Month: August 2008

  • can i get enough grilled sweet corn?! (read: RHETORICAL!)





    Not that anyone asked, but this is how we make grilled corn. 

    Also?  This disclaimer:  There are many ways to grill corn ... husk on or off, with aluminum foil or without, butter or olive oil, seasonings or not.  This is just how we usually make it.  Vary per your own whim.

    *

    Shuck corn.  Place ears in deep pot and cover with cold water.  Cut enough aluminum foil pieces to cover each ear of corn.  Let corn soak for 30 minutes to several hours.  (This is to help the corn steam cook on the grill.)  Take corn out of water.  I usually put it in my dish drain or a colander. 

    At this point, theother23 and I work in two-person assembly-line fashion.  I brush an ear with olive oil over a piece of foil.  I turn the ear, and my husband sprinkles the seasonings (usually kosher salt and freshly-ground pepper) onto the corn.  He then wraps the foil around the ear while I begin on the next one. 

    I don't grill except about 0.000284% of the time. 

    Theother23 prepares a medium-hot grill (using 365 Hardwood Charcoal from Whole Foods) and cooks the corn for about 30 minutes, turning every 10 minutes.  I like mine cooked until it begins to brown and caramelize.

    (Edited to add -- home comforts: day twenty.)







  • home comforts: day nineteen





    It's a beautiful, quiet morning.  X went to the office with theother23.  (That's not what makes it beautiful, but it sure does make it quiet.)

    I have putzed around the garden, picking the most ripe tomatoes and bringing them in for lunch/supper.  My neighbor, who was also in his garden, gave me another dozen ears of sweet corn, which we'll grill tonight.  That said, I wish that I could eat it RIGHT NOW. 

    These days when it's JUST me, I think ... who am I?  What do I do with myself?  What do I want to do with myself? 

    And then, I remember ten billion dozen things that NEED to be done, whether I want to do them or not. 

  • another 'this time, last year'




     

    I am totally, completely, filled-to-the-brim-and-spilling-out overwhelmed.  That is all.  Nothing dramatic or extraordinary, just getting stuff done.  Or, trying to ...

    (home comforts: day eighteen)

  • home comforts: day seventeen


     

  • home comforts: day sixteen





  • home comforts: day fifteen (this time, last year)





    My favorite rub for ribs (counter-clockwise from noon) ... paprika, fresh pepper, sugar, cayenne pepper, cumin, kosher salt, and oregano.

    Mix in a little olive oil and rub onto meat.

    Have your spouse, brother, daughter, cousin, or friend grill them on low for a few hours. Enjoy.





  • theother23





    Just a brief shout-out to theother23 ... Happy birthday!!

    A lot of people have asked what 'theother23' means, and for those that don't know, it is a reference to 'the other 23 chromosomes' that comprise our daughter, X. 

    Today, it also means ... that I'm trying to think of 'the other 23' ways to kill him besides stabbing him with a fork, but I'll work on that later. 

    Happy birthday, honey!

    (P.S.  Today on Twitter: 23 ways to kill theother23.  SEE HERE.)





  • time management problem, or just lazy?






    Okay, I have said this before and I'm sure I'll feel it necessary to say it again, and everyone will be, like, 'oh, don't worry; it's okay' ... but, I AM REALLY FRICKEN BEHIND ON COMMENTING!!!!  (And, emailing.  And, snail mailing.  And, household paperwork.  And, DVR'd shows.  And, reading the growing stack of books beside my nightstand because they no longer fit ON MY NIGHTSTAND.) 

    Every day, I read Bloglines or my Xanga subscriptions, and I think of witty replies or words of encouragement or declarations of adoration that I want to pass along, and yet I don't have time/energy/mental ability at that moment.  I occasionally get out a few sporadic comments, just not very often. 

    All I'm saying is that if you haven't heard from me lately, it's not a reflection of my interest, but merely my inability to time manage my life.   

    Also?  Home comforts: day fourteen.

  • home comforts: day thirteen





  • the day ALL THE ICE CREAM WAS DELIVERED!!!





    X:  It would be kind of like if you said that you 'rued the day that all the ice cream was delivered here'.
    j:  What?! 
    X:  It wouldn't bode well.
    j:      What ice --
    X:  Bode well --
    j:      When did we have ice cream --
    X:  Bode well means --
    j:  I know what 'bode well' means. 
    X:  Well, then?
    j:  Is this literal or metaphorical?
    X:  Metaphorical. 
    j:  So, we didn't once have 'all the ice cream delivered here'?!

    (An aside:  I later found out that 'you shall rue the day that all the ice cream was delivered' was a horoscope in this last week's issue of The Onion.)

    P.S.  ... home comforts: day twelve.