Of raindrops and pigs

 Since I presume no one is reading my blog (and this is thus an exercise in futility?), no one would really know this.

But I am mildly obsessed with Olivia.  This is Olivia:

She's a children's (picture) book character.  I think I have two of the books?  Anyway, they now have all this *merchandise* associated with.  And since I am in fact, and consumerist whore, I want to own them all. (I may have a bit of the 'collector' bug.  And this is totally unrelated to the archaeology, I swear.)  Since I don't, this is only a mild obsession.  You just wait until I have kids, though.

Anyway, for Xmas, or my birthday, or something, my sister got me this really cute teacup:

See the little plastic handle poking out?  That's a tea strainer.  And the lid to keep the steam in!  *swoon*

Anyway, I wanted to microwave, so I searched to see if I could find any info on the mug.  And I discovered they have whole *line* of related ... things.  Not to mention that much of it is food related?  And largely functional?  This is so whimsical that I can ignore the creepy patriarchal undertones of the classic tale that we now know (though I daren't linger on the fact that the wolf is actually *holding* the umbrella for our little hoodling).  In this cute context, clearly we've gotten past that (perhaps one could even argue that this is a representation of the feminist ideal future, where little girl and wolf can live in harmony?).  In any case, the realization of a much larger line of adorableness is again tugging on my materialistic tendencies.  (Yes, I suppose that is a long winded way of saying, to quote a friend:  WANT)

Belated update

Since school started, we've been really bad about eating fresh food.  I don't even want to talk about it.  But I did go shopping at the local grocery store.  Not everything they carry is local, but I know that the owner makes a point to try and buy local when he can.  I was good at restraining myself.  I got some spring onions, broccoli (which I know the husband will eat), and a portabella for the stroganoff tonight.  whoo leftovers.

I haven't updated in a while in part because, well, school, but also because my power cord decided it would be fun to stop working.  Luckily, I've got a new one.  So updates shall continue.

In other news, I had a birthday party.  whoo!  I made cake.

 

It turned out okay.  I was worried about rising (which was apparently not an issue), so I split the cake between two pans.  This was a mistake, as I ended up overcooking it and was pretty dry.  I put some milk on it to moisten it, so it wasn't too bad.  People still liked it.  It was good enough that I would make it again without splitting it, so I can see if I need to tweak it in any other way.

The icing was white chocolate ganache, which turned out okay.  It didn't really want to set, so I whipped it into more of an icing.  I pretty much had the cake coated in white chocolate truffle--that bit was awesome.  Overall there was around a pound of white chocolate in/on the cake.

The ice cream mix failed.  I let it defrost, and am going to try again, though I really doubt that it will be successful.  Otherwise, I'll just put in strawberries, or something.  So much for healthifying.  

The candles are from my sister.  Because she's the coolest little sister ever.

Consistency

I'm failing what with the making dinner and exercizing.  Boring!

I had a birthday party, though.  Will post pictures when my computer stops being broken.  More on that later.

Garlic soup, revisited

Ate the rest of the leftovers.  The large amount of garlic in this apparently give me heart burn.  Which is on one hand good to know, but on the other, sad, because it means I won't be making this anymore.

WebMD has this interesting little article on heartburn.  I think it's probably a good thing for me to keep in mind if/when I have to go back on a bland diet.  I'm better with knowing what I shouldn't eat, than with what I can.

Mmmm, what else.  The salmon was good--I'll be using the ginger/orange sauce again, that's for sure.  The pork was fantastic, and while spicey, the husband really liked it.  I will probably make it again, with minor modifications.  I actually took a picture of it, which I may go back and add, after I download it.

School starts tomorrow.  I don't actually have class, but I need to return some seriously overdue books and finish getting ready for class.  Only $100 for books, which is good, I guess.  But that means there will be significantly less postings, not that anyone reads this.

pork creation

So, I have failed yet again to work out twice this week.  School starts next week--this does not exactly forbode well for how I will fair when I am theoretically more busy.  I am unperturbed; however.  Cooking has done much better.  We may actually eat decently this semester.

