Adventures in Norahland

FfNl: Strawberries

2010-06-15T18:00:00.001-04:00

You've got to love strawberry season. On Sunday, I gathered a posse of friends and we headed to a local u-pick organic strawberry farm. I personally picked about six pounds of beautiful, red, juicy berries. Which only took about 30 minutes. There was so much fruit! If only I had a bigger home or more people to feed.

Since then I've been trying to figure out what to do with all of them. I froze some, but my freezer is a bit small, so I don't know that I'll be able to freeze too many more. I ate some, of course. I'm thinking of making some jam, but I just don't eat that much jam and I still have quite a few jars of jam left over from last years jam making adventures. There may be a pie or some strawberry bread in my future, but I've still got a big heap of berries.

I took a look in my handy Preserved cookbook and decided to try my hand at making dried strawberries. It is simple enough: slice up your berries and put in a food dehydrator, low oven or drying box for 12 hours. Of the three, I've only the oven, so last night I gave it a shot. They are great! Chewy, sweet and delicious. I think they'll be incredibly tasty on cereal or in the granola I'm always planning on making. Plus, they take up a lot less space once all that water is gone!

Small packages

2010-06-14T22:33:00.000-04:00

As most of the people who read this blog (I think maybe there are two of you) know, my birthday was a while ago. I did pretty well on the present front (yay, waffle iron!) and I had a bunch of friends buy me many beers and tasty Indian food. Birthdays don't get a whole lot better. However, in what has become a bit of a tradition, my sister likes to send me a package a few weeks late with all sorts of presents. I love belated birthday presents. In fact, in many ways presents and packages that come on non-birthdays are infinitely more special. Who doesn't like the surprise of an unexpected package? Add to that, there is the fact that Molly, my sister, is a expert at putting together great packages with a good mix of small and big things.

I got this cool octopus shirt (sorry for the crappy picture):

These tasty, tasty cookies:

Also she sent me some bike shoes to borrow for a while, which I plan to use once I manage to learn to shift the gears on a road bike without swerving into traffic. I hope that happens by the end of summer.

Additionally, Molly included a note that said,"As usual, the ones in the smallest packages are the most special". To that point, the smallest packages I found contained these (which were stuffed inside the bike shoes):

Now, don't get me wrong, I like nail polish. In fact, less than 24 hours after receiving my package the Jet-set in Lightening and the OPI in Bogata Blackberry graced my fingers and toes, respectively. However, I'm not sure I'd ever classify nail polish as the "most special". I was just a little confused. But then I found them. The two little bits all wrapped up in tissue paper(I'm really glad I didn't mistake them for packing material) that contained a gorgeous pair of earrings and a necklace.

I am entranced by them. They are called "air", and quite appropriately, too. The beads made of the most delicate blown glass, and they just seem to float. They were made by marieflyfly. You can shop her etsy shop here.

Thanks Mo! I loved it all, from the nail polish on up. You can send me a package anytime you like.

Alien invasion

2010-06-13T21:21:00.008-04:00

One of the more memorable events of my most recent trip home was witnessing an alien invasion.

Okay, maybe what I actually witnessed dragonfly hatch day 2010, but I swear they look like aliens. It was fascinating to watch them undergo metamorphosis. I may have possibly taken approximately 60,000 pictures of the event just to make sure I didn't miss anything. I only did it for you. I'm not obsessed. I swear.

The dragonfly larvae crawl out of the water and perch themselves on a surface. In my experience it is most often a vertical surface, for example the nice shingled siding of our boathouse. I'm not sure what signals them to make the water-to-land transition, but for whatever reason, this year they chose Memorial Day for the mass exodus from their larval prisons.

So they bust out of their skin and begin hanging upside-down, doing periodic hanging crunch-type things as their bodies move further out of the larvae. Then they do some serious acrobatics: They flip right-side-up and grab onto their old larval head and pull their body the rest of the way out.

If all that weren't crazy-impressive enough, they then pump fluid out of their fat bodies into their shriveled up wings, slowly inflating them.

They just keep pumping up their wings, and once they're done with that they hang around to let their wings dry up before they go flying off.

Isn't he (or she...I'm no expert in determining the sex of dragonflies) pretty? Isn't it crazy how those dinky little wings turn into those big glossy numbers?

*Disclaimer: I have no actual scientific knowledge of any of this stuff so don't go quoting me for your next science project.

Tonic Emergency

2010-05-30T13:04:00.005-04:00

And thus ends my silence. I can't believe my poor blog has been so neglected. I blame NetNewsWire.

***

So I headed up to the Adirondacks on Friday night to spend the holiday weekend at my family's summer camp. Just to clarify, this is not a sleep-away camp for children. Up in the northern hinterlands of New York we call summer homes camps. I don't know why, we just do. To further clarify, we usually just call our camp "the island" as if it were the only island in existence. Now to continue, around 10 pm I was almost there, and I called up my parents to make sure they would have the boat on the mainland when I arrived and I had the following conversation:

me: Hi Dad! I'm in Tupper Lake.

Dad: Norah. Have you driven by Stewart's yet?

me: Um...no. I'm still in that place (yes, I actually said that as if that is a completely clear statement. "that place" is actually Faust, a neighborhood of Tupper Lake.)

Dad: Oh, well, we have a tonic emergency. We only have enough tonic to make one or two drinks.

So, dutiful daughter that I am, I stop and pick up tonic, thus averting a dire crisis on the island. After all, one cannot survive on the island with out ample G&Ts, V&Ts or R&Ts. Yes, my life is just that difficult.

FfNl: Corn Tortillas

2010-02-03T11:10:00.006-05:00

One of my unofficial New Year's resolutions (official ones always seem to fail, so I'm going to go with unofficial this time out) is to try to use up the ridiculous amounts of food in my kitchen. I really have more food than any one person should have. I just like trying new things and like little challenges in the kitchen.

On to my story. Last night, after a longer-than-I-wanted day at work which was followed by a brief foray to the pottery studio to finish up the saki set I threw monday night, I peered into my fridge and grabbed things that needed to be used and threw together a mexican-type filling. One problem: I had no tortillas. However, I do have masa harina and a tortilla press that had never seen the light of day. Yes, I'm just that kind of person.

So I grabbed my trusty Rick Bayless Mexican cookbook and tried my hand at them.

Pretty, no? They were surprisingly easy. I may never buy corn tortillas again. Well at least until I make it through my current stock of masa harina. Seriously, you should give it a try. Well, you'll need a tortilla press, but for $12 you can have your very own.

Just think about it.

Nostalgia

2010-02-01T14:12:00.002-05:00

This past weekend I drove up to my parent's house in the heart of the Adirondacks. The plan was for me to do some downhill skiing with my Dad. It was, of course, the coldest weekend we've seen in close to a month. Just perfect conditions. Ha.

Anyway, after a delightful Saturday of doing absolutely nothing, a cold, though not as cold Saturday, Sunday induced me to wimp out on going to Whiteface to downhill ski. Instead we went cross-country skiing. This is where the nostalgia comes in.

We decided our skis could use some glide wax, so Dad and I went down to the basement, which he had heated up just for the occasion. As I stood there with a decades-old iron dripping melted wax over the tips and tails of my classic skis, all I could think about was that it seemed like so short a time had passed since I did this regularly. It brought back warm, fuzzy memories of high school ski races (which I certainly didn't appreciate at the time). Just like that the skis were waxed, scraped, brushed and buffed; as if it had been a few years- not a decade- since I'd done this routinely. All this was followed by a fantastic ski, the kind that makes you wish you could go on forever. My weekend ended with a drive back to Ithaca on a winding road down through Inlet and Old Forge, which brought back even older ski memories of my Bill Koch skiing days.

God, I love skiing. Sometimes I forget how much. It was nice to have a reminder.

Hello?

2010-01-25T14:40:00.003-05:00

Is there anyone still out there? With the frequency of my blog updating I am guessing this maybe includes 4 people (and I believe that maybe an optimistic estimate). Did everyone have a nice holiday? Does anyone even remember their holidays? I do realize it was sometime ago.

I personally had a great holiday; it consisted of the following:

(1) skiing, skiing and more skiing- except for the day it rained. Oh and the one where the high for the day was 2 F.
(2) eating way too much
(3) drinking just the right amount

(4) seeing my totally awesome friends and family

Personally, I could have used another 3 weeks of that. I suspect that most people would jump on that bandwagon with me.

For Christmas I got a couple of incredibly cool kitchen items, so hopefully, if I remember to start taking pictures again, there will be some more Cook this today and FfNl for your viewing pleasure. What did I get, you ask?

Well this:

The real miracle is that I found a home in my kitchen for the gleaming beast. I also got this:

This nakiri knife is seriously the sharpest blade I've ever used. Thus far I've managed to keep all my fingers intact (knock on wood), much to the relief of my sister.

I also got this really cool cookbook.

Well that is it for my grand return! More to follow in the next few days... but i wouldn't hold your breath just in case I'm a lying liar who lies.

See you soon

Muppet love

2009-12-11T09:53:00.003-05:00

And now for a little christmas cheer:

And on a related note:

and the ghost returns...

2009-12-09T10:03:00.003-05:00

Hello out there... have you missed me? I've missed you. I swear I have! I've been a little crazy, but that is really no excuse. But just to show you I still exist, you can see evidence of me here. Thanks for the push Gary!

