No, seriously; I haven't forgotten about this blog

I am still planning a new blog that will be a consolidation of the two I already have (+ add doodles from my new tablet), and I actually have a name for it now. Since the last post, however, I have gotten involved in the real estate process. Assuming everything goes as planned, I will own a house before February ends (mainly waiting for the bank to finish going over my finances and approve the loan). Once I have moved, I'll have the time I need to create the new blog. Apologies for the unexpectedly long hiatus.

For the record

I haven't forgotten about my blogs, but plans have changed. I'm trying to get back into drawing, so I'm planning to create a new blog. It will primarily serve as an art blog, but I also want to roll my current blogs into it as well. No sense juggling three. I hope to get that off the ground in about a month.

Crockpot cinnamon ginger poached pears

Ingredients:
3 cups water
1 cup sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
10 slices ginger
6 pears

Tools:
1 slow cooker
1 knife

Combine the water, sugar, ginger, and cinnamon in the slow cooker. Core and, if desired, peel the pears. If you want to leave the peel on, quarter the pears. Otherwise, there won't be enough surface area for the heated liquid to attack and the pears will be undercooked in the end. Cook on low for at least 4 hours (2 hours if using the high setting). After time is up, remove the pears. Turn the slow cooker on high and heat the liquid uncovered for 30 minutes. Save the resulting syrup and drizzle over the pears when you serve.

If all you have is ground cinnamon, roughly a tablespoon should be enough. The recipe works very well with apples too. The only thing to keep in mind is that apples will require more cooking time; 6-7 hours using the low setting.

Misadventures in Clearance Booze

A day late, I know. I was busy visiting the parents and helping them out with a few things.

Anyway, today's clearance acquisition is Johnny Love Aloha. Nearly the entire Johnny Love line of flavored vodkas was on the clearance endcap, so you may get to hear about another flavor at some point, but I digress. Aloha is a pineapple-flavored vodka, although calling it pineapple-flavored or even a vodka is a bit of a stretch. More on that later.

Johnny Love Aloha isn't entirely clear; the liquid has a slight yellowish tint to it. The scent actually favors coconut with just a hint of pineapple, and the label does mention coconut being in the mix. The taste, much like the scent, is more coconut than pineapple. I barely noticed the pineapple at all, really. The liquid goes down smooth without so much as a hint of harshness, but it has a kind of thick, syrupy viscosity I associate more with cordials/liqueurs than vodka. Hell, this stuff is so sweet it puts some of my favorite schnapps to shame. It overpowers the coconut and pineapple entirely unless you're drinking at room temperature.

The most I'll say for Johnny Love Aloha is that it is drinkable. It tastes like an overly-sweetened coconut rum, and I fear drinking too much of it at once could mean instant diabetes. I normally like the sweet things a great deal, but Johnny Love Aloha is too much for my sugar-loving taste buds.

Wish my oven cranked out food this good

Lately, I've been making an effort to get out more, which includes checking out restaurants in the area. I feel strange going to a restaurant solo, so I haven't eaten out much in the three years I've lived in my current location. Last night, I went with a friend to The Italian Oven, an Atlanta chain with three locations. The Stockbridge location is right across the street from my grocery store of choice.

Decor is what you'd expect of all but the more expensive Italian restaurants. Points for cleanliness though. They keep it so clean it almost seems sterile. Service was top-notch; we never had to wait long for anything, and the waitress didn't check on us so often it became an annoyance either. The time between ordering and food being put on the table was impressively short. Prices on food seemed more than reasonable, and drink prices were in line with the Atlanta norm.

And now to the food. The bread was to die for. Light and fluffy and encrusted with parmesan cheese on the outside. The bread is served alongside a little dish containing a layer of quality olive oil and more parmesan cheese. The house salad was excellent. Fresh and, more importantly, not drowning in dressing. Italian Oven uses a reasonable amount, which you don't see often anymore. My entree of choice last night: spicy shrimp and tomatoes over linguine. The linguine was a bit on the soft/overcooked side for my taste, but I like my pasta a bit firmer than the norm anyway. Let's say it was perfectly acceptable. The shrimp and crushed plum tomatoes were well-prepared, and the overall dish was spiced to perfection. Enough of a spicy kick to feel it, but not so much that it overwhelmed everything else. For dessert, my friend and I split an order of spumoni. My only quibble with the spumoni is that the nuts were all concentrated toward the bottom of the glass. Otherwise, it was fantastic. Tasty balls of pistachio ice cream adrift in some fine chocolate ice cream.

Short version: an above average restaurant I would eat at again. I may even check out their lunch fare tomorrow while I'm out running errands.

So, unfortunately, I think I've been spreading myself thin, as evidenced by my failure to consistently manage two entries a week here. The second blog and all the stuff going on in my life right now doesn't help. Since I'd rather over-deliver than under-deliver, I'll just promise one entry per week, favoring this blog. I'll throw up extras when I get some spare time.

The perfect condiment

I'm of course talking about hummus. Never really tried it until roughly two years ago, but now I eat it on everything calling for any kind of dressing or sauce. I even use hummus in place of mayo on sandwiches. It is normally used as a dip, but hummus can be more versatile than that. Nutritionally, it's pretty awesome. Vitamins, protein, and what fat it does contain is mostly unsaturated. Overall calorie count is low compared to most other dip options.

At some later date, I'm sure I'll have a recipe for you. As it stands now, my current blender isn't very good for making hummus; the texture usually comes out wrong. Sabra, if you have access to it, is the ultimate store-bought hummus. The texture is smooth without being excessively creamy, and the flavor is closer to homemade than any other brand I've tried. Better than homemade, compared to my own feeble attempts. I'm particularly fond of the roasted red pepper, supremely spicy, and roasted garlic versions. The only variant I don't particularly care for is spinach and artichoke. The day I tried it was the day I discovered I do not care for artichoke. Not one bit. Sabra also gets points for having fewer preservative ingredients than other big brands. I've also had good luck with some store brands, although Target's Archer Farms brand is the only one that leaps to mind at the moment.

A decent option when time is short

I've always liked QuikTrip's coffee and cold drink options, but their food is surprisingly not bad in a pinch. Tasty, cheap, and not any worse for you than comparable fast food.

First, the hot food. The hot dogs aren't particularly impressive. The over-sized taquitos hit the spot every once in a while, especially the chicken taquitos. The breakfast items are acceptable. The biscuits tend to be a little too hard and dry for my tastes, but I love the hot ham and cheddar on pretzel bread as well as both kinds of breakfast burrito. Grabbing a chorizo breakfast burrito after refilling my gas tank has become an almost weekly thing for me.

The fare from QT Kitchens has genuinely surprised me in a couple of ways. The salads are great; not quite as fresh or crisp as salads from a grocery store deli, but significantly better than any fast food salad I've tried. Same for the fruit cups. They tend to use too much mayo/sauce on their sandwiches and wraps, unfortunately. Everything else seems to more or less match the quality of the salads and fruit, but I cannot get past all that sauce drowning my taste buds. Most fast food joints seems to understand less is more when it comes that stuff. Hopefully QT Kitchens will grasp it someday.

So, yeah, trying to get back on the two-posts-a-week wagon. I don't foresee anything getting in the way. In the near future, at least. My plate may get a little full come late August/early September.