Recent Record Store Loooot

Some CDs (and a DVD) I got at EveryDayMusic yesterday. I love buying cheap used records!! Altogether, I spent less than $20 on all this!

I'm so goff you guys

The Wonder of Barbecue Sauce

Barbecue sauce is something I always took for granted. I've had a lot of bbq sauce in my life, and though it comes in a range of flavor profiles, whether it is more on the smokey, honey, or hot side, bbq sauce has always been dependably delicious. Some brands are better than others, as with any other food product, but I never had bbq sauce I thought was straight up awful.

http://www.kitchentreaty.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Homemade-Barbecue-Sauce.jpg

Then I went to Finland, and I realized that the base recipe for barbecue sauce is apparently a total mystery, and those who are not in the know can come up with some truly horrific concoctions. While I was studying in Finland, a couple of my teachers offered us some barbecue sauce while we were having a nice little wiener roast and a dip in the Saimaa lake.

Side note, Saimaa lake is incredibly beautiful and clean, like all lakes in Finland (except around Helsinki which is rather trashy). If you go, you might get lucky and spot a Saimaa seal (norppaa suomalainen), which is an endangered species. My group saw one. It was kewl.

The barbecue sauce in Finland was basically ketchup with lots of water, a little cayenne and onion powder and some spice I couldn't distinguish (probably cardamom). Nobody else voiced a complaint. My Finnish teachers didn't know any better, and some of the other students who were European said that they'd never even tried barbecue sauce until then. I was appalled, disgusted and a little sad.

The best foods in Finland were pastries, candies, ice cream, berries, potatoes and coffee. I would even argue that as far as those food groups go, they are superior by far to American versions, especially the berries and potatoes. Everything else I ate in Finland was old, stale, flavorless, wilted, or otherwise disappointing. I tried the Finnish barbecue sauce about 9 days into my 23 day trip, and that was the last straw for me. I accepted that my culinary tastes were decidedly patriotic, and was surprised to realize that the only solution to the bad food problem was to make a big pot of Louisiana bbq sauce and smother everything I ate with it. I carried some around with me everywhere I went.

As I said before, bbq sauce isn't something I paid close attention to before going to Finland, and I really didn't use it that frequently. I can now honestly say that this sauce is capable of saving almost any meal, or at least making it taste comfortably American. Cheese sandwich? Bbq sauce. Salad? Bbq sauce. Hamburger? Pasta? Scrambled eggs? Bbq sauce. You might scoff at me for wanting my food to taste more American, but if so, go ahead and eat in Finland and you'll find out what I mean. This is not about nationalism, it's about food quality and familiarity.

I now know that if food is disappointing, just dump copious bbq sauce on it and you're good to go.

Costco Nutella

I wish I could justify buying a $40 tub of Nutella.

All of the music that I listen to falls into one of three categories:

1) Angry ANGRY ANGRY

2) Heartbroken and angsty

3) Random popular dance music

You might conclude from this that I am a narcissist. You might be right.

My vacuum's belt is broken, and I cannot find my book of black magic spells. How am I supposed to clean this mess without dark rituals? Fred Meyer.