I'm afraid to admit this, but I've fallen prey to my blog reading. I guess I should be as good about posting I am about my reading. Actually, I really should be better, but at least I can give you the fruits of my labor.

So here it goes:

Isn't this robot awesome?! Find Nerdbots here. Seriously, I want one. (thanks boingboing!)

FfNl: A few of my favorite beers...

2009-11-04T22:21:00.005-05:00

Okay, so this evening I went to my favorite grocery store for one simple thing: Ball jars. I am making a tasty treat involving pumpkin and maple syrup from a recent ISIE item (just in case there is any doubt, it is in item #3). Now if you are nice to me you might actually get some of this tasty treat- just something to keep in mind.

Anyway, I got my ball jars, but as I wandered around Wegmans, I came to the sad realization I drank my last beer Monday night. For some reason, recently I have a new-found appreciation for the post-work brew. Maybe it has something to do with 6+ years in grad school? Or perhaps it is the unique thirst-quenching properties of beer? Any guesses?

Now as I stood in the beer section, which incidentally had been expanded in the last year to make it entirely too tempting, I was struck with a horrible quandry. Do I buy the mixed pack of the rather fabulous Great Lakes Brewing's finest or my pet favorite beer, Magic Hat's Roxy Rolles? I have a newish infatuation with Great lakes, but I'll just say that last winter I hunted down all the Magic Hat's Feast of Fools (winter) mixed twelve packs I could find, just for the 3 Roxy Rolles. Most notably, I bought what might have been the last winter twelve pack Easter weekend along with the last stash of Cadbury mini-eggs in a gas station 3 hours from where I live. It was like hitting the jackpot!

Yes. I am crazy. As if there were any doubts.

So what do I pick? Both of course. There isn't anything wrong with storing beer in one's bedroom, is there? I mean, it isn't my fault my kitchen is the size of a bathtub.

What you should take away from this post: Feeling thirsty? Go get either (or both) of these- you won't be sorry. Just don't blame me if you develop a new obsession.

kidnapped...

2009-11-01T20:53:00.003-05:00

Okay, well, no not really, but I'd like to pretend I had that good of an excuse for my lapse in blogging. I'd apologize again, but I think you all might believe I'm a bit insincere, with my monthly apology for bad blogging manners. I am sorry, but no more apologies, it seems silly to repeat myself over and over. I'll try to be better, but I'm easily distracted. I blame my most current lapse on the following (in no particular order):

1) I was training for my half marathon- and yes I did finish it, and I ran the whole thing, albeit rather slowly. Yay me!

2)Pottery classes- they are fun to to teach, but I swear they suck the life out of me. My last class was Tuesday, so we can pretend I'll be full of energy and life now that I have all this extra free time.

3)The never ending move of my lab up two floors to the sixth floor. I swear a good portion of my time is wasted on and off the elevator as I am constantly still pressing 4.

4)Beer. I don't think I need to elaborate on that one.

5) I caved and bought an ipod touch. I did a really good job at convincing myself that it was a reasonable purchase- being delusional really helps sometimes. I now waste hours playing pointless games.

6) NetNewsWire and my ever-growing blog reading list.

The list goes on, and none are really very good excuses on their own, but together they have conspired to take over my life and hold me hostage from this little blogging space. Now it is a new month, and I'll make my best effort to get back here more frequently (but I wouldn't recommend holding your breath- I wouldn't want any of you out there to turn blue).

Next time I might actually post pictures... talk about progress.

Cook this today (no. 11)

2009-10-07T11:32:00.002-04:00

sweet

Currently I'm going through a struggle in my kitchen. Yes, the dishes are one thing, but also I just have so much food. I collect fun and interesting things I want to try out, but when this gets added to all the other food I use on a daily basis, my petite food prep area kind of explodes. Last weekend I started (or I should rather say renewed) my efforts to go start using up the ingredients crammed into my kitchen. It might explain why I've had hot cocoa every night for a week. It is also what prompted the making of the above recipe. I had frozen bananas, buttermilk and a bit of brown sugar and I was going to make something out of them. You may notice I subbed slivered almonds for chopped walnuts- hey, I'm trying to use up the stuff I have not buy more things. I have to say the results were delicious. Definitely give this recipe a go.

Dishes

2009-10-01T21:58:00.006-04:00

Okay.

Yes, I fully admit it. I am a blog-slacker.

Well, actually I am a slacker at a lot of things. I probably shouldn't just limit myself to just blog-slacking. I'm more of your jack-of-all-slackers; you name it and I can put it off, shove it aside or bury it under a mound of excuses. But eventually, even I have to pay the price. In this case, the guilt and fondness for my little blog here have forced me to post again (hallelujah!). In the case of my seemingly always messy kitchen, I was eventually forced to create a mountain of dishes:

Yes, that is an entire sink piled with dishes, with a very flimsy dish rack that should have been retired 2 years ago. I'm fairly certain every spoon I owned was at the bottom of the pile and that the three flexible plastic cutting boards provided sound structural support to my creation. It is a work of slackerish-beauty. In fact, it was so nice I left it there in all its glory for 2 whole days. Yep, I told you I was a slacker.

I think this can safely be filed under random. What says you?

Cook this today (no. 10)

2009-09-24T12:57:00.006-04:00

Last night I managed to get one of the many things accomplished on my list yesterday: I cooked some of the vegetables threatening to take over my refrigerator. So I'll call it a successful evening (oh and I did have that G&T, so it was made even better). I made Thai Carrot Soup, a recipe from the rather fabulous Temple of Zeus on Cornell's campus. All there soups are delicious and most are vegetarian or vegan. On their website, they post their recipes but I warn you some are large quantities so you may have to do some math. Here is the Thai Carrot reprinted for your convenience. Enjoy!

Thai Carrot Soup

1 spanish onion
6-8 carrots, peeled and chopped (I just used a bunch that I had, I didn't really measure)
1 jalapenos(or chili pepper of your choice)
grated ginger root, to taste
1 cup peanut butter
juice of 1-2 limes
1 can coconut milk
cilantro
1/2 Tbsp cumin
1/2 Tbsp coriander
Salt, soy sauce, or fish sauce to taste

Saute onions until translucent; add ginger, carrots, peppers, coriander and cumin. Saute briefly, 5-10 minutes, stirring to keep from sticking, then add enough water to cover, and bring to a boil. Keep at a low boil for about 20 minutes or until the carrots are tender. Transfer to blender or food processor, adding peanut butter, coconut milk, and lime juice. Blend until smooth, return to pot, and reheat. Add cilantro and salt(soy sauce or fish sauce) to taste.

I think it is the fresh cilantro that really makes it.

What I'll be doing tonight...

2009-09-23T16:36:00.003-04:00

For the first time in quite a few nights (don't ask me how many because at this point it takes too much brain power) I have no plans to do anything. I am simply going home and staying there. This certainly doesn't mean I'll be doing nothing, but at least I'm just walking home. No pottery studio, no errands, no gym, nothing. Instead I can do any one of the following (0r all of them if I am content in not sleeping and skipping work tomorrow):

1. Make something (or multiple things) with the vegetables currently stuffed in my refrigerator. Any ideas for things to make with the celeriac, beets, turnips, onions, carrots, potatoes, peppers, eggplant and the herbs that have a stranglehold on my fridge?

2. Take the blueberry jam back out of its jars and cook it again in the hopes that it will set on the second go around.

3. Mend or hem about 6 pairs of pants.

4. Knit something.

5. Photograph some pottery.

6. Watch the Netflix movies currently burning a hole in my wallet.

7. Upholster.

That's just the short list. I think maybe I need help...

or maybe just a gin & tonic.

Spoiled

2009-09-22T13:57:00.003-04:00

I am totally spoiled. It is good to remind myself of that fact. This is where I got to spend last weekend:

In fact, I can spend any weekend I like there between the end of April and the end of October. I especially like it in the fall when the crowds are gone, the air is nice and crisp, and the cool nights make for a cozy bed you never want to get out of. I'm guessing I'll probably get just one more weekend up at the Lake, and that will probably be just to help with the closing up, but I'm already looking forward to next year.

It was a beautiful weekend, ending in a nice little hike up Coney Mountain. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. Just look at the view.

Did I mention I am totally spoiled? Thanks for living in such a cool place, Mom and Dad!

at last!

2009-09-17T21:27:00.001-04:00

Oh Bones how I love you! I'm so glad you've returned!

Anyone else watch? What'd you think?

ISIE (no. 2): Kitchen Dreams

2009-09-16T15:53:00.007-04:00

It is time for a second edition of Internet shopping is evil, as I have now accrued a whole batch of things I want that I won't (0r shouldn't) be buying anytime soon. The focus here is cool stuff I want for my kitchen. Now this is mostly ridiculous, as my kitchen is tiny and stuffed to overflowing already. I never claimed to be rational.

Here it goes (in order of most ridiculous to least):

This is an Aga. Legendary British cooker. This is a tiny one (24"), the Aga companion. It comes in a whole array of pretty colors, is mind-bogglingly expensive, and is absolutely adorable. Will I be buying one? No. But just look at it!

