For the record, life is sucking right now, so rather than bore you with my tales of misery and woe, I'm hiding out. Reminding myself that I chose this grad school path-o'-horror doesn't seem to eliminate or even alleviate the bitterness.
Things that are keeping me afloat... I made a Black Pearl Cake for Liz's birthday on Saturday night. Although the wasabi was undetectable, the end result was beyond tasty. I heart all things ginger.
CocoRosie was amazing. Made me wish for an operatic voice or at least mad beatbox skills. Spoon is tonight, so I'm looking forward to another few hours of respite before I take the plunge and don't emerge until November 1.
Midnight to noon
I'm a desert child
And mountains make me nauseous
I like to look up wild, at an infinite sky
Twinkling with diamonds
It's true, I get depressed in fancy hotel rooms
Undressed with nothing to flaunt but my loneliness
Thinking of the night song of your hair
Premature as evening falls
It calls to me
Interrupted by the sirens in the street
-CocoRosie
Monday, October 4, 2010
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Piroshky Piroshky!
Daring cooks challenge for August: Pierogies!
I must admit that I never had the pleasure of eating pierogies until our May trip to Seattle. While enjoying the wonders of the Public Market, JA recommended that we grab a bite to eat at the Russian bakery- Piroshky Piroshky. I am a huge fan of all foods that involve stuffing tasty fillings into vessels of dough (samosas, fried pies, empanadas, etc.), so it's really a wonder that pierogies had never crossed my path before.
Despite my best intentions to get started early this month, I waited until the last possible minute for my experimentation. I decided on the Russian-style dough (flour, egg, and water as opposed to the cream/milk based-dough), mixing it up by incorporating half whole wheat flour and a few tablespoons of ground flax seed. The filling consisted of ground turkey (sauteed with onion, fennel seed, and cracked red pepper) and mashed red potatoes. Feeling a bit lazy, my pierogies were somewhat over-sized (less stuffing involved). I followed the traditional boil-and-pan-fry method for most, but also baked a few to compare textures. Not the prettiest pierogies ever, but delish! I served them with a green salad and sauteed kale from the garden.
I must admit that I never had the pleasure of eating pierogies until our May trip to Seattle. While enjoying the wonders of the Public Market, JA recommended that we grab a bite to eat at the Russian bakery- Piroshky Piroshky. I am a huge fan of all foods that involve stuffing tasty fillings into vessels of dough (samosas, fried pies, empanadas, etc.), so it's really a wonder that pierogies had never crossed my path before.
Despite my best intentions to get started early this month, I waited until the last possible minute for my experimentation. I decided on the Russian-style dough (flour, egg, and water as opposed to the cream/milk based-dough), mixing it up by incorporating half whole wheat flour and a few tablespoons of ground flax seed. The filling consisted of ground turkey (sauteed with onion, fennel seed, and cracked red pepper) and mashed red potatoes. Feeling a bit lazy, my pierogies were somewhat over-sized (less stuffing involved). I followed the traditional boil-and-pan-fry method for most, but also baked a few to compare textures. Not the prettiest pierogies ever, but delish! I served them with a green salad and sauteed kale from the garden.
Friday, July 23, 2010
eat, pray, love
I was already counting down the days until my Dallas trip- I've been missing the fam like crazy these past few months. I just got an email from mi madre that pushed the excitement over the edge. Thank goodness there's no video surveillance- a rather embarrassing happy dance just occurred.
I'm catching the tail end of Restaurant Week, and we now have a reservation at Loft 610! My top choices were already booked (Charlie Palmer's, Craft, Five Sixty, Stephan Pyles), but I am more than happy with this fine consolation prize. While other ladies I know are swooning over handsome actors, I have a bad habit of falling for Top Chef contestants. Seriously, gentlemen. The kitchen door is probably the fastest way to my heart. Tre Wilcox happens to be one of my faves (right behind Harold- *le sigh*; this season, there's unfortunately no one crush-worthy). I have no idea if he will actually be chef'ing when we patronize the Loft, but a girl can dream.
