Canoe trip down the WI River

Last weekend we spent 2 days on the beautiful WI river doing mainly two things - drinking and eating.

I think there was also some paddling involved, but not much :)

And now pictures! Thanks to loud for telling me how to upload them a couple of weeks ago. Without her this post would not have been possible :)

Each day started off with our 9am morning constitutional:

Picture most likely to end up on a tourist brochure (of B&M):

The scenery:

Some of our motley crew:

Me, looking goofy after a full day of drinking:

It was a really fun time, however I was glad to get home on the second day to have the use of running water and indoor plumbing so I could wash all the sand off and to use sunburn soothing stuff since all of us are apparently incompetent when it comes to putting sunscreeen on our entire body. We more prefer the red/white spotted look. There were some pretty funky designs. Too bad they weren't intentional ;)

The Second Annual Deep Fry Extravaganza

Yes, it's officially an annual thing now. Let me see if I can remember everything we had this year:

Turkey (so damn good), chicken, fish (best batter award for this stuff), squash, cheese curds, pizza, mushrooms, onions, cherries, peppermint patties, twix, cookie dough, brownie bites, apples, beef/cheese stick combo, cheese-stuffed jalapenos, cheese and rice balls (yummy!), tortillas with salsa.........did I forget anything?

My faves: turkey, squash, onions, fish, mushrooms, cheese and rice balls, and snickers.

Lessions learned (in addition to the good points already discussed by Witty and Lucia):
1) Food should spent less time in the holding area. They should go straight from staging to the deep fryer. The more the things sit around, the more batter drips off.
2) More batters are needed, and they need to be a bit crispier and stick better
3) Have less stuff. Or, at least, a smaller quantity if we still want to have the same amount of variety.
4) Being around the deep fryer to see things in action is essential.

However, the snicker's bites worked a lot better than last year. Tiki torches kept the bugs away, and a general good time was had by all. Most people cleared out by midnight or so, and I think we finally went to bed at 2am. Pretty much the only cleanup that was needed was doing about 4 loads of dishes, which makes me very happy.

However, last night I was definitely feeling a salad for dinner, and my fridge contains lots of leftover chicken and fish. I also have some leftovers that didn't get fried and various containers that I don't think are mine. Let me know if they're yours and when you want to get them :P

Sadly, I don't think I have any pictures, but Lucia painted a pretty good one with the docker's-commerical-without-the-acutal-dockers reference.........even though I never would have come up with that :)

Oh, and Ding convinced me to go browse wedding dresses at a cute store in Verona with her when she goes to pick up her dress in a few weeks. I do beleive I was already feeling the effects of beer + having eaten no food all day when I agreed to this.

It was a good weekend

Friday - Mallards game. Frogs did a good job, but I need to refute a few points. There was absolutely NO "accidental" purchase of too many beers. We purposefully took advantage of an unexpected 2 for 1 offer that happened while we were sitting close to the line.



Te-te - should be pronounced Tay-tay. And it was a great nickname for Vincente. He was our favorite player on the other team.

I feel incredibly cheated by our lack of karaoke for the night. I suspect that next Friday night I will try to sweet talk someone into going to the Doghouse for some free drinks (as promised by the karaoke man) and the karaoke man all to ourselves.

One of the best quotes of the night - as we pull up to Beck's bar (gosh, bar review is a whole 'nother review I should do) - is Loud spotting pickups, motorcycles and the general trashiness of the bar, telling us "I think that my people are different than Lucia's people." Ah, my people. They were there in full force.

The Art Fair on the Square was fun! I bought two woodcut prints, one of a coffeepot and the other of a bottle of Whiskey and a rocks glass full. I have put them up on the wall in my kitchen already, and have titled the grouping - Subsistence Living.
I will have to post pictures later as I am too lazy to do it now.

My thoughts on deep fat fry night -
1) I am blown away by how great it is to be an adult with such a great group of friends. We aren't beautiful, but it seems like we live a Dockers commercial. We get together (piling 20 or so people on Kitty's deck) drink beer out of bottles, smile, laugh, eat some good food, and enjoy late afternoons that descend into cool nights.
Okay, the Dockers commercial never includes dual deep fryers. We have to make it 'sconnie somehow.
2) My mother was wrong. Fried brownies are good.
3) I was amazed at the success of the pizza. It was awesome.
4) Future parties should include more variations on the pizza theme, different batter or even breading options, and I think that we have to make one more charge at the cookie dough (perhaps just not a standard dough, maybe some differences in the composition ... like less butter).
5) I am guessing that every food stuff I see from now on will be evaluated for possible fry party fodder.

