Ramblings: Of Rachael Ray, beer and bands

Trying to finish my thesis is officially like running with a rake infront of me, pushing the finishing line further and further away. I've been irritable and tired all week, and if you haven't noticed, felt like baking all the time. I decided to take it easy today and hang out for a couple of minutes in the gym, painfully gliding my feet over the elliptical machine and watching Food Network. I usually try to catch MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews while I pretend to work out, but I felt today that I needed some sort of fluffy celluloid pallette satisfaction.

I turned on the individual exercise TV thingo just in time to catch 30 Minute Meals with Rachel (oops, forgive me, Rachael) Ray. I must admit I have probably only seen 1/2 an episode of some random Rachael Ray cooking show before this and felt it was sort of "meh". But anyway, for some reason, this 30 Minute Meals thing struck me as severely awful. Now I'm not a chef, I can cook average meals, but as mere audience, I didn't even feel appetized by the meal she was preparing (some soupy shrimp scampi and tomato onion salad thing).

The shrimp scampi looked severely gross. I'm sure if the ingredients were dressed up a bit, and placed in bowls that didn't look cheesy and trashy it would have been delicious. It's just the whole presentation of the show was really off-putting. After the scampi was done, she dumped hunks of bread into a bowl and toss the soup over it, saying that the bread will soak up the shrimp sauce and that it was "Mmm mm mm mmm mmmm". Well, whatever. I don't know how I feel about clam infested soggy bread. The show was a combination of one of the ugliest kitchens EVER on television with just really bad food aesthetics. I have no idea why she is as big as she is. Whenever I think of how a REAL kitchen should be, it's always Nigella Lawson's kitchen - clean, white, gleaming and tempting to sit in and relax with a big bowl of sopping lard.

Since I decided to take it easy today, I have no recipes to share; the boyfriend made his signature Phad Thai for dinner. Just a heads up though, that Pike Street Beer and Wine at 518 E. Pike St. has beer tasting every Friday from 5 - 7pm. This place is awesomeness, it has at least a billion varieties of lagers, belgians and ales and a pretty decent stash of wine too. Today's tasting was three different beers from Lazy Boy Brewing Co. - the IPA, Belgian-style golden ale and a very smoky Porter. I try to support this place because it's (a) made of all kinds of hops awesomeness (b) it's local. So hurrah for good beers.

On a side note, one of my local Seattle bands, Siberian is breaking up. I think the guitarist lives up the street from me. I have half a mind to stalk and offer him some home made chocolate-cherry muffins just so they wouldn't disband.