This weekend I really felt like cooking. A lot. I made: honey wheat bread, apple butter, pizza margehrita, and ginger honey glazed carrots. The apple butter in particular was super good and really easy to make, it just takes a loooong time. It'd be even easier if I had a crock-pot, I've been meaning to pick one of those up at the store for weeks!
Here is the recipe:
5.5 lbs apples (10-14 apples)
3 cups sugar
5 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp salt
1. Peel and dice apples very finely, and place into a really big pot/crockpot along with all other ingredients.
2. Cook on medium (stovetop) or high (crockpot) for one hour, then reduce heat to low and cook for 12 hours covered, stirring occasionally
3. Remove lid and cook on medium low for one hour, stirring with a whisk (if you don't have no, no big deal)
4. Puree in blender until smooth
Makes approx 6 cups
This is a very forgiving recipe, you can add whatever spices you like (for instance, I added a dash of nutmeg, just for kicks). You can also use whatever kind of sugar you want, though I find that dark brown sugar provides the best flavour. I would not recommend using honey or any other kind of liquid sweetener, it might make the apple butter too syrupy, plus 3 cups of honey is waaaay more expensive than three cups of sugar. Other apple-esque fruits can be used in this recipe, but really, apple butter is superior ;)
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Dinner tonight
I just made the best macaroni and cheese I've ever had in my liiiiife. Seriously. It's so good. AND it doesn't take that much longer than the Kraft blue box kind, just about ten-fifteen minutes longer (and the deliciousness is waaaay waaaaaaay worth the extra few minutes).
The recipe is as follows:
1/2 lb macaroni
dash of salt
4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1 lb grated cheddar (or whatever) cheese
1 12 oz can evaporated milk
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp mustard (optional)
--Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
1) Cook the macaroni until just under done
2) Drain macaroni and toss with melted butter in a 9x13 baking dish
3) Add the eggs, 3/4 of the cheese, and 2/3 of the evaporated milk, mix well and bake 20 minutes, adding the remaining cheese and milk every FIVE MINUTES.
Makes 6 servings.
Soooo good! I was originally going to add bacon bits, but then I got lazy. The original recipe called for sharp cheddar, so that is what I used, but I think next time I will use medium or mild cheddar, it's got a bit more kick to it than I'd like. What makes this recipe so delicious is the combo of evaporated milk and eggs. Evaporated milk can handle higher temperatures than regular milk or cream, so don't give into the temptation to use regular milk if that's all you have on hand. Don't doooo iiiittt! You'll be sad at having wasted an entire pound of cheese.
Later this week I'm making tiramisu, not a dessert that I have liked thus far, but I've only had it from chain restaurants and such. I'm hoping that when I make it for myself, it will be delicious. If I STILL don't like it, I have plenty of people to foist it off on :)
I'm also going to make margehrita pizza (which always reminds me of Elizabeth), honey wheat bread, and homemade apple butter. I might blog about that, I might not. Apple butter takes like....14 hours to make, so I'll get up super early on Saturday to put it on. Maybe I can have some on my honey wheat toast for breakfast on SUNDAY! I'm excited :)
All I really want is to be able to buy nice groceries, cook delicious food, and share it with the people I love. <3
The recipe is as follows:
1/2 lb macaroni
dash of salt
4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1 lb grated cheddar (or whatever) cheese
1 12 oz can evaporated milk
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp mustard (optional)
--Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
1) Cook the macaroni until just under done
2) Drain macaroni and toss with melted butter in a 9x13 baking dish
3) Add the eggs, 3/4 of the cheese, and 2/3 of the evaporated milk, mix well and bake 20 minutes, adding the remaining cheese and milk every FIVE MINUTES.
Makes 6 servings.
Soooo good! I was originally going to add bacon bits, but then I got lazy. The original recipe called for sharp cheddar, so that is what I used, but I think next time I will use medium or mild cheddar, it's got a bit more kick to it than I'd like. What makes this recipe so delicious is the combo of evaporated milk and eggs. Evaporated milk can handle higher temperatures than regular milk or cream, so don't give into the temptation to use regular milk if that's all you have on hand. Don't doooo iiiittt! You'll be sad at having wasted an entire pound of cheese.
Later this week I'm making tiramisu, not a dessert that I have liked thus far, but I've only had it from chain restaurants and such. I'm hoping that when I make it for myself, it will be delicious. If I STILL don't like it, I have plenty of people to foist it off on :)
I'm also going to make margehrita pizza (which always reminds me of Elizabeth), honey wheat bread, and homemade apple butter. I might blog about that, I might not. Apple butter takes like....14 hours to make, so I'll get up super early on Saturday to put it on. Maybe I can have some on my honey wheat toast for breakfast on SUNDAY! I'm excited :)
All I really want is to be able to buy nice groceries, cook delicious food, and share it with the people I love. <3
Monday, February 14, 2011
...Do I have something on my face?
