"I Don't Like It"

Last month I got a deal from Living Social for two tickets to the the AppleFest at Wachusett Mountain, including a ride on the chair lift to the top of the mountain.  It sounded like a good way to spend an afternoon, so I bought the tickets and hoped it would be a beautiful day.

Well, yesterday was gorgeous, although windy, and it really was quite lovely to spend sometime outside.  Much of the AppleFest is vendors, crafters and local artisans, but there were some interesting displays, music and the like.  We watched a chainsaw artist work on a bench for the ski lodge.

We also had a chance to check out the Bengal tigers.  Although we were in between shows, it was clear the tigers were pretty stressed out.  Except for the one that decided to lay in the sun and take a nap, they were all pacing and never settled.  It actually made me a little sad, wondering what they must be going through.

They had a German buffet but we ended up passing on it because Dave is afraid of sauerkraut.  Instead we saw the giant pumpkins brought in for the Great Pumpkin Weigh-in.  Imagine how many pies, breads and cookies I could make with this thing!

We also saw a father and son juggling act.  They were pretty good (better than I would be) and the one trick that the father messed up on, he insisted on doing right, so it was nice to see someone admit their mistakes.  He's on a balance board with a cup of water on his head juggling knives in the wind. 

Eventually we wandered over to the ski lift and got on.  And that's when I remembered, I don't like heights and prefer to have my feet safely planted on the ground.  I don't ski, so I've never had a reason to be on a ski lift before.  Dave skis this mountain pretty often and clearly had no issues.  The video pretty much says it all.

We got off a the top to check out the view.  We've hiked up here before and there were an awful lot of hikers there already. 

It was a gorgeous day, despite the wind on top whipping pretty good.  The view was relatively clear, and although we were 50 miles away from Boston, we could still make out the skyline on the horizon.  That is if I had been able to see the screen on my camera when I took this shot.  It's still a beautiful day though.

Then came the fun part.  Taking the chair lift back down the mountain.  At least going up I felt like the ground was getting closer to me.  Going down wasn't as nice (and I think it's pretty clear that going up wasn't pleasant either).  It occurred to Dave that he'd never gone down a ski lift either, but he certainly didn't seem to mind.

Despite being in sheer terror for part of the day, it was a nice event and we had a pretty good time.  We shared a homemade raspberry turnover that was delicious and I was even able to pick up some maple sugar for some cookies I want to make.

But no, even if I had the coordination and desire to ski or snowboard, I don't think I'll be getting on a ski lift anytime soon.

The Best Random Day Trip EVER

When I realized how far up into Vermont we would have to drive to get Lizzy to her new home, I started wondering what else we could do in that direction to make the trip a little more palatable.  So I looked at the map and I thought about places and things in Vermont that Dave and I like and tried to find some overlap.  Lo and behold, we lucked out.

Being a novice baker, I have been wanting to visit King Arthur Flour, ideally for a class, but even just to go to the bakery and store.  Luckily King Arthur Flour was minutes off the interstate we used to get up through Vermont.  And better still, the Harpoon Brewery was only about 20 minutes from King Arthur Flour, a few minutes off the same interstate, a little further south. Since Harpoon is Dave's favorite beer, I knew we would have to stop.

While driving towards Lizzy's new home, I mentioned to Dave that we would have to stop at a roadside stand of some sort to get real Vermont maple syrup.  As a huge maple syrup fan (I haven't been able to buy anything other than the real stuff since we moved in together), he agreed and we kept our eyes peeled for the right place.

About 15 minutes from our first destination, Lizzy's forever family, we spotted a sign on the side of the highway for Cabot Creamery, indicating it was only 5 miles away.  We agreed we should stop and see what it was like.  So after leaving Lizzy with her new family, we got back in the car and headed to Cabot, VT.  The town is quite quaint and soon we found the Cabot Creamery, including a factory store.

We went inside and started looking at all the local Vermont goodies and then Dave noticed that they offered a tour.  Since it was about to start and was only $2 per person, we joined the group.  The tour started with a short film noting the history of the Cabot Creamery and farm co-op.  It was pretty cool to learn how they started, the quality they require of their farmers and what they do with all the milk, curd and byproduct.  They actually return the water drained off the cheese to the farm fields, putting nutrients back in the soil, and then of course the cows are eating that naturally enhanced grass.

