Favorite Christmas Traditions!
We considered posting our next episode of Purple Stuff Podcast after the holidays, since another Christmas-themed show would only have a couple of days to “make bank” before nobody wanted to listen to it.
…but eh, screw that. If you need some virtual company as we head into the Big Day, we’re here for ya!
It’s the Purple Stuff’s last show before Christmas! To celebrate, me and Jay from The Sexy Armpit are naming eight of our favorite holiday traditions. This one tackles everything from TV specials to greasy food to driving around the neighborhood to check out everyone’s lights.
Click here to listen to the new episode!
We hope you enjoy it. As a reminder, the Purple Stuff Podcast is also on Patreon, where you can get exclusive access to monthly bonus shows — including the one we recently posted for December! Thanks again to everyone who signed up. We’re really looking forward to delivering the goods in 2019!
Here are some photographical spoilers about this week’s show:
If you’re going to be out and about for the next few days, have a wonderful holiday!
In the comments, feel free to share some of your favorite Christmas traditions. Nothing is too small, so long as it matters to you!
Ancient Holiday Appetizers, Part 6!
Wellp, it’s time for my favorite Dino Drac feature. Get set for more weird holiday appetizers!
As is now an annual tradition, I dug into my vast collection of ancient recipe books, searching for snacks that’ve fallen out of fashion. I’ve been doing that for longer than I’ve even had websites, but you’ve been my excuse to stop marveling at the photos and start making the dishes.
I aim to select recipes that “sound” vintage, but aren’t so strange that they’re totally repellant by today’s standards. This isn’t an exercise in grossing you out. (To that end, more than half of the appetizers shown below are good enough to come with genuine recommendations!)
I found this recipe in a cooking magazine from 1985, when Chinese cuisine was super chic. (I don’t know much about the culinary zeitgeist from the mid ‘80s, but given what I see in these books, the easiest way to broadcast one’s fanciness was by messing around with snow peas and spare ribs.)
Shanghai Beef is a simplified-yet-souped-up version of fried rice. Brown steak strips in a little oil, dust them with cornstarch, and then add beef broth and soy sauce. Toss in water chestnuts, diced red pepper and some scallions. Once everything starts to boil, add a small box of Minute Rice and remove from heat. Stir like crazy, wait five minutes, and it’s ready to go!
SCORE: 9 out of 10. It’s ridiculously tasty — not exactly like standard fried rice, but somewhere in that family. Smells and looks wonderful, too. I’m amazed that I could get something this good on the table in under twenty minutes. Read More…
Christmas Memories in Crayon, Volume III!
I know that I just posted one of these “Christmas Memories in Crayon” articles last week, but would you mind if I went back to the well? Inspiration hits where it hits.
Below: Five more memories from long ago Christmases, rendered in crayon.
Yuletide Yoda!
As you know, my family opens its gifts at midnight on Christmas Eve. Time moved slowly when I was a kid, and the wait was torture. I was usually allowed to open one small thing early in the day, which was essentially my mother’s hush-money payment. It kept me out of her hair while she went about setting the table and frying the galamad.
The first “early gift” I can distinctly remember was the vintage Star Wars Yoda figure. This was probably in 1983 but no later than ‘84, so I would’ve been four or five. Most of my memories from that age are hazy and holey, but this thing with Yoda feels like it happened yesterday.
I sat on the couch with that tiny little Yoda for fifteen minutes, fawning over his pet snake, which he wore in classic Jake Roberts style. I eventually stole Yoda’s snake and carried it around for the rest of Christmas Eve. He was my buddy for the day, and I was sss-o proud to introduce him to everyone. Read More…
Dino Drac’s December Funpack is here!
Dino Drac’s December 2018 Funpack is here, and guys, it’s Christmas in a box. I’m like Santa if Santa was a for-profit business.
AVAILABLE FOR THREE DAYS ONLY! UNITED STATES ONLY!
I assume y’all know the drill by now. Dino Drac’s Funpacks are available on a subscription basis, and for as long as you remain subscribed, you’ll keep getting new boxes of retro nonsense each and every month. The cost is $25 a month (that includes shipping), and you can cancel at any time without penalty.
The December 2018 Funpack is loaded with deep cuts, with a particular focus on the early ‘90s. Scroll to the bottom for ordering info, or keep reading to learn about everything you’ll receive in this month’s box! Read More…