it DID flower! and then this happened.... :D
also......
this is how i play video games now.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
More pictures for your viewing pleasure...
it DID flower! and then this happened.... :Dalso......
this is how i play video games now.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Friday, July 25, 2008
For easy finding later...
(cajones)
Apple Zeppole with Cinnamon Whipped Cream
1 large apple, peeled and grated (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/4 cup sugar
1 stick butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup water
1 cup flour
4 eggs
1 cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar, plus more for dusting 1
teaspoon cinnamon
Olive oil for frying
In a medium saucepan combine the butter, salt, sugar, and water over medium heat. Bring to a boil. Take pan off the heat and stir in the flour. Return the pan to medium heat and stir continuously until mixture forms a ball, about 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer the flour mixture to a medium bowl. Using an electric hand mixer on low speed, add eggs, one at a time, incorporating each egg completely before adding the next. Beat until smooth. Add the grated apple and stir to combine. If not frying immediately, cover with plastic wrap and reserve in the refrigerator.
Combine the whipping cream, 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Whip until medium soft peaks form. Transfer the whipping cream to a serving dish.
Meanwhile, pour enough oil into a large frying pan to reach a depth of 2 inches. Heat the oil over medium heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 325 degrees F.
Using a small ice-cream scooper or 2 small spoons, carefully drop about a rounded tablespoon of the dough into the hot olive oil. Turn the zeppole once or twice, and cook until golden and puffed up, about 4 minutes. Fry the zeppole in batches so as not to overcrowd the pan. Drain on paper towels. Transfer the zeppole to a serving dish and sprinkle with powdered sugar using a small sieve. Serve with the cinnamon whipped cream alongside for dipping.
Apple Zeppole with Cinnamon Whipped Cream
1 large apple, peeled and grated (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/4 cup sugar
1 stick butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup water
1 cup flour
4 eggs
1 cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar, plus more for dusting 1
teaspoon cinnamon
Olive oil for frying
In a medium saucepan combine the butter, salt, sugar, and water over medium heat. Bring to a boil. Take pan off the heat and stir in the flour. Return the pan to medium heat and stir continuously until mixture forms a ball, about 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer the flour mixture to a medium bowl. Using an electric hand mixer on low speed, add eggs, one at a time, incorporating each egg completely before adding the next. Beat until smooth. Add the grated apple and stir to combine. If not frying immediately, cover with plastic wrap and reserve in the refrigerator.
Combine the whipping cream, 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Whip until medium soft peaks form. Transfer the whipping cream to a serving dish.
Meanwhile, pour enough oil into a large frying pan to reach a depth of 2 inches. Heat the oil over medium heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 325 degrees F.
Using a small ice-cream scooper or 2 small spoons, carefully drop about a rounded tablespoon of the dough into the hot olive oil. Turn the zeppole once or twice, and cook until golden and puffed up, about 4 minutes. Fry the zeppole in batches so as not to overcrowd the pan. Drain on paper towels. Transfer the zeppole to a serving dish and sprinkle with powdered sugar using a small sieve. Serve with the cinnamon whipped cream alongside for dipping.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
The Bunny Tin
I hate grad school. Just wanted to put that out there, in case you were wondering.
But I have asked around, and everyone, and I mean EVERYONE hates grad school. So that makes me feel better. I also live in constant fear of being kicked out, but then again, I hate it, so maybe that would work out in the long run.
I have picked up working part time at a book store. Its cute and overrun by hippies. We are thatclose to singing kumbaya. They don't believe in carding people when they pay with a check or, I don't know, use a credit card that is in someone else's name. (A woman with a card that says George, for example.)
They don't have a safe. When I was being trained on how to close, I was instructed to put all the cash from the register (which doesn't close, much less lock) into "the bunny tin".
"I'm sorry," I said, convinced I had misheard my boss. "Where do I put the money?"
"In the 'safe'," she told me, using her fingers (which, by the way are disfigured, so it was kind of hard to tell what exactly she was doing: her gestures all look kind of the same) to show the quotation marks. "Its a bunny tin."
Sure enough, all the money gets put into a cookie tin with a bunny printed on it. The tin then goes under the counter. And the walls are mostly windows, so anyone can look in and see me doing this.
I horrify my coworkers at every staff meeting by being hopelessly capitalistic. Yeah. They are so hippie-tastic that I look like a right-wing capitalist. They almost shot me when I pointed out that one of our weaknesses is being a staff of entirely white middle-class women. They were not prepared for any insinuation that they might not be sensitive to the cultures, tastes, and lifestyles of the primarily lower-class minority population that makes up most of the surrounding areas. White people really like to believe that they understand everyone else and that they are in no way, ever, EVER even accidentally racist.
