Back when I was little, prior to the familial rift, my family used to throw a joint birthday party for my grandfather (July 20), my mom (July 21), and me (July 26). We three chocoholics would have a chocolate birthday cake with our combined age on top. My mom would always maintain that I was turning 25, as she and my grandpa were never as old as the cake implied.
Though these communal birthdays are a thing of the past, something chocolaty seemed like the ideal gift to give my grandfather at tomorrow night's birthday/hooray-for-finishing-grad-school dinner.
Even though I was not very successful with the white chocolate saffron truffles, I decided Maya Gold truffles would be hard to mess up. Having learned my lesson from last time, I didn't boil the chocolate (only the cream), and the truffles firmed up quite nicely!
Unfortunately, my grocery store didn't have Maya Gold chocolate bars, so I had to make due with Spicy Maya. As these bars lack the hint of orange found in the original bars, I peeled a little bit of orange rind and let it infuse its flavor into the cream. Delicious! The only thing I would change would be the fact that I used unsweetened cocoa powder on the outside of the truffles and it is a little more bitter than I would like. Perhaps next time I'll mix in a little sugar. Still, I think my grandpa will love them.
Recipe Review: Maya Gold Truffles
Recipe Review: Thai Sticky Rice Mango
Back in June, while I was up in north county checking out of my school, I stopped by a Thai foods store in order to get a few specialty ingredients. I bought various curry pastes, a giant bottle of fish sauce, tom yum soup paste, and a bag of sweet rice to make this recipe.
Now, I'm a little slow getting around to things (so much other stuff to do) and this recipe requires an overnight soak for the rice, but I got my act together and made it today. The rice was so good that I wound up spoiling my appetite for dinner a spoonful at a time! So, I did what the recipesmith does and just had a delicious bowl of Thai sticky rice nectarine for dinner.
What? You were expecting some other fruit? Mango, perhaps? Well, that had been the plan, only the mango I had sitting above the fridge, though it smelled delicious, was brown and odd inside and clearly not fit for human consumption. I'm not very good at ripening mangoes at home. I always leave them for too long. Luckily the nectarines I picked from R's family's backyard on Sunday were also delicious with the sticky rice.
In other happy news, I had my last day of summer classes today and finished up the paper for my masters project. All I have left is to present it on Friday, and then I'm all done. I can't believe it!
Recipe Review: Peanut Sesame Noodles
Here I sit, alone, having spent the afternoon and evening working on the final paper for my masters program (and made decent progress, btw). R has been off on a day-long bachelor extravaganza for an acquaintance of ours who is getting married next weekend, leaving me a quiet house (so quiet) in which to work.
Also, much to my delight, I got to try out a recipe R would probably object to: peanut sesame noodles. Any sort of peanut-flavored dish just reminds him of peanut butter, though this one is so savory and delicious and filled with other flavors that the peanut flavor is not overwhelming. I've actually been tasting the leftover sauce all evening, it is so good. I can't wait to try it with soba noodles (I used somen, like in the picture, which was also delicious). Make this recipe!
Well, as long as you aren't allergic to peanuts.
Digital story rough draft
I thought I'd share the rough draft of my digital story with you all. Please feel free to leave me suggestions or constructive criticism.
Gazing into my crystal ball
It's time to blog for school again. What fun!
Blog Response #3: What is your 2020 Education Vision?
Looking into the near future, I think the event that will have the most significant event on the whole compulsory education complex will be the retirement of the baby boomer teachers. Looking at the teachers I know from that generation, specifically my mom and step-mom, I can tell they are definitely excited at the prospect, no matter how much they love teaching.
After the baby boomers retire, schools find themselves missing a large chunk of their returning teachers. New teachers will come into the profession, much as they have, but continued high rates of attrition (made worse by the retirement of mentor teachers and school leaders) will lead to teacher shortages. I imagine that 2020 will probably be a turning point for education, though the field will go in one of two opposing directions.
The first direction, the ideal one, would be for schools to reduce teacher hours and institute formal mentoring programs. During an extra free period, novice teachers would meet with more experienced colleagues for advice, planning tips, and even (hopefully) to share materials. By giving teachers a little more time to plan, network, grade, and contact parents, attrition rates will decrease. School curricula will be refined, while at the same time becoming more inventive, thanks again to the increased planning time.
The second direction, the non-ideal but more probable one, is that the prerequisites for going into teaching will be lowered in an attempt to shovel more bodies into classrooms as fast as possible. The constant influx of new inexperienced teachers will hinder any attempt to institute school programs and policies, as participants will change from year to year. Staff development will also suffer, as many new teachers leave prior to or immediately after completing induction. In an attempt to counteract the inexperience of the majority of the teaching staff, more schools will adopt prescribed curricula, decreasing educational flexibility and experimentation.
