How will you use technology or the Internet to help you plan and prepare this year’s Thanksgiving feast?
Sponsored by LifeScoop: Bringing You Tips for a Connected Lifestyle.Just a second ago I was looking at the shopping list I posted here on Vox last year, and thought to myself, hey, it's only 2 weeks away. I wonder if Vox is asking a question about Thanksgiving?
So there you go.
Last month I disclosed in one of my posts that I have a small collection of Jennifer songs. Yesterday, M-----l included a great Jennifer/ba-ba song by Lloyd Cole in his post and mentioned my list. I think M-----l's VOX neighborhood is a bit bigger than mine, so the cat is out of the bag (so to speak). My collection of songs is small since I haven't been a very dedicated collector. I'm usually happy that one shows up in an album I've bought.
it's not easy living with me, I know. I'm the moodiest of critters, too often curled mollusk-like into my own shell, betimes bemoaning this or that or the whole kit n caboodle of my lot, tending to place blame for dissatisfactions wholesale on geography. poor chicago, it's not to blame for my malaise, ultimately. but I can sure make it sound like it. to live with me is to attend an ongoing litany of plaint (hi, een) and confected concoctions of how fabulous it would be to move elsewhere in one direction or another-- now closer to my family, now nearer friends, then away overseas, or what about just striking out behind the wheel across this great nation, no agenda, cameras and gazetteers in hand?
My DSL is repaired but will only work if I'm hooked up to the modem via an ethernet cable.
I've tried, for an hour this morning and another hour tonight, to configure the Linksys wireless router (which I installed and have previously reconfigured a couple times). It comes up as configured and connected but won't let me go anywhere - everything times out.
I think the problem is internet security settings... that I have them configured, somewhere, for the wireless router too. I've checked, disabled, and/or reset everything I can think of but still can't get internet access via my wireless router.
Yes, it is making me insane.
I'm in Seattle. It's the first time I have been here. I like it so far, but I'm getting very tired. I've had a lot going on over the past week and it's all starting to catch up to me. I'm going to go to sleep now. I'm glad I flew across the country to go to bed really early in a city I have never visited before. That was smart planning. More later.
Disclaimer: I do not have Windows 7. The statistical likelihood that I will have it in the next year or so is equivalent to me being descended from Anastasia. You know, the one who died in vain according to Mick Jagger. I'm moneygrubbing and my laptop is 4 years old and I won't replace it for another year or two.
That said, I have long been a fan of the Get A Mac ads, because they were funny and punchy. They would playfully exhibit the differences (both in purpose and daily use) of each OS and it was at a level that was "all in good fun". The latest "Get A Mac" ad, though, is weak.
And here's why:
Every single previous ad brought out a specific feature, issue, or benefit that Mac had over Windows. Maybe it was removing the myth that only Windows OS could do business. Maybe it was exploring Mac's graphics/arts-friendly side. Maybe it was antivirus issues. But each and every ad had a point.
Until now.
This ad ("Broken Promises") is so generic it threatens the whole genre; there isn't a specific target except that each Windows release has promised to improve on its predecessor. Well, I would think that Mac's OS' have offered the same (after all, if there isn't improvement, then what is the point?). It's a below-the-belt punch, and it shows that Apple is truly threatened, or at least perceptually threatened, by Windows 7.
This bothers me on a couple of levels: one, I do have some significant friends and family who busted their @ss on Windows 7, and rightfully so: I hear it's a sweet ride. Two, I'm all for competition and playful (or barbed) banter: but it needs to have substance. The latest Get A Mac ad is the equivalent to Churchill retorting "I know you are but what am I" to any of his foils.
The irony being that it sends me down the path of looking to a Win-specific platform next year, and not switching to Mac.
Blew the audition....
Shouldn't have told 'em I was a one trick pony....
There's a certain je ne sais quoi about dumplings. I'm fascinated by dumplings of all cultures, shapes, and forms. From matzoh balls to pierogi, from momos to gnocchi, they are the perfect comfort food.
The fact that they are usually a hundred percent carbohydrate is completely irrelevant.
I always though gnocchi were made with eggs, so the discovery that they don't have to be came as a pleasant surprise. In fact, some traditionalists say that eggs make for a chewier gnocchi, and that is not good. Three large sweet potatoes in the CSA box, some sturdy sage from the herb pot, and we're all set!
What you need:
2 lbs sweet potatoes, roasted (45 minutes in a 450 degree oven), peeled, mashed well
2/3 cup ricotta cheese (throw it in a fine sieve to allow water to drain out, a couple of hours or so)
1.5 cups or more of all purpose flour
salt and pepper to taste
The idea is to make a dough out of the above, using as little flour as possible. To make that possible, use the firmest variety of sweet potatoes you can find. Roast them in the oven instead of boiling. Dust all surfaces with generous amounts of flour and keep dusting.
Bring a huge pot of water to a boil.
Mix together the mashed sweet potatoes, ricotta, flour, salt and pepper. Don't overwork the dough. All you want is for it to stay together and not stick to your hands. Divide the dough into six pieces (a dough separator/scraper comes in very handy.)
Roll each piece out into a half-inch thick string and cut into gnocchi a bit larger than your thumbnail. Then press a floured fork into the back of the gnocchi to create grooves for sauce. Go here for a technique video.
Cook the gnocchi in batches of three. Simply add them to the boiling water and fish out with a slotted spoon as soon as they start to float. Place in a platter.
At this point, you can spread them on a sheet, freeze, then store the frozen pieces in a ziplock bag. Or you can saute them in a sauce of your choosing. I melted a couple of tbsp of butter, fried ten sage leaves in it and added 2 tbsp of maple syrup, before giving the gnocchi a quick saute. Delicious.
There's a certain je ne sais quoi about dumplings. I'm fascinated by dumplings of all cultures, shapes, and forms. From matzoh balls to pierogi, from momos to gnocchi, they are the perfect comfort food.
The fact that they are usually a hundred percent carbohydrate is completely irrelevant.
I always though gnocchi were made with eggs, so the discovery that they don't have to be came as a pleasant surprise. In fact, some traditionalists say that eggs make for a chewier gnocchi, and that is not good. Three large sweet potatoes in the CSA box, some sturdy sage from the herb pot, and we're all set!
What you need:
2 lbs sweet potatoes, roasted (45 minutes in a 450 degree oven), peeled, mashed well
2/3 cup ricotta cheese (throw it in a fine sieve to allow water to drain out, a couple of hours or so)
1.5 cups or more of all purpose flour
salt and pepper to taste
The idea is to make a dough out of the above, using as little flour as possible. To make that possible, use the firmest variety of sweet potatoes you can find. Roast them in the oven instead of boiling. Dust all surfaces with generous amounts of flour and keep dusting.
Bring a huge pot of water to a boil.
Mix together the mashed sweet potatoes, ricotta, flour, salt and pepper. Don't overwork the dough. All you want is for it to stay together and not stick to your hands. Divide the dough into six pieces (a dough separator/scraper comes in very handy.)
Roll each piece out into a half-inch thick string and cut into gnocchi a bit larger than your thumbnail. Then press a floured fork into the back of the gnocchi to create grooves for sauce. Go here for a technique video.
Cook the gnocchi in batches of three. Simply add them to the boiling water and fish out with a slotted spoon as soon as they start to float. Place in a platter.
At this point, you can spread them on a sheet, freeze, then store the frozen pieces in a ziplock bag. Or you can saute them in a sauce of your choosing. I melted a couple of tbsp of butter, fried ten sage leaves in it and added 2 tbsp of maple syrup, before giving the gnocchi a quick saute. Delicious.
