The Fridge, Part 2

Yesterday I showed you a photo of the front of my fridge. Today, let's take a look around the bend.

The dry erase calendar, an essential in every kitchen with a husband who has no set schedule at work and plays bass in a band. A lot.

The program to the BNC's beloved Grandmother's funeral. (Evidently, I collect memorial service programs.) She was buried on Halloween 2008 so our costumes that year were People Who Had Just Buried Their Grandmother. One of the crappiest weeks ever since we had to put Boochie down at the vet's.

A pencil drawing from our God daughter to the BNC for Father's Day. It's her and him, holding hands and, it seems, doing some sort of gangsta lean. It's adorable. This sketch is being held up by more Office magnets. Look, there was a time when I adored this show and Target, with their awesome dollar section, had gone Office crazy with all sorts of stuff and I bought into it, ok? I sooo bought into it that I actually have an I heart Jim mug. I eagerly await Target's Community dollar stuff and the potential for an I heart Jeff (or Troy, Abed, Pierce or Chang) mug.

Moving on....

Cutting boards, lots of them, all shapes and sizes and every single one of them has a job. Veggies, resting, carving, all of that. Justification submitted. Waiting for acceptance....

Linguini pasta holder with the stereotypical Italian chefs all around. Why there is only linguini inside is beyond me. I guess one day it decided it just wanted to be only for linguini.

Fruit, fruit, fruit. I buy it a lot because that BNC can scarf it.

And now, a tour of the inside.

Top shelf-some of my meds that need refrigeration, water, sugar-free Kool-Aid, Fresca and chicken broth.

Middle shelf-heavy cream, tomato sauce, corn tortillas, ham, turkey, cheese and eggs.

Bottom shelf-chicken breasts (that were made into chicken soup last night) and grapes.

Next, the door.

From the top-salted butter.

Middle-A sauce called Bodacious cause I fell for the cooking demo at the store. (Worth it.) Pickles, lime juice, steak sauce, mayo and beer.

Bottom-grape jelly, grated parmesan cheese (for my corn), ketchup, a marinade, shredded cheese, low sodium soy sauce and.....I have no idea what that last bottle is.

On to the freezer...

From left to right, container of beans in front of a container of chili, ice cream, chuck steaks, a whole chicken and the ice cubes trays.

And lastly, the freezer door.

Arm and Hammer freezer thingamajig (there should be one in the fridige but maybe it got shy and hid behind the Kool-Aid), a breakfast sandwich, sugar-free pops and my finger.

After viewing the photos now, my fridge seems a little bare. I just hate having to throw away food (who doesn't?) that either went bad sitting there, waiting for me to come around and incorporate it into our meal or, I made too much and the BNC couldn't stay for dinner or no need for a leftover lunch because of some function at work, blah, blah, blah, down the garbarge disposal/trash can. (I told you that calendar was essential.) So, I buy things I know I'm making that week, plan for leftovers, or not, and try my hardest to NOT throw money away. The pantry, on the other hand, is cramped. It's stuffed with dry goods, food storage baggies, spices, kitchen towels and cats treats that the cats are now aware of where they're stored because they stand in front of the pantry door and do the I know the treats are in there so give me one, mom stare. (In the great words of Conan the Destroyer) But that is another story...

So, what do you have?

"Everyone get dressed. We are going out to eat!" said the Old Man.

And that is what we did. With meat no where near being completely thawed, we went out, during the week for some chinese. Chef Hunan Bo, a place we frequented many times prior to leaving the hood and ultimately coming back, was our destination. I was in the mood for their chicken lo mein. It was not as good as I remember it to be with slightly overcooked noodles and just underseasoned altogether. Regardless, it was ok and I may return in hopes that it will wow me as I am not a fan of that Panda Express I see so often. You may be cute, Panda, but your food is terrible.

Things I Love, Things I Want

Central Market! I just scored permission to admit to the fact that the BNC works for the HEB, a regional Texas grocery. Central Market is their specialty store much like Whole Foods but better in my completely biased opinion. :) I work near the Houston store and tend to make trips during my lunch hour. Not even going to lie that I completely abuse my discount card. Wait, is it abuse that I use it a lot? Well, maybe not.

I really want this. Rumor had it that Threadless was going to make it into a T-shirt but nothing ever materialized. Boo!

Back to the Future movie quotes are officially back into rotation with me. For example, the Astros were playing the Chicago Cubs this week and all I could think about was the quote in Back to the Future 2 where the weird old man tells Marty, "I wish I could go back in time, put some money on the Cubbies." thereby causing Marty to go back to the antiques store and purchase the sports almanac that causes so much trouble in alternate 1985. I adore this trilogy. Not the best trilogy but still awesome. Star Wars, the originals, is the best trilogy though for both movies that third part almost made them fumble a bit. Know what I mean? Oh, and Indiana Jones.

Summer TV-Food Edition

Top Chef started last night and at a much appreciated, and welcome, earlier hour. 8p!! My eyelids, as well as the little old lady living inside me, are happy. They're in DC now and that intrigues me very much. What didn't was Cheftestant John with the dreadlocks. All I could imagine was eating dinner and finding a dread inside. Good thing he's gone otherwise it just would have bugged me. But, we have Padma's big boobs to distract you from the yummy food and Chef Eric Ripert. Almost.

What if at a key moment in the game, my uniform bursts open and, uh, oops, my bosoms come flying out?

