charts, facts, figures

So I took an amazing cooking class last weekend, where I got to make homemade pasta (ravioli, fettucini) in a funky little room with 8 other people and it kind of felt like you were at your favorite uncle's house where he would tell you bizarre stories and silly jokes and give you wine without telling your parents. I was so excited afterwards that when I wandered into Ross and found a pasta machine for 20 bucks, that thing was MINE, suckers.

(seriously, food you eat with butter and oil and cheese and mmmmm? no downside)

I just got an email from the guy who runs the class:

Hi Flyakate,

I was wondering if you would like to come to this Saturday's Gnocchi class and help out in exchange... if you would like to, arrive about 10 minutes early and I'll give you the run down. It was great to have you last week and I think you would enjoy this class.

Best,

Chef Joe [seriously, his name is Chef Joe, which I think it awesome]


I am so excited, perhaps overly so. But someone enjoyed my company! I get to meet more people who are not between the ages of 4 and 11! I get to learn to make gnocchi! As I told him in my reply, how can I refuse?!?

XD XD

This gives me even more desire to make this delicious sounding recipe [Ricotta Ravioli with Rainbow Chard] after I walk to the library to return my books.

The interesting sounding one about the story of writing Grey's Anatomy is clearly going have to be taken out again another time. But at least I finished all the rest of them: Cooking and Screaming (a memoir about a woman who rediscovers her love of cooking as she recovers from a brain clot), Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human (a little too heavy on how we are different from monkeys, but that might just be my image of how the book should have been vs. how it was) and Writing Away: A Creative Guide to Awakening the Journal-Writing Traveler (which I looooooved, and need to photocopy the prompts in the back before I return).

I was telling a friend that no, I wasn't really a "foodie" (and I LOL'd at the definition on Wikipedia of a food blog: a number of people photograph and post on the Internet every meal they ever make or consume. Makes them sound like crazy people!) and in a way, I'm not. I probably can't tell a crimini mushroom from a baby bella without the packaging, and I have no interest in any kind of flavored salt, pepper, or oil. But I am really starting to like cooking, making stuff that tastes good and looks pretty and yeah, take pictures of it sometimes, though in a decidedly non-crazy person way. Unless you ask my younger sister :o)

Today I am teaching upper grade math and they were so happy to see me! They are so cute, in a very mature and grownup way, naturally ;o)

I am here to tell you the SECRET of making amazing grilled cheese sandwiches.

Ready?

Are you sure?

Use Dijon mustard.

A little bit, spread inside the sandwich (no matter the bread, whatever the cheese) gives the whole thing this grownup kick that totally elevates it out of the "hi, I am 6 and having melted cheese for dinner" feeling.

I wish I had parchment paper, because otherwise I would be ALL OVER making brownies. Perhaps I will stay in my "little kid" theme and have some chocolate chips melted on a graham cracker. That has definite possibilities.

Mmm, cheese.

You might remember that I declared a Chocolate Chip Cookie-palooza a couple days ago. I have now successfully baked both "best" recipes and have declared (with the help of Younger Sister) a winner:

Alton Brown's recipe! *jazz hands and confetti*

Dorie Greenspan's cookies are quite tasty (and cooling to go in a container to go to school tomorrow, I will be Queen of the Teacher's Lounge) but wayyyyy flat. I suppose I could have refridgerated the dough, but it didn't occur to me (nor was it a suggestion in the book) so now I have cookie-pancakes. Also, Alton's cookies have a nicer texture and flavor depth (due to the extra brown sugar). Still, I now have delicious cookies IN THE NAME OF SCIENCE!

Off to bundle these into a bag and fall into bed. *flops*

Here so I don't forget them...

Tomato Soup w/ Quinoa

Basil Fried Rice

Escarole and Orzo Soup with Parmesean-Turkey Meatballs *drools*


Clearly, I need to hit the grocery store tomorrow!

* I (finally!) made shortbread and they are delicious and yummy and I have to remember to box them before bed otherwise they will be less awesome tomorrow, haha.

* I watched RENT: filmed Live on Broadway! and it's a little wiggly with the camera motions which cuts down on the scope of the stage, but it still kind of gets me every time. *sniff* Will have to post more comprehensive thoughts about that when I'm not exhausted.

* I posted my short fic of Reid and Morgan and Prentiss bickering over coffee and dorky scientific theory (gotta love WikiAnswers) to bau_fic, which will hopefully help motivate me to finish my Minimal Loss tag that will probably stay Morgan/Reid, or at the very least pre-slash. Get on that! Also, get on watching the last lots of episodes, sheesh.

* Started going to Frisbee again on the weekend and it's been tons of fun. New people to meet and old friends to hang out, what's not to like?


I have a headache (ow) so am off to bed. Night, all!

I made delicious, delicious soup from dogeared's recipe. So, to celebrate the fall crisp in the air today (hey, I'm in San Francisco, our fall just showed up) make some soup!

( Butternut Squash Soup )


Things I Learned While Making Soup:

1. Those little plastic safety strips on vegetable peelers are for a reason. Also, hard to get off. Otherwise known as OW.

2. Immersion blenders are awesome. It is less awesome when, in making sure all the bits are churned up, you stick two of your fingers in the soup. In short, OUCH.

3. Please don't maim yourself when cutting the squash. It is hard and requires a sharp knife and some luck. I am impressed that I still have all my fingers after the experience. I was not using proper Alton Brown technique.