Baseball, art, fried food, fundraiser, festival, oh my

What a full weekend!

Friday night was a Mallards game. There were cheesy games with cute kids, speculation on the hotness of "Te-te" (poor, poor man), accidental over-purchasing of beer, recollections of the glory days of high school softball, speculation on whether single women can apply to be host families for the players, and, oh yeah, a baseball game. The Mallards lost, but the game was fun. It's a good, low-key, cheap, kid-friendly fun night out.



I hope to go back. In a valiant search for karaoke, we followed the game with stops at two bars - one in a bowling alley and one on the side of the road between McFarland and Stoughton. The first bar had a mediocre country band instead of karaoke, and the other had shut down karaoke early because nobody showed up. Sadness ensued.

Saturday, we went to the Art Fairs On and Off the Square. There were many beautiful pieces, and Lucia and Loud came away with some great finds. (Photos, please?)

Saturday night, Kitty hosted the second annual Deep Fry Extravaganza. It was good and greeeaaaasssy! As always, the turkey was fabulous, as were the chicken and fish. Interesting newcomers this year were fried beef- an cheesestick combos (held together with a toothpick). Good, but the cheese in that batch and the subsequent tortilla chips all tasted pretty beefy. The fried summer squash was sweet and wonderful. The brownies and cherries were my favorite fried dessert items. The most refreshing deep-fried treat was the peppermint patties. What did everyone else love? We still haven't perfected the cookie dough. Among the deltas we've noted for next year are: advanced pre-fry freezing techniques for the dessert items, separate fryers for each food category or at least more well sequenced frying selections, and a greater variety of batter flavors and consistencies to better complement each item. Yes, we're that dedicated to deep-frying: we believe it's an art. Future business venture: the "You Bring It, We Fry It" food cart.

Today, I worked a shift at REAP's Pie Palooza fundraiser. We sold out tickets early. Though the wait was long, everyone came away satiated. As always, such good food!! I walked across the street to check out the Fete de Marquette festival afterward. The music had just started, so there wasn't much of a crowd yet. Folks who were there last night said the music was great, and many people were dancing. It's a new festival, so I don't think it's gotten the ooomph behind it that the other East Side festivals have yet.

Up next: A play at American Players' Theater in Spring Green and a canoe trip on the Wisconsin River.

a brief shopping tour in Madison

Furniture Shopping - here are some of your options and my opinions:

Steinhafels - a great classic. I feel that this can't be beat for high quality and a classic to conservative selection. Many 8 way hand tied pieces, lots of warranties on frame, mechanics, fabric, etc. You can customize most of the furniture with different fabrics. Their sales seem a bit lame, but regular. The furniture is some of the more expensive in Madison. cookies and coffee in the showroom.

American - furniture, but also sells appliances and tvs. I find the selection to be... well, lower end looking, but their stuff seems pretty study and affordable. I bought my mattress set and entertainment center there. they are doing fine as of right now. - overall, gives me a bachelor man vibe.

Ashley- without a question, cheap. But, the quality is not bad and durability impressive for such inexpensive furniture. No options though, what you see is what you get. My leather couch is from Ashley, 700 bucks. good deal for something that I plan on moving to the basement before long anyhow. I have had it for a year or two and it isn't broken, the seats aren't sagging, and no leather damage.

Twisted Twig - umm, you know those people that get a theme idea for a room and go completely literal with it? Yeah, these people did it with the cabin thing. If you want an "Up North" room, head here. I only found one thing that I could even picture in my home:


Century House - This store focuses on Scandanavian furniture. If that style will work in your house, then you should definitely head over. Their stuff is beautiful. There is also an adorable Century House gift shop next door. Seems like a great place to head when you need a birthday present.

Don's Home Furniture - This store focuses nearly completely on wood furniture. Not a huge upholstered selection. But, their stuff all has the maker indicated and seems of very high quality. I found a couple dressers that I wanted, but it is a bit expensive, so nothing has made its way into my home yet.

