Saturday, June 25, 2011

Etsy!

Hey!  I'm on Etsy now.....

 

Which means You can use your credit card!

Check me out HERE!!

I'll be working on a for-real website soon.

 

33-29

Today I am Happy to be a NY'er.  My close friends can do the same things that I can do. I will be able to celebrate with them, when they take the next step in their relationship.

More Importantly.....

They get to have the same basic rights that I enjoy everyday. They get to express their love to their partner, just as I will in 78 days.  When they get sick, their loved one can be in the room with the Dr. and stand next to the bed.  They can put their partner on their insurance and share a last name.

My fiancĂ© and I tried to become domestic partners when I was laid off. Let me tell you, this is NOT equal but different.  It's just not equal. It is a Giant Giant Giant pain in the tucass. Even though we live together, have a puppy, pay our bills out of one check book, and generally, except for that piece of paper, are married. We weren't married enough to claim domestic partnership. We didn't own a car together. If we had owned a car together for 6 months, then we could claim domestic partnership. Then, is when the fun begins. The tax forms are ridiculous. So all in all, not equal at all, not when any straight couple can walk into the clerks office, take an oath, and sign a paper, and its done. But today, no one has to do that any more.

Today I am proud to be a NY'er. Finally our elected officials did something right

Monday, June 20, 2011

Dum Dum da Dum....

So I haven't really talked a lot about my impending marriage on the blog. Mostly because it has not been an issue at all. We got engaged a year and a half ago in Egypt, Kevin set the date on the boat and by mid summer all the big things were taken care of, the church was booked and the barn was booked. By the first of the year we had the photog, the DJ and the florist and I had my dress.  All that was left was the limo. (Check) Tuxs Just need to order. and the little stuff. I swear I might be the calmest coolest bride around. Really. I am stressing about nothing. Well you always stress about money, but that can't really be helped. We picked out the invites, made the way too long list. We know what our favors will be and have some great surprises planned for our guests.  I AM READY!

I say... bring it. The sooner the better! I am a go for the Honeymoon. My bikini is bought and there is a rum punch somewhere with my name on it.  I have a ton of sundress' and just need to find a fancy hat to wear, But I'll probably get that on the island.

So this all is brought on because we went to a wedding last night. We had a really great time, we didn't know a lot of people there, but that's why we had so much fun. We had a good meal, had some cocktails, and danced! I just kept imagining what our wedding was going to look like. What we were going to have for center pieces. How the cake was going to look. ETC, ETC, ETC. Then I realized how much more hectic our was going to be, we got to spend time with each other last night. Not so much at our wedding. We'll have family and friends in from all over the country, and it will be the  first time my four brothers and I will be together since 1985. yes 85.  I can't wait. but I know it won't last long enough. Even though we pretty much have a Weekend planned for everyone. It still won't be long enough. We have spent countless hours getting things ready and thousand of dollars, not to mention all the money our guests will be spending to come and stay here in Albany.  I just don't feel that 6 hours is going to be long enough.

I'm sure that every bride and groom feel the same way.  Right?

 

 

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Time to get up on the Soap Box

DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR FOOD COMES FROM???

Seriously? Do you have any idea?

Tomatoes? Lettuce? Bananas? And those are just fresh vegetables.

So this was all prompted by a visit with my friend Betty (name changed). Betty is 'in a family way' and we were discussing how being pregnant makes you rethink your diet (or it should!) Betty has a gluten intolerance (Celiac), which when pregnant can become severe. She must be very, very careful about what she is eating, not just when she is pregnant, always and forever. She reads every label and knows where her food comes from. I applaud her!

