Sept 30th Pic!

"Hers"

This morning I took multiple pic's of our newest Mug, the Cobalt Blue Le Creuset Mug that Eva's friend Arianne sent for her B-Day. Now Eva has a Blue mug to go along with my Orange mug! So in good faith I decided to take a pic of the two mugs co-habituating, I asked Eva to look at the Pic's once I uploaded them to the computer...she commented that "Those Pic's Suck!...I'll take better ones later today"

OK.

So once she takes her "Better" pic I'll post both mine and hers up. Mine really did suck though, just an FYI.

 "His"

Ok so mine isn't so bad. 

Sept 29th Pic!

"Speed Reading"

Eva and I have officially started our two person book club on our Kindles. We're reading the The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao.

The book is sad in a depressed teen sort of way but it's still an easy fun read. Not dark and slow and plodding like the Girl with a Dragon Tattoo. I still don't understand how that book is such a success, it flat out sucked 80% of the time. Can't say much for the movie either. 

"Crystal Clear"

Is there any other kind of clear?...by now most people can deduce that I love my gadgets, only if I could take a pic of my Camera while taking a pic with my Camera without the use of Mirrors. Hmm....

Sept 28th Pic!

"Old School"

A second entry in the blog for this car. This thing parked right in front of my car as I was walking around looking for pic's...its not as sexy parked in a Garage but calling this car sexy is quite a stretch, I'm sure it has a great personality. My Prius on the flip side is sexy and has a great personality, it is slow though but not in the short bus kinda way, more like people who have small feet and can't cover nearly as much distance, but they require less food...you know because they're small, just like my Prius!

Sept 27th Pic!

"Winery"

What cures a pounding headache better than Wine? maybe Beer, but Wine does the trick pretty damn well of curing the case of the Mondays and headaches. Unfortunately for me the one Winery we wanted to go to was closed on Monday night! Well we had a Groupon for the place! We ended up drinking Wine back at the house. :(

Sept 26th Pic!

"Naaaaaan"

Some good ol' Indian Bread (Dot not feather). Went to an Indian Buffet with a few of my friends, "India Clay Oven" don't search for it on the Net, according to Google this place does not exist in AZ. In SF however there are 10 India Clay Ovens in a 2 mile radius. The food was pretty damn good, it's located on the intersection of Southern & Gilbert if you're interested. They had Mango Lassi (Mango Milkshake) at the buffet counter, all you can drink Mango Lassi...that's awesome, I only had one though, you can't go to a buffet and get full on a milkshake! That's simply not American.

Speaking of American, for Dinner Eva and I had In-N-Out...before you think, what the hell is wrong with this guy, Buffet and In-N-Out (Burger joint) in the same day!? We didn't actually eat In-N-Out. Eva came home from work craving food but not knowing exactly what she was craving. Turns out it was a hybrid food craving (not my car), she wanted a veggie patty from Costco, with Onions, Tomatoes, with In-N-Out Special Sauce on it. Well lucky for us In-N-Out is less than a Min away, so while I was preparing the food, she went to In-N-Out and asked "Can I get a packet of your Super secret special sauce please" after receiving what I'm sure are funny looks, the pimply teen behind the counter handed her two packets labeled "Spread". 

"Spread" was delicious, I'm not sure what was in it except for relish pieces, but it was damn good. They make it seem entirely too had to get your hands on the secret ingredient special sauce on Spongebob Squarepants.

Sept 25th Pic!

"Acorn Squash, Honey"

Still working through our CSA basket, the last of the Acorn Squash ended up being our Dessert on Sat night. Squash is sweet to begin with but when you add, Honey, Cinnamon, and sugar and bake it for an hour it is delicious! Acorn Squash also provides the perfect appetizer, when you cut it in half, gut the seeds, coat them with Olive Oil, Salt and pepper and roast them for 10 mins in the oven at 350. They go down really really well with some light beer. 

Sept 24th Pic!

"Twins"

Still working on finishing our CSA produce as of last Friday. The Pears were getting a little soft so I thought I'd take a pic to prove that we did get some pears. The Organic Apple are almost a loss, so many of them and so little time to eat them all!

