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Change is Good
« November 2009 | Main | January 2010 »
Dear Readers,
I am going to take a little break until the first of the year!
I hope everyone has a great holiday!
I don't know about you, but pretty much ready for 2009 to be over.
Here's wishing everyone an awesome New Year!!
I love you guys!
Cheers,
Lisa (the Waitress)
Hopefully if I get myself in gear next year this time I can sign off Lisa the (paid) Writer
As resistant as I was to purchasing an iPhone and therefore joining the iPhone cult, I have to admit that I love, love, love that stupid thing. Someone told me when I bought it to prepare for a ridiculous level of love and passion for a simple piece of metal and plastic. They were right.
The iPhone is a window into the future. One day, everyone will have a similar device, and I imagine they will only get better and better.
The beauty of the iPhone, of course, over online devices, is in its size. I put it by my pillow where it wakes me up and puts me to bed. I have downloaded loads of free applications for reading all the classics I pretended to read in high school and college (so sue me; I skated through on my ability to write really convincing arguments based purely upon my assumptions of the stories). I frequently pass the hours playing Trivial Pursuit (against myself, where I always win), or the super easy level of Sudoku for kindergarteners. I listen to my various old school progressive rock radio stations on Pandora when sitting in coffee shops who play the greatest hits from the 80s you've never heard before but are guaranteed to make your ears bleed profusely, and when I'm bored I scroll through the featured apps and download things I'll never use and occasionally a gem or two.
I don't mind paying for apps because, like lots of people who provide lots of online content, I think it's okay to pay for it. ahem.
At any rate, I've known for awhile from Twitter that Ruhlman was working on a companion iPhone app to go with his fantastic book, Ratio. As a side note, can you believe I had both Charcuterie and Ratio in my car on the date that I met Ruhlman and it didn't occur to me to have him sign them? Oh well.
Ratio is the cookbook - or guidebook, rather - that I have been hoping to have for years now. There are loads of great cookbooks out there; there are even great cooking textbooks, such as the Professional Chef & Pastry Chef series. But even these books tell you mostly how to do things, specific things, rather than teaching you the foundational principles upon which they are built. Harold McGee's On Food & Cooking does a good job of teaching you the whys, but not the hows. Ratio brings the hows and the whys together in a very simple formulaic process.
Books like Ratio are important because once you learn the simple processes and ratios, you can free yourself from the bonds of recipes and learn to create your own masterpieces.
...where are we? Okay! So the Ratio app! It's $4.99. Considering how much we spend on cookbooks, it's a steal and a half.
The application is very well-designed. Upon entering the application, you are shown a screen which offers and introduction, the virtues of using a scale (I will admit to having a bit of a difference of opinion here, but then Ruhlman is the expert, and I am not - more on this in a bit), a little about the author, and how to use the application.
Under settings, rebels like me can choose to use volume measurements, versus the preferred measurements by weight. See? Even though the author doesn't agree with your choice, he still supports it! that is very nice of him.
Now we get to the ratios. There are seven divisions of ratios, going from doughs to dessert sauces. You click on the category you'd like, say, batters, and then you are presented with a screen for the different types of batter you'd like to make - poundcake, popovers, fritters, or crepes. Choose your pleasure and you will see the ratio. You can adjust the amounts for the number of servings you would like to have. For the visual learner, you can select to see a pretty pie chart of ingredients. Select "details" and you are provided directions to make the item and suggestions on making it better.
You can make notes for the item, things you've tried, additions or tricks you've learned doing it, and then you can name and save the recipe. To bring the whole thing full circle in our modern world, you can then email, tweet, or facebook the recipe!
The interface is simple and uncluttered; my favorite kind. Even better, it is incredibly intuitive. The more technology I use, the more I see intuitivity (yes I just made that word up) as being critical to the success of an application. This is probably why I love my iPhone so much. Now I would love to see someone create restaurant software which runs on a very intuitive interface. (I'd like a cut of that idea, if you invent one).
So far, my only complaint about Ratio is it doesn't allow me to type in landscape format.
I am super excited to test this out in actuality. Since I have used Ratio the book, the following (click through, because it's long and full of pictures) is a a pictogram of how I might have used the iPhone app to make stock (you can read about my usage of the Ruhlman stock method here and here, the second being the trotter stock):
I was reminded by the nice people at Dine Originals Columbus that their gift certificates make a great gift. DOC gift certificates are redeemable at any of the DOC restaurants (there are nearly 40 to choose from at all price levels), so you don't have to worry about whether they will like the restaurant you picked or not!
If you still need holiday gifts for your employees, clients, or you're just really generous, DOC offers bulk discounts.
So, go forth and dine well, and make sure everyone you know does the same.
The older I get, the more conflicted I get about the holidays. I'm not going to go on a diatribe here, but having been affected by the economy the year, I realize even more that there are people out there far less fortunate than I am. It seems silly to add another knick knack to my house when there are people who don't have money to buy their children any gifts, let alone enough food for their table.
Of course, gift-giving is a nice way of showing our loved ones how much we care about them and that we know what they are like and are passionate about.
