florida primaries

I just voted. How about you? Florida has closed primaries, meaning you can only vote for candidates within your registered party. I used to be an Independent, but since I couldn't vote in primaries, I switched affiliation to Democrat in 2000. Even if you are a Florida Independent voter, today's election is important to determine the fate of Constitutional Amendment 1, which would decrease home owner's taxes and all the services that they pay for. My community also happens to be voting in 3 new city commissioners so I expect voter turnout to be higher than in the rest of the state. We'll see. You have until 7 p.m. to cast a ballot. Make sure you do!

and the winner is ...

Friday's Vanilla Coke taste test had three contestants and one clear winner.

Contestant #1: Coca-Cola Vanilla. It had a strong vanilla flavor, but it tasted more like vanilla extract. Add to that the tinny taste often found with canned Cokes and it was just okay.

Contestant #2: Regular Coke with vanilla flavoring added. We added one tablespoon vanilla flavoring to an entire can of Coke. The directions on the bottle said to add two tablespoons, but we were glad we stopped at one.

Contestant #3: Sonic vanilla Coke. I assume this is what #2 would have tasted like if we had added both tablespoons to the Coke. In other words, it was rather sweet.

The verdict: #2 was the clear winner, but that's not really a surprise. Mixing your own drink usually produces better results. Unfortunately, I'd rank Coca-Cola Vanilla last due to its vanilla extract flavoring. But considering I love Vanilla Cokes in any form or fashion, I'll still enjoy each version.

picture post

Here are some current projects I'm working on, some already started and some that will be soon -- like today.









Also, I've added new songs to my current music obsessions in the sidebar that have either been on heavy rotation on my iPod or have been pleasant old-school surprises dug up by shuffle. I love a good surprise.

coke is it

A few weeks ago, I was talking to one of my friends about the demise of my favorite Coke product, Vanilla Coke. Once Coca-Cola announced they wouldn't make it any more, they introduced Black Cherry Vanilla Coke. I liked that combination so I didn't complain too loudly. Then that version disappeared too, leaving me with only Cherry Coke. I'm not a huge Cherry Coke fan but the taste of canned Coke is not my favorite so I deal with it.

Of course, fountain Cokes are by far the best drink in the entire world. Finding a restaurant with the perfect syrup to soda water ratio is like hitting the jackpot. It goes without saying that it must be actual Coke, no Pepsi products for this Southerner unless truly, truly desperate for caffeine. But I digress.

My friend asked me why I didn't just buy vanilla syrup and mix it with regular Cokes. I hadn't really thought about it, honestly, since I try not to drink Coke all that much as it is. Anyway, he and I are getting together for lunch and a movie tomorrow and I thought it would be fun to make "real" Vanilla Cokes. I set about searching for vanilla syrup. When I couldn't find it at Publix or Target, I went to the web. I found Torani syrups are sold at Fresh Markets in this part of Florida, so I made a quick trip out there this morning. No problem. Then I hopped across the street to a Publix to buy regular Coke. I headed down the Cola aisle and couldn't believe what I saw. Vanilla Coke. In cans. On sale even -- buy 3 get 1 free. So I bought 3 Vanilla Cokes and 1 regular (after all, I still had the syrup.)

I was excited until I started to think about it some. Were they purging the last of their stash? Was it actually available at stores other than the Publix I regularly shop at? I was curious, so I stopped by another Publix that was on my way home. Sure enough, they had boxes of Vanilla Coke. Now I know for a fact that my Publix doesn't carry them (occasionally I check, hopeful that it'll be there.) I hopped online when I got home and found out that Coca-Cola reintroduced Vanilla Coke back in May (they call it Coca-Cola Vanilla now.) May? Why is it taking so long to reach stores again? I know it's not just Gainesville. I travel quite a bit and would have noticed Vanilla Coke bottles in the gas stations around the state. Anyway, I suppose I shouldn't complain. I bought enough to last me well into the summertime and, well, Vanilla Coke is back!

But now having two different ways to make Vanilla Cokes makes me wonder which would be better -- Coke with vanilla syrup added at home or straight Vanilla Coke out of a can. Tomorrow we'll test it and see. I'm even going to see if I can scrounge up other Vanilla Coke contenders between now and then (definitely Sonic, although using fountain Coke will alter the outcome I think.) I'll report back with our results.

