white lasagna

It was about time the pasta sheets leftover from this time were used. So it was a good thing I had a random hodge podge of leftover stuff to stuff into a lasagna.

salvaged

Grit: fostering (not finding) a passion and substituting nuance for novelty (because humans get bored)
Every so often, I have a mini, internally controlled panic attack about the state of my brain, body, and life. It usually revolves around not being up-to-date on current events, not having the attention span to consume more literature...and not having hobbies. I wonder if maybe I'm not "working" hard enough. I try to make manageable resolutions to eat better (i.e. 4 fewer pounds of chocolate and/or cheese). I make lists and open windows and revisit documents. I should do this or that. I should start this or that. I want, I wish, I will.
...And then I usually don't.
It's a game of structure and priorities for me. I guess I just can't prioritize the things without structure. And the lingering thought that I'll have time for it later or I'll do it tomorrow.
Anyways, the point is, I have a lot of hobbies I'm determined to begin when the monster/significant-other/religion/baby/life called Master's Thesis is over and done with.
The other point is I usually pull myself out of these mini, internally controlled panic attacks by thinking that I haven't been cooking enough - the hobby that will never go away even though I may stray.

So all of that brings us to one night in the midst of a time period I will hopefully never have to experience again: exam week.
Well technically, the week before exam week. Proteins presentations week for me. Where the motivation is at an all time low because I'm almost 100% positive that level of motivation is inversely correlated with how deep into the semester you are. And when you're a second semester senior - forget about it. So when you're preparing to finish up your research thesis-based graduate degree, having already weathered the times of 4-5 exams back when you were young, starry-eyed, and paranoid...the last thing you want to do is perfect a 20 min presentation on fat receptors.
Plus, a ginormous bag of tiny cubed cheeses courtesy of Luis was wanting for my attention. And I had been building up a mac and cheese craving for weeks prior. Unfortunately, not every cheese is good for every application. And perhaps having some knowledge of the ingredients you're working with is a good starting point...
So if you've stuck with me this far (sorry, Amelia is in a storytelling mood because... procrastination + lunch break + foggy shitty weather + SF in 6 dayz) and you've prematurely watched the video*, you can probably figure out that... I failed.
I noticed the problem as soon as the cheese cubes melted and began to stretch. Oops. The first thing I did was.. to just dump the rest of the cheese in because fuck it, it's too late to turn back now, what am I going to do with this anyways? The second thing I did was to look up the effect of pH on mozzarella because wouldn't you know I learned something in Dairy after all - pH affects the stretch of mozzarella, kids. My two options were baking soda and apple cider vinegar... neither of which was very appealing. Neither of which really worked.
But at least, if there's anything I've learned about art, it's that it comes from the most unexpected places. I'm calling it
Unsuspecting Elbows Trapped In Web That Is Life

on my own again

I've been enjoying living alone for four days now, but Monday was the first day I was alone post grocery shopping.  I gotta say, I kind of love it.  Minus the creepy knocking sound coming from outside my window at 3AM - but that would freak me out even if the roomies were home on the opposite side of the apartment.  Basically, I've wasted no time turning the place into my space.  I shower with the door open, get dressed in the living room, and the fridge has no delineations.

Don't worry, it'll be cleaned up without a trace before Spring Break is over.

So what else can you do but bust out all the pots and utensils and foodstuff to make dinner for many for one?  Quinoa lasagna.  Or quinoa casserole with sausage tomato sauce.  Or deliciousness in a dish.  I ate my sad dinner of eel rice while this was on the stove, but the need to take one bite turned into ten and then a fourth of it disappeared by (Amelia's) bedtime.  The scale did not love me this morning.  But I never loved it either.
Here's the quinoa buried underneath it all:

And if you want something more beautiful to gawk at, here's where I got this beautiful recipe (sans truffle oil).  With bacon that was on sale and almond milk that wasn't squeezed from a cow.

It's a good thing I'm not a professional.

Meanwhile, science gives me headaches.

hearty hearty

I donated plasma today, and it was kind of cool.

