At some point or another, you will crave the warm, homey flavors of apple pie. It’s inevitable. From there you can have a few reactions: You can ignore it, which will not work for at least a few days. You can go out and buy a really gross plasticy commercial-tasting pie from a store. You can go through the slaving effort of making a whole pie that you only want one piece of. Or you can take a regular apple and make a small, simple, microwave version of an apple pie. The great thing about this self-invented recipe is it is never the same and can be changed according to whatever your exact cravings are.
First, take an apple, softer apples are better but whatever works for you is good. Peel it and core it. Put it in a bowl and do your best to shove alternate pads of butter and brown sugar into the center, and sometimes it helps to put some butter and sugar outside around the apple. You shouldn't use more than two tablespoons of butter or you'll clog an artery. Here's where you can get creative. I often sprinkle cinnamon in the center and then around the top. However, it is also possible to add walnuts or pecans or even graham cracker chunks. A dash of nutmeg may make for an interesting twist or perhaps some ginger. Anything to satisfy whatever your current apple craving is.
Once, your apple has all it trimmin's, simply put it in the microwave until it gets soft (that means you get to stab it with a fork). It usually works best if you put it in for 30 seconds at a time. Once it is soft, it is probably pretty hot, so some vanilla ice cream is always a perfect way of cooling it off and complementing the spicy, complex flavors with such a simple perfect topping. Whipped cream can also work well for this, but sometimes its best to just let the mini apple pie alone and have it with a cup of tea. However you make this very vague recipe yours, it's sure to fulfill that apple pie craving anytime.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Dorm Life and Food
So, I've been in school about two and a half weeks. Everything's going great: still trying to find a group of friends and adjust to the very different schedule of being a college student. One of the downsides, I have found, is the food. I must go out, rain or shine, in order to eat or I must eat whatever I can stash in my tiny fridge that also holds my three other roommates hordes of food. Our campuses are split up and a ten minute bus ride away from each other. The only "caf" on this campus (other than the starbucks we all go to for breakfast) is solely italian food. It's good food mind you, but you can only eat penne in alfredo sauce so many days in a row. I have also been stuffing our fridge with whatever I can get from the convenience store with whatever meal plan swipes I have left at the end of the week. Currently, our fridge mostly has drinks: apple juice, milk, fresca, water, starbuck's coffees, and red bull (not mine). Another issue I have is the lack of fruit, vegetables, and cheese, technically you can get apples and bananas from the convenience store, but I have been craving blueberries and raw string beans for a whole week now. Also, today, thanks to m y nutrition class, I really want oatmeal and bran flakes in my room.
Anyway, I was going to the convenience store because I am going away this weekend and must use three swipes a day to use them all up for this week. I started to get stuff like milk and apple juice and red bull for my roommates. There's only so much you can swipe for. I was looking at the meal plan snacks and microwave burritos, which I don't normally look at but I noticed they had this snack pack. Apple slices, grapes, honey wheat pretzels, and cheddar cheese! Obviously, I got it and have eaten it almost instantly. I'm munching as I type. I am in homey snack heaven.
Anyway, I was going to the convenience store because I am going away this weekend and must use three swipes a day to use them all up for this week. I started to get stuff like milk and apple juice and red bull for my roommates. There's only so much you can swipe for. I was looking at the meal plan snacks and microwave burritos, which I don't normally look at but I noticed they had this snack pack. Apple slices, grapes, honey wheat pretzels, and cheddar cheese! Obviously, I got it and have eaten it almost instantly. I'm munching as I type. I am in homey snack heaven.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Just Call Me “Cupcake”
This is an essay I submitted to my school to be eligible for scholarships. If you have no understanding of steaming, egocentric sarcasm, please do not read this post.
I should be totally, exclusively even, considered for this scholarship because, unlike most applicants and potential recipients who think of this $cholar$hip as a semester worth of books and lab fees, I think of this $cholar$hip as a pair of checkered pants, a set of knives, a blowtorch, a chainsaw. You may be wondering, “Is she running away to become a sadistic clown?” The answer: Of course not, though my superior balloon sculpting abilities, desire to learn how to ride a unicycle, and the afro-like curls I flaunt might imply otherwise. But no, in all honestly, I am going out to live my dream, to fulfill my destiny, and to contribute to the growing obesity rate in our consumering country. Yes, I am going to be a pastry chef, graduating from Johnson and Wales University after four sugar coated years of fruit chopping, sugar caramelizing, and ice sculpting. They don’t call my soon to be and much anticipated major Baking and Pastry Arts for nothing; for me, food is another medium to be crafted, sculpted, presented and then enjoyed by everyone, to be beauty in the eye and mouth of the beholder.