In the meantime, check out this graph. What do they call Coke in your neck of the woods?

just in time

The scarf I've been knitting forever is finally done (yay!) In my defense, it was my first full-length knitting project unless you count the birthday card I made a few months ago. It took me about halfway through the scarf to really become comfortable with knitting. I wanted to knit a matching hat, but I'm not sure if this yarn is that good for that (and I can't find this color anywhere. Every other color imaginable in this yarn, sure, but no more green.)

Now that I'm finished with this simple project I think I'm ready to tackle something different. Apparently I have good timing. My Dad offered to buy me some Alpaca yarn while on a recent trip to Peru. I was excited about his offer and asked for a skein or two in blue or other bright colors. So when he emailed and told me he'd found some yarn, I imagined a few skeins the size of what I find at the yarn stores. Well, I was mistaken:







That, my friends, is a kilo of blue yarn. There seems to be a half-kilo of red and quarter-kilo of green. I was speechless. The yarn itself is really soft and well spun. I'm still not sure what to do with it all. But at least I know I won't be shopping for yarn anytime soon. As a second surprise, and fearing I wouldn't like these colors, my Dad also brought me back different dyes the Peruvians use to tint their yarn. These I'm really not sure what to do with, but the colors are vibrant. I'll have to put in some research time to figure out exactly how to dye yarn correctly (and colorfast-ly.) Suggestions, anyone?

*sigh* almost done

Well I figured out a way to organize all that embroidery floss I found on my antique trip a couple of weeks ago. Seven packs of 28-count floss bobbins later (that's 196 bobbins, thank you) and hours upon hours of wrist work and untangling random threads, I'm almost done winding my new-found stash. When I did the math, even including the floss bobbins, each skein cost less than 10 cents!

It's a pretty colorful bowl of floss, but I'm going to make them even easier to use by grouping like colors on giant metal rings leftover from my classroom days. I plan to keep the rings on the ribbon pegboard in the craft room for easy reach and inspiration. It was a calming activity to do over the last couple weeks while curled up under down blankets attempting to keep winter at bay. But I think my favorite part of all of that winding was coming up with some amazing embroidery ideas. Keep your eyes here for the results of all that brainstorming.

garden goodies

Just picked these from the garden today. They look tasty, albeit tiny. There's another on the way as well. I'd say fall/winter tomato planting worked out okay this year -- I've just had to lug the pot in every time it gets below 50 degrees.

lemony one-dish dinner

After the last post I realized I haven't shared a recipe lately. I thought I'd share what I made last night which of course was highlighted by my latest food crush, citrus. Looking at the font, I think I clipped this recipe from Real Simple. Of course I changed up a bunch of things. I was afraid it would be too lemony, but roasting the lemons left them with a milder flavor that's positively addictive. I will definitely be doing more experimenting with roasting citrus.


pen loves paper's version of Pan-Roasted Chicken with Lemon-Garlic Green Beans

4 tablespoons olive oil
2 large lemons, 1 thinly sliced, i juiced
5 large garlic cloves, minced
sprinkle of salt
dash of freshly ground pepper
1/2-3/4 lb. trimmed green beans
6-8 small-medium red potatoes, cut into 4-8 small wedges
4 thin-ish boneless chicken breasts, about 1 lb.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Coat a large baking dish with cooking spray or olive oil. Arrange lemon slices in a single layer on the bottom of the dish (I had about 12 slices.)

In a large bowl, combine the remaining lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, salt, & pepper. Add the trimmed green beans and toss to coat. Using tongs, remove green beans from bowl and place them in the baking dish on top of the lemon slices. Add the potato wedges to the same olive oil mixture and toss to coat. Use tongs to remove the potatoes and add to the baking dish in a ring along the inside edge on top of the green beans (see picture.) Dip the chicken breasts one at a time into the olive oil mixture to coat, then place in the middle of the baking dish on top of the green beans. Pour any remaining olive oil mixture over the chicken.

Roast uncovered for 35-40 minutes. Check chicken for doneness. Pull out of the oven and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Place one chicken breast on each of four plates and divide potato, green bean, and lemon mixture among them.

sour obsession

It's winter in the Sunshine State, and while the weather may not give it away, the sunny-colored fruit all over grocery stores and farmer's markets couldn't make it any clearer. Yes, it's citrus season.