I am not pretending to be super-opened minding and more sensitive or any of that nonsense. I have just gotten sick of the two faced mentality in academia that we are too smart to be racist (but also unwilling to associate with locals, who we all assume are on drugs.) I am not perfect, but at least I admit that I, as a white person from a nice family and a nice town, who makes a nice paycheck, am too sheltered not to be at least a little ignorant.
Wow. That was a rant. Didn't really know that was all rolling around in my head.
Anyway.
Life is hectic, but its never boring.
I miss you guys. I love you.
Sarah
But I have asked around, and everyone, and I mean EVERYONE hates grad school. So that makes me feel better. I also live in constant fear of being kicked out, but then again, I hate it, so maybe that would work out in the long run.
I have picked up working part time at a book store. Its cute and overrun by hippies. We are thatclose to singing kumbaya. They don't believe in carding people when they pay with a check or, I don't know, use a credit card that is in someone else's name. (A woman with a card that says George, for example.)
They don't have a safe. When I was being trained on how to close, I was instructed to put all the cash from the register (which doesn't close, much less lock) into "the bunny tin".
"I'm sorry," I said, convinced I had misheard my boss. "Where do I put the money?"
"In the 'safe'," she told me, using her fingers (which, by the way are disfigured, so it was kind of hard to tell what exactly she was doing: her gestures all look kind of the same) to show the quotation marks. "Its a bunny tin."
Sure enough, all the money gets put into a cookie tin with a bunny printed on it. The tin then goes under the counter. And the walls are mostly windows, so anyone can look in and see me doing this.
I horrify my coworkers at every staff meeting by being hopelessly capitalistic. Yeah. They are so hippie-tastic that I look like a right-wing capitalist. They almost shot me when I pointed out that one of our weaknesses is being a staff of entirely white middle-class women. They were not prepared for any insinuation that they might not be sensitive to the cultures, tastes, and lifestyles of the primarily lower-class minority population that makes up most of the surrounding areas. White people really like to believe that they understand everyone else and that they are in no way, ever, EVER even accidentally racist.
I am not pretending to be super-opened minding and more sensitive or any of that nonsense. I have just gotten sick of the two faced mentality in academia that we are too smart to be racist (but also unwilling to associate with locals, who we all assume are on drugs.) I am not perfect, but at least I admit that I, as a white person from a nice family and a nice town, who makes a nice paycheck, am too sheltered not to be at least a little ignorant.
Wow. That was a rant. Didn't really know that was all rolling around in my head.
Anyway.
Life is hectic, but its never boring.
I miss you guys. I love you.
Sarah
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
i like how all your posts are done at like midnight. haha
i read up a little on kneading and i think we werent doing it enough. said that if you pinch it, it should feel like an earlobe when its properly kneaded. :: shrug ::
i did see children of men. i really liked it. i watched it right after i finished a film studies class so i was watching for its artistic quality. i kinda feel dumb saying that...
the director was the same guy that did the 3rd harry potter movie (prisoner of azkaban)... the one with the hippogryphs and werewolf... and theres a similar dark, faded quality to the actual visual aspects/color of both. also interesting: at the end of the movie where they are running around in the buildings with the baby and there guns firing and all sorts of shit... theres a really long shot that had to be done in one take. at one point, blood splatters on the lens of the camera and stays there for the rest of the shot, but the director really liked it so he didnt yell cut. later, he digitally made the blood fade away so that it wouldnt become a serious distraction when the camera moved inside a building.
ok. im done now...
cajones
i read up a little on kneading and i think we werent doing it enough. said that if you pinch it, it should feel like an earlobe when its properly kneaded. :: shrug ::
i did see children of men. i really liked it. i watched it right after i finished a film studies class so i was watching for its artistic quality. i kinda feel dumb saying that...
the director was the same guy that did the 3rd harry potter movie (prisoner of azkaban)... the one with the hippogryphs and werewolf... and theres a similar dark, faded quality to the actual visual aspects/color of both. also interesting: at the end of the movie where they are running around in the buildings with the baby and there guns firing and all sorts of shit... theres a really long shot that had to be done in one take. at one point, blood splatters on the lens of the camera and stays there for the rest of the shot, but the director really liked it so he didnt yell cut. later, he digitally made the blood fade away so that it wouldnt become a serious distraction when the camera moved inside a building.
ok. im done now...
cajones
Better Kneading?
