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July 31, 2007

Hail to the Chief!

Cordero is still a National. All is well in the universe.

Posted by MikeSager at 11:57 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Ramen - It's Not Just for College Kids Anymore

My mother and younger sister recently made a visit to my oldest sister in London. They brought me back a most fantastical gift - the Wagamama Cookbook!!! Oh delicious Wagamama... your closest location right now is Boston. Which I suppose is closer than the pond jump, but still...

So in order to properly satisfy my Ramen cravings, I have to make it myself. And I'm not talking that $.59 package you get at Food Kitty - no, I'm talking about a REAL MEAL!!!!

Last night was a Ramenture (Ramen + Adventure). First the prep - on Sunday I went to the Tan-A-Supermarket and acquired some vital ingredients - the Ramen noodles themselves, Chicken Stock cubes, and canned Bamboo Shoots. The Asian grocery store was quite an experience - they don't take Visa! I was all set to buy some bowls and other fun stuff, but I was thwarted by only have a $10 in my wallet. It was also weird to see live Tilapia swimming about as if they were Lobsters. Mmm....Lobsters.

Then I went to Kroger to acquire the rest of the ingredients, which had varying degrees of success. After confirming that the vegetable I picked up was in fact a Leek ("Excuse me, is this a Leek?" "Of course that's a Leek!") I next went to find Spring Onions. Except I forgot exactly what Spring Onions were (and yet I can still remember the last Federalist candidate for President (Rufus T. King in 1840)). So I bought a White Onion instead. Whoops! And who knew Kroger didn't carry Ginger Root?

Last night I got home from band practice, and it was time to make some Ramen. I opted for the Chicken Ramen recipe, as it seemed the easiest to make. I fully intended to document the whole process here with pictures. All I managed to photograph was the cookbook on my counter, and I haven't even downloaded that picture so I can't even show you!

The stock cooked faster than I anticipated - I was supposed to just bring it to a boil and then serve, but instead I had to reduce it to a simmer and then bring it back to a boil. It was still delicious.

Ramen noodles don't stick to the fridge when you throw them to check for done-ness. This is a good thing to know. Julius also discovered this as he quickly snapped up dropped noodle (he also imbibed some Leek which I accidentally dropped and some chicken which I "accidentally" dropped).

Always pre-heat the Foreman Grill at the beginning. Always. Otherwise it throws your cooking times off.

Party potato-chip bowls make an excellent giant Ramen bowl.

Apparently you can freeze the uneaten portion! I now have tasty Ramen in the freezer!!! WOOO!!!!

Tonight's cooking will be decided less adventurous, but hopefully quite tasty nonetheless.

Posted by MikeSager at 11:30 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

July 28, 2007

Dog-Fathering

It occurs to me that it's been some time since I'm posted a tale about the adventures of myself and my four-legged friend. In fact, I hadn't written anything at all about the last few months of back and forth between myself and my dog.

Julius learned how to open doors. Literally. With the handle.

He likes to bark at things he hears in the hall, and the last thing I need is for him to be barking at people all day and piss off my neighbors. So I was keeping him in the bathroom (a large bathroom mind you) while I was at work during the day. But he figured out how to open the bathroom door. I chalked it up to a jump and push since the door swung outward. So I decided he could graduate to staying in the bedroom all day with the blinds drawn so he could look out. The door swung inward so surely he wouldn't get out. To this day I'm still not sure how he did it, but he learned how to open the door that swung inward.

And then he started unlocking the dead bolt on the front door. I am NOT joking. Now granted, pulling the handle to open the front door disengages the dead bolt, and the door is still locked - but this was obviously a problem. So I went to Lowes, borrowed a drill, and installed a hook & eye on the door. Problem solved, right?

Well it was until a bad thunderstorm. Julius...does not like thunderstorms. I'm trying to think of an analogy - Julius:Thunderstorms::Ayn Rand:Other People. There, that ought to make it blatantly obvious how much Julius dislikes thunderstorms.

Julius couldn't get out of the bedroom via the usual method of opening the door, due to my ingenious lock mechanism. So he decided if he couldn't go through the door, he'd try to go under it. By digging. Through the carpet.

I came how to carpet and padding everywhere in the bedroom and a relieved dog ("Thank G-d the thunderstorm didn't get you!"*) I cleaned it up and didn't fault him for his actions - he is after all a dog.

Well, I guess we've decided that dig the carpet is a fun game because this activity has since been repeated. Unfortunately, I have been forced to put him back into the bathroom during the day (with another hook & eye on that door) rather than allow him to tear up my carpet. My parents and I have been referring to this as "Doggy Jail".

*- I spelled it G-d because as I'm sure you've probably figured out, much like his predecessor Phred, Julius is a lantzman. Err....lantzdog.

Posted by MikeSager at 10:34 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

July 27, 2007

Whole Foods, I Miss Thee!

http://dcist.com/2007/07/26/organic_grocery.php

If DC is getting an Ellwood Thompson's, I want a Whole Foods dammit! Where else can I get delicious steak, a wide variety of mushrooms, and Fuller's London Pride?

Posted by MikeSager at 11:34 AM | Comments (8) | TrackBack

July 26, 2007

New Computer!

I just ordered a Dell Vostro 1400 - they're business class machine that still has a DirectX video card.

Core 2 Duo 2.0GHZ 800MHZ FSB, 4M L2 Cache
3 Gigs of RAM!
128 Meg Dedicated 256 Meg shared Geforce Video Card
160 Gig 7200 RPM HDD

WOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by MikeSager at 12:30 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 19, 2007

The Food is Terrible and the Portions are So Small!

A man boards a late train in DC, and tells the Porter "Sir - I absolutely must be off this train when we reach Penn Station. Now I'm a very heavy sleeper, so I want you to make sure I'm off this train no matter how much I kick and scream!" The Porter responds, "Absolutely sir." The next morning the man wakes up as the train is pulling into South Station in Boston. He is livid! He finds the Porter and he starts shouting every expletive in the book, ranting and raving! Two other passengers are seated nearby and observe this confrontation. "Gee, have you ever seen someone kick and scream so much?" said the first one. The second passenger responded, "You think that's bad? You should've seen the ruckus from the guy the put off at Penn Station this morning!"

Miss you Papa.
Love,
Michael

Posted by MikeSager at 7:00 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 10, 2007

Tusic Muesday!!!!

New Interpol album? Check.
New Pumpkins album? Check.
New Spoon album? Check.
New Stars album??!!!??? Check.

Oh yeah - I also picked up the new White Stripes. Eugh - where did all my money go?* It's a good thing I've been bringing my lunch to work all week instead of dining out.

* - Yes, I buy music.

Posted by MikeSager at 4:44 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack