Streams of Consciousness....

Sometimes I struggle with what to share on this very simple blog of mine. As a writing major in college, I had planned to be a proofreader in some capacity. I enjoy writing, but don't really consider it my gift. I'd rather critique someone else's work. I can't tell you how many times I've started to write on a certain subject and completely changed the whole entry. I constantly daydream about different recipes I could create, topics I could discuss, and witty commentaries on my daily life. I fret about sharing too much, veering off topic, or alienating certain factions of my eleven readers. While I created this as a way to chronicle my cooking exploits and to provide my readers with creative ideas for food preparation, occasionally I wish to share other tidbits I have discovered in my day-to-day life.

Over the past few days, I have thought about several things that I've wanted to share, but none of the topics hold enough interest to compile an entire blog post. This post is quite the "stream of consciousness" entry, just a few random things that have been floating through my mind the past couple of days. And, in case you're wondering, I am never thinking about nothing, as my husband can so wondrously accomplish. My mind constantly flits from topic to topic and occasionally my husband will inquire, "what are you thinking about"? I'll relay to him what my thought process originated with and where I have arrived. He'll shake his head in part annoyance, part disbelief, and usually not even comment.

So, here goes:

1. I made fastnachts last week. Fastnachts are a local and once-yearly treat (similar to doughnuts) that we enjoy on Shrove Tuesday. The dough is comprised of scalded milk and mashed potatoes. To say they are heavy is quite the understatement. I decide to make fastnachts during our second snowstorm. We had again invited several neighbors and friends to come to our house for snacks and games. After six hours, we finally had fastnachts! The fastnachts were completely decimated during our game night. One of our neighbors, who is absurdly nice, was unable to join us and innocently inquired for one the next day. I had already decided that I was never going to make them again, but silently exclaimed, "crap" when he asked for one. So, I sucked it up and made another batch. The result: they were good, but not worth the six hours worth of work! If you're interested in the recipe, I'll gladly provide it to you, I found the whole process novel (and that's the best I can say about that).

2. So, apparently, there is this whole world of bloggers that until recently, I was completely unaware of. There are communities that exist on blogs which basically exist to discuss other blogs/topics. I happened upon a thread that was discussing a young mom with three boys [who blogs]. The whole premise of her blog is how, as a family, they live on less than $1000 per month. Sounds interesting, right? Well, the more I investigated, (wasted time, really) the more alarming the situation appeared. The family purposely lives in squalor, washes their laundry in the shower (in a bucket), refuses dental and physician care, rejects the idea of birth control, and generally do weird things. Nothing, however, prepared me for the post in which she discussed researching recipes for the placenta of her third child. Yes, you read this correctly, she wants to eat a placenta! I'm not even going to include the link because I really don't want this wacko to receive any more blog traffic.

3. As you may or may not know, I kind of have a huge crush on Alton Brown. It's more of a respect for his food prowess as opposed to an obsession of his physical appearance. I simply love his passion for food. I recently discovered a recipe for ramen noodle packets, including shrimp, mushrooms, and green onions. The "flavor" packet is discarded and different ingredients are added to an aluminum foil "boat", and the whole mixture is baked in the oven for 15 minutes. Let me just say that I am totally making this sometime in the near future. I'll keep you posted.

4. Hebrews 12:14 Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.
I totally struggle with this verse. I have this really bad habit of not being able to control my speech and tone when I'm upset with someone or something. It is hard for me to not be honest. My question is always: to what lengths should we go to in order to create peace with all men? I am such a "tell it like it is" person and don't feel like it is possible for me to be "two-faced". I know that my approach can be hurtful, even if it is always honest. I am trying, prayerfully, to find a healthy balance between my current behavior and feeling dishonest in my quest to "live in peace with all men".

5. Our dinner last night: meat-lovers pizza. I used the Pioneer Woman's pizza dough recipe (no kneading or raising time required) and it was really quite good.


6. I have finally found a use for my "10-grain cereal". Abbie, of SimpleKneads.blogspot.com, suggested using the cereal to create bran muffins. I didn't have all of the ingredients to make her exact recipe, (of course) but simply added it in place of all-purpose flour in my blueberry muffin recipe. They were totally delicious.

7. Our dinner tonight: "leftover soup", blueberry muffins with 10-grain cereal, and baked pears.


8. I just found these adorable shirts at Target today for 59 cents. Granted, they're leftover from Valentine's Day, but they're cute, right?