Frustrated.

I am feeling so artistically frustrated lately. In my last post I mentioned not being motivated to go out and meet people even though I love it. The same goes for art/craft/creativity. I love it, I'm good at it, I may even have a future in it, but on a day to day basis, I am not motivated to do it. I have a million ideas pouring into my head every day and I never make them happen. The only creativity that gets expressed almost every day is what I wear. I don't like to leave the house unless I'm put together. This is the only area in my life where I can be considered high maintenance, by the way. My wardrobe is the only thing that's an everyday constant. I hate this feeling. While I'm writing this, I'm thinking about what the problem is. Why aren't I motivated? Why don't I feel any sense of relief when I do actually do something? For instance, we're trying to get our apartment feeling more homey and want to hang some art. So I'm working on some pieces for our walls. On Saturday I painted, and it turned out really well. I never work with color and even I think that this time around, I did it well. Roomy loved it. High fives all around. But that's where it stopped. I look at the painting. I think "it's good. I like it". But that's it. No drive to make more, no real sense of accomplishment. Just the acknowledgment that I knew I was able to do it and so I did it. End of story. And this is exactly how I started to feel about school. Good grades stopped meaning anything to me. I've been doing the same things, learning about the same things, for 15 years now. And so it's no surprise that after 15 years, I know how to do school. Sure the teachers are different, the classes are called something different, but the content is all mostly the same. And like anything else that one does over and over and over again, it becomes mundane and redundant. You learn the system, you master the system. I wasn't proud of my work anymore. I wasn't being challenged. This must be part of it. I want to learn new mediums and new art forms. I want to work with metals and resin and stone, I want to work with fabric, I want to be challenged to create something I've never created before.

But there's still another piece missing. It's the hunt. The game. Being pitted against time. Negotiating, haggling, compromising, mediating, shaking hands to seal a deal. I crave that. I love that. I'm so incredibly impatient for the day when I get to do that on a regular basis. Art classes are great. Learning new things is incredible. But there's nothing on the line. There's no risk or consequences. The same with this last semester. Yes my transcripts will now have four F's on them, but other than a few months and the cost of the classes (which I'm paying back to my parents), nothing was lost. That was my rationale for not going to class anymore. What's the worst that would happen? Besides bad grades that can be made up, nothing. In my senior year of high school, a literary magazine was started up. I joined and eventually became the liaison between the school and the printers. On top of that I was responsible for the layout, and making sure it got to the printers on time. I was on the phone with them multiple times a day. I was stressed out of my mind, and I loved every second. There's something so thrilling about knowing that you're being depended on, that at any second you could let someone down. Because when you don't, when you pull through and deliver on exactly what you promised, the feeling of accomplishment is extraordinary. You might wonder, wouldn't this eventually get old too? Constantly pulling through and knowing that you can perform under stress can get redundant, too, right? Possibly. But I really don't think so. Tasks like that, jobs, careers, whatever you want to call them, depend on  so many unknown variables. Every day you're dealing with people you don't know. Are they honest? Are they dependable? Are they hard workers? You don't know. Every day is different. Every day is a mine field, and at any moment you could find yourself standing on top of an active mind that you didn't anticipate. I want that! Perhaps that sounds crazy. But to me it sounds fantastic. So I'm frustrated. Because I don't know what exactly I want to do, or what exactly to work towards. Yes it's fabulous having all this freedom to wander and explore and discover, but the line between "explorer" and "bum" is starting to blur and after a semester of not doing anything, I'm impatient to once again be challenged. And however much I'm enjoying this new "roll with it" attitude, I would like to be "rolling with it" toward something. The other day I had a small panic when it hit me that I'm no longer going to a four year school. Suddenly I was picturing all of my friends graduating and moving on, and who knows what I'll be doing at that point. Even though I know this is what I want and need, it's still hard to let go of all the plans I'd had already. In the same way that little girls have their wedding planned by age seven, a lot of people have their lives planned too. What school you'll go to, what degree, what city, what career, what family. No, I didn't have all of that planned to a tee, but I was on a track of some kind. Suddenly I'm wandering through an open field. There's both a feeling of liberation and extreme vulnerability. Anyway, I've gotten off topic. But I think I've mostly made my point. Until my next rant, good day.

-LG

Not Moving.

Updates! Alright so it's looking like I am not, in fact, moving. It turns out that the evil overlords of our apartment complex were screwing us big time. Roomie's dad is a bossy boss, went to the city rent control office, and got the real story on our lease and what is and is not kosher. So NOW I am in the process of once again finding two new roommates to fill out the second room. The ad has been posted to Craigslist, so now we wait. The thing that has me the most stressed is the time constraint. I have plans to go to Chico next week and I won't be able to go unless all of this mess is squared away. If you're reading this, Roommate Stork, please deliver to me two awesome roommates who are just like me. *Side note: I just pictured what it would be like to have a bunch of Laurens wandering around my apartment. Both awesome and terrifying.*

In the meantime I am at my parent's house again. My dad was in the city on Saturday on bike business (his hobby is restoring and riding bikes. He's quite an enthusiast) and we went out to lunch at Squat & Gobble. Who doesn't like a cheesy crepe? Anyway, it was an impromptu decision to come back with him and I'm glad I did because I got to hang out with Chelsea all day yesterday! All of this back and forth has also meant that I haven't had to grocery shop in about a century, which is saving me skrillaz. Which I then went and spent at Marshalls yesterday. And it felt good. You see, Chelsea's little brother is graduating high school on Friday. And Sunday was his Baccalaureate. Which is held in a church and I didn't have anything appropriate to wear. Golly, I guess that means I had to go shopping! So off to Marshalls I went under the pretense that I needed to buy some kitchen appliances (which I did. Kinda) and I came away with a beautiful chiffon maxi dress and some bitchin Miss Sixty heels, the likes of which I've been wanting for quite some time. (PS. My run on sentences are giving Proust a run for his money). The shoes only cost me $20! At that point you're an idiot to leave them behind. The dress was also around $20 and it's so versatile and just so me. I'm in love. Chelsea's parents were taking pictures so I might be able to hunt one down and show you all the ensemble.

But I guess I should have entitled this post "Not Moving. Yet.", because lately I've been having thoughts about moving. I know I've mentioned that before, and more specifically I mentioned SoCal. But the approaching summer (even though it's June, I'm still saying "approaching" since this cloudy, cold, rainy weather is BS!) and talk of graduation and making plans to see friends has me thinking back to carefree, high school summers. And high school in general. I miss having my best friends with me every day. I miss the times when you didn't have to make plans to see each other because you were all going to the same place anyway. I miss having three whole months to do whatever you wanted with whoever you wanted. And I never thought I'd hear myself say these things. I was so ready to get out of high school and away from this town and the people in it. I was excited by the chance to strike out on my own. But the fact is, I've been like that my entire life. I've been "on my own". I've always been independent and prepared for change at any moment. I adjust very quickly to new situations and I'm usually excited by the prospect of my world being upside down for awhile. I thrive on that kind of thing. But I can't deny it any longer: I miss my friends and I don't understand why it's an unwritten requirement that we move away from the people we love when it's time for college. Of course I see the value in it. You learn a lot about yourself when you're forced to meet new people and open up to new groups and kinds of thought. But if we have people in our lives who make us happy, and make us better, and we're miserable when we're away from them, why do we ever leave? The thing is, I'm content with my solitude. I've always been that way. I'm used to being alone and a lot of the time I prefer it. The downside to this is that I'm not highly motivated to go out and meet new people. I love meeting new people. I want new people in my life, and new experiences. I'm just not motivated to make it happen. I'm not happy this way, not in the best sense of the word. But I'm content and functional. I'm tired of just being functional. The people in my life who make me happy, and make me better, have been in my life for years and years. So yes, maybe I'm more dependent on them than I would have liked to admit a few years ago. But I can admit it now. I'm much more outgoing and active when I'm with those people. I want that back. And this has me thinking pretty seriously about the possibility of moving to Chico. Not permanently, but maybe for a year. SoCal is still on the table as well, but moving there with friends would be even better. I want somewhere warm and somewhere with people I love. At this point in my life and my education, I'm pretty free to roam. Since I'm no longer attending a four year university, and won't be for awhile, I have some room to move around and adventure. So why not Chico for awhile? Why not SoCal? Yeah it'll be awhile before this move happens. But awhile can go by in the blink of an eye.

-LG

Moving.