The classic kitchen-aid mixer. The one everyone gets when they get married. As that doesn't appear to be happening to me anytime soon, I've begun to crave one of my own. Although where exactly it would fit in my apartment is a bit of a mystery. Also I would have a problem picking the color. This is Persimmon, which seems pretty cool to me, but would it look out of date in a few years? Maybe the more classic Empire Red is more appropriate? It is a good thing these color debates keep me from actually buying one. The good news is that it is not quite as mind-bogglingly expensive as the Aga.

Now, by comparision, this last item is amazingly rational. It is a cookbook that covers a topic I don't currently have in cookbook form. It sounds interesting and looks pretty. Also, I could buy it with out forgoing food for several months or years. Oh yeah, I might have to get it. I told you internet shopping was evil. Today it also seems pretty tasty.

Idiot

2009-09-16T14:13:00.004-04:00

Yeah, that would be me, the idiot. This week one of my classmates and I are presenting a paper for the journal club we are required to attend every semester of our PhD program. We were suppose to pick a paper investigating the interface between innate and adaptive immunity. Never mind if you don't know what that is, lets just say we found the perfect paper. Perfect. A faculty member had even recommended it on the nerdy science database that is the go-to place for finding articles. We had the department admin send it out to everyone last Friday. Fast forward to yesterday, and witness the IM conversation between me and another classmate:

Smart Friend: So I just printed out the JC paper... didn't we read this paper already?

Idiot (me): Um, maybe, it's possible, but I don't really remember it...

SF: Well I could be wrong, but it seems a little familiar.

me: Could be, I can never remember what papers we read.

SF: I just figured out why it looks familiar... I presented it last semester. LOL

So now we have to present another paper (Luckily we had found another last week before we got the brilliant notion to do the first paper) and the entire department knows I'm a forgetful idiot, since they all got the second email from the department admin. How awesome is that.

Dragon*con parade!

2009-09-15T11:22:00.004-04:00

My vacation last week in Atlanta happened to coincide with Dragon*con. I'd never heard of Dragon*con before, but my sister said that she heard the parade was a lot of fun for people watching, so we went to downtown to view the spectacle. And it was pretty awesome. I've got to give props to all the people who got decked out like their favorite sci-fi-fantasy-video game- comic book-character, they are totally way braver than me. Thanks for providing good entertainment. Here are a handful of pictures:

1. Storm-troopers in kilts. Really. Who could have guessed it'd be a natural combination?
2. Chewboxa and his boxy stormtrooper friend.

3. He looks frighteningly like Jack Sparrow, but his pirate crew seems to have gotten a bit younger.

4. I'm not actually sure what this inflatable alien is (I know, I am woefully ignorant), but just imagine if they had one of these in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade- it would definitely require the addition of Santa hat.

5. Steampunk goodness.

6. The entire periodic table of elements in human form. OMG. I dig potassium (K).

7. Good thing it was Atlanta, otherwise these 300 dudes might have gotten a bit chilly- but the six-pack action was pretty impressive.

8. The good news is that you can always just paint on your six-pack, ab-abber2000 style. Way better than millions of crunches.

9. This is one blue suit.

and finally,

10. Is that not just awesome?

Hehehe....

2009-09-14T10:56:00.005-04:00

(Did you think I'd fallen off the face of the planet? Well maybe I did for a bit- but I'm clawing my way back, so stay tuned in)

Okay so I read a lot of random blogs. Recently I've started reading some very entertaining blogs about the book industry in general. Did I mention I love reading? I can now say I love reading about the process of how writing becomes the stuff I read. Here are just a couple examples: Nathan Bransford, Bookends and last but certainly not least Pimp my Novel. The last line in today's PMN struck me as very funny:

Tomorrow: Dan Brown kills an entire forest!

Are planning on picking up one of those trees?

Also, you should definitely check this out (thanks Molly):

Flying adventures

2009-09-03T12:16:00.005-04:00

I have safely made it to Atlanta and am enjoying a relaxing morning, or actually afternoon now, I guess. I know you all hate me. Sorry. Well actually I'm not, but I can pretend to be for you. If it makes you feel any better I had a hellish flight, or I should say flights, or perhaps I should say 2.5 hours of flying + 10 hours of sit-in-the-terminal-waiting-for-many-delays-while-missing multiple-connecting flights trip. I'm pretty sure the kiss of death happened Tuesday night when I said to my sister, " I have plenty of time to make that connection in Philly, I'm sure I'll make it there in time for dinner."

Or maybe it was when I got to the airport to find my flight to Philly was delayed, but the US Airways representative assured me, " There is plenty of time still, you'll have no problem getting your connection."

Or maybe it was when they had to rebook me onto a Delta flight out of Philly, because the plane coming into Ithaca had to wait for a crew change, making them even later.

Or maybe it was when that plane finally arrived, but a different US Airways rep said, "A mechanical problem was discovered during landing, now we have to wait an hour for maintenance to come fix it, but don't worry it will only take 10 minutes once they get here- you'll still make your 6pm connection."

I suspect you can see where this is ending up. Flying does suck sometimes, but it beats the drive from New York to Georgia. Besides, it gave my sister the opportunity to pick me up in her pajamas. And really, who wouldn't be excited about that.

Any fun (note the scarcasm) flying adventures for you out there?

On work and other pursuits

2009-09-01T10:44:00.008-04:00

So I'm headed for Altanta tomorrow to visit my sister and brother-in-law for a (very) long labor day weekend. Yay! As a result I have been trying to get a little bit more accomplished at work this week. Luckily I managed to save the images I got at my early date with the microscope... that is a big step up from last time. More imaging is in my future, I think about 5 hours. Here's some good news, though, my friend Ethan is now Dr. Ethan Chiang, so congrats to him! Also, this means you can see the cake a created in his honor.

About a year or so ago, I started making cell/science themed cakes for people in our lab defending their theses (what we call the B-exam). This is a fine example, actually one of the best, I think. Ethan has been doing a bunch of studies looking at protein distribution on mast cell surfaces using gold labeled antibodies and scanning electron microscopy. So I decided to create a tiered cake representation of an electron micrograph (figure 1D, in fact), complete with gold particles (in two sizes). It was a big hit- maybe because of the chocolate mousse filling and buttercream frosting? Or maybe because we are all a little geeky? Anyway, the cake isn't doing me any good in the getting-back-into-pre-Brazil-shape stakes, but I always was a sucker buttercream.

The pottery studio offically opened back up yesterday, so I headed over there. Where I ran in to Gary, a great guy and a great potter, we had a nice chat. Then he snapped this picture of me hard at "work":

All this activity got me thinking about how much time I spend on projects unrelated to my "work", i.e. my PhD/technician job. I wouldn't have it any other way, I love getting my grubby little paws into all sorts of creative mischief- including this little blog. Just think , though, if I could channel all that energy into my research- wow- it boggles the mind. But it would never work, all this creative stuff is the stuff that keeps me sane so I can still do the research, even when nothing seems to be working. I forsee a lot more food, pottery and knitting in my future. Maybe even the odd upholstery project- my batting finally came in, so now I have no excuse!

Quick...

2009-08-30T21:37:00.003-04:00

This is a quick message, just so you know I haven't dropped off the face of the planet. I spent a good deal of this weekend cooking. They were delicious things, if I do say so myself. The highlight may have been the creamy sorrel soup with dill. Which I totally made up. Sorry for the lack of pictures... I kinda forgot to take my camera out.

Today, however, I made new mast cell themed cake for my good friend Ethan's B-exam (that is the final test you take to get your PhD, in case you don't know). Yes I am a huge geek- I make cakes with cells and cell signalling on them. I'll post pictures for all the world to see, officially ending any thoughts that I might be normal. But now, I have to get going, because I have an early morning date with the confocal microscope... I know you wish you could be me.

Better than it was

2009-08-24T21:53:00.008-04:00

The last time I was here I laid out some rather grand plans for self improvment. I suppose I could call it my plan to unslothify (yes I totally made that word up... what are you going to do about it?). So, here is my first update.

Goal 1(that whole exercise thing): I've been pretty good about getting to the pool. Yay for me! Now for the bad news- the mangled ankle is a bit slow in recovering. Perhaps re-twisting it yesterday morning was not the best thing in terms of its speeding recovery.

Goal 2 (the Chair): Ha! Nothing happening here. Still need to order that silly cotton batting. Besides the chair is currently buried in sewing projects/items needing ironing. Crap. Those also need to be added to my goals. Just to give you an idea, this is what the chair looked like 2 years ago when I had just started working on it. Yes, it really is pretty hideous, as is the foot stool. And no, I haven't finished reupholstering it either.

Goal 3 (cleaning): Okay, here I definitely made progress. I've now got 3 bags of stuff to go to the salvation army. What I learned from this cleaning experience is as follows. (1) I have way, way too much stuff. (2) The last time I read a magazine was approximately 3 years ago. I know this because I have about 100 magazines in my apartment that need reading. I really want to recycle them, but I am going to force myself to read them first. (3) I need to repeat this cleaning process at least 3 more times, only then will it approach the level of cleanliness and order that I had envisioned. But here are some before and afters:

Goal 4 (knitting extravaganza): A non-starter. Well maybe this week. Can't you see all my time was taken up with exercise and house cleaning?

Goal 5 (work, I mean where they actually pay me): See goal 4... the answer is exactly the same.