It all started with a giant pink grapefruit Tim and I picked up during a visit to the Oldsmar Flea Market in early December. It was the sweetest thing I'd eaten in a long time. Thus started my quest for more deliciously sweet grapefruit closer to home. I tried all the usual haunts: Ward's, the 441 farmer's market, the downtown farmer's market, and favorite roadside stands. Since then I have eaten a lot of grapefruit, but have yet to replicate the flavor of that sweet Oldsmar fruit. Along the way I've been picking up anything that looks interesting: sour oranges for Cuban cooking (mmm... mojo criollo marinade), ugli fruit (think orange, grapefruit,and tangerine hybrid), and honeybells (cross between a tangerine and a grapefruit.)

Now I usually have limes in the house for Cuban cooking and cocktails (Cuba Libre or Caipirinha, anyone?) Lemons usually come out for summertime tarts and lemonade. But when I visited Leesburg last week one of the antique stores had Ponderosa lemons on the counter for 50 cents. I figured it would taste more like a Meyer lemon, meaning it would be more sweet than tart. But when I sliced it open Sunday night with a mild chicken marinade in mind I was met with a super tart smell! I ended up using half of the giant lemon for a 3-serving pitcher of lemonade while Tim created a yummy lemon-garlic-Cachaça chicken creation for the grill. We indulged in a giant-sized pumelo (aka Chinese grapefruit) too. It had a really thick skin with tough membranes between the wedges of fruit. And lots and lots of seeds -- over 60! Some pieces tasted tart like grapefruit, some were more mild. It was deliciously messy.

I've certainly been having fun in my all-citrus kitchen, but I still have yet to find another perfectly tart grapefruit.

sew, thank you

The nasty head-cold has finally said good-bye and I am feeling much, much better. I sat down Thursday evening to embroider some holiday thank you cards. Originally I wanted to embroider onto holiday fabric but decided the look was too busy. I grabbed a sheet of white felt instead and some shiny red thread. Normally when I embroider I write my words with a pencil first and follow the lines. Unfortunately felt and pencils don't mix. So I ended up sewing these thank you tags freestyle.



To keep these notes simple I sewed a thin piece of red ribbon to the card using the same bright red thread and placed the embroidered felt pieces on top. I was worried about putting white on white, but I think the different textures of card stock and felt create a visible difference. I thought about sewing them on or tacking them with little x's or knots in the corners and ended up simply gluing them to the ribbon to stick with the simplicity theme. I know they're really late, but a late thank you is better than none at all, right? Especially when it's hand-made.

heartbroken

We had a freeze come through most of Florida in the first few days of the new year. It reached temperatures Gainesville hadn't seen in several years. For three nights in a row we had weather below freezing (29, 22, and 31 degrees.) I figured most of my plants were hearty enough to withstand the temperatures, although I did cover the citrus, birds of paradise, strawberry plants, and a few other young and/or cold-fearing plants.

I didn't expect what happened next. Everything froze. Hard.


The Blood Red Honeysuckle lost most of its leaves. What's strange is the hibiscus in front of it that survived with leaves still green. All the rest of the hibiscus lost at least their leaves.


This La France Hibiscus is my favorite plant. Its leaves died on all but one stem. How strange is that? Not to mention the mandevilla vine growing on the trellis behind it, which survived with blooming flowers and buds intact even though it faced the brunt of the southern winds.

I am so heartbroken. I spend many, many hours in my yard. I put every plant in the ground myself. And the worst part is that I have to wait until spring to see what actually survived. March just can't come quick enough this year.

new blog feature

I've added something new to the right -- a list of songs currently on heavy rotation on my iTunes/iPod. Just click to listen! I hope to rotate them every few weeks. I've been heading into classics (well, my classics anyway) territory lately, lots of Big Star, Replacements, Pavement, etc. What awesome memories some of these songs have brought back! This list will probably be 50/50 old favorites and new finds. I'll warn you I tend to be slow on the new music. I can guarantee there will always be a Mountain Goats song somewhere, since I am obsessed with the vocal stylings of John Darnielle. Know of something you think I'd enjoy? Drop me a note in the comment section. I love exploring new music but often find myself overwhelmed with choices. Recommendations would rock.

readability

What's your blog's reading level? I'm sort of surprised. As a former elementary school teacher, I thought for sure it'd be closer to an eight year old's...