Sept 23rd Pic!

"Back Door"

Thursday night pick-up. Speaking of Thursday nights "The Office" is back and it's awesome! So is "30 Rock" however the jury is still out on "Outsourced". They ran through all the stereotypical stuff in the first episode so I'm hoping it gets funnier as the season goes on. I trust NBC, all the Indian characters they've had on before (Kelly from Office, Aziz in Parks and Rec) are common non-stereotypical folks, so it was a little dis-heartening to see them throw out all the goodwill in one fell swoop. I'm sure they'll recover. It's not like they're trying to broadcast the Olympics ;) 

Sept 22nd Blog!

"Liquid Dessert"

When there's no cake, I'll settle for some good ol' Dessert Wine. It's a bit too sweet but in small quantities it's pretty damn enjoyable. Our Wednesday nights usually consist of going out to eat somewhere around town, but today we opted for a trip to REI so Eva could look at her dream bike. Instead I ended up test "riding" a bike where I wore a dorky "don't run me over, I have reflectors on" vest with a Helmet. I haven't worn a bike helmet since middle school. I rode around in the back parking lot, where there was a guy sleeping in his car. The guy sleeping in the car isn't relevant to the narrative but I thought you should know that there are people sleeping in their car's in Phoenix while it's 100 degrees out. FYI.

Sept 21st Pic!

"Delish"

My initial title was going to be "Splat" because it looks as if someone jumped from a tall building and hit the ground hard. Thank god that looks can be deceiving because this food was pretty damn good. Eva cooked it. In our CSA basket last Saturday we got this mysterious looking green thing, upon further investigation we found out that it was an Acorn Squash. Eva looked up some recipes and found this recipe that called for apples and currants dressed up with Garahm Masala better known as Curry Powder on steroids. 

We also put the seeds to good use. Roast them in the oven with, Kosher Salt and Olive Oil, they're great with Beer. Just in case you were wondering this isn't going to become some Julie & Julia style blog, I like to cook but only take pic's when it looks interesting or if I've forgotten to take a pic earlier in the day. A great example of this would be when I went to the Zoo on Sunday, I cooked later that day, but I figured Giraffes and Lions make better Picadai subjects than my Sausage Curry. You're Welcome!  

Sept 20th Pic!

"Blindness"

After our weekend adventures in Sun I finally received the call from Costco letting me know that my prescription shades and glasses were ready. I wore contacts and normal shades during the weekend but contacts get so damn dry in AZ, it's really no fun looking cool. As can be seen by the thickness of the lens I'm almost legally blind. The lady at the counter told me that since they're shades even if they're thick it wont really matter, you wont be able to tell. I haven't had anyone call me Mr. Magoo yet but I'm pretty sure I'm only using these shades when I'm driving! ...They're polarized too. Maybe that's why they're so think, that extra MM layer of polarization. 

Sept 19th Pic!

"Wild"

Out of Africa! We went to a Safari style Zoo in northern Arizona, near Sedona. Initially we drove past it to check out a restaurant in Jerome (The Asylum), The City of Jerome is located on a high elevation...on a small mountain actually, and it has the vibe of a small European town. The restaurant is on top of the hill and overseas the entire town, it's definitely worth the drive  just for the view...the food however is just ok.  

Back to Out of Africa, we got there just in time for the feeding sessions, which meant we got to see the Lions, Tigers and Bears tear apart some succulent horse meat! We also fed the Camels and Giraffe's...Just like in a real Safari except for 100th the price while enjoying the comforts of western plumbing. Win-Win.

"Hi!"

":-)"

"Jerome: Mile High City"

"Outta Here"

"Horse Meat Helper"

"Packaged"

"The Toss"

"The Feed"

"Big Cattt"

"Animal on first date"

"Mmmm"

"Food?"

"Second Kiss"

Sept 18th Pic!

"Chef's Special"

Another cooking experiment. This time around I went with Eva's favorites, Butternut Squash and White Onions. Other things were also involved, such as Risotto, Garlic, Cumin, a fresh made Yogurt topping for the Risotto & Garbanzo beans! This beauty only took me about an hour and a half to make, including the cutting, boiling and cleaning time!     