So, all in all, I guess I could have done a little better, but I could have done a lot worse too. Besides, I also was dog sitting, visiting with my super cool friends Megan and Joshua who were only in town for the weekend and dealing with the sudden death of my wireless router (sadly, I require a wired connection to my modem, until I decide on which new router to purchase).

Therefore, I'll call Operation Unslothification a success (so far).

Countdown

2009-08-19T16:36:00.002-04:00

I am seriously excited for September 17th. That is the day one of my favorite TV shows returns for the new season. Wanna guess which one?

Motivation, or lack thereof, and how to get it back

2009-08-19T15:58:00.008-04:00

I'm sorry. Really, I've been meaning to post something, anything, for the last five days. I don't know how it happens, but the days seem to just keep flying by, and somehow I don't manage to get a single word written here in Norahland (or much else done, for that matter).

Kinda sad.

So today I am writing. It finally turned to summer here in the finger lakes. Hot and sticky. Just in time for the invasion of the U-Hauls and the return of the students. Invasion is definitely the right word here- it is a bit frightening. I'm gonna miss the quiet, and I'm not even really a quiet person, although I may be becoming more quiet with each passing year. Do you think it works that way?

Anyway, on to more important matters.

Lately, I've had a distinct lack of motivation in nearly all of my endeavors. That includes this blog, my work, cleaning my apartment, exercise... you name it, and I've become a sloth in that area. Let me tell you, I'm getting sick of being this sloth; I don't know that I recognize myself anymore. It's starting to annoy me. Which I guess is a good thing, because maybe the annoyance will get me moving.

Soooo, really, what is my random blog about myself and my (non)adventures for if it isn't a place for me say what I want to do, and then see how I do in progressing towards that goal (or multiple goals.... I have a small tendency to bite off a bit more than I can chew). Maybe this small amount of accountability will help in the grand scheme of things.

Here are some things that I haven't been able to get up the energy to do, and now perhaps how I plan to work through the stupid, sloth-y haze.

(1) Get back in Pre-Brazil (or better) shape.

You know how I said I was going to be the size of a house by the time I returned from Brazil? Well its true I'm a lot bigger and a lot more out of shape than I was 4 months ago. Totally worth it, but I've got to stop the trend somewhere... and I refuse to buy more clothes, unless they are smaller than the ones I already own, and walking around naked is totally not an option.

Plan: Start swimming and sign up for a half marathon. Thanks to my friend Sheri, I think I might have gotten the kick in the pants that I needed. I've logged a couple days in the pool and about 11 miles on the road, and only have one slightly mangled ankle. Pretty good start. I'll let you know how it goes.

(2) Upholster the it's-been-half-finished-for-three-years chair that is sitting in my living room.

Plan: order the cotton batting necessary to get on with it (yes, that is pretty much what is holding me back... I'm an idiot). I'm sure you'll enjoy the pictures. The last time I upholstered chairs I got addicted to Gunsmoke. Now that I've got my nice new TV, there must be some good upholstery-worthy TV viewing. Any ideas?

(3) Really, really clean my apartment.

Plan: Fall cleaning is the new spring cleaning for me. Maybe I'll try posting some before and afters to get me motivated to really scrub what needs scrubbing.

(4) Finish the knitting projects I've started, so I can make some headway on the gigantic pile of yarn in my stash.

Plan: First up, the black sweater vest that is almost complete. Did you know I was a knitter? If not, be prepared to see a lot of knitting and purling.

oh yeah, and...

(5) get caught back up and on top of things at work, so I have more time to do all the fun stuff.

Plan: Not sure... but anything is better than my current state of frazzled disorganization.

Okay I think that is over ambitious enough for now, I'll let you know how it goes.

Cook this today (no. 9)

2009-08-14T11:33:00.004-04:00

dinner

A nice spinach-dill cream sauce on rice. Yum. And I also happened to have a all the ingredients. Definite comfort food.

The read: Julie and Julia

2009-08-11T15:25:00.006-04:00

Okay so as promised, what I think of that book over there to your left. I realize it has been out for a while and I'm not really covering any breaking news territory, but maybe there are a few out there who haven't read it yet.

So this is actually the cover of the version I got. I find I am ridiculously happy I have a paperback version that doesn't have Amy Adams and Meryl Streep on the cover, not that I actually have anything against those two ladies. I just like my books to be unsullied by their movie counterparts. Even though I might thoroughly like the movie (don't know, as I haven't seen it yet), I just like keeping things in their place. Have I mentioned that I'm crazy? But I digress.

Okay, I really liked it. A lot. I must admit that I mostly read fiction, but this was a great, if fairly small, change of literary scene for me. I guess I like the real, messy, non-perfect humanity of Julie, her friends and family. It was funny and touching and made me think a bit about my life. I guess you can't ask much more from a book than that. (Plus it makes me want to be more culinarily adventurous).

I'll be picking up a copy of Cleaving, Julie Powell's new book, due out this December, I suppose that pretty much says it all.

Chicken Batch reactor??

2009-08-10T15:41:00.005-04:00

Okay, so this just weirds me out (it is a link to a cnn article about invitro meat product development). I understand the need for sustainable food production, and am pretty scientifically forward thinking, but my first reaction is pretty much UGH. Plus it isn't like you don't have to feed them anything.... you are just feeding a reactor of bodyless muscles instead of the animal.

P.S. Somehow it seems a bit odd that PETA would have a prize for development of in-vitro chicken.... where will the chicken embryos will come from? (but I probably don't know what I'm talking about)

Lake weekend

2009-08-09T09:17:00.007-04:00

Ah, the lake. I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but I love this place. In the summer, as often as I can, I make a beeline up to the Adirondacks for some quality time on Upper Saranac Lake. No matter what the weather it is a lovely place to be.

This weekend, it's been fantastic! Various Rice family members from my Mom's side of the family have been here all this week- which always makes me a bit jealous ( I want to be here all the time). However, it has been great to see them. I've even managed to acquire a bit of sunburn, which, given the way most of this summer has been (rainy and overcast), is actually a bit of a surprise. Rather entertainingly, it is limited to the portions of my body exposed during our little canoe trip yesterday. So there is a 6-8 inch swath of red from mid thigh to knee, my face and my arms from mid-bicep down. Ah well, it was totally worth it, but next time I should probably remember the sunscreen. Although it had the rather pleasant side effect of keeping me warm during the cool night.

The other thing we always do here is eat. And drink. Amazingly good food. Maybe it is the fresh mountain air, but I don't think so. My family really likes to cook. Last night, we had some lovely smoked salmon that my uncle made with cocktails out on the porch. That's my gimlet below, next to my dad's G&T. That was follwed by pork chops and zucchini that were amazing- those were compliments of my mom and aunt (with a little guidance from Donna Hay). Then I made molten chocolate cakes with fresh raspberries (also thanks to DH) to finish off the meal. Then we all fell into a food coma. Heaven.
(my gimlet here was in honor of my finally finishing Julie & Julia- Julie is a big fan of gimlets, so it seemed only fitting. I definitely recommend the book- but that is for another post, maybe my next one...)

Traffic

2009-08-07T23:31:00.002-04:00

Don't you hate when you get stuck in traffic that crawls about 1 mph (for no discernible reason)for 90 minutes? Especially when this makes your 4 hour car ride that same 90 minutes longer.

Well at least I made it in one, slightly exhausted, piece. Welcome back to the lake, me.

FfNl: Seared Feta

2009-08-06T23:18:00.005-04:00

I bet you thought I forgot all about FfNl. I didn't I swear. It turns out I have this little thing called work that occupies a bit of time, perhaps you've heard of it? Also I didn't want you to worry overmuch about my food obsession. Anyway, today's edition of FfNl concerns the delicious looking item below:

What you see there is tasty, salty, delicious seared feta cheese. I made it for redemption. My first run-in with this species ended not so wonderfully. It may surprise you, but I am a rather temperamental chef. My first attempt at feta searing involved a pretty Donna Hay recipe, a sticky non-stick pan, not enough heat from an electric element, and a bit of over-ambition. The result was me throwing cheese, insulting my mother and generally ruining an otherwise lovely evening. Luckily for me, my mom is a forgiving soul, and she still speaks to me, even if I can be a really sucky daughter.

So earlier this week I bought more feta. It was a chance to face my newest cooking nemesis (my oldest is perhaps tapioca pudding, which is rather ironic, given how much I love it). If it works, searing feta is a pretty simple thing that tastes divine and makes for an incredibly attractive salad. Lucky for me it worked this time.

I grabbed a non-stick pan and put it on high heat on my gas stove. And I waited until it was hot, really hot. Then I placed slices of feta, slices that had been blotted to remove excess water and brushed lightly with olive oil, on that hot, hot pan. Sure enough it started sizzling and not melting into a heap! It is perhaps possible that my smoke detector might have gone off at this point, causing me to run like an idiot into my bedroom to get it to stop beeping (just maybe). The tricky part was flipping the pieces- it definitely required my sharpish, metal, definitely not recommend for non-stick pans spatula to keep the crispy seared goodness attached to the rest of the cheese. But I was careful, I swear, so that the non-stick remained as such. And Viola! Lovely seared feta.

I put it on top of some balsamic sautéed zucchini with tomatoes, which honestly, was a little lackluster. That seared feta, though? That was a work of art. Maybe in a decade or so I'll try making it again for my mother.

