Ask someone else… [SOCS]

Canola oil was en vogue for a while; now it’s bad. I forgot why it was bad so I looked it up… GMO blah de blah. That’s allowed cuz I checked before I began writing, did not break my SOC to google. My darling daughter gave me “canola” when I asked for a prompt… of course she couldn’t have given me something good like butterfly 🦋 or cupcake 🧁.

Anyway back to canola. So, I switched from olive to canola then to coconut 🥥 cuz that was the thing but now the nutritionists are freaking out about coconut again like they do once a decade or so… I remember giving up granola bars for a while in the 1970s cuz they said one more tsp of coconut oil was surely going to give me a stroke. Never really went back to granola in a major way though cuz even after the coconut freakout died down the dentists were all shrieking that granola was worse than candy so might as well just eat a Snickers and it’s cheaper besides.

Not that I eat much candy 🍫 these days either. I blogged about how I broke my Snickers habit and when I ate one months later it didn’t even taste that good anymore. Maybe I’ve finally developed an adult palate? Nah! Still love mac&cheese. Still love c00kies.

Just to clarify… of course I still have olive oil for things that aren’t desserts, should I ever make any. You peeps will be the first to know, rest assured. Who else would I tell? But I don’t cook much… it’s expensive and wasteful to cook for one person unless you are okay with eating one dish for a week.

Btw, my friend Cathy and I made c00kies last weekend with half real butter and half coconut oil and not only were the c00kies incredibly delicious but we ate lots and did not die. We will obviously, someday, but probably not from c00kies. Not that that’s a bad way to go. Mmm c00kies…

Next time pics!

~*~

SOCS prompt from Linda

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Sunshine in Winter

I know it’s not quite winter yet, but brrrr.

Crushed Caramel (such a yummy name!) has nominated me for a Sunshine Award! Bunches of warm thanks, Mel! ❤️❤️❤️

My first task is to answer Mel’s questions:

1. IF YOU AND I WERE GOING TO DANCE TOGETHER – WHAT SONG WOULD IT BE TO?

– Hmm, I’m not much of a dancer, but I love oldies, so how about… the Beatles “Rock and Roll Music?”

2. HAVE YOU MADE ANY CONFESSIONS IN YOUR BLOGGING POSTS ABOUT MOMENTS OF MADNESS IN YOUR LIFE OR TIMES YOU WERE ALMOST IN TROUBLE WITH THE AUTHORITIES? (I know that some of my nominees have shared a long list of their confessions already, so please do pick the most outrageous!)

– I always obey the law (hi Stan), but I’ve had plenty of documented moments of madness aka “dating.”

3. WHAT IS THE MOST UNUSUAL OR MEMORABLE DISH YOU HAVE EVER EATEN?

– My parents along with a waiter coerced me to eat a snail when I was 11, and it was absolutely disgusting. My parents liked unusual things and I didn’t mind some of them, but you shouldn’t force people, especially children. Now my diet is pretty tame compared to back then.

4. ARE THERE CHARACTERS FROM ANY MOVIES OR NOVELS THAT YOUR FRIENDS COMPARE YOU TO?

– Not to my face.

5. ARE THERE ANY QUALITIES YOU ADMIRE IN OTHER PEOPLE AND WISH YOU HAD TO A GREATER EXTENT?

– I wish I were more assertive early on. My problem is that I’m too nice and too accommodating… for a while. Eventually I say no and draw a boundary line, which freaks some people out. I wish I would put the boundaries in place much sooner. But I don’t because I’m curious like a kitty. I like to test things out and see what might happen.

6. HAVE YOU ANY EXPERIENCE OF ACTING, SPEAKING, SINGING OR DANCING ON A STAGE?

– I’ve done stand-up comedy.

7. APART FROM REMOVING ANY PARTICULAR POLITICIANS, IS THERE ANY ISSUE OR PROBLEM IN THIS WORLD THAT YOU FEEL PASSIONATELY YOU WOULD LIKE TO CHANGE?

– I wish we would stop destroying our oceans, mistreating dogs and cats, and ruining every experience with noise.

8. IF I WERE TO MAKE YOU YOUR DREAM CAKE – WHAT WOULD THAT CAKE BE?

– Lemon 🍋 cake with coconut frosting.

