Ab ovo usque ad mala

Intro to the Intro: Guys, I'm sorry for falling off the face of the blogosphere! Now, with two months of (willful) unemployment post college graduation on the horizon, I have more than enough time to devote to the blog. I have a backlog of pieces and topics I want to chat about and am excited to get started again! This post has been wallowing in my drafts folder for months. Enjoy! 


Reflections on Being Off Meal Plan: This year is the first time I've been responsible for procuring/preparing my own food for an extended period of time. I quickly realized that real life is not like a Food Network TV show. One does not just "whip up" a 20 ingredient dish; first, its doubtful that one (okay, me) even has all the ingredients on hand, second, what is one supposed to do with the rest of the parsley after adding a tablespoon to the sauce? Chopping takes a long time, it is not just a quick take away shot before a commercial break. Cooking a meal doesn't end when the credits roll, normal people have to wash all the pots and pans... and while a food processor may make it incredibly easy to make pesto, it is incredibly annoying to clean. 

These are some of the dishes I go back to again and again (except for #1, which I just tried today). As a somewhat lazy and busy college student with no expected income for at least another 4 years, I put a big emphasis on quick and easy dishes that require minimal ingredients and minimal clean-up later. The deliciousness:effort ratio also needs to be pretty high. All of these dishes have passed the test! 

1. English Muffin French Toast! (Food.com): Loyal FTW,G readers, all English muffins are not created equal. The most delicious (yet affordable) ones I have come across are Bays. They are a bit more expensive than Thomas' but infinitely more delicious (I am certain that Case in Point would approve of my thorough analysis of the breakfast bread space). They don't have that cheap and crumbly  faux bagel-ness of Thomas' muffins, or the glorified sandwich bread-ness of Whole Foods muffins; instead they have a really delicious yeasty quality (yeasty doesn't make them sound great; perhaps "tangy" is more delicious sounding?) and a great chewy texture that warrant English muffins their own niche in the breakfast bread space. They are the perfect snack or on-the-go breakfast! (Also, they are on sale at East Side this week! Buy a lot and freeze them! (I posted this two months late... I am sure they will eventually go on sale again...)) 

A chimera! from Wikipedia

I normally just put them in the toaster for a bit and then slather on butter but I saw a recipe on the back of the muffin box this morning for French Toast English Muffins and thought it was an inspired combination! It is indeed delicious!  I think the problem with normal French Toast (in the experience of an inexperience French toast maker) is that often times the bread used is not substantial enough to handle the egg batter and pan flippage. The bread dries out pretty easily and is too crumbly to stay intact. Quality muffins solve these issues. Because English muffins only have one open face and are pretty thick, surface area:volume related moisture-loss issues that plague ordinary sandwich bread are minimized. Also, their smaller diameter makes them easier for normal people to flip without toast disintegration. 

I didn't actually use the specific recipe I linked to but there is not a lot of deviation in french toast recipes. I added some vanilla extract to the mix and sprinkled some cinnamon sugar on top. 

Truly haute fusion cuisine!

2. Parmesan Roasted Broccoli -Barefoot Contessa (Food Network, 2008): Ina adds a lot of things that are delicious but not necessary for a normal week night iteration of this dish. Pine nuts and julienned fresh basil are nice and all, but not worth it if time is an issue. There is a lot of wiggle room in this recipe: the main things to take away are: preheat the oven to 425 F, drizzle olive oil, garlic, and some salt and pepper on the broccoli, put it in the oven for 10 minutes, take it out and toss it around, put it back in for another 10ish minutes, and then throw in some lemon juice and Parmesan (I use Pecorino Romano... I would say cheese is optional though) and serve! To make it super easy, I buy the big 5 pound bag of pre-washed pre-cut broccoli (and pre-minced garlic... look the other way, Alice Waters). The time I spend actively preparing this is probably around 3 minutes, tops. 

The true magic of this dish though (for college students like me, at least) is

Addenda to 3 and More!