You think there are men in this country who ain't seen your bosoms?

I still watch Hell's Kitchen since Gordon Ramsay is a guilty pleasure though I wish the American Kitchen Nightmares were more like the British version. I no longer watch the American version. However, what's this? Another Ramsay show? Master Chef? Nice. I will give it a whirl.

The Next Food Network Star with Susie, Bobby, Bob and now Mentor Giada. Drama in the kitchen is always welcome just not in my kitchen.

What am I missing?

I'm Singing to Nelson!

I got wind this morning of the passing of Dorothy Kamenshek, the woman that inspired the character of Dottie Hinson in the movie A League of Their Own. That movie can be on TV, having either just started or close to ending, and I will sit and watch it and cry whenever Jimmy Dugan gives Betty Spaghetti the Western Union telegram that her husband was killed in combat. Each and every time.

I will also laugh whenever they reference Marla Hooch....Hooch. I adore her getting drunk at the Suds Bucket and "singing to Nelson."

RIP Dorothy.

*****

My camera must have heard that it may be on the way out so it started to not throw a hissy fit. Yea!

Behold! Randomness!

Co-Catheral of the Sacred Heart

My BIL was confirmed into the church this past Sunday and it was our first visit to the new Co-Cathedral for the Houston-Galveston Archdiocese. It's gorgeous inside but I love how awesome albeit hot the weather was on Sunday.

Can you believe that McDonald's is the only one that makes something sugar-free?

Double Starch!

Clearly I have been on a meat bender lately even I haven't posted the other items I make, or eat. If Mr. Fuji acts right then I will. In the meantime, I found a sauce, called Texas Bodacious, that I was talked into buying simply because the grocery store, one of my favorite of the local chain as well as employer for the BNC, has cooking demos every day. Saturday, the day in which I went, gave us a sample of their grilled steak with the sauce and YUM. Sold. And who doesn't like corn on the cob? It's it just me or is it a Mexican thing to slather some mayo (light) with grated parmesan? Sometimes I miss Mexico because this staple is readily available year-round and easy to find. The BNC had asparagus on his plate along with the top image.

"HAHA! Got him!!"

A Wee Little Margie

Even as a kid I knew. I knew I looked different. I knew I was of the paler persuasion. The comments, even if they were meant as compliments, drove a little dagger into my heart. Even the treatment was different than what my brothers got. It was that extra special favorite treatment and while others may welcome it, I loathed it. It just put a spotlight on how different I looked from everyone else. I thought I was adopted until I met my Grandpa and noticed we shared the same colored eyes (brown but just a tad on the light side and let's not even get into the light brown and curly hair) as well as some birthmarks and the dimple on the right cheek. However, those differences with my family are much more noticeable now. For instance, everyone is darker than me and my youngest brother, B, is 6' 3" tall. I'm 5' 1". I know that I am my parent's daughter, that's not the issue. The issue, with me, is that so many people find it hard to believe that my brothers and I are related directly. But, I get it. Look at how much more different I am from my mom when I was a wee little baby.

It got to the point that when my parents would take me to the zoo, or other public places, people would ask how much they charged for babysitting. Get it? My parents are Mexican, as am I. It solicits laughs but ugh, I just wanted to fit it. Being a girl didn't help. It added to the complex I already had. For Easter lunch last month, B and I were reminiscing about our younger days and the year other kids moved onto our block. KIDS! It was awesome. It was the year Transformers the animated movie came out. A 3D movie also premiered on network TV and you could get the glasses at the convenience store. Sleepovers were involved as well. Then, they moved away. There were sleepovers involved afterwards. However, who didn't go? Me. Why? Because I was a girl despite B being younger than me by a whole 3 years and my older brother beging 4 years older than me. At this point, there is nothing I can do about that. But, boy, it hurt bad. Which is why, whenever I could, I did what I wanted and with the boys. Damnit if I was going to be the only left out cause I didn't have a twig and berries between my legs. So back to the Easter lunch, B asks me why I never went with him and our older brother to these excursions with our neighbors. I told him to ask his mom. When he asked her, the reply was, "I didn't know you wanted to go." I almost fell over. It was then when I said to my mom, "Should I ever have children and one of them is a girl, I will tell her she can do whatever she wants. No gender rules holding her back." Bitty Girl is a cat but damnit if I don't get a kick out of her taking Logan or Apolo on. She's tiny compared to them and she will hold her own.

But, I still look different and I cannot describe how much of a sore spot it is for me. Sigh, big sigh. I know I imposed this on myself and I have no one to blame for how I feel about the color issue but, as far as the gender issue, my mom has a little to do with it. But, like I said, not much I can do about the past.

On a semi-related note, and belated, Happy Cinco de Mayo! I, in usual fashion, hung out with the loud Mexicans at my company's industry party for an unrelated issue. Orale, pinches!

Thank You

Jasmine rice has been my savior this Lent season. However, I'm certain I won't consume it as much once I can lather myself in sweet and delicious pasta. It's good and I finally found a brand to stick to; Mahatma. I don't have to rinse it!! Unfortunately it trumps the one that the BNC works for. They can't all be winners.

"They found me. I don't know how but they found me."
"Who?"
"Who do you think? The Lybians! Run Marty!!"

Back to the Future was on last night and, while I took a sleeping pill to combat my insomnia, thus ensuring I knock out early (9p), I had to stay up just a little longer for this scene. It's one of my most favorite movies.