I'm here to apologize for my recent lack of posts/recipe updates. Things are in a shambles here on the homefront. It turns out that I have to move out of my apartment and I have very little time to find a new place. While I'm excited by the prospect of moving and experiencing new neighborhoods and routines, and possibly a house/apartment with a decent sized kitchen, I'm also incredibly stressed by the time constraint and by the fact that it wasn't my idea. How did this happen, you ask? Three out of four of the roomies were on the lease. When one of them moved out, she obviously wanted off the lease. Well it turns out that if one person goes off, we all do. That isn't a problem in and of itself. The problem arose when we were told that if we want to sign a new lease and keep this apartment, our rent would go from $1750 to $2450 starting July 1st. For lack of a more appropriate reaction, fuck. Fuck. So now Roomie and I are going to pay for June, cover the other half between us, while she looks for more roommates to fill this place out, and I look for somewhere else entirely to live. I've already sent out a bunch of emails but I know from experience that people rarely respond. I'm usually on the non-responding side. Lemme just tell you, the receiving side (or non-receiving side, I should say) really sucks. We do have the option of moving more people into this apartment to cheapen our rent, but here's the downside to that: starting in the fall I'm going to be attending a different school. Which means I'll be commuting to school and to wherever I end up working. If I move out, I have the opportunity to move somewhere that cuts down on my commuting costs and that's in an area replete with job opportunities. I also have the opportunity to move into a neighborhood that's actually in San Francisco, and not down in the gray fog belt, in an area that might as well be considered Daly City. This is why I'm excited. But now the pressure is going to be majorly on in August for me to find a job that pays more than what I was making before. My costs will be higher in every way and that stresses me out. This is all a part of the adventure and I'm looking forward to every second of it, but bear with me if I'm absent for awhile. Things just got real hectic real fast. In the meantime, I hope you're all enjoying June!

-LG

Goodbye Italy.

I'm thinking that the month of Italian cooking is coming to a close. Let me apologize for what a giant failure it turned out to be. I didn't make any of my deadlines, and when I did manage to cook something, it was far too similar to what came before it. I will have you know, however, that both the gnocchi and BOTH lasagnas were vastly successful and delicious! I have come to the conclusion that Italian cooking is very time consuming. If you're doing everything from scratch, that is, which I did. I started working on the lasagnas at three yesterday afternoon and was cooking all the way up until we sat down to eat at eight. I did make two, and twenty four hours later they're both gone. I think they were a success, yes? Taking that kind of time to work on a project usually drives me insane and I lose interest but not with cooking, for some reason. I don't even really notice the time passing. Maybe part of it is because food isn't something you can really set aside to finish later. Once you start, you have to finish. Otherwise the ingredients will go bad or you'll be without your dinner. But even so, cooking never feels like a chore or an obligation. So spending five hours in the kitchen yesterday was delightful. The gnocchi didn't take quite that long but you do have to allow an hour for freezing it before boiling it. And an hour and a half for the potatoes to bake. I'll post the recipe for the gluten free gnocchi within the next few days. I'm still currently at my parent's house and will be until Tuesday methinks.

Now I just took a minute to reread my last post and thought that I should expand a bit on it. Once I finally got around to leaving my apartment around four, the fog had burned off and it was actually quite sunny. In fact, it turned out to be a perfect and beautiful afternoon. I was superbly happy. I went straight to the Goodwill in Haight and ended up leaving with what can only be described as a gangster furry coat (it's not really fur, but it is really gangster), a classic Gap denim jacket (much softer than anticipated. I was delighted by this discovery), another men's white tee for $4 (so soft, so white, so cheap), and *drum roll please* high waisted, slim cut, tight leather pants. That feel like butter. For $21.99. That's just not something you say no to. It's just not! I'm hoping to get some decent pictures up of my finds pretty soon. I'm already envisioning outfits, most especially ones that include both the furry coat and the tight leather pants. I can't wait to make this happen.

Next was my jaunt into Whole Foods which, let's be honest, is always a delight and a half. It's a treat to shop there because it really is expensive. But if I'm going to be getting more serious about this gluten free business (for REAL this time), I might have to pay more visits to WF. They have a very large selection of gluten free foods and alternatives, and if there is food available to me that doesn't contain gluten and isn't all that inconvenient to get to, then I need to man up and take advantage of it. I've been lazy up until this point.  Which isn't hard for me to admit. I've been thinking a lot lately about my laziness and trying to figure out where the hell it comes from. Anyway that's beside the point. The point is, I have tight leather pants and gluten free crackers that actually taste good and I thought you all should know.

-LG

Testing Testing.

For those of you who aren't aware, there are tests you can get done to check for gluten intolerance. It's actually a series of three tests, and one of them is a blood test. My big sister is about to embark on Operation Blood Test. What does OBT include, you ask? A week straight of bombarding your small intestine with gluten bombs. She begins tomorrow and has already written up an extensive list of goodies she plans on eating. Top of the list is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on white bread. But the list also includes pastas, pastries, pizza, donuts, bagels, crackers, cereals, etc. I'm going to be going home again this weekend and told her that I wanted to cook for the family. Her response was "LASAGNA!!! PASTA! GLUTEN". You got it! I will be making her a big, cheesy, meaty, gluteny lasagna. I might make two, one gluten free and one gluten filled. And my oldest sister will also be visiting for the weekend so it's going to be a food fest! And the upside to cooking at my parent's house is that they pay for the ingredients. I love it. But until then, I'm going to try my hand at gluten free gnocchi. Here's my current issue, though. Making any kind of  of gluten free pasta or dough requires like three different kinds of doughs and gums, none of which I have, and none of which are sold at TJs or any of the other grocery stores in my area. If I want those things, I have to go to Whole Foods to get them. And let me just tell you, Whole Foods is not near by. And it's foggy and cold today and I am feeling superbly lazy. Blah. But I gotta do it. It's killing me.

Edit: I left this for a few hours to eat and get dressed and decided that since the closest/most convenient Whole Foods is in the Haight, I'll stop by Goodwill while I'm over there! I haven't been thrifting since February which is just criminal. I'll do that first, of course, so that I'm not lugging four pounds of potatoes and tomatoes around the aisles. And bags of flour. Cannot wait. Alright I'm officially off!

-LG

Eggplant Lasagna.

I did it! I made the Eggplant Lasagna. And might I say, I loved every single second of making it. It was an all day project to be sure. I knew that I wanted to make it gluten free and completely from scratch, which is always the most rewarding way to cook. The day started with me selling back old textbooks and getting a whopping $98 for them! Heck yes! So many things to spend that money on. The mind boggles. From there my friend and sous chef and I went on a food adventure in the Outer Richmond district. The weather was perfect, albeit a tad breezy, and we spent a lot of time walking aimlessly from produce market to produce market. I didn't really plan ahead for what I needed. I just figured I'd figure it out as I went along. Which is exactly what I did. From the first market I bought nothing because everything was Russian or Armenian, but I will say that "ethnic markets" (for lack of a better term, I apologize) are always resplendent with ridiculously tasty looking sweets that are fun to peruse. From the second market I bought an eggplant, a yellow onion, and some mozzarella cheese. From the third market I bought another onion, white garlic, black garlic, tomatoes, and tomato paste (the only canned item I bought). From there we decided to get lunch, even though neither of us were hungry. Sometimes you just wanna eat. We ended up at a BBQ joint on Geary, where I ordered a pulled pork sandwich and good god it was tasty. "Lauren, I thought you were going gluten free?" Get off me, okay?! It's hard! I also got a rootbeer float because it had been way too long and sometimes you just wanna float. From there we headed back to my apartment, but made a quick stop at Trader Joes for the parmesan and gorgonzola cheese, sliced mushrooms, ground turkey, and some of my other weekly necessities. Like baked cheese crunchies. And you all should know that they were purchased on Thursday, today is Sunday, and they still haven't been opened. New record. Anyway, finally we made it back to my apartment and the prep work began. This is a rather lengthy process if you decide to go the homemade-from-scratch route. But like I said, it's an incredibly rewarding process, especially if you've never made it before (which I have not. Herego, rewarding). I will say this at the beginning, though: eggplant has a very high moisture content, so when it cooks at that high of a temperature, it releases a lot of fluid. This caused the sauce to be slightly more watery than I intended. That being said, once the lasagna is out of the oven and has cooled a bit, it sets and most of that moisture is reabsorbed. So this is something that I will definitely be making again. I'll write it out the way I did it, but I'll also write in the shortcuts I can think of. And with that, we're off!

You Will Need:
1. 9x13 glass baking dish
2. Olive oil
3. 1 eggplant
4. 1 yellow onion
5. 1 whole garlic clove
6. 5-7 medium tomatoes
7. Sliced mushrooms (I bought mine pre sliced)
8. 1lb+ ground turkey. I probably could have used more than I did.
9. Mozzarella, gorgonzola, and parmesan cheese. I'm blanking on the amount. I bought a log of mozzarella, a good sized wedge of parmesan, and a 16oz tub of herb gorgonzola. I'm hoping that the shape descriptions are sufficient for you.
10. Salt to taste
11. Complimentary spices and herbs of your choice. I chose basil.
12. Two small cans of tomato paste
13. I think that's it...

1. Peel and dice onion
2. Mince the fresh garlic, you'll only need a few cloves worth*
3. Slice the eggplant lengthwise in thin slices, about 1/4 of an inch
4. In a frying pan, cook ground turkey until no longer pink
*Buy a jar of minced garlic

For The Sauce*:
1. Cut up all of your tomatoes into medium sized pieces and put them all in a large sauce pan to simmer
2. As the tomatoes start to soften, use a spoon or fork to mash them up
3. Add in diced onion and minced garlic to taste and let simmer, and set any leftovers aside
4. Add in one can of tomato paste, stir in well, and let simmer
5. Add in salt and spices to taste, continue to simmer
6. I found that my sauce needed another 3/4 of a can of tomato paste, but this will be up to you
7. Once you get your sauce tasting perfect, you can continue to let it simmer on low, low heat until your ready for it
*Buy a few jars of your favorite sauce! This will save you a considerable amount of time.

