FfNl: Strawberries

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

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

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

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

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

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?

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

And now for a little christmas cheer:


And on a related note:

and the ghost returns...

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...

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...

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)

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

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)

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...

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

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!

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

Anyone else watch? What'd you think?

Idiot

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!

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....

(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):