In other news, I am making a pork creation that is currently mocking me.  It smells like cookies, I kid you not.  It's a pork loin roast, that I bought for cheap several weeks ago and cut up into more managable portions.  It's been rubbed with oil, a little rice vinegar, marsala, garlic, chipolte puree, oregano and cilantro.  The veggies are an onion, a giantish sweet potatoe and an apple.  The apple, I think, is what is calling out the cookie smell.  It's been cooking for an hour at more or less 350, covered.  I just uncovered it so some of the juices would boil off.  It's not quite hot enough inside either.

I am concerned that it will be too spicey, so I'm hoping all the natural sweetness will counter act that.

Tummy woes

So, I made the garlic soup last night.  It was glorious, though not as pretty as Smitten Kitten's.

M thought it was far too garlicy, which is sad.  I did, more or less, follow the instructions.  I may have added a cup of cream instead of a half.  AND, I used the last of the goose stock (instead of chicken).  Sad, but tastey.  Can't wait for more goose next year--too bad it's so expensive.  I was afraid that the goose would be overpowering (it was a little) but the garlic builds up as you eat it.  The end result was a thick soup that was almost a fondue--I ate three bowls and half a loaf of bread.  This would be great as an appetizer to a steak or similar meal, I think.

I kind of stink.

The one weird thing is that it seemed to have irritated the back of my throat.  I'm not sure if I had a dry throat or what--my nose has been really dry from all the cold, maybe my sinuses are messed up.  I hope to all goodness I'm not developing a garlic allergy.  My--digestive system, shall we say--is somewhat sensitive, and seems to be acting up today.  I'm not sure if it was the less than healthy food I've been eating for dinner (possibly combined with the high fiber lunches I've been having to kind of stave that off) or what.  I'm afraid that it may have been irritated by the garlic, if it was irritating my throat.  In other words, if you're on a bland diet--I don't think this counts.

(eta - accidentally cross post, but I don't care)

Why I don't diet

Mmmm, so right now I'm trying to stave off a mild anxiety attack over what I haven't gotten done today (mind you it's only 10:45 am).  I dropped the man off at work and went grocery shopping.  I answered emails, and checked to see if my tutition has been posted.  It's due tomorrow, and my pay still hasn't shown up.  That is an entirely different gripe, but probably increasing the anxiety.

Anyway, whilst reading one my foodie blogs, the woman complains about her diet because it prevents her from eating some kind of cheesy potatoes that she saw on a different foodie blog.  They looked quiet tastey.  So tastey that it wouldn't matter if I were attempting to restrict my intake, I would eat it.  Because it is nom-ful.

Not to mention, diets--for the most part--don't really work.  You have to make lifestyle changes.  And unless you don't want to eat pasta or butter or something for the rest of your life, don't do a diet.  Health isn't about weight--it's about ease of movement and body image.  I try to exercise, not because I'm fat, but because I can't walk up a flight of stairs if I don't.  Academic work does not lend itself to movement.

Therefore I don't diet, at least not in the traditional sense of attempting to restrict my food intake.  Except for my constant battle with M to reduce the amount of fast food we eat (which is a compound problem--he wants it all the time, and I am weak willed.  He tries to count this as his 'cooking').  I do see value in attempting to reduce over-processed foods, especially corn syrup, but that has less to do with dieting and more to with increasing health.  Soda with sugar isn't particularly better for you than soda with corn syrup.  It only works if you replace soda with juice, or something equivelent. 

Instead, I try to increase my intake of certain types of food.  One summer I decided that I was going to eat five fruits and five vegetables a day.  This is really really difficult to do.  I would get too full to finish off the servings of vegetables, and would frequently not be able to reach 10 servings because I was too full.  It meant I cut out cookies and candies entirely, ate at least one salad (either fruit or veggie) a day, and ate far less grains in general.  I couldn't eat other food if I wanted to.  This doesn't mean that I didn't eat meat or grains at all, just that I ate significantly more vegetables than not.  And it was great.  I don't have much of a sweet tooth anyway (I prefer butter), but even cookies became too sweet for me.  I'd like to try it again, but it might require that a more easy going break time, like I had that summer.  And a husband who was a little more pro-vegetable (though as much as I tease him, he does like them--just not as much as he likes meat).

Right now we're trying to increase our home cooked meals.  This is good as it's cheaper, and usually healthier.  Sometimes.  I am trying to do one vegetarian meal a week too.  That's as close to a diet as I'll ever get.  And I can still eat cheesey potatoes!