Sunday, August 30, 2009

You Can Take My Money, But You'll Never Take My Music From Me!


If you caught either my husband or myself on a particularly honest day and asked what the biggest challenge was in terms of paring back our lifestyles, I would say "food" and he would say "music".

If I had my druthers (which I've never seemed to actually have) I would spend sick amounts of money on food. Everything organic, free-range, grass-fed. I don't want happy cows, I want cows that are so freaking beside themselves with glee that you'd think they were completely stoked to be your burger. I would go to at least one very fancy dinner a month. Just once a month is fine, but it must include a very expensive bottle of wine and it must be Chez Panisse at least three times a year. I'd regularly stuff figs with goat cheese, wrap them delicately in pancetta, lightly fry and drizzle them with honey, throw on an apron on and greet my guests at the door.

But this isn't about me. This is about my husband. He likes music.

And in the past he's been known to spend crazy amounts of money on it. Why crazy? Well, here's an example: he'll buy an album from iTunes. But then he might decide this album is so awesome that he's willing to spend more than double the amount for the album by buying it twice. Because of the packaging. He actually has an interesting justification for this as well based on how well off he feels that particular musician is. If he hasn't been completely sold out just yet, well, he deserves the higher profit an album purchase would bring him versus the download. So really it's like a tax on the arts. And he's willing to pay that tax.

Unfortunately we can no longer afford that tax. This is very hard on my dear husband. Especially because he left the car unlocked overnight last week and the only things that were stolen were his iTouch and his satellite radio. Seriously, the punk kids might as well have ripped his heart out. (There's actually a 'free' story in there because when dear husband called Sirius to let them know the radio was stolen and should be deactivated, Sirius offered to send him a new one because they didn't want him canceling his service. He was going to purchase a new radio and didn't even think to try and get it free. So, BONUS! There's a lesson there...things can be gotten for FREE...look for them!)

So that dear man that I love has been very sad about the music as of late. But then he was listening to the local jazz station (it's the only station he likes on regular radio) and calls me to ask me to look up a phone number for him. I give him the number. He calls me back shortly and says, "I got us added to the guest list to see George Clinton at the Regency Ballroom!" The concert is tonight. I didn't go. I would love to, but it's a school night and the kids and all. But mostly, my husband and his best friend love love love their music. And they'd have a better time and appreciate the freebie much more than I would. So I am wishing them an awesome free concert tonight.

And I'm contemplating how having the satellite radio stolen led dear husband to listen to the jazz station which led to his hearing about the guest list and getting in to see George Clinton for free. He's getting another satellite radio for free, so except for the iTouch, he would have come out on top from this little ordeal!

I personally consider the loss of the iTouch to be his penance for not listening to his wonderful wife when she said to be sure to lock the car door. But that's just me.

Friday, August 7, 2009

Free Food for Me!


Today I scored. A neighbor friend of mine was unable to use her box of produce from a CSA (Community Share Agriculture) and offered it up on our neighborhood mailing list. Guess who was the fastest to jet on over to her neighbor's porch and pluck those tasty free veggies? That's right. Me.

Me, me, me, me, and me.

And what, pray tell, did I score? Radishes, padron peppers, Hungarian wax peppers, 8-ball squash, and carrots. This is the fun of a CSA. You get what you get, and then it is up to you to be creative. As for my plans...the wax peppers will store in the fridge for a bit and eventually be used as an ingredient in my homemade salsa (if I can ever get around to picking those tomatoes). The squash will provide a yummy side dish for the next three nights' dinners; the carrots will be eaten raw tomorrow (we love us some carrots); I've yet to plan for the radishes; but the padron peppers! Oh you tasty little morsels, you.

I've never had a padron pepper. I was wondering if I should use them, versus jalapenos, in my salsa. But a quick search on Google and I realized what a popular appetizer the padron pepper was. Essentially you just saute them in some olive oil until the skins brown and blister and finish with some sea salt. Voila! A party in your mouth. My husband and I devoured the little suckers.

(image courtesy of Jane Spice Recipes)