So when I lived at home I discovered these...things. I don't know what they are or what they are even made of. They are some sort of Mexican food and the only place I've ever seen them is at Shop 'N Kart in Chehalis where they sell all sorts of Mexican and Hispanic foods. They are hard and orange when you buy them, rather like an uncooked noodle, incredibly cheap and the only way I've known how to cook them is to pop them in a bowl in the microwave for a few seconds, and they puff up into a crunchy, light snack. They are rather like those onion ring chips that you can buy, really light and crunchy but without the onion flavor.
So a couple of months ago I was at home visiting my family and we ended up at Shop 'N Kart so of course I had to get some. After buying a whole bag, I remembered that I don't have a microwave (Aaron thinks they are evil). So they've been sitting in the cupboard for a while. So today I thought I'd have a go at cooking them. I'm sure there is another way to serve them besides microwaved, so I've just boiled some water and put in a handful to see what happens. Probably should go check on them...
Well they have been in about two minutes and appear to be softening some, so maybe they are a sort of noodle. They smell like cooking rice, and I've always sort of suspected they were made out of rice since they taste somewhat like rice cakes with a different texture. But with the orange color they must have carrot or something in them too. The weird thing is that when they are microwaved they lose their color completely and come out a light beige color, almost white. But with boiling they appear to be keeping their orange.
They are definitely cooking much like rice, with the same smell and a bit of foam on top of the water (which is turning a lovely shade of orange!). I'm going to let them boil a couple more minutes and then try eating one. I wish I knew what they were called so I could Google them! Perhaps "orange cartwheel rice noodles" would do the trick. Let's see...
Nope. Just lots of recipes for things with oranges and rice. Not sure where the cartwheel comes into that though...
Well, they seemed to have softened up some so I'm going to try one...
Um. Weird! First off, it's not really soft at all yet. Still very chewy in the middle. It's got this weird ricey, almost smoky flavor but with a hint of a nasty aftertaste that I'm not a big fan of. Perhaps with some sauce they could be improved. They are so good just out of the microwave! I'm going to boil the rest a little longer until they are actually cooked and try them again. Maybe they're just a little old, since they have been on my shelf for quite a while...
AH HA!!!! After some serious Google work I found them! They are called chicharrones de harina and they are just flour and fat...apparently you are supposed to fry them, not boil them! Ok, next blog: Frying Chicharrones de Harina!
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Interesting people and UFO's
So since I am having trouble coming up with something to blog about out of my sometimes incredibly boring life, so I thought I might share with you a few of my more amusing stories of the interesting people I meet at work (and I'm not even talking about my co-workers!). I would to preface this by saying that in the event that these people have actual social or mental disabilities, that I am sorry for them and that I hope they get the help they need. I am not sharing this to ridicule them or even to make fun of them but simply because these stories amused me and I wanted to share them for the amusement of others. I am grateful for the interesting people that I meet on a day to day basis at my job because they counteract all of the jerks and idiots.
Also, I would like to point out that often times people of lower incomes or means are looked down upon and assumed to be dangerous, jerks, or terrible people but in my almost three year experience working customer service, I have found that generally they are kind, considerate and polite, while the real jerks are the rich or middle class snobs with two and a half kids who assume they are entitled to the world and view me as a robot sent to aid them in their every whim rather than an actual person. But back to the story.
So this first incident occurred about four or five months ago. Legion had just come out and a gentleman came in looking for it. He was probably about forty, nicely dressed and clean-shaven, and while probably not wealthy, he certainly wasn't homeless. We were all rented out of our copies and he asked me if I could suggest a similar movie. Legion is about an army of angels sent from heaven to destroy the earth, and since I generally do not watch movies like that, as they don't interest me much, I was having trouble coming up with a similar title. While I was thinking, the customer suddenly said, "That's true, you know." I was a bit confused and it must have showed, for he followed it up by saying, "I have a friend who can look through his night vision goggles and see the angels fighting in heaven." He stated this as though it was a well known but interesting fact. I must have raised my eyebrows slightly as I nodded, a bit taken a back. I changed the subject back to movies, since I didn't know what else to say after that statement. After a minute or two, he very conversationally said, "I saw my first UFO last year!" just as someone would say, "I got to go to the Grand Canyon," or something. I said, "Oh...really?" trying not to be rude but really not knowing what to say. He went on to say, "Yeah, I was down in the Arizona desert, looking for some, and suddenly there it was! It was hovering above the desert and I was all by myself that night so I used my brain waves to communicate telepathically with the aliens and I told them to come back the next night so that I could bring my friend out. They said they would, so the next night I came back with my friend and they came back and he got to see them too!"