For The Lasagna:
1. Preheat oven to 400
2. Slice the mozzarella lengthwise, about 1/4 inch thick
3. Grate most, if not all, of the parmesan wedge. No such thing as too much*
*Buy pre-grated parmesan. Just make sure you buy enough

To Assemble:
1. Grease the baking dish with some olive oil
2. Pour some sauce into the base of the pan, not too much but enough to cover
3. Sprinkle in some of the diced onion and minced garlic
4. Lay down your first layer of eggplant slices as if they were lasagna noodles
5. On top of the eggplant lay some of the mushroom slices
6. On top of the mushroom slices, lay down slices of mozzarella, and a generous layer of parmesan and gorgonzola as well
7. On top of the cheese, layer some of the ground turkey
8. Sprinkle on more of the diced onions
9. Repeat steps 2-8 to make the second layer.
10. For the top, lay down the rest of your mozzarella slices, the rest of your grated parmesan, and the rest of your gorgonzola (or however much cheese you want). But remember, the top of a lasagna is supposed to be a magnificent crust of melted cheeses, so don't be shy!

Put the lasagna in the oven for about 40 minutes. Use the top layer of cheese as your reference point. When it looks all melted and nicely browned around the edges, it's ready! Let cool and set before cutting into it. Enjoy!

A Slow And Painful Death.

I have been gone for a few days and for that I apologize. I'm still trying to recover from my weekend and I can't believe it's only Tuesday. I work five days this week, all eight hour shifts, during one of the busiest times of the semester: buyback. It's going to be a long, painful, exhausting week. Which means I picked a terrible weekend to get down with my bad self. I mentioned already that Friday night was one of underaged drinking splendor. It included fist fights, the police, and cocaine. What? Yeah. After the party roomie and I attended, we headed back to our apartment. It's all a little hazy but at some point someone decided that, since we drink, it meant that we were "cool with drugs here, right?", which meant that it was a good time to whip out some cocaine. Um...no. So he got the boot. Saturday roomie and I had a soccer game, and we played like champs considering our hangovers. We lost, but we lost in style. The rest of the day was for recovery and preparation. For what, you ask? Bay to Breakers. For those of you unfamiliar with what BtoB is, I shall explain. It's a seven mile run from the Bay to Ocean Beach by way of Golden Gate Park. "Lauren, I didn't know you were a runner!". I'm not, it's against my religion. But a giant, mostly nude, drunken, halloween-esque parade of hundreds of thousands of people in the early morning hours of May is not against my religion, and so I did partake. Search it on Google images, you'll see what I mean. Anyway, Saturday night roomie and I slept over at her boyfriend's house so that we could wake up bright and early (6:30 am) and meet up with everyone else/pre-game (drinking before you drink). I did not pregame, because I despise the taste of alcohol and it turns out my feelings are no different at dawn. It still tastes like hellfire. In fact, I was hating life on our way there, once we got there, and for about an hour of being there. Being the only sober one in a sea of drunks is obnoxious. Not to mention the fact that the particular drunks I was with suck big time. Not to mention the fact that I've spent my entire life being an observer and usually have a hard time enjoying myself at these types of shindigs due to my inability to participate. But you guys, I discovered the secret. I'm not sure where along the route we were when I decided to suck it up and start drinking, but my god it was a good choice. Avid drinkers call this a "day fade"; drunk in the day time. I dunno who started this trend of drinking while the sun is up but I am a fan. I high fived many fellow day faders. Roomie received a free temporary tattoo somewhere in Golden Gate park. I asked an older naked gentleman about his lifestyle choices. I peed outside for the first time excluding camping! So basically my first outdoor drunk pee! Too much information? I'm sorry, but it needed to be said. And for the record, I outdoor-drunk-pee like a pro. Anyway, we made a lot of beautiful memories that day. It's a shame I can't recall most of them.

What does all this have to do with my title of doom up there? Physical pain. That's what. Saturday's game left me feeling shredded. And not shredded as in "buff" but shredded as in "torn-to-shreds-kill-me-now-put-me-out-of-my-misery-can't-even-sit-down-without-yelping-in-pain". That kind. Add to that a seven mile walk and now 40 hours of standing. Wanna know what else? This world was designed for short people. For buyback at work (when the students sell back their textbooks), we have extra registers set up outside the store. They're set up on tables. Tables that come up to my frickin upper thigh. I'm going to be spending 40 hours this week squatting, bending, cranking my already effed up neck/back (more on that in a bit), and tweaking my wrist on the computer mouse. I can't even describe all the different kinds of pain I'm feeling right now. All I know is that it's only Tuesday and I still have three more days of this. To top it all off, I can't sleep. You'd think that after a weekend like that and workdays like I've been having, I'd be too exhausted to function. Oh wait a minute, I am. But then I lay down and suddenly I'm wired. And now for the complaints about my neck: about a month ago I stretched my neck awkwardly, causing it to get stuck in a sideways position for a few days. I love having to rotate my entire upper body to look a few inches to my left. It eventually relaxed but while it was spasming, my other neck/upper back muscles overcompensated to pick up the slack, and as a result they got strained and out of whack. It continues to get worse and radiate farther down my back. So. The next few days are going to absolutely rock the healing process. Can you say hot mess? Welcome to my slow and painful death. If you haven't already noticed, the shitty SF weather is putting me in a funk. Have I mentioned that I want to get the frick out of here? Okay I'm done, I swear.

-LG

Alexa's Oatmeal Chocolate Toffee Cookies.

I have an obsession with cookies. I would choose a warm, gooey, mouth watering cookie over almost any dessert. Any kind of cookie draws me in instantly, but most importantly if there is chocolate involved it’s game over. These cookies I made are my absolute favorite because they have everything you want in a cookie: chocolate, hazelnut, oatmeal, and for the grand finale, toffee. It doesn’t get any better than that. This is Giada De Laurentiis’ recipe so you know it will kick every other cookie out of the water. Giada and I are on the same level when it comes to desserts go big or go home. Give it a try. You will not regret this decision!
P.S.- Might I add that the cookie dough is to die for as well, especially after being in the freezer for an hour or two.

Ingredients
•    1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
•    2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
•    1 teaspoon baking powder
•    1 teaspoon baking soda
•    1/2 teaspoon salt
•    1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), at room temperature
•    1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
•    1 cup granulated sugar
•    2 large eggs
•    1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
•    4 ounces English toffee candy, finely chopped (recommended: Heath or Skor)
•    1 cup hazelnuts, toasted, skinned and chopped
•    1 (12-ounce) bag semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Line 2 heavy baking sheets with parchment paper. Finely chop the oats in a food processor. Transfer the oats to a medium bowl. Mix in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars in a large bowl until fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Add the flour mixture and stir just until blended. Stir in the toffee, hazelnuts, and chocolate chips.

For each cookie, drop 1 rounded tablespoonful of dough onto sheet, spacing 1 inch apart (do not flatten dough). Bake until the cookies are golden (cookies will flatten slightly), about 15 minutes. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 5 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely. (The cookies can be prepared 1 day ahead. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.) Enjoy!

-Alexa 

Roast Eggplant Mozzarella.

After leaving you last night for my evening of libations and rabble rousing with other drunken strangers, I had an eggplant breakthrough. This recipe acted as a brainstorm session for my real first Italian recipe, which will be *drum roll* gluten free Eggplant lasagna. Instead of noodles, I will use Eggplant. It's going to be a great success. But I'll need to buy more Eggplant and the other necessary ingredients for that so this will have to tide you over until then. And no, I will not apologize for my apparent addiction to roasting food. 425 degrees is where it's at!

As it always seems to go with me, portion sizes are all going to be "to taste" and "however the eff much you want". As far as how much this serves, that depends on how much space you have in your Pyrex dish, how much Eggplant you have, and how much you can put away by yourself. I made enough last night for two people, easy, and I ate it all within 15 minutes. So.

You Will Need:
-1 medium to large Eggplant
-Fresh garlic, whole
-Pasta sauce of your choice. I went with TJ's tomato basil marinara because it's heavenly
-Olive oil
-Mozzarella cheese
-Garlic herb spice mix, or the spice of your choice

1. Preheat the oven to 425.
2. Grease a 9x13 glass baking dish with olive oil, making sure you coat the sides as well.
3. Cut off Eggplant stem.
4. Slice Eggplant lengthwise*, about 1/2 an inch thick. Set aside.
5. Cut Mozzarella into slices about 5/8 of an inch thick. Set aside.
6. Peel garlic and keep cloves whole. You'll want maybe 1/3 to 1/2 of the cloves. Set aside.
7. Place slices of Eggplant in greased baking dish and pour some extra olive oil over the top. I used my fingers to rub it in/get an even coat over the whole slice. You don't need a lot! It's just to help prevent drying.
8. Season the Eggplant with the spice of your choice, to taste.
9. Place some of the whole cloves and all of the Mozzarella on top of the Eggplant slices. Make sure you put some of the cloves directly on the Eggplant. When the cheese melts over it, it's a delightful garlic-y surprise when you take a bite.
10. Pour pasta sauce over all of it, to taste. There's no such thing as too much, but there is such a thing as too little.
11. Throw any leftover garlic cloves into the dish. They'll add aroma and flavor, and roasted garlic has a wonderful texture and taste.
12. Place in the oven for about 20-30 minutes or until the cheese is fully melted but not burnt.
13. Eat!

