Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Programming the Thingy...

I used to be so independent...

Years ago, as a single girl,

I could navigate anywhere if I had a map...

People, this was before GPS and Caller ID...

I found my way around New York,

rural New Mexico, Kauai or the streets of Milan,

alone and fully self sufficient...

I paid all my bills, on time,

balancing my check register

(remember those?)

to the penny...

If something broke, I fixed it,

or if desperate, I asked my dad to help...

I was "That Girl", dammit and I was proud

of my autonomous, working girl status...

Fast forward fifteen years or so

and my, how things have changed...

Some repairs, around the Herlihy house,

are gender based, but not all...

However, I must reluctantly admit

that I have become reliant on T$ for many things,

and, if I pushed myself a little harder,

I could complete many projects myself...

Such as small fix-it jobs,

like nailing heavy objects on the wall...

I can use a stud finder and level like any jamoke,

but Tom does such a good job

of ensuring not even an 8.0 quake on the Richter Scale

will budge said item,

that I ask him to do it...

When the light bulbs expire, twelve feet up,

T$ hops up on the ladder

and saves the day...

Televisions and computers are a serious no-fly zone for me,

but if T$ were out of the country for a month

and the TV broke down Day One of his trip,

I had better figure it out

before the kids come after me with machetes...

We both have our strengths,

and we determined that early on...

If it needs to be cooked, cleaned, organized

or nursed back to health, that's my department...

If it has instructions, blinking lights, remotes

or an engine, it is all T$...

This week, our new tenant moved

into our apartment unit...

She is a dear friend whom I have known many years,

so it is like having my sister downstairs...

It is a dream come true, really...

In preparation for her arrival,

I learned we did not have a spare garage door opener

for her use...

It meant that I must program the button

on my car to open the door...

OMG...that caused me to have to open the glove box,

motions saved only for finding the lost registration

or an insurance card...

Who really pulls out the owners manual anyway?!

Jeezus...the manual was thicker than a phone book!

Somewhere, on Page 42-g, I found the instructions

(bells and whistles scream, "T$'s Jurisdiction!!!")...

I stopped hyperventilating

and tried to read without skimming...

Step One: Hold the hand remote close

to the Transmission Button...

Step Two: Press both the remote and Transmission Button

at the same time for five to nine seconds...

This is assuming I am thusly coordinated...

Transmission light should show a fast blink....

Now what the hell is a fast blink

versus a perhaps medium blink?!

Step Three: In the garage is the ceiling mounted

Transmission Unit.

Push the "Learn" button, then run like hell into the car

and press the Transmission Button for two seconds...

I went into the garage,

which right now is infested

with some spider party...

Brushing away years of dust and cobwebs

from the thingy on the ceiling,

I could not, for the life of me, find this "Learn" button.

I was about to "Learn" to swat it down from the ceiling

with a baseball bat...

After pulling off the lightbulb cover, sending clouds of some disgusting fine dirt

all over myself, I discovered a tiny, lavender button,

microscopically labeled, "Learn"...

At this point, Jack was roped into the project...

I needed some testosterone

to give me machine-related super powers...

Tentatively, I pushed the "Learn" button

and then shouted down to Jack

to press the Transmission Button...

The garage door smoothly dropped to close...

I was euphoric, joyous, ecstatic!

Without my man about the house,

I overcame my fear of programming anything,

and I got the job done...

Now I know why men like this kind of stuff...

This gratification feeling is pretty damn good!

Jack and I accomplished something...

Now every time I drive down the alley

and press that little Transmission Button,

I will feel good, knowing I made it work...

As Jack says, it's the little things that count...

So are we totally self sufficient without T$?

No way...

He had to talk me off of the ledge this morning,

all the way from Dubai, to help me straighten out the computer

Jack managed to screw up in 30 seconds flat...

But let's just say that we are making do

and figuring out challenges when we have to...

It is a good lesson in keeping your skill set broad,

so to speak...

Because sometimes you have to do it yourself...

Our Sonos system stopped working

the moment T$ boarded his plane,

so we are a home without music for a while now...

Please come back soon, Honey!

I miss cooking to Thievery Corporation!

Friday, September 13, 2013

Apple Cider Doughnuts...

Happy Friday!

Happy Friday the 13th!

It's a little known fact

that eating fresh apple cider doughnuts

are a suitable antidote to sightings of black cats,

broken mirrors or spilled salt...

I suggest you try this easy,

fast recipe to preserve your good luck on this day...

It was high time I began my annual

feed the teachers campaign,

so I got up early and tripled the recipe

to make three dozen doughnuts...

The wind shifted to the north overnight

and the cool breeze smells of fall...

The change in the weather is so refreshing

after the tropical heat we have suffered all week...

What better way to celebrate a crisp day

than with an apple cider doughnut?

Okay, maybe a honey wiess beer and a hot pretzel,

but I can't serve those to the teachers, now can I?

Maybe after school...hmmm...

Anyway, this doughnut recipe calls for simple ingredients

and a doughnut pan

as these babies are BAKED...

Let's face it, fried doughnuts are delicious,

but the mess and smell of the hot oil

is not my idea of fun at 6 am...

However, popping baked doughnuts

from a nonstick pan is faster,

easier and much less mess...

Dredge those hot circles of cinnamon-y joy in the glaze

and THEN dip them in cinnamon sugar...

Ohhh, it is autumn in one bite!

It took longer than I thought to make three dozen doughnuts

and I began to run out of time

before the kids needed to get to school...

So, I did something I haven't done before;

I took the kids to school in my pj's...

Have you done this?

I threw on a jacket to cover my state of undress

and Jack was tasked with delivering the doughnuts

to the teacher's lounge this time...

It was no biggie...

