#19 Gramps

There's something you should know about me: when I was younger I hated peanut butter. I thought it was plebian. I wanted luncheon meats and fruit roll-ups, not PB&J and Fudge Rounds.

The first time I remember meeting my grandfather (on my dad's side) I was probably seven or eight. We were at his house in the backyard. I was sitting on his lap. He had just eaten a peanut butter and banana sandwich (oh, how little I knew of food then!) and I said, "Your breath smells." Seriously, those are the first words I remember saying to him.

There are many other stories I can tell you about my gramps and food.

He loved peach ice cream. He would keep it in the freezer, forget about, let it get fuzzy. He loved peaches period.

He made the best fried chicken.

We would come over and throw out his moldy cheese, and then later we'd see him salvaging it, scraping the mold off.

We would got to buffets for dinner and at the end of the meal, he'd stand up, reach into his back pocket and pull out a Ziploc bag. He'd fill it up with all the food he hadn't eaten. We were mortified.

I hated eating dinner at my grandparents' house because I felt like that is where food went to die (at my house, it was just in purgatory). Questionable food from questionable brands cooked in very questionable ways. It felt like a scene out of Better Off Dead, where a green gelatinous mass, speckled with raisins, would crawl off my plate like Jabba the Hut.

Now all those memories--maybe they're not the best, but they're sweet in the rosy, soft glow of the past.

#18 Waste Not, Want Not Or I Said NO Bacon!!!

Snowman and I are at Houston's. I order the iced tea. They don't give me a straw. I'm not sure why, but they never give straws with their iced tea. Out of habit, I ask for a straw, but once they give it to me, I say to Snowman, "I forgot, I wasn't going to ask for straws anymore in an effort to conserve plastic. I mean, if they give me a straw, I'm going to use it, because it's not like they're going to save it if I don't, even if it's still wrapped. So it might as well be used. But if they don't give me one, I'm not going to ask."

Snowman called this the Straw Paradox, which is something to the effect of, some things might as well be used--even if you're morally opposed--because otherwise they'll just be thrown away.

This was a no-meat day for me (for those of you who don't know, I alternate days of not eating meat) so I order a salad, hold the bacon.

They don't hold the bacon. I say to the waitress, "This has bacon on it." She whisks it away.

But then we discuss: What's more important? That I don't eat meat on a no-meat day or that I don't waste the salad they gave me which they're just going to throw away? I mean, the pig is dead and the bacon is cooked.

I can't decide before my new salad arrives. With no egg, but still with bacon.

I say to Snowman, "What? I hadn't come to a conclusion about the Straw Paradox yet! I'm not ready to be tempted!"

I say to the waitress, "This still has bacon on it." I say it more because they got the order wrong twice and I want them to know it (although, the service is usually spot on).

I finally get the right salad, but I feel badly because I've wasted two and the pig is dead, dead, dead whether I choose to eat it or not.

This how I made my peace with the Straw Paradox: I'm not a vegetarian, and until I become a full-timer, if I ever receive a meal with meat in it, I'm going to eat it, because at this point I think it's more important not to waste the food than to stick to my princple not to eat it.

#17 New Food: Don Tat

Don tat, don ta, Chinese egg custard...whatever you choose to call it, I'd never had it before. Smalls initiated me with a grab bag of different treats, all from Egg Custard King Cafe.

You know what egg custard tastes like? Eggs.

He got me four varieties: melon, egg white, banana, and almond. [I didn't take this photo, so they aren't the exact ones I ate, but they are from Egg Custard King. And, yes, the melon one is that bright green number!]

Melon: Not disgusting, but not palatable. Imagine eating a handful of scrambled eggs and a slice of honeydew. Chew.

Egg white: The best of the bunch! Flaky, buttery crust with sweet custard filling.

Banana: Runner-up favorite. The banana flavor definitely has an artificial feel, but some go for that. Like me.

Almond: As suspected, I didn't really like this one. I don't like almond extract. It seems like a too-concentrated almond taste, whereas real, fresh almonds are wonderfully mild.

I'd eat the egg white again any time, but I'm not sure how I feel about branching out into their kooky flavors anymore.

#16 Tropical Coconut Cake With Mango Sauce

A friend requested a cupcake version of this cake recipe for her birthday, and I was happy to oblige. It's rather simple to make and ends up really moist and fruity. Since I made them as cupcakes (I squeezed out 18), I didn't make the mango sauce. Oh, and believe it or not, this recipe comes from InStyle.