If you have suggestions for stores for me to review, please comment and I will make every effort to visit and write them up here.

The most common Summer Things

For those of us from Wisconsin or other points within driving distance, much of the summer is spent going to those huge family weddings that Kitty just cannot understand and family reunions. These events are pretty fantastic, even better than the festivals, camping, etc., for me. However, I do recommend experiencing them in moderation. As with good chocolate, they can become cloyingly sweet after too much.

Edit: Yet another fabulous family reunion - not in Wisconsin, but definitely full of the Wisconsin spirit with all that humidity and beer!

Getting caught in the rain

Going to the beer tent at the Monona 4th of July festival is a good idea. Not wearing a rain coat or bringing an umbrella to the beer tent while its raining is a not so good idea.

Lucia, Loud, and I decided to go to the beer tent July 3rd after a couple of stressful days at work. Hooray for the holiday! By the time we were ready to head over to join in on the festivities, it was raining rather heavily. Loud and I did not think ahead and bring an umbrella or even a garbage bag to protect our luckily dark colored cotton clothes. Lucia planned ahead and was nice and dry in her lovely rain coat.

We looked like we just got out of the shower when we arrived at the beer tent. Although, we were soaked our spirits weren't dampened. We indulged in a few cheap beers, had some laughs, and waited for Lucia to bring the car close by before Loud and I left the tent. The beer tent definitely always equals a good time.

Raising Cane's!

Ok, this is a little sad. It's the middle of summer (well, nearly), and this is my first blog. Actually, it's my first blog EVER, so that's very exciting. So not sad at all, I guess. Although, I did make an attempt once after hours at work...I was never able to get things working right. (Blogger technical issues FAQ -- you lie!)

The title of my this post is Raising Cane's, which I first heard about in Sioux Falls, SD on a business trip from a co-worker from Lousiana. This is a fast food franschise that basically only serves fried chicken fingers. If I remember the story right, it started off as a business school project, but didn't make the grade. The professor failed the project, but the founders went on to start up the first ever Cane's, which is now a successful franschise.

I mostly thought these were in the South...as the person who was telling me about this is from the South and speaks with a twang. (Actually, Raising Cane's was just a smaller part of a rather lengthy conversation on fried chicken. God love the Foodies!) I'm not a big on fast food...actually, i really dislike it in general (except for In and Out, which deserves a whole other post on its own)...and I absolutely DETEST most chicken (exceptions include fried chicken, and chicken cooked by my mom or fiance), so I was a little skeptical about the place.

Amazingly, one of my best friends, we'll call her HighHeels, luvs fried chicken fingers and she lives near a Cane's in MN. (She used to love the weird spongy fried "chicken" fingers from the movie theater we frequented in college...ick. Oh, and she likes the "chicken" rings from White Castle...double ick). HighHeels claimed that these are really good...but, with the recommendation from my southern friend, I was willing to give this a shot, so we went and ate.

AND THEY WERE AWESOME! THEY WERE THE BEST CHICKEN FINGERS I'VE EVER HAD! Hot, fresh, really juicy...so juicy, with a light batter, and not too salty. The special sauce was really good too! According to the website (http://www.raisingcanes.com/), the chicken is never frozen...so it's got to be somewhat local, right? I feel kinda bad posting here about an experience that I didn't even have in WI, and so out of line with the whole local foods, farmers' market, organic feel of the rest of the blog. Don't get me wrong, I'm into that stuff too! But this was just so good! God! I'm craving them already. The crinkle cut fries were awesome too! 98% of the time, crinkle cut fries are soggy...but Cane's were as crisp and delightful as I could hope for.

God, I liked these fingers so much, that I've even thought about opening up a store. Not the first time I've considered joining a franschise...the first time was when I went to my first Oberweis store...which is all about local, organic food...I highly recommend checking them out.(http://www.oberweisdairy.com/web/default.asp).

Anyways, as soon as I got back home to WI, I had to tell my fiance (the B of B&M) all about it. In a strange twist of fate, it turns out that some of his old childhood friends have a friend who opened up a Cane's in Vegas. They are definitely eating there during the next Dudes Vegas trip in Aug.

OMG!!! I just had a thought! I can probably get B to make chicken fingers for the Deep Fry party. Oh yeah!!!! Woot!!!