Um ew Chels... that sounds gross. I do like sourdough but I think I'd need to know a little more about that starter before I'd actually eat bread made from it haha I'm up for anything cooking though!
So, maybe our bread has come out so dense because of our kneading technique. I was watching some youtube videos on kneading bread and I definitely wasn't doing it correctly. I think that's why the loaf you kneaded (Chels) came out way better than the one I tried to do and you fixed. Next time - this weekend? - I am going to knead it until it is smooth.
I watched the movie 'Children of Men' last night while Rich was playing WoW. I think I liked it but I'm not sure... did either of you ever see it?
Sarah! where are youuuuuuu??
*hugs*
jill
So, maybe our bread has come out so dense because of our kneading technique. I was watching some youtube videos on kneading bread and I definitely wasn't doing it correctly. I think that's why the loaf you kneaded (Chels) came out way better than the one I tried to do and you fixed. Next time - this weekend? - I am going to knead it until it is smooth.
I watched the movie 'Children of Men' last night while Rich was playing WoW. I think I liked it but I'm not sure... did either of you ever see it?
Sarah! where are youuuuuuu??
*hugs*
jill
Monday, July 21, 2008
i dont want to do work, big surprise
...so im posting instead!
i wanna try to make sourdough bread now that im on this bread kick. sarah, have you ever made it before? if so, any tips?
there was some online blog article whatever from some guy who apparently makes sourdough and keeps a starter. made reference to it (the colony of bacteria/yeast) as his pet. it was weird. he said you start with a cup of flour and a cup of water in a jar or whatever. leave it out at (warm) room temp, 70s/80s. said you could cover it if you want but you dont have to. feed it half a cup of flour and half a cup of water every 24 hours... pour out half of it if the jar gets too full from feeding it. after 3 days to a week, it should be bubbly and borderline frothy because of the yeast that just kinda developed in there. creeps me out that it would happen just with the air and all, but it tastes good so i'll try to ignore that part. after that you put it in the fridge and feed it once a week til you wanna use it
justin said he doesnt mind the yeasty-beer smell that will go along with it, and its warm enough in the apartment for it, so i might try to make a starter. id put it in a big ziplock bag like those amish friendship bread starter things. and id probably put it in the pantry since the cats are known to knock things off the counter and play with them and thats not a mess i wanna clean out of the carpet.
thoughts? suggestions?
cajones
ps. ooo pink.
i wanna try to make sourdough bread now that im on this bread kick. sarah, have you ever made it before? if so, any tips?
there was some online blog article whatever from some guy who apparently makes sourdough and keeps a starter. made reference to it (the colony of bacteria/yeast) as his pet. it was weird. he said you start with a cup of flour and a cup of water in a jar or whatever. leave it out at (warm) room temp, 70s/80s. said you could cover it if you want but you dont have to. feed it half a cup of flour and half a cup of water every 24 hours... pour out half of it if the jar gets too full from feeding it. after 3 days to a week, it should be bubbly and borderline frothy because of the yeast that just kinda developed in there. creeps me out that it would happen just with the air and all, but it tastes good so i'll try to ignore that part. after that you put it in the fridge and feed it once a week til you wanna use it
justin said he doesnt mind the yeasty-beer smell that will go along with it, and its warm enough in the apartment for it, so i might try to make a starter. id put it in a big ziplock bag like those amish friendship bread starter things. and id probably put it in the pantry since the cats are known to knock things off the counter and play with them and thats not a mess i wanna clean out of the carpet.
thoughts? suggestions?
cajones
ps. ooo pink.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
We Made Rolls!
Sarah, we made ham and cheese rolls on Sat. and they came out great! Thanks again for the recipe :) I just ate the very last roll and now I'm sad. Next time we will have to make a double batch!
Right now Popcorn is meowing annoyingly. I'm sure she wants food. I don't want to get up and feed her because then the next thing is to go to bed and then the morning will get here and I'll have to go to work... bleh.
Chels, that sucks about the fireworks in the middle of the night. I would have been thinking about calling the police too. Maybe the next thing will be listening to your apt neighbors conceiving their child like Rich and I had to listen to :/
Sigh... I can hear Rich snoring. I guess I'll go to bed. Night you two! *hug*
Still need to post that pie recipe....
jill
p.s. I wonder why the post time is totally off - preference setting somewhere for time zone maybe? It says it's almost 9pm but actually it's 12am right now.
p.p.s. Found it! We were on pacific time hehe
Right now Popcorn is meowing annoyingly. I'm sure she wants food. I don't want to get up and feed her because then the next thing is to go to bed and then the morning will get here and I'll have to go to work... bleh.