Wow, that was depressing. Time for a gratuitous cat picture!
moar funny pictures
Digital story ideas
My next task for my technology class is to try out podcasting. In class we had the option of using iMovie for this activity, however some of us prefer to talk to ourselves in the privacy of our own homes. For those of you who, like myself, are not Mac people, Audacity also works pretty well for this purpose and is, conveniently, free.
Our assignment is to talk about our digital story ideas, the culmination of which will be appearing on TeacherTube later next month for your viewing pleasure. Here is what I have so far.
In a final aside, I never realized how much cool stuff is available for free on iTunes. The iTunes U section of the store is full of edifying podcasts and I have completely fallen in love with it. I spent my workout today listening to a lecture/interview about Islam and the West from Open University and have downloaded a whole series of podcasts to brush up on my Spanish.
Abusing my blog for fun and academic credit
Summer classes started today, and one part of the technology class I am taking is a requirement to blog. For those of us who already have blogs, we've been given the option of just using our pre-existing blogs. So, for your reading pleasure, here is my first course assignment.
My other story is more of the heartwarming sort. One of my sixth grade advisory students received a number of awards at our end of the year ceremony. When we had adjourned out back to feast on watermelon, I went over to congratulate her. Our conversation went something like this:
Recipe Review: Applesauce
Alternately, this post could be titled "What I do with my evenings now that I don't have class."
Of course, this is just the first week without evening classes and also the last week of school, so I could just be feeling giddy. Anyway, I decided it was time to harvest some of the apples from my lovely apple tree and make applesauce. I love applesauce and I also hate to see things go to waste, even bird-pecked apples. Given that my garden appears to be feeding all of the local wildlife, it is really no surprise that the majority of the apples have a few divots taken out of them, if not large chunks.
The recipe I used was from the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving I recently bought, along with some tools to keep me from dropping jars of jam into boiling water and scalding myself. I'll tell you now, the can lifter they have make canning much less frightening than it was when I was using my standard-issue tongs. I'm also glad the whole thing is no longer a two-man operation.
This is the first recipe I have tried out of this book, though I have bookmarked a few others. There are definitely some odd ones (the page opposite applesauce has a recipe for "strawberry smooch," whatever the hell that is), but it seems to have enough good recipes and tips to make it worth the money. Makes a darn tasty applesauce.
Applesauce
Adapted from Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving
Makes about 4 quarts (I got 6, but I think I like a thinner applesauce)
- 12 lbs. apples, peeled (or not, if you're planning on using a food mill like I did), cored, quartered, treated to prevent browning, and drained
- water
- 3 c. granulated sugar (optional) (I wound up using 1 c. to take the edge off, as a few of the apples I picked were still a little green)
- 4 T lemon juice
- cinnamon (optional)
2. In a large saucepan (more like a vat), combine apples with just enough water to keep them from sticking. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, Reduce heat and boil gently, stirring occasionally, for 5-20 minutes, until the apples are tender (time will depend on the variety of apple and their maturity). Remove from heat and let cool slightly, about 5 minutes.
3. Working in batches, transfer apples to a food mill or food processor fitted with a metal blade and puree until smooth. (After all the apples were out of the water, I reserved ~ 4 c. and poured the rest out.)
4. Return apple puree to saucepan. Add sugar, if using, and lemon juice; bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently to prevent sticking (you can also add some of the reserved apple-water to loosen things up). Maintain a gentle boil over low heat while filling jars.
5. Ladle hot applesauce into hot jars, leaving 1/2 in. headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if necessary, by adding hot applesauce. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar. Screw band down until resistance is met, then increase to fingertip-tight.
6. Place jars in canner, ensuring they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil and process for 20 minutes. Remove canner lid. Wait 5 minutes, then remove jars, cool, and store.
A realization at Rubio's
My Tuesday night class, which focuses on inclusive educational practices and special education, has a student population composed of all the master's students in my program. This means that, possibly for the first time in the program, those of us getting our single-subject credential (and M.Ed.) are taking classes with those getting their multiple-subject credential (and M.Ed.) and the students getting their M.A. in ASL-English bilingual instruction (most of whom are deaf).
As I was waiting for my fish tacos to be made ($1 Tuesdays are the best), I noticed two of the deaf students signing to each other while standing in line. One got our her cell phone, one of those nice ones with the qwerty keyboards, and quickly typed up a message. Once they got to the cash register, she showed her phone to the cashier, who was able to take their order without a hassle.
