on why i will never be a food blogger.

This morning early afternoon I was making muffins. Delicious orange juice/oatmeal/blueberry muffins. Because some nights I think to myself, "It sounds really nice to get up tomorrow, go to a coffee shop, relax, and enjoy a baked good and an Americano." But then I think, "I should just make baked goods myself and enjoy them hot and fresh with a good cup of coffee."

Funny thing about coffee shops here (not so funny): There are a TON of coffee shops. Most with really delicious coffee! Which is great because I moved from a town where I could buy coffee at like three places, one of which was a dedicated coffee shop and, I thought, had terrible coffee. Espresso drinks? Pretty good. But awful, burnt-tasting brewed coffee. Which is ok because I rarely ever get brewed coffee if I am buying a cup; I can usually be found buying an Americano. This, however, is the result of my experiences with the aforementioned (and now out of business) coffee shop's coffee. Anyway. A TON of coffee shops here, most with good coffee, but they ALL seem to have ALL the same baked goods. Which is disappointing because there is no variety and it tells me none of them are baking their own and the choices aren't all that fresh. There really aren't any that I get excited about, which I guess is probably a good thing.

So I was making muffins. I thought, "I could blog these muffins." But to me that meant I would have to get out my camera and photograph the process. Quickly, I felt the calm feeling I had from knowing I was about to make muffins slipping away. Cooking/baking is my hobby. It is almost nearly my only hobby. I didn't check the official hobby guidelines, but I'm guessing watching 16 and Pregnant isn't a real hobby. Cooking/baking is my release and relaxation. (Except for sometimes like last week when it was Brian's birthday and I was making Knepp and pretty much had two meltdowns: 1. when I couldn't find the Crisco; and 2. when I was positive I was screwing up the dough part of the Knepp and would never be able to do it.) I find that photographing the process breaks my rhythm and my relaxation. Sometimes I want to do it and like it, but most often I don't. And it seems that visually documenting the process is an important part of being a food blogger. Without it, you're pretty much just posting recipes. Come to think of it, my lack of taking pictures in general could very well be my blogging downfall.

boller.

After missing the last two months because of conflicts, we made it back to Cooking Club last week. On the menu: Boller (Norwegian cardamom rolls). We learned that these rolls are a common Norway staple: plain, which can be used to make sandwiches; with a custard baked into it; as cinnamon rolls (no frosting). They are very similar to other rolls except that they have cardamom in them. The cardamom provides a unique and interesting taste that I liked, but I don't know that I would make them very often or even again, especially an entire batch. I did really like the custard baked into them and would be interested in trying that with one of my roll recipes.

Boller with custard, in the flesh (in the dough?). Not the best picture ever: These are probably not even ones that we made...all the rolls everyone made were baked together, and these are day-old because I was lazy about photographing them that night, and they had been squished up in tin foil all night. But I hear people like photos on blogs, so here you go.

I really like going to Cooking Club because most of the people there are super nice, and it's a neat way to get to know people a little bit. We basically know no one who lives near us (although, the Cooking Club folks actually do not live near us). There were some very humorous happenings at this meeting, but this public space is not the space for retelling.

a birthday first

Having a May birthday and growing up in Kansas, you don't expect snow for your birthday, but that is what Brian got this year for his 30th. Crazy times. I expected it to be gone by the time I woke up in the morning, but it was still there and snowed a bit more during the day too. This cold weather is making me wimp out on picking up my bike from the shop. Even today at 40*, it doesn't sound like much fun. I am afraid we will miss out on spring all together this year because it is still pretty consistently cold and then we will go to KS, where I am sure June will not feel like spring.
Photo credit goes to Brian

research, end of the semester, guilty pleasures

The Friday before last, my wonderful research partner and I presented our research at a poster presentation (not one we had to submit a proposal for, simply one put on by our class that the public was invited to). Here we are.

I was nervous about the poster presentation mostly because our department faculty were all invited, and they know way more about (A) the topic; and (B) researching. Also, our professor informed us that they would ask us really hard questions, especially about the validity of our study. Even though a lot of people came (and it was really hot and loud in that room!), I don't remember getting any really tough questions. Whew. I was pretty glad when it was finished.

That poster (plus an accompanying proposal) was one of two big semester projects. Those wrapped up last week. They are already graded and both were successes. I had my first final exam last Saturday afternoon, one this afternoon, and I have my last one Thursday morning. I already have my grade from my first final -- crazy! That was the class I cared the most about, so I am pleased to know that I did well.

But certainly a procrastinator such as myself hasn't been all work and no play?! Why, of course not! My most recent legitimate source of entertainment has been Dexter. My friends lent the first three seasons to me. I wasn't sure it was for me at first, but I got hooked after watching the second episode. BUT. That kicked off some really bad habits. Habits of watching episode after episode and staying up until 2am. Yikes. So a couple of weeks ago, I promised myself not to start the third season until AT LEAST my projects were finished and possibly finals were done. Now, I did watch one episode last week -- after projects -- but that was only because the internet was down and I couldn't watch ***guilty pleasure alert! admitting it is the first step!*** 16 and Pregnant. Oh man. What am I doing? For some reason one evening I flipped through channels and stopped on the season finale that recaps the stories and gives updates on all the girls and babies. Then, just out of curiosity, I checked mtv.com to see if the episodes were available. They are. I watched one and got hooked. So it has been my guilty pleasure. And since the episodes are not connected to each other and don't leave cliffhangers, I can stop at just one.

Speaking of...