Then our tour guide Tori told us all about the different cheese products and types they make, including some limited items that are only available close to the creamery.  She was very thorough--I had no idea they were so specialized in certain types of cheddar.  She then took us a on a quick trip through the plant, showing us the machines that make cheddar cheese (from curd to package) and another machine that, at the time, was filling 16 ounce packages of sour cream.  The video actually showed us one of the machines, the one that lifts the finished boxes onto the pallets.  I had to comment on it when Tori asked if their were questions because it was painted like a cow. (I asked who painted it.  She said the company that made it sent it like that.  How funny is that?) So of course when we saw RoboCow, I had to snap a picture.

After the tour we went back to the store to sample some of the cheeses.  We tried to behave ourselves since we hadn't yet had lunch, but I did have to get a second taste of the Buffalo Wing Cheddar and Dave was amazed at the limited batch of Classic Vermont Vintage Cheddar.  So of course we had to get both.  And then a few more.  We could have done a lot worse, but ultimately this was our haul.

I don't know if it was the lack of food or just being happy from finding a random place to stop, but outside I goofed off a little.

Moo.

We got back in the car, quickly got back on our route and decided it was time to stop for real Vermont maple syrup.  We'd passed a sugar house on the way up, so when we came near it again we pulled in and got exactly what we wanted.  The sugar house itself wasn't very exciting, but we knew it was the type of place where we would get "the good stuff."

Now it was time for me to get excited.  We were on our way to King Arthur Flour.  In true Vermont fashion, this company is 100% employee owned and really turns out some quality products.  Their recipes are amazing and I understand they have wonderful classes.  Ideally, I'd like to take a class there sometime, but stopped by the store was a fun introduction. 

King Arthur Flour is undergoing a huge expansion, building up their Baking School, store and bakery, among other things  The project will be done sometime next summer.  Guess I'll be holding off on that class until then!

Inside the store, I found myself completely mesmerized by all the different ingredients and tools. all of the thoughts running through my mind of what I could potential make with some many tasty morsels.  Dave was very patient with me as I slowly and methodically went around the store (literally around--the store is a giant circle!), placing things in my basket.   I'd warned Dave that I planned to fill my basket, but then promised to go back through it and buy only the things I wanted most.  Which I did.  My final purchase was only a fraction of all of my wants.

Indeed there actually were specific items I knew I was going to purchase, like Fiori di Sicilia, an extract-like flavoring that gives a unique "secret" ingredient flavor.  I also ended up getting maple flavoring and cinnamon oil, among a few other things.  Items that did not make the cut were the King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion cookbook and the mini cheesecake pan, but not I have a reason to go back.  On the plus side, they were running a special that day so I got 15% off my total purchase, which was like getting the cinnamon oil for free!


Happy with my King Arthur Flour swag, we got back in the car and headed toward the Harpoon Brewery.  Dave had been there in July for their BBQ festival with his friends Ben and Nick.  They'd gotten a brief tour, had some beer and ate some good food.  Dave asked if I wanted to do the tour, but I wasn't sure if they would be offering one, based on the information in the pamphlet I'd picked up at the Visitor's Center that morning.  We'd planned on grabbing a bite to eat since they have a pub-style restaurant and we were famished.  We'd left around 8:30 in the morning and other than the stop for nibbles of cheese at Cabot, the only other sustenance we'd had was a bag of peanut butter M&Ms.  

Inside Harpoon, Dave used the facilities and I started poking around the store with all the hats, T-shirts and what not.  I was just about to go to the hostess stand and give our name for a table when I heard a woman holler to the crowd that anyone going on the tour should line up at the door.  I hesitated, not sure if I should hurry and buy tickets for the tour or if Dave wasn't interested.  Just then he came out and I told him the tour was about to begin and did he want to go.  So we ran over to the register, got tickets and headed to the door.  They carded us, gave us tasting glasses (that's always a good sign) and the tour began.  Dave's tour back in July was only an abbreviated version, so this was definitely a treat. 

I'd like to stop for a minute and appreciate our tour guide who, while admittedly having trouble with math at the moment, almost didn't give me a glass because she didn't think I was 21.  And then realized by birth year was 1980, not 1990, and that even if it was, since my birthday is in February, I'd be 21 anyway.  Looking back, I kind of appreciated it because when I'm with Dave I never get carded at all, let along questioned about actually being over 20.