Of course by the time I got done doing all of this, I realized 2-3 bites in that I forgot to take a pic...the presentation even included a smiley face made of onions.

The overall verdict for the dish was ok...I'd make it again but adjust for the amount of crushed Cumin.

Sept 17th Pic!

"Trees of Sushi"

Friday night involved going out to a local Japanese Restaurant, Hana Japanese Eatery. I'll try not to sound like a reviewer on Yelp, but the food there was excellent. We initially went for the Susi but ended up eating the Noodles, pan fried noodles, with Shrimp. Yes, it was excellent! Even better part of our experience was that the restaurant is BYOB, so instead of taking a bottle of wine (I'm not sure what kind of wine you drink with Susi) we took a 6-pack of beer! Atleast we werent the people who walked in with 40's wrapped in a paper bag. Don't be scared this is a pretty safe and neat establishment. 

"Safe Fish"

Sept 16th Pic!

"Whimsical"

As an Artist (a very very loosely used term) I'm at times commissioned to "install" art pieces. I start small like my own living room and will one day earn the opportunity to  "install" a piece in other places around the home.  So, Yes I did install the mirrors in the pic above, and yes they do overlap. Am I awesome? Yes. 

"Self Portrait"

"Venn Diagram"

Circle one, Sid is cool...Circle two, Sid is very cool, overlap Sid is Awesome! (2 cups of coffee today!)

"Power Cleaner"

Sept 15th Pic!

"Cans"

Headphones on my desk! We watched "500 (Days of Summer)" the other night and I commented on how the leads headphones looked totally nerdy. Little did I know I owned a similar pair of nerdy "Cans" which I used to watch an episode of "Weeds" while Eva went to sleep. Headphone's a necessary accessory in the bedroom, who knew?. It would've been even better had I owned those glasses from Skymall where a TV is projected on to the glasses and it seems as if you're watching a 60 inch TV!

Sept 14th Pic!

"Burstin Surfboards"

Remember the organic produce Eva and I picked up on Saturday? Well This was one of the mystery things we picked up. I was commissioned to cut it up and figure out what it was on the 14th. I made a small incision to figure get a small peek, I was pretty damn excited to see something fruity looking. My worst fear was it would be some sort of squash or nasty veggie. Don't get me wrong I like veggies and squash,  but my allegiance is with veggies like Broccoli, Eggplant, Mushrooms etc.

After cutting the fruit, I'm still not sure what it is, we deduced it's some sort of melon, it's one of those fruits that you see in a fruit platter. I've eaten it before, enjoyed it, but when you're in your 20's it's too late to ask questions like "What kind of fruit is this?". No one wants to be the idiot that asks…"what fruit is this?". Anyway, now that my idiocy (word?) has been uncovered, what the hell kinda fruit is it? A Cantaloupe?

"Wedged"

Sept 13th Pic!

"Fly, Dragon Fly"

 

Early start this morning, I guess that's bound to happen when you go to bed around 9pm on a Sunday! The early bed time is more a product of continusley waking up earlier and earlier and doing more and more. In Sunday's case more and more included eating and eating and watching football and watching football. Anyway, early start today due to another bird walk at the botanical garden, the walk starts at 7am so we got up around 6:15ish to get our bearings together. If you've never experienced a bird walk before, I don't necessarily know if I highly recommend it but at times it can be fun and pretty educational. The group we go with comprises of mostly retired (old) people, who have been birding for years. Our guide had been a volunteer since 1984! She's been a guide as long as Eva has been alive and since I was 1. I can't imagine doing any one thing for that long but maybe when you turn 40+ it gets a little easier.

Judging by the pic's one would deduce that we didn't see many birds but that isn't entirely true. It's considerably harder to capture birds on film, most bird watchers don't even bother, they carry binoculars and sometimes a guide book to look up a type of bird. Today being our second tour, we were better prepared, we took a few pics of birds but mostly viewed them using the borrowed set of binoculars. I mostly walked around looking at Dragonfly's, bees and thinking about how to take pic's of the "Bird Walk" more than the birds themselves. Pic above is Eva's, she used the telephoto to capture her willing subject, who sat there posing for quite some time.

