Leaves - GONE!

The leaves are finally out of my yard. All of them. Had two guys come over today, and I left them alone to work their magic. The yard looks beautiful again, and there are twenty-six leaf bags sitting in front of my curb. Twenty-six.

Next year, one of those trees is going down.

Writing prompt for today

For the first time this month, I really had nothing to write about, but I'm in this NaBloPoMo thing till the very end, so I decided to respond to today's writing prompt:

Is there something you've always wanted to learn to cook that you feel intimidated by?

Thai food. I've been to restaurants that master Thai food so well, that I wouldn't even dare try to make it myself. I do have a friend, who dated a guy with a Thai mother, and I got some basic tips, but I won't be doing shrimp with basic sauce at my house. The way I see it, if someone out there makes Thai food way better than I do, then far be it from me to take that away from them.

Homemade yogurt

After buying a Donvier Yogurt Maker early this year, I've only used it three times. I love yogurt, but I fell in love with it, after discovering Greek yogurt. Since that's a little bit pricey for yogurt, I decided to try my hand at making my own. The first batch was okay; the second came out much better than the first. After that, life, as well as my recovery from knee surgery, put the yogurt maker on the back burner. I decided to take it back out of hiding when I saw this recipe. It sounded rich and decadent, as well as very easy to make, as is all yogurt, really.

The first batch was a disaster. I forgot to add the water to the condensed milk – didn't add water at all, since I missed that part of the recipe – and it came out way too thick and nasty-looking. Although the online recipe does not call for a yogurt maker, I decided to use mine, since I have it. Wouldn't have mattered, either way – the recipe wasn't right.

The second batch was much better. At first, I decided to forego the yogurt maker, and I used the pot-on-the-stove method. The problem with that method was that, once the water cooled, the yogurt was still liquid. I was concerned that I might have done something wrong, like heat up the water too much, so I decided to take a risk and put it in the yogurt maker for seven hours. Apparently, that did the trick, since I had nice, perfectly firm yogurt the next morning.

I never thought it would be possible to add condensed milk to a yogurt recipe, but it works, it really does. The one thing I don't like about most yogurt, is its tartness, and I usually add honey to the plain stuff (I'm so over the sugary fruit-on-the-bottom kind). The condensed milk adds a sweetness to it that's not overly sweet, but I don't have to add anything else to it, either. The flavor's velvety smooth. This recipe makes me want to use my yogurt maker over and over again. Next time, I'll try it with fresh fruit.

Tea in a Jar

One of my favorite tea shops is Verdigris Tea. Unfortunately, it's in Hudson, about an hour away, and that town shuts down at about 3pm on a Saturday, so I don't get there too often. The first time I visited, I discovered what was to become one of my all-time favorite teas, Tea in a Jar. Honestly, if a sample hadn't been on the counter, I would have walked right past it, but I'm glad I didn't.

Tea in a Jar is basically crushed-up aloe vera, papaya, or ginger, with organic sugar, and honey - in a jar. I discovered two flavors I haven't yet tried - pomegranate and citron. The jar directs the drinker to use three heaping teaspoons per cup, add hot water, and enjoy. My favorite is the aloe. At first glance, the stuff looks like lime green jelly, and I thought that three heaping teaspoons would be too sweet, but it really isn't. You can also add one teaspoon to any other tea, like white tea, to add some sweetness and flavor - I haven't tried that yet, but I have a bunch of teas that could use some sweetness. I've already gone through three jars of this stuff, and I love it.

As for the papaya and ginger, they're okay. I'm not too thrilled with the papaya, as it leaves too many chewy bits at the bottom, when all the tea is gone. There's nothing interesting, to me, about the flavor, but papaya is a good digestive, so I guess I could find reasons to finish the jar. The ginger has chewy bits at the end, as well, but I don't mind them, because I like chewing on ginger. The problem with this tea is my own, I admit - I have always used ginger tea for strictly medicinal purposes - upset stomachs, indigestion, etc. - so I'll probably save this one for those times I'll need a shot of ginger.

Overall, they're all good, but it's the aloe vera that will have me driving an hour south of here, just to get two more jars. Oh yeah, the stuff ain't cheap - I paid $12.95 per jar - but if you like tea, and want to try something different, it's definitely worth it.

Did not do well

...So I did not do well on the Mac OS X Support Essentials exam. Pretty unhappy about that, but I intend to take it again, and ace it. If any of you has decided to take a shot at the exam, take the course, and then take a few days (or weeks, whatever), to let it all sink in.

I'll be moping about it for a little bit, but I'll get over it.

Wordless...Monday?

Best candle holder I've ever owned.

Chandelier help

There's a chandelier in my dining room. Sometimes I really like it; other times, I don't know. I have to admit it is unique, and looks like it was put here when the house was built, back in '27. The problem is that it has these glass globes (I guess that's what you call them) covering the light bulbs, and two are missing. The lamp is unique enough, and old enough, that I'll probably never find anything close to a replacement. I'm asking you, readers, if this is a lost cause - what are my chances of finding a suitable replacement, and where would I get said replacements?