#1 Yeast

I'd consider myself a baker. A really good baker too. I bake cookies, cakes, etc. But for some reason I've always shied away from any recipe that called for yeast. I must have had a traumatic experience where it didn't work for me or something. I probably just used bad yeast.

Last night I had the fortune of spending an evening with Sophistimom. I kind of came when she wasn't expecting me and she was in the throws of testing recipes for her new cookbook. One of her recipes was lemon pull-a-part bread. And the recipe required yeast. So I partook of her culinary wisdom. And I accomplished my first goal of baking bread from scratch. And having it work.

She taught me a few things about yeast:

1. She prefers to use instant yeast (which is smaller)
2. You don't need to proof instant yeast
3. But if you do, the water needs to be warmer than you think.
4. You can keep it in the freezer

I wish I had a picture of the final product, but my phone died and that was my only camera. Basically, after the dough rose, we rolled it out, cut it into squares, sprinkled sugar and lemon zest all over it, stacked the squares and placed them in a bread pan. We let the dough rise a bit again and then popped it in the oven. When it came out, we iced it and then ate the deliciousness that it was.

So now I'm not so afraid of yeast. I'm excited to make more bread (Monica! I'm ready!) and make this recipe again. But I'll need Jaime to give me the modified version. We changed it a bit.

While the dough was rising, Jaime taught me how to make miso soup. We happened to have an egg white that we didn't use for the bread so we threw it in there and made egg drop miso. It was delicious, although Jaime said she has made better. I can't wait to try it myself. Miso soup on a cold day is one of the most comforting things you can do for yourself.

Goal #16: Hungry

So vegan week was interesting. The first day was easy but I was hungry for most of it. I made a lot of green smoothies, lentil soup and rice. As delicious as those spring rolls were (pictured above) they weren't filling. And I really wanted the ones with crab. Snacking was the hard part. Everything has milk and cheese, but these are the things that saved me:

Most protein bars are vegan friendly turns out. Well, as long as you’re not weird about honey. I’m not. I also was loose with food items that were processed in a facility that also processed milk. I don’t have an allergy for heavens sake.

So breakfast was easy: cereal, oatmeal or I’d pop a cliff bar. Lunch was harder. The second and third day, my lentil soup sounded absolutely disgusting. So the second day I Googled “fast food vegan” and found this great site that listed a bunch of chain restaurants and what on their menu was vegan. So I went to Noodles & Co. and got the Indonesian noodles. They were good but so spicy that I was crying by the time I was done.

On Tuesday I was hungry for most of it. This is when I started making lists in my head about what I was going to eat at the end of the week: eggs, cheese, donuts...mostly things with eggs and cheese. Meat wasn’t an issue. Oh, and Jon wins for most thoughtful for bringing me cashews on Valentines Day figuring I’d be hungry. And I was.

Wednesday is when things started to go downhill a bit. I went to a retirement party at 11 AM (right before lunch) and there were chocolate eclairs. I was STARVING and there were only eight of us there and everyone was eating one so I did. I couldn’t help it. Didn’t feel too bad though. I thought “OK, I’ll just tack a day on to my vegan week to make up for this”. For lunch I went home and made this delicious stir fry (again, thank you Jon for the cashews).





But then I had a meeting that night at Thanksgiving Point where there was delicious catering. There were breadsticks, artichoke dip and giant chocolate cookies. I figured since the day was shot I might as well indulge.

Thursday was fine, Friday was fine. But then Saturday I was at Harmons to get some rice (for my tofu fried rice that I had for lunch today) and there were cheese samples. I hadn’t eaten since my mini cliff bar at 1 PM. That’s when I decided there is no reason to be vegan if you don’t have to be. And I don’t have to be. So I had 3 samples of cheese. And they were delicious.

And then today I cracked an egg into my fried rice and I didn’t care. And then I popped a kit kat that was in the lovely bowl of chocolate my mom gave me for Valentines Day that was just sitting there waiting for me.

So I’d say goal 16 was a success.

#12: Framing

Framing artwork is sometimes more expensive than the artwork itself. Which is why I've put it off for so long. I finally framed three pieces that have been needing frames. Well, one has been needing a frame for a few years, one has been sitting in an ugly frame for even longer, and the third just hung on the wall without a frame.

