The Baking Bug Strikes Again

Well, later on Tuesday Grandma called me to ask if I could make a birthday cake on Wednesday. Well, Wednesday is my LOST night, (and I don't get out of school until 7 anyway), so that was out.
But, I went ahead an made a Birthday Cake for my Grandpa on Tuesday. Here's the video. It was so awesome to sit with family in my home. It was amazing!

Tomato Basil Soup, Deep-Fried "Grilled Cheese" Sandwhes, and Fried Hands

Tuesday was an interesting day. It was sort of cold out, so I decided to make some grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato basil soup for Branden and me. I thought a lunch would probably take less time than a dinner. So, with the way I'm always looking for new and improved and more complex recipes, I decided to try something new. I ran to the store to grab the ingredients for a homemade soup and deep fried sandwiches. (I know it sounds really unhealthy, but it was soo good). Freshly armed with pepper-jack cheese, fresh basil, and tons of carrots and celery (I never realized that you put those in tomato soup...or maybe this was just a recipe for people who hate tomatoes) I made my way back into my kitchen.

I chopped and cooked the veggies until they were soft, and once I finally got everything in the pot, I decided to start on what sandwiches I could make. I had to save the sandwiches until the end b/c of course, I forgot to get bread. (But that's what the boys are for right?) The sandwiches were just cheese and bread which I breaded and deep fried. Yum! They were soo good to eat. I got a little assembly line going for myself, so that I had them going in and out of the pan pretty evenly. Then I had to pour the soup into the blender to turn my cooked veggies into a soup. While I was messing with that and getting it going, I realized that it was about time to flip my sandwiches. Without taking my attention away from the blender, I scooped one sandwich up on the spatula and plopped it right down into the hot oil.

I guess plopped is putting it extremely nicely. I flat dropped the stupid thing into 1/4 cup of hot oil and splashed it everywhere! That is one of the reasons I almost always wear an apron when I cook. Unfortunately aprons don't cover hands and wrists. So.... you guessed it! I basically deep fried my wrist. I'm just glad that cold water, aloe vera, ice, and pain meds were all easy to get to. (Just one of the benefits that I'm finding since I've started keeping my room nice an organized).

Branden and Kelly got to my place for food as I was trying to chop up the rest of the carrots and celery for my lunch. I was just glad that I was able to finish up the sandwiches with the bread that they brought and get through the rest of the day with little to no pain.

All in all, I would say it was worth it. The one draw back was that I felt like I was eating fast food for lunch. I think I can figure out how to do it better next time though. The sandwiches were crispy and gooey. The tomato basil soup on the other hand, wasn't tomato-y enough for me. So I guess I'm still on the lookout for something better.

(pictures to come)

The Baking Bug

Well, I got bit by the baking bug again. Last weekend I went to North Carolina, and I spent all of Friday making a cake for my mom's boyfriend, and an apple pie just for my family to try. I must say, they liked it! It was pretty fun. The chocolate cake and the chocolate butter cream icing all came from Wilton's recipes. Although they are quite involved they are awesome! And I just gotta say, it was so wonderful using a stand mixer. My mom didn't want me to put the cake on a stand so that her boyfriend could take it home afterward, but it was the only plate-type thing in the cupboard where she told me to find the platter. I win! I loved it!!!!

After the cake, we all went out to Kanki (a Japanese Steak House in Raleigh). It was soo good! When we got home we cut the cake, and I tried to finish the pie. I decided to roll out the dough on the largest counter space. Normally that sounds perfect.... except the largest counter space happens to be over the dishwasher, which had just been run. If you don't make pie crust often, then it might be good to note that pie crust must be cold to roll right. So I ended up with a pie crust that wouldn't roll out for anything. But, fortunately, Mom's boyfriend happens to make pies quite frequently. So of course, he came to the rescue and fixed the crust by rolling it in-between two pieces of plastic wrap. After he went home and I finished scrubbing the cake out of the oven, I finally put the pie in. It came out around 11, and there was still a high demand from us ladies sitting around the living room chatting.

The following day I got to go to my great-grandma's 90th birthday party. It was nice. It was funny to hear what my grandpa and his sisters had to say about their momma. I now realize where I got mu completely stubborn, 'don't you tell me to do something any way other than how I'm doing it' attitude from my Great Grandmother Pearl. I think it went from her to my grandfather, to my mother and then it's stuck on me. I need to be less stubborn sometimes. It'd save me a lot of wasted effort. After listening to everyone talk, my cousin Emily (from the McKinney Skinny) sang some beautiful church songs. At first I thought it was kind of a strange choice for a birthday party, but then I realized that there would be no better birthday present than sharing your testimony with someone. I was so proud of her, and so was everyone else in the room.

For the next day and a half, I spent more time with my grandparents and with my dad. It was so fun. It was nice seeing my grandparents together again, and it was great getting to spend an afternoon with my dad (who informed me that he has dibbs on May and June of 2010 for his wedding, so I can't choose those months). I was supposed to be working on homework, but I have to say, it's so infrequent that I get to spend any time with my family, I figured that the essays could wait. It was so nice getting to see my extended family, especially at a time that I could really speak with them.