Summer's harvest

2009-08-05T00:03:00.008-04:00

My friend Sarah and I had been trying to get out berry picking here in Ithaca for the last month. Between work and the seemingly constant rain, I was beginning to think it would never happen, but finally, Monday, we managed to get out to a couple places in nearby Trumansburg to pick blueberries and raspberries. It was an absolutely gorgeous evening and we picked heaps and heaps of berries (but not quite as many as the people at the blueberry place that had $150 worth of berries, I'm not sure they actually were able to fit all of them in their car). I picked black raspberries at Sliver Queen farm- they were so pretty I couldn't resist them! Turns out this was a pretty good plan on my part, as the season for these black raspberries is significantly shorter than the normal red varieties, so I can always go back and pick more (if I can figure out where I can store the various byproducts). When I got home I threw them all in my refrigerator, but spent tuesday determining what to do with the bounty.

The problem was that my refrigerator is a bit small and with all the CSA produce and other foodstuff there wasn't much room for all sorts of berries. Plus, last week I might have gone a little crazy and bought 2 quarts of currants at Westhaven Farm, and as a result I was feeling pressured to make use of them before they went bad. So the equivalent of an entire shelf of my refrigerator was filled with currants, black raspberries and blueberries. So I did the only thing one can do in this kind of situation: Jellies, Jams, and freezing.

First up: Currant Jelly. I've never made jelly before, so this was pretty exciting.

Second: Freeze black raspberries (freezing them in a single layer on a pan first works really well!)

Black raspberry Jam. Yum.

Worthwhile sticky mess:

Third: Freeze blueberries. Sleep. Work. Blueberry jam.

Awesome. I love summer.

Cook this today (no. 8)

2009-08-04T23:50:00.004-04:00

So it is a little late for most east coasters to be cooking this today, but maybe you can make it tomorrow. There is no link for this tasty salad because it's pretty easy and I just threw it together for dinner tonight. It is your basic Panzanella (Bread Salad). So do this:

1. take some fresh tomatoes and slice them.

2. cube some chewy holey bread ( I used some tasty, tasty ciabatta that I got at the farmers market this weekend)

3. cut up some fresh mozzarella (or get the little balls)

4. slice some fresh basil into strips. Throw everything in a bowl.

5. Add sea salt, fresh ground black pepper, white (or regular) balsamic vinegar, and olive oil (I add all these to taste.)

6. Toss together and serve!

Easy, I tell you . It is the perfect way to enjoy some fresh summer tomatoes and basil.

ISIE: Internet shopping is evil

2009-07-31T13:43:00.009-04:00

For some reason lately, I've been on an internet window shopping binge (regardless of my poor grad-student economic status). I manage to find a lot of things I don't actually need and can't really afford, but I crave them nonetheless. Thus far the only one I've caved on is the shiny new TV that now graces my living room (it's completely awesome). Okay, I also might have possibly bought some bacon jam from foodzie.

Anyway, I'm starting a new (semi-frequent, I hope) section in my blog to showcase all my amazing, amusing, and sometimes quite ordinary, finds. I hope you enjoy it.

Right now here are a few ridiculous things on my (if money were no object) shopping list:

Yup, that's an ipod touch.

This is the Moonsus Gallery laptop case. And no, it has not escaped my notice that the bag is the same price as the ipod touch. No one ever said my material wants were rational. But look how pretty the red leather is. And how much it doesn't look like a laptop bag. Sigh.

And perhaps the most ridiculous, but most realistic in terms of me actually being able to buy it without being forever in debt, gourmet tonic water. I'm just itching to have a G&T made with Q.

Crazy I know. But I bet you want them too (at least a little), and I have thoughtfully provided you with the links to buy them. Aren't I nice? Maybe while you are purchase your very own, you could get one for me?

Cook this today (no. 7)

2009-07-26T13:25:00.005-04:00

dinner

Okay well maybe it should be cook this tomorrow... but you should start it today. We made this with flank steak, as apparently hanger steaks don't exist in northern NY. Also, it is summer so no pan- grilling. Anyway it was totally mag. Make the marinade and try it on whichever piece of beef you can get your hands on (the closest is skirt, followed by flank, and then whatever you happen to have on hand).

(note: picture not mine... the observant viewer will realize it is eerily similar to the photo taken by Noel Barnhurst which appears with the linked recipe. I was lax in my own photo taking on account of the tasty food and pitcher of sangria that preceded the making of this dinner.)

summer reading

2009-07-20T18:17:00.006-04:00

I'm on vacation. I love vacation.

On Friday, I packed up approximately one months-worth of stuff for my 6 days off, and headed north. I've always been an over-packer. I think it is in my genes (once, when my family went to Alaska for 3 weeks, the airline representative asked us if we were moving). Case in point: I brought 6 books for my 6 day vacation.

Now, don't get me wrong, I love reading and in fact I read a great deal, but i can't spend every day reading. I've come up to the Adirondacks to relax and play with my family- and maybe work on a few house projects (gotta love wielding an axe). Here's the thing: I like options. I'm also indecisive. I mean what if I'm not in the mood to read one, or I don't know, four of these books. I've got to have a couple I can still get into. So here's what I've got:
I've got some thrillers and mysteries, not exactly high brow, but pretty damn fun to read. Then a couple of non-fictiony things that various people have recommended. And then I've got that big fat one on the bottom. Maybe you've heard of it?

So here's the deal on that one. I'm an irrational idiot. Yup, that's right. For some reason I got it into my head that I had, had to re-read all the others before I could continue on. That was a few years ago and I never managed to get around to it. Then the last book came out, and I still haven't gotten around to it. But these days its dangerous to walk around for fear of people talking about the movie. I can't very well walk around slapping my hands over my ears every time someone says Harry Potter. So I'll read it and hope the other books come back to me. Plus I have, have to read books before I see movie versions of them. I feel pretty strongly about this (see the second sentence of this paragraph). Maybe that's why I don't see too many movies these days.

So for this reason, at least in part, I started my summer reading with Julie & Julia. My sister recomended it to me a while ago, but it was another thing I never got around to. Then I got a Borders coupon, that I just had to spend, and saw this in a display for the upcoming, you guessed it, movie version. I snapped it up and have started reading it- and now maybe I can see the movie in August. I'll tell you more about it, but it's cocktail hour.

Cook this today (no. 6)

2009-07-17T08:46:00.003-04:00

Whew! Sorry it's been so long, hopefully you haven't been starving.

sweet

Yum. Find rhubarb. Now.

I made this for my lab's group meeting today. Now don't you wish you could come?

Ack!

2009-07-13T22:52:00.004-04:00

How is it possible that it has been nearly a week since my last post. That is horrible! Wait- why wasn't anyone yelling at me. Or at the very least a little concerned about my absence... hmm maybe because I'm one of the few to actually read this thing, and yelling at one's self isn't generally very effective.

Anyway, you haven't missed too much. I'm getting back into the swing of things at work, so that is taking a bit of effort. Friday I did get something cool in the mail:

It wasn't actually a surprise, but I am still entranced by Amazon's 2-day shipping. As well as the fact that they have the best garlic press collection I've ever seen (this one has two inserts with different size holes!). So now I have a whole bunch of new recipes to play with!

Otherwise my weekend consisted of the outdoor photo shoot I set up for my pottery. I used to take pictures inside my apartment, but with leaves on the trees around my house, it really resembles a dark cave inside. Not ideal for photography.

So imagine this (sorry I forgot to take a picture): me, my camera, pottery, the table I usually use to hold my portable grill, 3 plastic bins of crafts (stacked, to make a higher level on the table), and one roll of white paper for the background being held in place by a Coleman fuel tank and pink lab tap set up in the front lawn of my apartment house at 10 a.m. Sunday morning. I'm sure I was entertaining to my neighbors.

The only other notable thing I did was finally watch the netflix DVD that has been sitting around my apartment for the last 2 months (I'm really bad about watching them). So yes I just paid $20 to watch one DVD. At least it was good. So below is the copy of Bread & Tulips that can finally go onto its next destination.

FfNl: CSA adventure

2009-07-08T13:06:00.007-04:00

So, my good friend Alice is out of town for the month of July, and kindly offered me the opportunity to pick up her CSA share at West Haven Farm. I love CSAs, they are a great opportunity to get really good food and support local agriculture! Maybe some year I'll actually get around to signing up for one. Anyway, yesterday was my first pick-up. Now you would think after 10 years in Ithaca I could find almost anything in a 30 mile radius without getting lost. Unfortunately that is not the case. For some unknown reason I always seem to get routes 96, 79 and 89 all hopelessly confused in my tiny little head. So after what we'll call a senic tour of the area, I finally made it to the pick-up place- a cool little barn where you sign in and then pick out your produce (they have a white board to tell you what your share is). This week I got a huge heap of veggies: kohlrabi, turnips (two kinds), kale, chard, lettuce, spinach, red cabbage, broccoli, snow peas, summer squash, basil, parsley, dill and garlic. I also got to cut a few other herbs in the plot next to the barn. I love fresh produce (Thanks again, Alice)!

So last night for dinner I made up a tasty little dish of brown rice, chick peas, fresh steamed broccoli and kohlrabi with feta cheese. Yum.

Bacon Jam ?!?