This is a print by Stefanie Dykes. I didn't want to pay to get it "framed" so I bought an IKEA frame. Kinda cheap I know, but my credit card is tired. Also, I'm not sure where I want to hang it so for now it's going to rest on this table next to my keys and the lovely vase my sister in law Kelly got me for Christmas. You know what else is going to look cute in this room? Goal #32. Coming soon...

I bought this Shawn Rossiter several years ago at the Zions Bank landscape show. The frame was hideous. He knew that. Last November I sent him a picture message telling him he was going to reframe it for me. He balked at the ugliness of the frame (he confessed it was a yard sale find) and agreed. I finally took it to Tanner Frames around the new year. Travis Tanner is a great framer. Go there. Sorry I don't have a before picture. Believe me. This looks TONS better.

This is a mixed media piece by Anthony Siciliano. I bought it at Art Access's 300 Plates Fundraiser. They've been doing it forever and this past year was my first time going. I think it was around April. Anyway, I went mostly because my darling Aunt Suzi and cousin Liz came with me. I think they each got something too. In my old house I just had it hanging without a frame, but I took it in with the Rossiter piece and got it framed for $50. It looks way better -- nice and finished. I recommend getting your plates framed.

All right. Two goals down. Not bad, not bad.

#30: Mahalo

Usually when I think of a goal, I think of a lot of time, preparation and effort on my part. But lucky for me, my dad made visiting a new state this year easy for me.

For the past few years my dad has surprised my sister and me with an all-expense paid trip -- usually 4-5 days. The trip is one of his business trips. Last year it was Houston, the year before it was Chicago, but this year it was Waikiki! I've NEVER been to Hawaii before so I was really excited. We didn't have a lot of anticipation time this year, as the location is revealed on Christmas morning. So we had two weeks to get stoked for Hawaii.

Of course we had a fabulous time. Didn't get to do everything we wanted, but as Dad says...gotta leave something for next time.

Found a Reason to Blog

Hello blog, I've neglected you. But I have a plan to keep you alive. Read on.

It is my birthday. Again. They seem to come more frequently these days. Sometimes years go by and I've wondered what have I done this past year to improve myself or progress? I decided to do something different to commemorate my 34th year so I have resolved to accomplish 34 goals in 2012. That's 2.8 goals a month, which means that will be 2.8 blog posts a month because I will blog about each goal I accomplish. I've been thinking of goals for a couple weeks now and this is what I've come up with. It's kind of convenient with my birthday and the new year so close together. I can't think of a 34th goal, but decided I could keep that open for the time being for either one of you few readers to suggest one for me or for me to fill in as I go along. 

Here are my goals. If you can/want to help me with any of them, it would be greatly appreciated :)

1      Bake a loaf of bread from scratch
2      Make someone’s day
3      Read all the books people have loaned me
4      Compost
5      Make a quilt
6      Publish an article
7      Memorize a piano piece
8      Take some photographs that I actually want to print and put on my wall
9      Make a get-well package for a sick friend
10    Visit the DUP Museum up by the Capitol
11    Sew shades for my windows
12    Get all my unframed artwork framed
13    Ride a bike to work
14    File Away EVERYTHING
15    Call a friend I haven’t talked to for over a year just to say hi.
16    Eat vegan for one week   
17    Look presentable for work every day for a week (skirt and makeup)
18    Mail a letter to Grandma Durham
19    Send a thank you note/email for every gift/meal someone buys/gives me
20    Make a book of my blog from the beginning
21    Take all my nieces and nephew on a special outing for each of their birthdays
22    Prepare for Sunday School as if I were the one teaching the lesson (just once)
23    Keep an indoor plant for longer than a month
24    Implement a pilot program at work and see it through to success
25    Buy season tickets to something
26    Take some friends to San Diego
27    Learn to swim proper laps
28    Organize a Durham cousin getaway -- we’ve been talking about it for awhile.
29    Play the piano at Canyon Creek for Grandma
30    Visit a state I’ve never been to
31    Try a personal shopper
32    Complete an awesome DIY project.
33    Arrange for someone to give me a tour of the Leonardo and the Natural History Museum
34    ?

So stay tuned for January. I'll post about the first 2-3 goals I complete!