9. WHAT WOULD YOU LOVE TO SEE ON THE FRONT PAGE OF THE NEWSPAPERS TOMORROW MORNING? (other than than any particular politician being abducted by aliens)

– US Prez and VP dead (not abducted cuz then they might be returned) of natural causes, like the flu, and Nancy Pelosi at the helm.

10. HAVE YOU EVER HAD AN INTERNET ROMANCE OR AN INTERNET CRUSH YOU WERE TO SHY TO CONFESS?

– Me, shy? Nope. If I have a crush, the internet is the first to know.

11. YOU ARE ON MY LIST OF NOMINEES BECAUSE YOU CONSISTENTLY MAKE YOUR POSTS INTERESTING, YOU ARE FULL OF PERSONALITY AND YOU SUPPORT THE BLOGGING COMMUNITY SO MUCH – BUT TELL ME, ARE YOU LIKE THIS IN REAL LIFE?

– I’m the same everywhere, except in real life I am (as stated above) sometimes squishy about saying no, which is actually an unkindness in the long run, since I will eventually find my iron will, and then things may not be fun.

Okay, now I’m supposed to write my own 11 questions and tag 11 bloggers, but as we know, these tags come here to die. There are loads of fun question poasts floating around Blogville though, so no one who wants one will be deprived.

Have a great Monday!

Octolages

As is my way, I’m doing City Sonnet’s photo challenge in one swell foop. This time, the whole month will be right here in one poast! How exciting! Since I didn’t want to overwhelm my readers with 31 full-size pics in predictable order, I mashed them up in collages. First, I will poast the key, and then I’ll show you my photo art. You can match them up if you like, or simply enjoy for a minute and return to your normally scheduled life.

Peanut Butter

I stole these 26 questions from Fandango, who snagged them from Barbara, at Teleportingweena. But I have an issue with 26 (yes, including our alphabet, annoying). Twenty-five is a great number, and oddly enough (hehe) so is 27. But 26? Meh! I guess I can think of it as 13×2 and be okay that way. That’s what I’ll do then: renumber the questions halfway through.

1. Share your profile picture.

– Which profile? Here’s one from last year, taken at the happiest place on earth.

2. Who are you named after?

– Paula Abdul.

3. Do you like your handwriting?

– Like Fandango, I used to have great handwriting, but now that I’ve gotten older, it sucks.

4. What’s your favorite lunchmeat?

– Peanut butter.

5. Longest relationship?

– I had a good relationship with my dad from the day I was born until he died in 2013 just before I turned 52.

6. Do you still have your tonsils?

– Nope.

7. Would you bungee jump?

– NFW!

8. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off?

– Sometimes.

9. Favorite ice-cream?

– Coconut chocolate chip.

10. What’s the first thing you notice about people?

– That they’re too close to me.

11. Football or baseball?

– Neither.

12. What color pants are you wearing?

– White lounge pants with grey and pink flowers.

13. Last thing you ate?

– Peanut butter on a banana.

1. If you were a crayon what color would you be?

– Ultraviolet, baby.

2. Favorite smell?

– Cinnanommmm.

3. Who was the last person you spoke to on the phone?

– One of the partners at work.

4. Hair color?

– Light brown plus some silver.

5. Eye color?

– Hazel (this feels like filling out a dating profile now).

6. Favorite food to eat?

– Seafood pasta.

7. Scary movies or happy endings?

– Romantic comedies with happy endings.

8. Last movie you watched?

– I rewatched American Gigolo a few days back because it came up on Prime. Saw it over 30 years ago and liked it a lot. Didn’t like it that much this time. I didn’t sense any chemistry between the leads; it was just trashy and sad.

9. Favorite holiday?

– Loved Fandango’s answer, but I’ll go with New Year’s Day.

10. Beer or wine?

– Neither. Alcohol triggers migraines.

11. Favorite day of the week?

– Sunday.

12. Three or (four) favorite bloggers you want to learn more about?

– Anyone who plays along.

13. Added info you didn’t know you wanted.

– Buy my books!

