Posts filed under ‘Uncategorized’
Soup n Slosh
At the first sight of a snowflake this past Sunday, I did what every respectable ATL-ian did and made a mad dash for the grocery store. The storm wasn’t much of anything – mostly slosh. It’s all gone now. The only thing left of ‘Winter Storm 2009′ is the emergency soup I made.
I’ve been on a bit of a Kale bing so I went for a Portuguese Kale Soup from the Food Network. While the soup is like a Portuguese Caldo, in researching this post (remember research = high journalistic standards and job search avoidance), I learned that both the Scots and German’s are kale people. Apparently, a kale culture has developed in north-western Germany. There, social clubs host a “Grünkohlfahrt” (“kale tour”) in late January, where they consume large quantities of kale, sausage and schnapps. Most communities in the area have a yearly kale festival which includes crowning a “kale king”. I’d love to see that crown.
Dresden’s official Kale King is Dr. Michael Hupe. In addition to holding the Kale King title, Dr Hupe serves as MD of the Dresden Airport and Chair of the Dresden Convention Bureau.
‘(The Revd) Kale King’ is on LinkedIn and just plain Kale King is on Facebook and mySpace. There was an ‘I ♥ Kale King’ sweatshirt on Amazon but it’s been discontinued – oh, drats.
Here’s the recipe. Some cornbread would have been really tasty with it but a diva can only spend so long in the kitchen.
It was tastier today than when I made it yesterday. I’d award it a ‘yum, yum, yu’ (or 2 ½ yums out of a possible yum, yum, yum)
Portuguese Kale Soup
Adapted from the Food Network website/Gertrude’s Gallery
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
- 1/2 cup diced onions - I don’t believe in them
- 1/2 diced turnips - the recipe didn’t specify a ½ of what so I assumed ½ cup but I pretty much went with 1 cup of all the veg plus the whole bunch of kale
- 1/2 cup diced carrots
- 1 bunch kale, stemmed and roughly chopped
- 6 ounces chopped chourico (spicy Portuguese sausage), or chorizo – I went with veggie sausage. I’m ok buying meat sausage at Whole Foods but couldn’t pull the trigger on it at the Kroger
- 3 bay leaves
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves – I passed on the parsley
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
- 6 cups beef stock
- 1 cup kidney beans – I drained
- 6 ounces diced tomatoes
- 10 ounces diced potatoes – I went with Sweet Potato – bumped it up to a cup or so
Method
In a large stock pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, onions, turnips and carrots and cook for 5 minutes. Add the kale, chourico, bay leaves, parsley and thyme and mix well. Add the beef stock, beans and tomatoes. Bring the soup to a boil, and then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, bring salted water to a boil and add the diced potatoes. Cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain the potatoes and add them to the soup.
Remove the bay leaves and serve hot.
A Diva is born
My Big Brothers, Big Sisters, Little sister (I’ll call her Lil T) and I were matched when she was an adorable little 7 year old. She’ll be 13 this weekend – leap day to be exact. It’s been an amazing experience – I’ve gotten just as much, if not more, out of the relationship than she has.
Outings were much easier when she was younger. She loved Puppet shows and Disney movies. Now that she is in the tween/teen years, it’s hard to find age-appropriate outings. Mostly, we get our nails done, go to brunch or see Madea movies.
Last Sunday, I was cramming for the Oscars. Benjamin Button was the only remaining Best Picture Nomination on my list. She agreed to go for one reason only – Brad Pitt. The movie was playing at Phipps Plaza – the ‘posher’ mall in the town. She’d never been to Phipps. I parked so that we could walk through Saks on our way to the movie. As soon as we walked in the door, her eyes got big and she went ga-ga. She especially loved the shoes and purses. She kept commenting how they were the real deal – not the fake ones. It opened up a whole new world for her.
In the 6 years we’ve been together, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen her so excited. She’s a huge Hillary Clinton fan so last year I took her to meet Hillary. She even had her photo taken with her shero – but walking through Phipps Plaza was right up there with Hillary on the excitement list.