*You can cut the Eggplant into rounds if you'd prefer, it makes no difference in flavor. If you're serving more people, rounds may make it easier to divvy it up.

The only thing I would do differently is season it with a mixture of garlic herb AND garlic salt. The dish itself isn't very salty so I definitely added salt before eating, and cooking it with garlic salt would eliminate the need. That and you can make it with a mix of cheeses. Parmesan would also add that salty flavor. But other than that, it was wonderful. It was warm and gooey and filling and healthy! The perfect meal. And it's an awesome vegetarian option as Eggplant is actually very meaty in texture, much like a beefy mushroom. My Eggplant lasagna, however, will not be vegetarian. No sir. Anyhow, enjoy!

-LG

I Just Met The Mayor.

The Mayor of Tasty Town. That's right, folks. According to Trader Joes, the Eggplant is the Mayor of Tasty Town. And that's not someone you say no to. So I bought one. Wait a minute, you're thinking. You spent money? That's right! Because I got paid today! And I went straight to TJ's. I frickin love grocery shopping on payday. To celebrate, I bought an Eggplant. It is currently roasting away in my oven with fresh garlic cloves, garlic herb seasoning, tomato basil spaghetti sauce, and mozarella cheese. So consider this my first foray into Italian cooking! At least for this month. Over the course of the next 24 hours I'm going to try to come up with a name for it. I was gonna say it's my own version of Eggplant parmesan, but without the parmesan I'm not sure if that name still holds up. And Eggplant mozarella just doesn't have the same ring to it. At this point all you need to know is that it smells amazing, and after 15 minutes of roastage it looks amazing too. I cannot wait! I wish I were hungrier, but due to my destruction of another whole bag of baked cheese crunchies, my appetite is not what it should be. Again, I have very little self control, especially with anything that can be classified as a snack.

                                                     ...........................................................

I left for a few minutes to enjoy my feast and sweet mother of god I just made magic. It was so good. I would pay for that in a restaurant. I love wingin it! I mean granted, I didn't do anything too crazy or combine flavors that have never met each other before, but still! Success in the kitchen is one of my favorite things ever! I can't wait to use the rest of my Eggplant for something else. I shall be posting the very simple, very delicious recipe tomorrow some time. For now I need to go clean up and put my face on. I'm goin out tonight. And the only thing that will make this evening fun and bearable is to be very drunk. With that, I leave you to be jealous of my natural prowess in the kitchen. 

-LG

Cake.

I love it. Well that and all baked goods. Anyhow, I've come across a new favorite food blog! She's a baker and her blog is dripping with cakes, cupcakes, cream puffs, and all other treats classified as "pastry". Check it out: The Scootabaker.

Speaking of baked goods, I attempted the rice crackers, and I'd say all in all they were a success. I want to make them again, though, so that I continue perfecting them into something that I would not only make for myself, but buy from the store.

Speaking of the store, I get paid today! I've managed to make that last $2.88 stretch across a few days. On Wednesday, a coworker of mine asked if I wanted to pick up any hours on Thursday. I quickly agreed but then remembered that while I would have enough to make it to work, I wouldn't be able to get back. Yes this is the second time this has happened to me. So he gave me $5 to cover his shift! Sick! Except now I'm in the pickle all over again because while I have enough to make it to work to pick up my check, I won't have enough to get back. Which means I'll have to do what I did last time: deposit my check in the Bank of America ATM on the USF campus, take it all back out in cash, break one of the 20's for bus money, and then deposit it all in the Patelco ATM on my campus. THEN, and only then, do I get to go grocery shopping. And I'm dreading my check because I'm afraid to see how little it will be for considering how much I've had to call in lately. So you see why I'm still sitting on my couch in my pajamas eating a bag of carrots. That and I got over 12 hours of sleep which only makes me more tired than I was to begin with. I'm a bum. And I'm currently occupying my time by looking over the City College class catalog (again) drooling over all the classes. And I'm throwing myself into another mini panic thinking about all the classes that I want to take and how I'm going to fit them all, plus a job, into the next I don't even know how many semesters and what's after that? I want to finish my degree although what it's in will most likely change after my creative adventure, and I don't think I want to finish it at State. So where else would I like to go? If I'm planing on moving to SoCal eventually, should I be looking at schools down there? Or are California schools a lost cause at this point? Maybe I should consider my out of state options. And all of this depends, of course, on what I decide I want to pursue degree wise, which drops me back at square one. You see, however much I have embraced this new live-for-today mindset/lifestyle, I'm still a planner through and through. I always will be. Yes I have relaxed an astronomical amount, but I still like to know my general direction, even if it ends up changing along the way. Welcome, folks, to my stream of consciousness. It can be rather dizzying when I really get going. Anyway, I was about to list some of the classes I just came across that I hadn't listed before but A) I'm not done looking, and B) It's a really, really, really long list.

-LG 

Oh and PS the potential cool news never happened soooo...my b!

Chico Idol.

So remember when I said I wanted to be in a band? I forgot to mention that in Freshman year of high school, Chelsea and I made a very sad attempt to make music together. We had a band name, a few other members, and a myspace page. But no music. We were a backward bunch. THIS time we have music first. Or at least some lyrics and a tune. No instrumentals. This is a definite step up from last time. Step number two is for Chelsea to learn the guitar and for me to become the world's best harmonica-ist...harmonicist...harmonist...mkay the world's best harmonica player! I have a blues harmonica and my grandpa's house is the perfect place to pretend you're awesome at it. So the month of July will be devoted to learning how to drive his truck, pulling up veggies, and playing the harmonica. Which leads me to what this post is about. In August I'm going to try to make a trip to Chico and stay there for a good solid week if possible, because Chelsea and I are going to have a hippy week. What's that you ask? A week of sitting in the sun, listening to classic rock, being lazy (but peaceful), eating (obviously), and making sweet sweet music together. I literally cannot wait. While I wouldn't want to live in Chico full time, I'm excited to pretend I do. It's gonna be a good week. I would like for it to last longer but she'll be working and I'll be needing to look for a job so we shall see. BUT the point is, Vailwood (our old band) will be reunited for one awesome week of attempted music making!

In other news, remember this dress? I'm almost done with it! As in, I could be finished with it in the next few hours. As in, this could be one of my first finished projects in...well, years. As embarrassing as that is to admit. And it's actually looking very nice! If I didn't have to wake up early this morning, I would have stayed up late to finish it. Alas. My bed was calling me. As it is right now. I'm painfully exhausted.

In other other news, you know how I said I might have cool news tonight? Scratch that. I might have cool news tomorrow night. I got the dates mixed up! Anyhow I'm off to go work on my dress and perhaps watch some 30 Rock. I started from the beginning and good lord I love this show. Toodles!

-LG

Rice Rice Baby.

I believe it was yesterday, perhaps the day before, that I mentioned a rice cracker recipe I wanted to try. Today just might be the day. But first, some good news! We found roommate number 3! She seems like she'll fit right into our weird little nest of sarcasm and African dancing. We are very very excited. It's crazy to think that in just a few weeks it'll just be Alyssa and I in the apartment. Until the newbies move in, that is. We still need to find number 4, but we want to give number 3 the chance to be a part of the picking process, since it will be her roommate after all. Anyhow we can't wait to switch things up. We're both ready for a change of pace and I think that this will be a very positive experience indeed.

But back to the crackers. I'm drawn to this particular recipe because it's essentially a blank slate. It's a cracker dough to which you can do whatever you want. There are so many flavor options! Each batch makes about three dozen which is pretty good considering how little it calls for, ingredients wise. It's basically flour, cooked rice, oil, and water. If it's a success, I'll probably be making these quite a bit. They're healthy and easy and I love having snacks around. Especially ones that I made. So for my first batch, I'm thinking maybe a garlic salt variety? Perhaps salt and vinegar? There's also the cinnamon sugar option. Or teriyaki. Shit! Do you see what I have to deal with?! The utter and complete stressor that my life has become?!

I just reread that last paragraph and I'm laughing to myself at how I said "I love having snacks around". Biggest understatement of the century. It's at the point where I don't buy them for myself because otherwise I eat them all in an hour. Example: last week when I made the candied citrus peels, I bought a bag of baked cheese crunchies from Trader Joes. I decided to crack them open and have a few while I worked on my lemons and oranges. The bag was empty before I was done with the prep work. To be fair, the bags aren't very large, but I mean jesus christ, woman, where's your self control! At least my addictive personality applies only to food and hoarding, and not drugs and porn. I got lucky there.

Aaaand to wrap this up, I may or may not have some exciting news tomorrow night so stay tuned. Well, it's not really news. It's more like I may or may not be doing something tomorrow night that will end up being worth mentioning. So stay tuned.

-LG

Alexa's Spring Salad.

I go to school in Oregon so the weather is rarely hot out, but today was warm and beautiful so I  automatically wanted something healthy and fresh. I decided to whip up this delicious salad. My mom makes this salad for me everytime I’m home and I needed a homey meal to get me through these next five weeks. All the ingredients mend together so nicely and the eggs add that protein you need to get you through the day. The dressing is a very creamy mustard mixture that works wonderfully with the eggs and vegtables. It’s a fast and easy salad to make so I highly recommend trying it.