1 ripe mango peel, chop (again, I omitted this)
2 tablespoons lime juice (I didn't use the lime juice, but I did zest one and add to the cake batter)
1 pound yellow (lemon) cake mix
11 ounces mandarin oranges
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
8 ounces crushed pineapple drain & reserve juice
2 cups heavy cream
1 package unflavored gelatin
1 cup sweet flaked coconut

Puree mango and lime juice in blender until smooth. Set aside. Heat oven to 350"F. Grease and flour two 9" round cake pans. In large bowl beat cake mix, oranges, butter, oil and eggs; pour into prepared pans (I lined a 12-cup muffin pan with ungreased liners; do not overfill cups).

Bake 27-32 min., or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean (I think I baked them about 20 min. I just followed whatever the cake box recommended). Remove cakes from pans and cool on wire rack. While warm, poke holes in top with wooden skewer; brush with pineapple juice.

In medium bowl whip cream; stir in gelatin and pineapple (I think a tsp. of vanilla extract would add a nice layer of flavor to the whipped cream). Place one cake layer on platter; spread with cream mixture. Top with second layer; frost sides and top. Cover all with coconut. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before eating. Serve with mango sauce. (I used an offset spatula to frost the cupcakes. I also toasted the coconut to add some color and crunch. I put the cupcakes in the fridge and didn't add the coconut until the last minute.)

Grade: A

#15 La Vuelta

10-43 44th Drive
LIC, NY 11101
718-361-1858

A group came here to celebrate a dear friend's 30th birthday. Not much in the way of decor, but the drinks and food were tasty and the service pleasant. There was much fuss about how good the empanaditas were. I had a plate of nachos with cheese, sour cream, guac, and, oddly but delightfully, white bean puree. I love white beans and much prefer that topping to beans of the refried variety. Prices were very reasonable. Everyone left happy.

Grade: B+

#14 Dali

While we were in Cambridge, we ate at a Spanish restaurant called Dali. We sat at the bar and ate some delicious tapas. This is what was over our heads--yes, the flowers are fake, but everything else is real! Ropes of garlic, dried peppers, and, yup, a boar's head and a fish head! It was really dark and red in there; I thought the decor was fantastic.

#13 Grace

I finally bought Schott's Food & Drink Miscellany (it had been on my list since the book was published in 2003) and I find it very interesting to read. There are hundreds of fascinating little facts about the history of food, including this prayer before a meal, penned by everyone's favorite Scotsman, Robert Burns:

Some hae meat, and canna eat,
And some wad eat that want it,
But we hae meat and we can eat,
And sae the Lord be thankit.

I like it because it's short and it rhymes. It's not quite as good as my favorite mealtime prayer though:

Rub-a-dub-dub
Thanks for the grub.
Yeah God!

#12 Astorians in Beantown

A few weeks ago Snowman, Cos, and myself went to Boston. Here's a little video I cobbled together of our trip, which included many tasty libations, such as a "dark & stormy" and "cactus cosmo." [Sorry, I couldn't resist the Cheers theme song!]

#11 Mango Love

I've eaten a lot of mangos this summer in my quest for the perfect smoothie, which, happily, I think I made this morning--a combo of mangos, raspberries, lemon juice, and apple juice. [A funny thing happened, though...at work I started to feel a little woozy. Why? Blood sugar spike from all the fruit. Next time I'll finish off the smoothie with a few almonds or a piece of whole wheat bread.]

So what are the health benefits of a mango, I wondered. Well, according to healthalternatives2000, one mango (I usually eat two in a smoothie) contains a healthy dose of dietary fiber, potassium, calcium, and vitamins A & C. There are roughly 140 calories per mango (which probably brings my total smoothie into the 400 calorie-range).

Tip: As far as I can tell, the best way to peel a mango is with a serrated knife. Stand the mango on the larger end and run the knife, as close to the skin as possible, down the mango. I tried using a vegetable peeler, and, needless to say, it was quite a mess!

#10 Anyeong!

There are a few Asian grocery stores in the city that I like to frequent. My favorite--simply because it's more centrally located--is Han Ah Reum, fondly known as H Mart.