I was really struck by the how much easier technology must make day to day interactions for those who sign. Perhaps more so than ever before, the world revolves around written conversation. People prefer to e-mail or text than to talk on the phone, so who cares if someone can't hear? (R and his family preferentially speak to each other over AIM, though lately Skype has been more popular in order to see the baby.) Obviously, I'm not speaking from experience here and in no way belittling deafness, but it does seem like things are getting better for those who are deaf. The world is online, and online is a world of text and images.
How to make a bottle biome
Aaaand we're back! PACT (due on the 14th) and wedding invitations (for some reason, I have to get them out this week, though I don't understand why I feel that way) conspired to wipe me off the face of the blogosphere, but now that they're basically out of the way I'm free to answer my fan mail.
Okay, so fan mail might be too big of a word, but I did get a request for instructions on making a bottle biome. Hope I'm not too late to be of help!
Step 1: Find 3 clear 2 L soda bottles (the green ones work, too, but not quite) and remove their labels. Cut bottle #1 near the top, after the point where the sides start to curve inward. Cut bottle #2 near the bottom, before the point at which the plastic changes density and becomes really hard to cut. Cut bottle #3 near the top, before the point at which the sides start to curve inward. You'll probably want to start the cuts on all of these with a razor, then continue with scissors.
Step 2: Bottle #1 is going to be your aquatic section, so if you want to take any measurements or mess around with it later you should cut a hole in the side. The easiest way to do this is to stick a small piece of lumber into the bottle and cut out a square of plastic using the razor blade, cutting against the wood so that you don't cut your hand off. Keep the piece of plastic and tape it in place, so that the compartment can remain sealed while you're not taking measurements.
Step 3: Using a decently thick nail (not those tiny ones from Ikea), hammer a hole into the cap of bottle #2 (you should probably take the cap off for this and hammer the nail into that piece of wood you used in step 2). Thread a pre-soaked piece of cotton string through this hole. This will serve as a wick, carrying water from the aquatic chamber into the terrestrial chamber, so you need to have enough string to reach the water below and still make a decent loop above. Using a thumbtack, poke some holes in the part of bottle #2 near the cap, so that water will be able to drain out of the terrestrial section (but not so far up that they will be open to the outside world. Put all the pieces together, fill with some dirt, water the soil, and let it drain prior to putting the whole thing together (if you don't, your water will be really funky).
Step 4: Put all the pieces together. Fill bottle #1 with water (dechlorinate if needed), and then add aquatic plants and fish. Place bottle #2 on top and tape the two together. Plant terrestrial plants and add any bugs or tiny animals you might like. Finally, cap with bottle #3 and tape the whole thing shut, forming a nice tight seal (packing tape is good for this). Place in a sunny spot and enjoy!
Disclaimer: This project involves a razor blade and a hammer. I take no responsibility for your actions or safety. If you cut yourself or smash your wee little fingers, it's your own damn fault.
The Growing Challenge #8: Repotting
I started this post last week, but was incredibly unproductive until today. Blogging? Meh. Work on PACT? A squidge. Those wedding invitations I meant to have addressed? No way.
The one thing I did manage last week was repotting my seedlings. In the beginning of the week, I was filled with a sense of urgency. I needed to move those plants! The roots were growing into the egg carton I was using to hold cocoa-fiber pouches, so I filled the containers I had at hand with dirt and moved the plantlings.
Unfortunately, the containers were in no way deep enough and I was left with a lingering fear for the long-term survival of the plants. I wasn't quite sure what to do, until I saw the bathroom cups that one of the other Growing Challenge members was using to start their seedlings and inspiration struck. Aha! I may not have tiny bathroom cups, but, being a recent college graduate, I do still have a large stash or red plastic cups. You know, the ones that just scream, "I'm drinking some horrible punch made with Popov or Everclear and am probably not of age." As it turns out, the aforementioned red cups are the perfect size for growing plants. What joy.
[shudder]
As a homework assignment, I had to watch Super Size Me. Now, I'm not a person who eats at McDonald's, but that was still a pretty disturbing movie, perhaps even more so because I sat down to watch it with a pint of Ben and Jerry's.
Procrastnating
I should be planning for school and working on homework, so of course I spent all yesterday entering recipes into TasteBook. I'm really enthralled with the idea of having a professional looking cookbook instead of a binder full of scraps of paper. I'm not sure if I should be sad that, after all this time, I only have 30 recipes that I like enough to make again. I suppose that doesn't include the little things that I can throw together and are too simple (or impromptu) to require a recipe, so I should be so hard on myself.