Cat and Dan, our tour guides, gave us an amazing tour.  Having gone on a brewery tour before, we kinda knew how beer was made, but the history of Harpoon and the unique things they do to make their beers was pretty cool.  Local farmers actually take the brewery's used mash for feed for local cattle (no wonder the cheese tastes so good up there!).  Plus Cat bubbled over with personality and energy and you just know she loves her job.  Along the way we had some samples.  First was a swig of unfiltered IPA.  IPA is Dave's absolute favorite, but I usually don't care for it.  But this unfiltered stuff was great.  And super cold.  Cold beer is happy beer.


Cat had filled a pitcher of the unfiltered IPA and then started given about 2 ounce pours to everyone.  With beer still left in the pitcher, she started handing out seconds.  Who was the first person she refilled?  Dave, of course.  There were probably 15-18 people in our tour, and there was a couple standing near us. The woman leaned over to Dave and asked him if he liked IPA.  He said yes and she asked him if he wanted hers--she hadn't tasted it because she knows she doesn't like it, so she just poured it in his glass.  Dave made a beer friend!

Later on in the tour, Cat brought us another sample, this time of the filtered IPA.  And yes, the entire scenario I outlined above was repeated.  Exactly.  At this point Dave had 6 tastings to my 2.  Of his favorite beer.  Lucky duck.

Finally, the tour concluded with a sampling frenzy as Cat described the 10 or so beers they had on tap at the moment and Dan offering to pour us as many samples as we'd like to try.  I tasted the UFO Raspberry Hefeweizen and the UFO Pumpkin.  Both were super yummy, and as Cat described, the pumpkin tasted like "liquid pumpkin pie."  Dave tried the 100 Barrell Oak Aged Dunkel and the Leviathan Imperial IPA, and another one I was forgetting.  Clearly he had so much beer, I was starting to forget things.  Or it could have been the fact that in 8 hours I'd only eaten cheese and candy.  One of those.

So to the pub we went!  The restaurant is the Riverbend Taps and Beer Garden and the food is classic pub fare of burgers, sandwiches and fried things.  We each ordered UFO Pumpkins and then tucked into an appetizer of chicken tenders served with amazing french fries and an awesome ranch dressing.  Again, in true Vermont fashion, ingredients are local where possible and out sandwiches were actually served on King Arthur Flour bread.  Everything was delicious and a leisurely dinner was truly was the perfect way to end the day.  With stomachs filled and our beer buzz subsided, we headed back home.


So let's recap: In a little over 12 hours, we drove to Vermont, adopted out dog to a wonderful family, visited a creamery for a tour and tasting, got real Vermont syrup, visited the King Arthur Flour factory for perfect baking ingredients, toured the Harpoon brewery and got lots of samples and a great dinner.  Yeah, I'd say that's not bad for a random road trip.

Rock Climbing

A few weeks ago, I got an email from Living Social Adventures for a Rock Climbing and BBQ night.  They had a few nights and times and I thought it would be a fun evening out for Dave and I.  Dave used to rock climb a lot in college (does this really surprise you?) but I only went once about 10 years ago and did not have a good time (I didn't go with Dave).  However, I was up for the challenge.  Plus, at the end of it all, I would get a tasty dinner from Blue Ribbon BBQ, the best BBQ joint in the area (which isn't saying much considering we went on a BBQ bender while in North Carolina, but it was still good food).

Saturday late afternoon we made our way to MetroRock, but we didn't know exactly what to expect.  The email confirmation said we'd be provided with equipment, so we just wore comfy clothes and sneakers.  The beginning was a little disorganized. They probably had about 50 participants and at the designated time to begin, they just said, "Follow the person in the yellow MetroRock or the grey Living Social T-shirt."  So all 50 of us followed the first person in the yellow shirt we saw walking with harnesses in her hand.  Turns out she only had 3 of said harnesses.  I was confused.

And then more yellow and grey T-shirt clad people began appearing and the lines started to shorten.  Slowly I began to understand.  We weren't there to learn to rock climb--we were there just to run up the walls.  Each T-shirted staff member would belay the participant, and we would cycle through the allotted harnesses at that particular climb, and then move onto another staff person.  It took a while to figure it out, but once we did it made more sense.  Although I did question why they sold more slots than they had harnesses available.

