Hand Coding

Preface: This tip might not be practical for picnics. Then again, you never know. [*]

So, you enjoy a succulent Klondike bar more than life itself? Or, it’s at least one of your favorite frozen confections? Either way, one of the common hazards of such treats is that, even if you wrap the keep the bar's wrapper snuggled around it as you eat it, the bars tend to melt toward glopitude by the time you get around to your last bite.

The solution? Oven mitts. Indeed, I came across this one by accident, but after grabbing a Klondike bar from the freezer and dreading its inevitable demise toward meltification, it struck me that an oven mitt—much in the same way that it insulates one’s hands when taking hot items from an oven—might also serve to insulate the Klondike bar from my own five-fingered 98.6° heat source.

I gave it a shot, and sure enough, it worked like a charm. Better than I could have imagined, even. Oven mitt on-hand and with only just enough wrapper present so as to shield the mitt from the bar’s chocolaty coating, I took a leisurely pace as I savored a (dark chocolate) Klondike bar after dinner this evening. I had an episode of Top Chef Masters rolling on the screen and it probably took me 20-25 minutes to make it all the way through. Sure enough, the ice cream was barely more melted upon the last bite as it was during the first.

Splendid. I may have just conquered the heat-borne menace that happens to attached (and inherent to) each of my opposable thumb-bearing appendages.

[*] Okay, okay—if you happen to enough oven mitts for everyone at your picnic, I suppose this could theoretically be put to use there. But, if you’re anything like me, I'm guessing you don’t exactly have a closet full of oven mitts.

I’m on vacation in South Africa celebrating my dad’s 60th birthday (returning on Saturday). I flew from Dallas to Atlanta and from there to Cape Town; and, as I walked from my incoming gate in Atlanta airport to my connecting gate, I passed by a Ben & Jerry’s. It was about 9am at the time, but I couldn’t resist a peek at their menu ;).

I looked around for any sugar free flavors as the last thing I really needed was full-sugar ice cream first thing in the morning. As I peered down the list of flavors, one of them had Splenda: blueberry. So, I ordered one scoop of blueberry and I ate it as I walked to my next gate.

I’ve had sugar-free ice cream before — though I’m not sure I’ve had Splenda-sweetened ice cream. And, while sugar-free ice cream is usually very close to the real thing, this was a disaster. It was as if it was all ice and no cream. As I plowed my plastic spoon into the ice cream, the ice cream merely broke off in chunks — like a rock face — rather than pulling apart like the creamy confection it should have been.

You might expect this sort of behavior from a fat-free ice cream, but that shouldn’t have been the case this time. I can only figure that it was over-frozen as even when I attempted to savor the ice cream, it merely disintegrated in my mouth like an ice cube rather than dissolving creamily. I’ve had Ben & Jerry’s ice cream before and it’s often very good (if over priced). So, it’s not that I’ve given up on Ben & Jerry’s, but I don't think I’ll have their sugar free varieties again any time soon.

On Friday, Mike decided to make himself a root beer float. At the time, I resisted since I was about to eat dinner soon (it was about 6pm at the time). Mike made his float with a half-full IBC that had apparently been in the back of the fridge for quite some time. And, even though it was a bit flat, Mike said that the float still turned out well.

I went to an autocross on Saturday and, after returning, I thought that a root beer float could be rather tasty. And, I recalled that I still had a can of Diet A&W in my mini-fridge. I wasn’t sure how the float would turn out with diet soda, but I figured that I could always pour it out if I needed to.

I ventured to the freezer and took out a frozen beer mug along with some Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla ice cream (the same ice cream that Mike used for his float the day before). I grabbed an ice cream scoop and added two scoops to the mug. I then added the root beer and, as root beer floats tend to do, it foamed up easily and so it took me several careful pours to get all the root beer in the mug.

It had been years since my last root beer float (perhaps ten years), and I was really looking forward to drinking it. After all, root beer and ice cream are two great tastes that taste great together. As I lifted my glass, I pondered for a moment whether the lack of sugar would have any effect on the float; but, I set that thought aside and took a big gulp. Man, it was awful.

Somehow — and perhaps due to the combination of the frozen mug along with the frozen ice cream — the root beer had frozen into chunks of rootbeersicles. It was as if I had a mug of ice cream with some caramel-colored ice tossed in. And, the full-fat/full-sugar nature of the Blue Bell only served to emphasize the watered-down quality of this pathetic root beer.

