Wisconsin Love Affair #2: Hook's 15-Year Cheddar

I hit a giant and stupid wall of writer's block just a little while ago, while at the same time being unable to figure out how to transfer some pictures from my Google+ affected Picasa account to my stupid desktop. So annoying. It was a really frustrating moment, so instead of throwing my computer on the ground and screaming, I decided to stop myself and close that blog window. Totally not worth it.

Disclaimer: Before I decided to chill the hell out, I angrily deleted my stupid Google+ profile and my Picasa albums were once again perfect and usable. Stupid Google+. What's the point? I actually like facebook. Yesterday an old co-worker found a stray dog near her house and posted a picture, then a few of us in the neighborhood reposted, and THEN the dog's owner saw it and went and got his dog back! Internet! FACEBOOK! Tomorrow, I probably won't care, but for now, giant sucks to Google+ and applause for facebook.

Anyhow. Instead of making myself crazy by trying to finish the other thing I was writing, I decided to take a break...by posting a blog. Whaaaa?! Relax - it's another blog of food pictures. You should be used to this by now. For Christmas this year, my lovely boyfriend got me some beautiful, thoughtful, and amazing gifts. As we were exchanging a couple of days before Christmas, he confessed that he was nervous he'd gotten me too many food-related gifts. Immediately after, he handed me these:

That would be ice wine and Hook's 15-year cheddar cheese, made right here in Wisconsin. Holy crap, boyfriend. Holy crap.

You should definitely take the time to read about both the wine and the cheese, because they're both very unique and wonderful, and I've been talking about them for months, apparently (maybe I was subtly hinting at what I wanted as a gift, eh?). Honestly, I haven't tried the wine yet, but I have tried the cheese. Oh lord, have I tried the cheese. Andy and I rang in the popular holiday of December 31st at midnight by opening the cheese and sampling some. And it was amazing.

He cuts things very carefully.








We ate it plain, off the cutting board. Andy went through a lot of emotions, including disbelief...

"I need a rest..."

And, finally, peacefulness.
I think he nearly cried at one point. I just kept repeating "I'm so happy! I'm SO happy!" By the by, he's wearing his swimming trunks because it was really hot in my apartment.

What a bunch of nerds, eh?

Wisconsin Love Affair #1: The Sky

My cousin Luai is a stand up comedian. I like to think he's almost as funny as me. Almost. Aw, who am I kidding? He's hilarious! Though you may remember him from such stories as this, you'll probably want to check out some of his standup here. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that you'll find this hilarious if you're Arab. Or from Chicago. Or if you're a person with a sense of humor at all. Look, just watch it everybody.

Anyhow, about a week ago, I posted something on facebook about how I haven't blogged a lot lately. While I have been writing, it's mostly not share-y stuff. You know. Fall and winter. Feelings. Wah wah. But, I really am missing blogging, and thankfully, my hilarious cousin proposed that he and I make a deal to stay accountable to each other. He's been wanting to do more stand up lately, so we're checking in with each other on getting our respective things done. I mentioned to him how I wanted to start a series about my newfound love affair with Wisconsin. Yes, I have really fallen in love over the last few years, but more recently, there have been very specific things that stand out to me and present concrete, actual reasons why. It's nice to feel like you love something, but when you have a logical and rational mind that can sometimes override your pure emotion, it's real nice to know why you love something. You know?

And so, I give you my first Wisconsin love: the sky. Or, pictures of the sky, at least.

The sunrise over Monroe.

East Washington St. in Madison. View of the Capitol.

Two shots from the Beloit area.



A small hot air balloon on the east side of Madison, at the beginning of a drive to Tomah.


Somewhere on the drive from Chicago. Near Janesville, I think.



North of Sun Prairie, 6:57 pm.

South of Columbus. 7:09 pm on the same drive as the picture above



New Glarus. Around 7:30 pm.



Albany.



Nearing Evansville.

Milwaukee, leaving some hotel and following Helen in her car.

South Milwaukee, same night.

View of Lake Monona in Madison.

