A Cinematic Cinnamon Summary

So, who made Snickerdoodles last week? My batch went with us to a brunch on Sunday - I like to think of it as a nod to cinnamon rolls without the mess (and without taking up as much space on the brunch buffet, frankly).

I truly do have a very cool recipe I want to share with you that is a take on those Snickerdoodles, but before we get into that I wanted to talk about the most important thing in the recipe: the cinnamon.

It's probably best if I give up trying to type about this and just talk:

As promised above, here's the picture from the local food Co-op (Lakewinds Co-op in Richfield, MN):

Want a day filled with fall bliss? Come visit the co-op with me and we'll stand around sniffing the cinnamon-y goodness. (Do I know how to party, or what?)

And, happily, that also answers my question from the video! The four types of cinnamon (not including the blend) available at Penzey's (www.penzeys.com) are: Indonesian, Ceylon, Chinese, and Vietnamese.

If you have the chance to smell (and taste - and work with) the various varieties, you'll see why I think this is such an important choice to make.

See you next week, with a recipe I can't wait to try - and to share!

-----
Have a recipe you want someone else to try before you do? Or something you've tried and you're wondering why it turned out the way it did? Maybe you're on a quest for the perfect Thanksgiving side dish, or a good gluten-free dessert. Let me know and I might address it in a future blog post! (It could even result in a plate of cookies showing up in your mailbox...) 

4th of July = Muppets

In honor of the impending Fourth of July weekend, I offer you this Muppetational treat from a few years back.

Enjoy. (I know that I did - and do every time I see it.)

Sesame Sherlock

Some days, you just need to sit back and enjoy what comes at you.

In the midst of finding out about weird jaw infections and trying nasal steroids (which gave me a headache) and dealing with annoyingly cold weather, I stumbled across this, today.

And it made me happy, so I'm sharing it with you.

Enjoy.

Friday Food - Marvel Bar Marplot

Hmm... That doesn't work quite as well as "Marvel Movie Monday" did, does it?

I guess that's kind of appropriate, since the "Marvel" in question for this one is the Marvel Bar in Minneapolis. Of course, this also means that this is more of a "Friday Drink" post than a "Friday Food" post. Although... I probably ate more than I drank there.

But I get ahead of myself. And I haven't even explained how the Marplot fits in.

The Marvel Bar in Minneapolis is one of the most-talked-about bars in town these days. It's in the basement below The Bachelor Farmer (one of the most-talked-about restaurants in town these days), and has this kind of "in-crowd" chic going on.

And I have to admit that this is part of why I was excited to go. Christopher and I have been talking about it for a long time, and he went for the first time a while ago as an extension of another happy hour. But last Sunday was my first time - and I was pretty excited to go with Christopher and some friends.

Part of the in-crowd chic aspect is the fact that the entry door isn't marked, so if you don't know where you're going, you'll basically never get in. It's at the back of the building, kind of at the end of a parking lot, and it looks like a security door - complete with just a peephole. And the mystique carries through the entry foyer, which looks like you've come into a service entrance (which, really, you have), as you walk toward another unmarked door (which at least does look nicer than the service doors).

Inside there are big booths, as well as some armchairs and loveseats in the middle of the room, and stools along the bar. The wall behind the booths is glass and showcases the wines for the restaurant upstairs. The lighting is a little low, and it does have a bit of a swank vibe.

On the table, there were a couple of drink menus, as well as a very small "beaker" of Cheetos (the only food they serve - so don't go there hungry).

Christopher knew what he wanted, and our friends had gotten there earlier and already had drinks, so I tried to make sense of the menu. Unfortunately, as someone who does not drink a lot, I didn't know what some of the things were. (Yes, I know that "Gordon's" is a liquor brand, but that doesn't mean I know what kind. That kind of thing.) Since I didn't want to order blindly off the menu, when the waiter came over I asked for an Amaretto Sour.