On the first climb, I made it up to the top without too much problem.  Admittedly, it was a pretty easy climb.  Although when I got to the top I did remember that I'm not a huge fan of heights.  Oops.  Dave of course did very well, since he actually knows what he's doing.  (Please excuse the blurry pictures. I forgot the camera and had to go with the phone for these.)

The second wall we climbed was tougher.  It was almost twice as tall as the first and took a sharp right turn partway up, so if you didn't use the right path or got yourself twisted, it'd be tough to stretch over to the right course and get to the top.  I made it most of the way up before my legs started shaking in fear.  From the floor Dave and the staff person were cheering me on, encouraging me to just stand up on that leg to reach the next hold.  Easier said than done.  I would be more confident standing on that leg if it wasn't shaking so bad I thought it would give out.  But I made it and although I had to do a little stretch jump at the end to hit the target, I still made it all the way up.

After a short break, we found another wall that didn't seem too scary. Technically there were two logical routes to take, one being very short, the other taller and more tricky that would require jumping from one wall to another. 

Small world story: Dave and I were standing in line and two women were behind us. Dave had on a Fat Heads T-shirt (bar in Pittsburgh) and one of the women asked if he was from Pittsburgh. He said no, but I was.  Turns out I went to middle school with this chick.  She was a year ahead of me and we even road the bus together.  Neither of us recognized each other's names, but we played the name game of who you know and knew a bunch of people in common.  How weird is that?  I can go to Pittsburgh and never run into anyone I know.  But at a random rock gym outside of Boston I come across someone I apparently went to school with.

Dave let me go first and I made it up the short one quickly, so I decided to go for the big one.  I made it over to the other wall and slowly and thoughtfully climbed the big one.  I was doing reasonably well when I went to grab the next hold and it moved on me.  AHHH!  Dave hollered that I was doing good and I looked down (WHY???) and told him that it moved on me. It made me nervous to continue to use that hold, but I needed it, so I persevered.  I was pretty close to the top (although going slowly on shaky legs) and then I just had to hang out for a while.  The holds were not in a useful place anymore.  And because I'm short, I didn't have the wingspan to stretch.  I made to attempts to jump and hit the target, but failed at both.  I needed to hit the next hold.  So I chalked up, and gave it my all.  I was able to grab the next hold, which was super small, just long enough to propel myself to the target.  Not easy.  Dave went up and agreed that it was a reasonable course until you got to the top and had to use a lot of strength to finish.

We started watching some people doing more challenging climbs and came to an area that apparently was challenging everyone.  As we got there, a guy went up and became the first one to make it to the top during our session.  The difficulty was an overhang at the beginning that you needed to get over and then climb across the wall, away from the target, and then work your way back.  A few more people went, some successful and others not so much.  I convinced Dave to do it, though.  (I knew I would never be able to figure out how to get around the overhang.)

Dave was pretty methodical about his path and he did really well.  He wasn't the fastest, but he figured it out and didn't get twisted or have to backtrack like a few other people did.

After the last climb, we went up to get dinner.  They didn't have any seating, so we got our BBQ and beer and pulled up a piece of floor to chow down.  The food was good, which was a relief considering the amazing BBQ we'd had the week before.  And we were starving because it was already about 2 hours pas tour normal dinner time, adding to that the activity portion of the evening.

Overall we had a really good time.  It was something completely different for us and we probably wouldn't have done it had I not seen the deal.  It also encouraged me to get back to working out.  There's no excuse to being this sore after only 3 climbs!

Secrets Unveiled

Today is the start of something new for me.  As cookie season comes upon us (and by us, I mean me), I was struggling with how to share with you the craziness that is my cookie baking, without turning my blog into a complete cooking and recipe based blog.  Because telling you that I made delicious, yummy, fabulous cookies without giving you the recipe could be consider cruel.  But making you suffer through recipes when you just want to hear about mice hunting, my fantasy football prowess, and Halloween costumes (teaser!) could also be considered cruel.

So I decided to launch a new blog.  Secrets of the Cookie Princess is the new home to everything cookie in my life.  This was a difficult thing for me to come to terms with, because I generally don't share my best cookie recipes.  Years ago I was asked for a recipe and instead of giving the individual the recipe I use, I searched online for a reasonable facsimile.  But that was ages ago, and apparently I was going through a phase, because now I'm over it.  I'm willing to share my recipes as well as the tricks I use to make them awesome.  Because frankly, if you've ever had my cookies, you'll admit they are awesome.