Chels, that sucks about the fireworks in the middle of the night. I would have been thinking about calling the police too. Maybe the next thing will be listening to your apt neighbors conceiving their child like Rich and I had to listen to :/
Sigh... I can hear Rich snoring. I guess I'll go to bed. Night you two! *hug*
Still need to post that pie recipe....
jill
p.s. I wonder why the post time is totally off - preference setting somewhere for time zone maybe? It says it's almost 9pm but actually it's 12am right now.
p.p.s. Found it! We were on pacific time hehe
Thursday, July 17, 2008
im no good with titles...
damn straight we're making rolls. i could use more bread too. i have fluff and nothing to put it on ;)
i have no idea about plants. i know that aloe on my sunny porch definitely doesnt do well. i know african violets do best with filtered light, so if SOME light comes in those would work. mine were blooming really well in a east facing window where most morning sun was blocked by buildings and there was a gauzy shade over it to help with the rest of the sun. i know that all my rosemary plants in the past have died because of too much sun... and my bean plants are bleached out and pathetic looking for the same reason. but i dont know if theyd actually grow in shady-tree areas.
maybe you should try to grow fiddleheads. those are ferny and will seem productive, though the idea has always seemed icky to me.
sidenote: can someone explain to me why a fellow apartment renter decided to set off fireworks last night at 4am? when is that ever a good idea? justin was very close to calling the cops, but then they stopped and probably fled the scene.
oh well.... back to work type activities
cajones
i have no idea about plants. i know that aloe on my sunny porch definitely doesnt do well. i know african violets do best with filtered light, so if SOME light comes in those would work. mine were blooming really well in a east facing window where most morning sun was blocked by buildings and there was a gauzy shade over it to help with the rest of the sun. i know that all my rosemary plants in the past have died because of too much sun... and my bean plants are bleached out and pathetic looking for the same reason. but i dont know if theyd actually grow in shady-tree areas.
maybe you should try to grow fiddleheads. those are ferny and will seem productive, though the idea has always seemed icky to me.
sidenote: can someone explain to me why a fellow apartment renter decided to set off fireworks last night at 4am? when is that ever a good idea? justin was very close to calling the cops, but then they stopped and probably fled the scene.
oh well.... back to work type activities
cajones
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Feeling the Overwhelming NEED to Make Rolls
Holy YUM!! Thanks, Sarah! I think I know what we will be doing this weekend, Chelsea! *jumps up and down*
Nice hint there - I wish we could take a road trip to see you. I think you should start trying to convince Rich that I can quit my job! hehe
I actually have a black thumb, too. Mostly because I forget to water everything :/ and I don't have a lot of windows that get good sun. Ferns love shade and I know there are a lot more but I don't know their names off the top of my head. I don't know of any food producing plants or herbs that can survive in shade but there must be some. If I come across any I'll let you know. Maybe you should start a shroom garden ;)
Still need to remember to post the pie recipe.....
jill
Nice hint there - I wish we could take a road trip to see you. I think you should start trying to convince Rich that I can quit my job! hehe
I actually have a black thumb, too. Mostly because I forget to water everything :/ and I don't have a lot of windows that get good sun. Ferns love shade and I know there are a lot more but I don't know their names off the top of my head. I don't know of any food producing plants or herbs that can survive in shade but there must be some. If I come across any I'll let you know. Maybe you should start a shroom garden ;)
Still need to remember to post the pie recipe.....
jill
Indirect semi-shade: It's good for the plants, Or Dad's Yummy Rolls and Sarah's black thumb
Jill, I would LOVE your applesauce pie recipe.
Chelsea, cute peppers.
I am totally swamped with work right now, but I have a question for you two, who are more botanically inclined than myself. Do you know any plants/veggies/flowers/herbs that grow well in shade? We have so many trees around here that nothing really grows. I would like to start a mini-garden with Natalie, especially a kitchen garden (ie. edibles), but we are totally stumped as to what might be able to survive the shade.
Also, a quick note on ham and cheese rolls:
Make daddy bread, let rise, and punch down.
Instead of rolling into a loaf, punch down flat (with your hands). Stretch it, whatever, but I would not use a rolling pin unless I was having a really hard time with it. Yeast dough + Rolling pin = sticky puffy mess, I think.