In the end, I really wanted to like it. I even tried grabbing a spoon so that I could just extract the ice cream bits. But, the root-ice had permeated the beverage and infected all of it. I had no choice but to pour it all down the drain. So, I not only didn’t end up with a tasty beverage, but I’m still itching for a good root beer float (or even a decent one). Perhaps I’ll have to buy a real root beer so that I'll be ready for next time.

It’s been a little while since my last update and I’ve been crazy-busy at work until now. This all started last Monday; under the original deadline, I had until the following Monday to complete all 90-some pages in the site. Fortunately, the deadline was extended a bit and they also allowed me to bring on another contractor to help. The site is just about done now, and I’m glad that it’s behind us.

In any case, I wanted to celebrate the progress and — coincidentally — Mike and I had a 6 lb bag of frozen strawberries that was taking up a good deal of room in our freezer. Mike suggested that we could make strawberry smoothies and that sounded pretty good to me.

As it turns out, I had originally bought the strawberries (at Sam’s Club, natch) for use in smoothies. And, my intention was to create some kind of healthy protein-based drink. At the time, I filled the blender about a third-full with frozen strawberries, and added a about a cup of milk, a quarter cup of Splenda, a tablespoon of vanilla, two scoops of protein powder, a quarter-package of tofu, and some ice.

Considering the nature of the ingredients, that smoothie wasn’t too bad. It wasn’t something that I’d find myself craving and I’d say that it fell more on the side of a meal-replacement smoothie than a dessert smoothie. But, considering the project completion at work, I wanted something that was extra-tasty this time.

So, Mike suggested that we use ice cream instead of tofu — not exactly a health-motivated substitution, but a potentially delicious one. We needed to go to Sam’s Club for some groceries anyway, so we headed off and picked up some Blue Bell Vanilla ice cream there.

Being that Mike had made ice cream-based smoothies before, I let him man the blender. First, he added both the strawberries (about two-thirds full) and the ice cream (about an inch up the side of the blender). He blended those, and then added about a quarter-cup of Splenda, about a teaspoon of vanilla (not too much since the ice cream was already vanilla), and half a banana. And, the ice went in right at the end.

I’ll have to admit — this was a very good smoothie, and the recipe wasn’t hard either. It was definitely better-tasting than my original smoothie, but I’m guessing that the tofu / ice cream substitution may have had something to do with that ;). Considering the nature of the recipe, I’m curious whether our creation may have been more of a milkshake than a smoothie (?).

So, we made a couple smoothies on Monday evening and again on Tuesday evening (yeah, they’re that good). And, we’re working our way through that 6 lb bag of frozen strawberries, so all this smoothie-drinking has the side-benefit of freeing up some room in the freezer as well :).

I went to Katie’s party on Saturday night and I had a good time — it was just what I needed after moving things all day (I helped Leia move in the morning and my new roommate Mike move in the afternoon).

Katie lives in a large house in Highland Park — she doesn’t own the house, but she’s staying there to fulfill some insurance requirements for one of her friends (somone had to stay in the house, apparently).

Each room was decorated in a theme based on a country. For instance, the foryer had a Japanese theme (complete with a giant kimono encased in glass hanging on the wall). That room scared me a bit, but some of the other rooms were more tasteful. As I headed out for the evening, Katie suggested that I blog about the food. Sure, I can accommodate that :).

I first had some mini double-chocolate Oreos. Yeah, both the cookie and the creme-filling were chocolate. Don’t get me wrong — I’m a a chocolate nut, but chocolate-filled Oreos didn’t quite have the same creamy essence as the original vanilla creme. Perhaps if the filling was dark chocolate rather than milk chocolate, they might be even better.

There were also some iced sugar cookies. Yeah these were the regular sugar cookies with thick pink icing that you can find at any grocery store. But, they were very tasty (as always). I think I had two of these.

In the freezer were some Blue Bell ice cream sandwiches (the small kind). These were obviously fresh from the creamery, as the cookie was still crisp. I didn’t mind that, though I suppose I’m more used to having ice cream sandwiches with more of a soggy cookie. Fresh ice cream sandwiches have more of a crisp cookie because the cookie is completely dry and crisp when ice cream sandwiches are made (like a graham cracker). But, over time, it absorbs some of the moisture from the ice cream and softens. (I learned all this from Unwrapped on the Food Network.)

This party was well-stocked with snacks. It’s not often that you’re offered iced sugar cookies, and you can’t go wrong with ice cream sandwiches either. It seems that the major snack-categories were all covered. Snackarific.

As I mentioned earlier, I’ve been thinking about going to Braum’s to celebrate my new employment. I’ve decided on Thursday, and you’re welcome to join me at 9pm (on Thursday) at the Braum’s on Greenville :).

