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Friday, November 26, 2010

Not quite grape juice

So my birthday was last monday which means... I am now 21.

21 is fun. 21 is not that different than 20. Except that I can purchase alcohol. And you know what that means? Wine time.

I woke up on Monday, November 15 and went to Trader Joe's at 10 am.  First legal alcohol purchase I made: 5 bottles of wine and some amaretto. Not even joking. This is California after all.

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Peeptoes and Pickles

So the letter of the day today is P.  Not as in pee, but as in p. P. p. P. p. whatever.  P is the lucky letter today because I got some peeptoes in the mail and I made some pickles.

I love the shoes! They are so cute. They're red peeptoes from anthropologie. Shoes can really transform an outfit and these add a nice pop of color to an otherwise normal outfit (I've been really into neutrals lately). They have a heel but not too much of a heel, so they're a good transitional shoe for me, typically a flats girl.

Oh and as for the pickles... they were super easy, I just had to go to Piazza's to get some ingredients (like white wine vinegar, which for some reason I have never used before).  Mix some vinegar and some salt and some onions and garlic in a jar with cucumbers and there you go... pickles! The recipe said that I should to let them set overnight, but I think it's going to take longer so I think I'll leave them in the fridge for a couple days.  I hope they're good - I don't know how you could go wrong with something as simple as pickles!

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Veganism

So it's summertime. My favorite season! (Although fall is nice too).
A lot has happened since I last wrote - since I was stressing about finals and baking apple pies because I guess that's just my way of coping.  Anyway, I traveled to and back from Brazil for a summer CRP class. I had the time of my life.  Did so many things, saw so many things, made so many friends, took so many pictures, etc etc etc... you get the point.

As most people know, I'm a vegetarian.  Most people don't know that I've been a vegetarian for 6 years (and counting!).  And now guess what?  I've decided to go vegan for a month.  I've always wanted to try it.  One of my friends I met on the Brazil trip was vegan, so with her encouragement I've decided to finally do it!  I see this as a trial period, as more of an experiment than an extreme conversion.  I'm going to see if it works for me, and then, if not, I'll just go back to being normal veggie and eating dairy and eggs. We'll see.

I've been vegan for a week so far. I've actually really been enjoying it because it hasn't been that hard.  It's been easy for the most part.  I guess it's especially so because I make almost all my own food and rarely go out to eat (restaurants don't normally have a lot of vegan options, unless they are expressly vegan).  I do miss my cheese now and then.  For example, we had a fondue dinner party last Saturday - everyone was happily dipping bread into hot melty cheese while I was eating my salad and my tabouli. But the tabouli was so good it made up for not eating the fondue(!).  But other than that, I'm pretty good. I was never a big fan of eggs.  And I think that being vegan is good because it's making me experiment more.  I'm trying out new recipes, using new ingredients, using old ingredients in new ways... and most of all, I'm eating fresh! Lots of fresh fruits and veggies yummmmmm. So good! Especially in the summer.

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Apple Pie!

I did it! I made a (successful) apple pie and a decent pie crust.

I rarely make pies (because most of the time I am making cookies or cakes or scones or something) but every once in a while I get the urge to make a pie - about once a semester.  I remember making a pie during finals week last fall semester and lo and behold! here I am making another pie during finals week of spring semester.  I remember being so excited making that blueberry pie in December and then it turned out horrible: the crust was not flaky and much too hard (the result of too much kneading?) and the filling was mediocre.

But this time my pie was a success! People randomly stumbled into the kitchen and everyone who tasted it loved it! The filling probably could have used more sugar (it was tart because the recipe asked for lemon juice) but it was nice having a pie that was not overly-sweet. The crust was good too! Although I am still perfecting my pie crust... Sadie is the real master when it comes to pie crusts. Wish I knew how she does it.

This is the recipe (thanks epicurious!):
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Common-Apple-Pie-20145
I liked that it was kind of free-form and encouraged experimentation with the filling. I am always a fan of experimentation, especially in the kitchen.  For me baking has always been intuitive and I am glad that other people understand that as well. I followed their recipe for the crust but ommitted the lard because 1) I am vegetarian, and 2) lard is gross! who wants lard in their apple pie?


P.S. Not only did it taste good, it looked good. Pictures to come later.