I am currently sitting with a cup of hot tea, next to my space heater, and wearing two shirts and long trousers. It's cold out.

There are lots of things I enjoy doing when it's cold out: smoking, sleeping, walking on campus, wearing sweaters/scarves/knit tights/etc, and making good, cold weather food.

A few months ago, a friend of a family member had a death in their family and, as is proper behavior, I was asked to make some food to bring the family because they were largely vegatarians and I am one, too. I decided to make some soup using what I had around. It turned out fabulously and is now one of my favorite things to have when it's cold or rainy (or, if I'm lucky, both!). It's easy to make but it also makes a mess. It's also really customizable (don't like something? Substitute something else!).

Best Vegetarian Soup:

You'll need:

1/2 cup (or more depending on how much you like beans, I sometimes use a whole cup) mixed beans. You can buy a pretty big bag for cheap at Wal-Mart with, like, 15 varieties
3-5 Potatoes (I like to use more beans, less potatoes but this also depends on the size of the potatoes)
1 large-ish onion
2 carrots (or more, I like more)
2 celery stalks
2 cups of vegetable stock (or, if you aren't vegetarian, chicken broth should be fine, too. I, obviously, haven't tried it)
Vegetable Oil
Salt & Pepper

1. Cover the beans with water in a pot. Bring the pot to a boil and cook the beans for about 10 minutes. After that, put the whole thing on a back burner on medium to low heat and let them simmer whilst you're doing everything else.

2. Peel the potatoes and cut them up into about bite-sized pieces. Put them into another pot and boil them until they're soft with a little bit of salt. Should take around 10 minutes unless you have a lot of potatoes. When they're done, drain them and set them somewhere to the side.

3. Peel your carrots and then slice them up into bite-sized bits. Ditto the celery. Next, peel and chop up your entire onion. Pour some vegetable oil in a skillet (I like to use my wok) and let it heat for a minute or two before adding your onion. Cook the onion until it becomes transparent and then add the carrots and celery. Cook that for about 7 minutes and then add the vegetable stock. Cook this mixture for about another ten minutes.

4. Check your beans. Are they soft or at least soft-ish? If yes, go ahead and add the beans (bean-water and all) to the vegetable stuff. Then add the potatoes. Put it all in something oven-safe and add salt and pepper. Then put the whole thing in the oven and cook it at 400° for about 30 minutes or until it bubbles. Take it out very carefully and serve.

I think it goes well with some fresh bread (the crustier, the better) or multi-grain Club Crackers. It also stores really well in the fridge or freezer.

You all know that I want to be a baker, right?

It is mid-term time and I am constantly asking myself why I'm wasting my time, my life in academia when I could be studying the culinary arts. Each paper, exam, you-name-it and I'm thinking, "Wouldn't it be great if I were learning how to make pain au chocolat?" Or something similar.

Today I had to do my Polish Society & Culture midterm. I'm sure it's utter shit as in one of the essays I started comparing Germans to ducks. Whatever, it's done.

Anyway, I don't do well with stress. I break out, my back starts to hurt, I drink way too much coffee and chain-smoke. I don't like deadlines and I don't like word counts and I just, in general, don't like having to think about stuff about which I just really don't give a damn. What do I do to relieve stress?

I create.

Depending on how bad the stress is depends on what I create. Day-to-day stress creates poetry and painting and weird songs. Heavy exams, family issues, money problems creates food. The more complicated, the better. I can have the worst week and then make a truly marvelous soup or bake some fuckin' awesome muffins and then I feel so much better.

Today I created White Chocolate Pomegranate Mousse and, oh, my motherfucking lord, it's splendid. I'm going to post the recipe because I think maybe some of you would like it?

White Chocolate Pomegranate Mousse

You'll need (for four servings):

1 cup of heavy whipping cream (hint: Publix carries many sizes. The smallest is one cup)
1 tablespoon of granulated sugar
4 ounces of white chocolate (I used just one bar of the Ghirardelli)
2 egg whites
1 pomegranate, seeded*

1. Melt the chocolate. You can do this in a pan but I chose to do it in the microwave. If you do it my way, break the chocolate into pieces and put them in something microwave safe. Next heat them on half-power for about a minute and half. Take it out and stir it. If it's not quite done, put it in for another 30 seconds (again, on half power!). Set it aside to cool.

