Patty’s Neighborhood

Culinary schools teach aspiring chefs everything they need to know in the kitchen, from knife skills to how to make the perfect consomme.  Adam Dulye is an instructor at Culinary School of the Rockies where culinary students take a turn on the farm learning about animal slaughter.  

 

Breast milk is the first food.  For women who have trouble producing it and choose not to use formula, enter the milk bank.  Pauline Sakamoto tells us about the Mother's Milk Bank of California which accepts excess breast milk and distributes it to those in need.  Dr. Buddhima Lokuge of Doctors Without Borders has some solutions for feeding hungry children.  Fish feed can be found in the least likely of places, from cat food to pig feed.  Paul Greenberg tells us why he thinks this is a problem.  

 

There is nothing better than home baked bread.  Mark Bittman shares a foolproof recipe for homemade, no-knead bread. Christopher Salyers shares the adorable bento boxes or charaben.  Plus Jonathan Harris takes us on a whale hunt.  And Laura Avery tells us what fresh at the Santa Monica Farmers Market.

I'm not usually one to shill products, but I'm totally in love with the following:

Dylan's Candy Bar Ice Creme Scrub in Chocolate Cupcake - This stuff is seriously dangerous but does wonderful things to the skin

Boots No. 7 Quick Thinking 4-in-1 Wipes - I'm too lazy to wash my face before bed and these are the best wipes I've tried. I have sensitive skin and these aren't overly drying and they do a great job removing eye makeup.

Mint Chocolate m&ms - I don't need to provide a link to them, as you all should know what they are, but they are like little crack balls in a candy dish. Minty crack balls. Delicious minty crack balls.

Also, if you ran a pizza place and went to the trouble of putting your menus in people's mailboxes several times over a month, wouldn't you at least deliver to that house? I got all excited about trying a new place and they don't even deliver here. Phooey.

I was going to make brownies tonight but don't have enough butter and can't be bothered to leave the house. This is where having a car would make life much easier. Crud.

Alright, that's all I got.

This week's warm weather and clear-sky Santa Ana was ushered out today in a big way with rain showers (and even hail!) and a cold wind from the north.

The change in weather was a good demarcation point to change from Thanksgiving into Christmas, which we're getting an early start on this year.  Of course, the first course of action is to get the tree.

Now Penny has never had a tree in the house, and I'm not sure she entirely knows what to think about it.  Wait until we put the lights and decorations on tomorrow!

But first I did a good thing. I went to the drug store, later than planned, but that doesn't surprise me. I am not, and never will be, a morning person. I used 40,000 points and left with about $91 worth of stuff (a little over $10 out of pocket for taxes and a lotto ticket). About $50 of that is for the food bank and spca. I had planned to spend some on stocking stuffers, but there wasn't much there I was looking for, and you couldn't use the points on gift cards (they have a big display of cards for lots of stores and restaurants - I got a bunch of different ones for mom and aunt last year and they liked it so I think I'll get more this year). They had food and cleaning stuff on sale, so I figure it's as good a use as any, right? I'm quite pleased with what I got.

The bad thing? FUCK. As I was leaving our parking lot to head out, I scratched the car. I'm very very angry with myself, so that's all I'm going to say about it. FUCK. I have never done anything like that and can't believe I did it today. Okay, okay, so I'm not counting the mirror I ripped off the UHaul truck when I moved up here, but hey, that wasn't my vehicle, and I had full insurance to cover it. FUCK. I'm going to talk to someone about what's involved in fixing it up. FUCK.

Originally published at Calobee Doodles. You can comment here or there.

The nice thing about holidays with the family? Well, besides the turkey, stuffing, good company, good music, pie, copious leftovers... OK, so there are a lot of nice things about this time of year, but one of my favorites is lots of helping hands and extra entertainment for Miss Ellie.

I even had time to complete this cute holiday doodle... and in the process, I discovered how to make pretty snowflakes in Illustrator. Now I'm kind of obsessed with them. I may have to make yet another desktop wallpaper...

This gingerbread duo and the snowman design will soon be available as postcards in the Calobee Doodles shop!

Originally published at Calobee Doodles. You can comment here or there.

Use the promo code TGIF at the Calobee Doodles shop through Monday, Nov. 30 to receive 10% off your order (excluding shipping). Just wait to pay until I've sent a revised invoice--and enjoy!

... on my lap, sniffing roasting turkey aromas wafting from the kitchen.

Thanks have been given, the turkey's been eaten, so take a moment and tell us: What was the best part of your Thanksgiving this year? Bonus points if you share a photo!

Yes, now thanks has been given and the turkey has been eaten, because Thanksgiving, part 2 was today with my folks.  It has become a tradition that Thursday is with my in-laws, and Friday is with my folks.  The best part, IMHO, I have already mentioned-- that all of the in-laws were present for dinner, after many years of their absence.

No bonus points for me, although there is indeed photographic evidence.  I do not have permission to share the family photo and some family members are here and do read and I wish to respect their privacy.  Some of you have seen photos of my little family, however, and so new photos of them taken at that time will likely be shared in due time.