2009-07-04T08:47:00.004-04:00

I've been waiting for the opportunity to show off my sock bacon (above), and thanks to The Pioneer Woman I found this:

Skillet Jam On It

Gotta get some.

And now there is one more blog to follow.

Still Sleepy

2009-07-03T12:58:00.004-04:00

I'm back! Given the absolute disasters that could have happened (I flew into and out of Chicago on United amidst a system-wide computer glitch: imagine long lines and mass chaos), it was relatively painless and my bags(absolutely amazing) and I arrived only 2 hrs later than expected. Then I ate a really good burger at the Ale House and watched the 4th of July fireworks (which oddly are never on the 4th). Then tumbled into a deep and dreamless sleep. The sleep of the exhausted traveler.

There is only one thing... I think my brain may still be somewhere stuck in O'hare ( I am still randomly speaking the few portuguese words I know and am having problems with simple tasks). Then again perhaps it is just tiredness. Either way, hope it finds its way home soon.

It's good to be home, but right now the whole trip seems somewhat surreal- hard to believe it actually happened. Also it is a little weird to see all this stuff that is mine, I got used to having a lot less. Makes me itch to clean stuff out. I bet that feeling lasts about one week.

Thats if for now, but be sure to check back to follow my continuing adventures...

Sleepy

2009-07-01T09:46:00.005-04:00

It is funny how much less time it takes to pack for a return journey. I guess it isn't surprising, as really there are no decisions to make, it's pretty much just shove everything in- with perhaps dirty clothes relegated to a plastic bag. In total, I think it took me about 15 minutes to pack up my stuff last night. Which was good because it let me spend more time on my last night here with friends and allowed me to get one more morning here at the lab (and one last post here).

There is only one problem.... my last night here ended around 4 am this morning. I got a fantastic send off and one more chance to practice speaking portuguese under the influence of a wee bit o' alcohol. I'm what you might call exhausted. A normal person might have slept in, but no I was up at 7 and couldn't go back to sleep. So here I am.

I figure if nothing else, the late night will make it easier to sleep on the plane.

Typos

2009-06-30T11:01:00.003-04:00

Argh. I swear that some day I will write a single entry without typos. I'm just not so sure when. So, until then, I apologize profusely for all the that you have to put up with.

The last weekend

2009-06-30T07:36:00.015-04:00

Well, now that my presentation is finished I can focus on much more important things- namely talking about my last weekend here in Brazil. It was a big weekend, and I’ve lots to talk about, so here it goes.

The weekend started on friday night by going to the photo exhibition that Vanessa had pictures in. Then we celebrated Juliana’s successful completion of her qualification exam with some tasty sushi and tempura made by some friends. I of course ate more than I should have (big surprise). Then we watched a movie.

On saturday we did something I’ve been looking forward to for weeks: we went to a municipal market where there were stalls of foods and other goodies. This is how I ended up with and entire suitcase filled with food. I am not kidding. I have 2 Kg of peanuts. 2 kg! Am I crazy? Yes. But these peanuts are really, really good. If you are nice to me I might give you some. I also managed to acquire cachaça (the national liquor), doce de leite (two kinds), banana candies and hot peppers. I’m actually a little worried that all this food is going to put my bags over the weight limit, even though I left plenty of room for expansion when I came.

After the municipal market it was on to a birthday celebration with some very tasty feijoada, pork and black bean stew (a national specialty). Then we went to the Feira do Livros to browse the books. Finally, we got milkshakes (pinapple!) and managed catch a bus, dodging the big thunderstorm that hit around 5pm.

Saturday evening, I (sigh) had to work on my presentation for Monday, but managed to enjoy more sushi (made by Vanessa and Juliana this time) and the company of some good friends. Tired yet (believe me, I was)?

The reason I worked on my presentation Saturday is that I had big plans for Sunday. I was watching the Confederation Cup final with some Brazilian friends at bar. Not just any bar, it's called Agua Doce - a Cachaçareia. Its a big place and they had a projection screen to watch the match. In case you live under a rock, the match was the USA vs. Brazil, following the USA’s dramatic win over Spain in the Semis. In case that rock you live under is on a different planet, I’m going to let you in on a little secret: football (the game we know as soccer) is kinda a big deal here in Brazil (I think it may come before God and country). I’d say there were at least a hundred people in the bar- of which I was (I think) the only one cheering for the US. So I cheered very quietly, with tiny arm gestures- I have no death wish. By the end of the first half, my friends were threatening to disown me, as the US was up by 2 goals. Alas, that didn’t last through the rest of the game, and I was very sad to see the US lose. I won’t torture myself or you with anymore details except to say that our goalie was bloody amazing! The result of all of this football watching in Brazil is that I think I may have caught a bit of the football fever... be careful or I might spread it to you.

I now interrupt my weekend recap to say a few words about the way Brazilian women dress. Now, I am by no means an expert of fashion, and even if I were my expertise would be wasted in my current line of work (poor graduate student). But I’ve got to say, they have drape-y (that’s a technical term), sexy shirts down to an art form. I saw a plethora of bias cut soft knit fabrics in many colors and patterns gracefully adorning the upper halves of Brasileiras throughout the bar. I can’t say that I’m surprise by this, but it did have me feeling a bit frumpy in my pink Ann Taylor polo shirt. Now back to the update (its nearly done, for those of of you still actually reading).

After the disappointing loss (and more food), Vanessa and some photographer friends picked me up and we went to the final free concert at the Feira do Livros. This is where I really wish I had had my camera. We were at the very front of the crowd and I could have gotten some really cool pictures. The music was really good, however my eardrums may never recover. I don't think I've ever stood that close to gigantic speakers. After the concert we piled back in the car, picked up some pizza and headed home to eat a late dinner.Thats it! Pretty much the whole weekend- and now I need another weekend to recover, but I wouldn't have miss a bit of it. This may well be my last post from Brazil. I leave tomorrow and am not sure if I'll have internet access then.

So for now, Tchau, Ate mais!

Know what this means?

2009-06-29T08:03:00.006-04:00

So as much as I'd love to tell you about my weekend: soccer (heartbreaking), music (cool), photography (wish I'd brought my camera), food (a whole suitcase), women's fashion(drapy shirts), there is one small problem: I have a presentation in 1 hr (see above), which I suppose I should spend some time on. So more later.

Cook this today (no. 5)

2009-06-26T09:13:00.006-04:00

Dinner

Not only does this fantastic recipe from Cooking Light(er) come with the Norahland seal of approval, It also received a coveted MKS award* for excellence (a high honor, indeed). Make it and you'll make both Smith sisters and your tastebuds happy.

*This basically means my sister told me 10,000 times to make this recipe (what can I say, I have a memory problem). Yes, it is that amazing.

Notice to Colds

2009-06-25T08:10:00.005-04:00

For the record, I hate all colds.

But I really hate colds that happen between May and September. Viruses should take vacations, too. I hate the scritchy throat, runny nose, stuffy head, aching ears and generally crappy feeling that is somehow a thousand times worse when there is no snow on the ground. Maybe it's because you can't snuggle up under a heap of sweaters and blankets when it's 80 outside without risking death from heat stroke. I don't know. Regardless, I hate it, and now that I'm on my second summer (I know it is actually winter here in Brazil- but it doesn't count when the temperature always stays above 50) cold I'll tell you something, I'm not going take another one on. So hear me out viruses: you are not welcome in this house, go away and don't think of knocking anytime before November, and I would seriously reconsider ever coming back.

P.S. I'm not actually that sick, so don't get worried.

Can I stay and go?

2009-06-24T09:45:00.006-04:00

I can't believe that my visit to Ribeirão Preto is almost over. In just one week (give or take a couple hours) I'll be on my way back to Ithaca.

Crazy.

As I suspected, the time has flown, and now I'm a jumble of conflicting feelings. I'm looking forward to home just about as much as I'm regretting the fact I have to leave so soon. Anybody found a way to be in two places at once?

Here are some things I'm looking forward to on my return:

1)not wearing the same 10 things over and over and over (and over). As a corollary, I'm also looking forward to more than 2 pairs of shoes.

2)phone calls with my sister

3)the gym (no, I'm not crazy- besides I'm a little afraid of the prospect of a swimsuit)

4)being covered with clay

5)friends and family

6)the lake:

Here are somethings that have me totally bummed about leaving:

1)missing the food; especially biscioto

2)not learning nearly enough portuguese (I feel like I'm just starting to get somewhere)

3)all the great people I've met (in and out of the lab) who have made me feel so welcome

4)that I haven't seen nearly enough of the country

5)Sophie (the cat) and Teela (the dog) (maybe I can fit them in my suitcase?)

6) and definitely, these guys, my totally awesome roommates... they better come visit me.

Cook this today (no. 4)

2009-06-24T07:38:00.004-04:00

Dinner

Sweet

All I can say is yum. Seriously, make both of these as soon as physically possible...

Cook this today (no. 3)

2009-06-23T10:51:00.004-04:00

Lunch
Dinner
Sweet

I'll personally vouch for the second two- and I'm not sure how the first could be bad. Tell me how you like them.