If you think I'm nuts because I just wrote a whole post on chicken fingers...just wait. I haven't even delved into my Madison eats yet...you can look forward to learning more about Arbat's next time!

Farmer's Markets

Go to them! I now go every Wednesday morning to one almost in my backyard. It's fantastic.
And read the one hardcover that Witty bought while semi-unemployed (Animal, Vegetable, Miracle) - it totally changes your outlook and mindset about food.

And I'm only halfway through!

Farmer's Markets, no matter where you are, are wonderful and I'm thankful that I have the opportunity to go to one every week.

Monona Wife Carry

I am better at posting about things that I am going to do rather than things I have done.

On July 4, we are going to the Monona Festival. Being that I now live in Monona, and it is within walking distance of my house, I am feeling very good about this. proud even.

One of the most exciting events planned: the Wife Carry.

She hangs upside down and holds on to his waist. He jumps over stuff and wades through water.

I can't wait until I get married.

If you get a chance, read the rules, they are very cute. http://www.mononafestival.com/PDF%20Files/Rules%20for%20Wife%20Carry%202007%20v1.0.pdf

In an odd coincidence, Wife Carry began in Finland.

Scenes from a Finnish Solstice

The Finnish Solstice party was last weekend.
We pumped it up on this blog. Honestly, I pumped it up in my head too.
It had to be good, right? Yep, it was.

Some images/memories that make me smile:

• 7-8 - Men's time in the Sauna (pronounced over the loudspeaker "Sow nah") - Attention folks, it is now 7pm and Men's time in the Sow-nah - after you come out there is a private screened porch and you can use the hose to cool off. at 8pm it will be women's time in the Sow-nah.


• we didn't stay for it, but 10-11 couples Sow-Nah time was highly anticipated.


• My favorite folks in the group to talk about other party attendees with: D and B (that should be me in the vacant chair in the background.
  

• At least four of those catty comments centered on the woman with the teal wide collared shirt without a bra who liked to lean over and stretch her arms backward. At the latter D had to make a choking sound to cover his... well, not sure what he was covering...


• Seemingly from the picture, D's first encounter with an apple tree:

• The Morris Dancers doing fertility routines. That is Fertility herself in the pink dress in the middle:

• And my favorite. The woman who brought the party. Can you see it? (click on the picture for an enlargement if you can't)

yes folks, that is right, your eyes are not deceiving you. That is a 40oz can of Natural Light with her. Another 40oz can made an appearance next to a crockpot in the chow line, but I failed to get the picture.

Long Live the Finns! They really know how to throw a party.

Concerts on the Square

They are my favorite summer Madison event. 'Nuf said.

Fat Far

So, this is probably the most Wisconsin thing I'm going to do all summer so I suppose I should blog about it, eh?

Last weekend was Fat Far (happens every year on Father's Day, so sorry to the shafted Dads). People get together with friends and copious amounts of beer and float down a river on rented inner tubes or on various home-made contraptions (that usually sink, may I add). Floating down a river sounds relaxing, right?

It's not. But what it *is* is fun.

First off, you have to drive up there then coordinate everything, and get all the tubes and coolers and cars and friends in the right spot. Then you gotta get everything in the river and tied all up together. Then you gotta hide from people flinging water ballons and such. Of course there's the general yelling and flirting with random radio DJs (uhm.......not like I actually did that.....*ahem*). And then, as a bonus from last year, there was jumping-off-a-large-rock-outcropping which was 100% r0><0r (sorry, random l33t speak).

You start out at a bar (called Loopy's which amuses me) then take a bus up to the drop-off point and set off. It takes 2-3 hours to let the current carry you back down to the bar where you can pull out of the water and hang out on shore. Then we went back to the hotel and screwed around in the pool for a while, had the best pizza hut pizza EVAR (we had missed lunch.......maybe that's why 3 beers made me loopy on the river) and then went to bed at a fairly reasonable time in the most artic-like hotel room I've ever been in.

The fabulous part is that I particpated in the rock-jumping, got a tan (ok, a burn, but it's turning into a tan) so I'm not so "Wisconsin White" anymore, and plus I just looked fab in my new camo and gold chain bikini :)

Now this weekend it's off to the Finnish Solstice party, the weekend after that is a 4th of July celebration (read - campfire and beer), then comes the Second Annual Deep Fry Party, then it's the WI River canoe trip, then...........well, then maybe I'll have a weekend to rest.

