Glögg: holiday fun for all

It's my second Christmas in my apartment, which means it's my second Christmas with my roommates, which means it's my second Christmas with Glögg. A lot of Glögg. I pronounce that pretty much like it's spelled, "gluog."

For those of you lacking any Swedish influence in your lives, Glögg is a hot, mulled wine sort of beverage, consumed in special mini-tea cup looking Glögg glasses. I'm not sure if there's a traditional time of day to drink the stuff, because it's been a round-the-clock affair in our place. I must say, Glögg first thing in the morning works wonders on a hangover.

I found the recipe below, so others might also partake in the fun. They're not kidding about the inexpensive wine bit -- my roomie made her last batch with Carlo Rossi (the kind you buy in the four liter bottles). She also puts raisins and almonds in her Glögg, which provides a nice little snack with your hot booze.

Ingredients
• 1 bottle of red wine (inexpensive)
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup (50 ml - 100 ml) vodka (optional)
• 5 - 20 whole cloves
• 1 large teaspoonful cardamom seeds
• 2 - 4 pieces (sticks) cinnamon
• 1 - 2 pieces ginger
• Peel from half a lemon
• 1/2 - 1 cup (125 - 250 ml) sugar
• 1 large teaspoonful vanilla sugar

Preparation
1. Crush the cinnamon and cardamom. Peel the lemon. Put all the spices and peel into a glass jar with the vodka.
2. Cover. Leave overnight. Strain the vodka, discard the spices.
3. Mix the spiced vodka with the wine and sugar.
4. Heat all the ingredients in a large saucepan until steaming hot. Do not boil! Stir and taste.
5. If not sweet enough, add more sugar. If too sweet, add more wine.

Chef's tip
The Glögg will be even spicier and will have a fuller taste if you bottle it and leave it for a week.

Dreams of summer

It's my understanding that the weather all up and down the West Coast is pretty miserable today. In San Francisco, it is extremely cold and extremely wet. We had a nasty lightning and thunder storm this morning that was not kind to my aching, hungover brain. It's all contributing to my missing summer more than usual. Normally I don't get this way until February, but I'm already hankering for carefree, sunny days like this one:







Doesn't that look idyllic?

Thanks to Hip E. for the photos.

Top ten signs your relationship is going nowhere

As one of those questionable girls who tends to hop from boyfriend to boyfriend, I've had my share of long-term relationships... and just as many break-ups. The older I get, the more the break-ups tend to be a conversation about compatibility, rather than some fiery disagreement or fateful event. Thinking back over these experiences, I've recently developed a trusty cheat sheet to help myself, and others, more quickly identify a relationship that won't work in the long run, regardless of how much you really, really want it to. Here it is:

1. You don't easily get along with or feel comfortable with each other's friends.

2. You don't get easily along with or feel comfortable with each other's families.

3. One of you ________________ so much that the other one is uneasy and worried about it.

Fill in the blank with any of the possibilities from this list:

drinks
smokes
lies
cheats
gambles
cleans
watches porn
obsesses about sex
shops/spends
plays video games
works
parties
takes pills
is absent
whines/complains
is jealous

4. You have no plans together past next weekend.

5. Your partner always takes the best pillow, the most dessert, or the last of the wine. Similarly, only one of you gives back-scratches, massages, or birthday gifts.

6. You've stopped going out on dates together.

7. You haven't had sex more than a month.

8. In their conversations with you, your friends and family inadvertently describe the relationship in ways that you find upsetting. For instance, "You guys are just such good buddies," or "It's funny how you're always begging her to spend time with you."

9. One of the things you are most attracted to in your partner is his or her "potential."

10. Couples' counseling has been discussed more than once and you're not yet married.

If any one of these signs seems familiar, I'd say it's a red flag regardless of how good other aspects of the relationship might be.

"Love is an act of endless forgiveness,
a tender look that becomes a habit."
-- Peter Ustinov

Back in action

My first semester of b-school ended Last Wednesday and I have been in a drunken haze ever since. I'll start operations and finance in the second week of January, but until then there will be drinking, carousing, napping, shopping, novel-reading, movie-watching, cookie-baking, and yes... blogging. In short, I will have a life (albeit temporarily). Let the games begin!

Thank god... I really need some new chinos

Stacy passed on this release that she received from PETA today. She writes, "It's true! There's also an article on MSN Money. I guess we can resume our catalog subscriptions and start visiting the store again, but I still have a bad taste in my mouth."

Here's what PETA has to say:

Victory: J. Crew Promises "No More Fur!"

Thanks to each and every one of you who signed the petition, handed out leaflets, called the CEO to tell him how horrified you were that the company was selling fur, and otherwise helped the cause. After just 11 short weeks, this pressure has paid off. On November 30, J.Crew confirmed that it will no longer sell fur—no fur garments, no fur trim, no fur anything. Joining the ranks of top fashion retailers H&M, Forever 21, and others that have adopted fur-free policies, J.Crew is sending a powerful message to the clothing industry that subjecting rabbits, coyotes, foxes, and other animals to horrible lives and torturous deaths will not be tolerated.

In light of this exciting agreement, please dispose of any J.Crew campaign materials that you have, and please stop contacting the company.

Thanks again for all that you did to play an important part in this step forward in the fight against cruelty to animals! Please forward this good news to a friend.

Sincerely,
Ian Blessing
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
IanB@peta.org
PETA.org