I hope you'll enjoy.  I'll do my best to not overlap, but clearly if I set the oven on fire (again) then I'll be forced to share that adventure with you here, but I'll put the cookie casualties on the cookie blog.

"Cookies" and a New Development

Those of you who know me know that I have a little obsession.  And those of you who don't know me, but have read my profile are wondering why I haven't addressed the "ridiculous quantities of cookies" I mentioned.  Well, I haven't talked about it yet because the holidays (and by holidays I mean cookie baking days) only come but once a year.  And I've been working on something else that I'm hoping to unveil for you this week.  

So in an attempt to totally tease you, I thought I'd share with you a story that illustrates exactly how obsessed with cookies I am.

Last weekend, I made Chiquita her own batch of cookies.

I'm such a sucker.

We've been using treats to aid in Chiquita's training, since she is a very food driven dog.  Not want to spend a fortune on dog treats (yeah, $3.49 for a 1/4 pound at Petco's treat bar is a little crazy), I figured I could make something that I knew would be healthy and definitely cheaper.  

After a little searching online, I did find a recipe that was both easy and healthy.  I found I had to make some modifications from the original, but it's essentially the same.  This isn't supposed to be a food blog, but I thought you might enjoy a change of pace.  Especially those of you with your own pups at home.

Peanut Butter Puppy Poppers

courtesy and inspired by Bullwrinkle.com

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1 cup peanutbutter

1 cup milk

1 ripe, mashed banana (This was my addition, since I had just found out the day before that Chiquita likes bananas.  Oh come on, her name is Chiquita--I had to find out!  And I may or may not have contemplated putting a certain sticker from the produce department on her forehead and taking a picture.)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees (or 350 if using a dark pan).

In one bowl combine flour and baking soda.  In another bowl combine peanutbutter, milk and banana.  Whisk until smooth.  Stop and see how much your dog likes peanutbutter by offering her the spatula.  Wait and see if she likes it.  Call your husband into the kitchen to watch.  Laugh when she licks the spatula clean. (Remember, spatula is technically not clean and should be put in sink, not drawer.)  Add dry ingredients to wet mixture and mix with spoon as much as possible and then knead in with hands until a firm dough forms.

Stop to take dog for a walk.  Remember to turn oven off.  Return from walk and turn oven back on.  Dough stays fine on the counter for a hour or so.  Preheat oven again.  Roll dough out (in batches if space is tight) to 1/4 inch thickness and using your dog's favorite cookie cutter, cut into shapes.  Repeat rolling and cutting until all dough is used.  

Bake for 20 minutes on a parchment lined pan.  Practice sit and stay commands with dog when opening oven.  

Cool complete on racks.  Practice leave it command when dog investigates her cookies on the kitchen table.  Store in an airtight container.

 

I made about 4 1/2 dozen dog bones, and put some in the freezer.  I would imagine they'll last a good 1-3 months in the freezer.  That is, of  course, if you want to deprive your dog of cookies for that long.

Oh, and the dog bone cookie cutter?  Yeah, Dave gave that to me about 8 or 9 years ago, before we were even dating.  Who knew?

Foster Parents

Well, not real parents, actually.

Puppy parents. Or dog parents. Or whatever little guy (or girl) needs a good home.

Dave and I have wanted a dog for a long time. We didn't get one when we were both working because our hours and commute had us away from home for over 12 hours, and that's just not fair to a dog. And since Dave's job future is uncertain, we can't completely commit to a dog of our own (even though we hope that he'll be working from home at least part-time when he does go back to work), we found a great organization that we had to be involved with.

All Dog Rescue is an all volunteer non-profit organization dedicated to the rescue of Massachusetts' dogs in need and matching each with appropriate and responsible owners. They find dogs from shelters or who have been surrendered by their owners, and put them in foster homes until they can be adopted into their forever homes.

We are really excited to get involved. Not only will we be saving the dogs we foster, but we'll be creating space in shelters for other dogs. Plus we'll get the joy of having a pup in our lives. And it's good karma.

We submitted our application, had a phone interview and a home visit, and are approved for taking in foster dogs. So now we begin the waiting game. The organization has a group of evaluators that go to shelters every once and a while to evaluate dogs and determine if they are suitable for fostering. Once they find a dog that's passes the evaluation, we get to meet it and see if it will be a good fit for our home. And then our journey begins.