People have been staring at me all day, I'm beginning to worry if I look funny :-\ Yeah, I'm kinda dressed up, but it's Valentine's Day!
It's a really great feeling, turning in homework and knowing that your homework kicked everyone else's ass. I was watching you, fellow members of my pseudoscience class, and your homework was only about three pages long. Mine was NINE. That professor has a list posted outside the classroom for everyone to read of students that have a poor attendance record. I'm glad I've only missed one lecture! Next to this sheet is a (as of yet blank) sheet labeled 'sucky grades on major assignment one' (the one I turned in today).
It's beginning to be that time in the semester when I feel like my work is reaching the 'unpleasant' level. Most days, I'm on campus around twelve hours, and I cannot bring all of the work that I could be doing with me, the books are too heavy. Damnation. However, when taking 21 hours, by this time in the semester, I've reached the "kill me now and put me out of my misery" level. Unpleasant is quite manageable.
Remind me to make an appointment to meet with an academic advisor to work out exactly what classes I need to take. I'm taking Japanese in the fall, most definitely. I may need to enlist the aid of Brooks' friend Audrey in my studying. I think that there may be a higher percentage of nerdy people taking Japanese, and that thought is vaguely comforting. I really would like to live in Japan for a while, but would not enjoy living there nearly as much if I couldn't communicate effectively or read any of the signs.
Genetics is a very intellectually engaging course, I'm loving that. However, there is an almost obscene amount of studying that goes with it. In addition to a weekly discussion group, there are now weekly study groups, in addition to my own personal studying...and the 200ish pages of assigned reading every week. 200 pages isn't a lot by itself, but it takes forEVER when the material makes you look like this: @_@
I made an A on my first exam at UT, yippee! Though ,it was considerably more difficult than the exam from the previous semester. The snow day threw off the lecture schedule, and at first the professor said that we were still going to be responsible for the missed material, but right before the exam he changed his mind and substituted questions about material covered in class but that was MUCH more in depth than anticipated, so I only got a 91. There was talk of a curve, but I don't think it will happen. Boo. I need at least a 94 to get an A in that class, and homework/attendance only have a combined total of 10 percent of my grade, so I must redouble my efforts! Working to get a 94 or above is exponentially harder than working to get a 92, and getting a 92 is hard enough, sometimes.
I really like having Dr. McCord as my chemistry professor. I honestly don't know why most people complain about how difficult he is, he makes perfect sense to me, and uses examples that make sense. There's no talk of giant hamburgers on skateboards. I hate that crap.
My pseudoscience class is interesting, it's the only class in which I don't check the time a zillion times. Dr. Coker is interesting, even though he haaaaates psychology (and education majors, don't even get him started on those!). He does demonstrations of various magic tricks and such, and I have no idea how he does them, but he's been teaching the class over 30 years. I think he's a wizard. He looks like a wizard, with his long, white hair in a ponytail.
I fixed my hair to go out for Valentine's with Brooks. It takes sooo freaking long to fix my hair because it's sooooo long. Also I hate hairspray. It's itchy and smells funny.
Days like today make me really really miss walking to the square in Denton to get some Beth Marie's. I want to do that SO BAD. Especially on Valentine's Day! Walking to the square with it all pretty outside to get delicious ice cream cones... Awww. :(
I need encouragement to keep working hard toward my goal! Being sick all last week has me a bit behind where I want to be, and super worn out, to boot.
It's a really great feeling, turning in homework and knowing that your homework kicked everyone else's ass. I was watching you, fellow members of my pseudoscience class, and your homework was only about three pages long. Mine was NINE. That professor has a list posted outside the classroom for everyone to read of students that have a poor attendance record. I'm glad I've only missed one lecture! Next to this sheet is a (as of yet blank) sheet labeled 'sucky grades on major assignment one' (the one I turned in today).
It's beginning to be that time in the semester when I feel like my work is reaching the 'unpleasant' level. Most days, I'm on campus around twelve hours, and I cannot bring all of the work that I could be doing with me, the books are too heavy. Damnation. However, when taking 21 hours, by this time in the semester, I've reached the "kill me now and put me out of my misery" level. Unpleasant is quite manageable.
Remind me to make an appointment to meet with an academic advisor to work out exactly what classes I need to take. I'm taking Japanese in the fall, most definitely. I may need to enlist the aid of Brooks' friend Audrey in my studying. I think that there may be a higher percentage of nerdy people taking Japanese, and that thought is vaguely comforting. I really would like to live in Japan for a while, but would not enjoy living there nearly as much if I couldn't communicate effectively or read any of the signs.
