Electile Dysfunction

Electile Dysfunction : the inability to become aroused over any of the
choices for president put forth by either party in the 2008 election
year.

Searching for Money

With all the talk about our economy and the shrinking buying power of the dollar, it's a little daunting (actually a LOT daunting)to think about trying to gather funds for Nate to go to college.

This weekend I hope to have the last bits of documentation I need to get our taxes done. For some reason our mortgage interest statement hasn't arrived yet. Usually it's one of the first things. And I don't have a 1099 from the paper, but I can easily total up my earnings from 2007 so that we can at least get a start.

After the taxes are done...next week, I know because our accountant promised he'll do ours right away because of college money search...I will navigate through the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). This form is apparently the be all and end all to getting financial assistance for college.

We have divided up the money search responsibilities. I am to do searching, paperwork, and number crunching. Nate will complete scholarship applications and write essays. Mensa Boy will be his cheerleader, helping him to decide which scholarships interest him and might be worth spending time on, and editing & proofreading his essays. So far Nate has done 3 or 4 applications and last night he wrote an essay. Hopefully the two of them can work on 2 or 3 scholarships a week.

So that's what's going on here. I fully anticipate that the bush beating for money will be my third parttime job. And I'm ok with that.

Wine Notes: Francis Ford Coppola Rosso Bianco 2005

Francis Ford Coppola Rosso Bianco 2005
Originally uploaded by Food Fanatic

This is a blend of reds. It's easy to find in the just about every grocery store. It's pretty much okay. Not as smooth as my favorite reds, but not too tannic. I'd buy it again if it were on sale (although it's cheap anyway) and I couldn't find Marietta Cellars or Wolf Blass.

Yesterday I played. Well, I did do some work. I got up and wrote a story about our middle school dedication ceremony that we had on Sunday. I got that thing down on the screen and filed by 8:30. My friend Cassie turned 50 on Sunday and took yesterday off, so I did too. We had both worked all weekend...the primary on Saturday and then I worked a story on Sunday. So yesterday we spent the day together. Here is a rundown of what we did:

Jazzercise

Lunch: Nothing but Noodles. You know, I had eaten there once before and thought "eh." Sort of a middle-of-the-road that meal was. But yesterday was excellent and really hit the spot. We liked both of our dishes. I had Sesame Lo Mein with shrimp and Cassie had Southwest Chipolte with shrimp.

Movie: "Atonement." Now, for about the first 40 minutes Cassie was getting a little nervous. Had she pulled a boner choosing this movie? Would it be "White Oleander" all over again? Cassie and I love to go to movies but if one of us chooses a movie that is hideous, then they are in the doghouse until they choose what we call a "redemption movie." My last doghouse flick was "Little Miss Sunshine," the blame for which I lay completely on my friend Julie. That movie was so awful that I started apologizing within the first 10 minutes and then apologized for every week until my redemption flick many months later...which was "Waitress." Cassie had to admit that "Waitress" was SO good that I probably had not only redeemed myself for the "Sunshine" movie, but I had also banked up points against the next poor choice.

But I digress. "Atonement." Neither of us had read the book. I generally wouldn't have anyway. I don't like seeing movies when I've read the book. I'm pretty much always disappointed. So the movie was very slow starting out the gate and then had a couple of "lookback" scenes that took too long for the viewer to realize they were looking back. It just took TOO LONG for the movie to get to the bad thing that needed atonement.

But once the bad thing occurred, then the movie went along right well. And it ended well. Not a happy ending, but a good ending.

So. Would I recommend it? Yes, but I'd say "when you go, don't give up." We both agreed that if we were watching it on TV or had it on DVD? We would have clicked off and missed a nice movie. No rave reviews, though.

After the movie: Yoga. You might think that two hour-long workouts in one day is too many. But I will say here that the yoga is really helping a lot. The stretching and the breathing goes a long way to relieving fatigue and body pain. It increases mobility, too. Monday is the only day I do two workouts in one day, though.

After yoga: Library Board meeting. Pretty uneventful.

Then a late supper while watching Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares. BBC shows reruns it every day at 6. If it weren't for the language and the bleeping, I'd really really enjoy it. Now I just really enjoy it!

So. After all that playing yesterday I have a ton a work to do today. And in a couple of days I'll be adding a third full time job: Nate's financial aid researcher. Right after the taxes are done.

NavelGazing/NavalGazing

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Originally uploaded by Food Fanatic

Just Following Directions

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Originally uploaded by Food Fanatic

How do I Get Out of This?

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Originally uploaded by Food Fanatic

Yesterday's self-portrait theme was "upside-down." Yes, I could have just hung my head over the edge of a couch or chair. Or even just bent over at the waist and peered through my legs. But no! That would have been too easy!

So I put my camera on my tripod, which I had threaded through the spindles of the upstairs landing rail. I then tied the neckstrap to the spindles. Set the camera to fire by remote, and went downstairs to contemplate how I was going to get on my hands.