 "Bird?"

This Pic is the "Bird Walk", clearly they spotted something and everyone gathers around the crowd to see what all the fuss is about.

"Bird Nerd" 

;)

Sept 12th Pic!

"0-1"

First official Sunday of Football, and what a shitty way to start for my team! Lost our first game against a deplorable team that shouldn't have had a chance against us! I guess every dog has their day, hopefully the one loss doesn't ruin our season. 

Went to Ben's place for the opening kickoff, beer, chips, barbecue, icing on the cake would've been my team winning. On the flip side, Bird watching tomorrow, so Eva should have some great pic's to post! Maybe I'll let her write an entry too.

Sept 11th Pic!

"Due soon"

My first CSA pickup! Phoenix Co-Op - Bountiful Baskets  We got one last weekend also but since I had to be at work by 7am, Eva picked it up. This morning we both went to get our Organic basket, our pick-up site was Mitchell Park near University and Hayden. According to Eva this was a ton of people compared to the first site she went to pick-up last weeks basket. The lady in the pic above walked past us and spoke to her friend standing behind us, apparently she's due at the end of October.

Speaking of the lady behind us, she had two little kids in tow, one was no more than 2-3 years old, the other can still be measured in months. She asks (Asks!!) the 2 year old if he wants to go play in the playground while she stands in line, offers him a choice, 1. You can go play in the playground 2. Stand in line with me. This exchange would've gone down a lot (lot!!) differently back in my childhood. Two options, 1. Stay in line and shut-up 2. Try to play in the playground and be grounded. The kid today however asked one follow-up question, "Will you get me after you're done?"...smart kid I guess. I probably would've been just happy running off and playing all day without any worries.

"Thunderstorms"

Similar to the noises grocery store produce isles make, however sprinkler water can't be that good for your Organic veggies. Actually considering Sprinkler water once contained organic matter maybe it's better that my tomatoes are soaked in it. 

"Morning Rush"

"Organic"

We got Mangoes!! And other stuff that I'm not too sure I can identify. 

"Freshly Laundered"

"Fruits and such"

Yup we brought a laundry basket to carry the Organic food. Atleast the green matches the organic nature of the food. Did I mention we got Organic produce? It's 100% Organic in case you were curious, all those years of pesticide immunity I built up down the drain :(

Sept 10th Pic!

"Fireflys"

Little bulbs at our place, we hardly ever turn them on but since I was struggling for a pic last night I was taking pics of random things around the house. I guess above was the best one that turned out. My initial pic idea was to show me talking to my Grandparents in India on Skype Video, but I couldn't light the room well enough for the camera to work...but Skype Video is really cool! It's just like Google Chat, actually now that you can make phone calls via Google I guess Google might be a little better, considering how it's free and all. 

Sept 9th Pic!

"Masala Chicken"

Thursday morning started off with me cooking some Masala Chicken for a work pot luck. I prepared the Chicken the night before and let it marinade overnight, and in the morning I heated rice, cut up some onions and broiled the concoction. Good Stuff! It actually did get rave reviews at the pot luck, I tweaked the recipe a little from the first time I made it and quite a few people at the potluck asked for the recipe.  So for the curious minds, here it is. 

Easy Chicken Masala

The only tweak I make is that I don't adjust the amount of Masala based on the amount of Chicken I use, same goes for Cilantro and Garlic...I actually add more Garlic. I also used Chicken Tenders, easier to clean and cook. I marinade all night and cook for an hour in the oven. Bam!

Also initially I intended to put up the post for 8th and 9th yesterday evening, but my wireless computer keyboard ate the last of my AAA batteries :( ...fixed that situation this morning! 

Sept 8th Pic!

"Looming"

On the 8th I dropped off Eva at a CVS little farther than where she usually works, so while I drove she took the opportunity to take a few pics for me. I don't drive on the freeways as frequently anymore (i.e. daily commute to work, etc) but when I did, I loved looking at downtown Phoenix, It's nothing special when compared to SF, NY or any other major downtown in any other town, but I liked looking at it.

"Commuters"

"Busted"

Ok so I took this one while driving back home...not smart but If I'd crashed atleast a cop was right there to help me.