Hopefully in the next few weeks they'll evaluate some dogs and we'll have a new little friend in our home. And I promise that once we do, I'll post pictures (and encourage you to adopt your next friend).

Boobies In My Face

No, there aren't pictures.

And the names have been changed to protect the guilty.

I've been holding back on you. A few weeks ago when Dave and I came back from Mike & Donna's wedding, we ended up having a few friends over that night. Our friends Barney and Robin were visiting with our other friend, Lily (yup, changed all their names). We told them they could all come over and hang out, thinking we'd get something to eat.

We were sitting around, talking and drinking beer, and please do not ask me how the topic came up, but Robin commented that she had never been to a strip club before. Lily, who at one point in time worked in such an establishment, offered to take her to one. Barney of course thought this was a good idea, as did Dave. So they started planning when to go, deciding the following weekend would be a good time. I looked at Dave and said we couldn't do that because we had dinner plans that night, for our first anniversary.

Barney: That's perfect! What a better way to spend your anniversary than at a strip club! (Laughter followed.)

Me: Actually, it probably would. True story: That's what my parents did on one of their anniversaries--went to dinner with friends and then to a strip club.

No lie. And I'll bet they'd tell you about it if you asked.

After some more conversation, and realizing that only one person had to be at work the next day, we decided that there's no time like the present, and hopped in the car. Well, actually, I changed clothes, and then Robin and Lily got made at me for changing to so I had to lend them clothes. And shoes. And then we got in the car and drove to, um, Centerfolds.

We get there and the sign says "50 hot chicks and 3 ugly ones" so we know we're in for a good time. Since Lily knows the bouncer, we get in for free. Since she knows the bartender, our drinks are cheaper than $10 each. Good to know people.

Robin is visibly disturbed from the moment we walk in, so of course after we get our drinks and dollar bills, we take a seat up front by the stage. Not that it's difficult since there's barely anyone there (it was a Sunday night). In Robin's defense, skeevy doesn't even begin to describe this dive. It's just awful. The decor lost it's mojo at least 30 years ago, and it just feels...dirty. And not in a good way.

The sign outside about the 3 ugly chicks is not false advertising. These girls were...let's just say, they didn't have the A team on stage. Or the B team. And I think the C team might have been on vacation.

These girls were ugly. And lacked certain "features" that one would expect in such an establishment. But that didn't keep them from trying. Even though they couldn't dance. But they tried. To heavy metal.

You know what's not sexy? Ugly chicks who can't dance pretending they have rhythm while heavy metal blares from the speakers.

Poor Robin, looking absolutely mortified, was a little surprised at the "exposure." So of course we tried to buy her a private dance. Lily attempted to find someone who wouldn't make Robin cry, but alas, none of those types of girls were dancing that night. So saved by the ugly chicks, we gave up on that idea.

Although at one point, one of the dancers told Robin she had nice boobs.

So the three ugly chicks did their sets, and the DJ announces Molly coming to the stage.

Me: What kind of stripper name is Molly?

Dave: I dunno.

Me (Looking up as Molly takes the stage): Oh, she's cute! That's the kind of stripper name Molly is!

And she was. I guess we were back into the hot chick rotation. And she had the appropriate assets. And she could dance. So of course, I put up dollar bills in front of Dave and I and she came to dance for us.

Molly (mind you, she's dancing for this entire conversation): Hi guys!

Me: Hi, Molly!

Molly: Are you guys having a good time?

Dave and I both nod yes.

Molly: Good. It's like couples therapy! I don't know if it works for everyone, but it works for me!

Having no other response to that kind of statement, we laugh. Because really, what would you say? No, seriously, I want to know what would you say?

Molly to me (squeezing her boobs together): Go ahead, mama.

Yup, I put the money between her ta-tas.

After Molly finished her set, we decided to leave. In part because we'd been there long enough for Robin to say she's been to a strip club (hey, you keep saying you want to be bad ass). And in part because Mya, the next dancer to take the stage, was delayed in getting to the stage and then stood there with her arms crossed giving the DJ a surly look since he didn't have her music ready. I'm not sure anyone wanted to see how that was going to end.

Robin told me I couldn't blog about this. So I didn't. And then I decided that I'd just change her name for the story, because this was worth telling.

