My house is a strange place to be on a Friday night.
I’ve never seen the appeal in going out and whooping it up, just because it’s Friday, (The fact that I just used the phrase “whooping it up” probably already tells you so much more than you need to know), but once in a while, I feel like I should at least acknowledge the fact that it’s Friday night.
Sorry…let me pause here. I also feel like I should acknowledge the fact that I haven’t posted in over a month. So let’s just get that cleared up right now. I was on holiday…and now I’m back from my holiday with lots of things to say…but I’ve discovered that blog posts take so much longer to write when I actually think about what I’m writing.
(Hopefully that same thinking + writing = time problem won’t decide to rear it’s ugly head as I finish writing my thesis…)
As I continue to process my holiday, and work on a few ‘thinky’ posts, I’ll use this Friday night to get back into the swing of things. I thought it might be nice to start with a little quiz. A grocery quiz. You see, when I was doing my undergrad, I loved doing my grocery shopping late, late, late at night for two reasons:
#1. I loved gliding down the empty aisles using my shopping cart as a giant cumbersome scooter, with my midriff balanced on the handlebar. It’s best to do this in the cereal aisle, not the jam-jar or garden rake aisles. Because, you know, safety first and all that.
#2. People shopping at midnight buy some weird stuff. I liked trying to come up with stories that would explain why the middle-age woman in front of me was buying baby powder, jumper cables, and a can of peanuts…or why the 20-something man behind me was buying 3 bags of dried lentils and a box of toaster strudel.
This where you, and the quiz, come in. As I mentioned earlier, I like to at least acknowledge that it’s Friday night. I feel like I should do something different. I should learn something new…or better yet, I should learn something old. I should resurrect some long-forgotten skill of my ancestors. Like the Friday night that this happened.
Tonight’s adventure included a late-ish trip to the grocery store (sadly, none of them are open 24-hours here) and these items:
In case the picture isn’t clear, that’s 7 litres of milk, 1/2 a litre of buttermilk, 2 bottles of wine, 2 mason jars and a stack of disposable metal bowls.
What’s happening at my cottage tonight? Leave your guesses in the comments below!
Adventures in My Shoes 
Ohhh yum eggnog–getting an early start for Christmas! You go girl! (I know…I’m stuck in the late 90s I think…I was thinner then 🙂
1) You and Catticus are getting crunk! Wine for you, milk for him, a new bowl or jar for each new drink!
2) Blackberry wine cake, though I think manischewitz is usually mechaya for that recipe. I’m also not sure about the 7 liters of milk…
3) Musical Instruments! Fill each bowl and jar up with different amounts of different liquids with different consistencies. Hit with a spoon and you’ve got yourself a homemade glockenspiel!
Homemade body lotion? Wine-scented? I need to sleep on this…maybe more tomorrow.
If you’re doing what I think you’re doing, we definitely need a follow-up! The wine is to get you through the process with your sanity intact.
Not a sweet clue…
cheesemaking?
ooh! good guess, Natasha! That gets my vote! Send me a tin of cheese, please!
Great guesses! Thanks for playing! Emily, now I really want some eggnog…but Natasha is the overall winner (I made cheese), and Jennifer correctly assumed that the wine was an accompaniment to the actual recipes. I made cheddar and paneer (Kathy, do you really want me to send you Paneer?)
Why would you ever make paneer when you could make any other kind of cheese? My feelings on paneer are 1) not a real cheese 2) flavorless, which is why you have to mix it with so many other things 3) not a sufficient substitute for cream cheese when you want some good cheesecake. Conclusion: not worth the calories.
In related news, I made sour cream today! I bet the methods aren’t so different…
Were they successful? I’m especially interested in this cheddar, but I guess if you know if it’s tasty then it probably wasn’t called aged cheddar.
LOL, Kathy, I love the texture of paneer, and a fridge full of paneer gives me a reason to practice my Indian cooking skills. =)
The cheddar had a nice flavour, but the curds didn’t form properly. I’ll try again soon and make a few changes. Good job on your sour cream! (Did you make it on purpose, or did you accidentally leave the milk outside?)