So obviously I needed a hearty meal both before and after the process.

Two days ago, I finally made the mac and cheese I've been vying for, using Cooking for Geeks as my reference (that's what that book is in the picture).

 [Be proud of my coaster, thanks to Free Art Fridays.  I'm loving the random university events they have here.  Arts and crafts are very therapeutic.  I was especially excited to collect lots of recipes from a magazine called Gourmet or something.  Basically glued a picture of spices to a rectangular cork piece and painted on a sprig of rosemary to pretend like it took some effort to make.  Now I always want rosemary - my potatoes need a friend.]

Swiss mix

America's Dairyland.  It's charming, isn't it?  It's also pretty funny.

But if it means I get endless samples of cheese every Saturday (farmer's markets = love), then I'm okay with it.

I've already had some practice this past summer with a wedge of Swiss that Dad brought home one day.  For reasons unknown because he's never been a big fan of cheese.  No one else in my fam really is.  I'm a mystery, they say.

Let's start with savory scones, which came to mind after spending much time with Ann and her love for scones.  These were Swiss and spinach, adapted from a recipe for plain scones.  I even managed to get Alfred to eat some.  Best eaten with juicy pieces of rotisserie chicken and hot sauce.

I took that same repertoire of ingredients and flavors into a whole wheat quesadilla for an easy breakfast on another day.  Takes no more than ten minutes to make.  This is why it's dangerous.  Despite the occasional hard work of my mind and access to the Internet, I foresee many more grilled cheeses and quesadillas in my future.  At least I have the variety of the many hundreds of different cheeses at the market.

Roasted asparagus with Swiss, butter and breadcrumbs.  This wasn't my favorite because the cheese didn't adhere to the asparagus very well, so I ended up chasing a bite of asparagus with a bite of cheese blanket.  I think I'll stick with just salt and pepper next time.  As I said, my parents aren't a fan of cheese, so they left an excess of cheese that I mixed with corn kernels and cumin as a snack.

Cornbread topped with Swiss.  This would have been delicious in theory, but I done fucked up.  Forgot the egg.  The cornbread turned out to be super mealy and dry, so I could only eat half of it with chili to pretend like it wasn't that dry.

For starters, I bought a replacement pizza stone yesterday.  There's an easy use for cheese already.

Now...to purchase or not to purchase a fondue pot?

balance...and staying awake

We're happy free confused and lonely at the same time.

Call this a post to remind myself to get it right next time.  Can't say pastry chef is an option for my future.
A baby wheel of brie ("mmmahhhughhhhgahhh brieeee" -my standard reaction) topped with balsamic-reduced figs, all snugly wrapped up in a flakey duck fat pastry.
Minus the minor issues of the pastry falling apart (too flakey?) and not browning to perfection.
Doesn't matter because figs and cheese is kind of my favorite combination.  Okay, that's a bold statement on my part, but it definitely goes in my top ten... twenty five? Fifty?  Top fifty, yes.

Making a list of all the things I will eat once my throat stops trying to rip itself out of my body.  Extra-strength ibuprofen, you are my friend.
It's miserable and magical...

mozzarella quesadillas

 Ingredients

steak from Pitchfork Provisions

tomato from Duke Farm section

mushrooms, onions, spinach from Great Hall salad bar

eggs from Lobby Shop

mozzarella and tortillas from home

 Who doesn't know how to make quesadillas?

 Layering skills at work:

hot pan, sprayed with Pam

tortilla down, folded in half

slices of mozzarella, let warm until slightly melted

meanwhile, stirfry mushrooms and onions to desired texture (just to save time)

layers veggies onto melted cheese, followed by steak

sunny side egg on top

eat five or six before going to Perkins to study.

Thoughts:

remember the time we went to bed at 10 pm?

yeah, me neither

oh, jeanette.. yeah you can go away.

dtf? 

no seriously.

hours of work done: 0.5

hours of nap time at home: 6

number of times cried within a week: 4

number of tests/quizzes failed: 3

calories consumed: 92384723984

AUSTRALIAAA COME TO MEEE