I went a few days ago with Smalls and bought some sardines, fish cakes, and bean sprouts out of the prepacked deli case. I don't think my mom ever made the fish cakes growing up, but I ate plenty of the sardines and sprouts throughtout my childhood. I just had some for lunch. Delish!

I also buy these delicious Japanese candies called Morinaga hi-chew [caveat: there is a generic brand of candy called hi-chew that should only be eaten in cases of dire desperation; make sure you get the good stuff with the konji writing!] that come in flavors like strawberry, grape, and yogurt. I buy whatever is there that day. They are a juicy, chewy taste explosion.

I like to buy at least one foreign item, something I've never had before and am not sure what it is either. There's plenty to choose from, since it's all in Korean or Japanese (even the stuff that is actually in English seems odd). I just look at the pictures and imagine putting it in my mouth. Sometimes I pick good things, sometimes I don't. This time I bought some Hello Kitty strawberry marshmallows with a jelly center. I'm not sure why I bought them since I don't like marshmallows that much (I guess I can't resist that adorable bow in her hair), but now that I'm halfway through the bag, I find them quite nice. Mildly fruity and not overly sweet.

#9 John Updike talks

A quote from John Updike taken from TIME 6/5/2006:

And waste, the American waste. I find myself very disturbed lately by the fact that restaurants give you more than any sane person would want to eat, and food is packaged in bigger and bigger containers now so that you try to buy a mere quart of ginger ale and you have to buy a gallon of it that won't fit in the refrigerator. I'm very aware, almost for the first time in my life, of consumerism, being a dupe of consumerism.

I have to agree 100% with Updike. It is slowly dawning on me that my role as an American consumer is not a small one. How much to do I buy? How much do I throw away? How much could have been spared?

I think about it particularly as it concerns food. Growing up, the bigger the portion, the more I liked it. But now restaurants serve such huge portions, Snowman and I find ourselves often sharing entrees (and, naturally, being charged a plate-sharing fee). I hate throwing food away, but I also don't like being told how much I'm supposed to eat. It's a very difficult thing to reverse the mentality of reckless consumerism, but I am trying. I feel like it is vitally important to be respectful of my place on Earth, the footprints that I leave behind, the physical remnants of my existence. I would like for it to be as minimal as possible.

#8 Maroons

244 West 16th Street
New York, NY 10011
212.206.8640

What a grueling subway ride Snowman and I had! A trip that would normally take 25 minutes, took over an hour. Thus we were very late for our reservation. But we did see a very tall Tim Robbins and his two boys in Union Square, so that kind of made up for it. This restaurant is packed and cramped. They have absolutely packed in as many tables as possible, leaving virtually no space between diners. The kitchen is smaller than my own, and, oddly, the bathroom sink is outside the actual bathroom. The booths are probably original fixtures, as they were more spring than cushion when I sat on them. The service was polite, although a bit harried.

Everyone I ate with had the fried chicken, which they all said was delicious. As it was a veggie day for me, I opted for the waffles with cream and syrup (their only two non-meat items were either waffles or pancakes). Definitely some of the best waffles I've had, and plenty of them. The cream added a really wonderful layer of sweetness. The cornbread that came with lunch was fresh and crumbly. It would have been nice to have been served butter with it, but it was still tasty without.

Grade: B

#7 Aix

2398 Broadway
New York, NY 10024
212.874.7400

The weekend of eating out continues...this time to the ever-popular Didier Virot-owned French restaurant Aix (pronounced ehx). Lovely, dark, soothing decor and mostly pleasant service, but the food was hit-and-miss. My appetizer of grilled asparagus with shiitakes, striped beets, goat cheese, and walnut vinaigrette was fantastic. I love beets and paired with the tart cheese and sweet earthy asparagus, this was just delicious. However, my entree of a brisket sandwich with emmenthaler was quite unimpressive. The brisket was dry and flavorless (the tangy cole slaw helped somewhat). The French fries, however, were probably some of the best I've ever had. Crispy, hot, perfectly salted. The red-haired clown himself would be duly impressed. My latte, although mouth-searingly hot at first, was perfect. Overall, I'm afraid I have to mark it down for a rather boring entree, especially when it costs over $20.

