Carol
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Posts by Carol
Chow Bella: Heart-Shaped Meatloaf
Feb 12th
A number of people* have brought it to my attention that despite my claim, when I launched my blog back in . . . when was that? Summer sometime? Well, anyway — despite THE VOW** I made to blog four times a week, in the last couple of months I haven’t blogged four times a week. Or at all.
Here’s the thing. In addition to my awesome career as a blogger (does it count as a career if you don’t get paid?) I actually write, you know. Books. I have a manuscript due March 1, and if I had any idea what today’s date is, I’d tell you how many days that gives me to finish it. I know it’s not a lot.
However. Valentine’s Day is coming up. Woo hoo! So before I get back to working on my manuscript*** I wanted to share my recipe for Heart-Shaped Meatloaf. In truth, this is not really “my” recipe; I got if from Cooking Light. However, the heart-shaped bit is my own special twist. (My friends tell me I’m very creative.)
*My sister
**That’s me trying to get web hits off of people wanting to see that movie about the girl with amnesia.
***Or watching “The Millionaire Matchmaker” with my daughter. (Judge not: it provides countless “learning opportunities”)
Heart-Shaped Meatloaf
- 3/4 cup ketchup, divided
- 1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
- 1/4 cup minced fresh onion
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 2 large egg whites, lightly beaten
- 1 1/2 pounds ground round
- Cooking spray
Combine 1/2 cup ketchup, oats, onion, parsley, brown sugar, salt, pepper and egg whites in a large bowl. Add meat; stir just until blended. Shape meat mixture into a heart on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Brush 1/4 cup ketchup over meat loaf. Bake at 350° for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing.
If It’s Tuesday, This Must Be … La Jolla
Jan 17th
Once my husband and I were at a Mexican restaurant with an English friend. Unfamiliar with several of the menu items, he asked the waitress what “fah-gee-tahs” were. Isn’t it cute how he mispronounced “fajitas”? We all thought so! Once we finished laughing, our friend told us how he’d amused Californians by mentioning La Joe-La, an affluent seaside community on the north side of San Diego. Of course we laughed at that as well.
Free tip for Brits, Aussies, Scots, Irish: In America, you can say pretty much anything and we will think you are either clever or adorable or both. (Sorry, Canadians: your accents are too close to ours.) Sadly, the reverse does not apply, plus you get points taken away if you sound like you’re from the New York area.
So first, a pronunciation guide and definition: La Jolla, pronounced “La Hoya,” is a Spanish phrase that means “you can’t possibly afford to live here.” But it sure is pretty.
Over the Thanksgiving break, my family headed down to La Jolla to visit UC San Diego and The University of San Diego, which I’ll write about some other Tuesday. (I don’t travel much; I need to drag things out.) We stayed a block from the beach, in a really, really nice hotel within easy walking distance to some really, really nice stores and some really, really nice restaurants. My mother bought some lemon-infused olive oil at an olive oil store. Because La Jolla is the kind of place that has olive oil stores.
Children's Pool (but the only children here are of the seal variety)
Even better, La Jolla has the Pacific Ocean: miles and miles of spectacular coastline. It’s got sea caves, surfers, and seals. Lots and lots of seals. Seals caused quite a bit of controversy a few years back when they took over a beach originally intended for children. La Jolla is the kind of place where seals count as a problem.
They say a picture paints a thousand words. They also say that when you start using cliches like “a picture paints a thousand words,” it’s time to upload some photos and wrap up your blog post. So, enjoy these shots of La Jolla, which is a nice place to visit even if you, like me, can’t afford to live there.
"No Alcohol. No Smoking." Good luck with that.
You know what this is? Me neither.
I'd take up bridge if I could play here.
