I'm sure you all have facebook friends with whom you were never really well-acquainted in real life: people you know (or knew, or sort-of know, or sort-of knew) and added just because, hey, why in egalitarianism's name not? But have you ever had the experience of realizing that one of these people has really good personal style, and wanting to tell said person, but not being able to because you were never really friends with them in actual, oxygen-sustained reality?
Didn't think so.
This was a weekend of awesomeness, not only because of the sunshine (bright! sustained!) and the prodigious amounts of candy H. and I bought/consumed, but because Hook completed his first half marathon on Sunday. I got up early to see him off at the start, walked down to the ocean to try to catch a glimpse of him as he ran along the Great Highway*, and was there at the finish line to take some profile pics. Hook, I am ueber-proud of you: 13.1 miles is hella impressive!
In other news, I've been having oddly realistic, very disconcerting dreams lately. A few nights ago, I dreamed that I was accompanying Gaby's class on a field trip to a racehorse rescue farm - you know, where old horses go to die natural, unrelated-to-glue-or-dogfood deaths. Within my dream world, all horses were severely lactose-intolerant; knowing this, one of the students mixed a ton of butter in with the horses' feed and killed all the racehorses. The opening image of this dream was an aerial view of the rescue, the horses streaming in through the gate of a fenced pasture, waiting - an image not unlike slaughterhouse footage.
Last night's dream was slightly less menacing: first, Ali (who was visiting me in SF) kept wearing my clothes, despite my requests that she stop. Then, I found myself at a Jonas Brothers' show being held at a dilapidated farmhouse. I went to use the ladies' room before the Brothers began their set, only to find that the toilet didn't work! Naturally, the management asked me to fix it, and I got toilet water all over my coat with the fur collar. Siiiiiiiigh.
*This attempt was an epic fail: I either got there a few minutes too late, or was in the port-a-john when Hook ran by. Ooops.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Are we really so stupid?
This article discusses the FDA's efforts to reevaluate the serving sizes of some foods, thereby alerting consumers that these foods are more caloric than we (the collective we of the American consumer base) have been led to believe. Or, more accurately, as we've led ourselves to believe. I appreciate that the FDA is trying to keep current, but come on: does anyone really believe that, "If the serving size for cookies rose to two ounces, from one ounce, for instance, some consumers might think the government was telling them it was fine to eat more." The government is telling me it's fine to eat more? Let me just scarf a whole box of Triscuit!
Americans may be fat, but they're not [all] stupid. Most people know (I think?) that chips aren't healthy: that a serving of chips, as defined by the FDA, is about one ounce. Whether people choose to eat an ounce of chips or whether they defer to the "handful" method of measurement is a different issue. The bottom line is that people know what's good for them, but they don't always put this knowledge into action.
Americans may be fat, but they're not [all] stupid. Most people know (I think?) that chips aren't healthy: that a serving of chips, as defined by the FDA, is about one ounce. Whether people choose to eat an ounce of chips or whether they defer to the "handful" method of measurement is a different issue. The bottom line is that people know what's good for them, but they don't always put this knowledge into action.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
I was told there'd be culturally-relevant observations
I'll be damned if I end my 25th year without knowing how to make non-instant [i.e., "traditional"] rice.
As mentioned, Reading Program 2010 is going well. Working on Sloane Crosley's "I Was Told There'd Be Cake" and while it's not terrible, neither will it become a favorite (or even a volume to return to, infrequently). Since my completion of an M.F.A. in fiction writing, I've become increasingly more interested in genres other than fiction; I've turned to memoirs, cookbooks, magazines widely varying in quality and content, volumes of poetry, collections of essays. Crosley's collection I discovered via Goodreads and, based on the title (who the hell doesn't love cake?) and the glib combo of the cover photo/sans-serif font in which the title is printed, I decided to give it a go. [Aside: I realize that the preceding statement critically undermines whatever "cred" I have as a reader, if there is such a thing as "reader's cred."] Yes: so, the point. The point I'm getting at is that I can neither like nor dislike Crosley's essays because said essays are insubstantial: they don't give me enough to (dis)agree with. Addressing topics such as one's youthful envisioning of "Oregon Trail" as a means of gaining power over individuals who, in life, control and vex one, the essays are funnyish, cuteish, and short enough to be read during in-between bits of time [i.e., lunch breaks, the ten minutes between packing my lunch and having to leave for work]. I'll finish reading "Cake," but only because I'm 100 pages in and because I rarely, rarely quit a book.
Update: the rice burned. Again.