Some might criticize the adventure for being materialistic or cruel for showing her things her family could never afford but I tried to make it a life lesson by repeating over and over, ‘if you do well in school and work hard, you can shop here’. As all girls do when they get excited, she whipped out her phone and started texting her friends.
She fell asleep during the really long movie. As she was groggily waking up, the first words out of her mouth were ‘where are the coach bags?”
So yes Lil T, it’s true, you can be anything you want when you grow up – even President or Phipps Princess.
Demand accountability and transparency at Gaytona.com
Has Betty Jack DeVine lost her mind? Logo by Arge
Every year Betty Jack DeVne over at Gaytona.com names her ‘DeVine 9 1/2′ fantasy NASCAR team. This year’s team has some very suspicious (and frankly alarming) members.
A few of the questionable entries include:
Reed Sorenson - We know that BJ DeVine added him because, since he is from GA, she’s afraid that she might run into him at the Walmart and it would be awkward if he wasn’t on the list, but is he even old enough to drive? Does he have to wait for his mama to come pick him up after every race?
Ryan Newman – please – he’s only there cause BJ likes a man with a fancy College Degree. Did she even look at him? He’s a total dough boy – too wide to even climb in and out of the car window.
Tony Stewart – Yes, he is cute, but with the bad economy can his sponsor, Office Depot, afford to put gas in his car ?
Mark Martin – Does BJD really need ANOTHER sugar daddy? Isn’t there a legal limit on how many a girl can have?
We have formed a committee to demand full disclosure regarding the questionable selections to this year’s list.
Why Do We Care?
We, the ‘Real Americans Against Gaytona.com‘ or ‘RAAG‘, are most concerned about BJ’s health and welfare. We have reason to believe that either her posse of hot young interns or her team attorneys (or both) may be keeping her so liquored up as to impair her judgement.
If not that, then she has totally sold out to corporate interests.
Who is the Committee?
The RAAG committee consists of:
- Big Daddy D – aka BDD. BDD works in the NASCAR promotions industry and has a personal vendetta against BJD for not naming his driver, Clint ‘Cute Boy’ Bowyer, to this year’s list. Big Daddy D is 100% motivated by $$$$. We can’t say which sponsor is his employer but we’ll give you a hint – it’s not Hamburger Helper or Cometic Casket.
- Down and Out Diva – aka DAOD – could care less about NASCAR but lives to community organize and will adopt any cause to avoid her job search.
- Mr T – aka Mr T – Does whatever BDD and DAOD say as long as there are cocktails involved.
What can you do to help ?
- Watch this space for details of the upcoming protest at of Gaytona.com World HQ. We’ll be holding a sign making party in advance of the big rally.
- Join our facebook group – which we may get around to creating soon.
- Become a corporate sponsor. Fees are negotiable.
- Sign the online petition at DAATAG – By signing the petition you may be eligible to win a free sample of herbal teas.
Click here to sign the petition
Join our movement – together we can being about change to the Gay NASCAR industry.
Logo by Arge at www.argeart.com
It’s Toddlers & Tiaras Tuesday
TLC’s Toddlers and Tiara’s airs Tuesday’s at 10 pm EST.
Ain’t nothing but a train wreck but everyone has to have one reality show guilty pleasure.
Last week’s episode, Week 2: Miss Georgia Spirit, happened to be in my very own home state. It’s everything you hoped for. I need good karma so I won’t hate on it out loud except to say I think there’s a real opportunity for software automation in the beauty pageant scoring business.
Tonight appears to be a repeat of Week 1: Universal Royalty State Pageant in Austin, TX. Next week’s episode on Feb 17th will feature The Chitlin Strut in SC.
Week 1′s episode is on YouTube but the Miss GA Spirit episode is no where to be found yet. The best I can do is share the trailer:
Curried Cauliflower Causes Crazy Dreams
Bill & The Godfather of Soul prepare curried cauliflower soup in the graceland kitchen
I chose the curried cauliflower soup recipe for one reason only – it called for coconut cream thus allowing me to feed my cc addiction (hush now – cc stands for coconut cream) .
