Day 45: Grill Master

I had one hot dog left over from my friend's 4th of July party, along with a few ears of corn, that I decided it was time to grill.

Despite what you are about to see, it might be hard for you to believe that I'm not a grill master. More of a grilling savant, really. With no formal training, I learned the tricks of the trade all on my own. I've been known to really wow those around me with my skills.

Today, however, really took things to a whole new level. Behold!

Grilled corn and what used to be easily identified as a hot dog. There's a very slim chance I might have overcooked it - just a smidge. The outside layer of a hot dog is supposed to get hard and leathery . . . . . . . right?

Day 44: Explosion By Food Processor

Have you ever seen the movies where someone is making something in their blender and they turn it on before securing the lid and all of the contents fly out and get all over everything? I've always seen those scenes in TV and movies and thought to myself, "how do you forget to put the lid on? That doesn't seem realistic, more like desperate for laughs..." *cough-hater!-cough*

Well I was in the process of making some very delicious mango chicken teriyaki and may have had a similar experience . . .

I was making the sauce in my food processor. It didn't seem like that much so I decided to use the smaller, more shallow bowl. I put everything in, secured the lid, and fired it up.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Liquid immediately started flying EVERYWHERE! I hurriedly turned off the food processor and sadly took in the scene. . .

From this angle . . .

. . . and this angle . . .

. . . and this angle, when I discovered I was also covered with sauce . . .

And it got even better because I only had 30 minutes to finish and clean up this '30-minute meal' I had started roughly 20 minutes earlier, before I had to be at a meeting. If you weren't on to my tone through the quotations, this meal definitely wasn't finished in 30 minutes.

After recovering from the shock of the explosion, I switch the remaining sauce to a bigger processing bowl, wrapped a towel around the lid, and finished my mutilation of the contents. It still soaked the towel, in case you were wondering.

All in all I managed to finish, clean up, AND shovel a few fork-fulls of food into my face before running out the door only a few minutes late.

Words to the wise, if you're blending a few solid ingredients with mostly liquids, use the largest food processing bowl possible!

Day 43: Dress for Success

I don't understand the 'rules' of clothing - and I earned my Bachelor's Degree in Fashion Design. That's not a dig on my chosen line of education or the industry, it's leading into a dig on social norms. I guess I should clarify a bit further, I don't understand the 'rules' of clothing when it comes to the 'professional working world.'

Why is it, that out of ALL of the colors available in the existence of the universe, Black is the primary color deemed 'professional'?! I just don't get it. How did that happen and why?

There's this concept called a Power Color - and everyone has one. EVERYONE. It's the color that when one wears it, they look amazing. Not only that, they FEEL amazing.

Say what?! Looking and feeling amazing just because you wear a certain color?!? YES. If you're intrigued, you should look into it on the world wide web or your local library! [I took this quiz What Is Your Power Color, it was fun and I liked the description.]

Great, everyone has a color that makes them the most beautiful, confident 'them' they can be. So why isn't that encouraged attire? You'd think if there was something that enhanced one's natural powerhouse it would be sought after by every employer to increase productivity, revenue, and hopefully, morale. But it isn't.

On the other hand, there are some who have colors they love and will wear outside of work all the time, but when it comes to situations where the need to hunker down and crank out greatness is called into play (i.e. work), these colors are often turned down and deemed as not being quite work appropriate. That's bogus. [Obviously, not everyone feels this way or follows these behaviors, but I know for a fact that some do.]

I think people should be able to wear what they feel comfortable and good in (within a somewhat modest setting - I don't want to see anyone walking around in their underwear!). I feel super comfortable in jeans. Does wearing jeans affect my work or make what I can do any less professional? I don't think so.

And if we take it a step further, what does 'professional' even mean in the greater sense? Oh boy, we seem to be falling down the rabbit's hole now. We'll save that thought for another day.

