TGIF. Question of the day.

Stuff I want to cook this weekend:

* simple cheese lasagna
* bread (http://projects.washingtonpost.com/recipes/2007/11/28/easy-slow-rise-no-knead-light-wheat-or-white-bread/)
* french toast made from aforementioned bread
* Chinese greens (it's been a while since I've eaten those)
* gingerbread cookies (mix is fine)
* something with phyllo dough to use up the roll that's left over
* buttermilk pancakes

How will I be able to eat all of that?

Stuffed.

Everything turned out delicious. The verdict?

Turkey: buying kosher results in a moist bird, but salty leftovers. A leave-in probe thermometer is a great investment. Get one now.

Cranberry sauce: 1 bag berries boiled with 1 cup sugar, 3/4 cup water, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1 tsp zest, and with 2 tsp triple sec stirred in after cooking. A hit, and surprisingly fresh-tasting given that there was no orange juice involved.

Buttermilk mashed potatoes: buttermilk gives a nice tang, but makes for watery leftovers.

Green beans: surprisingly, doesn't need oil. Sliced almonds were a welcome addition.

Pie: Trader Joe's crust from the frozen case was a little thick for my liking, but shattered satisfyingly on first slice. The apples took an awfully long time to slice up.

Doing it right this time.

It's week two of living in my new cubicle. I still believe I am facing the wrong direction, even though it is technically facing the same way as my old cube. The reason is my old cube faced the window (not that you could actually see out the window), whereas my new one does not. The new one is significantly warmer than the old one and has far more interesting neighbors.

I am determined to setup this cube right. This meant scrubbing down all horizontal (and most vertical) surfaces with disinfecting wipes. Also, this has meant setting up the books properly on shelves and not hiding stuff behind cabinet doors wherever permissible. And acquiring hanging folders, so papers remain properly sorted.

The Lego set shall live on an open shelf, not on the desk proper. The desk shall remain as clear as possible. I'm hoping there's enough space in the overhead cabinet to leave my toothbrush in a non-disgusting spot.

Annoyingly enough, one cabinet is not hospitable to standard sized hanging folders. It may fit legal sized, assuming I can find some.

Food shall remain on the desk. It shall not be hidden amongst the books. If it were in the overhead cabinet, it would warm up because of the lights.

I still have not figured out how to hang up the plaques without killing anybody. Will have to check the neighbors' cubes when they go home.

And I never thought I would ever find this line of discussion particularly facsinating.

Can't wait! Ramblings from a rumbling tummy.

For the first time in two years, I'm actually having a real Thanksgiving, hopefully one as enjoyable as six years ago when we had an all-girls dinner. The negotiations class is all but done--all that needs to be done is to print out the project writeup, reformat the diary, and read the last articles and case. The marketing class is also all but done--all that needs to be done is present the project and read three more articles for the final.

No accounting project to stress over.

No management paper to stress over.

No marketing project to stress over.

Only one final. You either know it or you don't.

So I get to cook a lovely meal for three dear friends. Two girls and a guy who's recovering from Lasik surgery, so it's almost an all-girls dinner. I'm truly excited about the prospect of cooking a full menu.

• green salad (from a bag of course)
• either mango-shrimp or potato salad (C's secret recipe)
• roast turkey breast (hope there's enough meat; Trader Joe's didn't sell the full breast)
• cranberry-orange sauce (orange = triple sec, not juice)
• buttermilk mashed potatoes
• green beans
• corn
• pumpkin pie (C's secret recipe)
• apple-cranberry pie

I am debating whether to make the sauce as is, or do a cranberry-orange relish with the addition of triple sec. After all, I was rather proud of myself for finding the triple sec, so I might as well use it. I am secretly hoping B will bring cranberry juice just so we can have a mixer.

As for green beans and corn...I wonder if there is anything else that should be done with them besides a little dab of butter. Green bean casserole is evil and unhealthy anyways.

Also, there is no bread. I figure we don't need it, what with the potatoes and pie and the fact that there are only four of us.

It sounds like a lot, but the more I think about it, the more I realize the most involved dish will be the pie.

Question of the day.

Why is corn considered to be a strange pizza topping, but potatoes are not?

Eeeeeewwwww.

I moved into my new cubicle today. Previously it was filled with old equipment and was configured as a two-person cube.

The previous owner left:

• one reusable heating pack in a thin pseudo-cloth sleeve
• one wooden pencil with a broken lead
• one retractable red pen with about 1/3 of the ink left
• one container paper clips
• one ancient KVM switch, the kind that requires a power supply (power supply not included)
• two power cables
• one paper holder
• two very dusty cubicle coat hooks
• one dusty can Dr. Pepper, about 1/3 full, on the far top corner of the overhead bin
• one dusty can Dr. Pepper, unopened, next to the other can (but still in a location that I could barely reach even while kneeling on the desk)
• one cable lock with no key

I have gone over the desk six times with Clorox Disinfecting wipes. It is now to the point where you can barely make out the perfect brown handprint on the wipe.

The cabinet still has sticky splotches on the vertical surfaces. I found these on the desk drawers too, and was stymied until I discovered the previous owner's affinity for Dr. Pepper.

Question of the day.

You know what Nickelodeon needs? A cooking show.

Question of the day.

Dear Lysol,

When has anybody gotten sick because their toilet bowl cleaner didn't cling to the u-bend?

Sincerely,