Ooooh that smell, Can’t you smell that smell
My hopes were high while I made the soup. The turmeric, cumin and curry spices induced flash-backs of a high-rise I’d visited many times during GOTV. While the building was a bit spooky, the voters were so enthusiastic. Many were Ethiopian immigrants who would be voting for the first time as new US Citizens. The most amazing, mouth-watering cooking smells drifted up and down the halls. Maybe it was because of my fondness for the place that I doubled (or was it tripled?) the soup’s spices.
The soup was pretty weak – way too thin (girls, it looks like it is possible to be too thin after all). I wasn’t going to post about the soup as it didn’t deserve a single ‘yum’ on the ‘yum, yum, yum’ scale but it did lead to a crazy dream last night.
Crazy Curried Cauliflower Dreams
My dream took place in my friend, Helen McNeilson’s parents’ old kitchen. That’s not her real name but is the fake name she has used since childhood. When we were little, the Godfather of Soul and his trusted lieutenant came to her house one cold Christmas. Legend has it that the hardest working man in show business spent a few hours playing pool with her dad who had befriended him before he became The Godfather of Soul. At some point he asked the godfather and his band mate about their families. They replied ‘Oh, they’re all out in the car waiting on us.’ The whole entourage was promptly invited inside for a few more hours of fun.
In my dream, the kitchen was exactly as it had been in the 70s. You know the kind of kitchen I’m talking about - linoleum floor, harvest gold counter-tops, avocado appliances. This time, my BFF Bill Clinton (afterall, we did “share” a stage together) came for a visit. As with all parties, we ended up in the kitchen. We charmed Bill with our wit, intelligence and natural beauty. Right before he left, Bill visited the loo. After his departure, Helen’s mum discovered that Bill had graffiti-ed his name all over the bathroom walls. Of course, she wasn’t pissed (pun intended).
Why visions of Bill?
I did a dream search for dreams about Bill Clinton but there is no known interpretation. I’m thinking it was Hillary’s fault. At her official swearing in yesterday, while Bill was standing right behind her beaming with pride, she got up and made jokes about him.
PS – this post is no way meant to judge the band Lynard Skynard, my friend Helen McNeilson, the godfather of soul, his band mate, their families, Bill or Hillary Clinton or their relationship. It’s only meant to make fun of me.
Beaking news just off the Chicken Wire
More chicken news from the ATL this week.
First, an AJC article on the increase in the metro area of backyard chicken farming. Then, Stephen Colbert’s report on the national chicken wing crisis.
All this on the heels (no pun intended) of my Chicken Paw Chase post. Is this a sign from God? Was I meant to be a poultry princess after all?
Chickens are Trendy
This week’s AJC featured Andy Schneider, the “Chicken Whisperer” of John’s Creek, who started the Atlanta Pet Chicken MeetUp.org group, to help metro residents learn how to raise chickens in their backyard, garage or on the deck. Membership has grown to 284 members in less than nine months.
National Chicken Wing Crisis
Last night, Stephen Colbert interviewed Richard Lobb, National Chicken Council spokesperson, regarding The Nation’s critical Chicken Wing shortage. Stephen calls for the immediate release of the national chicken wing reserves prior to this Sunday’s superbowl.
Lobb, who was interviewed from Atlanta, appears about 3.30 min in.
Don’t forget to Vote
This time you don’t have to stand in line, you can vote online, there are no photo id requirements and you don’t even have to be a US citizen.
The 2009 Bloggies
The Ninth Annual Webblog awards (the Bloggies) are open for voting thru Feb 2, 2009. The Bloggies are the Web’s longest-running blog awards, and the nominations, finalist selection, and votes are all determined by blog readers. (more…)
Have you done something to your hair?
I’ve heard the chatter, I’ve seen it on the Internets. LeapDontLookers from across the globe have been asking ‘Why does this page keep changing? Well, it’s true that a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing.
I liked the original WordPress theme, ‘Cutline’, because it was a two-column, minimalistic theme which allowed for a custom header. I liked the width of the text column. The only thing I didn’t like was that the header took up too much space and couldn’t easily be resized. Maybe it was a vanity thing (I am a Leo afterall) but I didn’t like seeing so much of me splashed across the screen.
