Baked Bedlam

As the semester ends I find myself in a strange and unexpected situation. I need to get rid of as much food as I can before I make the trek back to Oregon. After a year of saving and skimping and not eating meat or salad dressing except for special occasions it is odd having square meals everyday. I'm making it through my frozen ground meat I bought at the beginning of the year on sale quite well, but I'm having a hard time with my flour and sugars. The solution? baking for any excuse possible. My FHE group is definitely getting the biggest benefit, they now have a treat every week--which are getting fancier every week (last week they were butterscotch brownies with vanilla glaze, the recipe with the most brown sugar in it). Though my roommates do enjoy alot. Saturday and Sunday alone i managed to pump out chocolate chip scones, a packed pizza (no cheese but still divine with my favorite topping--spinach), and an apple pie. The scones and pizza were delicious (not to brag but its not hard to make a baked good delicious) but my pie was sub par. The crust was similar to a cracker, all thin and crispy on the top, I was disappointed and could not be consoled. Nevertheless between our neighbors and me we have eaten the pie, and enjoyed it too. Next up? cinnamon rolls, with extra frosting considering i have like half a bag of powdered sugar. If you stop by #73 this weekend you might just get a baked good.

maybe..

Disney characters

I thought a lot about what Disney characters I am most like. At first I was like, oh belle or mulan, what strong beautiful "princesses". But then really, that's not me, when have I ever fallen in love with an animal/man or cross dressed to save my father. I considered Aladdin, poor--easily connected with a college student, but still it wasn't working out for me. All of the characters seemed too heroic, brave or funny.

I settled with Woody from toy story. Here are my reasons:

• I have a generally quirky wardrobe, including random scarves and hats.
• I am resistant to change, but usually prefer it in the end. I especially take a long time to start liking people that are forced into my life (aka buzz lightyear)
• I am sarcastic
• I run weird
• I get easily upset when the general public's preference moves from me to someone else like "the new kid on the block"
• I wish I were a cowboy.

Movie Foods

I have decided that I throughly enjoy movies where the main character is, or is involved with a baker.

Some of my favorites include Stranger than fiction starring Will Ferrell. Will Ferrell is an auditor for the IRS, and falls inlove with a fiesty earth muffin who dropped out of law school to bake and make the world a better place.

I also really enjoy Chocolat, starring Juliette Binoche, yes it is a chick flick, and johnny depp is the romantic lead role. But before I really cared about boys I was entranced by Juliette binoche stirring rich melted chocolate with a wooden spoon, and dusting a freshly baked cake with cocoa powder the color of rich earth.

I find the scene in Stranger than Fiction were Will Ferrell gives baker an assortment of baking flowers the most romantic and well played scene in movies.

Maybe I just connect with the strong woman baker role. There is something admirable about the woman who can change the world with sweets. I hope that some day I can attain that level. I think I have come pretty close with my chocolate chip cookies...

Dishes

If you recognize this photo, I sympathize with you. If you don't then I am jealous of you.

I thought that I would be prepared for quirky roommates, sharing rooms, and snowy days, when leaving for college. But what I was not prepared for was the sink. Yes, the sink is perpetually full of dirty dishes, ours particularly is full of plastic bowls and butter knives. Constantly I ask myself where are all the dishes going? The facts: 1)I know I have one bowl, one cup, and a few plates and silverware. 2)I wash the dishes I use for meals within the hour that I used them. 3)The sink is still full.

I have tried several things to promote cleanliness in our kitchen, which currently smells like rot. I have piled one persons dirty dishes to the side, and cleaned all the rest, sometimes leaving a note like " this is revolting" scrawled across a napkin, I have cleaned every ones dishes--dried them, and put them away, I have made a colorful and polite sign to encourage cleaning of dishes. All to no avail, day after day the sink fills with dishes from roommates that I hardly ever see eat.

Finally I have come up with a sub par solution. One day while pondering away the hours I realized that my roommates cook the most, and use the most dishes when I have freshly cleaned, disinfected and tidy-upped the kitchen. So to reduce the amount of dishes used (thus the amount of hours I spend cleaning them, and the amount of enmity grown toward dinnerware) I have resolved to leave the sink at least half full, and the kitchen in a moderate, but acceptable, state of disarray.

The plan has been effective thus far.

okay so I got tagged.

A. Post the rules at the beggining
B. Answer the questions about yourself
C. After posting, tag 5 people by going to their blog and leaving a comment
1. What were you doing 10 years ago? I was 8ish, it was spring time, which means i was probably outside picking flowers, turning them into soup and feeding them to my barbies.

.2. Five things on my to-do list today. Make cookies for FHE, finish FHE video, do homework, wash everyone elses dishes, sleep.

3. What snacks do i enjoy? Vanilla yogurt, toast, poptarts, grannysmith apples, salsa and chips

4. what would you do if you were suddenly a billionaire? Pay for school, start a clothing business, save it for posterity, visit europe, buy a house for my parents.

5. Three bad habits: leaving my clothes lying around, not listening to people while they talk, wearing lime green tights.
6. 5 places i have lived. Utah, Oregon, Ireland.... utah again...
7. 5 jobs i've had. Baskin robbins window washer, summer lunch lady, blimpiesworker, subway worker, tacotime superhero (the same time and place as blimpies, so it doesn't really work..)
8. 5 things people dont know about me.1. I hate driving cars
2. i play the guitar
3. my hair is permed
4. i own only one piece of purple clothing
5. i lived in ireland.

Denial

Often I have been asked the question "What is your favorite dessert?". I would hum and hah, then come up with something I only get during Christmas, or some other divine holiday. It would always be something fancy, like cheese cake, creme brulee or triple-chocolate-raspberry-fantasy-death-cake. But really, all that time I was in denial. My favorite dessert for sure? The good ol' trustworthy cookie, any cookie, chocolate chip, snicker doodles, chocolate crinkles, gingersnaps, spritz, oatmeal raisin, peanut butter, white chocolate macadamia nut.. the list goes on.

I do have some guidelines however, first: homemade cookies, or bakery fresh cookies always win, cookies aren't meant to be crispy and hard. Second: If a cookie is homemade it should be slightly soft, a bit chewy and have a hint of crisp unless the type of cookie suggests otherwise (aka oatmeal lace) Third: A cookie, if it contains chocolate chips, or any other chips, is best enjoyed warm, and with milk, the exception is applesauce chocolate chip cookies. For the sake of time I won't continue on my OCD attitude of cookies, but consider the other reedemable qualities of the cookie, it is easy to make, contains common household ingredients, comes in perfect proportions, is versatile and portable-requiring no utensils. Cookies are classic, for me coming home from late activities to a plate of warm chocolate chip cookies and a class of cold milk was the most satisfying thing, better then cheese cake or creme brulee, the cookie really does hold supreme.

College Food

This weeks adventures were pretty typical. On monday I tried to make some filling for burritos with peppers, onions, tomatoes and pinto beans. I prepared the peppers and onions, then poured in a can of "chipotle flavored diced tomatoes". Along with a can of pinto beans I was good to go. The result was chile. I couldn't believe it, I had just made chili, except it wasn't so thick because it hadn't been stewing all day. I shrugged, and placed it in my tortilla anyway. It reminded me of chili cook offs back in the homeward, but it was that wierd chili that tastes like someone else made it.
Something I also really enjoy doing when i'm hungry is spreading peanut butter on a tortilla, folding it in half, then grilling it in a frying pan till it's crispy, like a quesadilla. Something about crispy, peanut buttery-ness hits the spot everytime. And when it's a special occasion I throw in a few chocolate chips too.