But more to the point. It is needless to say that my 4.067606706706706706709 GPA is above average exceptionality. I have done nothing but pass, if not epically succeed at, all of my courses taken at AC but have often chosen the path of self-interest and self-fulfillment over transcript padding and “looking good” for colleges. I have taken four electives, sacrificing my little loved Honors World History II and third year of Spanish to write poems about yoyo’s and egg-beaters, jump on a trampoline while reciting Shakespeare, sketch Troll, my sock monkey, in a mixer full of packing peanuts in candle light, and impersonate a close-talker at a Christmas party. However, I have still managed to take a total of five AP courses and am miraculously able to control my doodling to only half the class period or to “on-topic” doodles. My procrastination and horrible study skills have never managed to pay off, often resulting in better than anticipated grades.
Outside the classrooms, I spend the majority of my time in the beautiful, spacious, well-lit Regent Theater. “The show must go on” is a phrase I invented when I single-handedly saved an entire performance while stage-managing the musical. Also, my melodious, euphonic voice has furthered my career in both the drama musical review in the fall and the liturgical choir, which I grace with my voice every Wednesday. However, such is my humility and modesty, that I often grant others the majority of the solos, and I choose to be backstage for the musical, lest my beauty distract the audience from the actual show. When I am not rescuing drama queens or being perfectly on pitch in choir, I run a sort of shelter for the less fortunate. I lead a band of crazed, abnormal individuals into love and acceptance and a means of tolerating Mondays. I direct the Other Club, providing hope, scavenger hunts, and improv games for the less normal at AC. Also, I am in charge of the future, the souls of dozens of children are put in my care on a weekly basis as I teach them such values as love, compassion, and how to properly use a sock puppet. I teach second grade religious education to members of my parish who have reached the age of reason and are ready to receive both First Reconciliation and First Communion. Obviously, second grade is a very, very important year, and I am honored but not surprised that their fragile understanding is put in my tender care. Oh yeah, one more thing. I’ve baked over twenty dozen cupcakes for friends and beggars birthdays. I still have to bake at least another six dozen this year. Some of you reading this have benefited.
So, there. Just call me “Cupcake.”
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Liquid Apple Pie
So, I've made friends with one of the RA's in my building. He's not my RA, but he's my favorite. He was the first person I persuaded to play DDR with me in the Rec Room. Anyway, whenever he's manning the front desk, I always stop to chat. So, I was coming back from emptying out the convenience store with my end of the week leftover food swipes, and who was at the desk, but my favorite RA. I offered him some of the swag I got, Starbucks frappuccino bottles, chocolate pudding, apple juice... And he got really excited about the apple juice. How can you not get excited about apple juice? It's delicious and awesome, like childhood. Anyway again, I gave him a bottle, and we began discussing the wonderfulness known as apple juice. All of a sudden he became really excited again. He told me I must go to Starbucks (everyone lives off of the Starbucks on our campus) and order "apple juice with dolce something," which apparently translates to cinnamon dolce syrup to the starbucks employees. So sunday morning I head in, get coffee cake and order it, getting corrected by the cashier who skillfully interpreted the meaning from my incoherent stutters. I got it, it was no great beauty as some Starbuck's drinks are. It looked like apple juice in a Starbucks cup and nothing more. Then, I took the first sip. The first sip was like... super mega amazing, autumn captured in a cup, liquid apple pie and really delicious. Unfortunately, subsequent sips were really intolerably sweet and gross, but it has not tainted the memory of that first perfect sip of fall.
Just Wanted to Let You All Know
Right at this very moment, I am sitting in the laundry room, reading my nutrition book which is saying all sorts of things like what americans need to eat more of and less of to not be obese, while eating microwave kettle corn and listening to Queen's "Fat-Bottomed Girls."
It's mildly ironic.
It's mildly ironic.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Move-In
I have officially survived and thrived at my first week of college. Adjusting to such a huge life change can be difficult and stressful. I find I have much more time on my hands as well as not enough time to everything. As such, I hope you can forgive me for skipping my blog post on Wednesday, especially when I specifically said I would post. To make it up, this post will be rather long to include what my classes and professors are like.
So, Move-in was crazy, hectic, tiring, stressful, exciting. I had mountains of packed stuff sitting in my front hall for weeks. The morning of move-in, when we had to pack up the car and shove all my belongings into our spacious but small CRV, my parents informed me that I was packing too much. Between all my desk knick-knacks, my DVD collection, and my sister's graduation present to me, a beautifully majestic 5 foot giraffe stuffed animal who I named Claire. We took it all anyway, and I was to repack some of the winter clothes I needlessly brought and pick only a select few DVDs to hang onto.
