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The Magic Wassail Machine

January 31, 2014
Drink, Kitchen, Miscellaneous, Ramblings
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Wassail Recipe: A Hot Toddy punch that keeps you nice and cozy during the winter months.

My mom’s old coffee percolator. When she offered it to me I knew I needed it for one thing and one thing only: WASSAIL!

OK, so I’m sure you’re thinking, “No, not really, Wendy. I don’t need a coffee percolator. A 12-cup Mr. Coffee (or for you upscale fancy schmancy folks, a Keurig) works just fine, thank you very much.”

I totally get it. I balked at first. I knew the hubs would argue we’d have nowhere to store it (true!) and when we have parties our guests don’t exactly look for a fresh-brewed cup o’ joe because we’re consuming wine, beer or cocktails. But when I explained to him that this was the magic Wassail machine, he quickly did an about face and told me to throw it in the back of the car.

I can’t remember how long ago that was. What I do know is that when it’s cold and rainy and usually Thanksgiving or Christmas time (though not this past year because it was too warm for such Hot Toddy goodness), our good ol’ buddy my mom was so nice enough to pass down to us gets pulled down from the garage rafters (now from the upper cabinets — today was the first time I didn’t have to check for rat poop! but I digress …) and put to use.

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Lazy, Lazy, Crazy Lady

January 16, 2014
Life, Miscellaneous, Ramblings
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Well, I started 2013 off to a good start. No, that’s not a typo — two thousand THIRTEEN. I created an About page, posted a recipe and even posted a follow up to the recipe. That’s three — count ’em: one, two, THREE posts I made at the beginning of the year. Unfortunately, that was a year ago (I could get all technical and say it was 11 months, 23 days, X minutes and X seconds, but I’m a giver, so I’ll say a year).

Now, I must say that in the span of the last year I got pregnant with my fourth child (which started as twins and had us FREAKING OUT for about two weeks), experienced polyhydramnios (that’s extra fluid in the placenta for those of you who want to know) while chasing after my insane energetic son, working full time, carting around my then-kindergarten and pre-k daughters, and fighting the school district to allow my second-oldest to enter into Kindergarten instead of Transitional Kindergarten for the 2013-2014 school year (that ordeal is for another post … hope I can get that done before 2015).

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Hello, large pregnant lady! I still had two months to go until my scheduled C.

I vowed to myself that I’d get something posted during my maternity leave, but then the week after I came home from the hospital we had our kitchen cabinets and island FINALLY being installed. Yes, FINALLY deserves all caps because I didn’t have a kitchen for the past 6.5 years. No, I didn’t have old cabinets that were replaced. I didn’t have ANYTHING. For Christ’s sake, I didn’t have a kitchen sink or an oven/stovetop for the first year we lived here (let alone hot water for the first three months … but I digress and now I’m just sounding like a whiney little bitch). So that was sorta a distraction, given the newborn that needed my attention and all (good thing I don’t breastfeed — GASP! — or I’d have been cooped up in my bedroom for a week, which I guess could have been sorta nice if the pocket door facing the family room where our cabinet installer was entering and exiting actually closed shut for some privacy).

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Riot Act

February 21, 2013
Life, Miscellaneous, Ramblings
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So after I finally made my first post about making Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies, my husband came home and read me the riot act because:

A) Why would I make my first post about a so-so recipe?

B) Why would I mess up a perfectly delicious pumpkin cookie (his No. 1 on the dessert list, by the way) by putting chocolate chips in it?

Well, thanks a lot, dear! I thought you’d be happy that I finally got off my lazy you know what and posted something (he actually was really happy I posted something) … I understand what he was trying to say, but I explained to him that not all recipes come out perfectly and that’s part of what I want this blog to be all about. This is a real-life kitchen where the dishes don’t always come out tasty and the photos are snapped quickly with my  iPhone — not a pseudo-professional-high-resolution-with-super-duper-crazy-lens camera and a food prep assistant on the side.

For me, presentation isn’t everything — the journey on the way to the yummy outcome is. So if you want to hear about what worked/didn’t work/what I substituted because I didn’t have it in the kitchen and already had a glass or two of wine and couldn’t run to the store so I made do, then you’ve found the right place. If, on the other hand, you’re looking for perfection, well, move right along, because that is definitely not what you’re going to find here! 🙂

I’m just lucky my husband loves me because of my imperfections. Stay tuned for some pictures and recipes from the this past weekend, when we ventured into grilling stuffed flank steak for the first time.