It's a Box!

Yay! The doorbell rang & I got a box!

I really love those, ya know.

Let's check out today's box, shall we.

No layers of wrapping or distractions of fluff here. A single layer of newspaper is folded back to reveal...


Is it?

Could it be?

My sister, PJ has unwittingly fed my addiction. She sent:

CookieHenge

I'm shocked. She should know that there is more than just love when it comes to girl scout cookies. (I have an addiction, as chronicled here). I'm not sure she realizes that I have this addiction, but I have realized that addiction is something to discuss with your family, not hide.

She was strong this time. She sent the cookies away. She knew that had she allowed the cookies in her house again, she would not be able to resist their sirens call. Yes, she confessed to me what transpired with her first order of girl scout cookies (She has a niece who is a girl scout as well as the daughter of her best friend. She is required by the laws of friendship & aunthood to order cookies from these girls). What tragedy could have occurred that PJ would not even allow girl scout cookies in her house?

Her confession began, "I can't even look at them, I picked up the order and drove straight to the shipping place to send them away again"

"Why, dear sister, whatever happened to cause this distress?" I inquired sweetly, concerned.

"The first order came in. It started innocently enough, Maggie & Don don't like Samoas, so they gave me their boxes. After the initial shock that someone could actually not like a Girl Scout Cookie, I began to feel bad for the poor little cookies. " Her narrative began slow, thoughtful.
"The girls looked so hopeful on the box. I couldn't let them down, so I opened the box to have one. I just wanted them to feel better. Then one led to another," she took a deep breath here, and the words came tumbling out, "before I knew it, I had to hide the box. Not just from myself, I was too embarrassed by the number of cookies I had consumed to let anyone else know that they even came into the house.
"I hid them, and I waited. I slept fitfully, knowing they were down there--taunting me. The next day, when my husband was at work & the kids were in school, I attacked. I couldn't let them get to me anymore. So I finished them off."
I think a little sob escaped at this point, but she strongly continued her story. "First it was the Samoas, then the Tag-A-Longs, I ate them 2 at a time. Finally, well, the poor Thin Mints didn't stand a chance. After I licked the plastic container & had the last shred of coconut from the Samoas, I knew what I had to do." She took a deep breath, I could hear her smile.
"I destroyed the evidence. No one will ever know those cookies came into this house. I sent you the second order of cookies. I knew you would know what to do with them. I can't allow them in my house again! At least, not until next year..."

At this point I realized that the addiction, like an alcohol addiction, is probably genetic to a certain degree. I look back, and finally I understand why my mother wanted to be the leader of the brownie troop. It wasn't for the girls. It was for the cookies.

I was alone when I received the cookies. I held them close, and sniffed their aroma. Then I hid them away. The Tag-A-Longs went behind the purple rice, that I bought for a special occasion. The Samoas, buried deep beneath the large pile of canned tomatoes. And the Thin Mints, well, I'll just say they went into the deep freeze.

I fought the urge, to ravage those boxes. I too was home alone with those innocent looking delicacies. The ambrosia in a box. So far, I have been strong. But I know, well I know that umm excuse me. I'll finish this post later. I have to go defrost my freezer...

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still here, kind of

Why is it this blog doesn't post itself? I am quite convinced that some of the others do, but not this one.


OK, a few pics:

It's a Box!

Oops That's not the one I was thinking of. But a quick review. Thoroughly OK, but the damn valve leaked & was a big pain in the neck! And left a sticky fridge. Yuk.

Ok, let's try this again!

It's a Box!

Yes this time, it really was a box. Addressed to ME! (I'm Kiki)
From the sweet & loving Sarah Louise. Ok, she pretends to be sweet & loving, but really she is an enabler. I have an addiction. She knows about it, I have publicly admitted it, but what did I find in the box?
No, I'm not addicted to green easter grass. (Or any other kind, despite rumours to the contrary). My addiction is deeper than that. Literally, I had to dig deep into the green grass to reach my addiction.
Yes, I am addicted to Girl Scout Cookies!
I am not the only one. It is a well documented addiction. And by well, I mean the documentation was superbly done by Marc Acito on NPR. Finding Binge Absolution in a Do-Si-Do Ok, I'm sure that is getting old, because I have posted it a few times, but really it's true!