As mentioned, Reading Program 2010 is going well. Working on Sloane Crosley's "I Was Told There'd Be Cake" and while it's not terrible, neither will it become a favorite (or even a volume to return to, infrequently). Since my completion of an M.F.A. in fiction writing, I've become increasingly more interested in genres other than fiction; I've turned to memoirs, cookbooks, magazines widely varying in quality and content, volumes of poetry, collections of essays. Crosley's collection I discovered via Goodreads and, based on the title (who the hell doesn't love cake?) and the glib combo of the cover photo/sans-serif font in which the title is printed, I decided to give it a go. [Aside: I realize that the preceding statement critically undermines whatever "cred" I have as a reader, if there is such a thing as "reader's cred."] Yes: so, the point. The point I'm getting at is that I can neither like nor dislike Crosley's essays because said essays are insubstantial: they don't give me enough to (dis)agree with. Addressing topics such as one's youthful envisioning of "Oregon Trail" as a means of gaining power over individuals who, in life, control and vex one, the essays are funnyish, cuteish, and short enough to be read during in-between bits of time [i.e., lunch breaks, the ten minutes between packing my lunch and having to leave for work]. I'll finish reading "Cake," but only because I'm 100 pages in and because I rarely, rarely quit a book.
Update: the rice burned. Again.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
NEW! OBSESSION!
If you guessed "macaroons," you're not even close - though I understand your logic. No: my new love is spinning. (!!!!). I'd gone a few times last summer [in MN], but never got into it; back then, during that less-enlightened time, I considered the arc trainer the ultimate piece of equipment. Recently, though - perhaps because the instructors here are better, or perhaps because I can't run, due to my sloooooowly-healing knee - I just can't get enough of this class. Or, rather, I didn't get enough until tonight [i.e., my third spin class in as many days]. Tonight, I am bone tired. Tonight, I'm going to sleep the sleep of kings!
Monday, February 1, 2010
I have earned the title of Cookie Monster
...or cookie maestro: take your pick. As I mentioned, this weekend was a snickerdoodle bake-a-thon, and what a -thon it was! I made two batches (so that I could give a bunch to friends...and also freeze some), and both turned out superbly. Here's the recipe I used:
Ingredients
* 1 1/2 cups white sugar
* 1/2 cup butter, softened
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 2 eggs
* 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
(and for the topping)
* 2 tablespoons white sugar
* 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Combine 1 1/2 cups white sugar, butter or margarine, vanilla and eggs. Mix well.
3. Stir in flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt. Blend well. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Combine 2 tablespoons sugar and 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon. Roll dough in sugar/cinnamon mixture and place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until set. Immediately remove from cookie sheets.
***
I will definitely be making these again; not too soon, mind you - there's a huge Tupperware of cookies atop Hook's fridge - but soon enough. In the meantime, I may try to master the art of vegan chocolate cake...
Ingredients
* 1 1/2 cups white sugar
* 1/2 cup butter, softened
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 2 eggs
* 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
(and for the topping)
* 2 tablespoons white sugar
* 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Combine 1 1/2 cups white sugar, butter or margarine, vanilla and eggs. Mix well.
3. Stir in flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt. Blend well. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Combine 2 tablespoons sugar and 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon. Roll dough in sugar/cinnamon mixture and place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until set. Immediately remove from cookie sheets.
***
I will definitely be making these again; not too soon, mind you - there's a huge Tupperware of cookies atop Hook's fridge - but soon enough. In the meantime, I may try to master the art of vegan chocolate cake...
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Yesterday was the day of harassment.
Yes. So, yesterday was evidently The Day During Which Strangers Harass Kate; there were two separate instances of harassment. The first took place at a delicatessen: I had a paid holiday and met Hook downtown for lunch. We went to a deli near his office (this deli did not have great salads, but Hook liked his sandwich well enough and so that was good) and while I was at the register, paying for my salad and Baked Lays, a man slid a can of diet Sunkist orange up beside my food and said to the cashier, "Oh, we're together." In my mind I was all like, 'Dude WTF?' but then thought, 'OK, I can pay for this dude's can of soda I guess, it's a can of soda,' but before the cashier really had time to respond the dude smiled at me and said, "Gotcha." Elbowed me, retrieved his can of soda, and waited to pay. Mortified, I left the register without even taking my receipt and joined Hook at our table.
The second incident took place on the bus. I'd done a bit of shopping and was going to walk home but a drizzle started and then became a rainfall, hence the bus trip. When I boarded, I took a window seat; at the next stop, a man sat in the seat beside me. I didn't have my iPod at the time and so was fiddling with my phone, texting my sis, when the man beside me put his hand over mine and kind of jokingly tried to knock free the phone. No conversation, here: just the man half-slapping my hand, the phone. The man in the bank of seats directly across from me gave an alarmed look, which I returned. I couldn't tell if the man beside me was 1) trying, in some ass-backward way, trying to flirt with me; or 2) a legit psycho, so I said nothing. I kept texting. The man beside me leaned over and read all of my texts (none of which made mention of him), and then got off the bus three stops after he'd boarded.
These incidents left me profoundly unsettled: who are these brazen men, and why did they approach me from nowhere, on the same day?
I am glad to report that today has been a harassment-free day.
