Posted on September 7th, 2009 by Justopia
Moving Time!
I like moving. I’ve done it countless times in my adult time. I like the excitement of the unexpected. Even if you’re just moving across town there is always something that’s different, a bit uncomfortable, that you have to get used to. But it’s the journey of getting comfortable in your new surroundings that make me get all giddy on moving day.
And today’s an auspicious day — we’ve moved everything … to the all new FrantasticFood brand. That includes Twitter and the Justin.tv broadcast. Click on the links, head over and be sure to follow and/or favorite me at the FrantasticFood sites
Thank you!
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Filed under: How To
Posted on September 5th, 2009 by Justopia
Barter — the New Way to Pay
Today was an exciting day. No, nothing related to work — to the place that I go to toil in order to win a paycheck. It was exciting for other reasons, although one of which is also financially driven. Here’s the story. I have a friend from work who has far more energy than I. She has more than 1 job. More than 2, actually. One of her many talents is that she is a massage therapist. Hmmm… is that really the correct term? I think so, but I also think she’s a physical therapist. But anyway, massage is what we’re going to talk about tonight.
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Filed under: Food, How To
Posted on September 3rd, 2009 by Justopia
Farmer’s Market Find
I’ve been so lucky to have a farmer’s market right outside my doorstep this summer. It’s not only convenient, but it allows me to get away with not having to get in the car to drive somewhere for great produce. I picked up 3 very large tomatoes last week and turned one of them into a great salsa fresca. It was another one of my infamous last minute meals and I didn’t know what I was going to do with the salsa, but since I’d just come home from the supermarket and had a deliciously crunchy baguette under my arm, I decided the perfect answer was to grill the halves of bread and turn them over, spoon a few heaping spoonfuls of salsa on top and return to the grill for a little warmth. WOW! Was that ever DEElicious!
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Filed under: Food, How To
Posted on August 30th, 2009 by Justopia
The Center of the Universe
Yesterday was an interesting day. My oldest son came to town for an interview and we had lunch together. He’s staying with a friend, so it was nice to spend a couple of hours with him and to hear the enthusiasm in his voice about a possible paid internship with a government agency that would be perfect for him in his quest for a happy future.
After lunch as we said our goodbyes and I drove him to his friend’s house for the rest of the weekend, I decided I was going to go into DC to pay my respects as Ted Kennedy’s motorcade made it’s way from the Capital to Arlington Cemetery. I don’t know why I suddenly decided that I needed to go see this short procession of vehicles make their way through the city, but it’s no real surprise. I wanted to be a part of this event that was at “The Center of the Universe” for the day.
I took mass transit in and when I arrived I made my way to the intersection of 12th and Constitution for what I knew would be a brief drive-by. Ironically, without realizing it, I’d parked myself next to the cameras and team from Fox News and watched as they looked for someone to agree to do a quick “man on the street” interview.
I had to pick up my phone and tap out a Tweet when I heard the man in the Red Sox tee shirt say to the reporter, “I’m a liberal,” as though the decision to choose him was a terrible mistake. And although it made sense to pick the guy in the Red Sox shirt, his political views might be inappropriate for a Fox spot, but the on air talent made a comment about loving the Red Sox and brushed off any thoughts of how this guy had the potential to be a poor choice just like that.
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Filed under: Politics, Travel
Posted on August 28th, 2009 by Justopia
What would Mr. Darcy Say?
I stumbled upon a a Bollywood movie this morning before work and got sucked right in. “Bride and Prejudice” my not be exactly what Jane Austin thought of when she wrote the legendary book, “Pride and Prejudice,” but then, would any modern-day movie do the book justice? Bride has all the necessary elements family, money, love, disappointment, misinformation, song and dance. Wait!? What’s that — song and dance? Well, of course there was song and dance in the late 1700’s when the book was written, but it wasn’t the breaking out of nowhere in brilliant color and silly dance moves kind of twirling around the stage as we see in a movie like this one.
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Filed under: Food, How To
Posted on August 27th, 2009 by Justopia
My Federico Fellini Moment, Perhaps?