It’s a long, sad story but I managed to muck up the HTML in a way that caused the font of my archived posts to be
(more…)
I spy Spring?
Curbside Blooms
While out running, I spied these paperwhites blooming along my street. I see them forced bloomed indoors this time of year (mostly in sad looking boxes by the Target or Home Depot check out counter) but didn’t realize they can bloom outdoors this early. Thought they might be a sign that spring is on it’s way.
Checked it out on ‘The Googles’ and what do you know – they can bloom around the holiday season. Guess that means at least 6 more weeks of bedroom slippers, flannel pjs and a house full of spaceheaters for me.
Happy New Gnome 2009
I've been gnomed (again)
This cute little guy appeared in my garden sometime after New Year’s Eve. The gnoming started four years ago when I came home in the wee hours of New Year’s Day to find gnome number 1 standing proudly atop the front porch gate. Being gnomed whilst buzzed is pretty surreal.
Every year since, a new gnome shows up in my garden sometime around New Year’s. I actually have a tribe of 5 big guys now – I got gnomed twice one year (New Year’s and later – maybe Valentine’s ?- I can’t remember anymore). Two or three miniature gnomes appeared along the way but I don’t officially recognize them as I suspect they were left by copycat gnomers. (more…)
Maybe Monday’s aren’t so bad afterall
Overachieving
Tuesday was the two week anniversary of the runoff. I didn’t get past the 1st item on my to do list that day. But, I did manage to finish 20 or so holiday cards before I ran out of stock. Figure 400% of goal makes up for not getting to the other items on the list.
The cards are cheapos from the target. They have glitter which comes off all over the place as I’m signing/addressing them. Glitter is everywhere – all over the house and me. I’m feeling a bit like the queen of the glitter disco.
Baby Steps
Met 3 out of 4 goals yesterday:
- Finished 5 holiday cards – even mailed them. At this rate, I’ll be done by Valentines
- Bathed
- Green food – ate a salad
Didn’t make yoga. It was my neighbor’s fault. He needed a ride to get his car from the shop. Traffic was horrible cause of the Hawks game. It wore me out. I needed a nap when I got home a little after 7 pm. Woke up about 7:45. Plenty of time to get the two miles to yoga by 8 pm but there was no way I could leave right in the middle of ET’s countdown of the most interesting stars of 2008. Who could have guessed Britney Spears would take the honor?
What to do after you’ve saved the world?
Still trying to figure out what to do with my life.
The cold, gray winter isn’t helping. Here’s my daily routine since Dec 3rd:
- Noon - stumble out of bed
- Noon – 1 ish – Inhale coffee and holiday baking that wasn’t fit to give away
- 2 or 3 pm – Lunch – includes more leftover baking
- 7 pm ish – nap
- 8 pm ish – Dinner - more leftover baking
- 1 or 2 am – watch OnDemand – I’ve finished all of this season’s Entourage and True Blood episodes.
- 3 am ish – go to bed
Daily goals for this week (in no particular order):
- Finish at least 5 holiday cards
- Bathe
- Eat something green
- Yoga – I managed to get myself to class 1 day last week but, by the time I got there, class was full.
What’s Next?
It’s been a week since we lost the US Senate runoff. We worked really hard but just couldn’t motivate our base to go back to the polls. As my BFF Bill Clinton said, the side who wants it the most will win. Our side got the big prize in November so they didn’t have a reason to go back. The other side saw it as a way to stop the bleeding. Big Daddy said it himself when he vowed to be a firewall.
It was a tough three weeks but another great experience. The Obama volunteers who came from all over the country to help were inspiring and full of promise. The events were the best – getting to speak at the Clinton Rally, hearing Donna Brazile, John Lewis, and Bennie Thompson fire up the troops at Morris Brown, having John Conyers in the house and seeing Jim Martin on stage with Luda, TI and Young Jeezy. That had to be the coolest rally ever.
I have no idea what is in store for me next. I’d originally given myself 6 months to sort it all out. Here I am almost 5 months in and I don’t have a clue what to do next.
