Pretzels and so on
I know it's Pi Day, but I made pretzels. I used Alton Brown's recipe http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/homemade-soft-pretzels-recipe/index.html without a stand mixer, in our tiny kitchen. I'd made pretzels before, when I was still living at home, but they weren't nearly as good. Dipping the formed dough in a boiling baking soda and water bath supplies that chewy texture, which is vital.
I've never made crunchy pretzels, but rolling the dough thinner--maybe into rods--and baking for longer would result in something pretty tasty and durable. The chewy ones don't keep very long, so I kept a couple out for The Hub and me, then froze the rest in a plastic bag. I tried to vent as much air as possible, but we'll see how they taste after reheating in the oven.
The Hub and I went to a small Japan culture festival last weekend, at the Grove/Farmers Market. I was relieved to see only a couple of cosplayers: a girl dressed as Reita and a guy dressed as Goku. They didn't look horrible, were well-behaved. We also saw a couple of tastefully-finished Lolita girls and a couple of Fairy Kei girls. There were a few annoying fantypes, but they seemed few and quiet enough. We drank our tea and miso soup, I contributed some money and got a t-shirt, and we had decent Indonesian food for lunch. Yoshiki was making a speech later, but The Hub had a gig, so I missed that. I've seen him a few times before, so I'm in that in-between fan stage: the only thing left is to meet him. L.A.'s a small-big place, so it's possible. :) I dragged The Hub to Barnes and Noble. There's a new book on Eisenhower I wanted, so I left him at the magazines and went upstairs to find it. It was great to be in a big bookstore again. Looking at the front pages of Amazon or Powell's just isn't the same for finding out about new stuff. I ended up getting the first two Song of Ice and Fire books, since we started watching Game of Thrones on DVD and will wait on the Eisenhower book--library or sale, since it retails at 40 bucks.
Oh, and I saw one of my former Borders managers: Craig The Jerk was merchandising a window at Sur La Table. He didn't see me, but I got that clenching sensation in my stomach and wanted to throw my cup at his head. The Hub was excited, though. He'd never met or seen him, so he wanted to double back and check him out. I grabbed my cup and darted off to find a trash can. I was slightly worried that I'd have to make good on my desire to pelt the turd in his big bald head and I didn't want to see him again. It seemed like The Hub was gone a long time, but he just shadowed him a little, then found me. Yuck.
Other than that stuff, not much going on: my Mom's getting funnier as she gets older (where was this woman when I was growing up?), Dad threw a banana out of the window in some minor rage episode, and my brother-in-law's meeting the President of the United States.
Yup.