, I'd be naked.
The Gap Outlet is my favorite place to spend fake money, though--great size options, cheap jeans, bargain basement stuff for men and women. Love love love.
Dammit when I linked to the title it's pushing a storewide 60% off sale starting now. And it just so happens we'll be passing through Warrenton this weekend...
Caulk
I caulked a piece of baseboard trim to a troublesome, gross spot of drywall. It worked.
I love caulk.
Sckoon Organics
You will cringe, you will scoff, you will roll your eyes. You just don't understand.
For the creatures: Nutro Tartar Control biscuits, Solid Gold dog and cat food (shiny bags!), Manna Pro Oyster Shells and Poultry Conditioner, earthdog collars
For the garden: Seeds of Change veggie seeds, Bio Dome Seed Starter, livestock paneling for trellises
To watch: Killing Us Softly 4, Food, Inc., 30 Rock, Huge
To read: Twain's "The War Prayer," MLK Jr.'s "The World House," Newsweek's Reimagining Masculinity
I also love listening to rain on a metal roof, like I hear right now... but I can't box that up and give it to you, now can I?
And then I decided to make my own Favorite Things list. As I'm writing these entries, I will imagine this:
We've got John Travoooltaaah!
Sardines
Sardines are good for you--packed full of Omega 3's (which we don't get enough of in our American diets), and are a low risk for high mercury. They are also surprisingly delicious. Be wary of bone-in sardines, though. They are easy to de-bone, but the first time I accidentally chomped into a vertebrae--yikes. King Oscar's Mediterranean sardines are my favorite so far, because there are bits of herbs and olives in the marinade. A+.
hulu
There's no way to talk about our lack of cable/network TV without sounding like a pretentious a-hole, so I'll avoid that. hulu is wonderful, though, for those of us who still need a little TV fix now and then. Thanks to hulu, I finally got to watch the entirety of My So-Called Life (which was exactly as perfect I knew it would be when I was an adolescent with dance lessons during its air time), and get to keep up with 30 Rock, The Office, Community, Parks and Recreation, SNL, and Days of Our Lives (that's right, I said it). Even with those few shows, I don't understand how we had time to watch so much TV before--we have to squeeze "our shows" in. (Days of Our Lives is my one fall-asleep-on-the-couch guilty pleasure, and I'm not ashamed to admit it.)
Green Smoothies
Yeah, yeah, I know it's better to make your own in the morning--but that's not going to happen right now. I like Odwalla, Naked, and Bolthouse Farms equally well, but the latter seems to nutritionally pack the most punch for your dollar. Other honorable mentions that make me feel good in the morning: Trader Joe's Prenatal Vitamins (evidently Rainbow Lite brand) and DHA/EPA fish oil tablets, and Gala apples.
Trader Joe's Nourish Spa Shampoo
This is a staple in our house. It's sulfate-free, which is good for dry hair (me) and oily hair (Andy). It doesn't strip oils (sulfates act as detergents), so oily hair doesn't then overproduce oil, and my curls are happier. It does have parabens, which I otherwise avoid. Otherwise it's an absolute steal at ~$2.99 per bottle. The conditioner isn't thick enough for me, but some might be OK with it.
Sherwin-Williams Paint
When we were re-painting almost every room in our house when we moved in, we used Sherwin-Williams paint (Superpaint, and some Duration we got on sale). Its one-coat promise held true, and it was so easy to paint with. I linked to the historical pallets, which we borrowed heavily from. We just got finished doing some exterior painting, and used Lowe's Valspar brand for it (siding and porches). We decided to go cheap because A. we needed to, and B. much of our exterior work (especially the termite-nibbled porch) was akin to polishing a turd (or painting a turd). What a difference... Pay a bit more if you can, especially on interior painting, as it will take less and be better all around.
Le Creuset
Ha! I just visited this site to link it, and the front page boasts Le Creuset as one of Oprah's Favorite Things.
(It's also the most spendy thing on my list, so go figure.)
Le Creuset is like Mac products to me, or small hatchback foreign cars. I do have a few solid reasons to want certain products (my MacBook, my great cast iron pot, my little Scion)... but then I just get caught up in a strange world of wanting ALL of the products, even if I don't really need or want them (for example, I want an iPad even though the iPod is just too much technology for me). I realized this after going into a Le Creuset outlet over the summer--I wanted everything, even the things I thought were kind of ugly. It's a disease. But the products are still awesome.
Gap Outlet
Thankfully, I have a Gap card (fake money!), which works at Gap, Gap Outlet, Old Navy, and Banana Republic. Without it, I'd be naked.
The Gap Outlet is my favorite place to spend fake money, though--great size options, cheap jeans, bargain basement stuff for men and women. Love love love.
Dammit when I linked to the title it's pushing a storewide 60% off sale starting now. And it just so happens we'll be passing through Warrenton this weekend...
Caulk
I caulked a piece of baseboard trim to a troublesome, gross spot of drywall. It worked.
I love caulk.
Sckoon Organics
You will cringe, you will scoff, you will roll your eyes. You just don't understand.
For the creatures: Nutro Tartar Control biscuits, Solid Gold dog and cat food (shiny bags!), Manna Pro Oyster Shells and Poultry Conditioner, earthdog collars
For the garden: Seeds of Change veggie seeds, Bio Dome Seed Starter, livestock paneling for trellises
To watch: Killing Us Softly 4, Food, Inc., 30 Rock, Huge
To read: Twain's "The War Prayer," MLK Jr.'s "The World House," Newsweek's Reimagining Masculinity
I also love listening to rain on a metal roof, like I hear right now... but I can't box that up and give it to you, now can I?
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