And in other news: What's for Dinner? Well, let's go into the dinner closet & see:

Tonight's dinner, was a yummy & delish Thai Shrimp Curry. There was garlic, shallot, ginger, green onion, onion, tomato, red curry paste, shrimp, basil, lime, 1/2 a serrano, coconut milk, and I don't remember what else was in there, but it was Good! Served over plain white rice, with a salad.


Last Night's dinner. An almost disaster, but pulled off to be another fine production. (Recipe inspired by this)I marinated a turkey thigh over night in Yuengling Black & Tan (if you are over 21, click for more on this), dijon mustard, rosemary, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, olive oil & a few other odds & ends. The plan was for my darling husband to throw it in a crock-pot and add a couple taters towards the end of the day. He forgot. Maybe I should have "forgotten" to feed him? But no. I went to PLAN B. I pulled the thigh from the marinade, put in a dutch oven (skin side down) w/ another 1/2 a beer, covered it and put that in a 375 oven for about an hour. Then I took it out, flipped it "skin side" up, removed the lid and let it cook for another 20-30 minutes. Hubby's penance for forgetting to put it in the crock pot was that he made mashed potatoes. I boiled down the beer, added some Maggi Seasoning (known in our house as "gravy helper") some butter & some flour and we had a tantalizing taste sensation. A little creamed spinach & it's a meal.
(an aside, I didn't realize that Maggi was Asian until I found the link hmm. It is tasty, I'll give it that)

And my final food posting, was the Friday night dinner treat. We braved the Snow & Ice and got to the farmer's market before they gave up for the storm and picked up some fresh scallops. I made a thick sauce with a little orange/mango juice from the fridge, some soy sauce, maybe some fresh ginger, or some ground ginger, or possibly some ginger shrub. Definitely a little bourbon(Did I have some of the bourbon as well? Mayyyyyyybe), and a spoonful or so of orange marmalade and possibly some Pickapeppa sauce, maybe a sprinkle of crushed red pepper though I don't completely remember. I would think there was some other things in there, but I neglected to write any of it down. I was making it up as I went a long.. The scallops themselves were seared in clarified butter. Your scallop cooking tip of the day is SEAR them. You can grill them also. broiling is ok, but really sear or grill. Trust me. Never, ever saute them. Scallops taste best & retain their sweetness only if you leave them alone. So put your pan on Med Hi, clarify your butter (clarified butter has a higher smoke point once you remove all that milk fat) when the pan is nice and hot gently place the scallop in the butter. Let it sizzle, then gently flip(tongs are best) and sizzle the other side. Gently remove, directly to the dinner plate & enjoy immediately.
Anyway, the scallops were served with a green salad and ginger-coconut rice. And a good meal was had by all!

Now I know why I'm so bad at posting. I'm slow at it. Oh well. Bon Appétit!

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Mystery Box

I did sort of get a mystery Valentine's Day present.
Yesterday when I got home from playing with clay, there was a UPS box in my vestibule.
Addressed to ME! (Note, that is not a picture of my box or my vestibule; I'm too lazy to take a picture & bring it up so I did a Google Image search)

The box was from Macy's, (what fun) and, of course, I opened it right away. Inside was a pair of lovely crystal goblets from my wedding registry.

Well that was sweet. I've been married 2 1/2 years, so it's a little late, but I won't complain.

The enclosed note said "Much Happiness, Martha" I only know one Martha & she was at my wedding. I don't recall what she gave us, but I know I thanked her. So I dug deeper into the box.

The shipping information was from a Martha Ford. I don't believe I know her at all. Sadly, I realized that I must have mistakenly received a gift meant for someone else. Probably a mix-up in looking at the registries. So I called Macy's and spoke with a very nice Customer Service agent named Tamekia. I explained that I didn't think these were meant for me. (I'm quite sure she hadn't received many phone calls like that before) Tamekia said she would call the number that Martha gave and get back to me. When she called back she said that phone number on the records was for a Citi-Bank, and they don't have any employees with that name. Tamekia told me to hold on to the box for a month, while they investigate and if no one claims a missing gift it is mine.

So for now, I do have a Valentine's Day present from a stranger. I'm very sorry that I can't give the correct owner their wedding present. I tried. Hopefully, the mistake will be realized and Martha's best wishes will find their rightful owner. I'm not sure I would feel right about drinking my boxed wine out of someone else's crystal any way.

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