Now I know that the Marvel Bar is known for making specialty drinks and tweaking recipes. I get that. And I've ordered Amaretto Sours in different places where they make their own Sour or whatever. But when I ordered, I found out that the Marvel Bar does not have any Amaretto.

Our waiter, trying to be helpful, says "But we can do something else. We could do something like a Walnut liqueur, instead." I said I'd think about.

He came back a moment or two later, and started to offer other suggestions, starting with "We could do a Brandy drink..." I cut him off, and explained that I'm not a fan of Brandy, so those would be out of the question. Instead, I said I thought I'd try the Walnut liqueur and Sour.

A while later (for some reason, even though the place was *not* busy, everything we ordered took a while), he showed up at the table with something in a cocktail glass. He says "It's peach, walnut liqueur, and brandy," and walks away.

Everyone at the table looks at me, and says "Didn't you say no brandy?" (Yes.)

I tried the drink - really hoping to like it. It was foul. I offered it around the table and everyone grimaced. If we'd had a spittoon, it would have been in full use.

The waiter came back. "What do you think?" Before I had a chance to say much more than "I really don't like it," Christopher said "He specifically said he doesn't like brandy, and this is a brandy drink."

The waiter honestly looked shocked at the response. He said "Well... What can I get you, then? We could try something else." I told him I'd just stick with water, because it was easier.

To give him credit, he did reply with "I don't want you to be disappointed, though." But, I have to admit that that sounded more like a "Well, you just don't understand what a good drink is, but I'll try again if you're going to complain."

At which point, I was kind of done, so I said "Too late." And he took my mostly-untouched drink and walked away.

We stayed for a while, though, and Christopher's second drink was an "Improv Whiskey drink" which he said was quite good - although he'd probably never order it again.

Even so... I don't think I'll ever be clamoring to go back there. I mean... I'm thrilled that so many people apparently want to go and have someone else make all of their decisions for them. But, for me, when I say that there is something I specifically do NOT want, and that's what I'm served - and then the response is shock when I don't like it... well... If a place doesn't want my opinion, I'm guessing they also don't want my business.

Of course, if people we know want to go there in future, I can always hang out, eat the Cheetos, and drink water. After all, that's a much cheaper night - and a guarantee that there will be a designated driver. But I'm pretty sure I won't be ordering any drinks.

**Oh, and I think that, in this situation, the bartender would be considered the Marplot (which was last Monday's word of the day).

Movie Monday Masterpiece

No, Masterpiece Theater isn't actually a movie. I realize that. But it's so much BETTER than a movie.

My folks were in town over the weekend, and we capped off a really rather nice weekend with sitting down on the couch to watch the first new episode of Masterpiece Theater's "Upstairs, Downstairs."

I'm not sure if it was great because Christopher and I were sitting with my folks and our pup and watching the show, of if it was a carry-over from watching it when I was a little kid, but I do know that I was really amazing.

Now I just have to hope that The Amazing Race doesn't have too many delayed shows so that I don't end up with massive overlaps...

Friday Food - A Little of This...

I'm not really a comfort food eater. I'm not someone who, when stressed out, pigs out on a specific kind of food.

Granted, if a package of Oreos is opened in front of me, and I've got a glass of milk, I'm not averse to going through most of the package. If there are some good potato chips and a Coke, they might be gone. A box of Mary See's Bordeaux (milk or dark) and another glass of milk? No problem.

But that's not connected to stress or emotion. It's just food.

Which is not to say that food isn't tied to emotion for me, it's just that it's the other way around. I don't eat because of the emotions, I get the emotions because of the food.

It's an odd equation, I know. We'll look into it more on some future Friday. Assuming I remember it.

Quotable "Glee"

I'm sure it comes as no surprise to any of you that I am an avid "Glee" watcher.

I've had my weeks when I love the show, and weeks when I was really not sure what they were doing.

Tonight, though, as one of the characters was trying to explain to another why his attitude had recently changed, he said:

"There is a moment, when you say to yourself: 'Oh. There you are. I've been looking for you forever.'"