I am a baker, and now a business owner. Do you know what you have to do when you bake for a living? Make ingredient labels. Being a chef and a country girl, I know what's in season and where it is coming from. But I didn't know what was in Vegetable shortening (Crisco) until last week. I have a basic knowledge of what it is (as should every Chef) it's hydrogenated vegetable oil. So in basic non-sciencey terms, the molecule of vegetable oil has open parts like the sides of an inside piece of a puzzle, where things can fit. So to turn liquid vegetable oil into a solid shortening, they use hydrogen and fill up those sides. But a lot of the time they don't fill everything up, so you get partially-hydrogenated vegetable oil. Awesome right, it's from veggies and now it makes decent pie crust (not as good as lard, but that's for another post) problem is that when you don't fill up all the bonds it leaves spots open and stuff can cling to it and get into your body. FREE-RADICALS!!!! These are the hangers on of the cool kids world. So sometimes, bad nasty sh*t can help it's self on in to our bodies. Cancer causing stuff and the like. These Trans-fats also lead to heart diseases and a host of other nasty illnesses. Listen I'm not a scientist and I'm sure if you know one they would be able to explain it better to you, probably a scientist out there will read this and have many, many polite observations on how I could have explained it better. Listen there is a wikipedia article HERE. But they use lots of sciencey terms. Where was I going with all this.... Oh yes what's in Crisco.  Ok so I know Crisco isn't the best for you, but neither are the triple chocolate cream de menthe brownies that I make. Everything in moderation I say.  But I was making a label and got out the can to copy the ingredients over.  Good Lord in Heaven ABOVE! What was all this crap?

Vegetable Shortening: (Soybean Oil, Fully Hydrogenated Palm Oil, Partially Hydrogenated Palm and Soybean Oils Mono and Diglycerides, TBHQ and Citric Acid (Antioxidants)


I don't know what TBHQ is and frankly I'm scared to look it up. Oh and on a side note, I don't know how to make the font bigger, if someone knows throw me a comment wouldya?  Back to the Rant.  So out shopping today, I needed more shortening, because in some baking applications, you need a solid fat and butter (always delicious) doesn't always translate across recipes without some major tinkering. And not for nothing if Grandma said use shortening... I'm not messing with the best.  True though when Grandma used shortening, I'm sure it didn't have TBHQ in it. Ok. I looked it up. It's an antioxidant. Really it keeps fats from going rancid. So that means I can have crisco on the shelf for years and....Still Good!  That scares me, I knew I didn't want to look it up :/  So checking out the food labels on solid vegetable shortening can be a wonderful and eye opening experience. Well not really. But on the good side I found a shortening that doesn't have so much of the extra crap in it. And it was a store brand. So I saved a few pennies, left out a few chemicals, and pretty much vowed to read every label I buy. Eventually I would like to go all natural baking. Slowly I will change recipes and work out the chemicals when I can. It will take time, and it will be hard to find replacements that work.


So I got really far off topic- sort of.  Back to knowing where your food comes from. We live in a society that has come to believe that strawberries can be grown year round. Here. In America.  News flash.... They can't. Though we do have a great range of climates and are able to get a longer growing season on a lot of vegetables. We can't grow everything all year around. But we can ship in Apples from New Zealand, and fruit from Chile, and Mexico.


Being at the farmers markets has really opened my eyes to how little people understand where there food comes from.  A lady walked in to the market and was looking for corn. Now I can guess she probably doesn't drive past a corn field on her way home, it's not even knee high yet. The corn your eating out of the supermarket was shipped in from the south. Probably Texas and the like. I did find a great site that helps folks understand when food will be ripe in their area.  Check it out HERE.


It's really sad that many Americans have little concept of the origin of their food. So tonight when you sit down to the dinner table, take a look around. Do you know where your food came from and what's in it?


Monday, June 13, 2011

This week.....

So I haven't posted very much this week, kinda been hectic.  After the farmers market on Tuesday, I got home and got ready to leave for my parents house in Westernville. I was on my way home for a final concert by my band teacher Mr. Ischia. He taught for 36 years. I really can't imagine doing the same thing for 36 years. He loved it though, said he could have done another 3-4 years. But thought it was time to go, golf and spend time with his family.  It was really great seeing him, and the high school, and some high school friends I haven't seen since I left.  The school looks different, Mr. Ischia's hair is a lot greyer, and the friends haven't changed, just got a little older. There were some mixed emotions going back, though I was excited once I got there.  I still had the, OMG moment, will I still fit in?

