31 October 2001
Last year: And you never speak of the fear, because to speak it is to make it real.
Happy Hallowe'en!
It turned out that we couldn't visit the Brandts yesterday, because Kris' parents came into town to visit them. The next time we can go see them is going to be Thursday - which means all that recipe-testing I was going to do Thursday, I had to squish into last night.
Luckily, the pumpkin-carving went pretty well. We got a lovely pumpkin this year; I need to hurry up and decide if I'm going to cut it up and keep the meat after tonight to try to make a pumpkin pie.
The seeds took longer than they should to dry, so I'll be roasting them tonight instead. But that's okay - freshly roasted pumpkin seeds to snack on while waiting for the doorbell to ring should be a treat.
And while I'm thinking about it, if the evening is warm enough, I should remember to put the boombox in the window, facing out, and put the CD of spooky noises in on continuous repeat.
But anyway, the cooking.
The sopapillas went beautifully - and, I might add, were delicious with just a sprinkle of cinnamon and sugar. The only trick to them is that I'll want to use a slightly lower heat and keep a close eye on them; several of my trial pieces were nearly burnt. They cook fast - no more than about 15-30 seconds per side.
The salsa was a little trickier. After cutting up one tomato by hand, I decided to hell with that and chopped the other four in a miniature food processor. It wasn't until the last tomato that I finally got the hang of how to get them chopped instead of shredded, though.
And then the salsa itself was bland and really watery. Almost soupy. I finally got out a fine strainer and drained off the liquid, then added some flavoring. That was better, but after a few minutes still more water had collected at the bottom of the bowl. I strained it again, and packed it into a tupperware container. I figure I'll let it sit in its juice for a day or so, and try it again. (Yeah, I know salsa needs some liquid, but trust me - this was ridiculous.)
The flavor was much better by the time I finished, though. It needed a little hot sauce for kick, a dash of garlic powder, and rather an astonishing amount of salt. I just need to remember for the "big" batch to make it a couple of days in advance so I can get most of the liquid drained off before I serve it.
So overall, I'm pleased with how everything turned out, and I think the party will be a success.
So now that I've got the details for my birthday mostly ironed out, I need to start thinking about several other birthdays which are coming up Real Soon Now. A veritable explosion of them, in fact: Karen's and Matt's are three days apart, around the end of November. Ashby's is the middle of December. Kris' is the beginning of January. My dad's is the middle of January. And somewhere in there I need to get Christmas presents for everyone, too.
It's time, my friends, to SHOP.
Word of the Day:
nefarious - flagrantly wicked or impious; evil
Song of the Day:
The Ants Go Marching...
Current Projects:
- drawing
- Kris' afghan