Broke Friday

  So we are *super* broke! So broke till Matt gets paid next month. Since he was out on the road for 3 weeks there is no real paycheck. So it's Friday night and we are just hanging out in out apartment, cleaning and we are going to watch Heros. We'll probably get drunk with whatever is laying around. :) Being broke sucks, but is sort of fun. Im making a game of trying to figure out how to make meals out of the random ingredients we have hanging out in our pantry. On a lighter note I wont be going grocery shopping. I will be trying to find all the events at school this week that are offering free food for pretending to be interested in some club or presentation. 

  I was supposed to work today as one of my last days at the Shit-wreck. But I have been taken advantage of there so much this summer. That I told them I was not coming in today. It has been pouring out all day, and since this is an indoor outdoor joint it's well, dead when its crappy out. Not too many people like to hang out by the beach in the pours of rain. I'm supposed to go in tomorrow, but i'll see how I feel about that in the morning. Matt is going to be away tomorrow and Sunday on the last part of tour.

  I have this biology debate to do next week about whether or not the US government should require the labeling of Genetically modified foods. So i'll be spending the next few days working on that. We have no school on Tuesday and Wednesday, which is nice! Hoooray!

I think I may also sew a new skirt or two this weekend! Double Hooray!

Currently Obsessed

I have a tendency to go through phases of changing obsessions. Here is the current line up for the day:

Curry: I have managed to eat curry almost everyday for 3 weeks straight right now. Theoretically I could eat curry to I vomit, and then continue some more. 

Kapibara San: A fucken adorable try works cartoon character I discovered while in Japan. I 

brought home some stuffed dolls and a book. I want more now though. 2 weeks ago I finally found some new dolls online which I promptly ordered. I think they so fucking cute and wish I could 

have the cartoons ones as real pets. There are not too many english web sites where you can find Kapibara stuff, so I have been non-stop trying to translate any Japanese sites I can in an effort to find more Kappys.

Brooklyn: Brooklyn is a place that I have always wanted to live. Im on a mission right now to figure out how to make it work. Especially considering that school would be a two hour drive from there, or a two hours train ride with various connections. Boo!

Linguistics: I just added this on and am now doing a double major. It now has me tring to figure out what other languages I want to learn and how. I discovered two great programs last night that pay for you to learn another language while living in the respective country. While you cannot go and learn any language you please, you can learn any language which is considered critical to the US, in hopes that you will continue to study it in the future and possibly put it to use by working for the government. It is something that I am seriously considering for the summer. Russian, Korean, Hindu, Urdu, Persian, Arabic, Azerbaijani, Bengali, and Punjabi are just some of the choices. I would want to pick something that I could continue learning when I got back though. 

                                                                                      

New School, New Life!

   Its now 3 weeks into the new school year at my new school!  Do you know how sometimes you have this overwhelming feeling that you finally made a good decision? Well, that is how I feel about my new life at Stony Brook! I have never felt so right about school before. I am glad that I took time off from school, and went to Japan and got married. Our trip to Japan was the most influencial thing in my life. It took flying half way around the world and spending an entire month in a country where I did not know anyone or how to speak the language to find what makes me happy. 

   So now I am at Stony Brook University and I am doing a double major in Asian, Asian American studies and Linguistics. I find it amazing how much I love going to school. I am taking great classes and studying Japanese. I even joined a club, something I never did in my college life ever. 

This is all going to be a lot of hard work but I will finally get to move back to Japan when it is all over. I am homesick for Japan every single day since I have been back here in the US.

Matt came home from tour last week. He was gone for three weeks, I'm glad he's home. His tour went well, and there will be several more in the future. I hope they catch something big, that would be rad!

Oh! And right now I'm working on knitting Urchin from Knitty. I've been wanting a beret, ad this cool weather that is rolling in, is not only making me smile but making me want a beret even more! :) Dear god do I love the fall! Gorgeous!! 

 

 

The Omnivore's Hundred

I love lists. I love crossing things off of lists even more. It makes me feel highly accomplished. When I saw this omnivore's hundred on Just Hungry  I knew I had to give it ago!

This will also serve as an eating checklist for me in a celebration of sorts, since I found out for sure that I am absolutely 100% non celiac. I will try ANYTHING!

Here are the rules of this

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.