I don’t think I learned anything radically new about myself from volunteering – only confirmed things I already knew like – I am able to lead others, I’ll always work hard (even when I’m not getting paid), I need to be passionate about my work, I hate mornings.
Given the economy, it’s a scary time to be looking for work but nothing seems very appealing to me. Community organizing doesn’t pay enough money and IT work seems so boring. I could do another short term thing (like peace corps or teaching english abroad) but that’s only delaying the decision – what am I going to be when I grow up?
I was lucky in that the volunteer jobs sort of came to me - now I think I have to go search for something. In the meantime, I’m doing what I know best - catching up on my sleep, getting up to date on facials/manicure/pedicures, channeling my grandmother baking for the holidays and buying lottery tickets.
Thanksgiving 2008
The last two weeks have been mad.
We are power campaigning for the US Senate runoff. An Obama army has descended on our red state to help elect Jim Martin to the US Senate. I’m continuing to volunteer – this time as a field organizer for two Atlanta City Council Districts. There isn’t much time to build up an organization so the dishes and the mail are starting to pile up again.
Last week I was asked to share my volunteer story at the Clinton Rally for Jim Martin at Clark Atlanta. There were a couple of thousand people in the crowd and TONS of media. I was so nervous that I didn’t sleep for two days prior to the event but once I got on stage I was fine. Loved every minute of it. Clinton was hours late. I had to get back to phone bank so, in the end, I didn’t even get to see him. I heard he was great.
Here are a few shots of Bill and me speaking http://www.flickr.com/photos/jcknight/sets/72157609555311486/ . Our Nov 4th Election Day photos are also posted at this flickr page.
We are taking today off then start again early Friday with the final push to the election.
Here are three things that you can do to help us win a Blue Seat in a Red State:
1. Vote for Jim Martin on December 2nd.
2. Get others to vote for Jim Martin. You can contact people who are on your phone and email lists and remind them about the runoff and get them out to vote. Or, come out to 130 Krog St Unit A from Nov 29 – Dec 2nd to help us knock on doors or call target voters.
3. Give a little green stuff to the Martin campaign. You can donate on-line with this easy link, http://www.actblue.com/page/turngeorgiablueredux
I’m so Thankful for all that I have experienced over the last 4 months. I wouldn’t have traded this experience for anything. I know the best is yet to come.
Happy Thanksgiving.
1080 Spring St changed my life
The election is over. It’s been an amazing experience. The campaign was all about stories. Now I have thousands. I’m overjoyed that we won the nation but disappointed we didn’t win GA (though we were able to close the gap from 2004 considerably).
The organization was incredible. The tools made it possible for someone like me with no campaign experience to pull off the GOTV for three target precincts. Our staging location on Krog St had such good energy. Over 200 volunteers walked thru the doors of that one location from Friday – Tuesday.
On Sat pm before the election, my cell phone rang for a live conference call with Barack Obama. So what that there were 20,000 other volunteers on the call, it was a brilliant way to rally the troops.
I’ve been binging on champagne, chocolate and sleep since Wed. I have to sober up by Monday so we can get to work on the US Sen runoff.
My voter
On election day, I’ll be coordinating the get out the vote efforts for three voting precincts. One of my precincts includes the Auburn Avenue historic district including the King Center, Ebenezer Baptist Church, MLK’s birth home and his burial crypt. I can’t think of a more moving place to spend this historic day.
While going thru my list of target voters last night, I came across a 102 year old African American Woman. She registered to vote in 1959. The first thing I did after noticing her name on my list was google the obituaries to make sure she hadn’t passed. Fortunately, no hits.
Reconnecting
Yesterday, I attended a funeral for a college friend’s mum. It really struck me that I haven’t been there for my friends. If I’d still been working, I’d never have gone to the service. Something at work would have seemed more important. I’m very grateful for this time out. It is allowing me to do the things I really enjoy and reconnect with the people who are most important.
You always hear about people who work their bums off for 40 years so they can retire to live out their dream life then drop dead the next day. I know that I’ll have to go back to work at some point and will probably fall back into my old ways but I’ll have had this time. Sort of like having your dessert before the main course.
