Muse of the Month

Well, I've created a post sooner than expected! This week has been my busy week (like I said), with essay proposals, group presentation meetings, and dance practice. I've been meaning to try out an oatmeal pie recipe, but that hasn't resolved yet. Hopefully I will have by next weekend, for I will need something of that sort. And speaking of pie, for the past week or so I've been following Jezebel's Cake vs Pie Tournament; quite amusing because people are getting quite into it! It's coming close to the end now, so vote for your preferences while you can... In the meantime, here's something I created earlier by means of distraction and fascination (if that makes sense):

Every so often for me someone (whether it's a celebrity, fictional or non fictional person) comes along and I am struck with admiration and awe of them. These days it has been Carey Mulligan. I think she's pretty cool and sophisticated, not to mention she seems to have a good head on her shoulders. Also, I wish I could pull off her haircut.

Image from here.

Here.

Telegraph.co.uk

Sundance, 2009

She was awesome in "Blink" (Doctor Who)

Image from The Huffington Post

And of course, one from An Education. Have yet to see the movie, but I've heard it's excellent.

Switcharoo number... Three? Or Four?

Yeah, I changed the layout around again the other day, but I'm quite satisfied with it this time. Oddly enough, I think the font I'm using makes a huge difference. If I were to switch things up again, it would be only with the colour, but right now I'm happy with it. Thank goodness! (I want to actually stick with something.)

Will be back soon--I'm in for a busy week/end!

Ps, I recently got into a biscotti kick, and I really want to make these. Ahhhmmm.

Pizza Meatloaf (Or Meatloaf in-the-Round)

Gah! A few posts ago I said I would put up the pizza meatloaf recipe in a few posts, and well... It has been a few posts. Ok, so there's meatloaf... And then there is pizza meatloaf. Or if you prefer, pizza in-the-round. My mom used to make this often at our house, but it kind of fizzled off over time. For the last couple of months, I had been kind of craving it, and I had been waiting for my mother to email me the recipe. FINALLY she did, after a couple of weeks, so I gave it a go. It turned out quite nicely; moist and flavourful. Although it shrunk a bit in the dish. Therefore when draining, make sure you keep it from slipping into the sink!

Ingredients:

-1 egg

-1/4 cup dry breadcrumbs

-2/3 cup spaghetti sauce

-1 lb. lean or medium ground beef

-1-1/2 cups grated mozzarella or cheddar cheese

-1 clove garlic, minced

-1 tsp. dried basil

-1/4 tsp. dried oregano

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Preheat overn to 425 F. Lightly grease a 9 inch pie place. Lightly beat egg. Stir in breadcrumbs and 1/3 cup spaghetti sauce. Crumble in beef. Add 1/2 cup cheese, garlic, basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Work mixture until combined. Evenly pat into pie plate. Bake uncovered in center of oven for 20 minutes. Drain off any juices (don't let meatloaf slip out!). Spread with remaining sauce and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Continue baking until cheese is golden, from 10-15 more minutes. Makes 8 wedges.

Aaaand if you want a side dish to go along with it (or just by themselves) here's a recipe for golden potato wedges:

-4 medium potatoes

-1 tsp. olive or vegetable oil

-Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Pre-heat oven to 425 F. Use a non stick baking sheet or coat with oil. Cut potatoes into eighths, forming think wedges. Dry with paper towel. Place on baking sheet in a heap and drizzle with oil. Toss until glistening, then spread in a single layer. Bake on a shelf below meat loaf for 15 minutes. Turn potatoes and continue baking until golden, from 15-20 more minutes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Makes 4-6 servings.

In like a lamb, and out like a...

Hello, hello; back from reading week! I was mostly at home working on a paper (ho-hum), but that didn't entirely stop me from venturing outside. On the first Sunday back, I went to see the new Little House on the Prairie musical, with Melissa Gilbert (the original Laura from the tv show!), and it was cute.

Image from the Examiner: this pic and more of the play can be seen here

Generally aimed at younger kids, but still good. However, we (my parents and I) discovered that someone else was filling in for Melissa Gilbert that day! Bah. It would have been interesting to hear her sing, but her understudy was quite good. Having said that, seeing the play kind of made me want to get back in touch with my Little House books.

Then on the same day, my Dad and I saw two classic rock gods perform: Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck! It was a pretty good show, and both guys were quite at ease in their performances, which was nice. I may even go as far as saying that Beck kind of outdid Clapton? The only downer about the show was the seat mix up; shortly after Clapton got on stage, these people snuck in saying that we were sitting in their seats. We checked out their tickets, and sure enough they were right. So we went to find our other seats, but alas, could not find them. Standing wasn't bad at all--we could still see them, plus there was a big screen to help us out. But still... What a pain! Word to the wise: If you come to a concert after the opener and find someone in your seat, at least come while the big band is setting up, and not in the middle of the first song. Then at least the person(s) sitting in your seat can hurry off and find his/her right seat without fumbling around in the darkened stands. Zeesh.

It managed to snow while I was home. So nicely, in fact, it could have been Narnia. Oh yes. Here in Halifax, on the other hand, no snow outside, and it's not that bad.

I managed to be home for the last couple of days my pooch Beau had a cone around his head; he had stitches over his eye, so he was wearing the cone so he wouldn't scratch.

On the right is Sandy, Beau is on the left (in an earlier photo, clearly). Imagine him with a lampshade around his head, and you get a pitifully cute dog. He kept banging into the walls, which was kind of funny.

Ahh, the Winter Olympics have come to end, and now it's back to less interesting things on television. My goodness, those two weeks certainly flew by! I have to say I'm pretty pleased with Canada's end results.

Loved loved loved the skating!

Really, all of them were incredible; it makes me wish I could skate like that. And oh, that hockey game... But I really didn't find the closing ceremonies as great as the opening. Sure, they were going for the whole stereotypical "Canadian, eh?" thing, but some parts kind of made me cringe (such as inflated beavers and mounties). Um--sorry, world?

Well, I believe that's all for now. New recipes coming soon, and have a great rest of week!