Meatapalooza: Week Two

I’m addicted to some guy’s blog. I stumbled onto it because of a Jersey reference, and I've been sucked into it by sentences like this: “I always have a stack of papers in my life that I can’t throw away yet can’t put anywhere.” Who can’t relate to that? I’d encourage you to read about his pet gerbils or the time he started a fire while baking brownies, but I’m sure you’re much more interested in Meatapalooza.

"Meatapalooza" is what Maria and I have decided to call our weekly meat endeavors. Maria brilliantly came up with the name, and I’m so amused by it that I try and casually work it into conversations whenever possible. ("Excuse me, does this train go to Journal Square?" "Meatapalooza!" "What?" "Um,

no, it goes to Hoboken.")

Our second Meatapalooza event was on Thursday night, and the featured dish was Steak With Shallot-Merlot Sauce. We served it up with some au gratin potatoes and salad, and it looked like this:

Lest Moray’s dinner go undocumented, here’s a photo of his pasta:

And a photo of him enjoying his pasta:

And although Aaron did not eat dinner with us, he did enjoy a taste of potato:

I think I might have preferred a little less butter in the shallot-merlot sauce, but otherwise it was delicious. All in all, I’d call our second Meatapalooza event (sponsored, of course, by my brother Jonathan) a success.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go read about how some guy got cable.

Is the pen mightier than the curtain rod?

Here’s a local news item about an aspiring robber who, when arrested on charges including possession of a firearm by a felon, said to the cops, "Man, it's only a (expletive) gun.”

I, for one, see his point. I mean, it’s not like it was a crossbow or a samurai sword, which are, judging by the rest of today’s headlines, the Jersey criminals’ weapons of choice.

Meanwhile, in Australia, folks are dealing with knives, baseball bats, metal poles, planks, branches, cricket bats, pick handles, screw drivers, golf clubs, curtain rods and glass bottles ... all at once.

Meat: It Does a Body Good. Hopefully.

Several years ago, when we were both living in Rochester, Aaron said to me with great enthusiasm: "I'm going to send Maria a beef log!"

It was a Christmas gift. He bought it at a mall kiosk and mailed it to her at work so that she'd have to open it in front of her coworkers who, he hoped, would ask, "Oooh, what'd you get?" and she, he hoped, would have to reply, "A beef log."

Aaron thought it was hilarious, I thought it was hilarious, and Maria, thankfully, thought it was hilarious.

And now, I'm happy to say, I have firsthand knowledge of how funny it is to receive meat in the mail. My brother, Jonathan, send me a crate of meat for Christmas from a famous meat company that I would be happy to name on this blog if their marketing reps would like to negotiate product placement fees.

I was not at home when the meat arrived. My housemates graciously accepted the delivery and rearranged the fridge, lowering the shelves to accommodate the gigantic container. Maria wrote a note that said, "Beth Ann, Your brother sent you some ... perishables." She said that the funniest part of this gift is that, of the four people who live here, I seem like the least likely to receive a crate of meat in the mail. Even when you factor in that Moray and Aaron limit their meat intake.

Once I stopped giggling at the fact that I own a crate of meat (why is this so funny to me?), I began to embrace this opportunity to learn how to cook. I know how to cook a few things, but I've never tried to cook steak or pork chops or fish. Well, I tried to cook salmon once, but it was terrible.

Anyway, the pamphlet accompanying the meat says that it will stay fresh in the freezer for around three months. That gives Maria and me (the only ones in the house willing to consume the meat) a limited amount of time in which to work our way through the inventory. We've decided to prepare and eat meat together once a week, on Thursdays. This past Thursday was our first meat adventure. It was January 4th, which I think is appropriate because January 4th is my grandfather's birthday, and he was a real steak-and-potatoes kind of guy. He died nearly 14 years ago. Of a heart attack, actually.

But I digress. Our first meat adventure was very successful. We made Smoked Pork Chops with Onion-and-Cider Glaze, and it was quite delicious. Neither of us had ever made pork chops before. In fact, neither of us could even remember the last time we'd eaten pork chops. Oh, we also had steamed carrots and rice. And some excellent white wine that was left over from our New Year's party. It can't be all about the meat, you know.

Anyway, we plan to blog about our meat adventures so y'all can share in the excitement with us. But we're not sure how we should refer to this project. Operation Carnivore? Project Meat? Let us know what you think. And if anybody would like to send Moray and Aaron a crate of pasta, please know that they prefer organic varieties.

No Longer 'It'

Mr. VanBrink called upon Our House In Jersey to: "Find the nearest book. Turn to page 123. Go to the fifth sentence on the page. Copy out the next three sentences and post to your blog. Name the book and the author, and tag three more folks."

Maria already tagged three more folks, so I'll skip that part.

The book nearest me at the moment is Soduko To Go!, compiled by Michael Mepham. The back cover boasts of the book's "New Portable Size", but it hasn't left my bedroom since the day I brought it home. As you might have guessed, there are very few sentences in this book. Page 123 features a puzzle solution.

So in the interest of participating in this very important activity, I'll flip to page 123 of the second nearest book. Here goes:

"Who could believe that his footfalls ever sounded on a lonely pavement? Who had heard the casual and familiar tones of Chester Arthur? Where was Harrison?"

That's from Sarah Vowell's Assassination Vacation, but she didn't write those lines. She's quoting from The Four Lost Men by Thomas Wolfe.

