I became enraged at a burrito place in Venice, CA in 2001 when friends began talking about Doogie Howser (one of my many high school nicknames) seemingly out of nowhere.To play along, my top three:
Me: F** you, I do not look like Doogie Howser!!!
Friend: Neil Patrick Harris is getting a Coke right behind you.
NPH (at me): Nice one.
1) I met Britney Spears at the 1999 Grammy Nominations ceremony, at the very beginning of her career. It was unremarkable, except for this: girl is TINY. Like, if she’s 5-foot-1, I’d be shocked. She makes Prince look like Yao Ming.
2) A few months later, I got a phone call from Quincy Jones. My number was one digit away from our company president’s, and QJ mis-dialed. When you’re 21, there is nothin’ like coming back from lunch to hear, “Hello, Kristen. This is Quincy Jones,” all smooth-like and basso profundo on your voicemail. I kept it for months.
3) I’ve physically bumped into Yoko Ono twice, about four years apart, both times in Midtown. The first time, I remember thinking, “Oh no, I hope I didn’t hurt that older Asian lad- … holy moly, it’s Yoko Ono!” The second time, I remember thinking, “Oh no, I hope I didn’t hurt that older Asian lad- … is Yoko Ono following me?”
Runner-up: In college, I interviewed all of Parliament Funkadelic. It was bananas. George Clinton is like Buddha and Santa rolled into one patchouli-scented pile of awesome. Really nice guy. And naturally funky, of course.
Do you have any fun celebrity stories? Stick ‘em in the comment section. We’d love to hear. But before you go to there … our regularly scheduled post:
Wednesday! 39 Tomatoes, 11 Hours, No Mercy. Remember that? Oh, those were good times. It was bizarrely thrilling to use up all the produce, and the experience was an excellent confidence-builder for future abundances. (Watch your back, zucchini.) Plus, while all the recipes were intended to be healthy and inexpensive, the numbers were much better than I would have guessed. Everything came out to about $25, total, and each dish was less than 150 calories per serving.
*Dances*
Yellow Tomato Soup and Tomatillo & Yellow Tomato Salsa were two of the recipes (three more coming on Monday), and the soup, in particular, went over like gangbusters. It is HIGHLY suggested. With croutons, if you can
P.S. There were 40 tomatoes in the box, (I ate one the night we got them), making each piece $0.25. Rachel's CSA, I owe you one.
Tomatillo and Yellow Tomato Salsa
Adapted from Epicurious/Gourmet
Makes about 6 generous cups salsa, or 12 massive servings
2 tablespoons vegetable oil6 tomatillos* (about 1/2 pound), husked, rinsed, and chopped fine
4 vine-ripened large yellow tomatoes or yellow bell peppers (or a mix of both), chopped fine
1 large onion, chopped fine
1 to 2 jalapeño chilies, minced (wear rubber gloves)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1) In a small or medium bowl, mix oil, tomatillos, tomatoes or bell peppers, onion, jalapeños, coriander, and salt to taste. Refrigerate 60 minutes to overnight. Eat!
Approximate Calories, Fat, Fiber, and Price Per Serving
45 calories, 2.9 g fat, 1 g fiber, $0.23
Calculations
2 tablespoons vegetable oil: 247 calories, 28 g fat, 0 g fiber, $0.18
6 tomatillos: 65 calories, 2 g fat, 3.9 g fiber, $0.92
4 vine-ripened large yellow tomatoes: 127 calories, 2.5 g fat, 5.9 g fiber, $1.00
1 large onion, chopped fine: 63 calories, 0.2 g fat, 2.1 g fiber, $0.15
1 to 2 jalapeño chilies: 32 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g fiber, $0.10
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro: 1 calorie, 0 g fat, 0.1 g fiber, $0.45
TOTAL: 535 calories, 34.7 g fat, 12 g fiber, $2.80
PER SERVING (TOTAL/12): 45 calories, 2.9 g fat, 1 g fiber, $0.23
~~~
Yellow Tomato Soup
Makes about 6 cups of soup
Adapted from Epicurious/Bon Appetit
1 large onion, chopped (about 2 1/2 cups)6 bacon slices (about 5 ounces), chopped
5 cups chopped yellow tomatoes (about 2 pounds)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup dry Sherry
1/2 cup dry white wine
4 cups chicken stock or canned low-salt chicken broth
2 teaspoons minced canned chipotle chilies*
1 tablespoon fresh chopped oregano leaves
1/4 cup 2% evaporated milk
NOTE: I doubled the batch when I made this soup, so my cooking times were much, much longer. They may be slightly longer here, too, so use your judgment. If it looks like the soup will be too thin when you puree it, let it reduce a while longer. Or, you might want to use less broth to begin with. Also, I found 2 teaspoons to be PLENTY of chipotle, but some Epicurious reviewers added even more. Go with your gut, and if you find it too spicy, add a tablespoon or two of sugar to cut the heat. - Kris
1) In a large pot or Dutch Oven, cook onion and bacon over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until onion is starting to brown up. Add tomatoes and garlic. Drop heat a little and simmer about 20 minutes, until tomatoes are nice and tender. Add Sherry and wine. Simmer 5 more minutes. Add stock. Simmer 15 minutes, or until you have about 1-1/2 quarts (6 or 7 cups) of soup. Add chipotles and oregano. Puree soup in a blender, working in 2 or 3 batches, taking care that your blender doesn't 'splode. Return to pot. Add evaporated milk. Stir. Heat through. Salt and pepper to taste.
Approximate Calories, Fat, Fiber, and Price Per Serving
123 calories, 4.1 g fat, 1.4 g fiber, $1.20
Calculations
1 large onion: 63 calories, 0.2 g fat, 2.1 g fiber, $0.15
6 bacon slices: 276 calories, 21.3 g fat, 0 g fiber, $1.66
5 cups chopped yellow tomatoes: 104 calories, 2.1 g fat, 4.9 g fiber, $0.75
2 garlic cloves, minced: 9 calories, 0 g fat, 0.1 g fiber, $0.10
1/2 cup dry Sherry: 68 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g fiber, $0.49
1/2 cup dry white wine: 96 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g fiber, $1.00
4 cups low-salt chicken broth: 67 calories, 0 g fiber, 0 g fat, $2.39
2 teaspoons minced canned chipotle chilies: 5 calories, 0.2 g fat, 0.3 g fiber, $0.20
1 tablespoon fresh chopped oregano leaves: negligible calories, fiber, and fat, $0.10
1/4 cup 2% evaporated milk: 50 calories, 1 g fat, 1 g fiber, $0.27
TOTAL: 738 calories, 24.8 g fat, 8.4 g fat, $7.21
PER SERVING (TOTAL/6): 123 calories, 4.1 g fat, 1.4 g fiber, $1.20
