Howdy everyone,
I haven't posted on this blog in months, for a very good reason. That reason being that instead of separating my posts into two blogs, one for art/travel and the other for food/craftiness, I decided to go ahead and combine them.
I will no longer be updating this blog. Instead, you can find all these old posts plus a constant stream of new ones, relating to life, art, travel, food, and craftiness, at "From Here to (There)" at miesby.wordpress.com.
Cheers!
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Monday, January 21, 2013
potato wedges - easy peasy
I'm not a good cook. I boiled my first egg in my junior year of college ... after asking my roommate how to hard-boil an egg. Seriously. I'm not even kidding. My mother is a fabulous cook, but maybe when I was little I burned myself one too many times on the stove, because I don't like that thing!
The oven, however, is my friend. One of the things I make way more than I oughta is potato wedges. Why? Because potatoes are cheap, I've never been one to turn down starchy goodness, and potato wedges are easy to make and easy to eat. It's pretty forgiving so it's impossible to make them wrong unless you leave them in the oven for hours and burn them to a crisp. Sometimes I use red potatoes and sometimes I use baking potatoes ... whatever I happen to have or whatever's on sale at the grocery store.
Scrub the potatoes clean, slice them into wedges, and pour on chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and/or whatever else. Then pour in some vegetable oil and mix it all so that every wedge is coated with enough seasoning and oil. When you think it's good enough, line them up on a baking sheet and stick them in the oven at 350F (or thereabouts) and let them bake for an hour (or thereabouts). Potato wedges don't take much preparation or thought. They are, in a word, ideal.
The oven, however, is my friend. One of the things I make way more than I oughta is potato wedges. Why? Because potatoes are cheap, I've never been one to turn down starchy goodness, and potato wedges are easy to make and easy to eat. It's pretty forgiving so it's impossible to make them wrong unless you leave them in the oven for hours and burn them to a crisp. Sometimes I use red potatoes and sometimes I use baking potatoes ... whatever I happen to have or whatever's on sale at the grocery store.
Scrub the potatoes clean, slice them into wedges, and pour on chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and/or whatever else. Then pour in some vegetable oil and mix it all so that every wedge is coated with enough seasoning and oil. When you think it's good enough, line them up on a baking sheet and stick them in the oven at 350F (or thereabouts) and let them bake for an hour (or thereabouts). Potato wedges don't take much preparation or thought. They are, in a word, ideal.
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
new year, visiting an old project
It is now 2013! 2012 proved to be very lackluster in terms of me posting on this blog, but we'll see what the new year brings. Since it's the holidays, I'm back at home, and once again forced to go through my old stuff from architecture school and weed out the weak (in other words: clear out all my junk at the strongly-worded request of my mother).
In one bag I found a bunch of rectangular pieces of laser cut matboard, and I realized that they were extra pieces from a model I built in 2008. It was for a construction class, and the project was to build a partial model of a building facade, so the rectangular pieces were the exterior cladding elements.Why I kept them for almost five years ... I have no idea.
I also found little packages of some of the smaller construction elements, all laser cut from white matboard as well. And looking at some of those beams ... goodness gracious I can't believe I spent so much time gluing those little pieces! And they didn't even get used! I definitely laser cut way too many. Either I was really wasteful, really worried that I'd mess up, or just really bad at planning.
The building my partner and I chose was the Ricola Storage Buiding (1987) in Laufen, Switzerland, by Herzog and de Meuron. This is a detail of the completed model, which only exists in pictures since it was thrown into the trash shortly after completion due to lack of space. Well, now its spare parts are in the trash as well. Sadness. But hey, it's 2013!
In one bag I found a bunch of rectangular pieces of laser cut matboard, and I realized that they were extra pieces from a model I built in 2008. It was for a construction class, and the project was to build a partial model of a building facade, so the rectangular pieces were the exterior cladding elements.Why I kept them for almost five years ... I have no idea.
I also found little packages of some of the smaller construction elements, all laser cut from white matboard as well. And looking at some of those beams ... goodness gracious I can't believe I spent so much time gluing those little pieces! And they didn't even get used! I definitely laser cut way too many. Either I was really wasteful, really worried that I'd mess up, or just really bad at planning.
The building my partner and I chose was the Ricola Storage Buiding (1987) in Laufen, Switzerland, by Herzog and de Meuron. This is a detail of the completed model, which only exists in pictures since it was thrown into the trash shortly after completion due to lack of space. Well, now its spare parts are in the trash as well. Sadness. But hey, it's 2013!
Sunday, September 16, 2012
tutorial: frito pie
It's been a while since I've posted, so I'm going to start up again with a fun one.
Is it really necessary to have a tutorial for Frito pies? Most would say no, unless you're not from Texas, at which point, yes, you do need a tutorial. In New York, people look at you with eyebrows raised and an expression somewhere between disgust, horror, and confusion if you mention a Frito pie. They usually have the same expression after I explain what a Frito pie is. But they're really yummy! It's a staple dish!
