There's always an interesting variety of characters downtown. A couple of weeks ago, I saw somebody riding a unicycle on Randolph and Church. And of course, there is the two dollar lady. Everyone who's spent time at any of the downtown bars and restaurants has heard "Hey mista, you got two dollars?" Even if you're a woman you've heard that. Not one, not three, but two dollars is what she wants. She's very clear about that. And then there's Legs-the guy who sits outside of Cafe Kopi and wears short pink or yellow shorts. All I gotta say is thank goodness he keeps his legs crossed when he sits!
The newest character I've seen lately is someone I call Slow-Walkin Dude. I was going to call him Creepy Slow-Walkin Dude, but I decided that's not very fair since he's not really creepy, it's just the way he walks. He walks by the bank every morning about the time I get to work, and sometimes I see him walking back when I leave. Although I have not timed him, he probably takes a good 15-20 minutes to walk one block. He doesn't appear to be impaired in any way, he just takes very slow steps. He's not that old either, probably in his mid to late 50's. I don't know where he goes every day, but I do admire his perserverance. If it took me that long to walk one block I don't know that I would bother to leave the house.
In other downtown news, Ebertfest is going on now. I wish I had looked at the schedule sooner-there's some pretty interesting movies playing. Gattaca opened the fest, and the directorial debut from Joey Lauren Adams (Chasing Amy, Big Daddy) called Come Early Morning just started a few minutes ago. And yes, CNN, Ebertfest takes place here in Champaign, not Chicago!
I really hope I don't have to move when the merger happens. I enjoy working in downtown Champaign, there's so much to offer here! I'll especially miss Friday morning breakfast at Cafe Kopi-sesame bagel toasted with veggie cream cheese. Yum!
Friday, April 27, 2007
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Chicken With Garlic
A while back I had picked up one of those cookbooks you always find on clearance at Borders and Barnes & Noble. This one is devoted to chicken recipes. I made two or three recipes then promptly forgot about it. While trying to get new recipe ideas last week, I rediscovered this book and one of the recipes in it. I made it tonight, and it's definitely going into regular rotation. Here it is (with a slight adjustment):
3 6-ounce skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons snipped fresh snipped parsley
1/2 cup dry sherry or chicken broth
Hot cooked rice (optional)
Fresh rosemary sprigs (optional)
Paprika (optional)
In a large skillet cook chicken in hot oil until slightly browned, turning to brown evenly. Stir in garlic and parsley. Cook and stir until the garlic is tender.
Carefully add the sherry or broth. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer about 15 minutes or until chicken is tender and no longer pink. If desired, serve with rice. If desired, garnish with rosemary sprigs and sprinkle with paprika.
The original recipe says to coat the chicken with flour, salt, and pepper, but I don't follow directions very well and completely missed this step. I thought it tasted better, and Mike really liked it, so it's staying in my cookbook without the coating.
We had this with a really good bottle of wine. It's an Argentinian malbec from the Kaiken winery. I think malbec must be an Argentinian word (or would that be Spanish?) word for damn good wine. This was Friar Tuck's wine of the month a couple of months ago, and I'm wishing now we had picked up a couple more bottles. Then again, if we had, I might have been tempted to open a second bottle, and that's not a good idea.
3 6-ounce skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons snipped fresh snipped parsley
1/2 cup dry sherry or chicken broth
Hot cooked rice (optional)
Fresh rosemary sprigs (optional)
Paprika (optional)
In a large skillet cook chicken in hot oil until slightly browned, turning to brown evenly. Stir in garlic and parsley. Cook and stir until the garlic is tender.
Carefully add the sherry or broth. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer about 15 minutes or until chicken is tender and no longer pink. If desired, serve with rice. If desired, garnish with rosemary sprigs and sprinkle with paprika.
The original recipe says to coat the chicken with flour, salt, and pepper, but I don't follow directions very well and completely missed this step. I thought it tasted better, and Mike really liked it, so it's staying in my cookbook without the coating.
We had this with a really good bottle of wine. It's an Argentinian malbec from the Kaiken winery. I think malbec must be an Argentinian word (or would that be Spanish?) word for damn good wine. This was Friar Tuck's wine of the month a couple of months ago, and I'm wishing now we had picked up a couple more bottles. Then again, if we had, I might have been tempted to open a second bottle, and that's not a good idea.
Thursday, April 05, 2007
College Hoop Dreams
Every March, something strange starts happening. I come down with the ailment known as "March Madness". Yes, for some reason, I love the NCAA basketball tournament. I get my brackets, make my picks, and follow all the games. In fact, I could probably shut myself in a room with a TV, nachos, and beer and not come out until the tournament is over. Or until I have to go to the bathroom, which would probably come first.
You might be saying to yourself, "Hmmm...didn't know Trixie was such a big college basketball fan." That's because I'm not. I'm generally pretty clueless about the sport, other than knowing when the Illini are playing so I can plan activities around it. Nothing beats shopping while everyone else is watching the game!
Anyway, my company has been doing a tournament contest the last couple of years. LEGAL DISCLAIMER-this is purely a contest, no money is paid to enter. But the top ten players win a prize, so it's always pretty fun. I usually end up somewhere in the middle of the standings out of a group of 150-200 people. This year, however, something weird happened. I actually got in first place after the first weekend of play. Pretty exciting, but I knew it wouldn't last. And then after the second week and some very close games, I was still in first place. What the heck was going on? After the Final Four, I was still in the lead, and one of the few to predict the Final Four teams. And then the Championship game on Monday-I missed the first half, and tuned in the second half to see Florida leading Ohio State. Florida kept the lead during the rest of the game. And then it was over, Florida was the champion for the second year in a row. The only time the same starting five had ever won back-to-back championships. How exciting!
Sure enough, Tuesday morning, I look at the standings. And there I am-in 15th place. Yep, I had Ohio State :(
But I still had the best pick percentage out of 155 people at 84%. And 15th place is the best I've ever done.
Wait til next year!
You might be saying to yourself, "Hmmm...didn't know Trixie was such a big college basketball fan." That's because I'm not. I'm generally pretty clueless about the sport, other than knowing when the Illini are playing so I can plan activities around it. Nothing beats shopping while everyone else is watching the game!
Anyway, my company has been doing a tournament contest the last couple of years. LEGAL DISCLAIMER-this is purely a contest, no money is paid to enter. But the top ten players win a prize, so it's always pretty fun. I usually end up somewhere in the middle of the standings out of a group of 150-200 people. This year, however, something weird happened. I actually got in first place after the first weekend of play. Pretty exciting, but I knew it wouldn't last. And then after the second week and some very close games, I was still in first place. What the heck was going on? After the Final Four, I was still in the lead, and one of the few to predict the Final Four teams. And then the Championship game on Monday-I missed the first half, and tuned in the second half to see Florida leading Ohio State. Florida kept the lead during the rest of the game. And then it was over, Florida was the champion for the second year in a row. The only time the same starting five had ever won back-to-back championships. How exciting!
Sure enough, Tuesday morning, I look at the standings. And there I am-in 15th place. Yep, I had Ohio State :(
But I still had the best pick percentage out of 155 people at 84%. And 15th place is the best I've ever done.
Wait til next year!
Monday, April 02, 2007
Driving Under the Influence
License plate spotted today-MN SQWZ 4. Seriously, you're fourth on the list of main squeezes and you're proud of that????
There really needs to be a disclaimer on the new Tossers CD-Agony. I was driving to work the other day and almost got into an accident. It's hard to drive while your toes are tapping and you're fighting the impulse to jig and reel. I don't even know how to jig and reel, but it doesn't really matter. It's hard to sit still and listen to it. Irish folk music meets Irish drinking music, how cool is that?
We picked up the CD last week when we saw them open for Reverend Horton Heat. This is the second time we've seen The Tossers, and I wish they would have played longer-40 minutes wasn't nearly enough! They opened with one of my favorite songs, "I've Pursued Nothing", which was on In The Valley of the Shadow of Death. What's so fun about their shows is that even if you don't know the songs, it really doesn't matter. You can catch on pretty quickly and sing along. It's also a lot of fun to watch the crowd, but we had a great vantage point and I could actually see the band.
Reverend Horton Heat was a lot of fun too. The crowd was really getting into it, and they put on a fantastic show. Some of their little tricks were amazing-at one point The Rev was standing on Jimbo's bass while they were both playing. I didn't think I knew that many songs, but there were a lot that I was singing along to, so I guess I knew more than I thought. This was one of those bands that I was always aware of, but never knew what they sounded like. If only I had listened to them sooner!!
If either of these bands are in your area, definitely go check them out!
There really needs to be a disclaimer on the new Tossers CD-Agony. I was driving to work the other day and almost got into an accident. It's hard to drive while your toes are tapping and you're fighting the impulse to jig and reel. I don't even know how to jig and reel, but it doesn't really matter. It's hard to sit still and listen to it. Irish folk music meets Irish drinking music, how cool is that?
We picked up the CD last week when we saw them open for Reverend Horton Heat. This is the second time we've seen The Tossers, and I wish they would have played longer-40 minutes wasn't nearly enough! They opened with one of my favorite songs, "I've Pursued Nothing", which was on In The Valley of the Shadow of Death. What's so fun about their shows is that even if you don't know the songs, it really doesn't matter. You can catch on pretty quickly and sing along. It's also a lot of fun to watch the crowd, but we had a great vantage point and I could actually see the band.
Reverend Horton Heat was a lot of fun too. The crowd was really getting into it, and they put on a fantastic show. Some of their little tricks were amazing-at one point The Rev was standing on Jimbo's bass while they were both playing. I didn't think I knew that many songs, but there were a lot that I was singing along to, so I guess I knew more than I thought. This was one of those bands that I was always aware of, but never knew what they sounded like. If only I had listened to them sooner!!
If either of these bands are in your area, definitely go check them out!
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