I nodded and said, "Oh cool!" as though he were talking about a normal vacation, and he thanked me very politely and left. I have met a few people who have thought they could talk to aliens but most of them were completely nuts. He seemed totally normal, coherent and intelligent, so who knows? Maybe he was telling the truth?
Also, I would like to point out that often times people of lower incomes or means are looked down upon and assumed to be dangerous, jerks, or terrible people but in my almost three year experience working customer service, I have found that generally they are kind, considerate and polite, while the real jerks are the rich or middle class snobs with two and a half kids who assume they are entitled to the world and view me as a robot sent to aid them in their every whim rather than an actual person. But back to the story.
So this first incident occurred about four or five months ago. Legion had just come out and a gentleman came in looking for it. He was probably about forty, nicely dressed and clean-shaven, and while probably not wealthy, he certainly wasn't homeless. We were all rented out of our copies and he asked me if I could suggest a similar movie. Legion is about an army of angels sent from heaven to destroy the earth, and since I generally do not watch movies like that, as they don't interest me much, I was having trouble coming up with a similar title. While I was thinking, the customer suddenly said, "That's true, you know." I was a bit confused and it must have showed, for he followed it up by saying, "I have a friend who can look through his night vision goggles and see the angels fighting in heaven." He stated this as though it was a well known but interesting fact. I must have raised my eyebrows slightly as I nodded, a bit taken a back. I changed the subject back to movies, since I didn't know what else to say after that statement. After a minute or two, he very conversationally said, "I saw my first UFO last year!" just as someone would say, "I got to go to the Grand Canyon," or something. I said, "Oh...really?" trying not to be rude but really not knowing what to say. He went on to say, "Yeah, I was down in the Arizona desert, looking for some, and suddenly there it was! It was hovering above the desert and I was all by myself that night so I used my brain waves to communicate telepathically with the aliens and I told them to come back the next night so that I could bring my friend out. They said they would, so the next night I came back with my friend and they came back and he got to see them too!"
I nodded and said, "Oh cool!" as though he were talking about a normal vacation, and he thanked me very politely and left. I have met a few people who have thought they could talk to aliens but most of them were completely nuts. He seemed totally normal, coherent and intelligent, so who knows? Maybe he was telling the truth?
Sunday, October 3, 2010
28 days 'til NaNo
So since we're on the final month before NaNoWriMo, I figured maybe I need to start working out the details, or some of them, of my book. Some people write with no structure, some people write with every detail planned in advance, and I am somewhere in the middle. I have to plan enough that when I get to the difficult to write scenes, I know where I'm going with it, where I need to get to, and this lets me push through to the next important part. With no structure, or not enough structure, I get to this point and either go way off track, changing the entire direction of my book, or give up, because I can't figure out how to get where I want my book to end up.
But, on the flipside, I don't stick to a plan religiously. My outlines usually involve a four or five word heading summing up each chapter or so, with fifteen or so chapters per novel. Within each heading are two or three one or two word bullet points reminding me what to include within that subject. But while I'm writing, I'll usually think of more things to put in and include those, and also realize that some things no longer work or make sense, and leave those out. I also rewrite the outline while I'm working on the book, adding things in later in the book that I'll need to put in based on what I'm currently writing.
This novel is somewhat of a new challenge for me in a couple of ways. This will be my third novel over all and about my four-billionth story, so I have some precedence to work on. But this will be my first time writing a first person story from the perspective of a man. Also, when I'm coming up with ideas for books, I generally come up with some details, or specific story ideas that I want to include and then build a book around it. With this one, I came up with a very general idea, and and working on the specifics at the moment, which is somewhat backwards from my usual. So it is somewhat difficult for me, but also exciting.
I'm also working on creating some very dynamic characters for this story, since I think character sympathy is going to be very important for the movement of the story. Characters are always my weak point and I find it hard to avoid stereotypes when creating characters.
Another challenge/opportunity that I'm taking is that I'm creating this book as though the basis for the story was a national/international story, well known, and now the main person involved is writing the book from his perspective. So that's a bit different from just a regular novel. But I'm excited and am trying to work out some of the middle filler to get me from A to B. I'll keep you posted!
