Domestic Tales, continued

i wanted to post Friday but realized I didn't have a camera, so you'll have to wait for pictures. But here it is:


Last night (Friday) T and I had our own very different, very stereotypically male/female victories and excitements:

1) T. got himself a great deal on a Sony PlayStation that, admittedly, does have amazing graphics AND the ability to play Blu-Ray DVDs. Plus it gave him the initiative to set up our surround sound, which has lain dormant in a closet for two years. This rocks, from the movie end of things. I honestly don't care as much that the car racing video game he got looks almost real, though I appreciate the quality of it. Truly, you could see extremely realistic clouds...and they moved so the sun randomly shone on the track. As if there was a breeze. Now, that's detail.

2) I finally got the drill bits needed to put up new shades in T's den and our bedroom. No more ratty, vinyl, ripped pull-down shades for THESE suburban dwellers. Our one window faces the street, so the partially ripped blind gave the house that oh-so-fashionable abandoned look. House & Garden was thinking of doing a story on us.... Plus I got top down-bottom up shades (the kind that go up or down from either end...it's like we're the freakin' Jetsons, we are so modern) because our bed cuts off the entire bottom third of our one window, so it made sense to get shades that actually could give light from both directions. I have never cared that deeply about window shades before now. I love them. They fill my heart with a joy heretofore unknown. Truly, we lay down to sleep and marveled at the change. I'm not kidding. Plus I got to have fun with the drill, so the handyman side of me got a charge out of the whole process. I'd say that's a big plate of WIN.

Weather predicts a typical fall day: low 60s, windy, maybe rain later on, and it's Homecoming Weekend, so I may have to take time today to watch the parade as it goes by my house and see some of the football game, especially since I have a student on the team and he will ask on Monday if I saw him play. Which just makes me smile and want to reach up and pat him on top of his 6'2", newly shaved head.

OK, here's another one

Why doesn't everyone do this? I made almond butter at home in ten minutes rather than paying a zillion dollars for it at the grocery store. It involved truly complex steps:

1. Buy three cups of roasted, unsalted almonds.
   
   
2. Using a food processor with the big blade, add the nuts 1/2 a cup at a time, waiting until they're somewhat broken up to add the next portion.
   - It will be loud and scary at first, so if you're doing this with little kids, warn them.
   
   
   
   
3. Add salt if you wish. I added about a teaspoon or so.
4. Let the food processor do its work. It'll take about ten minutes (or less), but you may want to stop it every once in a while because my processor got pretty hot when I let it run for too long.
   
5. The nuts will produce their own oil as they break down. If you want it even smoother, add some olive oil. I didn't need to do this.
   
   
   
   
   
6. Goggle at how easy it is to make your own almond butter!
   

I found that using two cups worked better than one in terms of making the "buttery" consistency. Three cups of processed almonds filled a pint jar--I bought Ball jars to keep it in (4 for $5.39); you just need something air tight. This will work for just about any nut you want. I've read that roasting makes the butter taste better, so I just bought roasted from the bulk bin. You can easily roast them in your oven (check the web for details). Numerous websites have recipes, but they all boil down to this one. DH suggested adding Splenda or honey, which I know others have done. I used almonds because they're heart-healthy and I got bored with peanut butter. Why should it get all the press, anyway?

The minute the school year starts up, I think recipe writing will go waaaay down. That may relieve you or sadden you, but there it is. That's when I move back to the crock pot, bay-beeeee....