I'm catching the tail end of Restaurant Week, and we now have a reservation at Loft 610! My top choices were already booked (Charlie Palmer's, Craft, Five Sixty, Stephan Pyles), but I am more than happy with this fine consolation prize. While other ladies I know are swooning over handsome actors, I have a bad habit of falling for Top Chef contestants. Seriously, gentlemen. The kitchen door is probably the fastest way to my heart. Tre Wilcox happens to be one of my faves (right behind Harold- *le sigh*; this season, there's unfortunately no one crush-worthy). I have no idea if he will actually be chef'ing when we patronize the Loft, but a girl can dream.
Friday, July 2, 2010
I'd break every law of physics...
I'm in denial that summer is half over. June taught me I could never survive a career that demands 80+ hours/week. I like sleep and me-time wayyy too much. Not to mention that when things return to normal pace, I shut down. Take yesterday, for example. My assessment was rescheduled, giving me back 6 lovely hours of potential productivity. Reports could have been written, articles read... And instead? I watched Kathy Griffin take on Alaska.
Happenings of 6/2010:
My belief in love-at-first-sight was renewed, thanks to Josh Ritter. Charming, contagiously happy, handsome (in a bookish kind of way)... It's really too bad he's already married- he has ties to neuroscience, and I'm pretty sure he would sing me to sleep on a nightly basis... The show made my Top 5 list. His band was spot on. It didn't hurt that his bass player did a stellar rendition of Wicked Games.
If you haven't listened to him, you should check out The Curse.
Teaching was a-okay. I would definitely do it again, but probably not during summer. 2 hours of talking, 5 days a week leaves a girl a little sick of the sound of her own voice. The internets saved my butt on more than one occasion- thank you, Nova!
My running log hit 109.96 miles. July will easily top that. Gwennie-poo is posting updates counting down the minutes and seconds until start time. We're making packing lists, training at altitude once a week, fitting in 2-a-days... Yet, I still wish we had one more month to train. I forgot how easily running could take over my whole existence. Gradually, I'm getting faster- had my personal best 10K. At this rate of improvement, maybe I'll qualify for Boston on my 80th birthday.
I've slacked on my last two Daring Kitchen assignments. I wish life would stay out of my chef-time...
Well, there's one more thing
I'll tell you if I can
It is not love
that makes a non-stick frying pan
but a top secret, trademark conglomerated,
most likely carcinogenic, polyeurothane compound
spreading of microthin substance over a negatively charged layer
of aluminum, copper, iron, lead, vhs, fyi, apple pie, FBI,
and some other elements too
but since you're gone
I wish I'd stuck to you...
-Josh Ritter
Happenings of 6/2010:
My belief in love-at-first-sight was renewed, thanks to Josh Ritter. Charming, contagiously happy, handsome (in a bookish kind of way)... It's really too bad he's already married- he has ties to neuroscience, and I'm pretty sure he would sing me to sleep on a nightly basis... The show made my Top 5 list. His band was spot on. It didn't hurt that his bass player did a stellar rendition of Wicked Games.
If you haven't listened to him, you should check out The Curse.
Teaching was a-okay. I would definitely do it again, but probably not during summer. 2 hours of talking, 5 days a week leaves a girl a little sick of the sound of her own voice. The internets saved my butt on more than one occasion- thank you, Nova!
My running log hit 109.96 miles. July will easily top that. Gwennie-poo is posting updates counting down the minutes and seconds until start time. We're making packing lists, training at altitude once a week, fitting in 2-a-days... Yet, I still wish we had one more month to train. I forgot how easily running could take over my whole existence. Gradually, I'm getting faster- had my personal best 10K. At this rate of improvement, maybe I'll qualify for Boston on my 80th birthday.
I've slacked on my last two Daring Kitchen assignments. I wish life would stay out of my chef-time...
