31 August 2009

domestic goddess

So sometimes I get a wild hair up my ass and turn into what I think is some kind of superwoman. Today was one of those days. I worked from 9 until 5:45 (technically leaving early, but whatever), went to the chiropractor, cooked dinner (teriyaki turkey tips with a big salad with homegrown tomatoes. I love having a gas grill and the tomatoes were totally worth the trouble. I put them in giant containers, the biggest I could find, and next year I'll stake them better but it just worked perfectly.

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I also got a loaf of cornmeal bread underway (I love having a Kitchen Aid), made the bed, put away some dishes (I love having a dishwasher) and cleaned up the kitchen.

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And before I got to bed I'll have folded a load of laundry, taken the bread out of the oven and cleaned the litterboxes. I wish I had time to get some embroidery done, but unless I want to stay up until midnight there's not time for that. I am also not going to get around to my mail pile tonight, which I totally don't mind missing.

But for right now, I'm totally going to take an ice cream break and watch A&E's Hoarders. Fascinating! Mental illness! Makes me feel better about my life!

Also I was a little overconfident in trying to get everything done and left the bread on top of the stove, which got super hot from the oven preheating beneath it and kind of cooked a little. I pulled off the weird crusty edges and punched it down and am letting it rise as usual; I think it'll be okay, just slightly smaller loaves than usual. So as a superwoman, I still need some work.

9 comments:

Debi Harbuck said...

Well, honey, superwoman doesn't have to equal perfection-woman. That's an incredibly impressive day!

Debi Harbuck said...

Also, I am super-jealous of your tomatoes. Mine so far have mostly not been a success...even while everything else in the garden continues to bear. There's still hope for the romas and the Big Boys which I started later...but if it doesn't stop raining Every Fucking Day, they are going to rot on the vines as well.

Kudos to you!!

Cara dB said...

Aw- thank you! I have no idea how I escaped tomato blight and rain blight (though I think the containers saved me from the rain because they were able to drain better than in-ground plants).

I made the bread solely as a vehicle for tomato sandwiches. Nom!

seppaku said...

I must confess that I also love the domestic arts. Somehow that seems a kick in the arse to feminism. But what the hell, it gives me such satisfaction to cook a meal, clean the kitchen, polish the sink. Very zen.

Anyhow, the main reason I darted in here was to pass on the instructions for the incredible self-contained gardening system we used this year. Yielded tomato plants taller than myself. The key is that the plants get sufficient water, at least in my neck of the woods. It sounds like you didn't have such problems this year. However, these are super cheap to make and you may find them useful some drier summer:

http://www.josho.com/gardening.htm

Cara dB said...

ooh, I'll check out the watering system! Our watering system was (is) a soaking with a hose on days that it didn't rain - PITA when you've worked late and get home tired and hungry.

seppaku said...

Even with the truly magical gardening system, my tomatoes are dying. Partially due to my neglect during this time of fires and 100+ degrees. It's hard to find the will to water plants when its a million degrees and ash is falling. But the pollution is also killing them, they caught powdery mildew from the squash, and they've dropped all of their blossoms in the heat. The green tomatoes currently on the vine are getting big brown soft spots where the sun hits them, and the birds have finally discovered the red ones. Still, it's been a great year for tomatoes - about 30lbs so far!

Cara dB said...

30 pounds is pretty damn impressive. now if only the elements (fire, air) would stop conspiring against you! (srsly, it sounds crazy in LA right now.)

seppaku said...

Seriously, LA is like hell right now. I am done with it. And just in time, Alex's company went belly-up. So it looks like after the wedding, we'll be moving east. Most likely to Knoxville, TN where Alex will be University of Tennessee staff. I'm going to try to go to vet school. =) I can't leave California soon enough.

You know, I envy you having an audience for your baking endeavors. Alex has been doing this low-carb thing, so we only have sprouted wheat bread in the house, and he's never had a sweet tooth. I am the only one I bake for, and that can be guilt-inducing. The last time I made an entire red velvet cake for myself, I was a little ashamed. But full of cake!

Cara dB said...

omg, LOTS of awesome music in Knoxville (Superdrag not least, of course.) I am kinda jealous even though I don't think I have any wish to experience a summer in the south.

Vet school is so perfect for you - that's awesome! I always wanted to be a vet but I am a FAIL in chemistry class so it would never work for me - I don't have enough drive to compensate for my lack of math talent with hard work.

I freaking love baking, but I mostly do healthy stuff like bread rather than pies and cakes and cookies (although, interestingly, it's the chemistry part of baking that attracts me. Bread is so non-challenging for me because you can really mess around with the recipes and have it still work fine. I want to learn the craft of pie crust, dammit!)