Cooking Revue

My kitchen has been crazy the past two weeks. I've eaten great food, no doubt about it. I've probably gained weight too. The kitchen has been a buzz of activity with people coming and going (and singing). My dog isn't quite sure what to make of it all, but people give her treats, so she stays.

Some of my accomplishments:

Last night I made blackberry cobbler from a rather incomplete recipe found in my mother's recipe box. No indication of what size (or kind) of dish to cook it in, which made it a little tricky. It could have come from Paula Deen too... first ingredient: 1 stick of butter.

I learned how to make tortillas from the Mexican guy staying with us. It's super duper easy, and I can't believe I've never done this before. Right now I'm only making corn tortillas, but I hope to soon learn the art of flour tortillas too.

This weekend I helped my mom make homemade pasta. A little more time consuming, but worth it.

Finally, the past two Friday nights I made pizza dough for homemade pizzas. Talk about tasty! Again, the dough was easy, and I'm almost ashamed to admit it, but I got the recipe from Barbara Kingsolver. What she did not offer though, was my great Mexican themed pizza that had salsa verde and chicken on it. Why have I not cooked with that many jalepenos before?

That's just a sample of the culinary masterpieces. I have a few pictures, but they have not yet made it up to my computer. Maybe I'll get it done before I head off to camp (send me letters people!)

I'm a real librarian!

So, my stalking of Craigslist has finally paid off - tomorrow morning I'm going to go pick up my very own card catalog! I've been looking for one of these for quite a while, and the double bonus is that this one is very cheap! I think it needs some refinishing work (the picture they sent me was a bit blurry), but I'm willing to do that. Check it out:

Fiesta!

Yes, it's been quite a while since I've taken the time to post, mainly because I had to pack up everything in my apartment and move home. I still don't have a good way to access the internet in my house (go to the basement, use the hook-up in the kitchen). My father hasn't figured out that he could put in a wireless router and make me happy.

But... I did graduate! Hooray!

All of my stuff is in storage in Durham - I hope it's all right. I only had a 10x10 ft. space to store my things, so the movers really had to pack things in. It is floor to ceiling crammed with boxes. I figure if I'm paying for the space I might as well use it.

Since I've been home, I've mainly been relaxing and taking things easy. Today I mailed off a bunch of packages to friends around the world. Hopefully they will all get there pretty soon.

My dad is an engineer, and one of his Mexican workers has been staying with us this week. I can't really communicate with him (his English is much better than my Spanish though), but he's been very friendly. Twice this week he has cooked us dinner, and it has been fabulous both times! Sunday night we had picadillo (beef with corn and potatoes) and tonight we had some national dish made with beef, onions, tomatoes, and jalepenos. Oh, and he taught my mom how to make real tortillas, and we had guacamole. So very very tasty. I'm really full, but I would love to eat more. My goal is to start eating a lot more peppers in my food. Yum city.

I'm really going to graduate!

Last night was a good one for my academic career. For one thing, I turned in the final assignment for my final class. Even though I almost cried during my group's presentation (yes, it was that bad. No, the presenter had no idea what he was talking about. Yes he made asinine comments with no research to back it up.), that class is over now and I'm done with school. Yay! I also went out and bought all of my regalia. I debated on actually buying it or just borrowing, but in the long run I'm sure I'll use it again (even if it's just for a costume). It was such a good feeling to come home and try on my hood and know that I'm really getting a Masters degree!

Good luck to all of my friends who still have papers and projects to do! I'm cheering for you!

I'm very excited now, because I think I'll have time to knit again. Well, in between the packing. I think I'll have to set up some sort of self bribery system to be motivated enough to clean around the apartment. I only have two more rounds of hourglass cable left on my knee socks, and I can hardly wait to start working on the heel!

May Day!

First, Happy Birthday Mom!

Next - it's May! How did that sneak up on me? I graduate in 12 days and move in 13. There are boxes (empty) everywhere, and an ample amount of stuff to fill them. Luckly, my last class is tonight (finally, the evil group work will be done). Only three more days of work left too. My life is full of numbers now. Again, I say - cra-hazy.