When it is roughly in a rectangle with the long ends at top and bottom (from you), and thin (maybe 1/2 inch?), spread with melted butter ALL EXCEPT THE TOP INCH.
Cover with shredded white chedder and sliced ham, again all except the top inch.
Roll up from the bottom, trying to keep the ingredients from escaping.
The inch at the top that you didn't put anything on will serve as a built in adhesive, sticking to the roll. You will have what looks like a large jelly roll.
Slice along the roll about every 1 inch, like you were making cinnamon buns.
Place on a cookie tray, swirl side up, again like cinnamon buns.
Let rise and glaze with a little bit of egg+milk(beaten) before baking. (This will make them shiny and pretty.)
Bake until golden brown.
Excellent for road trips, like the one you guys could take to come visit me someday.
Love you both.
Sarah
Chelsea, cute peppers.
I am totally swamped with work right now, but I have a question for you two, who are more botanically inclined than myself. Do you know any plants/veggies/flowers/herbs that grow well in shade? We have so many trees around here that nothing really grows. I would like to start a mini-garden with Natalie, especially a kitchen garden (ie. edibles), but we are totally stumped as to what might be able to survive the shade.
Also, a quick note on ham and cheese rolls:
Make daddy bread, let rise, and punch down.
Instead of rolling into a loaf, punch down flat (with your hands). Stretch it, whatever, but I would not use a rolling pin unless I was having a really hard time with it. Yeast dough + Rolling pin = sticky puffy mess, I think.
When it is roughly in a rectangle with the long ends at top and bottom (from you), and thin (maybe 1/2 inch?), spread with melted butter ALL EXCEPT THE TOP INCH.
Cover with shredded white chedder and sliced ham, again all except the top inch.
Roll up from the bottom, trying to keep the ingredients from escaping.
The inch at the top that you didn't put anything on will serve as a built in adhesive, sticking to the roll. You will have what looks like a large jelly roll.
Slice along the roll about every 1 inch, like you were making cinnamon buns.
Place on a cookie tray, swirl side up, again like cinnamon buns.
Let rise and glaze with a little bit of egg+milk(beaten) before baking. (This will make them shiny and pretty.)
Bake until golden brown.
Excellent for road trips, like the one you guys could take to come visit me someday.
Love you both.
Sarah
Yay for baby Jalapenos!
Ooooh they do look like the beginnings of flowers! That means mine aren't far behind. The ones I never transplanted are totally stunted but the ones in the long planter are growing pretty well... as long as I don't keep forgetting to water them.
I really want to post the world famous Applesauce Pie recipe for Sarah soon. Maybe I will tonight if I don't die from a work overdose... I swear my list of people I want to kill has doubled in the past 10 hours alone. grrrrrrrrr
Where is Sarah!!?! :)
*hugs*
jill
I really want to post the world famous Applesauce Pie recipe for Sarah soon. Maybe I will tonight if I don't die from a work overdose... I swear my list of people I want to kill has doubled in the past 10 hours alone. grrrrrrrrr
Where is Sarah!!?! :)
*hugs*
jill
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
spicy!
are these gonna be jalapenos? i sure hope so! hurray for being able to leave my pepper plants on the porch!cajones
Hi Girlies!!
Here is our blog :)
Even for the completely computer-impaired person this blogging set-up seems pretty cool. You can change the template, colors, arrangement, edit posts, put in a profile, etc. Feel free to go crazy! I just put in the most generic template and left all the default colors for now.
I'm assuming it'll be a small problem if we are trying to log in at the same time so make sure to save the post you are writing outside the blog somewhere and paste it in, just in case someone tries to log on and kicks you out. I can't imagine that will happen too often though.
Don't forget to sign so we know who said what! I have the default sig for every post set as "One of the Three" hehe
Going to go email you two with the info now...
Love ya!!
jill
Even for the completely computer-impaired person this blogging set-up seems pretty cool. You can change the template, colors, arrangement, edit posts, put in a profile, etc. Feel free to go crazy! I just put in the most generic template and left all the default colors for now.
I'm assuming it'll be a small problem if we are trying to log in at the same time so make sure to save the post you are writing outside the blog somewhere and paste it in, just in case someone tries to log on and kicks you out. I can't imagine that will happen too often though.
Don't forget to sign so we know who said what! I have the default sig for every post set as "One of the Three" hehe
Going to go email you two with the info now...
Love ya!!
jill
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