I'm such a joiner
Thanks to Heavy Petal, I've decided to join The Growing Challenge. Here is the challenge:
1. Grow one additional type of fruit or vegetable than you did last year, and grow it from seed.
2. Post about gardening once a week.
Although I haven't really grown anything from seed before (with the exception of rice during an activity in a social studies class), I've spent a lifetime drooling over seed catalogs. High time I tried it out myself!
In order to not go insane, I think I need to install a drip system. Luckily, I have two weeks off for spring break, so even though I will be spending some of my vacation up North visiting family and trying on a wedding dress, I should still have plenty of time to pimp out my garden. I'm so excited!
Showing my true color
Blond, that is. All week, I had been wondering why I was able to keep up with the readings for my classes so easily. "Gee, I swear there must be more than this. I'm already a week ahead," I said, totally forgetting about my other classes.
A look forward
Happy 2008 everyone! I suppose it is time, once again, to figure out my goals for the new year.
The goals:
1. Try one new recipe a week. I started doing this a few months ago and have really liked the result it's had on my diet. Variety! Interest! Definitely something to be promoted.
2. Eat more (and different) vegetables. Although I like the plant matter, I feel I've fallen into a veggie slump. I've got a few ways of preparing them that I like, but I grow weary of eating the same veggies day in and day out. Most of the people I work with think I eat an abnormally large amount of vegetables, but that mostly has to do with the fact that I tend to eat the majority of my vegetables for the day at lunch. This year, I'd like to try new veggies and learn some new ways of preparing them. What I'd really like to do is get one of those weekly baskets from local farms, but I don't think I have the time to do that much cooking right now. Perhaps after school is over...
3. Continue to post (on average) every other day and comment more on other people's blogs. Sometimes I want to comment but never wind up doing so, due to the fact that my blog reader is attached to my personal Gmail address and I would have to sign into my blog Gmail address to comment on Blogger blogs. Lara, I apologize, but this probably affects you more than most. I'm still reading, even if I don't comment!
4. Eat fast food less often. I never used to eat out much, but I suppose it's a hazard of going to school while working, as I don't really like preparing two meals in advance for me to carry around. It would save some money if I tried to do it less, however, so I think a goal for this year will be to try and not buy dinner those evenings when I go to class.
Hmm... I can't seem to think of any more goals. That's probably a good sign. I suppose a final goal would be to keep doing the good things I am currently doing. I'm saving, investing, and paying off my student loans. I exercise fairly regularly (it's one of the few good chunks of time I get for reading for pleasure these days) and am not going insane planning my wedding. Aside from an inordinate amount of stress, life really isn't too bad right now.
This next year is looking to be an exciting, life-altering year. Lots of changes on the way. On the horizon...
Finishing my second semester of teaching - The prospect of returning to teaching in less than a week keeps causing my body to release tiny bursts of anxious adrenaline every time I think about it, so I need to keep reminding myself that I've already finished the (purportedly) worst half of it. One semester isn't forever. As they say, this too shall pass, but not soon enough for my taste.
Finishing grad school - Ah, so close! Even though I will probably never use the M.Ed. again, completing it will still be very exciting.
Getting married - Well, as much as people call this a life-changing event, it probably isn't going to change R and my daily life that much (having lived together for 4.5 years now). It will be a name-changing event (for me anyway), an awesome party, and a fine time with all the relatives.
Finding a new job - So, I finish school. Then what? I'll need to find myself a new job and/or career. I'll probably wind up back in school eventually, but I'd like to find an enjoyable career to guide my scholastic ambitions. I'll be looking for jobs in San Diego, but I'll also be looking up in the Seattle/Tacoma area to help us along with our goal of...
Moving to Washington - This may not happen this year, but R and I will start looking for jobs up there once we finish with all the wedding and honeymoon hoopla. Obviously, we could just move up there without jobs and live off our savings for a bit, but I don't want us to have a gap in our health care coverage because I aim to...
Get pregnant - This one just makes me want to squeal like a cheerleader and then pass out from shock. Not exactly the most dignified response, but one could hardly pretend that having babies is a dignified process. I was actually getting a bit nervous about the prospect of having children, having had such an adverse reaction to my students, but being around R's nephew for a week has really got me looking forward to the whole thing.
So, yeah. This next year looks to be very exciting for me. Lots of changes in the picture.