Maybe.

Or perhaps I'll organize a lets-go-downtown-and-raise-hell outing that weekend instead :)

Finnish Solstice party

ooooo. Solstice.

when the day is the longest. oooooo.

how do you celebrate?

Frogs, Kitty and Lucia are rolling Finnish this year. We are going to a Finnish potluck bonfire.

yeah, totally random, I know.

leave it to Frogs to find this sort of craziness.

We are bringing beer (I am going to need some if some hippie chick is going to dance topless around the bonfire) and I think that Frogs is going to whip something up. I might make something or I might not. who knows.

the Finnish part has me thinking - what should I wear? What is the typical Finnish costume?

Well, I thought that was a good idea. then I googled it.

I am not wearing this:

for more information (a very informative site) on traditional Finnish Folk and Cultural costumes: http://www.kaiku.com/finncostume.html

Fabulous things to do in Chicago

...shop...shop...shop...and did I mention shopping?

3 bands + 2 festivals = blissful summer weekend

Fabulous weekend! For absolutely free, I saw three fabulous, danceable Latin bands at two great festivals in 24 hours. All seasoned heavily with good food, good company, and good beer.

Friday night: El Clan Destino at the Memorial Union Terrace for the Isthmus Jazz Festival. The Terrace was crowded, but the band was good (a little more smooth, less salsa-y than Madisalsa). The beer and laughing and sunset over Picnic Point were even better.

Saturday afternoon: Locos por Juana at the Marquette Waterfront Festival in Yahara Place Park. Fabulous music - a whole lot of Cuba with a heavy splash of Jamaica. (Sounds like a good theme for a fruity drink, too, no?) Great Latin dance sounds with a whole lot of reggae thrown in. And what a great atmosphere - families hanging out on blankets and lawn chairs, good food, boats on Lake Monona pulling up to shore to listen, and, the highlight: a 40-something woman wearing a short Hawaiian print sarong, a bikini top with a different Hawaiian print, and a tiara, dancing for all she was worth.

Saturday night: Back to the Union for Madisalsa. They don't seem all that jazzy to me - more straight up big-band salsa y merengue, but I'm not one to argue. They're really good, and there were so many people dancing it was hard to walk.

So many festivals, so little time!

Farmers' Market Foraging Dinners

This may be one of the most intensely fabulous summer things I've heard of yet. Combines several of my very favorite things: farmers' markets, seasonal food, creative cooking, and good eating. You meet at the farmers' market Saturday morning to shop and learn about buying what's in season, and then meet that night to eat dinner made almost entirely with those ingredients. I'm definitely doing this sometime this summer. Who's in?

I Heart Water

Rent a canoe. Spend an afternoon on the lake. It's that simple.

Loud's birthday dinner

So, I believe that at Loud's birthday dinner, Lucia and I decided to post about the dinner we had, but I promptly forget which part of the resturant I was supposed to comment on. So I'm going to comment on everything :P

We went to Sardine's, which is FAB-U-LOUS. Go there and have dinner if you haven't yet, it was so good.

The main standout was a salad with duck meat and a poached egg on top (I forget the name of it - warm duck confit salad I believe). It's amazing! Whatever dressing/vinagrette they put on it makes it completely wonderful.

We also had a goat cheese appetizer which was good, and I had my first raw oyster. Amazing that I come from the east coast and eat my first east coast oyster in WI. It's pretty good, but I think only because the liquid stuff is really salty so you taste that instead of the oyster.....and I like salt. It's not very shellfish-ish.

Then I had the grilled trout. Decent, if a little dry for my taste.

For desert I think I was the only person who liked the grapefruit sorbet. I couldn't eat a whole bunch of it, but I loved that it was way tart.

The restuarant itself was cute - very open, but yet you didn't feel like you were eavesdropping on other diners. The bar was long and one whole wall is windows that looks out onto a small veranda and then the lake. The fiancé and I decided that one day we'll have to get reservations for a spot out there. Maybe when it gets warmer, since I'm always freaking cold.
Then we went to the Ivory Room. It's a piano bar, and while the woman who sings isn't fantabulous, the guy is great and the place is just cute. I loved it.

That inspired us to then head to the Kareoke Kid, where Hillary and I sang "Hanky Panky", just like old times.

