gansie

by gansie

When Even Mac and Cheese Won’t Do the Trick

There was no amount of delicious mac and cheese that could comfort me.

Like everyone else, I can’t stop watching and reading the news coverage of the shooting in Tuscon.

At quarter to seven last night, my boyfriend and I decided we didn’t have time to head to the grocery store before the 8pm memorial/rally. Eager to hear Obama, we eyed our emptying shelves. We saw a box of Easy Mac. But I refused. Next door to the fake-cheese, however, led us to inspiration: a box of rigatoni.

And at that moment, I didn’t care that we spent 10 dollars for a slight wedge of brie-like goat cheese at the farmers’ market, we were using it, goddamnit, to make our own mac and cheese.

In a mad dash, 80P grabbed the grater, I found shallots and garlic and we started prepping. The mac and cheese finished moments before Arizona State opened its stage.

While I may have found it difficult to eat while crying over Christina-Taylor Green, I noticed that my creamy pasta was delicious.

Three Internet Phenomenons You Probably Don’t Need to Know About

1. Men Laughing While Eating Fruit Salad

I actually don’t think fruit salad is funny. In fact, I hate fruit salad. It’s this big soggy mess and all of the different kinds of fruit just end up tasting like each other. Who wants to eat a brown, citrus-infused banana? Anyway, apparently all of these dudes find this vitamin C filled bowl fodder for a good chuckle. Who am I to deny their joy?

(Collage by Endless Simmer; Photos from BuzzFeed)

2. Eva Longoria Scantily Poses to Save Restaurant

This probably isn’t a phenomenon at all. But girl’s gotta do something to save her failing Vegas restaurant, Beso.

(Photo: @EvaLongoria)

The Evolution of the Reusable Tote

It’s comparing presents time. 80P and I just got back from our long winter break, bringing back to the apartment new jackets (him), cardigans (me, although I really wish he would cave to that trend!) Converse sneakers (him), over-the-knee boots (me), and for both of us, a Blu-Ray player (thanks 80P’s parents!)

As we took a couple hours to put everything away, I noticed a most adorable Whole Foods reusable tote bag. 80P’s mom filled it with gifts of sake. But it was no ordinary tote – there are interior dividers, morphing the bag into a reusable 6-pack container.

In fact, could there be more totes going on right now? DC charges per use of plastic bag (and gives the proceeds to the Anacostia River Protection Fund) so you will see plenty of shoppers lugging totes around to not only the farmers’ markets, but to grocery stores as well. But I’ve yet to see a clever upgrade of the tote. And as the girlfriend of a boy that is always bring a mixed-beer pack to friends’ houses, I’m excited by this development.

And while claims exist about reusable totes’ unsanitary qualities, this must be better for our lives than all that darn plastic.

in Drinks 7 comments

by gansie

Burns My Bacon: Cold Lettuce on Warm Sandwiches

Exhibit A: Fried egg and provolone cheese hoagie with tomato, onions and…iceberg lettuce from Atlantic City’s White House Sub Shop.

Hot sandwiches should contain only ingredients that can taste good while hot or when turning limp from the warmth. I think spinach, arugula or a mesclun mix works well in warm sandwiches because they maintain their dignity when wilted. Iceberg lettuce, however, just turns soggy and gross. Iceberg lettuce is used for crunch and crunch alone.

There’s no real flavor living in those leaves, so when you put iceberg lettuce in a warm sandwich that dissolves its crunch, it leaves the lettuce totally useless. Iceberg then only takes up space which could otherwise be filled with warm sandwich-friendly ingredients, such as roasted red peppers, mushrooms and pickles.

in Rants & Raves / Restaurants / Sandwich 7 comments

by gansie