I inherited my copy of Assassination Vacation from Friends Heather and Sean, who know a good book when they read one. I'm really glad that this was the second nearest book, because it gives me an excuse to say how much I loved it. The author explores the assassinations of Lincoln, Garfield, and McKinley by traveling to sites relevant to their lives and deaths, examining artifacts and statues, and chatting up the people she meets along the way. I have to admit, her writing style was tough for me to get used to (a bit rambling), and I had to reread a few passages because, by the time I got to the end of the passage, I'd forgotten what the beginning had been about. But once I got used to the style, I was able to appreciate this book for what it is: witty, insightful, and jam-packed with fascinating facts and anecdotes. I finished it months ago, and now I find myself occasionally rereading passages just because I want to. In fact, six or eight weeks ago, something compelled me to read a passage aloud to my housemates. It was this one:

"In the first summer of the Iraqi war, on the crabby, sweaty second day of a blackout that shut down the Northeast's power grid, I stood in line for questionable foodstuffs in my dark neighborhood deli. It reeked of souring milk. An annoyingly upbeat fellow-shopper chirped, 'Cheer up, everybody, we're part of history!' Maybe because I was suffering the effects of allergy eyes brought on the night before by trying to read by the light of lilac-scented candles about a political murder committed around the time of the Spanish-American War, I snapped at him. 'Sir,' I said, 'except for the people who were there that one day they discovered the polio vaccine, being part of history is rarely a good idea. History is one war after another with a bunch of murders and natural disasters in between.'"

Anger, Frustration............... Dognabit

I have read a lot of crap in the news this week so much so that I’m now in denial that the world beyond my own vision is real, this really takes the biscuit!

and once again under FDA seal of approval! aah the FDA were will it stop, ridalin for Hamspters, skin care for snakes?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6236231.stm

Posting the whole thing to save confusion and further annoyances

US obese dogs to get diet pills

The world's first weight-loss drug for dogs has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Slentrol, made by the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, is intended to significantly reduce the appetite and increase fat absorption in canines.

The FDA's head of veterinary medicine said the drug was a welcome addition to animal therapies because of an apparent increase in dog obesity in the US.

Americans own 65 million dogs and almost 40% of US households have one.

According to the FDA, veterinarians generally define a dog that weighs 20% more than its ideal weight as obese.

Surveys have found that approximately 5% of dogs in the US are obese, and another 20-30% are overweight, it says.

Slentrol is expected to be available in the spring and should cost between $1 and $2 a day, a Pfizer company spokeswoman said.

Side effects

The liquid drug appears to reduce the amount of fat a dog can absorb and also triggers a feeling of fullness, according to the FDA.

However, the prescription drug can also produce side effects, including loose stools, diarrhoea, vomiting, lethargy and loss of appetite.

As with humans, obesity can lead to diabetes along with heart and joint problems.

The drug will appeal to dog owners who want a fast and simple way to slim down their canine pets, Bonnie Beaver, a professor in veterinary medicine told AFP news agency.

"It's easy to say we will feed them less and exercise them more. Well, we know how well that works for us," she said.

o ah, hahah,ha..............ha .................*@#% off

Want my blogging opinion do ya?, Just walk them you lazy bastards!!!!!!!!!!!! The dogs health is the owners responsibility, if they can’t deal with it, then they shouldn’t be allowed to own one. This should not be allowed in any civilized society.

enough, enough, enough......................................... never heard such rubbish

The eternal struggle of man and beast

or should that be 'woman and beast'?

hmmm......

As Democratic Senator Bob Kerry once said, “Clinton is an unusually good liar. Unusually good”
Before she left, however, it was Monica’s turn to be less than honest. The Kathleen Willey business had been bothering her, especially because Linda Tripp had told her Michael Isikoff was snooping around again.



Got you interested hasn't it, for further reading:

'Monica's Story', by Andrew Morton

Official "We've Been Tagged Post"

Ok, first and foremost, why the heck is my picture now on the front page of our blog??? I did NOT do that. I followed the directions and switched our blog over to google, and now for some reason my pic shows up. For the record, I am NOT the only member of our house in Jersey!

Moving on, our blog was tagged by Matt Van Brink last night, and since it's been at least 10 years since I participated in any kind of chain letter-forward-type-thing (even these new-fangled 'blog forwards"), I though I'd try this one, since it sounds fun. In my defense, I feel this forward promotes learning by exposure to new ideas, and that is how I'm legitimizing my participation. And since there are 4 of us, hopefully the other members of OHIJ contribute as well. Now, here are the rules.

"Find the nearest book. Turn to page 123. Go to the fifth sentence on the page.
Copy out the next three sentences and post to your blog. Name the book and the author, and tag three more folks."

And here is my reply. I swear to God this was the closest book to me.

"By filling out this form, you attest that you are a United States citizen and that you will be 18 years old on or before Election Day. (If you will not be 18 on or before Election Day but could pass for 18 and need some quick cash, fill out form V-18, available in basement room B-05 after 7 p.m. Ask for Carlo."

-"America (The Book) / A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction", by Jon Stewart, Ben Karlin & David Javerbaum (with a foreward by Thomas Jefferson)

So there. I shall now tag Sue, Brian, and Kate.

Have fun guys!

-Maria

Another New Years resolution:

Positive thoughts for the day, almost every day in 2007, starting here

Day 1

yay for C town in Jersey City, you no longer smell!!

However there is always a yang

Negative thought of the day:

Day 1

What was that smell!!