And, in that one statement, I was reminded why I love the show so much.

The fact that that was part of exchange between two gay teens wasn't even really important in the show, and I think that's another part of why it was so powerful. So intriguing. So much the reason that I love watching "Glee."

In a Flash

Did you know that there is a version of migraine headache which doesn't actually include the headache part? Actually, there are a few different versions, and they cause havoc with things like your sense of smell and your sense of sight. (Isn't the brain just wacky?)

How do I know this? Because I get those last two versions from time to time.

The smell one is a little annoying, but not awful. I mean, just because something doesn't smell quite right doesn't mean that it will throw off your day.

But the one where your sight gets messed up. That one's not fun. And it tends to show up at all the worst times. Like when you're driving down the road and suddenly you've got flashing patterns in your eyesight - frequently just where the rearview mirror should be.

Or, like earlier today, when I was trying to do some proofreading at work and couldn't see sections of my screen through the wordless marquis lights. At least, in that case, I wasn't on the road.

I'm lucky, though, because these don't involve the actual painful headache problems, and - at least so far - they're usually pretty short-lived.

I just wish they'd be gone in a flash.

Super Bowl Sunday

I admit it.

I was doing all sorts of things earlier today, and had planned to blog this evening. And then I realized that the Super Bowl was about to start and I hadn't blogged.

So now I'm watching the Super Bowl, and we'll have to wait until tomorrow for a more comprehensive posting.

Here's hoping the commercials are worth it.

Saturday Snippets

My mind hasn't been doing great in full-length stories, lately, so tonight you're getting some one- (or two-) liners, instead:

- If you're a guy who has a slightly-ample backside, wearing skinny jeans is probably not a great idea. Also true, quite frankly, if you're a woman with a slightly-ample backside.

- I work down the hallway from a marketing company whose staff seem to consider themselves to be the hippest of the hipsters as they walk back and forth down the common hallway with their laptops in their very-expensive clothes and haircuts and fashionable (sometimes skinny) jeans. For the record: the combination of "hip," "very-expensive," and "fashionable" do not, often, result in styles that anyone should actually wear.

- I have, as promised earlier this year, thrown out an old pair of tennis shoes.

- I have also decided to keep the new shoes I bought (along with the new underwear you already knew I was keeping). I wore the shoes out of the house for the first time, tonight, even.

- Sometimes it takes leaving the house to make things real.

Wringing Out the Old/Ringing In the New

With a full acknowledgment that I'm not a huge fan of the hoopla surrounding New Year's Eve, I thought I might combine a Tiz List of things you might not know about the past year(-ish), and a Tiz Wish List for the coming year. Having never done this, before, we'll just jump in and see how it goes.

1) I think that, when a rental property advertises a "fireplace" it should be an actual fireplace, and not simply a wood-burning stove.

2) I hope to go somewhere with a real fireplace for at least a couple of nights.

3) I hate to do the semi-forced "Happy Birthday" (or whatever) greetings on the social networking sites.

4) I've gotten to the point where I ignore most of the reminders.

5) I'm hoping to send more real greetings, so that the forced ones simply don't have to happen.

6) After a decent amount of semi-self-imposed austerity, I have begun shopping for fun, again. Just a little.

7) I started with new underwear, followed by new shoes.

8) Sometime in early January I have to decide if I'm keeping the new shoes.

9) I'm keeping the new underwear.

10) My favorite thing about the new dryer is the lighted control panel - even more than the interior light and the melodic "time's-up" buzzer.

11) I think a cruise would be fun - but I'd need at least a porthole, if not a balcony.

12) Our favorite delivery pizza place will add second toppings to the "one topping special."

13) I miss getting more "real" mail.

14) I'd rather get a handful of good birthday cards instead of a hundred online "happy birthdays."

15) I'd prefer it to be a rather large handful.

16) I have come to realize that I get tear-y-er at really happy/joyful/silly things that move me than at really sad things.