Well, there's one more thing
I'll tell you if I can
It is not love
that makes a non-stick frying pan
but a top secret, trademark conglomerated,
most likely carcinogenic, polyeurothane compound
spreading of microthin substance over a negatively charged layer
of aluminum, copper, iron, lead, vhs, fyi, apple pie, FBI,
and some other elements too
but since you're gone
I wish I'd stuck to you...
-Josh Ritter
Monday, June 14, 2010
The easy way out...
My first Daring Cooks challenge hosted by Valerie, from The Chocolate Bunny, and Evelyne, from Cheap Ethnic Eatz!: pâté & bread. To be 100% honest, I took the easy way out. Although I shifted my diet to include poultry and sea-meat over 5 years ago, I still eat veggie most days of the week. I'm not totally comfortable preparing meat, especially of the offal kind, and my palate is not fond of pâté texture. So... I opted for the tri-color vegetarian pâté with homemade baguettes. Despite my lack of bravery, both turned out delicious! You can find the recipes if you follow the link for the Daring Kitchen.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Wind my way through TX and into NM...
It's been awhile, yet again. Somehow, my summer schedule increased in busy-ness. No sleep til Brooklyn...
Memorial Day weekend was fantastic, although my liver might disagree. Shots of Jameson? Seriously? Red and his Ft. Collins crew are trouble of the best kind. Minus the superfluous drinking, my belly left CO in a happy state. I highly recommend Cuba Cuba! and Steuben's (the latter especially for lovers of pork: bacon-infused-vodka bloody mary's- not my thing, but the other members of our party could not stop raving about these greasy-looking drinks).
The trip to Denver and the mid-May Seattle visit reminded me of the benefits of city life. Fantastic food, places to walk (and taxis to scoop you up when your feet get tired), interesting architecture, lots of entertainment to choose from... All factors that suddenly seem more important when thinking about my internship year.
After a frantic trip to the vet on Friday, I've banned myself from ever reproducing. It's possible that if my schedule gets hectic enough, I might not notice that my children haven't eaten in a week... Probably not the best trait for a parent to have. (In case you were worried, he'll survive. The vet isn't sure what's put him on hunger strike, but his appetite strangely improves when I give him tuna instead of the boring dry food. I'm feeling manipulated, but too guilty to not give in.)
Teaching has taken over my life. Lecturing two hours a day is beyond intense, but I lucked out and got a good group of kids. They ask questions and participate, far surpassing my expectations in that realm. But... the first test was Friday, and I'm feeling a bit like a failure. Class average was 66.4. Ah, dilemmas. I want them to do well, but I don't feel I should have to dumb down the material. My goal this week is to come up with some supports that don't compromise the integrity of the course, but give them additional tools for success. I'm ready for the month to be over- working all day Saturday & Sunday is no bueno.
Team dinner tonight to brainstorm names. Our top contenders right now: 6 Degrees at Elevation, The Third Leg is the Hardest, and Show Us Your Splits. Today was my my second 2-a-day- it felt surprisingly good. Less than two months- time to pick up the miles.
I've been down, I've been down too far to care
I keep getting in my car, but I'm not going anywhere
And I've been had, well, at least that's how it looks
And it's not funny like on TV and it's not smart like it is in books
And I wonder, yeah, I wonder how the world keeps spinnin' 'round
Where's a boy with bad intentions gonna settle down?
And I don't know what you've been told
The streets of where I'm from are paved with heart instead of gold...
-Old 97's
Memorial Day weekend was fantastic, although my liver might disagree. Shots of Jameson? Seriously? Red and his Ft. Collins crew are trouble of the best kind. Minus the superfluous drinking, my belly left CO in a happy state. I highly recommend Cuba Cuba! and Steuben's (the latter especially for lovers of pork: bacon-infused-vodka bloody mary's- not my thing, but the other members of our party could not stop raving about these greasy-looking drinks).
The trip to Denver and the mid-May Seattle visit reminded me of the benefits of city life. Fantastic food, places to walk (and taxis to scoop you up when your feet get tired), interesting architecture, lots of entertainment to choose from... All factors that suddenly seem more important when thinking about my internship year.