A Fresh Coat of Paint Can Make Even a Lazy Person Look Organized

You know how there are some people that like to keep everything? Magazines, bills, programs, postcards, wedding invitations, etc...well, I like to throw things away. I do. I love it. In fact I love throwing things away just as much as I love keeping them. Let me explain:

I like to simplify. Unfortunately, on more than one occasion this has gotten me in trouble. I might have thrown away important documents or even documents of interest that I’ve looked for later and couldn’t find. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t just throw things away willy nilly. I’ll keep them for awhile, but after awhile longer, they hit the trash bin.

The great purge usually occurs after I’ve let things build up in piles, or I’ve thrown it in drawers, set them on shelves, or (and this is really bad) hid them from myself by slipping them between books on my bookshelves. I know. It’s a wonder I can find anything sometimes. Maybe this is why I like to rearrange my room so much. By taking everything off shelves and putting them back on, I’m bound to find something I was looking for last year. But then it’s usually too late to need so I throw it away. Or put it back on the shelf.

A few months ago I had a stroke of insight as to why I let things build up in piles, lose them or simply can’t see them amidst the chaos. It’s because I hate filing. I do, I hate it. I hate it at work, I hate it at home. I have a file box at home, but even my file box isn’t that organized -- I’m not sure if I went to one of my files I’d find what I was looking for, which is ironic because I am a very clean and organized person. I am a big proponent of mis en place -- I don’t like messes, I don’t like piles sitting on tables or counters -- which is why I like to throw things away. So now, what we have is a vicious cycle I submit myself to. Filing isn’t fun. BUT I found a way to make it fun: Get a filing cabinet and make it cute. That’s how simple I am. If I have something darling to organize stuff in, I’m MUCH more likely to put it in there.

Did you know that filing cabinets are way expensive? Especially for the nice ones that are weighted correctly and have doors that open well? Well, they are. I went to IKEA a few times, Crate and Barrell, Office Max...it wasn’t looking good. So I went to Craigslist. SCORE! I got a $200 file cabinet for $35.

So now I can file away warranties, bills, brochures, programs, postcards, birthday cards, wedding invitations, talks I've given and lessons I've taught, and all those other things I sometimes wish I had but throw away because they clutter up my space.

This was my Saturday project. The cabinet was actually in pretty good shape (I kind of wish it looked more trashy so I could have a more dramatic before and after picture) but I wanted to paint it anyway. My vision started out much more high concept than it turned out. The idea was to paint a gradient, with the strongest saturated color at the bottom and then as the drawers went up, the colors would get lighter so it resembled a series of paint chips or Pantone colors. But, alas, the stores available to me did not have that many options when it came to colors. So I just chose a color palette I liked and went with it. What do you think? Right now I just have white primer on the outside, should I paint it another color or keep it white?

Bonus Point for whomever can identify the Post Title's Reference :)

Melt Down

What does it mean if you have a dream that someone pointed their finger at you or gestured with their arm or something and caused you to fall down a hole -- the sensation was that of falling down a hole, but really you were kind of melting like the Wicked Witch of the West and just couldn't get up?

That was my dream last night. I was at a buffet table. It was something casual, something outside. There was a guy with me who could tell this other blonde guy was making me uncomfortable. The blonde guy kept inching closer towards me weaving around me as I tried to mind my own business and make my way down the buffet table. He didn't say anything, he just creeped me out. And the more uncomfortable I got, the closer he got. The guy I was with tried to stay close to me (didn't try hard enough if you ask me) but the creepy guy finally looked at me, waved his arm and cast me to the ground. It was a horrifying feeling.

I was trying to figure out what caused this dream. I did have a distressing thing happen to me before I went to bed and that was the realization that I am going to be poor. I should have seen this coming when I accepted a government job years ago, but I don't want to be poor. I have been reveling in relatively low rent for some time and enjoying having money at my disposal. I've been lucky. But recently I decided it was time for me to buy a house. I was feeling good about it for awhile. My friend who just bought a house told me about all her ups and downs during the process and how she went through a grieving period. You grieve the cushy savings you're about to hand over as a down payment. You grieve the disposable income you're going to soon be spending on a mortgage...

So I hit that point last night when I opened up my mint.com account and began itemizing the mindless expenses I didn't itemize before: yoga classes, haircuts, I forgot all about auto insurance... I started to freak out and was afraid maybe I couldn't afford a house after all. I saw all my money going down a hole and never coming back. It was scary. It was wicked witch of the west scary.

Look how cute these melting witch drinks are though: