Tuesday, December 27, 2011

I Like an Evening Adaptation of a Cafe Borgia. Mmmmm...

Photo:  http://www.cundicoffee.com/
So, I like a Cafe Borgia beverage, but can't find anyone in the Phoenix area who makes one since nice coffeeshops here that aren't Starbucks or outrageously artsy, overly bohemian or utterly pretentious are basically nonexistent.

Don't get me wrong, I like Starbucks, but they don't offer a Cafe Borgia.  For those who don't know, a Borgia is a dark choc mocha with orange zest added in and, provided you can get over the orange zest floaties, it is divine!  And, if you're ever in Eugene, Oregon, you can get a fabulous one (and many other mouthwatering treats) at the Sweet Life Patisserie.  Yum!

Well, I'm slightly breaking my "no adult content" rule in this blog to state that I've recently created a very nice (adult because it has a little bit of booze in it, of course I'm old enough and then some - see my photo below - er... way below...) evening version of this fave morning beverage and instead of orange zest, I'm adding in Cointreau Orange Liqueur (pictured below with Dita Von Teese - if you drink this you'll be all glamorous).

Photo:  http://www.cointreau.us/

Well, maybe not glamorous so much as... zombastic compounded by loquacious (?) (yes, I know I probably don't look loquacious) as shown by my photo of me after having a cuppa Borgia joe goodness at the end of a long day, late at night and writing a wordy, chatty, overly lengthy blog -- and pretty much ready to go to bed.  (I suspect lots of bloggers look like this, actually...):




Anyway, back to the Evening Cafe Borgia...  I don't really measure anything, but just give this recipe a try in various proportions that you think you might like:

- about a half small shot of Cointreau (I'm not tryin' to get drunk, here, I'm just adding flavor, for cryin' out loud!)
- a heaping tsp of cocoa baking powder (yah, the baking stuff that's unsweetened - NOT chocolate milk mix)
- a tsp of sugar
- 1/4 cup non-fat half and half
- 1/4 cup skim milk shaken and then added to the cup to make pretend foam.  This is my last ingredient and I stir it all together
- a cup of decaf coffee (yes, decaf; it is evening after all. I generally do a half tsp Starbuck's instant decaf and about a tsp store brand decaf instant and then fill the rest with hot water)

What's your favorite coffee drink?

Saturday, December 24, 2011

I Like Pre-cooked Bacon!

This is one of the best inventions, ever!

Making bacon is kind of a pain in the butt, especially if you live in an apartment and don't want your whole kitchen covered in micro-bacon-grease spatter and smelling of it for the next few days after you make it.

Also, there's the whole thing where I don't really want to make a pound of bacon at a time for myself.  While I do occasionally buy an extra-lean ground beef super pack on sale and divide it up into smaller portions for freezing to keep me in red meat for half a year, it's not likely that I'm going to do the same for a pound of bacon; it's just overkill (or maybe I just don't like handling raw meat and then cooking it that much).

Well, all that and the fact that I try to minimize my  meat consumption, as I know that it's not healthy for me or for the world around me.  But sometimes I cave-in to my inner carnivore...


At any rate, this is an awesome solution (with I'm sure multiple evils attached)!  Pre-cooked bacon (none of the trouble and all of the guilt)! 


Okay, so it's a little spendy, but if you pretty much never buy bacon anyway (like me), then it's not a big deal as a treat of convenience for $4 every month or so.  I mean, the pieces are all nicely separated and you just pop 'em into the microwave on a paper towel for 30 secs (less if you like it limp - I don't; I like it crispy).  Voila!  Perfect bacon every time; the amount that you want, when you want it without any mess!

Now if they could only make it kosher...

Saturday, December 17, 2011

I like geeky stuff!

Was facebook surfing tonight and came across someone who had a link to something that had a link to another site that I had forgotten about but remembered I liked because I like geeky stuff.  Enjoy ThinkGeek!  I really like this shirt


I like classical guitar.

I was reminded tonight when reading someone's post about acoustic music, that I enjoy classical guitar.

I have this old CD featuring Maria-Luisa Harth-Bedoya (called something like Dos Guitarras, Une Estile - I don't have it right at hand, but I don't think it was ever mass produced) who I met when I worked with her brother, Miguel (an accomplished international conductor), about 14 years ago.  I liked it so much that I had hoped she made more.  I looked her up occasionally for the first few years, but it didn't look like she was doing much; when I had met her, the CD was a first press (I was so fortunate to be able to receive that copy!) and she was caught in the blush of love and a fresh marriage engagement including moving to the East Coast (if I recall correctly) with her new husband.

Well tonight, offhand, with this fresh reminder of classical guitar in my head, I looked her up.  No mention of a husband, but mention of a mass-produced CD and quite a bit of performance.  Good for her and good for us!



Cruising around, I also found this amazing, young, woman - what a talent!  I just sat there with my eyes closed, being taken away.   Very nice!


