Lollapalooza

03 July 2011

Cupcake Wine, Expresso and Pizza

My, what a day! We didn't get to sleep in but that's ok since I hit the sack just after 10pm last night and I crashed...like in I don't even remember laying my head down. Bam - out! Somehow, for a change that left me to wake up bright eyed and bushy tailed by just after 6am. I think that should be a punishable crime on a Saturday...even if it is one of the ONLY days this year I woke up to sunshine. We started out day by going to help a U10 girls rec team do their practice. Needless to say I think I've been in competitive sports to long to appreciate the "casual" atmosphere of a low turn out and little regard for the passion of the sport. Nuf said. Then off to Wally World. Why on God's green earth did I think I would "beat" the 4th of July crowd out buying their BBQ grub. I found myself standing in line hunched over the cart going "could be please pay more than minimum wage to the cashiers and expect some kind sort of fast service. Should I really wait in line 20 min with only 3 customers in front of me. Bad attitude - check! That was WITH my double (or maybe triple) expresso on board this morning. Snap that sucker was strong. I don't measure things so no two expressos are the same in my kitchen. Her she is!

Ok, so it's NOT pretty but I took this pic BEFORE I drank it and taking a picture was an afterthought but I did remember the whipped cream and drizzle of carmel sauce. Why was I even thinking about blogging before I was worthy of facing the world...who knows. Hey, we all have issues :-)

My original plan for the day was to do who knows what with my friend Jill. You can find her blog here. She's a stamper.  She likes to eat but not cook. I'm down with that. She likes stuff with "character" and vintage-y type decor. I also down with that. We over think every conceivable thing but we are working hard to change that. We balance each other that way. She also has an awesome husband, Bret who loves his grub smoked and grilled and tasty. He is only one of two guys on this planet that I "let" talk smack to me and give me a hard time. We get in each others faces but I also respect him greatly and we can talk food. Yea baby!  Anyhoo, Jill had a moment of energy and texted me her ideas for a plan for the day but my stupid, wretched, unreliable phone did not receive any such message. I got home and called her but it was already too late to go hit the Olympia Farmers Market. Dangnabbit. My lack of planning bit me in the butt but sometimes it's nice to just pick up and go. After I grab I tuna sandwhich I head over to her house. Shortly after I get there, the guys came home. Boo! Bret wanted to crank out some dry rub for his selection of meat he has piled in his fridge for the annual Coleman 4th of July BBQ on Monday. My ears perked up when he said he wasn't sure if he had enough paprika (or pap-pah-ree-kah as he calls it..lol). His new place of excitement in grocery land...Cash-N-Carry. Mkay...I'm a Costco junkie but I'm down with that. They have massive amounts of food so how can we go wrong...and heck, they are buying AND I get big girl time. Woot woot! I think Jill was thinking that she'd rather watch the grass grow than go grooocery shopping on a stolen moment with a friend. She smiled and asked if I was sure that's what I wanted to do was run errands with her on "our" time. I think I saw her jaw tighten and her body language change. I was too excited to oblige the hint I was being given. Next thing you know we are off on a mission. I don't remember the trip there so well.  I talked so much I couldn't possibly slow my mouth down enough to multi-task and pay attention. Next thing you know, bam, we are in the parking lot. It's not the most visually appealing store around and the carts they have are the stupid flat carts that have swivel wheels in the back. I guess that's the punishment you take for great prices and a foodie's paradise all wrapped into one package. She pushed the dumb cart...thank you Jill! At the front of the store, restaurant style "stuff". Not a lot but enough to make me almost create a traffic jam. I carried on. Jill is mission focused and we got a late start. I could go on and on about this store but let's just say I found a whole aisle of coffee flavorings, donut filling stuff and some kind of Reese's peanut butter drizzle stuff in a massive jar. Think of the possibilities...oh gosh! Breathe....Then off to Fred Meyer (which I don't frequent for no reason cuz they do have great stuff!). We got the call that Bret wanted to crank out some fresh salsa too. I insisted we NOT get a cart so that once our hands were full we had to leave. That was a fail. We didn't even make it out of the produce section and Jill got a cart. Then we had to find white wine vinegar (is there a difference between that and white vinegar Jills asks....pppppft...uh, yeah!) I feeling a sense of urgency by now since the clock is ticking. I'm trying to find someone who speaks "vinegar" and Jill has her nose poked into an end cap of "pretty" wine bottles. Oh snap. The next question on board...do I like Merlot or does Red Velvet sound good. Red Velvet never sounds bad  to me. She grabs a bottle of each. SQUIRREL! (That's what we say when we get distracted)


You just can't deny these labels are pretty...even with my crummy cell phone pic. And I mean it's named CUPCAKE wine for pete's sake. We have to try it or we'll never know. See....