Tourist [RDP]

Days blend in a haze,
Like coconut, mango, and rum;
Sometimes she can’t tell
When one ends
And another has begun.
She feels like a tourist
In the shops of her life,
But she no longer stops
For seashell postcards–
She has nothing to write.
Grey mist encircles her,
And she thinks it’s the end,
But it’s only afternoon fog,
Soon to dissolve,
Then sunlight once again.

Creature Features & Jigsaw Puzzles

I have a clear memory of watching Creature Features with my mom in the basement of our townhouse in Illinois, which she had turned into a rec room with a ping-pong table, TV, stereo, etc. It was Illinois, if you missed that in the preceding sentence, 40 miles north of Lake Michigan, where it got so cold that if you dropped a record on the floor it would shatter like a dinner plate. (This actually happened.)

I’ve always said I remember putting giant jigsaw puzzles together with my mom while we watched scary movies, and generally, but I was trying to call up a specific memory of this and it’s not working. It actually doesn’t even make sense. The only table we had in the basement large enough for a 1000-2000 piece puzzle was on the side of the room that didn’t have the TV. The stairs were in the middle. Right in front of the stairs was a little storage type room my dad used as a darkroom for photography. On the right side was a TV, sofa, coffee table, etc. On the left side was an old dining room table, another sofa, and the stereo system. We would have had to use the old dining table for the puzzles. So how would we have been watching Creature Features at the same time? Memory fail.

Even though I enjoyed these campy horror movies at the time (because mommy was there), I’ve disliked horror since. Pretty much the entire horror film genre falls into the dislike pile, but I do reserve some exceptions for books, Stephen King in particular. It’s not because the movies themselves are all terrible; it’s because I don’t enjoy having my emotions manipulated to that extent. Now you’ll say I don’t mind the same thing when it happens in the romcoms. And I’ll just shrug. Because people are inconsistent, and I’m a people too. Shockeroo!

The two Creature Features that stayed with me all these years I dub “Coconut Sea Monster” and “Alpine Beheader.” The first was about guys on a military submarine who kept getting murdered brutally cuz one of them had morphed into a monster due to radiation exposure. We didn’t see the murderer until the end and he looked like he was covered in coconut. It was really freaky! The otter one was about peeps trapped in a ski resort during a blizzard and some snow vampire kept grabbing one at a time and ripping off their head. Icky!

You know, this could very well be why I dislike both sailing and skiing. A-ha!

Still love coconut though. Nothing comes between me and a coconut donut.

As far as jigsaw puzzles, still love doing those, but don’t have room for them in my current place, can’t isolate one from the kitty anyway, and they seem sort of time-wastey when I have so many otter projects I want to finish as far as writing and needlework and staring at the walls. Someday though… when I retire maybe, bring on the jigsaw puzzles again! Hey, I wonder if they have Creature Feature puzzles? That could be a thing.

~*~

The Daily Prompt: Creature

Ziggy Stardust and Coconut Cake

My first exposure to David Bowie happened when I was 14, babysitting for the neighbors. I’d been sick for a while… I was sick a lot. I put the kids to bed and turned on the TV. Got a piece of homemade coconut cake that the mom had made. There was a concert on… weird guy, dressed so crazy, singing such awesome stuff. I didn’t know then that I was watching the Ziggy persona… all I knew was that this was sofa king cool. The music, the hair, the eyes, the makeup, the costume! It took me the whole concert to finish the piece of cake in miniscule bites because I hadn’t eaten in so long, even though it was incredibly delicious. From then on, whenever I hear a Bowie tune the taste/smell memory of coconut cake flashes in my head. Maybe that’s why I love him so much.

Plus he’s just so damn great. Hard to pick a fave. Space Oddity. Young Americans. Let’s Dance. Modern Love. China Girl. Changes. Rebel Rebel. Jean Genie. All The Young Dudes. The Man Who Sold The World. The music he wrote for Labyrinth. And of course Under Pressure with Freddie Mercury (another R&R giant whom I adore). I think maybe that one is my favorite.

I just ordered Bowie’s last album Blackstar, which won’t be in stock until the 17th. Can’t wait to listen. I vowed not to buy things I don’t need this year, but I do need this.

RIP David Bowie.

OH NO… COOKIE DOUGH!