We got there in one short hour at about 9:15. For one long hour, we had to snake our car through a million parking lots and streets behind a billion other packed-for-college cars. We watched old SNL videos on my dad's phone while we inched toward whatever we were all waiting to get to. We finally made it to the front of the line in front of one of the dorm buildings. You unload everything on the curb and people come and take it to your room, 'cause you put stickers on it saying what room it is. So, I was unpacking my stuff from the car. Claire was sitting on the sidewalk, and I had it in mind that I would be the one to carry her up, because I don't really trust random people, especially with my semi-fragile very precious and very pretty, new-looking giraffe. So, some random guy who was helping out came over really excitedly, shoved her under his arm and asked where he was taking her. It was mildly unsettling, but I told him the room and people started yelling at him in a friendly joking way, clearly his friends. He started to semi sprint off with her in a way too excited but innocent sort of way, like he was definitely taking her to my room, but living it up that he was carrying a giant giraffe stuffed animal.
I quickly grabbed stuff and caught up and said I was going to follow him to find where my room was. He kept jogging, and he'd raise Claire over his head like she was a trophy. And then, all down the hall to my room he was brushing her mane and introducing her to random people because I had told him her name. Looking back on it, it was pretty funny, actually. A little obnoxious, but funny.
I knew that two of my three roommates were moving in at 8:30. Getting there at 10:30, I assumed it would be a fairly easy, crowdless move-in. Nothing could have prepared me for what I walked into. Our surprisingly large dorm room was stuffed like a sardine can, a total of 14 people and three sets of everything from bed sheets and towels to giant printer boxes and trash bags full of clothes, this is not including myself, my two parents, and obviously all of my stuff. My dad pretty much stayed out of the way and once one of my roommates and her "entourage," as we came to call the six other people she brought with her, left for lunch, it was a pretty simple move-in. We had more room than I thought we would, so I was able to keep all my DVD's, but I did send back some winter clothes. I really don't need them.
My roommates are definitely on a different sleeping schedule than me; they stay up late, and sleep in as much as possible. I'm trying to get into the habit of waking up at 6 every morning. It's supposedly healthier to be on a regular sleeping patter, and I like having the whole day to do stuff with. Only after the third night did I find out my roommate was falling asleep with the TV on on purpose. She can apparently be paranoid and falling asleep with it on helps her. It was difficult to get used to, but I'm good now.We all get along pretty well. We don't have all the same interests, but we're all good about being considerate and polite and sharing our food and taking care of each other. They were all pretty homesick for a while, but they seem to be adjusting. There was also some major drama with boyfriends two of them left behind, but that seems to have blown over as well.
I was able to make at least one close friend, Fedora Man. I've also joined my schools CSF (Christian Student Fellowship). They all seem very nice and welcoming. I was able to go to a "coffee and scripture" meeting at starbucks which was awesome and also a movie party they hosted. It was super fun. As far as classes go, I have four twice a week, one on Monday/Wednesday and three on Tuesday/Thursday (we don't have class on Fridays). Three of those classes are sophomore classes because of the way my AP scores factored in and the fact that this school is known for teaching cooking, not arts and science.
Two of my classes are with a German teacher who reminds me of a combination of some teachers from high school. She's really nice and has an Accent! It's super awesome. She teaches public speaking and English Comp, which will be my favorite subjects. We're going to be friends, in a jedi/padawan way. Yes, I just made that reference. To justify that, I was just hanging out with my star wars geek friend from high school who goes to college nearby. Anyway, I'm also in a Food Service Management class with a chubby little professor who likes to talk about frying whole turkeys and chickens and pretty much any food. So far, the work we've done for that class is essentially ratios and percentages, which, coming from eat my brains out AP Calculus, is both relieving and boring. My last class is Nutrition. The teacher is nice and fairly bubbly. At some point we catalogue everything we eat in four days and interpret if we're eating right for our body type or something like that. I'm dreading that. I know I don't eat right, but life tastes better that way.
As far as campus living goes, it has it's pros and cons. It's been either really hot and sticky in our room or really rainy and wet outside, and sometimes both. Co-Ed floors and community showers that are as far away from our dorm as possible are not a good combination. I've walked through at least a dozen clouds of noxious cigarette smoke. I've tried to use all of my extra food swipes on apple juice and chocolate pudding, thus crowding our small fridge. I've been able to make friends with one of the RA's and convinced him to play DDR with me. I have played DDR a total of three times in the rec room. I've socially watched a total of 5 movies. I've found a catholic church for me to go to for at least this Sunday. Claire has met everyone in my building. I've explored the city with Fedora Man and Star Wars Geek. I was able to get really cheap new (to me) games for my PS2. I just put a letter in the mail to my best friend. It has a doodle war in it. Everything is going fairly well. I do really like this school.