There was a dad last year

who would WALK his kids to school

in his bathrobe and slippers...

At least I was shielded from discovery

in the car...

Anyway, I hope the school staff

enjoys Friday coffee and doughnuts...

Oh jeez... The school just called and Kate is sick...

See ya...time to get dressed!

Apple Cider Donut

Courtesy of tastykitchen.com

Prep Time 10 Minutes
Cook Time 10 Minutes

Servings 12

Difficulty Easy

Ingredients

FOR THE DONUTS:
2 cups Flour
¾ cups Sugar
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Salt
¼ teaspoons Nutmeg
¼ teaspoons Allspice
½ teaspoons Cinnamon
½ cups Apple Cider
¼ cups Applesauce
2 whole Eggs
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
FOR THE TOPPING:
2 Tablespoons Apple Cider
1-¼ cup Powdered Sugar
¼ teaspoons Allspice
¼ cups Sugar
1 Tablespoon Cinnamon

Preparation Instructions

In a large mixing bowl add flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, allspice, and cinnamon. Mix until blended. Add in the apple cider, applesauce, eggs, and vanilla extract. Beat for about 2 minutes until smooth and creamy.
Lightly grease a doughnut pan (I use Norpro brand). Pour batter into a large Ziploc bag, seal the bag, and snip off the corner. I find this the easiest and cleanest way to get batter into pan without dripping. Pipe the batter into the prepared pan.
Bake doughnuts in a 325ºF oven for about 10 minutes, until they spring back when touched. Remove from the oven and cool slightly before removing from pan.
To make the glaze, whisk together the apple cider, powdered sugar and allspice until completely smooth.
In a separate bowl, mix sugar and cinnamon.
Dip each doughnut into the glaze (top of doughnut only) and then into cinnamon/sugar mix. The glaze will run down the sides and coat nearly the whole donut. Allow to dry on a cooling rack. Enjoy!

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

This Day....

If you are over the age of twenty,

then you will, most likely, remember

where you were on September 11th...

Just as our parents can tell you

what they were doing when they heard

that President Kennedy had been assassinated...

And your grandparents, if still alive, remember hearing

that Pearl Harbor had been attacked...

Those are the huge, horrible days

in our American history,

where time stops and the memory

becomes preserved in one's mind forever...

This morning was clear, dry and warm,

almost exactly as the weather was twelve years ago,

as I walked to the farmer's market...

It was peaceful outside, much as it was in New York,

relatively speaking for a big city,

before the horror ensued...

As I walked through the produce,

I noticed the sound of planes

making their final approach to O'Hare...

I remembered the absence of that familiar roar

in the days after 9/11...

So terribly quiet, it was...

A folksy trio played music

at the periphery of the market

and toddlers danced with their mamas...

I thought about all the families torn apart that day,

all the tweens and young teenagers

who lost a parent when they were just innocent babies...

Tom has family in New Jersey

and they attended funerals,

non stop, for two weeks...

That morning, I took the El to my office building

on Wacker Drive, as always...

We were still newlyweds,

having been married just eleven months...

Tom was looking for a new job

and I was bringing home the bacon...

As I walked into the office,

I noticed a bunch of people

hunched around a computer...

Thinking they were enjoying a dumb joke,

I kept walking to my cubicle

until someone told me about a plane

hitting a building in New York...

As the morning went on,

many of us watched the events

from the television in the fitness center,

in numb disbelief...

My security-minded husband called me

and told me to come home...

My office building would have been flattened like a pancake

if terrorists also took down the Sears Tower...

It was that close...

I hesitated, since no one else

was making any moves to evacuate...

And then T$ used "The Voice",

of which everyone around me heard,

as I had unfortunately put the phone on speaker...

"Do you think anyone in your office

knows more than the rest of the world???!!

GET HOME NOW!!!"

It was a good thing that I left when I did

because an hour later, the Loop was jammed

with the rest of humanity, trying to leave the city...

As I rode the El northward,

the skyline was eerily still...

The usual airline traffic was no more...

As soon as I arrived home,

Tom and filled the white Yukon with gas

and took money from the ATM...

We didn't know if we would need to leave town, fast...

Twelve years hence,

the farmers market thrives...

The tomatoes are plump and rosy...

The squash, brilliant yellow...

The grapes, sweet and inviting...

Little ones dance and have no idea

of that unimaginable day...

Life goes on and hopefully we will not ever forget

September 11 and those who were lost...

I have not shielded my children

from this historic event...

They have watched television specials

and videos on the subject...

We have discussed it at length...

Without creating fear and worries,

they need to know what happened,

why it occurred

and what is being done

to keep it from happening again...

It was beautiful here today...

I am so grateful for this gorgeous

Indian Summer day as I quietly remember

that September Tuesday in 2001...

I made Raspberry Chip Crumb Cake today...

It is a nice way to soothe the soul...

Raspberry Chip Crumb Cake, Courtesy of Family Circle.com

Serving size: 9 Prep 20 mins Bake 350° 40 mins

Ingredients

Cake

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup dark mini chocolate baking chunks
1 container raspberries (6 oz), about 1 1/2 cups

Topping

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into pieces
1/3 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

Cake

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees . Coat an 8 x 8 x 2-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a small bowl, whisk together egg, milk, oil and vanilla.

3. Make a well in center of flour mixture. Add egg mixture to well and beat with a wooden spoon 1 minute, until evenly moistened; stir in chocolate chunks. Spoon into prepared pan and top with raspberries.

Topping

4. In a small bowl, combine flour and sugar. Cut in butter with pastry blender until crumbly. Stir in walnuts. Sprinkle topping over raspberries.

5. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack. Cut into 9 squares. This cake is best eaten on the day its made.