Wednesday 15 October 2014

Random Post is Random

Busy life means Random Post!

1. Walking down the street after work today I overheard a guy tell his friend that he needed to renew his drivers license except "it's going to cost me $200 because I have an outstanding ticket. Plus there's the $45 renewal fee on top of that so that's like $350. Fuck. And I need my license for my lifestyle, man."

I know I occasionally count on my fingers when I do math, but I'm pretty sure that's not correct.



2. In the living-a-healthier-life department, I have temporarily lifted my monthly weight-loss goal in the sense that I'm still eating healthy, I'm still getting in some activity, but I'm not worrying about exactly how much I'm going down in a month. The point is to go down, and my weekly weigh-ins are doing that with enough regularity that I know I'm heading that way. But with everything going on right now at work, I just need to take a few things off my plate and worrying about hitting a specific number is an easy one to (temporarily) remove. You can fully expect to see it back on my plate after project launch.



3. Also in the living-a-healthier-life department, I've started running/jogging/occasionally-moving-faster-than-walking. Two of my friends suggested doing the resolution run on January 1st... and because I didn't think about the hangover factor, I thought that sounded like a good idea. I'm an idiot. At any rate, I pulled out one of my old walk-to-run programs then promptly ignored it. I headed out for a walk/run. When I felt like running, I did. When I felt like taking a walking break, I did. It felt great. I always enjoy running once I get into. I'm not going to lie and say that I love it and it's the best thing ever!!, but there's something calming about running. The repetitiveness of it allows me to focus on working through other things in my mind. I don't know why I don't find the same mental clarity when I'm walking, but I just don't. Still, as my oft-halted running attempts can attest to, I'm not the poster child for love-of-running! Who knows? Maybe the eighth time's the charm?



4. The Walking Dead and Supernatural both premiered this week. I LOVE FALL TV!! That is all.



5. I recently watched Band of Brothers, hence the gifs. Watch it. Right now Do it! That is all.


Tuesday 7 October 2014

In Case You Don't Own A Calendar, It's Fall!

You know those periods in your life where you think you are the busiest you could ever possibly be then life is all like "ha ha, nope!" and suddenly you're even busier? Yeah, I really wish it would stop doing that. My whole we're-into-the-home-stretch-things-should-be-calmer statement was way off the mark.


But in the midst of all the craziness which sees me working 9.5 hour days and taking work home, I've discovered exactly how much I love my job. While I could do with a return my regular hours of work with no take-home items so I could have a life outside the office, I wouldn't change anything else. So, you know, silver lining and all that jazz.


Downside? What was supposed to be last week's Trivia Tuesday is still sitting on my hard drive only partially finished so instead, you're getting a recipe.

I may have posted a recipe just so I could use this gif
This recipe is for Schnitz und Drunder, which is just a really fancy way of saying "best Fall food ever!". It's a potato, bacon, apple and pear stew-type-thing which is just as fantastic as it sounds. Every Fall, when everyone else is tripping over themselves to get Pumpkin Spice Lattes, I'm planning entire weekends around being able to cook Schnitz und Drunder.

Schnitz und Drunder is a Swiss dish. Traditionally, this dish is made with dried apples and pears but I have recipes which call for both dried and fresh. I use fresh apples and pears because I'm lazy and most of the dried recipes tell you to re-hydrate the dried fruit the night before they're easier to find in grocery stores. Stop judging me.

Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 pear, peeled, cored and sliced
- 1 apple, peeled, cored and sliced
- 1 tbsp sugar (optional)
- 1 lb potatoes, peeled and chopped (doesn't have to be pretty)
- 10 oz piece of double-smoked bacon or ham, chopped into chunks
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tbsp cream

Serves:
4 - 6 according to all the recipes I've ever seen. I think that's generous. I've found 3 - 4 is a better estimate.

Instructions:

In a large pot, melt the butter. Soften the onion but don't let it brown. (If you have a really fatty cut of bacon, you can put it in first and use that to soften the onions instead of butter.)

I threw in the ham early because I wasn't paying attention.
LET THIS BE A LESSON, KIDS!
Add in the apple, pear, sugar (if using), the potatoes and enough water to just about cover them.



Toss in the bacon or ham (if you haven't already done so). Salt and pepper to taste, then let the pot simmer uncovered until the water is almost completely evaporated (roughly 30 mins).

It's around this point that I start hopping around yelling "WHY AREN'T YOU DONE YET?"
My apartment smells delicious and I get impatient.
Stir in the cream and serve.

Look at this fantastic meal!


Okay, so it doesn't exactly photograph well because it's essentially a stew, but trust me when I say that it tastes fantastic. 

If I had to sum up fall in one meal, this would be it.

En Guete!
(Beautiful Swiss German for 'Bon Appetit!)