Ingredients:
-Half a bag of lettuce
-½ of a cucumber
-½ of a red onion
-2 eggs

Dressing:
-1 garlic clove minced
-Dash of salt and pepper
-2 tablespoons of olive oil
-1 tablespoon of honey mustard
-1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard



Directions:
Fill up a pot half way with water and let boil for the eggs. Once water is ready put in both eggs and let cook for ten minutes*. While waiting for the eggs you can prep the other ingredients. Chop up half a cucumber and half an onion. Once both are chopped to your preference set aside and make dressing. Blend the olive oil, both mustards, minced garlic, salt and pepper together with a whisk and set aside. Once eggs are cooked, peel the eggs and chop them up. Put all of the ingredients on the lettuce of your choice and then add dressing. Mix all together and taste to see if it needs more salt or pepper. Then bon appetit!

*Note: Eggs coming out of the fridge are cold, and putting them directly into hot water can cause them to crack. I suggest letting them sit for a few minutes in a bowl of warm water while you wait for the other water to boil. This way there's an easier temperature transition for the eggs. I also suggest putting them in a bowl of cold water once you've removed them from the boiling water. This will stop them from cooking (they continue to cook once removed from the boiling water) and it will also make them cooler to the touch/easier to handle.

May Mishaps and Mother's Day.

Happy Mother'a Day, all! I love this day. I love seeing all the sons and husbands on their way somewhere with a beautiful bouquet of flowers. There's something about seeing a man with flowers that gets me to grinning. I don't mean when they're for me. I just mean in general. It's one of my secret pleasures in life to observe people when they don't know they're being watched. And believe me, I've tried to come up with less creepy ways to say that and there just aren't any, okay? Anyway, I've always loved people watching. But it's more than just sitting on a park bench watching the passers by. It's the split second, the moment that turns my eye into a camera. It's one image, or a series of images. The man standing on the train platform holding a bouquet of peonies, dressed up because it's a special day. Mother's day is perfect for just such an image. I could write for days about the joys of people watching but that will be for another post.

Anyhow, I made the trek home this morning with a giant duffel bag full of laundry and a mind full of financial stress. But I suppose I'll start from the beginning. May has been an interesting month thus far. It's only been a week and already it's proven to be quite tricky. As I mentioned before, I'm broke. Hence my lack of new recipes considering I can't buy the necessary ingredients. Or I can, but one week at a time. For instance, I found a recipe for rice crackers that I really want to try. In general I hate the taste of rice crackers but for a gluten free eater, they're a decent snack. So on Friday after work I went to the store and left with brown rice flour and deoderant. Because when you're on as tight a budget as I am right now, you buy 1/5 of a cracker recipe and scented powder for your pits. You have to be very choosy. While food would be nice, not smelling like onions is nicer. At this rate I will have the crackers made by mid-August. I also really want to make gnocchi for my first Italian recipe, but it also requires brown rice flour. Gluten free flour/baking mixes come in small quantities for a large price so for now I'll have to choose between gnocchi and rice crackers. I hate that Alexa and I have already lost some momentum, but this isn't a permanent issue, I promise. She's smack in the middle of midterms and I'm smack in the middle of poor financial management. But we're not quitting! This is just a speed bump. Moving on to more mishappage, I'm sick. I have a sore throat, I'm back and forth with fevers, and I have a cough that makes me feel like I'm choking on my own lungs. You know what this means? I'm calling in to work again tomorrow. There's $80 that I could really use. On top of that, I ran out of all my necessities within a few days of each other. Facewash, moisturizer, toothpaste, and laundry detergent. So here I am. At my parent's house after a BART trip that I really couldn't afford with a laundry bag full of laundry that would have otherwise stayed dirty. I'm basically paying $10 to do a load of laundry. FML. And on top of all of this loveliness, I got asked out today by a guy far too many years my senior. Again. What the EFF is the deal? Do I mind getting asked out? Not particularly. But do I mind when the only males asking me out are in their late 20's or early 30's? Um, yes. I mind. Actually, this was probably the youngest one I've encountered. Generally speaking, these guys are in their 40's and clearly out of their minds. I don't think I've ever told this gem of a story, so here goes: about a month ago I stopped by Trader Joes on my way home from an eight hour day at work. I'm perusing the apples when out of the corner of my eye I see this 40 something year old man who, despite his receding hairline has hair to his shoulders. He's staring at me. I look at him and raise my eyebrows, hoping that the embarrassment of being caught will force him to look away. False. Apparently what I gave him was my "come hither" face. Not looking away, he manages to navigate his way around the apple bin and sidle up to me with what has got to be the creepiest smile ever. I'm expecting him to greet me, drop a cheesy line, introduce himself at least. But no. He opens up with "I heard a really inspiring song today". *Crickets*. My first thought is "oh shit, he's trying to convert me in the middle of the produce section". My second thought is "what the fuck?!" What does one even say to that? I'm pretty sure I said "oh yeah?" So he tells me he heard it just before getting to TJ's, it was really good. Then he proceeds to whip out his iPhone, ask if I want to hear it, and before I can say "what the hell is wrong with you?" he has Youtube opened and the video playing. So now I'm standing in the middle of the fruit section with a 40 year old no higher than my chin watching Joe Cocker sing "I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends" live from Germany on a frickin iPhone. All the while I'm still trying to pick out apples. "Yes," I agree, "that's a good one". As I start pushing my cart away, anywhere away I don't care where just get me the FRICK out of here, he says "can I send you the link?". I'm sorry, what? Are you frickin kidding me with this? I mean does this work for him? Was I a guinnea pig or has he tried this on other women and been met with great success? And do I look that stupid? Sure, perfect stranger, here's my email address. I can't wait to see how creepy you can be in writing since your live performance is spellbinding. "No thanks," I say, "I can just look it up on Youtube". He then proceeds to act like it's a super hard video to find and he's not sure what it's called and he wouldn't even know where to find it and no, he'd better send me the link. He then proceeds to start asking me about my life. The fact that I'm clearly a college student doesn't seem to deter him. I don't even remember how this debacle ended. But I do know that a week later, at the same time, I was at TJ's doing my weekly shopping and guess who else was there! Yep. He had a beanie on this time but I would recognize those skinny little legs and that red windbreaker anywhere. I then spent the next 30 minutes playing hide and seek, peeking around corners, and looking over my shoulder. Moral of the story: if you're older than 23, I'm not interested! Please do not stare at me, approach me, or tell me that I have piercing eyes (yes, that happened too).

Anywaaaaay, other than all of that, May has been kind to me. And despite the fact that I'm living paycheck to paycheck, I can't stay down for too long. The sun is shining, school is over in a week (not that that should change anything, considering I no longer attend my classes), and summer is just around the corner. Next up is Alexa's most recent recipe! Happy Mother's Day, folks!

-LG

Holy Crepe!

Ha! See what I did there? Anyway, I just thought I'd share some details of my day. I didn't do much of anything but at one point I got hungry, went into my kitchen, and thought "I'm gonna bake something!" So dammit, I did. It took all of 5 minutes to whip it together and 20 minutes to bake. Such a good choice. Now I have something to snack on this week. I made another "muffin cake" but this time I added some of the orange compote to it, along with some vanilla extract and it's quite good! In fact I could have gotten away with adding more of the compote since the flavor is almost too subtle. But with some butter and honey on it, my goodness it's delightful! Then around 3 I decided that maybe I should shower and brush my teeth. Better late than never. I spent a good deal of time dancing in my bathroom while getting ready for my night out. One of my biffles managed to score two free tickets to an early showing of Bridesmaids and oh my sweet Jesus I laughed through the entire thing. It is frickin hilarious. I definitely need to go back with my sisters in honor of the upcoming wedding. And I highly recommend that you all go see it when it comes out (you know, when the peasantry see movies. Not like us special folk, who see things a week early). It was playing at the Marina theater over on Chestnut, which is one of my favorite neighborhoods. I love the whole Marina district, but Chestnut is so pretty with all of it's shops and restaurants and there's always good people watching. Tonight especially, since it's Cinco de Mayo (congratulations, Mexico!) and the streets were pleasantly crowded with revelers in sombreros. After the movie got out we decided to walk around a bit and take in the sights. Then we started talking about Squat and Gobble (since there was one right down the street) and how neither of us had ever had a crepe! *Gasp!* It was 9:15 at this point so there was no way they were still open, right? WRONG! Not only were they open, but they were still serving! It was such a beautiful serendipity. I tell you, folks, the simple pleasures. One of my new years resolutions was to be more impulsive and so far it has not led me astray. It's mostly just led me to good food. I got the chicken pesto crepe and she got the "whole thing", which is a dessert crepe with nutella, bananas, cinnamon, walnuts, and I don't know what else but they were to die for. I didn't even realize until halfway through that I had effed up my gluten free diet. Shit! But it was tasty so I'm having a hard time feeling bad about it. I'll get back on the wagon tomorrow. Anyhow, I have to wake up in approximately 5 hours so I should really be getting to bed. And hopefully one of these days I'll actually have something exciting to share with you! Perhaps even a picture or two if you're lucky! Happy Friday and happy sunshine!