Cook that!... Part II

2009-06-23T10:31:00.007-04:00

So I like my "cook this today " section.
But I realized today there was a fatal flaw in my plan when my Mom told me she was going to try the tasty pasta recipe I posted. It is a delicous recipe and I was happy she wanted to try it, but I posted it last week. So it's not there anymore.
Now, since in all probablility, my mom is one of two people who looked at the recipes (myself being the other) it wasn't a big deal to email it to her. However if I ever have a few more readers, it could be a problem. So now I'm thinking the set-up was just a little short sighted (just ever-so-slightly idiotic).
So we'll try again, now giving cook this today its very own proper blog postings.

Disconnected

2009-06-22T07:37:00.003-04:00

I just finished 72 hrs without internet access. Yes that is right, 3 whole days without email. Without cnn.com. Without blogs. Without all the things I normally waste hours of my life on, say for example, this.

I assume that most of you are quite horrified.

I keep telling myself it is good for me- to get out and see the world. However, I've got to say I do miss it, just a little bit.

Other than that, it was another great weekend here in Brazil. Saturday I stuffed myself silly at a barbeque my hosts, Zeki and Rose, had at their apartment. I couldn't eat for nearly 12 hours afterwards. The food was really good! Then on saturday night I saw free concert at the Feira do Livro, this big 10 day book fair with free concerts. Sunday for lunch I cooked some Indian food for my roommates; they like it, so that was a success.

Oh and I spent some quality time with her:

Cook that!

2009-06-18T18:48:00.009-04:00

You may have noticed that I like food. Just a little bit. Little, you know, like the size of China. To share my like with all of you I've added a new item to my blog (its right there a the top, so you can't miss it) called...

Cook this today:

Go on, take a look, you know you want to. Now you don't even have to think, just click and a tasty meal will present its self (okay you might have to do a little work, but it will be worth it).

I promise to change them (almost) everyday. If I don't you can yell at me.

Cool, no?

FfNl*: Brigadeiro

2009-06-18T07:45:00.011-04:00

So who doesn't like chocolate? If you said,"Yes that is me, I'm a chocolate hater", I warn you now, you should leave this post. Now, to whoever remains (which can only assume must be 99% of you- because if you don't like chocolate, I think you are a little crazy and I'm not sure we can be friends), I will now introduce you to brigadeiro:

This is a delicious, yet simple dessert to make... it has only 3 (I know crazy, right?) ingredients: cocoa (or Nesquick), butter and condensed milk. You cook it until thick, make little balls and roll them in chocolate sprinkles. Now if that all seems like too much work, you can make a cohler (spoon) version with the addition of a little milk. Ana Maria, in my lab, made this version:

Then you just grab a spoon and dig in. Yum.

*programming note: I'm a lazy person and typing Food from Norahland is just too much work. Also my father has trained me that a geeky acronym is always better, so henceforth, Food from Norahland shall be known as FfNl. Any questions?

As if I needed another way to waste hours of time on the internet

2009-06-17T08:33:00.010-04:00

I have a confession. Secretly, I am addicted to looking at those slide show galleries that magazines put together for the web. Everyday, I dutifully go to cnn.com and check the headlines. Now, if I were a good person, I would actually read more articles, making myself a well rounded, informed adult (well maybe not well-rounded, but at least nominally informed).

Instead, after a brief perusal of the headlines I cruise to the bottom the page and zero in on Entertainment Weekly's 17 shows for TV "Revirgins" (which reminds me yet again that I should put Freaks & Geeks on my Netflix list) or Money's Ultimate Mutual Funds (I'm not sure why I look at ones like these... to be useful, one would actually have to have money). Now if only they had one of these galleries on the 48 must know secrets of the immune system, I might actually stand a chance of completing my PhD. Let me know if you find one like that.

Anyway, yesterday, following this usual pattern I happened upon Time's 25 Best Blogs of 2009. I'm pretty new at this blogging thing, I just haven't made the time before I started making my own, so I was excited to see the array of what was out there. Maybe you've seen a lot of them? Let me know how you like them. I have a sneaking suspicion that I'll be adding a good number of these blogs to my daily procrastination routine- but some of them may actually make me a more well rounded, informed person.

Hopefully I'll still have time for a photo gallery or two.

Curítiba!

2009-06-16T11:01:00.006-04:00

After a 10 hr bus ride (at night, thankfully) I arrived in Curítiba. It is a beautiful city! I was well taken care of by Vanessa's (my roommate) family and had a great time. One of my favorite sites: Jardim Botânico (botanical garden).

Curítiba has a special bus line that hits all the tourist sites, which is very conveinent, so one day we took a tour around the city. One surprising feature of the city: it has probably the best organized bus system I have ever seen. It is a bus system that is run essentially like a subway, with these tubes located all over the city and separate bus lanes.

Also it has a great system set up for recycling (and quite possibly the cutest stickers associated with recycling)...

Other highlights: food and craft markets(yum)! Festa Junina/Baby shower (a funny tradition: everyone brings diapers to the baby shower...)! Pinhão nuts (seriously, the biggest pine nuts ever)!

Thanks again to Vanessa's wonderful family for a great time!

Food from Norahland... The Tapioca Edition

2009-06-16T10:25:00.010-04:00

Okay.

So I know you are all thinking, "I know what tapioca is- why is Norah wasting her time with this silly post?"

The tapioca you and I know is something like this: The floaty, chewy balls in bubble tea, maybe a the thickener used in pies, or that yummy pudding you eat with raspberries every summer. Maybe you even remember my previous post on biscoito.

So when I said tapioca to my brazilian friends they said (looking rather amazed), "You know what tapioca is?"

I said yes, and then tried to describe all those tapioca-y things familiar in the US. The amazed looks turned to confused, and they said "that's not tapioca...". This is tapioca:

The tapioca known to brazil is a kind of empanada/omelet-y/crepe like item that is (I am told) common in northern brazil. I was lucky enough to try one at a market in Curítiba. They take coarse tapioca flour, which I am coming to appreciate as a great ingredient (I sure hope there is a source in Ithaca, as I'm not sure how much will actually fit in my suitcase), and put it a hot pan. With a little water, this makes the base of the tapioca- a chewy crepe type circle. Then it gets filled with whatever you want, salgado (salty) or doce (sweet), in my case it was mozzarella, coconut and butter. Then the round gets folded ,empanada or omelet style, and sealed together. Eat it hot or at room temp- it is delicious!

And so my love affair with tapioca continues...

Curítiba bound

2009-06-10T10:59:00.005-04:00

Okay... I'm sorry, I really meant to post earlier this week, but somehow it never quite happened... I have new appreciation for people who manage to post everyday (or even more frequently)!

I had a really great time last weekend. I attended my very first Festa Junina. Festas Junina are traditional celebrations in June that center around the three saints days during the month (don't ask me to name them!). The parties involve music, dressing up like country-folk (caipira), and of course lots of good food and drink. Foods like corn on the cob, a tasty hot dog (cachorro quente) dish, corn cake, and various sweets made from peanuts. There also is usually a 'bride' and a 'groom' and a host of little plays and jokes that are traditional.

This weekend I'm headed to Curitiba,in the south of Brazil, with my roommate and her friend Fabio. I expect to have a great time, and hopefully will have plenty of pictures to show for it.

Muito Frio

2009-06-03T08:19:00.003-04:00

I know I've spent the last couple weeks saying how beautiful and warm it is here. I can't say that any more.

Well it is still very beautiful- lots of blue sky and sunshine. However, warm? Not so much.

Apparently, my boasting of warm weather was enough to curse most of Brazil with cold, cold weather. Last night the temperature fell below 40- which when houses aren't equipped with heat is pretty darn chilly. Lucky for me I have lots of blankets and heeded the warning that I should bring some colder weather clothes, although now I'm kind of wishing I brought a hat!

Everyone tells me this is abnormally cold, so I'm hoping it warms up again soon!

Rock n' Roll and Biscioto

2009-06-01T07:44:00.007-04:00

Good Monday morning! I had a great weekend, and you? It went something like this: sleeping, beer, food, sleeping, food, snooker, ice cream, sleeping, beer, classic rock, more beer, snooker, more beer, more music, food, sleeping, food, successful skype downloading (finally), food, and finally more sleeping. The perceptive of you may have noticed a small imbalance in the quantity of each events listed above....

Now for a few more details.

By the end of last week I was pretty tired, and so were my roomates, so even though we had planned on going out friday night, we ended up just doing a lot of sleeping interspersed with a beer or two and some pizza frigideira.

Saturday started out another relaxing day involving a nice place to eat where I had feijoada (a classic brazilian dish of black beans and pork), more food, and really, really good fresh fruit juices. Next it was on to counting votes at USP. Vanessa had to count votes for student elections, so I tagged along and practiced my portuguese listening- I swear everyone here must think I'm a mute (which I'm sure is amusing to those of you who know me). Then I proved, in case there was any doubt, how god-awful I am playing pool in a fun game of snooker. This was followed by some really good ice cream- the place was amazing- an ice cream buffet where you get whatever kind of ice creams you want with all the imaginable toppings. Oh man was it good! Then it was time for a little nap... you see we had to rest up for a night of rock n' roll. We met up with my friend Marcela and some of her friends at a bar in downtown Ribeirão Preto called Vila Dionísio where they serve up cervejas & rock n' roll. I, being more scatterbrained than usual, forgot my passport for identification. Luckily I was able to cob together appropriate identification to prove my advancing age. It was a great bar and a great time, I recommend it if you are ever here. They had two live acts which mostly played classic american rock- think a lot of Beatles and other classics- they were great! I talked to some people, and had consumed enough alcohol that I was less embarrassed about trying out my Portuguese. We were out until nearly 4am- ending with a late night stop for Kibe and some other tasty middle eastern fare whose name escapes me at the moment (it might have something to do with the advanced hour or the few cervejas I consumed). Then sleep.... a lot of sleep.