17) I'd like the chance to get a whole lot of tear-y at a whole lot of happy things in 2011.

18) We went to an incredibly simple wedding this year that - when I recently saw one of the pictures - made me feel that warm happy almost-tear-y feeling, again.

19) I have never used the words "pee" and "poop" as much in my life as I have in the past 3 months of trying to get a certain dog to do her duty when we go for walks.

20) Nothing makes me feel more inadequate than being unable to make my friends (or family) happy.

21) Or at least comforted.

22) I think I've reached my limit of mean-ness, rude-ness, and apathy that I can stand without reaction. (I asked for a customer service person's manager on the phone last night because - while she had certainly done all of the required actions on the phone - she had simply been mean and snarky the entire time. Was her customer service lacking so massively that it was deserved? Probably. Was it an over-reaction, even so? Probably. Is this a total digression? Definitely.)

23) I have way too much "stuff."

24) I hope to start getting rid of some "stuff" in the coming year. Possibly starting with old underwear and shoes.

25) I've now reached 10 followers on my blog. (Welcome, Mr. Number 10!)

26) My goal for 2011 is to have add at least 11 followers.

27) Okay. I'd settle for simply having at least 11 followers by the end of the year.

28) I'd still kind of like a kilt.

29) I am constantly amazed by people I know who are following at least some aspects of their dreams on a daily basis.

30) And it happens in Michigan and England and California and - I've heard - it can even happen in Cleveland.

31) I hope to, once again, figure out what my dreams are.

32) Maybe a West-Coastal-drive vacation would be good.

33) I should use my French more.

34) I really hope Disney doesn't stop making princess movies, even if they don't rake in the big bucks.

35) We have a knack for going to dinner somewhere, deciding we really enjoyed it, and then finding out the place has closed before we have a chance to go back.

36) We'd like to find a few new favorite places that don't close before we can go back.

Alright. Three dozen randomnesses, all written on a December afternoon where Minneapolis actually had hail. (Yes. Really. Hail. Not Sleet. Have I mentioned that we've been having strange weather?)

Now it's time to chill something bubbly, start looking toward dinner, and set the TiVo for the Rose Parade in case I don't get up in time for it.

Here's to whatever's next!

SUCH a Sunday

I have so many topics for today, so here are just the highlights:

1) My nephew turned 21 today. When he was born, I was 22 years old, living in Paris, and the fact that I had a nephew made me feel kind of old. 21 years later, having a 21-year-old nephew makes me feel... well... older.

2) I think I might be done with my Christmas shopping. Or at least I might have completed all of the stuff that needed to be done in advance and wrapped - I've got a few little things that I'm looking forward to doing this week.

3) "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" was repealed, yesterday. Gay men and Lesbians are now legally able to serve openly in the military. I'm sure there will be court challenges, but - at least for now - the United States can feel like it's moving in the right direction toward equality for everyone. (And, really, in an era where enlistment is down, why would they turn away anyone? I've never understood that.)

4) According to the latest weather reports, we're supposed to be getting more accumulating snow, tomorrow. Our snow blower is still dead. And we didn't get the remaining re-plowed snow cleared out of the driveway until today. I also finally got a "walk-through" carved out at the corner of our lot where we connect the sidewalk to the street. And now we'll see if we get another six inches of snow, tomorrow. Should make for an interesting outdoor game for the Vikings football team, though - possibly one of the first times I've been interested in one of their games in a while. (Have you seen the video of the collapse of the Metrodome?)

Okay. I think that's about all I've got for today. After all, Sunday is supposed to be a relaxed day, right?

Sunday Evening Ramble

I figured I should write something because I didn't, yesterday. But here's the thing: I don't have anything really to say about the past day or so.

It's been a good little while. Nice sunny late-summer (okay, early-fall) days. Time was spent with the new dog. Time was spent with Christopher. Time was spent with friends. And, at about 6 o'clock this evening, I turned to Christopher and said that the weekend was way too short. Which could be why I haven't blogged.