Mmm, now I just need to decide between the Brownie Fudge Sundae and the Peanut Butter Hot Fudge Sundae...

I went to the Slashdot Meetup for Dallas last night. It was held at a Starbucks on Coit Rd. It was maybe not quite as fun as last time, but I still had a good time :).

There were more people this time around — about ten, compared with five last time — so that changed the dynamic of conversation. Whereas last time the conversation was more close-knit, the large group this time made for more of a “lecture” atmosphere, as one or two people spoke while the rest of the group listened.

In particular, there were one or two alpha-talkers that just loved the sound of their own voices. They had a tendency to speak loudly, and occasionally interrupted others before they were finished talking — just to stake claim on the next “speaking role”. During the course of the evening, I got maybe one or two sentences in (bah!).

My hope is that the group may be smaller next time, to allow for more casual conversation. Or, if not that, perhaps a larger group could be divided among several tables (instead of one-large-circle).

On the way home, I stopped by McDonald’s for some dessert. I considered a hot fundge sundae for a moment (an old favorite of mine, especially with nuts), but I turned towards the McFlurries. Essentially a Blizzard clone, I figured this would be a good opportunity to compare it with the abysmal Sonic Blast that I had the other day.

So, I ordered a small Oreo McFlurry. And, as it turns out, it was pretty tasty. It was thick, creamy, and full of dairy flavor (a good thing). The Oreos were crushed a bit finely for my taste, but at least they weren’t soggy ;). True Blizzard-quality is tough to match and, McFlurries don’t quite hold up to that standard (though they’re a good treat in their own right).

Incidentally, you may be wondering why I chose Oreo this time, as “wouldn’t a Butterfinger McFlurry provide for a better head-to-head comparison with the Sonic Blast?” Well, I considered getting a Butterfinger McFlurry — for a moment — but I just couldn’t bear the thought of having two failed Butterfinger-based desserts in succession. So, I hedged my bets and decided on Oreo.

So: McFlurry Not Quite As Good As Blizzard. But, what about McFlurry vs Hot Fudge Sundae? That’s a more difficult one. Hot fudge sundaes have the advantage that they’ve been proven over time. And, in some ways, they hold the lead in texture-variation. I’m big on food texture — if a food has normal taste but bad texture, then it’s just not for me (for instance, shrimp that has gone soggy and soft). So, in regard to texture, Sundae Wins (its combination of smooth ice cream, thick fudge and crunchy nuts is a real treat, so to speak).

Then there’s the nutrition aspect. Sure, desserts aren’t usually known for being healthy, and that’s generally not the case ;). However, some desserts are less-bad than others. And, much to my dismay, I see that the McFlurry doesn’t win there either: an Oreo McFlurry has 20g fat vs 12g for a hot fudge sundae (and 12g saturated fat vs 3g for the sundae).

So, bummer there — it looks like I made a bad choice dessert-wise last night. I should have gone with the hot fudge sundae. Well, now I know for next time.

I stopped by Ana’s today, and then a Sonic caught my eye on the way home. I pulled in and looked over the menu. By this point, it was almost 3:00, so I decided on a dessert.

Those Sonic Blasts from their commercials always looked tasty, so I decided to get a Butterfinger Sonic Blast. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t very good — I was expecting a Blizzard clone, but it turned out to be a weak replica, like a cross between a milkshake and a slurpee. It wasn’t thick enough, and it was almost watery in texture :(.

And, that really disappointed me because, at 26g fat, I may as well have bought their “hot fudge sundae” instead (which only has 15g fat).

Still, I enjoyed the in-car service and I’m not completely soured on my Sonic experience. Perhaps I’ll give them another try sometime.

I had a great time at the DFWBLogs Anniversary Party this weekend! You might not think that a meta-vacation would be much fun, but I actually found it to be very refreshing (that is, if my current situation could be considered a vacation at all, harrumph).

I left Dallas around 1:30pm, after having attended the North Texas Linux Users’ Group meeting in the morning. And, the directions that Tina gave to the Winslow’s house were very good — up until the end. One of the last turns was onto Clear Creek Rd. However, that road turned out to not be labeled at all. So, I ended up just taking a guess after having driving back and forth a few times.

In the end, I found it. And, by almost-4:00, when I arrived, I was quite hungry for lunch (I hadn’t anticipate it taking so long to get there). Luckily, the fridge was stocked with meat, so I made myself a chicken sandwich on the grill outside on the deck.

