Sandwich # 2 - Ice Cream???

Stephanie Smith (creator of 300sandwiches.com) threw me a curveball.  We are only at #2 and I am already thrown off.  Sandwich #2 is no mere “lunch” sandwich.  This one is a sandwich…of the ice cream variety.

# 2 - “Thirty Second” Ice Cream Sandwich

[Ingredients]

• One serving ice cream flavor of your choice
• Four Anna’s Ginger Thins Swedish Cookies

[Prep]

• Easy. Place 2 cookies on a plate. Slab some ice cream on each cookie. Cover with another cookie. Boom.

Well like I said, I was not ready for this wild variation of sandwiches….but I do love ice cream so this is a gimme. 

Ms. Sandwich used Blackberry Ice Cream.  I went a different route:

Fuck. Yes.

Now I’m not a huge fan of ginger type cookies on their own, but ice cream improves basically everything (except electronics).  So I slathered on the ice cream and ended up with this:

And the taste?  Phenomenal.  It was so good, I was actually drooling while I ate them.  Gone way too quickly though. The toffee/coffee/ginger was a good mix.  Washed those S.O.B.’s down with a glass of milk.  Boom.  Good thing I went for a 5 mile run earlier…

4.5 out of 5 stars

300 Sandwiches? Now That’s a Challenge I Can Handle!

So, you may have come across discussion of something called 300 Sandwiches.  (http://gawker.com/bitch-make-me-300-sandwiches-orders-beautiful-woman-1383577562) Basically it is a blog written by a woman who is making 300 sandwiches for her “man” in order to possibly procure an engagement? Something like that.

At any rate, while it is an interesting scenario, I was more interested in the food aspect. 300 different sandwiches? I want to go to there. Therefore, I’m setting out to try to replicate each sandwich myself. Whether this works out, I have a heart attack, or just give up remains to be seen, but hey, sandwiches!  Onto number 1!

# 1 - Turkey and Swiss on Country White

[Ingredients]

• 2 oversized slices of country white bread
• 4 slices of turkey
• 2 oz. Dijon mustard
• 2 leaves of Bibb (WTF?) lettuce
• 1 slice Swiss cheese

[Prep]

• Toast the bread (moderate). Layer with mustard, layer lettuce on both sides of bread. Fold turkey on both sides of the bread, add cheese. Serve with tortilla chips and dill pickles.

Pretty straightforward in my estimation.  BTW, I don’t know what the heck Bibb lettuce is, so I went with romaine singles. I also didn’t know country white was a type of bread, I figured it was a reference to most of the demographic of Wisconsin. HEY OOOOOOOOOOOO!

Anyhow, my sandwich didn’t appear to be as fancy as Ms. Stephanie Smith’s, but it still looked good.

The taste? Well…pretty straightforward sums it up pretty nicely.  I liked the semi-toasted bread, usually I just burn the crap out of the bread because ‘MERICA. I think the romaine slices in mine may have been a bit too big because it was almost too leafy, but not enough to dissuade me. The Dijon mustard was a nice touch and the Swiss and turkey went together like the long time sandwich compatriots that they are. You can’t really beat the combo, and it had a few variants that I’m not used to. Also for the record, I used to hate dill pickles, but I’ve come around.

3.5 out of 5 Stars

1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die–Game #7–Adventure

Adventure
Platform: Atari 2600

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Yes, after 9 months, I’ve finally gotten back to it.  And we’ve got what I’d classify as an “oldie but a goodie.”
 
Soak it in!  This is arguably one of the first RPG/Adventure games created…ever. 
In this game, you are a dot.  Literally a dot.  In the picture above, that is a castle with your character (the dot) below.  The objective of the game is to move through the screens, collecting items such as keys, avoiding dragons and bats, and attempting to reclaim the Enchanted Chalice.

Picture Above: NOT the Enchanted Chalice.  That is a picture of a room with a key and what appears to be a duck…which is actually one of the dragons.  You can actually kill those duc…er…dragons….with a sword (represented by an arrow):

That thing to the side….the brackets?  That’s a bridge I believe.  You can also kill things with that.

That thing is the bane to your existence (outside of the dragons of course).  It is a bat, and it will straight up steal your shit and fly around with it….mocking you.

And this is actually the Enchanted Chalice.  It is flashing in game, so just imagine ultra fantastic flashing going on.
So you are probably looking at these screens and are probably thinking what I’m thinking upon returning to this article….WHAT THE FUCK.  This game seems like a trip and a half.  However, at the time it was quite the innovative little piece of software. 
I will admit, in my playthroughs (and, chalk this up to being spoiled by new fangled Nintendos, Segas, etc.), the basicness did wear on me a bit, in that I was entertained, but only briefly.  However, I do appreciate it for what it is, and that is the first “official” foray into adventure gaming.  So kudos to you, Adventure, and Godspeed, dot, those bats and dragons are hell.

Seriously.  (That’s me after being eaten by a dragon).
Example Video:

Hello, 2013

Here we are, in the year 2013 and I feel….about the same.  Granted I didn’t expect to actually feel entirely different, but nonetheless.  For once New Years didn’t end in drama, “Angry Nate,” complete drunkenness, etc.  I’ll take it. 

Still, the New Year’s celebrations where the couples outnumber the singles (by a wide margin) can still be a bit crushing on the ego.  Don’t get me wrong, I can typically find a way to have a good time regardless of the situation, but as these types of nights go on, the fact that people seem to end up getting “coupley” together is unavoidable, and I certainly don’t blame them.  There just gets to be that point where you feel more in the way than anything, despite no mentions or actual indications that this the case.  Again, this may just be me overreacting or may just be me in general.  I was so close to just not going out at all, which is unusual for me, especially for New Year’s.  However, since the past few NYE have been….iffy at best, I was set to just relax at home with some video games.  Lame sounding I know, but I would be completely content with that.  Combine this with the notion that most people hadn’t finalized plans until the day of NYE and you’ve got limited choices.

All that being said, I had a great time at Tyliffer NYE 2012.  I had some scotch, I saw some fireworks, I had (more of) an unibrow, etc.  Jennifer and Tyler have proven they certainly know how to party.

I must note that there was a few…extra curricular activities going on at the party that I don’t partake in but certainly don’t mind if others partake in.  It just seemed that as the night went on it was harder and harder to avoid the second hand fumes….but nothing that is crushing by any stretch.

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On another note….I feel…out of sorts with my body.  I’ve been trying to maintain a good workout regimen, however this stupid knee issue that has lingered for a month plus is driving me nuts.  I must get it checked out, but basically it equates to a sharpish pain in my right knee when it bends in a certain way.  It feels like it is on the lower right side of the knee…and I’ve tried rest, stretching, etc, and it has stayed pretty consistent.  I’d say it was worse back in November, but the fact that I still can’t run on it with confidence is a bit disconcerting, especially considering I had taken some time off.  Ah well, we shall see what the doctor’s say.

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I go to bed tonight feeling….vexed.  It was a good relaxing day with friends and a visit to the family and cats, but mentally I’m stuck.  I’m beating myself up a bit (partially with the knee issue), and I can’t seem to keep the positive momentum going as of late.  There isn’t negative vibes per se, but I’ve found that I’ve been beating myself up much more as of late.  That’ll probably be for discussion in therapy later this week.

I bid you adieu, Peeps!