-LG

Candied Citrus Peels.

I may be half a week late on this bad boy but here 'tis! I found this on Allrecipes.com, so this is the recipe plus my added tips and failures. I will say that this particular recipe takes a lot of prep time. The cooking itself is easy, since you pretty much just let the peels do their thing. But the cutting and peeling is quite the process so make sure you have a large chunk of time set aside if you want to take these on. Also, go ahead and figure out what candied citrus peel is used for and how you would go about storing them. Then get back to me with what you find. Here we go!

For the lemon peels, you will need:

-3 whole lemons
-2 cups of water
-2 cups granulated sugar, or as needed

1. Slice the lemons into wedges.
2. With a spoon or knife, remove the pulp.
3. Now you should be left with the peel and a significant amount of white rind. The goal is to remove as much of the rind as possible. You basically want to be left with a thin sheet of yellow with no white rind at all if possible. The rind is what makes it especially bitter. So with a knife, cut away the rind.
4. If your lemon peels aren't already in thin strips, cut them so that they're about 1/2 inch wide.
5. In a small saucepan, bring water to a boil.
6. Once boiling, add your lemon peels and boil for about 5 minutes or until "tender", whatever the hell that means. I'm not gonna reach my hand into a pot of boiling water to test their tenderness.
7. With tongs, remove peels and set aside. Add sugar to water and bring back to a boil.
8. Place peels back in the boiling sugar-water and let boil until "transparent". The recipe didn't specify whether it meant once the liquid was transparent or once the peels were transparent. But I decided it meant once the peels were transparent. They won't go completely clear, obviously, but let them boil for a fair amount of time until they're thin and coated with a good amount of the syrup.
9. Once finished, remove peels from syrup and set aside to dry. The syrup can now be used as a simple lemon syrup.

For the oranges, it's the same process. I used 3 large navel oranges and that was too many, so 1 or 2 should be just fine. Removing the rind is just as important  with the oranges. I found that the orange peels were tastier to eat plain than the lemon peels were. I also found that the orange sugar-water solution seemed to evaporate faster or more significantly than the lemon sugar-water did. This left me with much less, but much thicker, orange syrup than lemon syrup. In fact the orange syrup was thicker than honey and could have been made into orange suckers. I may have inadvertently used less water with the oranges, but I'm not sure.

Not wanting to waste the actual fruit, I made lemon compote and orange compote. The lemon compote has definite potential, but unfortunately this particular batch turned out much more sour than I realized. The orange compote was a straight up mistake and unless I can bake it into a batch of muffins or bread, I'll have to toss it. Or maybe I'll use it as a marinade. So many options, friends!

*Note: I wrote this on Wednesday and forgot to post it! I am so very sorry!*

Once Again...

...let me apologize for not having the recipes posted in a timely manner! Between Alexa's midterms and my empty bank account, it has been difficult to stay perfectly on schedule. Why should being broke affect my cooking? Because until today, I hadn't grocery shopped in about two weeks. That's why.  I can say that I did try a new recipe today (candied lemon and orange peels) and that I'm thinking I'll use that for last week's recipe. But I'll have to do that tomorrow because while it's a simple recipe, they do take me quite some time to write out. Plus I don't know what to do with them. Or how to store them. Or if they even need to be stored. I didn't get that far. So as of right now I have two plates of candied citrus peel kickin' it on my kitchen counter.

Today I spent the day sleeping in until 11 (which, sadly, isn't as satisfying as it was when I was in highschool), making a trip to Trader Joes, buying more weight than I can realistically carry, walking back to my apartment while trying to keep my produce and almond cookies from falling out of my ridiculously large canvas bag, candying peels, and discovering an overwhelming amount of beautiful music. It was a slow day, but it felt somewhat productive. I love being in the kitchen, and the more I'm in there, the more I love it. I should clarify. I love cooking in the kitchen. Cleaning the kitchen is not quite as meditative as cooking. But after spending $60 on groceries today, which is quite a bit more than I usually spend, I decided that if I'm going to spend money I'm going to spend it on food. If cooking makes me happy, and since I need to eat, then my money is better spent on food than it is on a pair of heels I'll only wear a few times. I suddenly just remembered that I need to do laundry. My clean underwear is at a critically low level...I digress. As I was saying, as long as I eat all the food I buy and waste as little as possible AND only buy food that I have a specific plan for, then I am okay with this new budget of mine.

In other news, the roommate search is going off without a hitch! Like gangbusters! I was about to list a third lil' cliche but none came to mind. Anyway, we posted the ad today and already got like 15 responses so shit just got real. It's kind of nerve wracking looking for new roommates. Living with someone is completely different from being their friend or acquaintance. But it's exciting, too, and I think we may have already found at least one person who fits the bill. I'll keep you updated! And with that I need to go get ready for bed. It's hump day tomorrow, hooray!

-LG

How To Be A Good Blogger...

...and why I suck at it.

It takes pictures, people. A lot of them. And good ones. You have to be the kind of person who carries their camera everywhere with them and takes pictures of every single detail that makes up your day. You also need a friend or boyfriend/girlfriend or sibling who happens to be available all the time to come with you on your various adventures and snap photos of you walking/eating/browsing/standing. This sounds like I'm being critical or sarcastic, and I swear I'm not. That's just the reality of the situation. And I am/have none of those things. There are times when I think "man I wish I had a camera right now", especially for beautiful views and architecture. But even when I do have a camera with me, I'm too busy enjoying the view to remember to take a picture of it. I like to just absorb my surroundings, experience my food, walk around the city, without having to interrupt my flow of activity and thought to capture it on camera. So for that I apologize. I can imagine that this little blog can feel pretty mundane, and seem like a place for me to ramble incessantly about god knows what. But I'm not going to lie, I enjoy the transition it's made from what it was in the beginning. It feels much more like me now, and less like the person that I was trying to be. It's a pretty accurate portrayal of the ways in which I've been changing over the past few months and it's been interesting for me to both watch and experience. I hope it's been interesting for you too.

As far as the next few months go, big changes are ahead! School is ending in two weeks, I'm done at my job at the end of May, preparations for my sister's wedding are getting much more serious and I'm thinking about possible sewing projects for things to wear while I frolic on the beach, my month with my grandpa gets closer and closer, and chances are that I'll be spending a great deal of time at my parent's place during the month of June. Why, you ask? Because chances are I'll have no money and therefore staying in my apartment full time would be...well, hungry. Either way, I cannot wait for this summer to officially begin! I had a little taste of it this past weekend hiking the Las Trampas hills with a friend and sitting out on the back porch with my parents and my sister eating chips and oranges. It was perfect and such a tease!

Anyhow, I need to go be productive and take advantage of the beautiful weather outside so off I go!

-LG

Roommates Needed!

Roomie and I are officially on the hunt for two new roommates. We should have been a few weeks ago but we are slackers. Anyway, the craigslist ad has been posted, so we are in business. I'm gonna re post the ad here because you never know, future roomies 1 and 2 could be readers of this here blogular!


"Hi! We are two 20 year old female SFSU students living in a 2 bedroom 2 bathroom apartment in Parkmerced and are currently looking for one or two female roommates, preferably in our age range, to take the second bedroom. Our monthly rent with 4 people is $450 plus utilities, Comcast, and PG&E. It never exceeds $500 total. For financial reasons, we prefer having two roommates as it makes the cost of rent more manageable. However, if one person wanted their own room and bathroom and didn’t mind covering the other half of the rent, we’re open to that too. The new tenant/s would start paying rent in June, since our current roommates will be moving out at the end of this month. We’re looking for a tenant/s to stay for the duration of the 2011/2012 school year.

We’re fun and laidback but keep a clean apartment. We’ve been trying to make our place more like home and like to treat it that way.

We want to meet with any prospective roommates in person and see if it would be a good fit and show you the apartment, so if this sounds like a place you’d be interested in, let us know!

-Lauren and Alyssa"



 If anybody knows anyone in the San Francisco bay area looking for a place to live that's right off campus and the M line, let them know! You know how awesome I am, and Alyssa is just as cool. So seriously, spread the word!


-LG

Went To See The Gypsy...

...and she told me I was destined to work in retail.

Just kidding, there is no gypsy. But I'm telling you, folks, I am way too good at customer service and it's freaking me out. Normally my job in the bookstore consists of standing for hours while reading magazines and folding shirts, and occasionally ringing up a customer (when people actually decide to come in the store, which isn't that often). When I do interact with customers, I love it. For the most part. A lot of them are my age, don't know how to make eye contact, and apparently never learned that when a cashier's hand is extended to them with palm raised, it means "put your money here". Not "toss your money on the counter while grunting". But do I get ornery with those little bastards? No I do not. I smile. I take their currency. I handle their purchases with care and ask if they're familiar with our return policy. No? I explain it in detail, but with few words. Because that's what customers like. I would know. I've been one before. But I digress. The point is, an average day at the bookstore doesn't provide me with too many opportunities to flex my customer service muscles. But Friday and yesterday were not your average day. Graduation is just around the corner, so USF holds a Grad Fair. They shouldn't call it this, as the word "Fair" connotes rides, games, bounce houses, and alcohol. This Grad Fair is more of a "free coffee and mini muffins in a multipurpose room that has tables for you to sign up for the Alumni Association, get your graduation tickets, pick up your cap and gown, and purchase landfill teddy bears and license plate borders from the bookstore table". But I'm okay with this ridiculous tradition because it means that I get to sell diploma frames to the proud and excited graduates. First of all, the Grad Fair is awesome because it includes free food and drink all day. Second of all, it means sitting around with my coworkers (way more employees working this thing than necessary, my manager's MO) talking nonsense for seven hours. Third of all, it means I get to kick some customer service ass. I don't know what it is, but I get a high from this crap. I love explaining why the Windsor finish frame with the medallion costs $25 more than the Classic finish frame with the embossed stamp. I love reminding them that the frames for the Master diplomas are going to be considerably larger than the Bachelor frames, and that yes PhD and Master are the same size. I love informing them that if they order today, shipping is free. And normally it's $35 dollars so it really is a deal. But of course, frames are always available in the bookstore if they're not quite ready to purchase today. I sicken myself. But damn I'm good. I sold the shit out of those frames. I'm not trying to sound cocky, I'm just telling it like it is.