We left, got some food, went home, and ended our night. Totally not what I'd expected to be doing after traveling almost 6 hours to come home from a wedding, but it was a good time. And pretty funny.

And makes me want to tell Robin she has nice boobs next time I see her.

Orange County Choppers

When Dave and I drove down to Lisa's wedding in June, we took a different route than normal. It was much faster and gave us new stuff to look at. On the way home, I was driving and we were on I-87 in New York, about to take the exit to get onto I-84 and head back to Massachusetts. For some reason, I looked over to my left and saw a building on the other side of the highway.

"Gee, that building looks familiar," I thought as I looked back at the road. I looked at the building again, and exclaimed to Dave, "It's OCC! That's their new building! Want to stop?"

I did not crash the car or create any traffic violations. We took our exit, but couldn't figure out where to go to get to that side of the highway, so we just drove home. But we were excited at the prospect of stopping on a future trip.

For those of you who are wondering "WTH is OCC?", allow me to explain. OCC= Orange County Choppers, also known as the motorcycle shop featured on the hit (and newly renewed!) TLC program, American Choppers. Not actually interested in motorcycles, I was turned on to this show almost 8 years ago when Dave and I visited our friend Jesse for a New Year's Eve party (before we were even dating) and spent a few days with friends hanging out at his parents house. There was an American Choppers marathon and the boys beat the girls on choosing what to watch on TV.

I was hooked from the beginning. The designs on the bikes are phenomenal. And just seeing it go from paper to finished product is pretty impressive. Not to mention the family dynamic between the father, Paul Senior, and his two sons, Paul, Junior and Mikey. The personal interaction, sometimes volatile but often very funny, make for really good TV.

Needless to say, when TLC announced an end to the show this past spring, Dave and I were a little intrigued and mildly disappointed. For Christmas last year, I bought Senior's book Ride of a Lifetime for Dave. He loved it, and really gained a great deal (more) respect for Senior as a businessman.

And last week I found out that they renewed American Choppers. The bikes are just as awesome and the family plot thickens, what with Junior leaving the company (we saw that episode last year) and starting a competing business of his own. Oh, and Senior is suing Junior. (You can vote for who's side your on, too. I truly believe in Senior and what he has built, so I have to go with him. And I don't understand these people that are on Junior's side--seriously? Read the book!)

So, back to our drive home last Sunday, we decided that since it was the middle of the afternoon and I didn't have work on Monday, we might as well stop at OCC. We eventually found it (our GPS map is a little old, so we had to follow our, I mean my, directional instincts--I won!).


It was a great day, so there were lots of bikers around and people who generally had the same idea as us. We saw cars in the lot with plates from all over New England, Pennsylvania, Ohio and even one from Texas.

Inside, they have a great showcase in the windows of some of the best bikes they've built. I couldn't believe how huge some of these things are. Really big bikes. I have a whole new perspective of the work they do on the show.

Spiderman bike--they created webbing around the gas can and the wheels.

FBI bike (left) and New York Fire Department bike (right). They have this area set up so you can get your picture taken with the bikes. And the background is made up of patches from various emergency agencies from all over.

Lance Armstrong Foundation bike--pedaling not required!

The OCC version of Santa's Sleigh. I believe Senior actually dresses up and rides this bike to events where gifts are handed out to needy kids.

Besides all the merchandise and loads of TVs to watch episodes of the show, they have hallway you can walk down and actually see the shop and where they build the bikes and film the show. It was pretty cool to see. We may need to stop on a weekday to catch them during an actual build.

The lovable and plush versions of (left to right): Paul, Sr., Mikey, and Paul, Jr.


On our way out, I was still taking pictures. A nice guy asked if we wanted a picture of both of us.

The bike above the door is the Air Force bike.

We were really glad we stopped. The bikes are amazing and it was a cool little side trip into a little reality TV vice of ours. At least it's not complete trash and we learn a lot about motorcycles! And anyone who actually is into bikes should absolutely make the trip. They really are more than just bikes--they are works of art and each one is totally unique and absolutely original.

Camp Cook

Dave and I like to cook. We enjoy making meals at home together and while Dave is pretty handy in the kitchen, I usually end up taking the lead. And although I'd never cooked over a campfire before, I impressed myself when I was able to do so this weekend and make up some pretty yummy meals.

I left the meal planning to Dave since I knew his years of Boy Scout camping experience would prove useful in seeing how far we could test our culinary limits. I mean, the kid cooked full on turkeys in the woods, Thanksgiving-style.