 

 

You are not hallucinating ~ Cookie Dough Oreos exist and I haz them. I almost passed out in the grocery store when I saw the package, and of course I grabbed it immediately, with my first thought being… I shall review these for my peeps!

 

 

Just look how incredibly adorable they are!

 

And they are absolutely delicious! The cookie is crispy and chocolately, which enhances the dough flavor. It really tastes like cookie dough, all buttery and sugary, but better cuz of being snadwiched between the nommy Oreo discs.

Look, I know I’m going to get some Oreo purists muttering about the olden days of basic Oreos. They turn up their snoots at Double Stuf… they think Golden Sandwiches are blasphemy. Heck, they probably wouldn’t even touch a cute Halloween Oreo. Well, you know what I say to these folks? GROW UP! You can’t keep everything the way it was when you were 5 years old, for Pete’s sake. Time marches on. Deal with it.

(Personally I can live without Birthday Cake Oreos. Meh.)

My daughter had the brilliant idea of putting some CD Oreos in the fridge to see if they’d taste like a roll of cookie dough. I did that today. They were superb!

 

 

Cold Cookie Dough Oreos on my pink KindleFire ~ pretty fuckin’ artistic, wot?

I can only hope that my Ode to Oreo poast here comes to the attention of Mr. Nabisco himself and he sends me all the Oreos to review because I would do that for you people! Yes, yes I would.

Also, most of the time I can’t even find any of the awesome new special flavors, so it’d be great to have them FedEx’d to my door. I’m especially interested in the coconut fudge cremes and Mega Stuf.

Thanks! 🙂

Queen’s Bakery, Revisited

I first poasted about the Queen’s Bakery in Costa Mesa back in February ~ and I’ve automagically pulled that entry out of the archives for your current viewing pleasure right here.

Since then, a friend and I tried TQB again ~ cupcakes only ~ with mixed results. Overall, we found the cakes to be a little on the dry side, while the frosting is top-notch all the way around. In particular, the red velvet has terrific frosting and the peach was delicious, though for a few minutes we couldn’t decide exactly what flavor it was until we looked up the cupcake online, so maybe it could be a little… peachier.

The lemon was tangy and perfect ~ I’m definitely partial to lemon desserts in general. The orange however… meh.

Now, as my longtime readers should know, vanilla/coconut is my fave cupcake in the world, so I was anxious to try TQB’s. It was tasty. Again, the cake was a bit on the dry side, but still had a nice flavor. The frosting was superb, though it could have used moar coconut. TQB does something to get a perfect texture to their frosting and it simply cannot be improved upon.

However, overall? Gotta give the nod to Sprinkles coconut. It still has not been beaten. But I am more than willing to keep testing other cupcakeries because that’s only fair. 🙂

Delayed Gratification

[aka Sam’s Cupcakes, Part 2]

It’s true. Sometimes I wait. Because twice can be too much for a workday.

But this allows me to report that unlike bakery goodies, Sam’s cupcakes did not go stale. Nope. The chocolate cupcake had moist and tasty cake several days after purchase, and the frosting was creamy and delicious. Color me surprised. Choc/choc is never my fave flavor, yet it outperformed the vanilla/coconut.

Likewise, the red velvet cupcake was totally scrumptious days after purchase, with moist, light cake and wonderfully rich and tangy cream cheese frosting. It definitely competes with the best cupcakery cupcake.

Since you blogfans have been so patient in waiting for this review, I’m including a bonus. Saturday night I went to a game meetup and someone brought an entire tray of red velvet cupcakes ~ from Ralph’s (a grocery store)! Honestly I was kind of cupcaked out from the previous week of almost daily indulgence (this can happen), but I ruminated (moo!) over this dilemma for about two seconds and decided that foregoing an opportunity to review a cupcake for MAH FANS would be entirely unfair and selfish, so I forced myself to nom up.

Again, unbelievably delicious! Fluffy cake! Wonderful cream cheese frosting! And little curly ribbonettis. Or something. Very fun! I actually think these are the cutest red velvet cupcakes because of the deco, though Sam’s are probably tastier. Most interesting though is how the regular stores are now seriously competing for the gourmet cupcake market ~ I wonder if they’re going to start offering a wider variety of flavors? That would be awesome.