2. Pour your whipping cream into a mixing bowl. If you have a kitchen-aid, I suggest breaking out the wire whisk. I, however, just used a hand-mixer (and a broken one, at that!). Whip the cream at a very high speed. After a few minutes it'll start to get thicker (you'll know this because as you're whipping, the mixer will start to make shapes in the cream but feel free to stop it at times to see). Keep mixing until it gets to be like the whip cream that comes in a can, not coolwhip. Add the sugar and mix for a little more. It should be thick enough to stick to the mixer, if not, keep mixing. Stick it in the fridge.

3. Beat the egg whites with a teensy pinch of salt until it forms peaks. This takes a while and if you're doing it by hand, you're going to get tired. Just sayin'.

4. Fold the egg whites into the whipped cream and then do the same with the chocolate. When it's all together, you can start putting it in whatever you're serving it out of. I chose some wine glasses. I also opted to put a few pomegranate seeds at the bottom just because the glasses were, well, glass and it looked pretty. Put some of the mousse on top and then throw a few more pomegranate seeds on top. Voila! Stick the glasses in the fridge for about a half an hour to firm up the mousse and then serve.



*How to seed a pomegranate:

I don't know if there's a correct way so I can only tell you how I did it. It's kind of messy and time-consuming but hey, if you don't like it, make the recipe with something cleaner / easier that goes well with chocolate (Bananas? Strawberries? etc?).

Cut the crown off of the pomegranate. The seeds are in kind of pod-like things so peel the skin around them. You can pluck the seeds out or kind of brush them out, if you're good. Some will pop and the juice does stain so wear an apron or be really careful. Do this until you've peeled all of the skin and freed all of the little red seeds.

Officer Flossie is disbanding.

Of all the many (too many, really) Florida bands I have experienced, Officer Flossie was the best. Better even than Send Out Scuds. I'm so sad. They gave me and haircut and drew a caricature of Mel and I.

Sigh.

So, does anyone want to go to their final show with me?
( poster! )
In other news, kicked Amber's ass AGAIN at Wii tonight. I miss Jesse a lot.

I'm starting to book time with people to hang out before I leave. Make sure to book early or else I won't see you and then I won't photograph you and then I'll forget you. So far I have coffee with Karli, Polish Deli Day with my mom, Cape Canaveral with Amber, and photography day with Lyndsey. And I also have a bunch of days booked for myself to freak out and about going and buy stuff like converters and film. I'm not sure there's going to be a going away party.

Also, found my Polaroid iZone camera with FILM IN IT. This is awesome.

Now, I need to sleep (= going to read Good Omens) because I am going shopping with Ambikins tomorrow... er, today.

HAPPY 08-08-08!

Signs: Mel Gibson's best movie ever, y/y?



Did you know that some of the best crop circle hoaxes have occurred in the UK? Another great thing about moving there.

Satan the Pony
( +6 )
x-posted on both of my journals; sorry if you see this twice.

-nicer. It's nice. I think. Nikki likes it. And Kaaren. So, I've been nicer to girls. I can't be nice to boys or they might try to kiss me which, as we all know, never ends well.

and

-more creative. It's... okay. For example:





And the puppies have reached Official Cute stage. Which is to say they aren't biting yet but are still little polar bears of love.



I find out if I got into RHUL on Tuesday. I am a wreck of nervousness and my dreams are getting weirder. I dreamt I was in a super market as the world was ending. There were other things which I'm not going to mention here.

I will mention that it is Chip's 22nd birthday and Luke bleached his eyebrows. I have one awesome brother and one little brother who is starting to remind me of all of the guys with whom I went to high school and I hate it.

Oh, and I have to wear my magic sandal for another month because my foot is still fractured. I really like looking at x-rays. My bones are awesome.

Tuck your head below my breast
I will not love you any less
Give your bravest face a rest
And grate your grief out on my dress
Lower you down next to me lover
I'll wrap you in my cotton skirt
Kiss close one eye then the other
Remove your pants, your shoes, your shirt
Cold curls you into a ball
I'll wrap the covers 'round you
Watch your breathing rise and fall
Till you wake just as I found you...


Sorry I missed you. Come back soon.

Look little-you in the eye each time you encounter a child.

( What I've been up to... )

Like this:

My eyes have been ultra dry for, like, a week.

I think it's because it's almost Christmas so all of the holiday commercials are full of cry-worthy things and I'll cry over any commercial. Especially credit-card or cellular phone commercials. Sometimes jewelry commercials.