I received mail today about new features added to site I use for some of my videos and I couldn’t help trying it out tonight (this morning) after my nighly favorite blog reading session.
You’ve seen the photos before, but not like this. Animoto, a site I registered with a couple of years ago has added a short video clip feature and I love it! You can add video clips and edit them on the fly and add them to your photo slideshow. The only complaint I have with the site is that they haven’t updated the music selection in a while and I am running out of choices.
Check out the video and let me know what you think. It’s not going to win an Academy Award, but the video clip element definitely adds something to the finished product.
free video player & video platform - interactive video, online video solution: video player, video editor - kaltura
wordpress video - wordpress plugin for integrated video on video blogs, and video tools
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Posted on August 25th, 2009 by Justopia
A great idea came to me last night. I have everything at my disposal … crazy cappuccino machines, ice cream makers, food processors, stand mixers, juice extractors and more, why not make use of some of it and educate myself at the same time?
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Filed under: Food, How To
Posted on August 13th, 2009 by Justopia
Spontaneity
An idea came to me this morning after I confirmed that I was not scheduled to work today. As I walked back the the house, enjoying the mild breeze, I thought, why not head downtown to the Museum of American History to see the exhibit featuring Julia Child’s kitchen! What a great way to end my “Week of Julia” obsession. And it’s been that, an obsession. I can’t seem to stop cooking Julia-inspired recipes.
I’d originally thought I would get to the market and pick up the few ingredients I needed to make beouf bourguinon, but it was going to be another scorcher and I had a feeling I just wasn’t going to feel like a dinner with such a heavy main course. Instead I stopped at the house, changed my shoes and looked up the mass transit schedule and set out for the National Mall and The Museum of American History to see the Juila Child exhibit.
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Filed under: Food, How To
Posted on August 11th, 2009 by Justopia
Still Cooking
Come on in, take a seat, let the stress of your day roll off your shoulders for a few minutes and look what I made for dinner tonight! I decided to have one more crack at rich, decadent, buttery, creamy, cheesy, ooey, gooey Julia Child goodness. I picked up a pound of shrimp a few weeks ago, put it in freezer bags and threw it in the freezer for later use. When large shrimp is $4.99/lb. it’s tough to pass up, so I often buy it for later use. There’s nothing wrong with it. Freezing shrimp works very well and in tonight’s Gratin aux Fruits de Mer it was perfect. The recipe, from Mastering the Art of French Cooking, calls for shrimp and scallops, but scallops aren’t a favorite of mine, so it was an all shrimp dish tonight, which worked very well.
While you will surely impress friends and family if you put this on the table, it’s not difficult to make. As a matter of fact, it’s simple.
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Filed under: Food, How To
Posted on August 9th, 2009 by Justopia
A Movie-Inspired Dinner
Or was it a Julia inspired dinner? Or a Julie inspired dinner? It’s difficult to say, really, but all three played a role in a wonderful evening with friends. I’d been waiting for the movie for a very, very long time. I’d heard about Julie Powell after stumbling upon Carol Blymire’s blog and waited in eager anticipation for this movie I felt would speak to me. It did not disappoint. Rather than going into every detail and spoiling the movie for you, let’s “talk” about the pre-movie festivities that went on in my house. The movie experience was not only about sitting in an uncomfortable, aging, broken down movie theater watching the parallel stories of Julie Powell & Julia Child. It was about making an incredible dinner for friends in an atmosphere that I felt was reminiscent of the dinner parties my parents hosted when I was a little girl. My sister and would get to “serve” hors d’oeuvres to the guests, but the best part of the evening was waiting in the kitchen for the remnants of the party to make their way to the table so that my sister and I could sample everything. I remember Boeuf Bourguignon and Coquille St Jacques, Pickled Shrimp and an Apricot Mousse that I always wanted to dive head first into. While not all may have been from Julia Child’s, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, I have to believe it was Julia-inspired. Surely the beef and the scallops were renditions of Julia’s detailed instruction from the book.
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Filed under: Food, How To