It was, all in all, one of the most fun nights I've had in a while. I'm looking forward to 11frogs' birthday dinner, then that weekend is Fat Far up in Chippeawa Falls (I know I didn't spell that right). Basically, 6 of us will spend all of Father's Day floating down a river in inner tubes and drinking beer. Seeing as how that is totally Wisconsin, you can bet I'll be posting about that afterwards.

Kalahari Dreaming

The Kalahari is a massive resort/convention center in Wisconsin Dells. When I signed up for the Charter Bundle pack (basically meaning that I pay over a hundred dollars a month to a company that I don't really like and receive services that often fail) I got a free night at Kalahari. This offer was for certain nights, and those nights were up on June 7. So, I had to get this in at some point.

True to form, I called about seven days before this deal concluded, but unlike normal proceedings, they still had room. cool.

On Monday, my mother and I drive up to the Dells using my new book:

Side Review of this book:

1. it is chock full of fun drives through Wisconsin. This is true.
2. Don't go backwards on the drives. The directions are NOT designed for it. You will find yourself sitting at an intersection and reading the directions, then mentally pretending that you are actually traveling down the road that you are trying to get onto and then turning onto the one that you are currently on. Does this sound confusing enough? Right!
3. Neither my mother nor I are convinced that the directions would be good enough frontwards either.
4. I encourage you to pursue these drives on a weekday, preferably in the middle of the day. This will lessen the pressure from other motorists who don't understand why the fact that the three conflicting signs to Durfey's Glen at this intersection are confusing you.

One quarter of the recommended drive takes us two hours and includes a stop at Kristina's Restaurant in Baraboo. Recommendation, go ahead and skip Kristina's on your next trip to the Boo.

It is at Kristina's that we choose to detour directly to the Dells. We want to get cracking on all that Dells goodness. First on our list, a drive through town pointing out the ridiculous. The Trojan Horse roller coaster, the Paul Bunyan Flapjack outlet, and many giant fiberglass animals are spotted.

Second, the Upper Dells boat tour. We take the bus to the launching point with a family from Missouri that can't believe the river freezes over. ha! we drive pickups on our lakes in Wisconsin! Overall, the boat tour is good. Far better than an ill fated Colorado River boat trip my mother and I once took. I was in charge of the good camera. I took at least 200 pictures, most of which look exactly like all of the other ones. One highlight:

After the tour we had to walk up the World's Steepest over the Longest Distance Ramp. If I had been pushing my grandmother up that ramp we wouldn't have made it. That sort of defeats the purpose of the ramp, right?

To cheer ourselves up after the ramp, we had a couple beers and chips at Mexicali Rose. Word on the street is that their margaritas are good, but food not so much. I will not pass judgment here though and let someone from this site go there and do a proper review.

Fortified, we head to the hotel complex. Several U-turns later we arrive. My mother compares it to the Opryland hotel. I don't know about that comparison, but I do find it funny that she has stayed at the Opryland hotel. The lobby is pretty cool. My best comparison is a Las Vegas hotel- lite. It has a theme and they really do their best to carry that theme throughout. Like real safari guides, the check-in people wear safari style jackets, but overall seem woefully ill-equiped to defend guests from a stampeding herd of water buffalo. Speaking of the wildlife, around every bend/staircase/elevator bank is a resin elephant, zebra or giraffe. There is even a super pathetic robotic talking rhino. We got real excited and pushed his button, but it was so bad that it made me think of how they are all going to die and I had to walk away to avoid crying.

The room - uninspiring. We did have a view of the parking lot, a microwave/refrigerator, and a full size coffeepot.

The indoor waterpark - pretty cool. very big. America's Largest, if you believe what they say. We did the lazy river. I wanted to do the bowl ride, you literally drop out of the bottom into a deep pool, but I was chicken.

The restaurants - one was filled with the screaming of children and we walked out, but ate rather in the lobby bar. The food was decent. Their gin martini was delicious (two big olives).

The next morning it was more of The Backwards Navigation Challenge. This time I tried navigating the route back to Sauk City backwards from Mr Knowles' directions. This proved just as challenging as my mother had claimed yesterday, but this time I belived her.

And, just as we had on the way to the Dells, we hit the Madison rush hour traffic through the construction on the beltline. ah, home sweet home.