The bread that I found was Milton’s “Healthy Multi-Grain Bread”. Though it’s 99% fat-free, I don’t know if I agree with that “healthy” claim — it has 28g Carbs and 130 Cals/slice, which is about twice that of normal wheat bread. But, you know what? Early on, I had decided that I’d ignore any attempts at healthy eating for the weekend (I wasn't sure if it would even be possible, in any case).

Healthy or not, that is some fine bread. Dense and full of wheat flavor, it was one of the best breads I had ever tasted. And, it’s apparently available at Sam’s Club (which is convenient).

To let you know how much I love it, I have to drive an hour and a half just to find a place close enough to purchase it. I eat it plain, toasted with peanut butter, or on sandwiches. There is such a distance in order to purchase the wonderful bread, that by the time my daughter and I get back in the car to head home, we’ve already got the bag opened and are eating it right out of the package. […]

(just one of Milton’s bread fans)

As the house was right down on the lake, we made full use of that as well. I didn’t go swimming on the first day, but I did enjoy a boat ride. The Winslow’s have a smallish motorboat that can hold maybe eight people (with padded benches along each side of the boat). Anyhow, that first boat ride was in the evening, and we were able to enjoy the moonlight glistening across the waves in the lake. It was very pretty to look at, and I sure yearned for a camera at that moment (damn this lack-of-a-paycheck).

I went to bed around 12:30, I think, which was earlier than some but later than others. With about ten people in total (maybe more?), there weren’t enough beds to go around. So, I found a fold-out foam bed upstairs and made use of that (you know, one of those foam beds that folds back into a chair, and actually isn’t very suitable in either function).

I woke up with some back pain, but a few ibuprofens took care of that. For breakfast, there was bacon and Pillsbury Grands (along with scrambled eggs, and perhaps a few other breakfast foods that I don’t remember).

Now, being that they were Pillsbury, I would never buy Grands on my own. However, since the purchase was already made, I had some (I can be pragmatic at times). The Grands were fluffy and almost creamy in texture (full of fat, I&rquo;m sure, but recall that I was ignoring healthy foods for the weekend). To my surprise, though, the Grands were perceptively sweet as well. Now, they weren’t cake-sweet, but a level above what bread would normally be. I wasn’t turned off by the sweetness, and actually it was rather nice.

I had a turkey sandwich for lunch (again with Milton’s bread), and a couple hot dogs in the afternoon with Connie. I used the grill, once again. I hadn’t cooked hot dogs on a grill ever before (previously, other people were the chefs for hot dog grilling). I happened to align the hot dogs perpendicularly to the slats in the grill, but I wasn’t sure whether parallel alignment would have made for different cooking times (of note: the propane spouts were in a line running from left-to-right along the width-center of the grill).

As a post-lunch treat, I made some s’mores over the grill. I just placed a couple marshmallows on the two-pronged grill fork and roasted away. And, for some reason, Connie was surprised that I wanted to make s’mores in the summer (?). In any case, they were still tasty.

With dinner, Tina made a salad with avocado. I really liked that, as I’m a big avocado fan to begin with. After my first helping of salad, I went looking for some more. There was more salad but no further avocado present. At that point, Leia offered that there was a spare avocado left over (apparently, just one avocado went into the salad). I thought to myself “Why use a middle-man?” and proceeded to just eat the whole avocado plain (with a touch of salt, of course). Ooh, so delicious.

Lest I forget, throughout the weekend there were also Nestle Drumsticks. Drumsticks, of course, are those ice cream cones that come dipped in chocolate and peanuts. Over the course of the weekend, I probably had two or three drumsticks. The only downfall to Drumsticks is that the ice cream (and chocolate) aren’t the type that are very flavorful when fully frozen. After having learned this (after eating the first one), I made sure to let each Drumstick “ripen” on the counter for a few minutes before eating.

Other than getting lost a little on the way there, I had a great time all weekend, from start to finish.

As a marketing tie-in that must have“sounded like a good idea at the time”, NBC is joining forces with Baskin-Robbins:

In an unusual deal to help its fall-season premiere, NBC has struck a multimillion-dollar integrated-marketing deal with ice cream restaurant chain Baskin-Robbins, which will develop ice cream flavors for NBC shows — such as Fear Factor Sundae, Will & Grace’s Rocky Road of Romance, Good Morning Miami Mint, Stuckey Bowled-Over Brownie (for Ed), and Pralines ’n American Dreams. […]

Ehh, I think I’ll just stick with Braum’s for my ice cream needs :).

(Link from MediaBistro)