damn, I'm too dumb to blog

So right.... I had at one point migrated this all to a wordpress blog, and that's the one I've been trying to find.

My life-long blogger of a roommate just came in to laugh at my lack of skill. Oh well, at least I can tighten a doorknob.

Being a good house guest in nyc

I've long thought it was time for a write up on this, so sticking with my messy blog is better then no blog rule I've decided to just stream of conscience it out, and then, later on, if I want, clean it up. :)

Good houseguests:
Do subtle things like wash extra dishes and buy tp when they notice you are running low
Come with plans and ideas.
Take your house key and subway map and take care of themselves.
Make themselves at home, grab a drink from the fridge, turn on music, browse through your magazine selection.
Realize your place is small and flip the air mattress up against the wall during the day, or pull the futon back together into a sofa configuration.

Bad houseguests:
Look at you and say Why don't we do something cool? (I don't know what you think is cool!)
Wait to be entertained.

I forgot how to get to this blog

Yes it's true. I forgot how to get to this blog. That's why there have been no entries since Oct 2009.
I've been meaning to blog, but really didn't know how to get back in.

Well now I know. . . . Only I don't really. I was commenting on someone else's blog and put in my gmail info, (so I could win a free book) and then noticed my name came up with a link. And clicking on that link took me here. Woah!

So yes, I'll have to start blogging. And since no one reads this I can keep it as messy as I like. :)

Halloween!!! Super excited!

Halloween in New York is awesome! No two ways about it, this holiday totally belongs to New York. There aren't as many tourists as 4th of July, there isn't as much pressure as New Years Eve, it's almost warm enough to walk around in scanties, but the best part is really the subways filled with people wearing costumes. It's so great to get on a train with normal looking people and then watch it fill up with (drunk) people in costumes.

This year I am going as part of a group costume. (First time ever!) Wuh came up with two ideas, making things that shouldn't be slutty slutty. (Last year CP and I went as slutty hobos.)

SO this year nine of us are going as Slutty Dharma Initiative. Thats right. That group of island dwellers from Lost. Were going as a slutty dharma crew from the 1970's.

We got our jumpsuits here: http://www.dancewearsolutions.com/clearance/sizes/ADULT/AH1508.aspx

And Beth posted photos, here were are as a group. Nine slutty dharma initiative members and one smoke monster. (Okay maybe she was a zombie ballerina, but she doubled as our smoke monster.)

Gigantic tits: make me feel like a cow ready to feed the world, but the boys love em!

This has little to do with living on little money in nyc, but I wanted to keep the link.

I have huge boobs as compared to my rib cage. So I was pysched to find this page today. A whole lotta links to good bra sites.

This entry may be cleaned up later.

Cooking at home: Chana Masala

I really like to cook.  (I have an AAS in Restaurant Management, that started as a Culinary Arts degree.)  Cooking at home can save you money.  On the other hand it can get really expensive.  You have to find a balance.  Some spices are necessary, but if there is a recipe I want to make and I don't have one of the more exotic spices, I just leave it out.  If after making it once I decide I like it, I might start looking for the exotic spice I cut out and try the recipe the proper way (once I know I like it enough to eat it again).  This works out pretty well.  Most things will hold up without the one signature spice, and I don't end up with a whole bunch of used only once spices cluttering my cupboard.

So I keep an eye out for recipes that look good.  (I also try to cook meat-free often. Meat's expensive, and fraught with green issues so I only eat it when I am craving it.)  Here is a recipe that I found on Apartment Therapy's site.  I wanted to keep track of it to try to make it some day so here it is:

I will probably skip the garam masala, (because I don't have any on hand) and the cilantro, because I don't like the taste of it.   I'll add the yogurt only if I have some plain soy yogurt otherwise I'll leave it out (or maybe sub in some coconut milk).  Everything else here are pretty much staples that are always in my cupboard.  