Sunday was a very relaxed day of which the highlight was good lasagna and, finally, a successful download of Skype on my computer. For some reason, it has been very difficult for me to get it. I decided that maybe I should try to download it from the Brazilian version of the site instead of US, in case the downloading server was different. I don't know if that was the reason, but it worked. The amusing part is I now get emails from Skype in Portuguese, so I guess I'll get some reading practice in.

And now for the section I will christen Food from Norahland... today, Biscioto:

Friday afternoon concluded with a fun and entertaining discussion of biscioto. Now I though biscioto meant cookie in Portuguese, but after a lot of discussion and some helpful diagrams from my fellow labmates- and taste testing, of course- I learned about this delicious snack. These biscioto are rather like cheesy poofs minus the cheese, and these in particular are made of polvilho, a flour made from mandioca (which I believe is yucca). They taste amazing and totally addictive- finally I had to have Marcela take them away from me so I would stop eating them!

X-Tudo

2009-05-29T07:13:00.006-04:00

Hope everything is well out in non-Norahland! Things are going well here. I'm now getting over the little cold I acquired earlier this week. Otherwise it has been a fun week of work, parties and (of course) food. Laila brought some salami from her town- Dumont, and we had a little afternoon picnic at work- complete with Guarana soda, it was such a treat!

Every day, Marcela and I go to lunch, and I get to ask her questions about all the food and try to expand my portuguese vocabulary... which mostly consists of food words. Yesterday I also went to a defense party and drank a good amount of Skol beer. Then Vanessa and I went home to get some dinner, and I finally get to the title of today's blog: X-Tudo!

Down the street from our casa is a little truck... akin to Louie's or Hot truck for you Ithacans... and they have these sandwiches... the ones we got were, of course, called X-Tudo. This sandwich had the following inside its roll: hamburger, ham, cheese, sausage, egg, bacon, tomato and lettuce. All in one sandwich... Tudo means everything... so it certainly is an apt description! Now for a picture of this masterpiece:

It was really tasty- you should give it a try sometime!

A few pictures...

2009-05-26T14:19:00.006-04:00

Just a quick message... I thought I'd make up for lost time and post a few pictures.

1) Here is Ribeirão Preto, on my walk home from lab...

2) My temporary kitchen... and yes it is about 6 times the size of my kitchen in Ithaca...

3)The weather really is beautiful here....

And how are all of you?

Food!

2009-05-22T11:04:00.016-04:00

I'm pretty sure I'm obsessed with food (but most of you already knew that).

And the food here, it is good... when I come back to the states I'm going to be the size of a house. A few nights ago we went to a little bar and had espetinho, which are skewers of meats or cheeses or pão de alho (garlic bread), barbequed- YUM! There also seemed to be an endless stream of beer.

This weekend I went to a Pizza Rodízio- a restaurant like the Brazilian barbeque places in the US, but this one doesn't serve meat, but pizza. So they bring around all sorts of pizza and you can eat as much as you want- you can eat until you die, they say. I had no idea pizza was so popular in Brazil- but it is very good and comes in every imaginable combination- even sweet pizza with ice cream on top!

I also had pão de queijo (cheese bread) which is amazingly good. I also went to a barbeque where I had my very first brazilian caipirinha (amazing!- I'm going to learn how to make them) and some more grilled meats.

I went to one more place this weekend, and surprise, I ate some more. I went to Curupira, a park in Ribeirão that has great views of the city, and where I also had a dish of frozen açai pulp with fruit (see the picture above). Yup, going to be the size of a house!

Just so you don't think I only eat, I also tagged along on my roommate Vanessa's photography class to an old train station in a small town near here. It was really pretty there... below is just one of the many, many pictures I took, but it will give you a bit of an idea of what the landscape around here is like.

Você fala português?

2009-05-20T12:41:00.005-04:00

Hey everyone!

Who knew communication could be so exhausting? Things are great here in Ribeirão Preto, but my Portuguese is still extremely shaky- I have picked up some words, but sentences are still beyond me. My lab mates are great! They are always helping me and mostly speak to me in English when they can, which I know makes more work for them, so I really appreciate it. Hopefully by the end of this trip it will be easier for all of us. But right now, I'm sleeping really well at night!

The food here is great! Lunch is generally the biggest meal of the day, and the Cantina near the Pharmacy lab (where I work) is a good place to eat. Today I had a tasty salad, eggplant, fried fish, some gound meat and potatoes, fresh cheese (that was just for you Megan), rice and beans. I'm eating very well, but my roommates worry that I am not eating enough- so they are trying to fatten me up :)

I'm attempting to do cyclic voltammetry- which I know next nothing about, so its been interesting to say the least (thank you, Laila for all your help). Soon I will start work on some other experiments. But who really wants to hear about work...

In other news I've been absolutely horrible about taking pictures- I hope to fix that situation very soon! Once I do, I'll try to post a few.

Tchau

Made it!

2009-05-18T12:18:00.006-04:00

Well I made it. Yay me! So here is what I've done since I last posted:

Friday: My first day in Brazil... um, I mean Washington DC.

I knew the chances of my 4 connecting flights going smoothly were quite small, and I was right. Due to weather/mechanical problems my flight out of NYC was cancelled and all the other flights delayed. As a result, I got to DC 5 minutes after my connection to São Paulo left. The only flight of the day. So…. I got to spend 24 hrs in DC.

United was nice enough to put me up in the Landsdowne Resort; pretty posh place! I got to know a great lady from Denver who stuck in DC too (thanks for the company Jennifer!). And my cousin picked me up at noon and we spend a great afternoon at the zoo and had a couple beers (thanks Brian!). It was a fun little vacation! Caught my connection to Brazil Friday night, and lucky me, due to some problem with my initial seat assignment I got bumped to business class. It made the flight so much more comfortable, I’m going to miss that on the way home.

Saturday: Really my first day in Brazil.

I arrived early in São Paulo, but unfortunately my checked bag didn’t. It decided to take a later flight from Washington, but I should be getting it today. Then after a few more delays I caught my flight to Ribeirão Preto. My new roommates Vanessa and Juliana, and my new lab-mate Marcela all came to the airport to pick me up. They are all very nice and are very patient with my non-existent Portuguese, but I am trying to force myself to try to speak a little. They all speak English very well, so it is easy to slip into the habit of just speaking English.

Sunday: Seeing important things around Ribeirão

A fun day filled with at walk around the University of São Paulo (USP), a concert and a Chopp (draft beer) at a famous bar here in Ribeirão called Penguim. Chopp is very good; it is very light and very cold, as well as very tasty and refreshing!

Today: My First day at USP

I was a little nervous about my first day, but everyone is being so nice, so I have relaxed quite a bit. I try to ask how to say things in Portuguese whenever I can and am attempting to write things down so I can practice at home. Rose and Zeki, my hosts, welcomed me and have been showing me around. I'm planning on starting experiments very soon. I guess that is all for now. It feels like I've done a lot in just a few days, but I'm looking forward to all that is yet to come.

I'd love to hear from any of you either here or via email!

Tchau! (good bye)

Waiting....

2009-05-14T13:18:00.003-04:00

Well I did it. I left my apartment, and it is actually mostly clean. Amazing. For the most part, I feel fairly calm. Also amazing. I felt the weirdest about dropping off my car at Sarah's this morning (thanks again for the garage!). Somehow, that more than anything, cemented in my mind the reality of this trip.

Now I'm just waiting in the tiny Ithaca airport for the first connection on my marathon flight ( I have 4 flights...), and it is already a little delayed. I did make several interesting discoveries:

1) South American travel doesn't count for free checked baggage- US air now has $15 of my money.

2) I have so many connections they had to hand issue my baggage claim ticket ( the computer couldn't handle it)

3) I love having free internet in the airport.

T minus 41 hrs

2009-05-12T18:55:00.007-04:00

Right... so today I realized that two days really is a rather short period of time to do all the things I should do before I head south. Wish I would have figured that out a bit earlier, but I guess instead I am just embracing my procrastination genes. However I have managed to do a couple of things:

1. got my suitcase out of hiding

2. made it look like someone ransacked my bedroom

3. went to the library to get language CDs in a futile attempt to learn (more) Portuguese

I for see a long night in my future, but hey, in under two days I'll be in Brazil... so worth it.

In the beginning...

2009-05-10T20:14:00.000-04:00

Welcome to my adventures!

I leave for Brazil in less than 4 days... yes less than 4 days! It seems totally unreal to me, but apparently whether I manage to pack up the necessary items (sunscreen, check) or learn more than rudimentary Portuguese (Eu queria uma cerveja, check), off I go to Ribeirão Preto. I am amazingly excited about this trip... but right now I'm also going a little crazy at the thought of being gone for 6 weeks. I know the time will fly when I'm there and I'll wish like crazy to slow it down, but right now my bigger concern is getting everything taken care of here before I jet. Wish me luck!