Then came a long awaited for moment... I got to check two things off my list. 

1. Have a drink with a Teacher

2. Have a drink at Benny's Respectable Gin Mill

Really It's called Benny's Place, it's in Holland Patent and the great aspiration of a group of High Schoolers Back in the late 90's. David Parker, used to talk about Benny's Respectable Gin Mill all the time, like he was the Norm of Holland Patent and had his own seat at the bar, when really we all knew that he had never been in for a drink before, being that he was 17 and a decent kid that only made mischief and a small bit of trouble.  So when at the age of 31 I finally got to belly up to the bar and order a Gin & Tonic-- it was a moment, the fact that I was doing it with Mr Ischia, made it that much more special.  We laughed and talked,  I caught up with friends,  we did a lot of remembering.

 

So back home Thursday after noon to live life, had some orders to go out and did a lot of paperwork.  Scrubbed the house, and I'm baking today for tomorrow, I'll be at the Watervliet Farmers Market tomorrow from 2:30 - 5:30. Come and visit. Kristy's Barn is there from Schodack and they've got great produce for being early in the season.  I'm going to try to get into Voorheesville on Friday Nights. I'll hope to see you there too!

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Boogie for Breast Cancer!



Hey everyone, Boogie for Breast Cancer is happening, and you should be there! Not only to support cancer research, but you'll have the chance to win a goodie basket from  Andi's Apple Cakes!!!!  Tickets are on sale till Friday ( I think) Give Michaeline a call and go have a great time!!

Watervliet Farmers Market!!!

[gallery]

So Today was my first day, not with out incident, but Today was my FIRST DAY!!!!!!!!

I got a call from the Watervliet farmers market last week, wondering if I was going to participate this year.  I was scheduled to have my inspection of the kitchen on Friday morning, so I put off making the decision till Monday. Well of course the inspection went great! The very nice inspector John, checked out the kitchen and passed me with flying colors. With ta A-OK from the state I was off shopping like a champ. Can I spend money! I wish there were some sort of shopping award, I would win it. And what ever happened to Shop Till You Drop on Cable.  I loved that show, well I loved Supermarket Sweep more, but they were on back to back, so I consider them one. Anywho. I bought bought bought on Friday. On Saturday, I did yard work and ate Chinese.  (Yes that is a mentionable activity since I don't get egg rolls very often) Sunday was the nieces' recital ( Go Em!) and Monday was baking. and more baking, and still some baking.

Buy late late late Monday night, I had almost finished, but since I was falling asleep standing up, off to bed I went. Got up this morning with butterflies in my stomach. Did I make enough? Did I make too Much?  Will I remember everything? OH MY GOD! Small baby freak-outs all morning. Thankfully only the dog saw me and she loves unconditionally.

I had one small hiccup..... no Insurance. This would be the aforementioned incident.  I had gone on Monday to pay for my insurance. The very nice lady, Beth, was going to email the binder to me yesterday afternoon.  No binder this morning when I woke up!?!  So on my way to the FM I stopped by the agency. Why doesn't everyone move fast when you want them to?   Well what to do, no insurance, no market, Right? By 3pm the underwriter had finally written my policy and I was covered. Yep, that's me-- daredevil. I went a whole half an hour without insurance.  Cause I went anyway. Rules be damned! I will sell my applecakes come hell or high water!

It was the first day of the season at Watervliet. There were only 6 vendors and I did ok! Nothing spectacular, but ok. I'm going to say for the first month, I'll only do ok, till I get a customer base, then I hope for more.

But Today was my first day :)

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Chocloate Chip Cookies

I'll let the pictures do the talking.  $5 per dozen.