Here is a picture of Claire with part of my desk and bed in the background. Isn't she pretty!? Also, the white on my comforter, it glows in the dark! Not with the tv on, it's too bright, but still. It's fun!
P.S. It's kinda scary here. All the people are like, public school people, not that that's a bad thing. It's just I've been in a catholic school for the past twelve years and the last four years I've been specifically with honors students. The people here go out and party. A lot of them smoke. They draw inappropriate things on our white board, and scream down the halls in the middle of the night. I'm not used to this crowd of people as much, but I'm adjusting pretty well.
So, Move-in was crazy, hectic, tiring, stressful, exciting. I had mountains of packed stuff sitting in my front hall for weeks. The morning of move-in, when we had to pack up the car and shove all my belongings into our spacious but small CRV, my parents informed me that I was packing too much. Between all my desk knick-knacks, my DVD collection, and my sister's graduation present to me, a beautifully majestic 5 foot giraffe stuffed animal who I named Claire. We took it all anyway, and I was to repack some of the winter clothes I needlessly brought and pick only a select few DVDs to hang onto.
We got there in one short hour at about 9:15. For one long hour, we had to snake our car through a million parking lots and streets behind a billion other packed-for-college cars. We watched old SNL videos on my dad's phone while we inched toward whatever we were all waiting to get to. We finally made it to the front of the line in front of one of the dorm buildings. You unload everything on the curb and people come and take it to your room, 'cause you put stickers on it saying what room it is. So, I was unpacking my stuff from the car. Claire was sitting on the sidewalk, and I had it in mind that I would be the one to carry her up, because I don't really trust random people, especially with my semi-fragile very precious and very pretty, new-looking giraffe. So, some random guy who was helping out came over really excitedly, shoved her under his arm and asked where he was taking her. It was mildly unsettling, but I told him the room and people started yelling at him in a friendly joking way, clearly his friends. He started to semi sprint off with her in a way too excited but innocent sort of way, like he was definitely taking her to my room, but living it up that he was carrying a giant giraffe stuffed animal.
I quickly grabbed stuff and caught up and said I was going to follow him to find where my room was. He kept jogging, and he'd raise Claire over his head like she was a trophy. And then, all down the hall to my room he was brushing her mane and introducing her to random people because I had told him her name. Looking back on it, it was pretty funny, actually. A little obnoxious, but funny.
I knew that two of my three roommates were moving in at 8:30. Getting there at 10:30, I assumed it would be a fairly easy, crowdless move-in. Nothing could have prepared me for what I walked into. Our surprisingly large dorm room was stuffed like a sardine can, a total of 14 people and three sets of everything from bed sheets and towels to giant printer boxes and trash bags full of clothes, this is not including myself, my two parents, and obviously all of my stuff. My dad pretty much stayed out of the way and once one of my roommates and her "entourage," as we came to call the six other people she brought with her, left for lunch, it was a pretty simple move-in. We had more room than I thought we would, so I was able to keep all my DVD's, but I did send back some winter clothes. I really don't need them.
My roommates are definitely on a different sleeping schedule than me; they stay up late, and sleep in as much as possible. I'm trying to get into the habit of waking up at 6 every morning. It's supposedly healthier to be on a regular sleeping patter, and I like having the whole day to do stuff with. Only after the third night did I find out my roommate was falling asleep with the TV on on purpose. She can apparently be paranoid and falling asleep with it on helps her. It was difficult to get used to, but I'm good now.We all get along pretty well. We don't have all the same interests, but we're all good about being considerate and polite and sharing our food and taking care of each other. They were all pretty homesick for a while, but they seem to be adjusting. There was also some major drama with boyfriends two of them left behind, but that seems to have blown over as well.
I was able to make at least one close friend, Fedora Man. I've also joined my schools CSF (Christian Student Fellowship). They all seem very nice and welcoming. I was able to go to a "coffee and scripture" meeting at starbucks which was awesome and also a movie party they hosted. It was super fun. As far as classes go, I have four twice a week, one on Monday/Wednesday and three on Tuesday/Thursday (we don't have class on Fridays). Three of those classes are sophomore classes because of the way my AP scores factored in and the fact that this school is known for teaching cooking, not arts and science.
