Archive for June, 2008
I know I’m always preaching about the evils of over-consumerism and buying things for the sake of spending money, but you see, I really have a need for a new camera at the moment.
Having a new baby necessitates this fact. In the six months since my son was born, while far from being “countless” — after all, I’m just too lazy to count at the moment — let’s just say that I have taken A LOT photos. Maybe it’s because of this, or maybe it’s because Sony has been putting out a lot of crap products. Perhaps it’s a combination of both with the occasional, “oops I dropped the camera again,” but we need a new camera. Our three-year-old Cybershot is on its last legs. The LCD may or may not work, depending on its mood, but when it does work, it’s horribly blurry and fuzzy.
OK, maybe NEED is a strong word. Sure, I can probably make it last a few more years. I can do without the LCD screen and just shoot from the optical viewfinder. This makes reviewing images on the camera impossible, but that’s why we plug them into our computers, right? The photos it takes are adequate for posting shots of the baby online for friends and family, and printing them out using one of those kiosks isn’t so bad either.
Let’s just say that I WANT a new camera. Specifically, I want to upgrade from a point-and-shoot to a DSLR — a “real” digital camera. This is like upgrading from my point-and-shoot film cameras to a “real” 35mm. There’s something to be said about the feel of a real camera in your hands, not to mention the sound of the shutter.
So while I say “tsk tsk” when buying unnecessary things, I do believe in buying higher quality items because they are investments. I’ve had two 35mm cameras since the 80s, and they both still work. A good starter DSLR camera will last us for years, and it’s something I can build and improve upon over time with different lenses and accessories.
With this in mind, I am most likely going to order a Canon Digital Rebel XTi tomorrow (body only but with a separate 50mm f/1.8 lens).
Categories: gear
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 Mike, the Liberal Atheist Vegetarian, sent an open-letter to Italian eatery (should that be in quotes?) Olive Garden regarding their menu items for vegetarians and vegans. Mike says that the OG doesn’t make it clear which of their items are suitable for non meat-eaters, and the first thing to pop into my head was this: while being a vegetarian or vegan is far from being a new and kooky concept these days, I (personally) think the masses are themselves unclear about what it means to be a vegetarian or vegan. Like, if I tell my aunt that I’m a vegetarian, and she offers me the fish dish instead. “But fish isn’t meat,” they’ll declare. Or when I dabbled in a vegan diet while I was nursing and had to keep repeating why I couldn’t have the pastry (because it contained eggs and milk).
So when the OG says “we can suggest the following items as meatless, but not necessarily vegetarian or vegan” I immediately think about spaghetti without the meatballs, but instead of marinara sauce, it’s meat sauce. Or seafood, because after all, that Shrimp Primavera is “meatless.” Well, unless you’re one of those nit-picky “vegetarians.”
Categories: food
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Today I stopped by the Orange Farmers’ Market for the first time. (I normally go to the one in Irvine by UCI since it’s on Saturdays and that used to be my only day off.) This is the one that is in The Village at Orange parking lot, right outside of Sears. Now that I stay at home with our son, I have a pick of farmers’ markets to go to throughout the week!
 It still never ceases to amaze me how much more produce costs at grocery stores. For $6 at Ralph’s or Albertson’s, you can get a large clamshell of strawberries (that are most likely not organic and pesticide-free, plus they were probably shipped or trucked from out of state as well). For $6 at the farmers’ market, I got six small (pint sized?) crates of locally grown, pesticide-free strawberries, and they are deliciously sweet. There’s more than I can consume in a few days, so I gave our babysitter two of the crates, and I’m still left with what you see in the photo. Oh, and that bowl of nectarines cost me $5.
Categories: food, shopping
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Saw this pass through the Inbox this morning. Looks interesting, so I’m saving it here. (From: iVillage)
Spaghetti Pie
Georgia family recipe
Serving: 6
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
INGREDIENTS:
6 oz spaghetti
2 tablespoons butter
2 well-beaten eggs
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup cottage cheese
1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
8 oz can (1 cup) tomatoes, cut up, with juice
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon oregano, crushed
1 teaspoon sugar
6 oz can tomato paste
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cook spaghetti according to package directions and drain (should be about 3 cups). Stir butter into hot noodles and add eggs and Parmesan. Form this mixture into a crust in a buttered 10-inch pie plate. Spread cottage cheese over bottom of crust. In a skillet, brown beef. Add onions and green peppers and cook until tender. Stir in undrained tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, oregano and garlic salt. Heat well. Pour mixture into spagetti crust. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with mozzarella and bake for another 5 minutes.
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:
Based on individual serving.
Calories: 455
Total Fat: 22 g
Carbohydrates: 33 g
Protein: 31 g
Categories: cooking, food, recipes
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Um, remember that debacle a while ago with Britney Spears driving around in her SUV with one of her infants sitting on her lap? So, with the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Anthony Kiedis driving around, in what looks like a GEM E4, with his son in front with him, is it any less dangerous or illegal because it’s an electric car that has a top speed of 25mph?
Gossip provided by Tyler Durden.
Categories: Celebrities, cars
1 Comment »
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It still never ceases to amaze me how much more produce costs at grocery stores. For $6 at Ralph’s or Albertson’s, you can get a large clamshell of strawberries (that are most likely not organic and pesticide-free, plus they were probably shipped or trucked from out of state as well). For $6 at the farmers’ market, I got six small (pint sized?) crates of locally grown, pesticide-free strawberries, and they are deliciously sweet. There’s more than I can consume in a few days, so I gave our babysitter two of the crates, and I’m still left with what you see in the photo. Oh, and that bowl of nectarines cost me $5.