If you name your Vineyard after a dessert then you are worth a sip..and that's what I had and it has won my heart over. I don't have a glass often but when I do...Cupcake wine...yup, I'm all over it. Our day rounded out at Target where I spotted a new bag I "need". Those wretched marketing people cleverly display their purses and handbags right smack inside the door. Ugh...I didn't know I needed one till I walked in. Ok, focus Denise. Our final stop was at one her friends' house who had a dresser to get rid of.  Jill is going to give it a new life at her abode. Ahem, do people not realize I'm needy too? Please someone donate an old dresser to ME? Maybe when she gets sick of it, I'll be next on the list.(cough!) Then we headed back to Jill's house only to discover we forgot to refuel the truck. Sorry Bret but it DID have enough gas to get not only INTO town but back home again. I'm gonna pull the girl card on that one :-D. Time for me to head home after I downed the rest of Bret's sweet tea. I asked for an IV of that stuff but they wouldn't oblige me. Maybe next time. I was pretty much fried by now so I was convinced that a bowl of my coveted rice chex cereal would suffice for dinner. I did get my meat fix at Jill's house too. (How on earth do these two stay skinny - NO fair!) Bret pulled out a dish of fresh jerky and I hoovered like crane over a fish pond. Once they offered, the door was open and I was gettin' ma protein. YUM! I get home and Jennifer is just pulling a freshly frozen pizza out of the oven. I don't care that thing smelled good. I don't know what the heck a "naturally rising crust" is on a frozen pizza but it smelled good. Oh how I LOVE pizza. Seriously. It should be on the food pyramid towards the bottom. Do I just do it, take a benedryl and suffer out the rest. I wouldn't have to cook. Here's the freshly baked frozen circle of torture...



No, I behaved and I reached for my Udi's gluten free and everything else "free" pizza crust I put in the freezer. I can't let that thing mold since I paid $5 for two winky little frozen crusts. These better be good. I've had other Udi products and none of the have disappointed me, but pizza...only Garlic Jim's has made my heart soar when it comes to gluten free. I'm a creature of habit so I grabbed the pizza sauce in the fridge (prob NOT gf free now that I think about it which explains my need to scratch everywhere...ugh!) and slather some on the crust. I had fresh pineapple in the fridge which has been there about 2 weeks (which doesn't make it fresh anymore, does it?) so let's see if we get lucky. Nope, I don't think it's supposed to smell like vinegar. Snap! I love pineapple on my pizza. I guess I'll just suck it up with cheese...shoot, I had alfredo sauce and mushrooms...why the heck didn't I think. For a moment I consider rinsing off the crust. Ok, that's gross. I'll just leave the red and do better next time. I don't have any chicken to accompany the alfredo and shrooms anyhoo. Wait, I have onions. I love onions. I sauteed up some onions, shrooms and tid of garlic. There's my topping. Then I realize I have a Costco size container of grape tomatoes too. Oh this is getting goooood. Let's not leave out the basil...fresh basil mind you. Here she is...


It's not earth movingly pretty but I am just elated that I haven't killed it. And aren't you glad you got the see the nasty lookin' porch that should have been refinished 2 deployments ago. Oh well. You see, I kill plants. I don't mean to, it just happens. I under water, I over water, I put it outside and say "hello God, you said you are the Gardener, so have at it". But this basil, it's special. Last week it didn't have nearly this many new leaves. I bought this before I left for China in April at Trader Joes. Complete impulse buy. I just couldn't pass the smell and beauty and next thing you know it's in my cart. I have slowed down a bit now but I have been eating Caresse Salads for weeks. You can't possibly eat a Caresse salad without fresh basil. It would also look pretty on my pizza. I popped it in the oven for 10 min and it was per-fec-to!


I have to admit, I was a bit worried. Did I just overkill the pizza. I took my first bite. Hail to the no I didn't ruin it!!!! I would have gotten up and danced but Jennifer and I were parked in front of the TV watching an episode of "Numbers". (We can't get to the dining room table since it's loaded with crystal to pack and we like our TV time together.) I mmmmmmmhed enough that she asked for a bite (minus the tomato please Mom). Whateva...the tomatoes are the bomb. More for me! She liked it too but I wasn't going to offer anymore. YOU wanted the $5 frozen junk so have at it...this IS mine :-) Since I am sick of hearing myself "talk" I'll just show you a pic of dessert tonight.



I ate WAY too much. And don't reprimand me for not buying Spooners (a local berry farm). They are a bit spendy and you have to eat them like NOW since they are perfectly ripe when you buy them. I will buy some for the BBQ on Monday. Until then...my belly is about to burst and my eyes are droopy...good night all!

4 comments:

  1. I can so picture you in Fred Meyer, over laden with your goods. This made me smile. xo

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  2. Here is my comment....GOOD JOB!!! Fun to read

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  3. You are a spaz! Love it. I want to be in your next coffee picture.

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  4. Hi... I'm Carolee's friend, so I'm leaving my inaugural comment for you!

    ReplyDelete