After a frantic trip to the vet on Friday, I've banned myself from ever reproducing. It's possible that if my schedule gets hectic enough, I might not notice that my children haven't eaten in a week... Probably not the best trait for a parent to have. (In case you were worried, he'll survive. The vet isn't sure what's put him on hunger strike, but his appetite strangely improves when I give him tuna instead of the boring dry food. I'm feeling manipulated, but too guilty to not give in.)
Teaching has taken over my life. Lecturing two hours a day is beyond intense, but I lucked out and got a good group of kids. They ask questions and participate, far surpassing my expectations in that realm. But... the first test was Friday, and I'm feeling a bit like a failure. Class average was 66.4. Ah, dilemmas. I want them to do well, but I don't feel I should have to dumb down the material. My goal this week is to come up with some supports that don't compromise the integrity of the course, but give them additional tools for success. I'm ready for the month to be over- working all day Saturday & Sunday is no bueno.
Team dinner tonight to brainstorm names. Our top contenders right now: 6 Degrees at Elevation, The Third Leg is the Hardest, and Show Us Your Splits. Today was my my second 2-a-day- it felt surprisingly good. Less than two months- time to pick up the miles.
I've been down, I've been down too far to care
I keep getting in my car, but I'm not going anywhere
And I've been had, well, at least that's how it looks
And it's not funny like on TV and it's not smart like it is in books
And I wonder, yeah, I wonder how the world keeps spinnin' 'round
Where's a boy with bad intentions gonna settle down?
And I don't know what you've been told
The streets of where I'm from are paved with heart instead of gold...
-Old 97's
Friday, May 7, 2010
A New Chapter
I am now the "proud" owner of rather disturbing pictures of my internal workings. Still no closer to an explanation for all this fatigue and anemia, but I'm hopeful that in a week or so, the mystery will be solved. Meanwhile, I'm learning the hard way that medical compliance is no easy task (rather ironic, since we're in the midst of designing a new study to explore adherence issues in peds oncology). I'm diligently taking my iron supplements, but refusing the Centrum until I can find a vitamin that meets my own approval. In Seattle, I followed the "no running" rule because we were walking a million miles a day, but yesterday, got back on the road. It was a sad excuse for a run, but I have to start training again. August is fast approaching and I am behind schedule...
This week was crazy and my ability to regulate emotions went out the window. I've been working too many nights, which I usually don't mind. We have a great team- I'm lucky to work with people whose company I enjoy. I realized last night, in the midst of preparing a veggie feast (lentil/brown rice cakes, roasted cauliflower & broccoli, and steamed artichokes with roasted red bell pepper dipping sauce), that it's the lack of cooking that has me stressed. I like to have control over my food- I've gotten to the point that I hate eating out (although Seattle restaurants almost changed my mind on that front). There's also something therapeutic in the preparation- the chopping, measuring, following steps, improvising- that all results in a concrete, hopefully tasty, final product. With my mental health in mind, I've joined The Daring Kitchen. My sporadic posts will now be interspersed with photos of my culinary adventures. More than anything, it's to remind myself to take risks and take time.
This week was crazy and my ability to regulate emotions went out the window. I've been working too many nights, which I usually don't mind. We have a great team- I'm lucky to work with people whose company I enjoy. I realized last night, in the midst of preparing a veggie feast (lentil/brown rice cakes, roasted cauliflower & broccoli, and steamed artichokes with roasted red bell pepper dipping sauce), that it's the lack of cooking that has me stressed. I like to have control over my food- I've gotten to the point that I hate eating out (although Seattle restaurants almost changed my mind on that front). There's also something therapeutic in the preparation- the chopping, measuring, following steps, improvising- that all results in a concrete, hopefully tasty, final product. With my mental health in mind, I've joined The Daring Kitchen. My sporadic posts will now be interspersed with photos of my culinary adventures. More than anything, it's to remind myself to take risks and take time.
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