In all honesty, though, I need a new job. I intend to get a new one in August when I'm back in the city, preferably one closer to where I live or closer to City College in order to lessen my weekly commute. But it has got to be a job where I'm working with people. Not in theory. Actual face-to-face, assisting the customer, working with people. Did I mention that I have fantastic phone presence? Because I do. That's an aside. I want a job that keeps me busy enough to keep my eyes off the clock. I want a job where I get to work with an awesome bunch of people. I want a job that will keep me thinking and engaged. I want a job that has windows so that I can actually see the sun and not just imagine that it's there. No more basements or back rooms for me. Put it out into the universe for me, readers. I'm counting on you.

-LG

Out Like A Lamb.

I know that it's March, and not April, that's "In like a lion, out like a lamb". But the last day of April was as soft and sweet as any day in March could hope to be. I stepped outside on my way to work and was immediately overcome with feelings of gratitude. The sun was warm, the breeze was mild, and everything smelled like Jasmine. Which happens to be one of my favorite scents. I'm very aware of the fact that I will never forget this Spring. The past few months have been pivotal for me; so many things have changed in a short period of time. I keep trying to think of ways to verbalize it. I want to make a list of all the things that have changed, and of all the good that's come with waking up from a 20 year long Winter. But it's a long list. And it's 1:07 AM. This was supposed to be a waaay cooler post. Much more informative. And much more poetic. It's the thought that counts, right?

-LG

Summertime, and the Livin' Is Easy.

3 more weeks of school!!!!! Okay now I can add exclamation marks, and here's why. Things are starting to solidify. I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before on the blog, but last summer I spent a month living with my grandpa and acting as caretaker for both him and the property. My aunt and uncle began a pretty extensive vegetable garden on the property and while they were away for the month I picked and cooked vegetables like nobody's business. Well they've taken that garden and expanded it tenfold. They began a community garden on another piece of the property, and from what they say, it's the size of three football fields. I am beyond excited to finally go back! That month was one of the best in my life. I got to cook, garden, deepen my relationship with my grandpa, and spend some much needed time with myself. Internet is mostly nonexistent, cell service is spotty, and it's too hot to sit and watch TV. It can be lonely at times, but I wouldn't have changed a thing about it. And now I get to go back, and while the work is going to be ten times harder than last summer, I'm looking forward to it so much. Living in the city makes me crave the outdoors and the heat and extensive physical activity and pretty soon I'll have more than I'll know what to do with! I'm giddy!

On top of that, I'll be going from Sonora to Hawaii for my sister's wedding. I've hardly ever been out of California so this is going to be such an adventure. I'll have plenty of wedding preparations to work on while I'm at my grandpa's so there shouldn't be a dull moment. After the wedding I'll have just a few weeks of August until school starts once again. Things are starting to take shape right before my eyes and let me tell you, I am loving the way it looks.

-LG

Breakfast.

This wonderful tradition is not something I get to take part in all that much anymore. The mornings that I work don't leave enough time for me to eat before leaving, and now my body has gotten used to waiting until lunch. That means that on days that I don't work, like today, I'm generally not hungry when I wake up. But today was different. Today was going to be glorious. I woke up (at 7:30, since my mom seems to have a sixth sense for when I'm trying to sleep in and promptly texts me) hungry and imagining what delights I could fill my belly with on this fine, beautiful, sunny day. Alas, upon opening the fridge I was met head on by a stench so foul it almost made me lose my appetite. Imagine low tide. Rotten sea weed. Perhaps a dead fish. Now take that scent and mix it with stagnant, rotten, polluted lake water. Apparently that's what spinach smells like when it decomposes in the drawer of our fridge. I 409'd the shit out of our kitchen, hoping to cover the smell of death with the smell of toxic chemicals. So far it's doing the trick, but I might have to do a second layer of Febreeze Passionfruit in a little while.

Like I said, it almost made me lose my appetite. But I'm not easily deterred when I have soft boiled eggs on the brain. For anyone who has never had a soft boiled egg, please get on my level. They are amazing. It's essentially my perfect egg. Cooked whites with a creamy, gooey, salty yoke. Clearly I don't pay much attention to cholesterol. Last year when I was living in the dorms and had access to an all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet, I had two eggs every morning for breakfast. It's amazing that I haven't needed a triple bypass yet. Anyhow, the soft boiled egg is a tricky one to master. You have to get the timing down perfectly, and I spent many a morning last summer and fall experimenting. Five minutes and thirty seconds. Not a second more. Not a second less. If you don't cok it long enough, the whites will be runny, and let me tell you: there is absolutely nothing worse in this world than watery, runny whites that ruin your perfectly crafted, creamy yoke. "Lauren, what about world hunger? Genocide?" Nope. Runny whites. But I have a system down now that guarantees me the perfect soft boiled egg, and I just might share it with you all.

Along with my eggs I had some Greek yogurt and honey, and I mixed in some of my leftover blackberry compote. It was rather tasty. Although I will say that mixing in frozen fruit (mango chunks, for instance) is more my style. I like it cold. Anyhow, now that I have a free day and nowhere to go, I'm going to continue working on the dress, perhaps watch some more OC, and perhaps even do some of the exercises in my Fitness magazine. How lovely does that sound! Happy hump day all, I hope the sun is shining wherever you are!

-LG

PS Three more weeks until school is over. I'm too excited to add exclamation points (fun fact: when I was little I referred to those as "excited marks". Aptly named, if I do say so myself). This month is gonna go by so. Fast. Hell to the yes.

Alexa's Hearty Pasta With Ground Turkey and Tomato Sauce.

I absolutely love ground turkey because it’s so versatile and healthy. I was craving something hearty so I decided to make up my own recipe with the ingredients I had in my fridge. I knew I wanted pasta and ground turkey so I combined them with a fresh tomato sauce. You can use any kind of pasta, but I used trofie, which takes a little longer to cook so you can use spaghetti, penne or linguine. Whatever you prefer.

I also added arugula and parmesan cheese to the pasta when it was complete. The arugula added this indescribable kick and the parmesan of course gave it a tremendous flavor. Parmesan is one of my favorite cheeses and when you pair it with pasta it’s heaven in your mouth. I was running low on vegetables so the the small amount of arugula was the perfect addition to the pasta. I made a smaller portion for just myself so if you’re thinking about making it for another person or a group of people you can double or triple the recipe. You will want to try this recipe because it’s very fresh, somewhat healthy and mouth watering. Give it a shot!


Ingredients:
-2 Tablespoons of Olive oil
-Teaspoon of salt
-Teaspoon of pepper
-One garlic clove, minced
-Half of a yellow onion, chopped
-1/2 a can of tomato sauce
-Ground turkey ( Your preference if you want it meaty add more)
-Handful of arugula
-½ cup of parmesan


Directions:

Fill up a pot halfway with water and let boil. While you wait for water to boil cook ground turkey in a separate pan until golden brown.

In a sauce pan, heat up olive oil and then add the minced garlic. Let garlic cook and then add the chopped onion. Let that all simmer until the onions are soft. Add the tomato sauce and let it come to a boil then add salt and pepper. Drain the grease from the ground turkey and add to the tomato sauce. Mix that until turkey is drenched in sauce. Once water boils add pasta. Let pasta cook for 12-15 minutes if you use trofie. Then combine sauce and pasta. Add the grated parmesan and arugula and then Bon Appétit!!!!

-Alexa

So Funny I Forgot To Laugh.

That's how much of my misfortune seems to go. Or idiocy, I should say. I have to laugh at myself because it's just too late to get upset. So it turns out that I have negative funds in my bank account and I do, in fact, possess a beater. I guess that last one isn't so much misfortune as it is me being too lazy to thoroughly check my kitchen. And I guess that first one isn't so much misfortune as it is me being too lazy to frequently check my bank balance. In any case, I just called in sick for work tomorrow, seeing as I have $2 to my name. Enough to get to work, but not enough to get home. And I'd rather not be stuck there, thanks. I thought that I was a "starving college student". One who happened to eat more than enough and shopped. A lot. But I think I just hit rock bottom and I tell ya, the view from down here is not pretty. It's tainted with panic and self-disgust and filled with the echoes of my promises to change my ways. If you're picturing the bottom of a deep, dark well, you're spot on. I get paid on Friday and don't have to go anywhere until then so I'm not panicking too much, but still. The best part is that the first thing I thought was "how am I going to get groceries for this week's recipe?!". Good to know my priorities are in order. I know that's what you were worried about too, but don't fret. I have plenty of ingredients to throw something together, and now I have a beater at my disposal so look out!