More on Mindy:

Continued from last time:

3.b. More Mindy on Colin: I tried to find this tweet/related photo about Mindy watching Bridget Jones with her pals for my original post re. Mindy and Colin but I had difficulties. I found renewed strength while watching a lecture about gluconeogenesis today and found the link! Here is the tweet (a "RT", as they say):

mindykaling 4 months ago Twitter

Watching Bridget Jones with my bffs. "Nice boys don't kiss like that." "Yes they fucking do."yfrog.com/kg5e8vkj

It's so beautiful! In the accompanying photo, Mindy and her two besties (from college!) are snuggled under a microplush throw (a worthy purchase by the way; warmth without the weight!) ready to enjoy the Greatest Chick Flick of Our Time. What a great group activity! My mom and I have watched it together multiple times (ie, any time it pops up on TBS).

Stuff about Mindy that homies have sent me that I enjoy: 
c. Red Band Trailer with Mindy Kaling (Red Band Trailer):

   

Mindy makes lots of fun and interesting points (Diablo doesn't really. But she did write Juno so I guess we can forgive her.). But what I'd really like to point out is that Mindy is sporting a pair of bamboo earrings!
There was a time in February when I really wanted bamboo hoop earrings. I informed my pals of this desire and I received a lot of lukewarm responses, ranging from "Okay..." to "Sounds tacky." Some also expressed concern that my earlobes could become targets should I engage in some sort of  physical altercation. I don't think I have ever tried to physically overpower someone (perhaps due to my "shrimpy" nature) but were I to throw caution and 22 years of nonviolence to the wind, I would certainly pull a Snooki and hand my doorknockers to J-Woww before leaping into the fray. Despite the lackluster response, my enthusiasm for bamboo hoops remained undimmed.

As with any serious project, I did my research. A quick Google search informed me that the earrings were more popularly described as "doorknockers" or "basketball wives' earrings". That didn't quite match up to my platonic ideal. I craved the fluidity of say, Elsa Peretti studs, but for more of a Claire's price point. However, I did not wish to perish due to some sort of base metal poisoning, so ix-nay on Claire's. There were these really awesome ones from Nordstrom (that have been following me around the web every since, thanks Google Ads!) but they were more than a bit on the pricey side. I had pretty much given up hope, but lo, when I was taking a post-class break in Urban Outfitters, I found these! They are a mere $14! I think the smaller shoots, burnished silver color, and non-shoulder-brushing size make them an excellent choice. I purchased them, along with a dress that-- upon recent re-inspection-- looks like a rug. Perhaps I'll return said dress, but the earrings are so fun! They are a bit tacky but that's part of their wonderfulness! Soon enough we'll be in the Professional World and these will be no longer an option (unless you are that kind of Professional). 

Other Stuff:

By land, by sea, by dirigible...

Ah, spring break! What a faux-break; a week without classes is nice but it's bookended by midterms/other deadlines. I am enjoying being back home though. The kitchen is filled with my favorite treats (including my favorite study foods of all time, Trader Joe's naan and deli mozzarella... toast them together! It is delicious!), there is a spacious desk to spread out all of my stuff, and a bathroom mirror (unlike the one in the Frisc) where I can gaze upon my visage and not recoil in horror*. And my parents! They are nice too.** So, essentially, all environment variables have been adjusted to promote Most Efficacious Studying. Or Media Consumption. Let us now turn to the latter!

Sort of Relevant Things:
1. What Isn't For Sale? -Michael J. Sandel (The Atlantic, April 2012): I read this on the train back home. I'm not a huge fan. But three days later I am still contemplating it so I thought I'd share! Sandel argues that we have allowed the market to permeate too many spheres of life. He fears our sense of the intrinsic value of things is being eroded by our sense of their market value. He contends:

Putting a price on the good things in life can corrupt them. That’s because markets don’t only allocate goods; they express and promote certain attitudes toward the goods being exchanged. Paying kids to read books might get them to read more, but might also teach them to regard reading as a chore rather than a source of intrinsic satisfaction. Hiring foreign mercenaries to fight our wars might spare the lives of our citizens, but might also corrupt the meaning of citizenship. 

I thought the author's point was pretty interesting-- and definitely relevant-- but something about it just seems... wrong? I do not disagree with his thesis-- that there are spheres in life where the market does not belong-- but I do not think my personal opinions on the subject are something I should foist upon society at large. It seems a bit paternalistic. His use of the term "markets" and examples of why they are bad are also a bit nebulous at times. The whole Markets-Are-Bad thing isn't particularly new and Sandel doesn't add much to the argument. (His article is nice and short though, so it scores well in the readability aspect.)

from theatlantic.com

Also, it would be nice if he fleshed out his concept of non-markets. How do we decide which spheres to toss out of the market bin? What exactly is this alternative that he is proposing so cavalierly? Will it root out the corruption supposedly endemic to markets or simply replace it with a different version?

