Archive for March, 2007

Ah, cameraphones…

Posted in life, camera, critters on March 27th, 2007 by ghost

The coolest wine ever. i have no idea how it tastes, but the name alone made it worth trying.

Now that the room is a bit cleaner and more organized, Thorn has “his chair” back and seems quite pleased. (Though really, he thinks both chairs in here are “his chair”.)

Takeout box art by yours truly.

Fun with chocolate!

Posted in life, camera on March 24th, 2007 by ghost

i’ve had a recipe for truffles printed and sitting around for awhile now. (Yet another thing i saw on Food Network.) A couple of weeks ago i bought the ingredients, but i’ve been in a bit of a funk lately and just didn’t feel like making them. Today seemed like the right time, with the house to myself. Quite a messy task, and not as simple as the recipe or the show made it seem - isn’t that always the case - but very tasty.

i started with a cup of heavy cream, a half a pound of semisweet choco, and half a pound of bittersweet choco, the latter two chopped up pretty small. i heated the cream until it just started to boil, then poured it through a sieve onto the chopped chocolate, and mixed until it was smoov to get this:

 

Lovely, shiny chocolate goo. i covered it with plastic to keep any curious pets out.
This is where i got impatient. It said to let the chocolate sit at room temperature for an hour or so to solidify so it could be molded into balls… After nearly two hours, the chocolate was still gooey, so i popped it into the fridge for a bit. Twenty minutes or so later, it was ready to be scooped.

Seriously. This was messy. But it was a delicious mess, because after i used the cookie scoop, i rolled it around in my hands to make a better looking shape. Mmm. Next came a bit more cooling, only about five minutes, because my hands heated up the chocolate and made them a bit gooey.

After shaping, i put the chocoballs on a tray, put toothpicks in, and rolled them around in a mix of cocoa and sugar - mostly cocoa.

The end result…

Now they sit in my refrigerator, covered with foil to keep curious tasters out.

Next time, i think i’m going to make them smaller. i also think it’d be fun to cover them with a chocolate shell (ganache!), and possibly try adding something else to the chocogoo before the initial cooling - orange liqueor is supposedly a good choice, but i was thinking maybe vanilla rum or something. We shall see. It was fairly easy to do, so i’ll definitely try it again, i’m sure.

Takeover

Posted in life, camera, critters on March 23rd, 2007 by ghost

i lost my spot on the bed.

i’d hoped to get a picture of him with his head on the frog pillow, but… no.

Accomplishment.

Posted in common, irritation, life, camera on March 20th, 2007 by ghost

i hung a shelf.

It would appear a lot less cluttered if a) a sweater and hoodie weren’t tossed up there, and b) i didn’t have so much junk cluttering up the room in the first place.

But hey - i hung a shelf!

i think tomorrow i’ll re-arrange posters and “wall stuff”. Maybe.

Sue me.

Posted in common on March 19th, 2007 by ghost

No updates today either. i didn’t take any pictures this weekend. i also left my camera in the truck during our 4 mile hike in the woods, but i imagine carrying it would have been as annoying as not having any pictures from the trek.

pictures from the phone…

Posted in life, camera, critters on March 15th, 2007 by ghost

LE STORE. It was too funny not to take a picture.

A delicious sushi spread from a few weeks ago. My phone quacks when i take a picture - yes, quacks - so i had to cough to cover the noise.

Me and Chesterpoof, earlier today.

blood oranges

Posted in life, camera on March 14th, 2007 by ghost

Blood oranges have been very near the top of my “foods to try” list ever since i first heard of them. Unfortunately, i just hadn’t seen them in stores until recently, and the last time i thought i bought one to try, i’d actually picked up a navel orange that had been carelessly placed with the blood oranges. Today, i finally bought some - and correctly this time.

 

i’d say they certainly earn their name, eh?

They’re a bit less juicy than other oranges, but the flavor is a lot richer and stronger. And ya gotta love that deep blood red color, too, it’s lovely. Definitely worth the wait, but i sure wish i could find them more often, and not just as the expensive health food store.

Things from around the room…

Posted in life, camera on March 12th, 2007 by ghost

i figured it was time i used a “real purse” for awhile. It’s a tad more grown-up. Notice i’m still using a Spider-man wallet, though.

And speaking of Spidey.. He and Venom sit on my DVD shelf.

As do a flock of dusty penguins.

Over in the corner, there are many toys and knick knacks on the Dork Shelf. Yes the walls are gray, and no, it was not my idea. i hate them.

And finally, Mission Control, where i sit day after day, working on… whatever. And there i sit now.

i’m at a loss as to what i should do today. i woke up rather hyper and “ready to go” at around 8, but the problem is that i’m not sure what to do. There are plenty things TO do, but i can’t narrow my attention to one particular task this morning. Perhaps i need tea and background noise.

Things around today…

Posted in common on March 7th, 2007 by ghost

i feel as though i’ve conquered PHP. Hooray.

Clean and organized. Hooray again!

Every time i stand up, they think it’s to let them out. Thorn simply goes to the door and stares at it. Ein whines and whimpers and barks, even if he was just out 30 minutes before…

O’leno State Park

Posted in life, camera on March 5th, 2007 by ghost