Recommended: Other People's Blogs

I know it's annoying to read posts that are all about not posting, so we'll leave it at this: I have no excuse. I am just not that good at it...

Ok, but here's the thing. I have some friends who really are. Leila, who has been my friend since sixth grade and lives quite near me now (might be moving closer! fingers crossed!), writes a blog about Boston restaurants as her job. In addition she has a personal blog and a tumblr (I don't really understand that phenomenon but it's fun!). For those keeping score that's three blogs she updates exponentially more frequently than I update this one blog. Additionally she is funny and informative while she does it. Were we not such good friends it might be intimidating.

Tommy, another old friend, though one who lives a little farther away, is also a very consistent blogger. He really posts everyday. And not because he's participating in some contest like me in November. His blog is basically about whatever he wants to talk about but he is always very earnest. It's striking how much he sounds like himself when he writes (or in his videos, but that's not the point). It's very charming.

Finally my room mate, Richard also makes his living writing blog post (and making advertising work right). In addition he has a personal blog that is also much more frequently updated than mine. While the subject matter is somewhat random he certainly has me beat for late-night, inebriated content. Whereas most of the posts I write after a bottle of wine are little more than a mess of misspelled words* and non-sequiturs, his are filled with a poetic self-deprecation that is both apt and hilarious. That's probably why he posts his and mine remain in the draft folder.

So if you're here and wondering why I haven't posted in a while (though it's probably because I'm on vacation... three days!!!!) you should try any of these trusted recommendations. Also if anyone knows how I can make one of those fancy link bars in the margin I'll include them there.

*Richard is my personal spell check (notably in the tags and titles where my general spell check doesn't work).

Haiku for Tonight

I have spilled lots
Of things in my purse but cough
Syrup is the worst

Un-Endorsed: Cuervo Black and Cola

So I just saw an advertisement (which played after midnight sandwiched between ads for gentlemen's clubs) which instructed me how to order a "Cuervo Black" and cola. Ok, so from what I can tell Cuervo Black is different from normal Cuervo because it's aged in charred barrels for longer. And according to sources* it is meant to appeal to an older, more discerning tequila drinker. And sure, the dudes in the commercial looked like the thirty-somethings in shiny shirts who hit on girls in bars who got in with fake ids. And to me Jose Cuervo is pretty much for eighteen year-olds bribing hobos in front of the liquor store (I hear). The thing is, you order Cuervo and cola the normal way but when your drunk bartender only hears the word "Cuervo" you just remind them not to reach for those shot glasses. Let me tell you about drinking tequila with coke. It's yucky. It tastes like coke until the end when it has that terrible tequila raw egg yolk essence. Truly, you can age your tequila in candy coated cola barrels and it won't taste good with coke. Let's get real.

*I actually don't intend to list my sources here.

[insert song lyric here..]

So on February 2 I am boarding a plane and leaving this cold mess of a city behind for a week. Josh and I am going to land in San Francisco and drive down to LA. It's actually a totally thrilling, glamorous vacation to be going on. We're going to see lots of friends and some giant trees and the Pacific Coast in all it's mid-winter splendor. If you are a secret reader of this blog and you live in California let me know if you want to hang out. Or if you have a suggestion of something we totally must not miss (especially in the Santa Barbara area where we are planning to spend a night to drink some wine and break up the driving a bit). Let me know!

Fashion Advice

So I bought boots online. You may know that I am inherently mistrustful of internet shopping. But I tried them on in a store first (in a different color) so I knew they'd fit. But now they've come and I am having my customary second thoughts. Unable to bring you, my trusted friends, to my apartment (because if I wear the boots outside I can't return them) I need your advice here on the ole blog.

Finally! The Butternut Squash Soup Recipe

By popular demand (or perhaps a g-chat message from Rachel) here is the recipe for the butternut squash soup I made yesterday:

Ingredients:
1 butternut squash, peeled, de-pulped and cut into chunks
1/2 onion (normal size, like a small person's fist) diced pretty small
2 in. of ginger root peeled and chopped
A pinch each of nutmeg, cinnamon and Cheyenne pepper (bigger pinches of the first two than the last)
2 cups chicken broth (give or take)
2 Tbs. heavy cream (or whatever seems good)
A bit of butter

-So you melt the butter in a heavy pot and saute it onions until they're pretty soft.
-Add the butternut squash, ginger and chicken broth, add water to cover the squash most of the way
-Bring to a boil, then add the other spices and a couple tablespoons of salt.
-Cover and simmer until the squash is soft (it took me 15 or 20 minutes).
-If there's a lot of liquid, strain it.
-Put everything in the food processor and whirl it around till it's pretty smooth.
-Add the cream and whirl some more till it's fluffy.

Oila! You're done!

I did not garnish my soup because I wasn't feeling too ambitious last night, but you can be pretty creative. Scallions or chives would be a good call. Or pumpkin seeds. Or sour cream/yogurt.

Keepin' it Smooth '08

So I don't like to brag here, but I got a pretty sweet gift for Christmas this year. A food processor. Like a real fancy, Cuisinart one. It's so sleek, so easy, so smooth-making. And although I did use it to make crusts for my annual New Year's Day quiche (little too wet, not so easy to roll), tonight I did an awesome food-processor-enabled thing. Butternut Squash Soup.


I have to say that this is one of my very favorite types of soup. And I do like soup. I just don't think it would be possible to effectively deliver the consistency that gives this soup that certain je ne sais quois (disclaimer: spell check doesn't work on French) with a hand-operated device. I'm sure all you Luddites out there reading this blog (you know, on computers) will balk at my newly mechanized kitchen habits, but really is there any other way to get that smooth, nearly fluffy texture? You see, what I did was add heavy cream during the processing of the soup. And it sort of fluffed up. Perfect.

And I hope this doesn't make you too jealous, but I'm going to eat it again for lunch tomorrow.

Who Wants to Hire Me?

So I have been finished with my internship for about two weeks now. Mostly I have filled that time with the holidays and cleaning up after them. I have also begun several projects of varying sizes I had been putting off for a long time. Mostly these involve minor improvements to the infrastructure of my apartment. For example we now have a coat rack in the hall so our living room chairs aren't littered with outerwear. Our toilet paper holder is now fully attached to the wall in the bathroom. My next project involves some new furniture pieces and a change of light source for the kitchen (the horrible florescent sucks at my soul). Perhaps less obviously productive I have begun to watch the much praised television series, Battlestar Gallactica. I'll write more about that in the future, don't worry.

The true purpose of this post is to beg for a job. I don't think I can work nights and intern during the day anymore. The schedule is too taxing and my personal life, sleep patterns and diet all suffered. And while I do like my night job.... well, it's time to grow up. And so, dear internet, I send out this earnest entreaty for all the world to read: I work hard, learn quickly and have the will/desire to learn a new trade. Please hire me.