And another thing . . .

And Another Thing . . .

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Friday, February 20, 2004

TGIF.

I'm about half worn out by some people at work by the time Friday rolls around.

Is this happening to anyone else? Is it an age thing? Is it some of that Steve Influence he's always either apologizing for or bragging about?

I hate small talk. The amount of mindless chatter I hear in the office has been increasingly annoying the spit out of me. Fortunately I'm not in the vicinity of anyone who talks to themselves because that would drive and has driven me absolutely bat shit. I suppose small talk comes naturally to some people but to me it sounds like they have to work so hard to dig so deep to come up with something to talk about to every single person they encounter. Silence is golden!

One woman feigns concern about a co-worker's well-being simply as a means to get to tell you about herself. It's amazingly transparent. Once in a while I'll bite, just to get it over with.

Another woman plays up to the men and ignores most of the women in such an over-the-top way, it's like watching a sketch on Saturday Night Live, I swear to God. I've never seen anything like it in real life. And just to add to the annoyance factor, she's Super-Giggler.

Old business:

Thanks, Gretchen, for the reminder about Sue & Rich Freeman and their acrylic holders. I'd forgotten! I'll check it out. I'd love to do business locally.

Also to Gretchen - the painted furniture class at Art & Soul Studio is $38 for two classes, bring your own small piece of based-coated furniture. The next class is in mid-March but let's wait and see when she offers it again, okay?

Stephanie: Breakfast pizza is made with any variation of scrambled eggs, cheddar and/or mozzarella cheese, bacon, sausage, ham, onions, peppers. I am faced with a dilemma whenever I want to bring in a breakfast pizza for work. I can pick up a pizza of lesser quality at 6:30 on my way into work from a little mom & pop store or I can leave work to pick up a better quality pizza from Wegmans at 9:00. By 9:00, people are getting pretty antsy for breakfast though breakfast pizza is something most people find worth waiting for. (I have made my own breakfast pizza to bring in but rarely feel like it's worth the work.)

Steve feels more strongly than I do that Wegmans pizza outranks Clawson's pizza but for me, the going back out kills that deal. Maybe I'd feel differently in the summer but for now, I'm sick of in and out of the car, blah, blah, blah. But when I took a bite of the Clawson's pizza this morning, I emailed Steve the following.

Alright, you win. Wegmans pizza is better. Clawson's pizza? The crust is too crispy toward the edges and they were a little skimpy with the cheese. So other than the crust and toppings, it's a great pizza!

Beef, Beer and Barley Stew

Cooking Light

2 TB olive oil

1 pound beef stew meat

1 tsp salt, divided

¼ tsp black pepper

3 cups coarsely chopped onion

2 bay leaves

2 thyme sprigs

2 TB tomato paste

2 cups (1-1/2" thick) slices carrot

2 cups chopped peeled turnips (about 1 pound)

¾ cup uncooked pearl barley

5 garlic cloves, minced and divided

2-8 oz packages mushrooms, quartered

3 cups water

3 cups low-salt beef broth

2 TB Worcestershire sauce

1 (12 oz) bottle dark beer (such as stout)

3 small beets

3 TB chopped fresh parsley

1 tsp thyme leaves

2 TB prepared horseradish

Heat oil in a stockpot over medium-high heat. Sprinkle beef with ½ tsp salt and pepper. Add beef to pan; sauté 10 minutes or until browned. Remove from pan. Add onion, bay leaves and thyme sprigs to pan. Cover, reduce heat, and cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Uncover, stir in tomato paste. Increase heat to medium-high. Add carrots, turnips, barley, 4 garlic cloves and mushrooms; sauté 3 minutes. Add beef, ½ tsp salt, water, broth, Worcestershire and beer; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered for 1-1/2 hours. Discard bay leaves and thyme sprigs.

While stew is simmering, trim beets, leaving root and 1" stem on each; scrub with a brush. Place in a medium saucepan and cover with water; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 35 minutes or until tender. Drain; rinse with cold water. Drain; cool. Leave root and 1" stem on each beet; rub off skins. Cut each beet into 6 wedges.

Combine parsley, thyme leaves and 1 garlic clove. Ladle about 2 cups stew into each of 6 bowls. Top each serving with 3 beet wedges, and about 1-1/2 tsp parsley mixture and 1 tsp horseradish.

Cooking Light's Banana Bread

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
8 ounces plain nonfat yogurt
1 cup mashed bananas -- about 1 large
1/4 cup margarine -- melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 egg whites -- lightly beaten
1 egg -- lightly beaten
vegetable cooking spray
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour

Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; make a well in center of mixture. Combine yogurt and next 5 ingredients; add to dry ingredients, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened.

Coat a 9-x 5- x 3-inch loaf pan with cooking spray; sprinkle with 2 teaspoons flour. Spoon batter into prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 55 to 60 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes; remove from pan, and let cool on a wire rack.

Yield: 18 (1/2-inch) slices.

Dinner: Ravioli with "doctored up" Prego, garlic pitas and butterscotch pudding for dessert. We had light kettle corn while watching TV.

Reading: Rubber Stamper Magazine

Listening to in the car: ...And Never Let Her Go, by Ann Rule. (It's in the middle of the trial - just 2 more tapes to go!)

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