Song of the Week: “Chanukah in West Virginia” (Scott Simons)
Dec 19th
With the exception of The Hallelujah Chorus and the Charlie Brown soundtrack, I loathe Christmas music, partly because most songs are like Katy Perry tunes — fun and catchy the first ten times you hear them, fine for the next twenty to one hundred plays, and irritating thereafter — but mostly because they function as an omnipresent reminder of ALL OF THE THINGS WE NEED TO ACCOMPLISH BY DECEMBER 25, most of which involve spending money on stuff no one really wants.
So. I won’t use this space to promote a Christmas song because we’ve all heard too many of them already. Instead, here’s a fun and heartfelt Chanukah song with a homespun video that I love — it’s like a digital equivalent of the shoe box dioramas we used to make in the days before Michael’s craft stores. Happy Chanukah . . . merry almost-Christmas . . . and a joyous new year to all.
“Chanukah in West Virginia,” Scott Simons
The Best Gifts for People You Don’t Like: Wine Hourglasses
Dec 17th
I don’t really like to make fun of something from the Uncommon Goods catalog because it supports independent artists, but . . . I will.
First, though, let me say that Uncommon Goods has some really cool, unique, reasonably priced stuff. Like . . . recycled animal accessories! Which aren’t, as the name implies, made from recycled animals (ew) but from from “yarn spun from the leftover materials from apparel and upholstery factories that would have been discarded.” Which doesn’t sound like recycling to me, but whatever. They’re cute! (Also, apparently sold out, but there’s always next year.)
They also have whimsical items like Gummy Bear Lights . . .
. . . and unique jewelry like a Nest Egg necklace that would be perfect for someone who loves birds, who’s about to have a baby, or maybe even for someone just wrote an egg-themed novel. Hey, it could happen.
Finally, for the passionate defenders of the Nosy (which, forgive me, but I think I still think is stupid), they have a wooden eyeglass holder.
But that’s not the best worst gift Uncommon Goods offers. Oh no, if you’ve got to buy something for someone you don’t like, the wine hourglass wins, hands down. From the catalog:
The Sands of Wine
Drink in the moment with these captivating wine glasses, designed with a working hourglass that celebrates the beauty of time spent toasting food, wine and friendship. Flip a glass to spark its timer–and the table conversation–over vibrant streams of sand swishing and crashing for ten minutes a side.
“But wait!” some of you say (hopefully to yourselves). “They’re kind of cool looking!” And they are, sort of. If you like that kind of thing. Or maybe you say, “What a fun conversation piece!” Or: “It’s like a classy drinking game — you’ve got ten minutes to finish your wine before the hourglass runs out.”
Exactly! You flip the hourglass to “spark its timer,” then flip it back so you can pour the wine. You finish the wine in under ten minutes (go you!) and . . . why yes, thanks, I’d love another glass or Merlot. But then — whoops! You forgot to reset the hourglass. So you flip the glass back over, but instead of sparking the timer, you launch the wine over yourself, the couch, the carpet, and your best friend’s boyfriend whom you’ve never really liked.
So: you might not want to put these on your Christmas gift. But if your best friend is looking for ideas for her boyfriend? You know just the thing.
More Best Worst Holiday Gifts
A signed book makes a great holiday gift. Click here for free, personalized bookplates.
The Best Worst Holiday Gifts: Forever Lazy
Dec 13th
12 Days Till Christmas
With thanks to my friend Jill Smolinski, today I present Forever Lazy, an adult fleece onesie for those who are ready to move on from the Snuggie to something just a little less dignified. It’s a bit of a challenge to find unintended humor from something that touts “zippered hatches in front and back, for great escapes when duty calls,” because surely the manufacturers know they are being funny, right? Right?
Fellow Americans, consider this: as a nation of immigrants, our ancestors left everything behind to come to a strange and sometimes hostile world. Why? Because they hoped to give their children and grandchildren a better life. So, yeah — they’d be psyched to know that we’ve turned into a nation of 24-hour jammie wearers. Thanks for the better life, guys!!!
More Best Worst Holiday Gifts:
A signed book makes a great holiday gift. Click here for free, personalized bookplates.
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