Genetics is a very intellectually engaging course, I'm loving that. However, there is an almost obscene amount of studying that goes with it. In addition to a weekly discussion group, there are now weekly study groups, in addition to my own personal studying...and the 200ish pages of assigned reading every week. 200 pages isn't a lot by itself, but it takes forEVER when the material makes you look like this: @_@
I made an A on my first exam at UT, yippee! Though ,it was considerably more difficult than the exam from the previous semester. The snow day threw off the lecture schedule, and at first the professor said that we were still going to be responsible for the missed material, but right before the exam he changed his mind and substituted questions about material covered in class but that was MUCH more in depth than anticipated, so I only got a 91. There was talk of a curve, but I don't think it will happen. Boo. I need at least a 94 to get an A in that class, and homework/attendance only have a combined total of 10 percent of my grade, so I must redouble my efforts! Working to get a 94 or above is exponentially harder than working to get a 92, and getting a 92 is hard enough, sometimes.
I really like having Dr. McCord as my chemistry professor. I honestly don't know why most people complain about how difficult he is, he makes perfect sense to me, and uses examples that make sense. There's no talk of giant hamburgers on skateboards. I hate that crap.
My pseudoscience class is interesting, it's the only class in which I don't check the time a zillion times. Dr. Coker is interesting, even though he haaaaates psychology (and education majors, don't even get him started on those!). He does demonstrations of various magic tricks and such, and I have no idea how he does them, but he's been teaching the class over 30 years. I think he's a wizard. He looks like a wizard, with his long, white hair in a ponytail.
I fixed my hair to go out for Valentine's with Brooks. It takes sooo freaking long to fix my hair because it's sooooo long. Also I hate hairspray. It's itchy and smells funny.
Days like today make me really really miss walking to the square in Denton to get some Beth Marie's. I want to do that SO BAD. Especially on Valentine's Day! Walking to the square with it all pretty outside to get delicious ice cream cones... Awww. :(
I need encouragement to keep working hard toward my goal! Being sick all last week has me a bit behind where I want to be, and super worn out, to boot.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Misadventures in Apartment-ing
In mid-January, I selected an apartment complex, and got the green light from Mom to apply to live there, so I did. A couple of days later my father said that they weren't going to pay for me to live there. My mother talked to somebody from the Villas (the apartment complex) and told them that she wasn't going to sign the guarantor forms and to discount my application.
I'm upset that I can't live where I'd wanted, and am discouraged of finding an apartment within walking distance of UT for a cheaper price. I finally find one that's marginally (50 bucks) cheaper, I apply to live there, sign my lease, everything is peachy.
Yesterday evening, my mother got a phone call from a representative from the Villas saying that I was liable for a 1-year lease with them. They didn't even call me! They claim to have called me yesterday and sent me messages, but I didn't get any messages yesterday. I called and talked to somebody (presumably the manager?) today, and he said that I was screwed, and spouted a bunch of crap at me. I pointed out that I did not go to the office and sign a lease, and my parents DECLINED to sign their forms (and that they knew that), so my application should have been rendered invalid and that there was no way that I could have any sort of binding contract with them.
I think that just made him angry. :-\ He then just kept insisting that I owed him 15000 dollars. Awesome.
Ironic: the Villas is where I really wanted to live in the first place. The only reason my parents declined allowing me to move there is because my mother has no analytical ability and misinterpreted the data that I sent her. She told my dad that it cost 1700/month, when it is really 1250/month, not very much more than Jefferson26 at all. ::headdesk::
I'm upset that I can't live where I'd wanted, and am discouraged of finding an apartment within walking distance of UT for a cheaper price. I finally find one that's marginally (50 bucks) cheaper, I apply to live there, sign my lease, everything is peachy.
Yesterday evening, my mother got a phone call from a representative from the Villas saying that I was liable for a 1-year lease with them. They didn't even call me! They claim to have called me yesterday and sent me messages, but I didn't get any messages yesterday. I called and talked to somebody (presumably the manager?) today, and he said that I was screwed, and spouted a bunch of crap at me. I pointed out that I did not go to the office and sign a lease, and my parents DECLINED to sign their forms (and that they knew that), so my application should have been rendered invalid and that there was no way that I could have any sort of binding contract with them.
I think that just made him angry. :-\ He then just kept insisting that I owed him 15000 dollars. Awesome.
Ironic: the Villas is where I really wanted to live in the first place. The only reason my parents declined allowing me to move there is because my mother has no analytical ability and misinterpreted the data that I sent her. She told my dad that it cost 1700/month, when it is really 1250/month, not very much more than Jefferson26 at all. ::headdesk::
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