Everything went really well until I got to this point.

I did get Nate to help me later. He stood me on my hands while I shot another photo. But I didn't really like those as much. I had wanted to use a moderate depth of field, with my feet in focus and gradually losing focus as you looked down toward my head. But instead I ended up with my belt in focus. In the end, this outtake seemed better than the original idea.

On an unrelated note: We are going to be parents of an Erskine student! Nate was accepted to Erskine College, which is a private Presbyterian College in Due West, SC. The setting and college is remarkably similar to our alma mater. Unfortunately, it is a private college, with a corresponding private college tuition. Visit Erskine online at http://www.erskine.edu.

The photographer and His Subject

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Originally uploaded by Food Fanatic

Actually, his real subject was peanut butter. A tiny dab on the back of the camera.
Mensa Boy had the idea for this shot. I came in from Jazz and said, "I haven't done my self-portrait for today." And he right away popped out with this idea. I have no idea what I'll do today. Tomorrow is upside-down day in the group.

Wine Notes: Orleans Hill Cote Zero

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Originally uploaded by Food Fanatic

This wine definitely rated a big fat ZERO. In fact, below zero. I've never just poured out an entire bottle before. It was simply nasty. I probably should have taken it back to the store. Maybe there was just a bad batch or something.

When I pulled the cork, there were all these crystals on the bottom of it. The wine itself was pale and sickly looking. Holding the bottle up to the light, I could see sediment.

Sulfite Free. Organic, California Red Wine. 2006.

m-m-m These Dreams...

I've been having some pretty vivid dreams these past few months. For most of my life I haven't really remembered many dreams. But in the past several months I've had several that are very memorable. Probably because, for the most part, they've been about mundane things.

I dreamed once about pouring coffee into a cup. After the cup filled I just kept pouring. I was looking right at what I was doing. I was pouring from my little 4-cup pot and the pot never emptied. The cup filled and overflowed and the coffee just kept coming from the pot.

I dreamed about making scrambled eggs for my friend Rena.

But the really interesting one was yesterday morning. I dreamed we had a white armadillo living under our couch. I don't know how I knew it was even an armadillo. All I saw in the dream was a flash of tail. The dream centered around the fact that he got out into the main part of the living room and bonus room and pooped all over. Yup. The dream was about me having to clean up armadillo poop.

Off I Go a-Rovering

It's 5:58 a.m. and I'm off to my three precincts to see how they are doing with their machines. I should be done at all three by 7 when the polls open. Then, it's just a lot of a waiting around, waiting for a problem. But there won't be one. Once everyone is up, the machines just click right along. We are well-prepared and the machines have been properly set up.

Intense boredom will set in around 10 a.m. and last through 7 p.m. tonight. I have books and movies and my cameras to entertain me. One of the polling places is in an historic Presbyterian church near here. They have a very picturesque cemetery, so I hope to take some shots in there. We are expecting 1-3 inches of snow throughout the day, so that could make photos even more fun.

A Snowy Day

Bird at Snowy Feeder
Originally uploaded by Food Fanatic

Our first snow of the year. Schools were delayed 2 hours this morning. I don't know how much we got. But as I was drinking my coffee this morning the editor called asking me to go out in the cold, wet snow and take photos. This bird one does not show much snow. I took it on my friend's backyard deck.

I took this one as I walked to the back steps of their deck.

Don't Be Deceived

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Originally uploaded by Food Fanatic

I know you are looking at this and thinking, "Oh My! What a perfect little brain! I wonder what animal this is from?"

But if you look very very closely, you'll see that it is actually a model that Taylor sculpted from Hershey Kiss wrappers.

Yup.

Dummies

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Originally uploaded by Food Fanatic

This dog of ours is sharp as a tack. His people, however are constantly cramming for the tests he throws at them.

He's good with "sit," "stay," "down," "roll over," "leave it," and "watch." He goes to his bed when we tell him, and he notifies us one way or another that he needs to go out.

But when he gets outside, he has a serious case of ADD. You know he has to go. He has to go so bad that he's nearly frantic inside. But once he's out there, his nose overtakes his bowels and he simply is overcome with all the fragrances that are in the wind, on the ground, and under the ground.

And so each afternoon between about 3:30 and 6:30, he leads us to the door and we take him out. To stomp around and wait and pace up and down while he does everything except his business. And then back in we go for 5 or 6 minutes until he takes us to the door again.

There is nothing written anywhere about this that I can find. Somewhere on a magical mystical shelf lies a small booklet that tells exactly how to train your dog in this area. And I'm sure it's placed right next to the little pamphlet that explains how to teach your toddler to blow his nose.

Rover Rover

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Originally uploaded by Food Fanatic

Last night I went to the training session for poll workers for the upcoming primaries. dull dull dull. It wouldn't be, really, except that it's pretty much the same thing every time, and since I work every election...you get the picture.

Anyway, for yesterday's self-portrait I put kit on the table and stuck my hand in there so it could be called an sp.

Childress Vineyards Wine

Childress Class Red Table Wine
Originally uploaded by Food Fanatic

Let me apologize up front for the quality of the upcoming wine photos. They all just are...bad! But I had collected quite a few empty bottles on my windowsill and just needed to get them into the garbage.

This is a North Carolina Vineyard in Lexington. I was first introduced to their dessert wine when buddy Tambri brought a bottle of it to Thanksgiving dinner. It was a delightfully sweet blueberry dessert wine and we just about polished off the bottle that day.

Since then I have tried this Classic Red table wine and also a red blend called Pinnacle. I'm not sure which red blend I liked better: this Classic one or the Pinnacle, but I did like them all. They have just the right amount of sweetness to me. Not too harsh, like some reds can be.

I'm definitely becoming a fan of red blends. I haven't had a bad one yet.

I love these new shoes

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Originally uploaded by Food Fanatic

I bought a pair of the new Ryka studio shoes to start the new year and I absolutely LOVE them! They are light as a feather, which I find with most of the shoes I buy from them (these are actually an ounce heavier than my last pair), but I especially like the heel structure.

The heels on these are rounded so you have better range of motion when dancing. Some might see that as a negative...maybe a greater likelihood for twisting an ankle. But I like it because then the shoe does not determine the angle as which my foot extends during some of the poses and dance moves.

Rare for me to write about shoes, I know. But there you have it.

Bacon!

Switched-Up Schnitzel

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Originally uploaded by Food Fanatic

My buddy Tambri gave me some cubed venison loins. My other buddy Sarah told me about a dish her mom made for her every year on her birthday. Mom would dredge the loins in milk, then egg, then a
mixture of saltines, Parmesan cheese, oregano, basil, pepper and thyme. Then she would fry them in butter. Serve with lemon wedges.

Well. This sounds like schnitzel to me, with the exception of the Parmesan. Austrians do not put Parmesan in the breading. And of course it's usually veal or pork.

Time to play with the food.

First, I decided I wanted to use Panko instead of cracker crumbs. Big fan of the Panko. Love the Panko. I also decided to raise the smoke point of the butter by adding some olive oil. Less chance of burnage that way.

Since I was using Panko mixed with Parmesan rather than saltines, I thought maybe I should not use milk as my first dip. That would add more liquid to the eggs and I really wanted more of a sticking effect, to hold onto that Parmesan and Panko. Panko being much coarser than saltine crumbs would be.

Also? At the very last moment I noticed I did not have LEMON! That, my dear foodie, is a mortal sin in the schnitzel world! I could not send someone to get lemon...Nate is down with flu and Mensa Boy was working hard at home on a big project.

So? Lemon pepper became one of the seasonings in the Panko mixture.

Here is an approximate list of ingredients:

1 # cubed venison loin

First coating:
3/4 cup flour

Second coating:
2 whole eggs

Dredge:
2/3 cup freshly grated parmesan (I used Parmigiano Reggiano, which was what I had, but I think it'd be better to go with something CHEAPER!)
2/3 cup Panko crumbs
1 teaspoon lemon pepper
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon thyme

Fry over medium-high heat in 1 stick of unsalted butter cut with about 4 tablespoons of olive oil. (Turn to second side when the blood rises to the top) Check for doneness by prodding with your finger. Should firm up, but not become hard.

I think if the heat in the skillet were too high, and the crumbs were in danger of burning, it would be a good idea to just fry to a golden brown and then finish in the oven. Especially if you have an electric oven. A gas oven will lend moisture and keep it from being quite as crisp.

Oh. The lemon in the photo...Neighbor Mary to the rescue!

Now this was an exciting meal! The guys became more and more animated as the schnitzel cooked, although Mensa Boy was sad that the meat wasn't actually cube-shaped. uh yuh.

Cellar No. 8

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Originally uploaded by Food Fanatic

2005 California Zinfandel.

I don't know why I buy this every once in a while. I read about it in the paper one Wednesday and the reviewer liked it, and I like the reviewer, so I guess I just can't let go.

But the truth is, I really don't think much of this one. Not sweet enough. It's just too tannic for me. I really like a Marietta Cellars table wine, but sometimes I can't find it, and this one often seems to be near where the other should be.

Oh. And it had a cork. I've been wanting wines with corks. Just because I got an electric cork puller for Christmas!

Quote for today

My friend Jenny said this yesterday on her blog when she wrote about a Weight Watcher's pizza idea:

"I resisted trying this recipe for a long time because it was frequently described as a good cure to a pizza craving. You know what is a good cure for a pizza craving? An entire Papa John’s pizza."

p.s. She did like the pizza idea, which involved a "Flat out" wrap.