Need more food I think

Fifteen minutes into my lunch and my food is gone. I guess I need to bring more then just a bowl of cereal to eat in the future. If only I could foregolunch to get out of work an hour earlier.....

A Great Start

There is not much better than starting the day with cold pizza leftover from the night before. I just wish that short-lived moment is not the best part of my day but it likely will be.

Indecision Results in Weird Combination

It has been a while since I have posted something with substance so I thought I’d reach down into my memory to come up with something. Well, actually, this memory came back to me last night while I was thinking of something to feed my son and it gave me a chuckle so I thought I’d share it with you all. Oh yeah, it really doesn’t have much substance either but it is better than a list of quotes.

After several rounds of opening the fridge and cupboards I could find nothing to feed my son. After checking out some mindless show on tv, I finally decided to feed him some cheese. But cheese is not a stand alone meal so what could I give him to go with the cheese? There is a loaf of bread on the counter…and some peanut butter in the cupboard. Peanut butter does not really go well with cheese though does it?

…One night, back in my first year of university, I woke up in the middle of the night and had a craving for cheese, cheddar cheese. But while I tossed and turned in bed trying to convince myself I didn’t want cheese, I started craving peanut butter as well. I finally decided I should fill my cravings but I couldn’t settle on which craving to settle because surely I couldn’t have both. Or could I?

In my childhood, I concocted numerous original drinks by mixing whatever liquids were in the fridge together (i.e. orange juice and milk) so why not take that to another level. Instead of staying up pondering this rather insignificant dilemma, I decided to make a peanut butter and cheese sandwich. Let’s just say it was an interesting combination. Although it was far from awful, I have not combined those two ingredients since that first time.

Today’s My Day!

No one has named an international day after me, nor have they named a national day after me, or even a municipal day but today is still my day. It all started this morning when two good looking people came to my desk, okay she was hovering just above the average mark and he could be described as being on the cute side of nerdy, but the appearance of the two of them signaled the beginning of my day.

Having a job where I don’t do any real work, i.e. work that adds any value to the company, I don’t get a lot of visitors so I was a little leery of the two at first. Once I opened up to them, they informed me I was getting an upgrade to my email. Let me tell you, it was like winning the lottery. I am one of only a few with this upgraded version, or so they told me. It sure did add some excitement to my otherwise dull morning. And the newer version is a lot softer on the eyes (the hard edges of the windows are now soft rounded edges and the colour is, well, let’s just say there is some colour now) and a lot more user friendly (i.e. idiot proof).

I was beginning to think the day couldn’t get any better when my dad told me that we will be getting a puck after game one of the Memorial Cup tonight. Getting giveaways at sporting events is always good. I bet you all are thinking this is too good to be true but there is more. Just a couple hours ago I learned that there is a big meeting at work and my bosses will be out of the office all afternoon, on a Friday of a long weekend.

Despite that amazing fact, there is still more and I think of this as the cherry on top of an ice cream sundae. I went for greek for lunch today and instead of getting a mere two olives on the salad I got three! That is almost unheard of. Every greek restaurant I’ve been to, which is only two so I guess my sample size is insufficient to yield accurate results, there have always only been two olives on my salad. Now that my friends is hitting the greek paydirt.

Life couldn’t get any better………

Picture Perfect

There is nothing worse then when food looks better than it tastes. The Tin Roof Brownie Blizzard Cake from Dairy Queen does not fall into this category. Being a member of the blizzard fan club (yes, they have a blizzard fan club), I am privy to occasional emails from Dairy Queen promoting a blizzard as the “Blizzard of the Month”. This month I received an email advertising the “Blizzard of the Month” as, you guessed it, the Tin Roof Brownie Blizzard. Included in the email was a picture of the blizzard and the blizzard cake to entice the recipient. The picture worked; I was totally captivated by the cake and almost ran out the door and bought one right then. I didn't buy one then but yesterday circumstances allowed and, let me tell you, the cake was as good as advertised, if not better.

Maximum Frosting

I was in a nasty mood Saturday and needed something to binge on. Looking through the cupboards came up with nothing. No chips, no cookies, no chocolate, no nothing. I wandered the house aimlessly looking for something to help cheer me up but again I came up empty. Back to searching the cupboard for me.

On the second pass through the food cupboard I noticed a tub of chocolate frosting that had successfully hid from me the first time. This was no ordinary tub of frosting though; it was one of the oversized tubs us chocolate lovers use to smoother our Duncan Hines cakes with (or are they Better Crocker cakes, whatever). After a short thought, I figured I shouldn’t just sit down and go to work on the tub of frosting because I was sure to polish it off. I doubt the wife would be too impressed when she got home from work and discovered me sprawled on my back in front of the TV with an empty tub of frosting being tossed around by the cat.

In the end, I decided I should bake a cake and just eat any remaining frosting. So off I went to bake a cake. Unfortunately, we don’t have the round pans I am used to so I had to bake the cake in a 9x13 pan. Little did I know at the start of this baking adventure that this size of pan was going to help me maximize my frosting to cake ratio. I assembled the ingredients and mixed them all together, strictly adhering to the instructions on the box, and put the thick chocolate mess into the oven to cook. I then started brainstorming how I could make this rectangular shaped cake into a masterpiece.

When I was done, my cake was far from a masterpiece but it sure tasted good. Instead of cutting the cake into fours and spreading frosting between every layer like I was envisioning, I just cut the cake in half. I then spread frosting on the bottom of both halves, stood them on their cut ends with the frosting acting as glue, and proceeded to spread icing on all visible surfaces. Before I was done, there was icing on every surface except the bottom and the bottom was only about four inches in width, tapering in at the edges. Every bite yields ample frosting. The only downside to it all was that I was so excited about spreading a plethora of frosting on the cake that all I left myself to eat was a small tablespoon. Ah well, the little bit of frosting still tasted wonderful and the cake is perhaps the best cake (from a box) that I have ever had.

What's in a Name?

Are you tired of getting home from work, all excited to be with anyone but those annoying co-workers, ready to sit down to a nice home cooked meal only to find out dinner is the same old meat and potatoes? Well I have a solution for you. Give your food a name. Now I bet you’re saying to yourself, what? Name your food? This guy has finally lost it! But alas, it really helps make boring food more exciting.

For instance, one day last winter I was working on making dinner for my wife and me. We usually just have meat and potatoes but for some reason, maybe the wind was blowing just right, maybe there was a full moon, I don’t know, I wanted a salad. Being creative as I am sometimes with food, I decided to cut the lettuce into wedges and top it with the vegetables I had. Even with the salad dinner was still looking pretty sad. But wait, the salad looks like the peak of a mountain and once the white potatoes are spotted with some caramelized onions, they will look like dirty snow. That night we had a “Mountain Peak” salad followed by tender pork chops with “Dirty Snow” potatoes.

That meal was a lot more exciting than it would have been without the name. To this day I am still being asked about my dirty snow potatoes. Not only does naming food make dinner interesting but it makes people remember the food, even those people who don’t eat it. If you can’t be creative with your cooking then at least be creative with the name of your food and see what kind of reaction you’ll get. I’m willing to bet you will add some excitement to your food and people will actually want to eat it.