The celebratory New Year's Eve post
Here in the A&R household, we've resolved to see in the new year with risotto, mead (the champagne of beers, though it really isn't a beer at all), and video games. I was going to make baked oysters, but one look at the supermarket convinced us to put it off until later in the week. Shopping madness. I was gone all week! What's their excuse?
Being the last day of the year, it's time to look back on the goals I set for myself at its beginning. To recap:
The Goals:
1. Continue exercising several times a week, and don't slack off when school gets busy. Just think of all the complements you got this Christmas, and also keep in mind Grandma's quip about how she hopes they can also expand the ring when you told her about how you had to get it re-sized smaller. Grr.
2. Continue doing the readings for class on time. It really paid off last quarter, so don't get lazy.
3. Get a firm figure on how much money Dad will be contributing to the wedding. We don't want a repeat of what happened when we went of to college, now do we?
4. Reserve a ceremony and reception location and a caterer this summer for next summer's wedding, so that these tasks don't have to be done during the school year.
5. Post, on average, every other day. I think I'll be shooting for every day, but life just gets in the way sometimes.
6. Send people cards on their birthdays.
How I fared:
1. I've actually been quite successful in this endeavor. I slacked off a bit after moving to the new house, but have since recovered since becoming the owner of a nice new treadmill. Our continuing passion for mountain biking, snorkeling, and other outdoor activities has also helped. I haven't really lost any more weight, but have changed shape a bit. I'm just prone to adding muscle, which masks any changes in fat mass.
2. I did my best for the first half of the year, but have since given up. I almost didn't buy the books for my classes this past quarter and somewhat regret doing so (or at least buying all of them). However, most of my classmates have similarly given up, as the books, while containing useful information, have little to do with what we are doing in class and take up valuable time that could be spent planning or sleeping.
3. Not only did I get a figure from my dad, but the money has been sitting in my bank account for the last six months collecting interest. Score! I'm really relieved to have it conveniently accessible for when I actually start making reservations and the like. Oh, February, you can't come fast enough for my taste!
4. I've done the best I can at this one, but unfortunately the place we've picked doesn't finalize its booking schedule until February. We're on the top of the list, but could get bumped by a summer camp or some other big event, however the lady handling the whole affair says that August is normally a calm time so it shouldn't be a problem. The place requires us to use their caterers, so that will be two birds with one stone. We just have to wait a little longer (can you tell I'm slightly antsy for this all to be put in writing already?).
5. Success! I've got a total of 259 entries for the year--more than meeting my goal. Even breaking it down month-by-month, I've still posted (on average) at least every other day. Go me!
6. Medium. I did better than last year, but I still think I could be better at this.
Relieved
Ah... One more class done and over with. Now I only have to finish the assignments for Monday night's class, then I will be all done with my (graduate) classes for the quarter. I feel a little lucky, seeing as some of my colleagues will still have to teach for another several weeks after our classes are over.
Eight days left of teaching.
LaBloShoeMo
Time to break with the black shoes! For a little while, anyway. Today's shoes are Rampage sling-back peep-toe kitten heels. I fell in love with their polka dots and had to have them, which was somewhat unusual, as I am not really a shoe person. I bought them with no real purpose in mind, but I later acquired a red dress that matches them perfectly and have since worn the ensemble to various fancy events.
Unfortunately, these shoes give me the meanest blisters if worn for any amount of time. R and I were going to a friend's wedding in Pacific Beach (a borough of San Diego notorious for it's parking problems) and wound up having to haul ass for quite a distance in order to make it to the ceremony on time. I could hardly walk back to the car! Ever since then, I pre-bandage my feet.
Apathy
I've given up.
Well, perhaps that isn't the correct term. I've hit the point where the little things don't bother me quite so much, as I know that it will all be over soon. Only six out of thirty-two students bring in their rough drafts? Whatever. All of you who didn't can go work on the computers (which were conveniently empty). Should I try and cram in more new topics? Nah, lets just focus a bit more on what we've been learning, do some sort of concluding activity, and move on to an end-of-semester reflective portfolio piece. I've even planned a whole week for my sixth graders to do make-up work (to be fair, it's a week of shortened days and many other teachers are just showing movies). I'm just trying to not stress myself out too much, give myself time to finish homework (which I should probably be doing right now), and make it to December 14th.
Nine more days.
Oh, and since everyone is doing it, R's sister has elfed us.
LaBloShoeMo
I swear, they don't look nearly so scuffed and beat-up in person!
As you can probably tell, these black Kaya flats are well-loved. These are the only nice shoes I have that don't hurt my feet. I've worn a hole in the toe and will be very sad when it comes time to replace them.