Two of my classes are with a German teacher who reminds me of a combination of some teachers from high school. She's really nice and has an Accent! It's super awesome. She teaches public speaking and English Comp, which will be my favorite subjects. We're going to be friends, in a jedi/padawan way. Yes, I just made that reference. To justify that, I was just hanging out with my star wars geek friend from high school who goes to college nearby. Anyway, I'm also in a Food Service Management class with a chubby little professor who likes to talk about frying whole turkeys and chickens and pretty much any food. So far, the work we've done for that class is essentially ratios and percentages, which, coming from eat my brains out AP Calculus, is both relieving and boring. My last class is Nutrition. The teacher is nice and fairly bubbly. At some point we catalogue everything we eat in four days and interpret if we're eating right for our body type or something like that. I'm dreading that. I know I don't eat right, but life tastes better that way.
As far as campus living goes, it has it's pros and cons. It's been either really hot and sticky in our room or really rainy and wet outside, and sometimes both. Co-Ed floors and community showers that are as far away from our dorm as possible are not a good combination. I've walked through at least a dozen clouds of noxious cigarette smoke. I've tried to use all of my extra food swipes on apple juice and chocolate pudding, thus crowding our small fridge. I've been able to make friends with one of the RA's and convinced him to play DDR with me. I have played DDR a total of three times in the rec room. I've socially watched a total of 5 movies. I've found a catholic church for me to go to for at least this Sunday. Claire has met everyone in my building. I've explored the city with Fedora Man and Star Wars Geek. I was able to get really cheap new (to me) games for my PS2. I just put a letter in the mail to my best friend. It has a doodle war in it. Everything is going fairly well. I do really like this school.
Here is a picture of Claire with part of my desk and bed in the background. Isn't she pretty!? Also, the white on my comforter, it glows in the dark! Not with the tv on, it's too bright, but still. It's fun!
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Move-In to be posted on Wednesday
Heyo!
So, because move-in was crazy, hectic, soul-crushing, organizing, crowded, blarginess (and I have only had down time now at 9:40, and am exhausted), the blog post for move-in will be posted on wednesday as well as how my classes have been going since I start classes TUESDAY!! super-exciting!
So, because move-in was crazy, hectic, soul-crushing, organizing, crowded, blarginess (and I have only had down time now at 9:40, and am exhausted), the blog post for move-in will be posted on wednesday as well as how my classes have been going since I start classes TUESDAY!! super-exciting!
I'm Sorry Phish Food, but . . .
I have a new favorite flavor of ice cream. As mildly mentioned in one of my earliest posts about orientation, Phish Food is ... was.. my favorite flavor of ice cream. Needless to say, Ben and Jerry have and will always remain in my heart. They are true geniuses of flavor combination. The way they mix chocolate ice cream with marshmallow and caramel swirl and fudgy fish bites to represent the band I knew nothing about until this ice cream, and my current knowledge of them only holds that the ice cream gods have made a flavor after them, so they must be pretty awesome. That is why it is my pleasure to tell you the replacement and far superior new favorite flavor of ice cream is still a member of the Ben & Jerry's family pint.
It's called Bonnaro Buzz and is described as "Coffee & Malt Ice Creams with Toffee Chunks & a Whiskey Caramel Swirl." As also mildly mentioned, butter crunch, the nutty cousin of toffee, is my favorite candy. I've been in love with the dark, sultry flavor of coffee ever since I joined drama club my freshman year of high school. The the ice cream in itself tasted like tiramisu made the right way, my grandma's way, the way that all other tiramisu will be compared to only to fall short. Add the giant chunks of toffee and the entire spoonful crunches and melts and smoothes itself over your tongue in a divine flavor that can only be described as all the best of New Year's Eve dessert at my house and so much more. Get yourself to a supermarket and pick yourself up a pint and experience this new Ben & Jerry's flavor for yourself.
It's called Bonnaro Buzz and is described as "Coffee & Malt Ice Creams with Toffee Chunks & a Whiskey Caramel Swirl." As also mildly mentioned, butter crunch, the nutty cousin of toffee, is my favorite candy. I've been in love with the dark, sultry flavor of coffee ever since I joined drama club my freshman year of high school. The the ice cream in itself tasted like tiramisu made the right way, my grandma's way, the way that all other tiramisu will be compared to only to fall short. Add the giant chunks of toffee and the entire spoonful crunches and melts and smoothes itself over your tongue in a divine flavor that can only be described as all the best of New Year's Eve dessert at my house and so much more. Get yourself to a supermarket and pick yourself up a pint and experience this new Ben & Jerry's flavor for yourself.
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