Between Monroe and Juda.



Driving to Milwaukee on a foggy morning.

Somewhere in Madison. Monona Bay, maybe.

Is this in Madison? Can you tell?

Whoops, this is from Glenview, IL. I love Glenview too, you know.

Back to Wisconsin, which this love affair is about.

Windsor, or somewhere near DeForest.

Heading west on the beltline. On the way to Quaker Steak and Lube to eat wings.

On the shore of the East Side Club, overlooking the Madison skyline and the sunset.


Lately I find myself wondering: has the sky always look like this? Have I missed it all these years, or has it just been especially beautiful over the last six or seven months? Am I just paying closer attention? Is something speaking to me? But mostly, I try to snap the pictures and then just appreciate. Whatever and why-ever it is, it just is. And I hope it continues to be.

Needless to say, I've been driving a lot. Which sort of conflicts with one of my potential next entries - namely the one about how in love with Madison (people and politics, specifically) I've become. I love driving and, living in Madison, that is sort of a no-no. Well, I'm very sorry Madison, but you live in an extremely beautiful state that I need to see more of. Especially that lovely Wisconsin sky.

What I Made This Summer

It's no secret that I'm not the greatest cook in the world. I am a damn fine baker, and I can prepare the hell out of appetizers and desserts and party foods. But sometimes you have to try a little harder, and that was what I wanted to do this summer. Also, sometimes trying results in beautiful pictures of foods. And my love for food pictures is also no secret. So, this is what I made this summer:

Egg salad a la Nanny! Well okay, my mom made this one. But it was so delicious that I had to include it in the summer food blog. She puts in chopped up lettuce, tomato, and green onion. Delicious!

Oh, just a sandwich platter. I made this for lunch at my parents' house last week. Salami, turkey, ham, and two kinds of cheese! There were also some vegetables on another plate, so don't judge.

Look what you can do with such magnificence!

I cooked tofu for the first time! This tofu turned out awesome, but the "stir fry" was pretty sorry. Carrots, red cabbage, and green beans with sesame seeds. This could have used some noodles or rice, but I think my main goal was cooking tofu. So, BOOM.

Couscous! This is preparing, not cooking. I'll admit it. But I love the picture. It's a blend called Harvest Grains and it's delicious.

Um...okay...this is preparing, too. So what, man? I've told you before - it's my blog and I do what I want. This fantastic thing is called a "hot dog." Bite me.

Okay, polenta. I fried it up in a pan and sprinkled paprika on it.

Then I added some melted cheddar, cut up tomatoes, avocado, and two poached eggs. Is this considered cooking, snobby?

Tomato, mozzarella, basil salad. Two kinds of tomato.

Taco salad! I forgot about this one. Bed of lettuce topped with Gimme Lean (AHAHAHAHHHAAHAHA) that I seasoned like taco meat, tomatoes, vegan cheese, guacamole, and plain greek yogurt instead of sour cream.

Hmm...Jess cooked all of this, except for that little brown thing in the corner. That's zucchini bread that I baked, but I guess this blog isn't about baking. This one is. Jess made mashed purple potatoes with horseradish cheddar and a Moroccan carrot salad with dates and mint. That yellow thing is corn which is still attached to its own cob. Crazy!

Have you ever heard of nachos? Sarah and I made a nacho bar at her house with her Dad. Then we watched about 6.5 hours of True Blood. That's what you're supposed to do with your BFF, got it?

Black bean and corn salad! Black beans, corn, mango, red onion, avocado and cilantro. Topped with juice from one lime and one orange, and a little salt and pepper. You can substitute tomato for mango and it gives it a totally different taste.
I also made sushi, but you probably read about that already because you're an incredibly loyal fan who reads everything I write. Right? RIGHT?! Now that the weather has been fall-like for a whole 36 hours, I've already baked that zucchini bread and am getting together ingredients for banana-honey-date muffins that I'll made today or tomorrow. I'll probably just eat cider donuts and pumpkin-flavored things for the next few months and never touch a vegetable again. Thanks for everything, summer eating!