Lauri's Omnivore’s Hundred:

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue- I made this for a christmas party once and It was a huge hit! I also got a new fondue pot at my wedding shower which I have not since used in the year. 
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari- Tentacles and all!
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart- I live in NY how could I not?
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes- Just had blueberry port the other day from Duck Walk Vineyards on Long Island. YUM!
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries- We have a great mulbery tree that leans into our yard
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese Good chance this will not happen.
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper (probably will not be able to handle this one, but will probably try it anyway)
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters- My favorite sushi place makes this great roll with fried oysters in it.
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl- I've had both but not together
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut- :)
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects Through questionable probably not.
43. Phaal (I hope I can handle this!!)
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear- I am on a mission to find one to make these cupcakes from VanillaGarlic
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine (Similar to Disco Fries!!)
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian- Thanks Christy!
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict- One of my favorite things from the dinner, or a monte cristo
83. Pocky- I eat this like its my job
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee- When I was in HS I worked in a coffee shop that sold this, I was allowed to take home the expired bags!
100. Snake


Updated November 17th, 2008 -40 down/ 60 to go!

Recipe Box Swap Thursday!

I just recently discovered a Neat blog I have to say...., No That is the name of the blog. Anywho, today is recipe box swap, so here is a recipe for my FAVORITE cookie ever! Apparently these are not easy to come by outside of the Metro New York area. If I ever do move from here at least I will be set with these. Bagels are my next problem! If have never had these before you must make them. You will not be disappointed. The cookies are light and tender, just like they should be!

This recipe is from Gale Gand of the food network. One tip I do have is to Absolutely make sure that you sift the cocoa powder for the black frosting! Other wise you get little cocoa lumps when you spread our frosting out. This doesn't taste different, it is just an aesthetic thing . These are so tasty, so tasty that my husband took two for breakfast the other day! They also keep well in an airtight container for at least a week (if of course they last that long) And don't let the icing seem tedious. Its quick and easy.

Black And Whites

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup whole, 2 percent fat, or 1 percent fat milk
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon pure lemon extract
1 1/4 cups cake flour
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Vanilla and chocolate icing, recipes follows

Vanilla Icing:
2 cups confectioners' sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Chocolate Icing:
1/2 vanilla icing recipe
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 tablespoons milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Line a baking sheet with waxed or parchment paper. In a mixer, cream the butter. Add the granulated sugar and beat until fluffy. Add the eggs, milk, and extracts and mix to combine. In a large bowl, combine the flours, baking powder, and salt and mix well. Add the dry ingredients to the sugar-egg mixture and mix to blend. Using an ice-cream scoop, scoop the dough onto the prepared pans. With a spatula, press and spread each cookie into a circle about 5 inches in diameter and about 3/8-inch thickness. Bake for about 20 minutes, until golden. Let cool on wire racks.

Icing: In a medium bowl, stir the sugar, milk, and vanilla together until it forms a smooth icing. Transfer half of the icing to another bowl and stir in the cocoa powder and milk until smooth.

When cool, turn cookies over, so the flat side faces up. Spread white icing on half of each flat surface, then spread the other half with chocolate icing. Let set at room temperature for 30 minutes.

P.S.

My birthday is in 16 days! My Tiki birthday party will be here soon!

June 4th

I cannot believe that it is June already! Before I know it the summer will be over and I will (again) be starting a new school. In the fall I will be attending Stony Brook University. I just transfered there so that I could major specifically in Asian Studies and Japanese. Im really excited. It also means that when that Happens that Matty will be on tour for a month and half with his band Royal City Riot. And then I will be sad.

Our garden is doing wonderful. I spent about 2 hours weeding yesterday. I also set up strings for the hops to grow up on. When I went outside in the morning yesterday I saw our Magnum hops just starting to snuggle up and around the tomato cage I put up for protection. I knew it was time to set up string trellis. I am SO amazed at how fast they have been growing. I should start mesuring them, they say that they can grow several inches in a day!
Im excited to say that my pole beans have made it so far also! The birds kept picking the seeds from the garden, I thought they were all gonners except for one plant. But yesterday I saw that the other two plants broke the ground and shot up! Hooray!



Here's our Magnum! I sent this to Matty in the a.m. We're so Proud!