Make It Happen

Cherry Cobbler

I picked up some cherries at the Gwinnett International Farmer's Market ($1.99 / lb! cheap!) last weekend, but never got around to eating them during the week...

So I pitted them & macerated in Kirschvasser and powdered vanilla extract, then made a cobbler.

It's just a basic recipe: 1 Cup sugar, 1 cup flour, 3/4 cup milk; 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder & a half teaspoon of salt, mixed into a batter... pour over 1 stick melted butter in a 9x13 pan and top with a minimum of 2 cups of fruit.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until GBD.

Here's a closer view, so you can - in the words of another cooking friend - "Lust after my food, you cretins" :)

Well, maybe you could if the pictures were better. 

Great Korean restaurant in Duluth: Honey Pig

My daughter & I went out to Honey Pig, a Korean restaurant in Duluth, GA this past Saturday… it was really fun!

We ordered sliced pork belly, which was cooked on a dome grill at the table along with kimchee, soy sprouts, onions and a couple of mushrooms. It came with lettuce, rice cake and daikon slices as wrappers; relishes included a marinated lettuce situation, pickled onions, miso paste, sesame oil and chili paste. We also got their signature “Honey Pig” dish, which was delish as well.

At the end of the meal, they took all the stuff we didn’t finish and made it into fried rice to take home.

Yummy food; high tech service (push a button if you need the waiter; it buzzes them like on an airplane); very clean; reasonably priced and fab bathroom with a bidet, no less...

Big tip of the hat to the Blissful Glutton blog, where I found out about this place!

What I love about eBay

I love the absolute glory of commerce, and the survival of the fittest, that is eBay.   

Hundreds of thousands - maybe even millions - of things for sale.  Sellers' skills in describing their offerings, the competitiveness of their pricing, and their ability to "think like a customer" (use relevant keywords, offer good pictures & detailed descriptions, etc.) all determine whether they'll be successful or not.   

Buyers have to actually pay for what they bought before it gets shipped out to them.  And if they're especially stupid, and don't read the whole description, they can buy something that wasn't what they thought it was... and too bad for them, nobody's going to wipe the tears from their eyes and protect them from the consequences of their laziness.  You didn't read the description, and you didn't realize you were bidding on a PICTURE of a plasma TV, not the TV itself?  Sorry.  Item was exactly the way it was described - you bought it.  Did you really think you were gonna get something worth $3,000 for $3.00?

Consequences for everyone are nearly instant.  Did you bid, but not pay? Bad feedback for you, buyer, and no product either.  Did you lie about what you were selling?  Bad feedback and maybe have the money returned to the buyer (depending on how they paid).  Make no effort as a buyer?  Some other bidder will "snipe" your bargain - stealing it away with a pennies higher bid at the last second.   Make no effort as a seller?  No one bids.

Bid wisely, pay promptly, and buy from sellers with positive (more than 96 rating) feedback - and you can find bargains galore; delights not commonly seen in your local mega-mall.    As a seller, list a full description, provide plenty of photos, ship promptly, and you can clear out your clutter while making some cash.

The system isn't perfect.  But by golly, it's good.

Costumes so far: 2 versions of a Dragon

I'm going to DragonCon this year, and I just couldn't be more excited about it if I tried :)  I've been working on costumes (not sewing, just finding and compiling elements into the overall theories in my head)

costume 1: long black tulle ballskirt, black lace t-shirt, black waist cincher, Dragon (ok, some might say they’re more demonesque) wings, wig, horns, tail, sterling silver talons on the left hand. Probably a half-face black mask as well.

costume 2: knee length black patent leather half-circle skirt; black lace t-shirt, red & black patent waist cincher, dragon wings, tail, the same talons… think of it like the dragon changed clothes, but the core elements are the same.

costume 3: Not sure yet. Could continue on with the dragon theme; if I did, I’d probably go with a waltz length petticoat and not sure what on top yet. I could wear my full length Underworld / Matrix reminiscent leather coat dress, but I would probably die of the heat.

Still, serious costuming progress is occuring :) We like that!

See more progress on: go to dragon*con