A year ago today...

On a rainy afternoon, this blog was born! Amazing how time has flown by. Blogging has been an interesting experience--I've enjoyed sharing my hobbies, fascinations and obsessions (ahem, Lost) with all of you out there. I didn't really know where I wanted to go with this blog, and in fact I still don't really know (much like my current position in life). Food? Inspiration? Poetry?? Aah! But I guess it doesn't have to be nailed to a certain theme. I'm always debating about things I should be writing out, so I'll just settle for making this space a mishmash of subjects I find interesting.

In honour of this semi-momentous occasion, I treat you all to a virtual banana split cupcake cone! Thanks for reading this--your comments make my day much more nicer!

The image and the recipe are from Erica's blog here, and they look super delicious, and definitely worth trying out. I remember helping making these kind of cupcake cones once when I was younger, and oh boy they were good at the time.

Have a wonderful weekend! I'mma heading home to Toronto for the next couple months :)

Finisshhed!!

So glad I'm done school at last! The past few weeks have been insane; endless assignments and things to study for. Other than tending to those, I've been throwing myself into dance, summer job hunting, organizing stuff for the big end of the year move around in our flat, Lost, and so forth. It even included a couple of really late-nighters, which resulted in slow movement, higher consumption of caffeine beverages and cracking up at the weirdest things.

And speaking of Lost/things that made me crack up, I recently discovered this little gem courtesy of Michael Emerson; it's been around for a while now, but my goodness it is hilarious.

Image belongs to DoctorWhotv

Just last Saturday, series five of Doctor Who premiered here in Canada and I was absolutely thrilled--I've been waiting for it! And the first episode was really good, Matt Smith fit right in. On Easter weekend, knowing it had already premiered in the UK made it rather difficult; however, my Mom's Easter package kept me tied over... Thank goodness for chocolate.

And now that I have time to actually read for pleasure, here are a few of what I'm working on. Amelia Earheart, from what I've read, had a remarkable life; I think if there were any female role model to look up to, it would be her.

Now that I think of it, one other fascinating woman I read about recently was Isadora Duncan in her auto biography, and that came about via my theatre paper about butoh and modern dance; she developed modern dance as a way to defy the formality of structure in ballet. Fascinating stuff.

Also, I finally got my Italy pictures developed! All three hundred and something, coming in four thick envelopes. It was rather pricey, but the finished results were worth it. Seeing them only on the computer didn't do them justice. Can't wait to frame some of them, and album the rest!

Weather here has been... Gross. First came the cooler temperatures, then rain, and to top it off, snow. I felt bad for the flowers who had to put up with it. Hopefully spring will return soon and I can venture outdoors more frequently. Until then, I wait patiently. Sort of.

Mac and Many Cheeses

Credit goes to the Telegraph, link here

My love for cheese is undying. It goes as far back to when I was five and my Mom would give me a snack of raisins and cheese to have while I watched taped episodes of the Little Mermaid series. (I imagine I must have liked the sweet and salty combination.) I digress; a good bowl of the regular Kraft Dinner Mac and Cheese* is very nice once in a while, but a good bowl of homemade m&c is even nicer, I discovered recently. The recipe I used was adapted from the Star (the newspaper I read when I'm home), and they said you could use just about any type of cheese. So I did! I've never made *real* mac and cheese before, so this was a good start for me. I experimented with old cheddar, medium cheddar, emmental cheese and smoked gouda. It turned out creamy and lovely, (served along side with some steamed veggies) and the smokey flavour of gouda added a nice touch. However, I'll probably go with the regular kind next time. I had some of it leftover, and it did not take long for its aroma to take over my small fridge, and linger on for a bit after I'd finished it.

2 cups macaroni (preferably whole wheat)

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

3 cups milk

2 cups mixed shredded semi-hard cheeses

Kosher salt + freshly ground pepper

2/3 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

In medium saucepan of boiled, salted water, cook macaroni as per package instructions until al dente. Drain well.

In another medium saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Whisk in flour until paste forms.

Gradually whisk in milk until smooth. Raise heat to medium-high; bring sauce to boil, whisking constantly, until thickened. Remove from heat. Stir in mixed cheeses until melted. Season with salt and pepper. Add macaroni; stir to coat.

Transfer to 9-inch by 13-inch baking dish. Sprinkle with Parmigiano-Reggiano. Generously season with pepper. Cook under preheated broiler on high 5 to 8 minutes, until richly browned. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

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!