Sunday, June 21, 2009

Favorite Things of June

1. My Vegetable Garden: The ball melon might be dead, but my peppers and tomatoes are all going strong. This greenery is obviously going to culminate in some kickin' homemade salsa in just a few months. Get. Ready.

2. French Press: It's kind of an old-style way of making coffee but the goods news is, there is no button to turn off when you're done meaning that your chances of burning your house down because of a casual mistake are pretty slim. Currently, my french press is in the fridge. I made a really strong concentrate, which I pour into a glass that's already half full with chocote milk. Delicious!

3. Playing Games Outdoors at Night: Last night, twenty-two of us played a capture-the-flag-esque game that involved creeping around through town in the dark--one of my favorite ways to spend some time.

4. X-Men Origins: Wolverine: So far, it's my favorite film of the summer. I have to admit I'm biased towards any film that Hugh Jackman is in and also, I'm not any kind of expert on the X-men. But I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. Actually, number four on my list should be going to the movies in general because it's my favorite thing to do with friends.

5. My Cool Dad: He is a very gifted guy who can make virtually anything. Giant decorative fireplaces, bookshelves, tables, swing-sets and treehouses, and also pool decks. In fact, he has spent almost all of his father's day working, and as you can see he's accomplished quite a little bit in under eight hours.




6. Maybelline New York XXL Extension: XXX-treme Length Microfiber Mascara--a situation in which the label speaks for itself.
7. Ice Cream: Pretty much nothing beats a bowl of regular chocolate ice cream when its hotter than hell outside.
8. Having Nights and Weekends Free: Being underemployed sucks in some ways but one way in which is does not suck is that I don't work after three and I don't work on the weekends. So I have endless amounts of time to see movies, go shopping (not good for the underemployed), and visit with friends. If you want to hang, lemme know.

9. Sidney and Jack: Sidney almost always comes with me when I have to do lame stuff like spend four hours in Champaign purchasing a laptop and then waiting for it to be ready. But she's also around for fun things, like playing games outside in the dark. Jack is great because as he gets older he gets funnier and funnier. Plus, today when I realized I didn't get a graham cracker pie crust for my dad's lemonade pie, he rode to IGA and bought one with his own money, to spare me the trip. What a pal!

10. Blue Eyed Gents: Blue eyes are okay in the fall, winter, and spring, but it is in the summer when even an average looking guy with blue eyes has the potential to become utterly gorgeous with a little bit of a tan. Sooooo pretty.



Sunday, June 14, 2009

Pie of Love

I have a lot of free time lately, and one of my favorite ways to spend it is preparing food. I especially adore baking while I listen to Soul Town on SiriusXM radio. Because Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, and the Temptations are pretty much instrinsically linked with sweet stuff, like dessert. Above is a Coconut Banana Cream Pie. The crust is comprised of sauteed coconut, a layer of chopped banana is spread over it and smothered with vanilla pudding as filling (I didn't realize it was just vanilla pudding when I spent thirty effing minutes making it from scratch), and obviously bananas, more coconut and whipped cream on top as a garnish. Delish. Recipe is from a cook book I own. I'm more than happy to share. The recipe, that is. The pie is mine.

Monday, June 8, 2009


Love. John. Munch.