A few years ago, our friends Brandi and Seth got married and had their reception on the lake. Mere and Nick ended up camping at the lake, so after the wedding we hung out at their campsite, next to the fire. Nick pulled out the pie irons and made us all hobo pies. For those of you unfamiliar with these terms, allow me to explain.


This is a pie iron. It's cast iron and seals up tightly around so you can cook your food super fast. The long handle makes sure you don't burn yourself when you take it out of the fire.

A hobo pie is two slices of bread with fruit pie filling sandwiched between. Since the bread is usually a little larger than the pie iron, when you seal the iron, it pinches the bread and when it's cooked, you basically end up with a poor man's version of a Hostess fruit pie.

Anyway, we thought they were really cool and versatile for other foods, so we bought some for a camping trip two years ago. We used them and were happy, but I think we outdid ourselves this weekend.

On the menu for Friday night was Chicken Fajitas.


I had cut up the peppers and onions at home, as well as sliced the chicken into more manageable pieces that would fit inside the irons. I even brought seasoning! A little chili powder and cumin, salt and a lime to squeeze over the cooked yummies.


We ended up sealing the iron that had the peppers and onions so they would cook a little faster. And the chicken got nice a brown on the outside. And since I'd brought extra aluminum foil, I wrapped the tortillas in it and was able to warm them up on the fire too.

As you can see, Dave was very excited to eat.

I too enjoyed my meal. So much so that I forgot to take a picture of the finished product!

Of course, what's camping and a camp fire without Smores? We toasted up some marshmallows and made the traditional Smores. But I had also bought a box of Nature Valley Granola Thins. They're basically a very thin granola bar the same size and shape as 1/2 a graham cracker, with a thin coating of dark chocolate on the bottom. I decided to make a Smore with part graham cracker, part granola thin. It was delicious! All of the chocolate was melty and the nutty crunch of the granola was a different and yummy flavor.

Dave toasted a perfectly gooey marshmallow to make an excellent Smore.

In the morning we just had cereal, bananas and yogurt so that we could hit the road for the Jeep run. And since we knew we'd be on the trail for lunch, we had packed sandwiches and such for lunch that day. So our next culinary excursion was dinner.

I have a recipe for Cheesy Broccoli Pockets, kind of like a calzone, that I make every once and a while. When we were menu planning, Dave asked me if I could make the filling in advance. Easy enough, I was concerned and intrigued if this was going to work on the fire. When we arrived at the campsite and I'd learned the rec center kitchen was going to be open, I was less concerned about going hungry that night.

The filling is made of chopped broccoli, roasted red peppers, mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, salt and oregano. I also put some slices of deli ham inside for a little extra flavor and volume. I used a whole wheat dough that I divided and a little cornmeal to handle the dough.


We plopped them right into the pie irons and figured it would take about 10 minutes per side for the dough to cook. Yeah. We were done in less than 10 minutes total! And they were perfect. The first batch was a little crusty on the outside, but inside the dough was soft and the cheese was perfectly melty. The second batch was pure heaven since we knew to take them off the flames earlier.


Ta-da!

Sunday morning we woke up to some light rain. It wasn't that terrible. We had put all our stuff (and firewood) in the screenhouse before bed, so we were pretty much dry. I actually think most of the "rain" we contended with in the morning was the drops that were left on the trees that kept falling every time the wind blew.

It was just before 8:00 am and we had to check out by 11:00 am, so we figured we had time for breakfast. Dave started a fire and I got out the ingredients.

Pancakes! Yes, I realize it's Bisquick, but I'm still making pancakes in the woods. And turkey sausage. With the fire blazing, we stuck the pie irons over the flames to get them going. Then I shook up the pancake mix and loaded up the irons.

The irons were so hot the sausage started to sizzle as soon as it hit the metal.

This was perfect and so easy. The pancakes actually turned out better than when I make them at home (I have a tendency to burn the first few and the last few--don't know why). The pancakes puffed up right away and the sausage got a nice crispy brown outside.

I can honestly say that for as many stories as I've heard about Dave eating well when camping, I never expected to have such good meals and have them be so easy and quick. I was pleasantly surprised. Just goes to show you that a little preparation and planning can make it easy for you. Maybe I should put this much thought into making dinner at home during the week.