It's a conundrum. Since gifts need to be purchased, and shopkeepers need to make money, I thought I'd highlight a few of my favorite shops and things worth buying locally. Here's a list of reasonably-priced (I realize that's a relative term) gifts and/or stores where gift-buying comes easily.
Mark your calendars and start planning for our potluck on January 31st (7pm) at Wild Goose Creative! Please RSVP on my Facebook page. At this point I'm thinking that I will provide some sort of main dish, and then everyone can bring whatever they'd like - side dish, salad, dessert, whatever. You can post what you are bringing if you'd like, but at this point I'm kinda thinking I will just hope we have enough of everything!
Of course, if you are really great at main-dish things (i'm looking at those of you with grilling and sausage-making prowess), you are welcome to bring whatever you wish.
If you have a restaurant, this would be a great chance to get together with the savviest diners in our fair city, so I welcome you to come and maybe bring some treats and/or coupons, menus, whatever. My readers are always looking for a good meal!
This event is completely free. No strings attached, just a good time to hang out and talk and relax. Everyone is invited.
I would encourage you to bring some cash to donate to Wild Goose if you would like to. Maybe we can even collect food for the Clintonville Food Bank or something.
I know that most of you have enjoyed the dinners, and even if the food hasn't always been spectacular, we've always had a great time talking and getting to know peopole.
Ever since I read that there was such a thing as chalkboard paint, I have wanted to paint something in my house with it. It sounded like the best idea ever. I read about a family who painted their entire dining room in chalkboard paint so that everyone who came over could draw all over. The problem was, I don't really have ver many walls in my dining room - it's full of doors and windows.
For some reason, it took like a year to occur to me that painting a chalkboard in my kitchen made perfect sense (I know, I'm slow sometimes).
The other day, during a pointless trip to Lowes looking for Christmas tree lights (what happened this year? everyone is out of lights!), I happened to think about the chalkboard paint.
After clearing it with Husband, armed with a paint roller and a night off work, I got to work.
Guess what? It was really easy. Definitely a project one can complete over the course of a day; it's kind of like laundry, something you do in the background mostly and pay attention for 10 minutes ever hour or so.
Chalkboard paint doesn't require priming. There is also magnetic pain! I didn't realize that until I was halfway through the task, of course, but I plan to paint a few spots on the chalkboard with it.
All you do is tape off the space you want to paint with painter tape, and paint. The paint dried very quickly and had surprisingly very little aroma. After it dries to the touch (about 45 minutes), paint another layer. I painted 3 layers until the area was nice and black.
If you don't want to paint right on the wall, you can purchase a piece of plywood and paint that instead, and then fasten it to the wall.
I left the nail holes in the wall, and just hung stuff right over the chalkboard.
If you want your chalk to be really vibrant, soak it in water for a few minutes before using. This also significantly decreases the amount of dust generated by using it. To clean the board, wash it first with a wet cloth (the soaking method will create a little more work to clean), and then go over it a second time with a dry cloth.
This project cost under $20 and took about 3 hours, but only about 45 minutes of active work . I already had painter's tape, so I didn't have to buy that. The paint is $13, a small roller/paint pan was $5, and that was that! Magnetic paint is closer a little over $20.
I put up a Christmas tree! I painted a chalkboard in my kitchen! I'm making chicken and dumplings...
recipes and restaurant notes coming soon...
My OpenSky store isn't open yet, but that doesn't mean you can't shop other stores! I have been given quite a few discount promotions so that you can do some shopping!
- Sign up for savings here: http://holidays. - I only have 50 Premium Coupons for $15 off a $20 item so sign up quickly! - To save the most, type Lisa as your favorite Shopkeeper. Happy Shopping!! Here are a few things I would buy . . . Remote Timer/Thermometer - $25
Worm Composting Kit - $129
Ruhlman has tons of great stuff in all price ranges.
Squirrel-proof Bird Feeder $34.
Bee House $27.
January 31st at Wild Goose Creative will be our First Sunday Supper Potluck! Details will be forthcoming. Please start thinking about what you would like to bring!
I'm thinking it will be around 6-7pm? as many people as can come, as much food as possible, hoping to get some nice wine or beer person to donate some beverages (ahem ahem).
Also, if you work in a restaurant, we would love to have some nibblies from local restaurants! What a great chance to get your food in front of the people with the best taste in the city, my readers!
Ask questions, leave suggestions in the comments section.
You might remember that I went to a great play at Available Light Theatre a few months ago.
I enjoyed it so much that I am going to be a host for their Christmas Show, which is a reinterpretation of A Christmas Carol, as told by Artie Isaac. You can read more about it here.
So, who would like to join me? I have a block of tickets for Sunday, December 13th at 2pm. Get into the holiday spirit with something new and unique this year!
If you like maybe we could meet for lunch beforehand or get cocktails after.
Available Light is totally casual; you do not have to dress to the nines; the acting and direction is great and the theatre is very intimate, so everyone gets to see all of the action.
Please, please support the things that make Columbus better for everyone! And please please join me so I'm not a loser!
Tickets are $15! and you can buy them through PapPal by clicking the link below:
