Tonight was my grad school alumni event. I was sort of apprehensive about going because I haven't found a job yet and it's been about 8 months since I graduated. People were understanding of the job market and it was nice to be in the company of my fellow unemployed classmates. I guess misery loves company. But it ended up being nice and I got to see some of my friends that I haven't seen in a long time. A mini reunion of sorts. Nothing really eventful happened except the usual exchange of stories to catch each other up on things but non the less I had a good time.
One of my good friends surprised me with news that she will be getting her 3rd degree. Whoa...another degree. I don't know what's up with my friends and their triple degrees. Yea yall know who you are. She'll be getting a culinary management degree. I'm not quite sure what that is but I'm guessing it's like restaurant management. If I were going to back to school, culinary school is the only school I would consider.
So much for networking. Maybe next time.
I'm back to knitting...
Friday, February 19, 2010
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Making your own Emergency Kit
There was an earthquake near my apartment a few weeks ago and with Haiti in the news so much I started thinking about putting together an emergency kit. It's one of those things I always think about when natural disasters or any kind of disaster occurs but I never do anything about it. I figured it was time. Here's what the Ready America site recommends for a basic emergency supply kit.
Recommended Items to Include in a Basic Emergency Supply Kit:
Additional Items to Consider Adding to an Emergency Supply Kit:
I saw on TV a long time ago that the best place to store everything for your emergency kit is in a large plastic garbage can which can be placed in your garage or shed. If you don't have a garage or a shed, I recommend the basic kit because it doesn't take up too much space and you can store the water separately.
Recommended Items to Include in a Basic Emergency Supply Kit:
- Water, one gallon of water per person per day for at least three days, for drinking and sanitation
- Food, at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food
- Battery-powered or hand crank radio and a NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert and extra batteries for both
- Flashlight and extra batteries
- First aid kit
- Whistle to signal for help
- Dust mask, to help filter contaminated air and plastic sheeting and duct tape to shelter-in-place
- Moist towelettes, garbage bags and plastic ties for personal sanitation
- Wrench or pliers to turn off utilities
Additional Items to Consider Adding to an Emergency Supply Kit:
- Prescription medications and glasses
- Infant formula and diapers
- Pet food and extra water for your pet
- Important family documents such as copies of insurance policies, identification and bank account records in a waterproof, portable container
- Cash or traveler's checks and change
- Emergency reference material such as a first aid book or information from www.ready.gov
- Sleeping bag or warm blanket for each person. Consider additional bedding if you live in a cold-weather climate.
- Complete change of clothing including a long sleeved shirt, long pants and sturdy shoes. Consider additional clothing if you live in a cold-weather climate.
- Household chlorine bleach and medicine dropper – When diluted nine parts water to one part bleach, bleach can be used as a disinfectant. Or in an emergency, you can use it to treat water by using 16 drops of regular household liquid bleach per gallon of water. Do not use scented, color safe or bleaches with added cleaners.
- Fire Extinguisher
- Matches in a waterproof container
- Feminine supplies and personal hygiene items
- Mess kits, paper cups, plates and plastic utensils, paper towels
- Paper and pencil
- Books, games, puzzles or other activities for children
I saw on TV a long time ago that the best place to store everything for your emergency kit is in a large plastic garbage can which can be placed in your garage or shed. If you don't have a garage or a shed, I recommend the basic kit because it doesn't take up too much space and you can store the water separately.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Avatar
I finally went to see Avatar. A bunch of my friends already saw it and had different things to say about it. Most of them said it was good and that I should see it, one said it was magical and another said it was funny because of the blue people. I just had to see it for myself. I thought the story line was pretty simple and to the point. I think most people can make a prediction early on as to what is going to happen. The magic was in the 3D technology. The scenes were carefully chosen so that you could experience the 3D to its fully effect. There were many scenes were you felt like you were soaring in the sky along with the characters and you could almost reach out and touch them.
Seeing it on IMAX also made a huge difference because it made you feel like you were being pulled into the movie. After looking up some information on peripheral vision here's what I found:
Peripheral vision starts at the end of central vision and extends to 60 degrees up, 75 degrees down, 60 degrees nasally and 100 degrees temporally. To see how this looks please view the image:
Peripheral Vision
I have a feeling this movie will be out for a while. How long was Titanic out in the theaters? I'm not so sure how long it will remain in IMAX so I'd see it on IMAX if you get the chance.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Narcissus or "Paperwhites"
I’ve been enjoying my Paperwhites for the last several weeks. They look like clusters of little white daffodils and have a nice sweet scent. If you’re looking for an easy and fun house plant for the winter, try out Paperwhites. My friend gave them to me as a house warming present and I liked them so much that I will definitely give them to someone as a present.
The only tip that I have is to plant them in a tall and clear cylinder container because the stems get long and the weight of the flowers will cause them to fall over. I read online that you can soak them in a bleach and water mixture to stunt their growth but I haven't tried it.
Stunt their growth
The only tip that I have is to plant them in a tall and clear cylinder container because the stems get long and the weight of the flowers will cause them to fall over. I read online that you can soak them in a bleach and water mixture to stunt their growth but I haven't tried it.
Stunt their growth
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Health Care is the Pits!
I’m just going to write a short blurb about it because I feel so strongly about it but I don’t want to go on for very long about it because it’s making my stomach worse. I was diagnosed with chronic gastritis and duodenditis. It’s not as bad as an ulcer but it feels like one sometimes. There are a few reasons why my stomach is the way it is but I’m not going to go into that now.
Back to health care. I had an endoscopy done in November to check what was going on with my stomach. It’s basically just a biopsy and they stick a camera down your throat to see what’s going on. Fun stuff huh. I went to a surgery center to have this done because my doctor said it would be a good idea given my symptoms. I wanted to make sure that the procedure would be covered by my insurance because there was no way I could pay for it, if is wasn’t. The doctor and his office reassured me that he was a provider for my insurance company (I have a PPO) and so my insurance would cover the procedure. Fast forward 2 and a half months later and I receive a bill for $7,500. WTF? Apparently, the doctor is a provider but because he performed it at a surgery center and not at his office, it’s not covered. It’s such BS. First of all, they lied to me and secondly, why isn’t there some sort of andon cord for this type of thing? Not that the andon cord is working for Toyota right now...I digress. UUUUUGH! I called my insurance company after receiving my ridiculous Explanation of Benefits (more like Explanation of we take your monthly payments and you can shove the rest up your ass). They told me to file a grievance form online and that they will get back to me in two days. Meanwhile I will have to wait and twittle my thumbs while they decide whether or not to accept my appeal. Ironically, the procedure that was supposed to help me diagnose and fix my stomach is making it worse!
I will not be writing about food for a while.
Back to health care. I had an endoscopy done in November to check what was going on with my stomach. It’s basically just a biopsy and they stick a camera down your throat to see what’s going on. Fun stuff huh. I went to a surgery center to have this done because my doctor said it would be a good idea given my symptoms. I wanted to make sure that the procedure would be covered by my insurance because there was no way I could pay for it, if is wasn’t. The doctor and his office reassured me that he was a provider for my insurance company (I have a PPO) and so my insurance would cover the procedure. Fast forward 2 and a half months later and I receive a bill for $7,500. WTF? Apparently, the doctor is a provider but because he performed it at a surgery center and not at his office, it’s not covered. It’s such BS. First of all, they lied to me and secondly, why isn’t there some sort of andon cord for this type of thing? Not that the andon cord is working for Toyota right now...I digress. UUUUUGH! I called my insurance company after receiving my ridiculous Explanation of Benefits (more like Explanation of we take your monthly payments and you can shove the rest up your ass). They told me to file a grievance form online and that they will get back to me in two days. Meanwhile I will have to wait and twittle my thumbs while they decide whether or not to accept my appeal. Ironically, the procedure that was supposed to help me diagnose and fix my stomach is making it worse!
I will not be writing about food for a while.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Olive herb focaccia
My friend gave me the Bread Bible for Christmas. It's great! It has 300 recipes and I have yet to try them all. I got my pizza dough recipe from this book as well but today I want to talk about focaccia. Focaccia, however is related to pizza dough. I'm just starting out on bread baking so I decided I was going to start with an easier but very tasty bread. This recipe is great because it doesn't involve any kneading. The rising time is about an hour and 15 minutes but that's not too bad considering other breads that can take 2-3 hours and need to be kneaded in between.
I know that most people would rather buy their bread for 3-4 dollars but once you've baked bread yourself, you'll wish you could eat it everyday! Realistically, who has time to bake fresh bread everyday? BUT I want to put out there that it's not as hard as most people think and hopefully you can add it to your repertoire for weekend meals or special occasions. If you're a sandwich lover like me, it'll make your sandwiches go from mmmm to WOW!
Ok...nuff trying to convince you cuz if you're not already convinced to try it, you probably stopped reading.
Although I got the recipe from the Bread Bible, I altered it a little because I didn't have the exact ingredients on hand and I wanted it to fit my taste.
The original recipe is for olive focaccia but I had some fresh rosemary and thyme so I made it an olive herb focaccia.
Ingredients:
*This should be exact. No messing around.
**The original recipe calls for 1 cup of canned black olives but I didn't have these and I prefer Kalamata olives.
Topping for the focaccia:
1/2 cup of finely graded Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons of freshly chopped thyme
1/8 teaspoon of freshly ground pepper
4 tablespoons of olive oil
By the way, ignore the weird table format. I'm practicing my html.
1) In a large bowl combine 2 cups of the flour, yeast, and the salt. Add the hot water, hot milk and the olive oil. You can use a whisk or a heavy-duty electric mixer if you have one. Beat the mixture until well combined about 2 minutes. Mix in the chopped olives and herbs. Switch to a wooden spoon and add the remaining flour, 1/2 a cup at a time until a soft dough that just clears the sides of the bowl is formed. The dough will be sticky soft and oily. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, drizzle the sides of the bowl with more olive oil and cover bowl loosely with plastic wrap. Let rise at room temperature until the dough doubles in size, about one hour.
Before rising:
After rising:
2) Oil a 17 x 11 inch baking sheet. (Your average cookie sheet is this size) Transfer the dough onto the baking sheet and spread the dough apart gently across the entire baking sheet. Smear the top with the topping as evenly as you can. Sprinkle course sea salt if you have some but it's not necessary. Let it rest at room temperature for 15 minutes.
3) Make sure the oven is preheated at 450 degrees for 20 minutes before putting the bread into the oven. If you have a pizza stone place that on the bottom rack of the oven. Place the pan directly onto the stone for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue to bake until golden brown for about 20 minutes. Let the bread cool in the pan for 5 minutes and remove it with two spatulas since it will be quite large. Cool on cooling racks.
Here's a picture of the sandwich that I had for lunch.
It was deeeeelicious!
I know that most people would rather buy their bread for 3-4 dollars but once you've baked bread yourself, you'll wish you could eat it everyday! Realistically, who has time to bake fresh bread everyday? BUT I want to put out there that it's not as hard as most people think and hopefully you can add it to your repertoire for weekend meals or special occasions. If you're a sandwich lover like me, it'll make your sandwiches go from mmmm to WOW!
Ok...nuff trying to convince you cuz if you're not already convinced to try it, you probably stopped reading.
Although I got the recipe from the Bread Bible, I altered it a little because I didn't have the exact ingredients on hand and I wanted it to fit my taste.
The original recipe is for olive focaccia but I had some fresh rosemary and thyme so I made it an olive herb focaccia.
Ingredients:
| Amount | Ingredient |
|---|---|
| 1 Tbsp | Active dry yeast |
| 4 1/2 cups | Flour* |
| 1 1/4 tsp | Salt |
| 1 cup | Hot milk (120 degrees) |
| 1 cup | Hot water (120 degrees) |
| 1/4 cup | Olive oil |
| 1/2 cup | Kalamata olives halved** |
| Olive oiling bowl | |
| 1 1/2 Tbsp | Chopped fresh rosemary |
| 1 1/2 Tbsp | Chopped fresh thyme |
*This should be exact. No messing around.
**The original recipe calls for 1 cup of canned black olives but I didn't have these and I prefer Kalamata olives.
Topping for the focaccia:
1/2 cup of finely graded Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons of freshly chopped thyme
1/8 teaspoon of freshly ground pepper
4 tablespoons of olive oil
By the way, ignore the weird table format. I'm practicing my html.
1) In a large bowl combine 2 cups of the flour, yeast, and the salt. Add the hot water, hot milk and the olive oil. You can use a whisk or a heavy-duty electric mixer if you have one. Beat the mixture until well combined about 2 minutes. Mix in the chopped olives and herbs. Switch to a wooden spoon and add the remaining flour, 1/2 a cup at a time until a soft dough that just clears the sides of the bowl is formed. The dough will be sticky soft and oily. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, drizzle the sides of the bowl with more olive oil and cover bowl loosely with plastic wrap. Let rise at room temperature until the dough doubles in size, about one hour.
Before rising:
After rising:
2) Oil a 17 x 11 inch baking sheet. (Your average cookie sheet is this size) Transfer the dough onto the baking sheet and spread the dough apart gently across the entire baking sheet. Smear the top with the topping as evenly as you can. Sprinkle course sea salt if you have some but it's not necessary. Let it rest at room temperature for 15 minutes.
3) Make sure the oven is preheated at 450 degrees for 20 minutes before putting the bread into the oven. If you have a pizza stone place that on the bottom rack of the oven. Place the pan directly onto the stone for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue to bake until golden brown for about 20 minutes. Let the bread cool in the pan for 5 minutes and remove it with two spatulas since it will be quite large. Cool on cooling racks.
Here's a picture of the sandwich that I had for lunch.
It was deeeeelicious!
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