BTW Cardamom pods, which I get cheap at Little India on 28th, are great.  I often crush one, and toss it in the bottom of my mug when I am making a cup of black tea, it adds a nice flavour and aroma.  Also, I placed one in my jar of white sugar, which has added a lovely scent to the sugar, and earned me a puzzled look from my sig. other.  (Big ups to Hope for sharing the wonderfulness of cardamom with me!) 

I copied this recipe from Orangette, she has a lovely write up before the recipe which I would highly recommend reading. 

Chana Masala

This chana masala can be served in two different styles: with a half-cup of whole-milk yogurt to smooth and soften the flavors, or sans yogurt, served with a squeeze of lemon and a pinch of fresh cilantro. I prefer the former, but Brandon leans toward the latter. Either way, this dish is even better the second—or third—day.

Good-quality olive oil
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
2 medium cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp ground coriander
¼ tsp ground ginger
1 tsp garam masala
3 cardamom pods, lightly crushed
1 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes
1 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
1 Tbs cilantro leaves, roughly torn, plus more for garnish
A pinch of cayenne, or to taste
2 15-ounce cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
6-8 Tbs plain whole-milk yogurt, optional
A few lemon wedges, optional

Film the bottom of a large saucepan or Dutch oven—preferably not nonstick—with olive oil, and place the pan over medium heat. Add the onion, and cook, stirring frequently, until it is deeply caramelized and even charred in some spots. Be patient. The more color, the more full-flavored the final dish will be.

Reduce the heat to low. Add the garlic, stirring, and add a bit more oil if the pan seems dry. Add the cumin seeds, coriander, ginger, garam masala, and cardamom pods, and fry them, stirring constantly, until fragrant and toasty, about 30 seconds. Add ¼ cup water, and stir to scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook until the water has evaporated away completely. Pour in the juice from can of tomatoes, followed by the tomatoes themselves, using your hands to break them apart as you add them; alternatively, add them whole and crush them in the pot with a potato masher. Add the salt.

Raise the heat to medium, and bring the pot to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, add the cilantro and cayenne, and simmer the sauce gently, stirring occasionally, until it reduces a bit and begins to thicken. Taste, and adjust the seasoning as necessary. Add the chickpeas, stirring well, and cook over low heat for about five minutes. Add 2 Tbs water, and cook for another five minutes. Add another 2 Tbs water, and cook until the water is absorbed, a few minutes more. This process of adding and cooking off water helps to concentrate the sauce’s flavor and makes the chickpeas more tender and toothsome. Taste, and adjust the seasoning as necessary.

Stir in the yogurt, if you like, or garnish with lemon wedges and cilantro. Serve.

Yield: About four servings

I read a review of this that said it was okay the first day, but awesome the second day, so consider making a double batch and trying it the next day too. :-)  Brown bag lunch!

A rant: Buying well vs buying cheap

This kills me.  

Okay, the simple example is jeans.  I not a big spendy-mc-spenderson, but I prefer to buy expensive jeans.  By expensive I mean like $50.  

Oh boy, okay, this gets more complicated because I also am a creature of habit, which might be part of this.  

I buy my jeans at the GAP.  It makes things simple for me.  I wear a six (except for my first 6 months of living in nyc when I had no money, ran 5 days a week to have activity, and shrunk to a 4, in the "curvy" style).  In my closet I have 6 pairs of jeans, 1 Gap 4, 1 Gap 8, 3 Gap 6's, and one pair of other expensive jeans I bought while out shopping with friends at PeachFrog.   They are all over a year old (except for the PeachFrog pair) and they are all aging perfectly. 

They haven't shrunk.  The fabric has gotten softer, but not stretched out. They haven't worn out at the knees (that takes about 5 years, I got rid of pairs from high school last year, because the holes finally spread all the way across the knee).

I have a friend who buys jeans at H&M.  They have shrunk shrunk shrunk. And the fabric starts to feel pill-ey. I like H&M for some things, like jersey dresses, and when I need a great stylish cheap top to wear to a wrap party.  But don't buy jeans there.  they are cheap cheap cheap.