---

Now we're catching up on current Lie to Me episodes (gosh, I love Tim Roth, always have since Legend of 1900, which is awesome) and an old episode arc of Criminal Minds. Good times, good Sunday. All band-aids aside.

Okay, mostly link-saving for tomorrow(ish) when I feel more up to culinary experimentation. For tonight, I have a salad waiting to be dressed in the fridge (with oil, apple cider vinegar and some Maggi seasoning, yummmm) that will have cherry tomatoes, feta cheese and green onions, but after Googling "lemons and rosemary" because hey, my yard grows both of those, I have found:

Rosemary Pasta in Roasted Garlic Sauce: need to buy parmesean cheese for this, but still, looks awesome.

Fresh Rosemary and Lemon Cupcakes: how interesting and delicious does that sound? Yum.

Similarly, chocolate orange rosemary cupcake w/ chocolate buttercream icing: *whimper of hunger*

Then of course there's always Rosemary Lemonade.

So clearly tomorrow I am picking lots of rosemary and some more lemons. Hopefully my cooking yearnings will last until then :o)

So the season premiere of Jon and Kate Plus 8 kind of broke my heart. ( I guess these are spoilers, but it's not like they haven't been the cover of the Equirer... )

I finally saw the season finale of Criminal Minds and ( spoilers for To Hell... and Back )

On a not-really related topic, I totally forgot to rec the amazing Hotch-centric fic that I devoured a couple weeks ago. It was lovely, achy backstory for Hotch (that actually tried to make some kind of sense of the lack of math TPTB employed in constructing dates for Hotch's timeline. I'll go with "child prodigies for the win!" and leave it at that). Be warned, it is 14 parts long... so don't come crying to me when it is 4am and you are madly reading to see how it ends. It's very in keeping with the show (show-similar violence and angsty stress and death and not nice behavior... did I mention violence?) and really worth the read. So go wallow in Tilting at Windmills.

Okay, need to get to bed because I am teaching in the morning. But I had tasty tasty huevos rancheros for dinner and I made chocolate chips cookies (from the Nestle Tollhouse bag's back, naturally) and washed lots of dishes and even the shelves in the fridge because ew. Now if I could turn that razor-sharp cleaning instinct on my room, we'd really be cooking. Metaphorically.

XD

I feel like every time I get on here I apologize for being scarce, so let's skip that part, shall we? I've been very stressed and le tired (which really means I've been le procrastinating and stuck with my head in le metaphorical sand, but whatevs), though it's been great to get back to frisbee and play some now that I'm not out of town. Fortunately, while it's not CLOSE to the new apartment (did I say we got the new apartment? We get keys on Saturday! I have a Room with a View *smirk* and it's cute and beautiful and I will have to post a picture) it's not too far away especially on a Sunday. Wednesday's game will be tougher, but the truth is that now that summer is over the sun is setting earlier, which makes that game less of a necessity.

Today, I got to visit the DMV, because I needed to change my car registration's address AND it was overdue, so I was still so unclear about how much money I owed them. Turns out it was only 15 dollars more. Nice. So now (maybe tomorrow?) I can go into the city and get my parking permit. Which would be great, as otherwise I'd need to move my car every two hours. That doesn't seem like fun :o)

I am highly conflicted about going to frisbee... because I need to pack, and I need to work on my papers... although even as I say that I KNOW that I'm a procrastinator, and that I probably won't do any of the things I promise I will even as I type them. Which is kind of frustrating, though obviously something I can change. (My inner smart ass says "maybe tomorrow...")

Okay, so I wandered off and forgot that I was doing this, but I went to frisbee, and it was okay. Not as fun as Wednesday, but pretty much worth the drive. I made macaroni and cheese with stewed tomatoes (YUM) an now have most of a frozen yogurt in the freezer (vanilla and wild blueberry swirl, also YUM). I did all the dishes, which makes the kitchen look more put together, at least. And I plan on doing some extensive work in my room before I go to bed.

In amusing culinary news, I attempted to make cold brew coffee as recommended by Smitten Kitten. It was good, although I made such a mess trying to strain it. Clearly, I should place the coffee filters in a smaller strainer (clearly, I need a smaller strainer), otherwise it's just coffee grounds all over the place. So refinement, but qualified success. Her other recipes look lots of fun, especially in my NEW KITCHEN WHICH IS BIG AND NOT GROSS*.

So off to check some email and take a shower. Though of course first I have to watch the plating and critique of meals on Iron Chef



*As example of the current grossness, I'm pretty sure we have two mice. One? Under the stove (miraculously). The other is in a high cupboard and is, by the sounds of it, working its way through a pack of Top Ramen. *sigh*

Sunny again, which is nice. I took the day off from work (I felt a little guilty, especially seeing as they called me to come in early, but they figured it out, which was good) and am under orders--from the school nurse, adorably--that I can't do wild and crazy things and drink lots of fluids. Right now, my landlady and her son and the house inspector and my aunt are all here, inspecting and things. Bud thinks this is quite awesome. Pete? Is hiding behind the washing machine (big party cat, that one).

Still feeling a little gross, but I'm teaching first grade tomorrow, so I need to get a grip on this. The rest of today is full of water to be drunk, and naps to be taken, and more laundry to be done if I can go buy more detergent, and paper towels. And food, because I have barely any.

Foooooood. Maybe my aunt will feed me?


ETA: Ahaha, I so totally unsubtly invited myself over for dinner. Excellent. Especially because we might have pizza for dinner; I like pizza. Much better than... egg salad. Or cereal. Or whatever the hell I would have here. Nice.