Anyway, I'm out of the hospital. I'm thinking of getting port just because all of my veins are basically gone. I had five sticks this time. Two in my left side (one forearm, one hand) and three on my right (twice in my hand and one in my elbow). My mom doesn't want me to get one because she says that the complications aren't worth it but, really, she's not the one who looks like a junkie and she doesn't have to deal with the needles.

So, I think it's kind of unfair. I can't decide. It would sure suck to have the surgery and then have something go wrong like a bacterial infection or punctured vein but GOD DOES IT SUCK TO BE STUCK MORE THAN ONCE.

So, my veins hurt, my eyes hurt, and I am anticipating side effects because we went at a faster rate to save time today.

Also, I am watching Notting Hill which is not helping with the sappy crying thing. And my laptop is being sent out because it, too, is having internal problems but the firedog bloke is named Keith and I really fancy him in the computer techie way.

I woke up at 4:20 and drove to Hudson.
I had a large coffee and now I shan't sleep for days.

The roads were covered in terrifying fog and listening to the story of an Iraqi man on NPR who lost his arms made me cry as I was driving.

I know I said Halloween is my favorite holiday (and it is; I like to dress up more than anything) but I love Hanukkah SO much. I came home and when I went into my room I found four presents on my bed from my dad and Launa. NPR has also been having great programs each night like music and Jewish comedy.

Plus, I have The Bouncing Dreidle (for Hanukkah dogs ages 3 and up.) which offers hours of giggling and singing the dreidle song alone in my apartment...

Anyway, my mom made Challah all by herself! I'm so proud. I made brownies.

Delicious ham for Hanukkah.

I know this is Arabic but I cannot remember any of the Hebrew I learned over the summer.


L'chaim!

Upon waking I thought to myself, "I feel less human than ever before; I feel more like myself."



( + )

I fucking hate those blogs.

I have officially dropped Hebrew and signed up for Polish Cinema.

Finally my schedule looks like what I imagined it would and I have found a way to mix learning something I love with something at which I kick ass: film and language.

My professor has been rated as hot on ratemyprofessors.com, too. His name is Christopher Caes and I am choosing to ignore how if I asterisked the last three letters of his last name I could pretend he is someone else. Someone Polish. Someone who would give me an A. I think so anyway.

I feel so much better.
Even though I didn't do my Arabic homework, lol.

What a great fucking start I am getting.

( + )

( + )
I might come home this weekend. I wanted to go to this Bridges Without Borders concert/meeting thing but I can't find anything about it on Google plus I kind of feel angsty and not willing to go get my peace on, lol. What's weird though is one of my future professors might be one of the speakers. I need to go get my books. I'm too weak to do it today.

Tomorrow.

An advertisement seriously just asked me that.
How ridiculous.

( + )

Woke up. Did FLVS. New Crocs came in the mail. Emailed Theodore about my shirt. Went to Doreen's. Went shopping with my mom. Came home. Yeah.

( & )

Woke up. Late. Took 3 of the puppies (Kimber, PD, & Mellow Yellow) to my mom's work for people to ooh and ahh at and hopefully buy but no one did :/. Came home. Made a reeeeeally big fruit salad and fixed up the coffee urn. Changed clothes. Went with my mom to the Griffin's for passover seder. Even my dad drank. I did not. My mom tried just about every bottle of wine at our table (maybe, 6?). Ate lots of delicious foods and unleavened things. Launa gave me the purse she got me in Israel. It's wonderful and she had a heck of a time finding it because I asked for orange (I know. You were expecting purple.) and orange is the color of solidarity for the Jews on the Gaza Strip so there was not much to be found. But She did find me a purse eventually and I loooove it. I love it when Launa goes to Israel because she always brings me back something greeeeat. I want to go with her sometime in the future. Anyway. Yeah.

IF YOU WANT A PUPPY, LET ME KNOW BEFORE TUESDAY BECAUSE WE'RE HAVING AN ADVERTISEMENT PUT IN THE PAPER THEN AND THE PUPPIES WILL NO DOUBT BE GONE DIRECTLY FOLLOWING THAT. Each one is around $600 and they are 100% AKC certified with papers. You're welcome to come see the parents and we'll show you the lineage, if you're interested.

( photos... not of the puppies. If you want those, go to facebook or look at previous photo entries on here. )

I need to do something to my hair.

So, let's review the many looks of my coiffure.

( hair or there )