I'm really excited to say that I've had some great comments on my last Tiz List. I'll be responding to some of those in the next few days.

In the meantime, check out some of the other great posts from NajMania and TizAndAss and all of the other great folks you can find them in the left margin.

I Have a Pulse

Yes, that's right. I found out today that I have a pulse. And really good blood pressure. And maybe just the start of an ulcer.

Obviously, the trip to the doctor's office this morning for my first physical in a really long time was before I went to work. Otherwise I'm sure that my blood pressure would have been much higher, and my ulcer probably would have been full blown.

Instead, I just got a Tetanus booster shot and a flu shot and gave them four vials of blood to check my cholesterol and various other things.

Assuming I don't go into a coma or develop massive flu in the next 48 hours, I think I should be good to go.

Zac Efron's Hair

I told myself I wouldn't talk about movies on days other than "Movie Mondays."

But, that said, I have to say that Zac Efron has really good hair. (I tried to find a good representative picture from the movie I'm not talking about, but none of them really do it justice.)

If I could figure out a haircut and styling products that would get my hair to look like that (or even to approximate it in an age-appropriate way), I'd be very happy.

"What the...?" Wednesday

As many of you know, I've been doing freelance editing for a while, now. Although there are some pretty good pieces that I come across at work, there are more than a few pieces of... well... crap.

In the past couple of days, I've encountered some pretty amazingly awful pieces of writing. And, of course, I have to share them.

Let me stress, in advance, that these were not written as jokes. These are not spoofs. These are the actual pieces of writing which authors are working on publishing. Some are being edited, some are beyond that stage and are what the author is actually sending to print.

(I just realized that the intro to this post is going to be longer than the post, itself.)

Here you go:

I believe that issues such as this should be placed on the ballet every two years. (I don't know about you, but I feel sorry for the dancers who have to carry around these issues while also doing their pas de deux and grands jetees.)

For those of you who have already heard about some of the gems in that piece of... umm... writing, you may also have already heard of these:

"divide and concur" (Apparently, once we're apart from each other, we're more agreeable.)

"the rise in the National Dept" (I believe that the National Dept has been moved from the 1st floor at Macy's up to the 4th floor, right next to the International Department.)

"We must stop barrowing money from our children's futures." (Now, aside from the fact that I don't have children, I also don't have enough money to need to move it in a wheelbarrow. Do you?)

And, finally, the quote - from a completely different work-related source - which everyone seems to love:

"Life has a funny way of knocking you down, just when you think things couldn’t be better, they get worst. Can she survive it’s raft?" (Yeah. Really. I have no idea what to do with that.)

Ruck It

This being Thotful Thursday, I thought I'd just toss out a few quick things for us all to ponder. To whit:

What does "to whit" mean?

How can plants which just got rained on 2 hours earlier start to look wilted by the time I get home from work?

Why do the bunnies leave our plants alone for months, and then just when we let our guard down decide to eat all of the leaves off of them? And how can I stay mad at them when they're so danged cute?

How long does the average skin peeling last? And why does it peel at different rates?

How short should I get my hair cut this weekend?

How is it that just when you start to have a social life, that's when work gets busy?

Why does the kid across the street from us always decide to start shooting hoops at almost 10 at night? And why does he always have to dribble the ball, when all he's doing is practicing free throws?

Why is it called "dribbling"?

Why is rugby called rugby?

What the heck is a "ruck"? (I watched a lot of rugby last weekend and heard that word a lot, but I still have no idea what it is - although some of the play-on-words t-shirts were rather fun...)

And, with that thought in mind, I'm going to sign off. I'm feeling a bit wilted, so I'm going to say "ruck it" to getting any of my work done, peel off my shirt, and head for bed, hopefully without dribbling.