And lastly, how can I possibly talk about guitar and not bring up Charo, whose musical talent I couldn't even hope to compare to.  She's such a fascinating study to watch:  she's kind of an ADHD trainwreck that somehow is sublimated or mitigated, or both, through her guitar, a fabulous comedienne with a great sense of humor, and one smart cuchi cuchi!  Her face might be showing some age, but I gotta say, I'll never have her talent and I could only hope for even half of her va-voom (I suppose that would be a singular cuchi) by the time I'm 60 (which is the young estimate of her age that she turned in 2011)!  You go, girl!




Thursday, December 15, 2011

I REALLY Like Shaun the Sheep! Beeeeeeeeh!

We discovered Shaun the Sheep on Netflix.  Hideously funny, my husband and I love taking the laughter filled mental vacation that is this animated series.  No talking, no words, just the average, wholesome exploits of sheep - you know, like line dancing.  (Okay, so there are other characters, too, like a person, a dog, of course - can't have sheep without a herdin' dog - some mean-ass pigs, and sometimes a bull...)  LOVE IT! 

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

I like my friend, Sandra, and Vietnamese noodle soup

I like a few people such as my husband, a few girl friends (and one, two? guy friends), a small handful of family members, maybe some co-workers in the mix, and that's pretty much it.

Tonight I'm thinking of my friend Sandra and how she has a cold and how if I were near, I'd bring her soup.  We used to live in the same city and state, but then I moved 1500 miles away to go take care of my elderly father and we have a long distance friendship.  It's okay, but I really miss how we always used to go have dessert.  A lot.  If you haven't yet noticed from my previous posts, I love dessert.  But occasionally, Sandra and I would go eat somewhere else - usually this little place called Vietnam Restaurant in Eugene, Oregon (they're too old school to have a web site, but you'll have to visit if you ever pass that way; it's on W. 11th Ave.).

Vietnam Restaurant has the best chicken noodle soup ever, and it's my favorite thing when it's cold and rainy and the best chicken noodle soup when you're sick.  But that was my favorite soup; Sandra's favorite was beef ball soup.  Now, I'm not talkin' rocky mountain oysters, here, I'm talking balls of meat and goo - I have no idea what; they're not a plain meat ball, that's for sure.  But it's totally cool, although I never had the guts to try it, but it's a popular menu item and it's her favorite.

So, tonight, Sandra, to the best of my ability, here is some beef ball soup (Pho Bo - or Vo - Vien) and I hope that you feel better very, very soon:

(p.s. foodarrific.com where I got the photo from seems to be a cool food blog, too!)

Friday, December 9, 2011

I like reason.

SNAP! Hey, it's my blog.  I've determined that liking reason doesn't fall under the auspices of religion or politics.

Saturday, December 3, 2011

I Like Pay Day!

I mean, who doesn't?! ;-)  It's the day when I get to breathe a sigh of relief that the bills will be paid for another month and count my blessings that it is so.  Meanwhile, I continue to plug away until the next pay day when the next month's bills will be paid.  Paycheck to paycheck isn't the most comfortable way to live, but at least it's a living!  (If you're reading this, feel free to click on some ads on the page, you know.  A penny earned will be a penny earned, after all.)  Thank you!


(public domain image from pdclipart.org)

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

I (really!) like Cheesecake Factory's Hershey's chocolate cheesecake. Yum!

Discovered this one while dining out with the hubster one rare evening (we don't have a lot of money, so I really enjoy it when we can go out to eat):  Oh my, oh my, we totally love The Cheesecake Factory's Hershey's chocolate cheesecake.  You can check it out here: http://shop.thecheesecakefactory.com/order/cheesecakes/hershey-s-chocolate-bar-cheesecake.html.  Just look!  Look at that photo and try not to drool... and I guarantee it tastes so much better than how it looks!  <slurp!>

Monday, November 28, 2011

I really like bookstores (and, of course, books)!

So often throughout my life, there no placed I'd rather have been than in a book.  That experience begins with being in the bookstore, which just has a certain feeling, a calling, a comfort.  It's like the opening chapter of "The Neverending Story" where Bastian must hide in the bookstore:  Magical...

A few fine examples I've had the pleasure to find among different colors in the indie category spectrum are BookMaze and ChangingHands in Tempe, AZ, PowellsBooks in Portland, OR, former home of much celebrated Fup, Store Cat, RIP.

What are some of your favorite bookstores?

I like the Willamette Valley in Eugene, Oregon.

I took this photo in late July, 2011, while driving across the Willamette River on the I-5 Highway.  Simply and amazingly gorgeous!

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Welcome!

Hello and welcome to Likeable Stuff, a blog where I post entries about stuff that I like! 

Every once in awhile, I realize that I really like some product or some item that I have or use and feel that others might also like the same stuff.  Conversely, there may be stuff out there that I don't know about that other people like and that I might like, too, so feel free to share about stuff you like, too.  From dental floss to phone games to artwork to restaurants to walks in the park to cats, if it's stuff that you like then feel free to share (please keep it clean, though, this is an all-ages blog; comments are moderated).

Likeably yours,

Suze