Anyway, now that I don't have to get up early for work, and since I'm not tired, I'm going to go watch The OC in bed while deconstructing this dress. I figured out what I wanna do to it, so here's to hoping I don't royally fuck it up. My plan is to make it shorter, take off the sleeves, remove the zipper from the back, and cut both the front and back necklines into V's. Then of course finishing off the edges. I've done something similar to a silky blouse, and it was rather successful. It's a shame I got deep red lipstick all over the back and can't wear it now. How did I manage that? Being an idiot. If you haven't already noticed, it's kinda my thing. ANYWAY! I'm leaving now, to go bask in the gray, murky glory that is my financial negligence. Toodles.

-LG

Post Script.

Alexa's recipe will be along shortly. Homegirl is in the middle of midterms and school comes first. So you just hold your horses.

-LG

Muffin Cake With Goat Cheese Frosting and Fruit Compote.

Alright here it is! Two days later than originally planned but you should be used to my tardiness by now. Pretend that it's endearing. A charming trait. One of my many delightful idiosyncrasies that brings you back again and again.

As I mentioned before, I wanted to make something with goat cheese. I don't know what it is with me lately, but I couldn't get goat cheese off my mind. I always find the stuff enchanting but this was along the lines of an irrational pregnancy craving. No I'm not pregnant. Anyway, specifically the combination of goat cheese and fruit. It's heavenly. So on Saturday morning I decided that I would make cake just so that I would have something to put goat cheese frosting on. The cake itself was made with a gluten free baking mix I already had on hand, and if I'm being completely honest, it was muffin mix. So I'm just gonna call it muffin cake. The muffin cake was provided by Pamela's, the gluten free brand I usually go with.

It's a good brand for mixes for things from pizza dough to cookies. I know that it's sold at Whole Foods. I'm not sure where else but you can always buy it online if you're interested. Anyhow, I used the muffin recipe from this particular mix and it was tasty enough. I'll get into that later.

I made two separate cakes. A nutmeg-cinnamon cake with pear compote, and a plain muffin cake with lemon juice and zest and blackberry-lemon compote.

Cake:
-Use the mix of your choice, or make it from scratch. I would suggest making something slightly more dense (but still moist) as opposed to a light and fluffy cake. I don't know why, I just feel like something too fluffy would clash with the frosting and compote.
-I chose to use bread pans instead of a cake pan or muffin tin. But any of these would work, it all depends on what you want the finished product to look like. I wanted two small two-tiered cakes, hence the bread pan.
-I wanted two different flavors of cake. To the first mix I added about a teaspoon of cinnamon and maybe half a teaspoon of nutmeg, but add to taste. To the second mix I added about a tablespoon of fresh squeezed lemon juice and zested some of the peel, but again, add to taste.
-Bake the cakes as the recipe suggests, and let cool completely before frosting.

Goat Cheese Frosting:
-12 ounces goat cheese, room temperature
-6 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
-1/2 cup confectioners sugar
-In a bowl, beat all 3 together thoroughly. You will most definitely have extra and it can be stored, covered, for up to three days. If you're like me and don't have a beater, you can mix by hand. It will be harder and take longer but this is why the ingredients being room temperature is so important. The softer they are, the easier it is for you to mix them.

Fruit Compote:
-Fruit of your choice (I used pears and blackberries)
-Sugar (optional)
-Water (optional)
-Cinnamon (optional but it tastes bomb so go ahead and use it)
-Lemon juice

-Fruit compote is one of those things that turns out to be so incredibly easy and delicious, it leaves you delightfully shocked and wondering why you didn't do it sooner. You will need fruit, sugar, and water. Like all of my recipes before this, I have half-assed measurements that depend on how much you're making and what you're using it for. So I'll say this: compote can be used for a great many things. I used it as cake filling but you can substitute it for jam on toast, add it to yogurt, put it in your oatmeal, or just eat it straight. Therefore if you make more than you need, it's fine. Put it in a container and use it tomorrow for something else. It's healthier than jam as you may not even need to add the sugar. That's really only for fruits that are more tart. The natural sweetness of the fruit is often all you need. The water is for fruits that have a lower moisture content, although off the top of my head I can't think of a good example.
-In a saucepan, simmer your fruit on a low heat and stir frequently. The heat will begin to break the fruit down and give it the consistency of a pie filling. This is also a matter of preference. If you want your compote to have more whole pieces of fruit, cook it for a shorter period of time. I wanted mine to be mushier, so I cooked it longer.
-For the pear compote, I used 2.5 bosque pears (they're crunchier than a bartlett pear, and have a crisper flavor) and chopped them into small cubes. I didn't add any sugar but did add some cinnamon (to taste. Sorry!). I guarantee that you will not need sugar for the pear compote. It's a sweet fruit to begin with and not in the least bit tart. Remember to stir frequently to prevent burning and to make sure it's all cooking evenly. If you wish, use a fork or spoon to mash the fruit as it gets softer if you want a mushier consistency. When the compote is at a consistency you like, remove from heat.
-If you are using a fruit with a lower water content, you can add some water. You don't need a lot! Start with less and work your way up if you feel it still isn't enough.
-For the blackberry-lemon compote, I did end up adding about a tablespoon of water (it turned out to be unnecessary but it didn't ruin anything), a tablespoon of sugar (but it's to taste. You can shoot me if you want) and some fresh-squeezed lemon juice. The sugar is more necessary with a fruit like blackberries since they can be very tart. When the compote it hot, it's more watery. But after removing it from the heat and letting it cool, it thickens up a bit.
-Remove from heat. Set aside.


Now that your cakes have cooled completely, you can begin icing. Mine started out as two rectangular cakes. I cut them in half so that they could later be stacked on top of each other to create two square two-tiered cakes. I frosted the bottom layers with a generous amount of goat cheese frosting. To the cinnamon nutmeg cake, I topped the bottom layer with the pear compote. I put the top layer on, frosted it, and added some pear slices, compote, and sprinkled cinnamon to the top for decoration. Repeat the steps for the blackberry cake. Keep in mind that the blackberry compote is runnier by nature as it is a very juicy fruit. This means that some of the juices ran down the side of the cake. I find this charming and rather pretty. I topped it with a few leftover blackberries and compote juice, letting it dribble down the side. I also added some lemon zest to the top. I then popped both cakes in the fridge to let them set.

If I were to go back and do any of this again, I would change a few things. One, I would use a different cake mix. It didn't taste bad, but gluten free mixes have a tendency to all have a corn-y aftertaste and texture about them. It takes away from the other flavors. Granted, I was using a muffin mix so I can't be too surprised that my cakes came out tasting like muffins.  Two, I would wait until just before presenting the cakes to add the compote to the top. It didn't make a huge difference with the pears, but as you can see from the top picture, the blackberry compote bled into the frosting and set there in the fridge. Fresh dribbles and zest would have looked much more attractive. Three, I would have shaved the cakes down a little to make them more evenly square and flat. Four, I would have thought ahead more about what I wanted the finished product to look like. When you make up recipes as you go the way I have been, your focus is all on the individual steps. When you get to the end you realize that you hadn't planned that far ahead and now you have no idea how to make it look as good as it tastes. At least that's what my problem has been. Food styling is a whole new world for me and I'm still figuring out how to incorporate my other styling skills into the kitchen.

Anyhow, there you have it! I'm sorry this was such a novel. I guess that's what happens when you don't use any actual measurements for things. I'll work on that, I promise. If anybody takes any part of this recipe on, please please please share it! Enjoy!

-LG

Delay.

Apparently our upstairs neighbors (the partiers and early morning masturbators) have turned their living room into a court of some kind. Not basketball, though, no. They are an edgy crowd that enjoys hybrid sports. This one is like extreme frisbee mixed with basketball mixed with golf. From what we can tell, it involves a lot of bouncing of said golf ball (don't be fooled by a golf ball's size. They make quite the ruckus). And chatter. A lot of incoherent yet persistent chatter. So it's a spectator sport. And once again, we are offended. Why weren't we invited! We enjoy Tuesday afternoon beer pong, and who doesn't relish the occasional 3 am bathtub self-pleasure sesh? And now this? The bastards.

Anyway, I am SORRY but the recipes are gonna have to be posted tomorrow. If I'm being completely honest, I'm exhausted. It's a good exhausted, as I spent the last few hours being stuffed to the point of uncomfortable bloating by my friend's cooking. But I'm exhausted nonetheless. Here's the upside: if I post tomorrow (which I will), I will have had a chance to get the pictures of my creations from my sister's phone.

The weather tomorrow is supposed to be a grand improvement from this morning's and I plan on spending the day enjoying the sun with a friend for a late birthday lunch. We're getting Ramen down by the ocean and I'm very much looking forward to it. So now you have even more updates to look forward to! You lucky ducks! Anyhow, congratulations on Monday coming to an end and I hope your Tuesday is magnificent. Splendiferous. Glorious.

-LG