Grade: B-

#6 Serendipity III

225 East 60th Street
New York, NY 10022
212.838.3531

I've been here and handful of times and it's never that great. The ice cream is really good, but the wait is always infernal and the service condescending. But my cousin brought in her daughter and my sister wanted to treat us to ice cream and I thought, hell, let's go back. And I'm glad we did, because, yes, the wait was still interminable, but our waiter was downright delightful (something tells me he won't last there long).

I had the "ultimate BLT," which was tasty, but had some structural problems. Namely, it was on toasted Challah bread, which was too crumbly to hold the innards in very well. The tomatoes, although very fresh, were just sliced way too large and overpowered the other components of the sandwich. The bacon and lettuce were perfect. The mayo was on the side, so I applied it to my liking.

In additional, I had a side of fried parsnips, which were really great. They have a nice, earthy taste, but aren't overpowering. For dessert I had the Strawberries and Cream sundae, an tremendously large strawberry sundae layered with strawberry syrup, cheesecake, and whipped cream. It was delicious, until the cheesecake got waterlogged with melted ice cream, but by that point I was overstaed anyway.

Grade: B

#5 718 Restaurant

35-01 Ditmars Blvd.
Astoria NY 11105
(718) 204-5553

Certainly one of the best restaurants I've eaten at in Queens. Dark, warm, romantic decor with soft cozy booths and table; a well-stocked bar; fresh, inventive food, beautifully presented. During a night of lamb, tilapia, mozzarella salad, thin crust pizza, and bread pudding, the hands down favorite was my bowl of yellow gazpacho, which consisted of tomatoes, squash, onion, garlic, olives, and pineapple. Spicy, cool and creamy, it was easily the best gazpacho I've ever had; the real question is whether it's the best soup I've ever had period (top five, for sure). Including a drink per person, we spent $47 each. A little pricey, but we all said well worth it.

Grade: A

#4 Pasta With Chicken and Mushrooms

This was seriously tasty and very simple to make. I always get nervous around chicken because I feel like there is a paper-thin line between raw chicken and rubbery chicken, and because I'm concerned about salmonella, I feel like I tend towards rubbery. Not so last night! Chicken was wonderfully tender. Neither Snowman nor I like parsley very much, so I usually omit it, but this time I wish I hadn't. The green would have added a nice contrast to all the browness. The recipe comes from Everyday Food.

Makes 4 servings

Salt and pepper
3/4 pound bow tie pasta (obviously, any small pasta will do; I used penne rigate)
1 pound chicken tenders, quartered
2 teaspoons butter
1 pound small white button mushrooms stems trimmed, halved (I used cremini and kept the stems because I like the visual)
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup fresh chop parsley (as mentioned, I egregiously omitted this)

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until al dente, according to package instructions. Reserve 1/4, cup pasta water; drain pasta, and return to pot.

Meanwhile, season chicken generously with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook, turning once, until cooked through, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

Add mushrooms to pan; season with salt and pepper. Cover; cook over medium heat until mushrooms release their liquid, about 5 minutes. Uncover; cook, stirring, until liquid has evaporated, 3 to 5 minutes more. Add wine; cook, stirring, until evaporated, 2 to 3 minutes.

Reduce heat to low. Add cream and chicken; stir to coat. Transfer to pot with pasta; add parsley and pasta water (if desired) (I did not desire. I thought the sauce was thin so I handed a handful of parmesan (after all, what's pasta without cheese?) and a tsp. of cornstarch (make sure you boil the sauce for a minute)). Toss to combine. Season again with salt and pepper; serve immediately.

Grade: A

#3 Gingerly

I can't decide about ginger. I usually like it in controlled doses. A little ginger in my stir fry is a beautiful thing, but do I want to drink a glass of ginger beer? Not so much. I do, however, like ginger snaps an awful lot. Which is why I recently bought a package of Newman's Own Ginger-O's (think Oreos with gingersnaps instead of chocolate cookie). I have to say, they're really awesome. Enough ginger to give you a little bite, but not enough to make you want to scrape your tongue out. Plus you're supporting the lovely Paul Newman and charity at the same time! A co-worker said he had tried Newman's Own version of the Oreo and didn't like it. I said that was because it wasn't an Oreo, which are so ingrained on our taste buds that anything else tastes like crap (Hydrox, anyone?). There is no alternate version of Ginger-O's so you can approach it with a fresh palate.

Tip: If you buy a whole ginger root and only use a small amount for a meal, peel the rest and keep it in the fridge. It lasts forever and grates just as easily frozen as not.