But, on the flipside, I don't stick to a plan religiously. My outlines usually involve a four or five word heading summing up each chapter or so, with fifteen or so chapters per novel. Within each heading are two or three one or two word bullet points reminding me what to include within that subject. But while I'm writing, I'll usually think of more things to put in and include those, and also realize that some things no longer work or make sense, and leave those out. I also rewrite the outline while I'm working on the book, adding things in later in the book that I'll need to put in based on what I'm currently writing.
This novel is somewhat of a new challenge for me in a couple of ways. This will be my third novel over all and about my four-billionth story, so I have some precedence to work on. But this will be my first time writing a first person story from the perspective of a man. Also, when I'm coming up with ideas for books, I generally come up with some details, or specific story ideas that I want to include and then build a book around it. With this one, I came up with a very general idea, and and working on the specifics at the moment, which is somewhat backwards from my usual. So it is somewhat difficult for me, but also exciting.
I'm also working on creating some very dynamic characters for this story, since I think character sympathy is going to be very important for the movement of the story. Characters are always my weak point and I find it hard to avoid stereotypes when creating characters.
Another challenge/opportunity that I'm taking is that I'm creating this book as though the basis for the story was a national/international story, well known, and now the main person involved is writing the book from his perspective. So that's a bit different from just a regular novel. But I'm excited and am trying to work out some of the middle filler to get me from A to B. I'll keep you posted!
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Jesse
Aaron and I went to Petco today and each got a fish to put in the two fish bowls Aaron had. I got a goldfish, which I named Jesse after Jessica Watson. She's a pretty little orange fish and seems very happy in her new little home.
Aaron got a dark blue Betta which he said he was just going to call "Fishy," but after I complained that that wasn't a real name, he decided on Midnight, which suits him well. They each have their own little home and I'm pretty excited about it.
Aaron got a dark blue Betta which he said he was just going to call "Fishy," but after I complained that that wasn't a real name, he decided on Midnight, which suits him well. They each have their own little home and I'm pretty excited about it.
Friday, October 1, 2010
Happy Birthday!
Also, happy birthday to my little sister Laura who is 17 today! Hard to believe they are all growing up so fast!
Nutella
I just recently rediscovered Nutella. I was at Bartell's the other day and saw that they had it on sale and I remembered that the few times I had had it in the past, I enjoyed it very much, so I bought some again and have been devowering it.
So tasty and filling! I love it on bread but I'm going to try it on some toast I think soon. The best part is that Aaron doesn't like it (weirdo!) so I don't have to worry about waking up in the morning and finding that he's eaten it all! LOL
That's all, just had to share.
So tasty and filling! I love it on bread but I'm going to try it on some toast I think soon. The best part is that Aaron doesn't like it (weirdo!) so I don't have to worry about waking up in the morning and finding that he's eaten it all! LOL
That's all, just had to share.
Ink it Pink
During the month of October, Sharpie is sponsoring a project called Ink it Pink. All you have to do is to find a pink Sharpie, sign your name on something and upload it to http://showcase.sharpieuncapped.com/pages/sharpieinkitpink?t=inkitpink and one dollar with be donated to City of Hope for breast cancer research. It's easy to do, fun and for a good cause!
I decided to do it, so first I had to track down a pink Sharpie, so I dug around through all our pens and pencils, most of which don't work, and couldn't find one. So I went to Rite Aid and they didn't carry pink ones so I went to QFC and found them there (on sale!). I thought I would be original and unique and sign it on my arm instead of a piece of paper, kind of like To Write Love on Her Arms, but when I did that, it was too light and didn't turn out at all. I tried taking a picture of it, but you couldn't tell it was my arm, and you just couldn't see the signature very well. So I finally gave in and just signed it on a piece of paper. I just uploaded my signature and I urge you to do so as well!
I decided to do it, so first I had to track down a pink Sharpie, so I dug around through all our pens and pencils, most of which don't work, and couldn't find one. So I went to Rite Aid and they didn't carry pink ones so I went to QFC and found them there (on sale!). I thought I would be original and unique and sign it on my arm instead of a piece of paper, kind of like To Write Love on Her Arms, but when I did that, it was too light and didn't turn out at all. I tried taking a picture of it, but you couldn't tell it was my arm, and you just couldn't see the signature very well. So I finally gave in and just signed it on a piece of paper. I just uploaded my signature and I urge you to do so as well!
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