So here we go. There are three main ingredients: Frito chips, chili (preferably with no beans ... but whatever floats your boat), and shredded cheese (I usually go with plain ol' cheddar).
1. Get yourself a bowl. Really any bowl will do as long as it's big enough for all the yummy goodness that is to come.
2. Open the bag of Fritos. Pour some of those corn chips into bowl. Oh, and as a side note: If you're in Texas, enjoy the low price and ease of obtaining Fritos, because there's only one grocery store in my area that carries them and a bag cost me $3.50!
3. Open the can of chili, heat it up on the stove, and pour some of it over the Fritos. Well, I suppose you should have had the chili on the stove before you even got out the bowl ... but stop criticizing me! I usually go with Hormel's no beans chili because (being from Texas) beans do not belong in chili and I've never been good at making my own chili.
4. Open the bag of shredded cheese. Grab a handful of it and sprinkle it oh so gingerly over the chili-covered Fritos.
5. Get yourself a fork. Plunge that fork into the concoction, stir it up a bit, and use that fork to stuff your face with Frito pie.
It's not really healthy, and I make no recommendations in regards to feeding it regularly to children. Everything in moderation. I merely say that it's yummy, it's easy, and it's cheap (except in certain states like New York where cans of chili and bags of Fritos and bowls, shredded cheese, forks, and life cost more than they should). It's one of those foods that just makes you happy. Maybe it's because I grew up eating Frito pies so it's kind of a nostalgic thing, but anyway, I really like 'em.
The end! I hope you've been enlightened.
Is it really necessary to have a tutorial for Frito pies? Most would say no, unless you're not from Texas, at which point, yes, you do need a tutorial. In New York, people look at you with eyebrows raised and an expression somewhere between disgust, horror, and confusion if you mention a Frito pie. They usually have the same expression after I explain what a Frito pie is. But they're really yummy! It's a staple dish!
So here we go. There are three main ingredients: Frito chips, chili (preferably with no beans ... but whatever floats your boat), and shredded cheese (I usually go with plain ol' cheddar).
1. Get yourself a bowl. Really any bowl will do as long as it's big enough for all the yummy goodness that is to come.
2. Open the bag of Fritos. Pour some of those corn chips into bowl. Oh, and as a side note: If you're in Texas, enjoy the low price and ease of obtaining Fritos, because there's only one grocery store in my area that carries them and a bag cost me $3.50!
3. Open the can of chili, heat it up on the stove, and pour some of it over the Fritos. Well, I suppose you should have had the chili on the stove before you even got out the bowl ... but stop criticizing me! I usually go with Hormel's no beans chili because (being from Texas) beans do not belong in chili and I've never been good at making my own chili.
4. Open the bag of shredded cheese. Grab a handful of it and sprinkle it oh so gingerly over the chili-covered Fritos.
5. Get yourself a fork. Plunge that fork into the concoction, stir it up a bit, and use that fork to stuff your face with Frito pie.
It's not really healthy, and I make no recommendations in regards to feeding it regularly to children. Everything in moderation. I merely say that it's yummy, it's easy, and it's cheap (except in certain states like New York where cans of chili and bags of Fritos and bowls, shredded cheese, forks, and life cost more than they should). It's one of those foods that just makes you happy. Maybe it's because I grew up eating Frito pies so it's kind of a nostalgic thing, but anyway, I really like 'em.
The end! I hope you've been enlightened.
Saturday, July 7, 2012
cutting up glossies
At work, I'm organizing files to be archived. In the file cabinets there were some magazines, but only certain articles were relevant for the archives, meaning ... I had to cut up an Artforum. ACK!
I am one of those people who does not write in books. I don't highlight. I don't even fold pages. I just do not mess with publications. It seems so blasphemous. And then to CUT UP a magazine, especially one like Artforum? Sadness. Pure sadness in my mind. Especially because according to the archiving procedures, I had to cut out the relevant articles AND the cover ... and the rest of the mutilated glossy could go into recycling.
Sigh. I have a stack of Better Homes and Gardens and I don't even tear those apart. I might place a post-it note on an article to get back to, but I don't think I could bring myself to destroy it. Oy. Yes, I'm a bit neurotic about these things, but it truly pained me to cut up those magazines!
I am one of those people who does not write in books. I don't highlight. I don't even fold pages. I just do not mess with publications. It seems so blasphemous. And then to CUT UP a magazine, especially one like Artforum? Sadness. Pure sadness in my mind. Especially because according to the archiving procedures, I had to cut out the relevant articles AND the cover ... and the rest of the mutilated glossy could go into recycling.
Sigh. I have a stack of Better Homes and Gardens and I don't even tear those apart. I might place a post-it note on an article to get back to, but I don't think I could bring myself to destroy it. Oy. Yes, I'm a bit neurotic about these things, but it truly pained me to cut up those magazines!
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