#2 Cook'n

A lot of people do certain repetitive activities as a form of meditation: knitting; gardening; playing piano. I load recipes into my Cook'n database. It's not as time-consuming as it used to be, mostly because my recipes come from magazines like Living and Food & Wine and they keep their recipes online, so it's little more than cutting and pasting. Some recipes--say ones I clip from a newspaper or come from friends--need to be scanned.

This still takes time, I admit. And I have stacks of magazines I haven't been able to digitize yet. But I still think it's worthwhile. The program lets me sort recipes how I choose (I block them by source and year) and as far as I can tell, there's no limit to how many recipes you can store (I must have several hundred by now). It came preprogrammed with its own recipes, but I deleted all of those, because I wanted only to include recipes that I hand-picked. I can also attach bmp photos, which I love. I can search by ingredient (great for when I use one stalk of celery for tuna fish and have six stalks left over). And I can add my own notes, so after I try a recipe I can add things like "needs more salt" or "careful not to over bake." I also add my initials to a recipe once I've tried it, so I can remind myself later. It also makes it really easy to share recipes through email. And think of how easy it would be to pass on to future generations! Instead of a huge binder with papers jutting out everywhere, all I have to do is hand over a CD! What I also like is that when I'm making something, I can print out the recipe and it doesn't matter if I spill oil or gravy or jam on it, because I can always print out another one!

Today I added some recipes for a shrimp, crab and avocado salad; honey-roasted root vegetables; potato dill bread.

#1 In the Beginning

They say all roads lead to Rome, but I say all roads lead to my mouth.

I'm not sure what's going to become of this project--perhaps nothing at all. I'll post recipes and restaurant reviews as well as, well, basically, anything that has to do with food.

So this is what happened today:

For breakfast I had a leftover smoothie I had concocted for Snowman out of frozen blueberries, strawberries and raspberries plus a banana, some skim milk, and honey. Sounds good, right? Nope. Bleck. My first foray into smoothie-making, a dismal failure!



For lunch I had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, which I probably eat for lunch 3-4 times a week. I used to swear by Jif, but as I've gotten older (quel dommage!) I've decided to go the all natural route. I was having a hard time finding one that actually tasted like anything, until I came across Whole Foods own brand, called 365. They make a natural creamy peanut butter which is delicious and not overly-goopy like some of the naturals.

For dinner Snowman and I had--a real gastronomic delight--Kraft Mac N Cheese. I don't want to air anyone's dirty laundry, but Snowman tried to make it the other night and overcooked the pasta to a sad, mushy matter which was quickly deposited into the trash can. I added some broccoli, extra cheese, and a little chili jam (so wonderfully spicy and sweet) to jazz it up.

I also went to Barnes & Noble to find a proper smoothie book with recipes, since the one I made up on the cuff didn't work out so well. There is a much better selection on Amazon, of course, but when you get an idea in your head, only instant gratificiation will do. So there I was, sitting on the floor, books spread out, trying to figure out which smoothies sounded the healthiest, the most appetizing, the easiest to make. I settled on The Big Book of Juices and Smoothies because it had lots of tasty recipes, simple ingredients, and told you what vitamins you were getting and whether it was good for energy, immunity, detox, digestion, or skin. Haven't made any yet, but will soon.

I also ordered FreshDirect. Nothing like an impending shipment of munchies to help one sleep soundly!

Can't promise all entries will be this long. After all, 365 days is an awfully long time...

Blog Update

It's not fair, I thought. Relegated to some side blog like last year's cowboy boots.

Something that takes up so much of my thought, love, energy, and waking life deserves its time in the sun. So here it is: a new version of an old blog. Move over random posts about doctors, astrology, and grief. It's time to write about bread, wine, and great big bowls of pasta.

I'm calling it "A Year of Food" because my plan is to write a daily post about food--recipes, restaurant reviews, cereal--whatever floats my boat. Your boat too, I hope. (Don't ask me where I got the idea to do 365 days of something...probably from this guy.) Can I do it? Who knows. I don't have the longest attention span, so a year of food, may devolve into a week of food. Let's see what happens.

To that end, and in the interest of time, I'm nixing the side blogs. I'll still occasionally post about things that aren't related to food, but for the most part, if I can't eat it, drink it, or fry it up in a pan, it's not making onto my blog.