Day 42: West Coast, Best Coast

I've always loved the Oregon stickers with the green heart. Occasionally I'll see them, usually out of state (seeing as I'm not often in the state of Oregon), and it's like a special treat. Little did I know what a great treat I was in for on my walk home from the park.

Taking a break from looking into people's windows as I pass by, I turn to look across the street. Something caught my eye before I could even look out into the distance, however. This gem:

Oregon AND California! Wow! Sorry, Washington . . . maybe next time you'll make it into the club . . .

Any guesses on where the car itself was from???

Day 41: Lessons Learned Today

Today I learned a number of things. Below are my favorites:

1) My neighborhood is apparently home to a LOT of garden gnomes!!

These particular fellas, unfortunately, greatly remind me of The Joker from batman. Just look at that white face and creepy smile!

2) We have a DJ ACADEMY in the 'hood!!! I didn't even know such things existed, but apparently they do, and ours is Scratch. ...Which looks like it's operated out of someone's apartment ... but who am I to judge?!

 

3) Even if you don't notice what's going on with your physique, these people DO! Time to start wearing woven, non-stretch clothes, I guess...

Day 40: Lone Roller

A lone chair sits. Abandoned. Left for dead. Next to the garbage.

Once regal and impressive, the chair is now a cast off.

He's only missing one button cover. He even has all of his wheels! Flying through my mind as I passed by the alley, I briefly contemplated the chair. And then, doubled back to take a closer look.

If I took the chair, how would I get it home? Obviously I'd have to roll it the mile and a half . . . and it's better than carrying it, but awkward nonetheless. 

Should I just push it in front of me the whole way, like a shopping cart?

Sit in the chair and scoot along bit by bit?

Or perhaps launch myself backwards, elementary school style, in order to get the most propulsion? . . . Steering would be difficult though . . .

In the end, all I got was this photo. I really didn't want to deal with all of the looks I'd undoubtedly collect as I walked the chair home. And I simply don't have a place for it. Sorry, Chair. 

In the words of the Narwhal from Elf, "Bye Buddy! I hope you find your dad!" 

"Bye, Chair! I hope you find a new home!"

Day 39: Flowers & Flowers

Check out the sparkle on these flowers!

While walking by some nature with my dear friend, E-Biscuit, we were dazzled by some glittering goodness that caught our eyes. Wouldn't you know it, it was these flowers! Pop quiz - can you name what they are??

Get ready for more horticulture facts to be thrown your way! 

Very close to the 'sparkle flowers' was a produce demonstration garden (to show the city folk how you can grow your own veggies and what can thrive in Chicago). We moseyed along the edge of the garden checking out the various plant life. All I can really recall was lettuce, but I know there was a lot more than that! Anywho, we came upon some other flowers, which I recognized right way. 

I said to my companion, "E-Biscuit, you can eat those flowers."

[Perplexed and doubtful look. Then a laugh.] 'What?! You eat flowers?!!'

"They're called Nasturtiums and you can bite off the tip and suck out the sweet nectar. Then you can eat the petals - they're spicy."

[E-Biscuit's not convinced]

"Here, I'll show you," I said as I crouched down so the  employees overseeing the garden wouldn't see me picking their flowers. As soon as I had one cupped in my hand and hidden by my water bottle, we scampered a few meters away to sample our loot.

"Suck out the nectar. Do you taste anything sweet??"

'Not really.'

"Oh," I disappointedly respond. "Well, eat a petal, they're spicy!"

' . . . ' [crickets]

"I'll show you," I declare as I rip off a petal and pop it in my mouth.

E-Biscuit's in after that and away we go, chomping down on the flower.

"It doesn't get spicy 'till the very end."

'Oh! That's nice!' E-Biscuit delightedly concurred. 

After our snack we discussed the great appeal of dressing a salad for a dinner party and tossing in flowers to the mix - and our guests' reaction as we dive right into our edible garnish.

Photo courtesy of: http://www.wikihow.com/Use-Nasturtiums-in-Food - check it out to see how you can get more nasturtiums into YOUR diet!