Blogging at 11:30

Usually, I try to blog fairly early on in the evening. If not "early" in the evening, then possibly before the 10 o'clock news is over. (Remember, I live in the Midwest, where the main nightly news is at 10, not 11.) Sometimes - if my workload allows - I even try to blog during the workday.

Why do I try to blog as early as possible? Because, if I wait until 11:30 at night (or whatever time it is now) it takes me a lot longer to put a post together.

You see, at this point in the evening having - tonight at least - had a failed attempt at making an "interesting" dinner (I ate it, but I'm very glad no one was around to see it), followed by a couple of hours on the phone (catching up with family), and then 3 hours of work on some freelance stuff - my brain is probably too mushy to be allowed to be doing this.

It's not that I don't have any topics bouncing in my brain. On the contrary, I have way too many. Let's take a quick look at the various things jumbled in my brain:

There's something about watching people in the car behind you via your rearview mirror.

There's commentary on how our backyard garden is changing from pinks to oranges.

There's worry that the corn we planted may not make it to fruition.

There's a question about how short I should get my hair cut when I finally go in to cut it sometime in the next couple of weeks (for the first time in a couple of months).

There's a totally random ponderance about the font size on my screen.

And all of that is stacked on top of the fact that my typing skills seem to be out the window tonight, and I'm having to delete back over about 2/3 of what I type to correct my spelling, grammar, and overall "makes-sense-itive-ness." (Which, of course, leads to the question of whether I am, in fact, "typing" or whether I am "keyboarding" - the latter of which sounds like torture.)

Oh. And then, when I logged into my blog tonight, I found that new templates and designs are being offered. But I like my current design, and I'm not sure I want to change. But should I look at them, anyway?

So... Yeah... Possibly I should have just given tonight's posting a "Pass" considering how late it's gotten. But what would the fun in that have been?

***

And on a final even-more-random note for the evening, in response to a comment on yesterday's post: He's not a sled, he's a Basselope. (That makes perfect sense in my head. And, I suspect, in the head of at least one other person out there in the blogosphere...)

A Blog Seed, of Sorts...

I'm self-sequestered (with a bit of a nudge from Christopher), in the basement on this Sunday evening. I'm down here to do some editing that I simply haven't been able to make it through this weekend. Which is totally my own fault.

I dragged Christopher to the garden store yesterday morning (talk about chaos - going to a garden store on the first gorgeous Saturday of the "safe" planting season!), which then precipitated planting things after we got home. PLUS I still had to put in all of the things we've picked up over the past few weeks.

So I spent about 3 hours, yesterday, planting 4 peonies, 2 pasque flowers, a Himalayan blue poppy (okay, that one I'm a bit afraid might not last long), 6 marigolds (which I've been growing from seed), a tomato plant, 4 "super chilis," some tarragon, oregano, and basil. Oh. And 12 portulaca plants and 2 clumps of fountain flame grass in the planters by the front walk.

So... Yeah... That kind of ate up a bit more of yesterday than I had originally planned. For those keeping score, I am - apparently - allergic to all sorts of flame grass, as I had the same kind of breakout as I did last year when I planted another variety in the back yard.

I hope to have some photos to share, soon.

Okay. And then I did a little running around with Darci. And Christopher made really good pork chops for dinner which we ate while watching one of the "Mrs. Bradley Mysteries" from PBS (with Diana Rigg as the notorious leading lady). It was a wonderful day, all 'round.

I'd tell you more but, for now, I have to edit.

How was your weekend?

The Worst of Both Worlds

I'm going to whine tonight. But it'll be short, so you don't have to worry about getting mired in it.

Here's the thing: My sinuses are going crazy today. They're going crazy in an "it's spring and the world is in flux" sort of way. That would be do-able (for the most part), if it at least felt like spring.

Unfortunately, although we had a warm April and a few nice days in May, in the past week we've barely made it out of the 50s. The average temps this time of year are supposed to be in the 60s. And, worse yet, it's been rainy all week.

So I've got my spring allergies, but it feels like mid-to-late fall. What's up with that?