I've started to realize how different life is once you pass over the threshold between childhood and adulthood. Suddenly things become more important than they ever were. The world is no longer something that dictates who you are and what you're allowed to do, but becomes something that you can participate fully in and shape on your own. It's so fun jsut to sit around and chat. I gotta say, I love life.

Cats (and things....)

So, I wish I would have brought my journal. I'm just in a reflective mood. I guess that's what 4 hour plane rides can do to you. I'm sitting in my Mom's bonus room, listening to one cat breathe, and trying to convince the other one that it's worth it to join me on the couch. I guess they remember me. Otherwise they would be hiding, instead of ignoring me.




I guess you know that you really have separated from your childhood when you go to visit your parent(s), but can't sleep because you're not home. Or when you look in the fridge, and realize that you don't know what to eat, because you don't know what belongs to whom, or what is designated for some higher purpose.

I have to say, I'm so thankful that I have a place where I feel at home. I know that graduation (high school and college) is coming up, and that means a lot of changes. It's a tough time. Or at least it was for me. I recall having felt homeless for a while. I had a place to live, and eat, and sleep, of course, but I didn't feel at home. So, for anyone who feels this way, my advice would be: give it time and make it your own. Get to know your roommates. Do little things for them as a surprise (ex. dishes), and don't hold back from decorating your space b/c even though you won't be living there forever, it's nice to see it's yours.

Warm or not?

I was loving the warmer weather, and then it snowed again. In any case, I'm getting excited about spring coming around. For anyone who has been wondering, I'm finally over my flu, and I'm enjoying sitting outside at the club booth recruiting new members.

Time for a post?

So, I was overdue for a post back in February, but I just haven't had the time or energy recently to get a post on my blog.

First up, I decided that the Cake idea just wouldn't work. I spent all day one day making it, just to end up with a big (but still too small for a wedding) lumpy, lopsided, ugly disaster. I do believe that I could work up to getting a beautiful cake in May, but it is so much pressure that I don't think I want to with it. But, here's a pic of my disaster cake. (I still had a bit of fun with it).


Also, post disaster cake, was engineering week. This is a big thing that the sailing club participates in, in part to convince the college of engineering that we are some sort of asset. Through the generous time donations of club members, and my wonderful boyfriend, we "ended" the week with a nice rain gutter regatta. Branden stayed up with me the night before to help me finish the trophies. I think we did them in about 2 hours. I drew and cut the stencils, and he prepped, painted, and then cleaned each glass. It was a fun project to do together, and I think it's one of those memories that I'll just hold on to for a while.

That night, Branden and I were discussing ideals, and I mentioned that I would like to live in North Carolina sometime. In part so that I could get to know my family better, and so that I can write histories for my family members. One person I was really interested in talking to, and whose life story I really wanted to know was my Grandma Connie. She was 88 years old. I told Branden that there was no reason for a huge hurry though, because my grandma was incredible, and I just about believed that she would live forever. Little did I know though, I had already missed my chance.

~

My Dad called me the following morning (Friday, Feb 19) to let me know about what was going on, and miraculously I was able to find an inexpensive flight to NC for the weekend. Friday I went to class, started to pack, studied for and aced a test, and went to a banquet. I unfortunately had to leave early so that I could get home and get ready to go. What we saw of the engineering banquet was very nice though.

~

Saturday morning I woke up with Branden's call at 5:00 am. With very little time, I crammed all of my clothes into the closest bag and threw something on so that I could get to the airport without missing my flight. This really must have been a time for miracles, because I left my apartment almost a half an hour late, but I still made it to the airport, and through the giant security line, with time to spare.

That evening I spent some time with my mom, my sister, and their roommate. It was fun. We broke out my mom's old wedding dress. I hadn't seen it except for in pictures, and my mom was under the impression that it was vacuum packed, and so she never took it out for me and my little sister to see. Did I mention that I couldn't even get the stupid thing to zip up when I tried it on? Seriously, my mom was TINY!!!

~

My grandma's viewing was scheduled for Sunday evening. The family met with her preacher for a little while, and I learned a lot about my grandmother that I had never known before. I also realized for the first time just how organized she was. It took me about two minutes to find where she kept her recipes, and to find a few of my favorites. I also got to take pictures of her whole house, so I'll always remember what it was like to visit her. I just hope that I can be more like she was. I think Branden was just about right when he described her as the perfect southern lady.

~

Her funeral was beautiful on Monday, and I had fun talking to all of the family that was in town. It was so nice getting to know all of these people that I had barely met before. Before I left that night, I thanked my Dad, and I told him something that I had been thinking about. Even in the worst situations, there is something good if you look for it. The pain of temporary separation that death brings is the price we pay for the wonderful opportunity we have to share our lives with other people.

~

Since then, I've been drowning in my homework, finished a class, arranged sailing club stuff, and I've been battling the flu. I'll let you know when something more interesting happens though!