The Caffeinated Penguin

Posted By matt on August 25, 2004

Last night I made venison stew with a beer-based broth. I think this was a mistake; a good burgundy would have been better.

I also made a black bottom pie; essentially chocolate custard with a meringue topping. Traditionally, the meringue is flavored with rum, but being a coffee freak, I flavored it with Kalhua instead. Quite good. The only thing I need to be sure of is to be more careful in cooking down the custard and integrating it with the eggs. It ended up being a little chunky.

Tonight I made ribs in my new electric roaster. It was cheap ($25) and is a smaller compartment than an oven, so the ribs came out tender and juicy. The same thing can be achieved with foil, of course, but I prefer to leave a smaller appliance on as opposed to the oven. Saves power and such.

Speaking of saving power, I am reevaluating my next automobile my purchase. From the beginning:

- I currently have a '94 Chrysler. It runs very well and is mechanically sound, but gets 25 MPG (10.6 l/km) at best.
- I like the Prius, but the cargo area is too small. A hatchback or SUV is a must. Liz's beetle works well, but I don't want a beetle.
- The new Highlander was going to be the next vehicle, except that it's going to be about $35k and there is probably going to be a 2 year wait (the Prius is currently at 8 months)
- So, I want something that is more fuel efficient, but that I can actually get, and is cheaper.
- My brother's girlfriend has a Scion xA. Decent cargo room, about $14K, gets 37MPG (15 km/L).
- Of course, Liz suggested that if I was looking at those, why not look at a Golf. Oh, and it comes in Diesel. Nice! And at about $19K (possibly less if I wait for the 2005's to come out), with a greater cargo room than the Scion and getting 46 mpg (19.5 km/l)

Any opinions? Anyone have experience with VW's, especially their Diesels? Could people see me in a Golf, or is the car not really me? I was thinking about blue.

Category: LJ Import
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