(Tangent: I really enjoyed reading Daddy Issues by Sandra Tsing Loh from last month's issue of The Atlantic. Besides being published in the same magazine as the piece above, there are no similarities.)

2. Can Aung San Suu Kyi, Now Free, Lead Burma to Democracy? -Rebecca Frayn (Newsweek, March 5, 2012): While the vows this week were not bad, this piece is even better! It's like an Us Weekly cover story on geopolitical 'roids. But seriously. It's inspiring! I'll admit, my knowledge of Aung San Suu Kyi only consisted of a few NPR reports from when she was released. I didn't know anything about her. Only that she was a really Important Person in Burma. This piece fleshes out the contours of her life nicely.

from the telegraph.co.uk

Switching back to vows though, there is something I would like to point out. The reporter just throws this line in somewhere in the middle of the story like its whatevs: 

Later that night, Ms. Gartland became Mr. Lomelí’s friend on Facebook and tried to make light of their intense encounter. “See you around the opera house,” she wrote breezily. 

Is the reporter familiar with the nature of Facebook Friend Initialization? One does not just friend request all randos one meets immediately after an encounter. She makes it sound like its something that naturally happens, like a flower blooming in spring or my Haus running out of hot water in the mornings. There are crucial details left out of this story! Did Lomelí friend request Gartland, causing her to respond back with her "breezy" message or did Gartland friend request Lomeli, with breeziness attached? Enquiring minds want to know! Having been the recipient of such a fb friend request (complete with breezy message) and being a sentient being on planet Earth I contend that these things are never breezy. Just saying. 


Things other people have recommended to me that I think are really great: 

Articles I have consumed and enjoyed:

I. Stuff I Hunted and Gathered:

1. Vive La France- Paul Rudnick (The New Yorker, 3/26/2012): Marie-Céline Dundelle packs an extraordinary number of bon mots per paragraph. For example: 

"As for family life, Americans are far too concerned with a child’s self-esteem and accomplishments. The French woman knows that to build a child’s inner strength it is best either to completely ignore the child or to belittle him. As I was giving birth to my daughter, I refused to put down my copy of French Vogue. When it was over, I turned to my husband and remarked, “I have just had an unusually large bowel movement that will never be as attractive as me."

 

    What a calorie-free treat!
    (Tangent: Jeeves and W. is my all-time favorite Shouts and Murmurs pastiche)

2. Sunday Vows: Vanessa Mongeon, Chris Piccioni - Rob Davis (NYT, 3/9/2012) : My roomie described their story as "creepy" however I thought it was lovely! It would definitely make my top 10 Vows. (And I have read religiously since high school!) It starts with a When Charlotte Met Harry-esque premise but gets better!  I don't want to ruin it, read it!

 

Also, I wonder, who is Rob Davis? Is this a 27 Dresses situation?

3. Homemade Chocolate Wafers + Icebox Cupcakes- Smitten Kitchen (3/25/2009): I used to consume icebox cakes all the time when I was a wee one (It probably contributed to my cherubic (read:  rotund) appearance, see below). I never particularly enjoyed real cake (it was sort of like oversweetened bread to me) but this inspired combination of chilled chocolate wafers and cream was one of my favorite summertime treats. Unfortunately, it has proved to be quite challenging to procure the chocolate wafer cookies necessary to recreate it. I visited several grocery stores and the closest thing was the chocolate pizzelle. (While it is also delicious, it was too thin to support the edifice of fat I wished to create...an overnight stay in the fridge resulted in some very soggy "cake".  As a further aside, during these journeys I also wondered why the Invisible Hand deemed it was necessary for grocery stores to have an entire aisle devoted to potato chips yet decide to only occasionally stock Brussels, the cookie of the gods.) I contemplated ordering Nabisco cookies in bulk on Amazon but it seemed a bit like overkill (my haus-mates would have to prepare for icebox cake all day erryday). Then I found this lovely recipe during one of the many hours I spend browsing through the backlogs of Smitten Kitchen. There are even pretty pictures! Results TBA.

I fear I am waddling!