Siracha maple bacon = heaven

When I was in Miami I started to have dinner parties.  Six of us could fit comfortably (OK, we fit) around my table.  Someone always had to sit on the rocking chair, but it was worth it.  The company was great, I like to think the food was good and it was fun.  Surprising even myself, I really enjoyed the entertaining.  My friends were great guinea pigs to my culinary adventures.  Maybe they were just easy, there's really no telling.

I have found a recipe to die for and I want to make it for friends.  Siracha Maple Bacon.  Buy a ticket to Philly, folks, this one is worth it!  And its so simple.

bamboo skewers (soaked so as not to burn in oven)
2 tablespoons Siracha
2 tablespoons Maple syrup
12 slices of bacon
sliced green onions for garnish
Preheat oven to 400 degrees

mix Siracha and maple syrup together
Skewer bacon slices on presoaked skewers
brush Siracha sauce on bacon

bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown

Okay, that's their recipe, here's mine.  Forget the skewers.  I didn't have any and didn't need them.  This amount of sauce covered six slices of bacon for me... so it all depends on how saucy you want your bacon.  Mine was DELICIOUS.

I tried a few slices in the microwave. Good.  Mmmmm.  But the ones in the oven were all caramelized and so delicious, its amazing.  AMAZING.  If you like bacon, mmmmm, and you like maple syrup, mmmmm again. And you like a little spice...I'm drooling just telling you about this.

Try it.  Trust me.  Or better yet.  Buy a ticket and come visit and I'll make it.  If you all ready live here... well, I guess its time to come visit.

Hot yoga class 2

I'm not sure what came over me when I saw the Living Social for Bikram Yoga and decided to purchase.  Maybe I had the vapors in advance, who knows.  What I do know is that I decided to jump in with both feet and take up not only yoga, but hot yoga.

Okay, I believe it probably stems from a trip to the Russian bath in Miami.  I actually loved it.  There was one room that was just freaking hot.  Your nostrils stuck together when you tried to breathe.  Luckily some guy took us under his wing and showed us the ropes.. dumping a bucket of cool water on your head every 30 seconds or so... not staying in too long.  Bottom line though, I liked it.  Misguided, ignorant, who knows.

So here comes a Living Social for Bikram Yoga of all things.  Why start slow?  My friend says I never do anything the easy way - not sure if that's true, that's a whole different point for discussion, but jump in I did.

The first class I took was on Sunday.  It was a bitch.  It's hot as hell in that room but the teacher was awesome.  He took a great deal of time with me and gave me tons of encouragement.  That evening, I went out for dinner with my family and I was sore.  that night, in bed, my thighs were talking to me.  Muscles I haven't conversed with in quite some time.  But then Monday, I felt oddly good.  Felt like there was an improvement in flexibility.  I wanted to go yesterday, but didn't have the right clothes.  So today, like a bag lady, I took clothes, yoga mat, snacks, water bottle -- along with all my normal daily crap -- and headed out to yoga after work.  I got there just in time for the class and it was packed.  Easily 25 people or more.  Packed like sardines in a hot can.

Today was way harder.  At the beginning of the class, they tell you that if you have any trouble, just sit down, or lie down, but do your best to stay in the room.  Today, about 45 minutes in, that's all I could do. Stay in the room.  And even that was a challenge.

So here's the plan.  Stick it out.  Go back.  Take full advantage of this 30 day deal for bikram yoga and then reevaluate.  Maybe the way to continue is no-hot yoga.  Maybe its not. Maybe I'll have fallen in love with this hot house thing.  Who knows. For right now, I'm like baked Alaska.  A hot pot pie.  Turn me over and baste me twice because I'm cooking!!!  I may be crazy but I'm in for 30 days.

Have YOU ever tried hot yoga?

Its a beautiful day in the neighborhood

What a great weekend!  The first play of the season is open and it was great.  Now, the weather has turned to fall and with my first house guests I went exploring in my new/old city.

The weekend started off just a little bit rocky when I went down to meet my guests and realized that the elevator wasn't working.  That's a lot of news to greet guests with -- a five floor to climb to reach your weekend's lodging... with a dog.  You know what that means!  But climb we did and the visit was well worth it.

                                                               

Saturday we started with a visit to the liberty bell and some traditional touristing…  After that it was off to Northern Liberties and lunch at a spot I had originally seen on the Food Network.  You gotta love when you’re tv watching proves useful!  It’s a little spot called Honey’s Sit and Eat.  Yum.  After that we explored the sculpture garden behind the museum of art. Here’s a little sample.  I love this.

Then I took us on an adventure.  I was looking for Memorial Hall in Fairmount Park but I couldn’t seem to find it.  Instead we drove in circles for a little while, often ending up on the edge of the park in what I can only assume was North Philly.  At one point we saw a sign that said, “Danger, deep water.”  Where?  So off we went to try and find the water.  Turns out it was a reservoir or valve station of some sort.  Deep water or not, it was the source of quite a bit of humor for the day.

Later, we walked to a little Italian spot right in my neighborhood for a lovely and terribly cosmopolitan dinner.  I think the Real Housewives of Philadelphia were seated next to us.  They had been overserved and were actually more annoying than entertaining.  I like walking to dinner. 

The next day were aiming at Independence Hall but had a little trouble motivating so we’ll have to catch more history next time.  Instead, we headed out to the Philadelphia Art Museum.  What a spectacular building outside and such a lovely collection in. I especially like the Philadelphia furniture.  I could use a few of those pieces in my apartment.  They would be perfect.  Lunch at a cool diner called Silk City Diner and then a trip through the Rodin Museum.  That’s The Thinker you see through the front gate.

A late dinner at another neighborhood spot, Race Street Café, was the perfect end to a wonderful day.

It was such a fabulously Philadelphia kind of weekend.  It made me appreciate how much my city has to offer and how much I want to get out and explore.  I just need some buddies.  I know, patience, patience,  but it’s hard.  Do you know anyone?  As I read over this, clearly they must like to eat!  I feel like we ate our way through the weekend.  What could be bad?  Come visit. There are more sites to see and plenty more restaurants to try.  Here's quick view of William Penn atop City Hall inviting you to come visit!

Humanity abounds

This past week I have to both DMV and Comcast.  That's a lot of humanity and not all of it good.  I swear to that the guy next to me at the DMV had Bubonic Plague.  He was hacking up a lung, sniffling, coughing and generally sharing his germs far too generously. I Purelled endlessly and took extra Vitamin C when I got home.  I feel like an old lady.

But having made it through the sick ward, I am now the proud owner of a TEMPORARY Driver's License.  Why temporary, you ask?  Simple.  They need to check the data base to make sure I don't have other identities with the same picture.  Oy.  I don't.  Send the ID.

I still have to register the car and then get a very special permit for the privilege to try and find a parking space in my neighborhood.  While all this is happening -- or not, right now -- my car is on vacation in NJ.  I hope its enjoying itself!  I miss it."

I never realized how much my car had become an auxiliary home, office or just and extension of my living space.  Little things tucked here and there, stuff that just lives in there.  The candy corn playing cards, the 3D glasses, the nail clippers for that extra long red light, the box of books that live in the back and so much more.  I am not ready to give up the car for good quite yet, but it is definitely a change to the "drive everywhere" mentality of Florida or even the suburbs of NJ.

No worries.  It will all work out.  I just need to give it time.  It is a whopping 1.5 weeks since I moved in. Patience, Hannah, patience.

Tomorrow is opening night of the first show of the season.  First I get that out of the way and then I worry about the great transportation dilemmas of 2012,