I've already written two entries, so I'm going to back-post those.

Bon appetit!

My Most Fabulous Day III

Well, these days sure are going downhill fast! To refresh, the score is 1-1. June 7th was "fabulous day" #3.

The recap:

I had a cold. I must have sneezed 900 times. I think I actually injured a rib from excessive sneezing. not fabulous

I wore the wrong pair of socks with my sneakers and they kept wriggling off my foot. I spent most of the day with my sock half on and half off. not fabulous

It rained all day. This I actually didn't mind that much. The temperature was pleasant enough. fine

I had a Jamba Juice berry fulfilling smoothie for dinner. I'm in love with Jamba Juice. If it weren't so expensive, I would have one every day. lovely

I tried to take a nap before going out, but it was not to be. There is nothing worse than when a nap lets you down. not fabulous

VE, CosCreative, and I got together to work on a "best cover albums" project, which was fun. There are a lot of album covers out there--good and bad. It will be interesting to see how all our different tastes stack up against each others. But, you know, I was tired because of no nap and still sneezing up a storm. Still, I'd say very lovely.

Overall, what can I say? This days wasn't that great. The cold really sucked.

Score is now 1-2.

Next Fabulous Day: June 30th.

Dr. Hibbert Will See You Now (Or How To Waste $15)

In my time in New York I've accumulated quite a cadre of doctors: internists, specialists, surgeons--you name it, I've seen someone for it. I probably find about 90% of these doctors pretty good at what they do, which is pretty good considering most were picked solely on the basis of their proximity to where I work. But there is one doctor I've never particularly liked, and oddly, he's the one I've had the longest: my general practititioner.

I suppose the reason I never bothered to change was because I never saw him that much. He'd give me my flu shot and I'd see him if I wanted to check my cholesterol or my allergies were bothering me, but over the course of eight years, this has only amounted to a handful of visits.

One time I had an allergic reaction to a medicine I was taking. I was covered in hives; I had a fever; I couldn't even bend my fingers they were so swollen. When I went to see him the first thing he said was "Wow, you might have some mysterious illness." Or hives.

The next time I had an allergic reaction to a different medicine, I went to my dermatologist. Who actually knew what it was.

For about five days I had had a sore throat which progressed into a racuous cough. Normally I won't go to the doctor for a cold unless it's gone on for a week, but I felt oddy pressured by my boss (I had left work early and felt somehow that was contingent upon my seeing the doctor).

As soon as I said "cough" he said "bronchitis." As soon as he said "bronchitis" little bells went off in my head. I mean, I'm no doctor myself, but I'm pretty sure a cough is a sign of many things, including the common cold. As I continued to describe my condition, he continued to repeat bronchitis.

All for this: he's a pill pusher. All he wanted to do was give me a prescription for something. He always has pharma reps in his office. They are always young, pretty girls. He is always super chatty. There must be some sort of reciprocity involved: the more samples he moves, the more pens and magnets he gets.

He shoved an antibiotic sample and prescription in my hand. Asked if I needed any other pills--mood stabilizers, sleeping pills, Viagra, Accutane, prevacid (this guy must give out GREAT Easter baskets).

So many times we don't listen to our guts and it turns out our guts were right. I knew I didn't have bronchitis. I never filled the prescrip and the sample is sitting on my dresser. Two days later, my cold seems to be clearing up nicely.

What I'm really saying is this: get your reqeusts in now, friends. Next time I see Dr. Hibbert, I'll be sure to hit him up for whatever you need.

Fun With Science

This is what happens when you're bored at work. Not just what actually happened on the video, but the making of it as well. Bored, bored, bored.

But really, this ranks as one of my favorite moments at my job. That and winning the Oscar pool last year. That and spending an hour fishing a tiny envelope out from behing a cubicle with a coat hanger. That and watching my boss eat a rice krispies treat and having it fly out of his mouth and fall on the floor. That and...nope, that's it.

To find out how to do it, go here.

PS-This video doesn't seem to work in Mozilla, so use an ie-based browser.

PPS-At home I tried an ie-based browser and it DIDN'T work, but used Mozilla and it DID. So I don't know what to say, except you should see a blue "play" button in the middle of the screen or it won't work properly. Clearly, I have not totally gotten the hang of embedding home video.