***
In more upbeat, sugar-related news, I am burning this soy-based, birthday-cake-scented candle, and it is just so excellent. My room smells like a beautiful cake! Speaking of baking, tonight is slated to be a snickerdoodle bake-a-thon, once I get to the store to pick up some cream of tartar.
***
Just finished reading "Brief Interviews With Hideous Men," which renewed my faith in contemporary fiction. Which statement may sound like an overstatement, but trust me, it is not.
The second incident took place on the bus. I'd done a bit of shopping and was going to walk home but a drizzle started and then became a rainfall, hence the bus trip. When I boarded, I took a window seat; at the next stop, a man sat in the seat beside me. I didn't have my iPod at the time and so was fiddling with my phone, texting my sis, when the man beside me put his hand over mine and kind of jokingly tried to knock free the phone. No conversation, here: just the man half-slapping my hand, the phone. The man in the bank of seats directly across from me gave an alarmed look, which I returned. I couldn't tell if the man beside me was 1) trying, in some ass-backward way, trying to flirt with me; or 2) a legit psycho, so I said nothing. I kept texting. The man beside me leaned over and read all of my texts (none of which made mention of him), and then got off the bus three stops after he'd boarded.
These incidents left me profoundly unsettled: who are these brazen men, and why did they approach me from nowhere, on the same day?
I am glad to report that today has been a harassment-free day.
***
In more upbeat, sugar-related news, I am burning this soy-based, birthday-cake-scented candle, and it is just so excellent. My room smells like a beautiful cake! Speaking of baking, tonight is slated to be a snickerdoodle bake-a-thon, once I get to the store to pick up some cream of tartar.
***
Just finished reading "Brief Interviews With Hideous Men," which renewed my faith in contemporary fiction. Which statement may sound like an overstatement, but trust me, it is not.
Friday, January 22, 2010
I like rice.
One useful habit I developed in grad school, aside from my jaw-dropping time management skillz & my ability to wrangle any sentence, is the ability to find a use for leftover food. Having had on hand too much milk and not wanting that milk to go bad, I spent part of the evening making rice pudding. Some people think rice pudding is for geriatrics, but some people don't know what they're missing: rice pudding is the shit! Normally, I make the oven-baked variety, but I have no idea where my covered casserole dishes are & I wasn't sure if my Pyrex bowl is oven-safe. Therefore, I used the following recipe, taken from simplyrecipes.com:
Ingredients
• 2 1/2 cups (600 ml) of whole milk
• 1/3 cup (66 grams) of uncooked short grain white rice
• Pinch of salt
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup (50 grams) dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1/3 cup (40 grams) raisins
Method
1) In a medium-sized, heavy-bottomed saucepan, bring the milk, rice and salt to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer until the rice is tender, about 20-25 minutes. Stir frequently to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
2) In a small mixing bowl, whisk together egg and brown sugar until well mixed. Add a half cup of the hot rice mixture to the egg mixture, a tablespoon at a time, vigorously whisking to incorporate.
3) Add egg mixture back into the saucepan of rice and milk and stir, on low heat, for 10 minutes or so, until thickened. Be careful not to have the mixture come to a boil at this point. Stir in the vanilla. Remove from heat and stir in the raisins and cinnamon.
Serve warm or cold.
Serves 2-3.
***
On the whole, my pudding turned out pretty well (3.8 stars out of 5). I used skim milk because that's what was in the fridge, but this substitution compromised the pudding's texture; I also didn't add raisins because 1) I don't like them, and 2) I didn't have any in the cupboard, anyway. Had I used whole milk, this dish would have been perfect.
One other note: the yield also seems off to me. I'd say this recipe made at least four, if not five, servings - or two to three extra-large portions.
Ingredients
• 2 1/2 cups (600 ml) of whole milk
• 1/3 cup (66 grams) of uncooked short grain white rice
• Pinch of salt
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup (50 grams) dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1/3 cup (40 grams) raisins
Method
1) In a medium-sized, heavy-bottomed saucepan, bring the milk, rice and salt to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer until the rice is tender, about 20-25 minutes. Stir frequently to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
2) In a small mixing bowl, whisk together egg and brown sugar until well mixed. Add a half cup of the hot rice mixture to the egg mixture, a tablespoon at a time, vigorously whisking to incorporate.
3) Add egg mixture back into the saucepan of rice and milk and stir, on low heat, for 10 minutes or so, until thickened. Be careful not to have the mixture come to a boil at this point. Stir in the vanilla. Remove from heat and stir in the raisins and cinnamon.
Serve warm or cold.
Serves 2-3.
***
On the whole, my pudding turned out pretty well (3.8 stars out of 5). I used skim milk because that's what was in the fridge, but this substitution compromised the pudding's texture; I also didn't add raisins because 1) I don't like them, and 2) I didn't have any in the cupboard, anyway. Had I used whole milk, this dish would have been perfect.
One other note: the yield also seems off to me. I'd say this recipe made at least four, if not five, servings - or two to three extra-large portions.
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