Coping with Cooking

Waiting is grating on my nerves and I just can't stand studying. I wake up now wishing I had already taken the exam. The restless energy needs something to do besides working out and dancing so I've been cooking more than usual. Baking is so easy since all one really needs are eggs, butter, flour, sometimes milk and vanilla extract and a few other handy ingredients.

Tuesday
1. Whole wheat penne with canned tomato sauce cooked with ground chicken, onion, marinated shrimp, portabello mushrooms, fresh basil (from my plant!), a bit of dried oregano, mushroom powder, and white wine (cubes frozen from old wine). I just put in whatever sounded good to me and it turned out wonderfully; even the roommate concurred.

2. Vanilla custard in 4 custard cups from Deborah Madison's cookbook.

Today

1. Nigella Lawson's corn bread


















2. Chocolate chip cookies from cookie dough I froze from a batch I made last week.



















It was so easy to make the two because the corn bread recipe was very simple and since the oven was already at 400 degrees for the cornbread, I just turned it 25 degrees lower to bake the cookies. Total baking time was about half an hour, and I made it to hip hop class on time.

Tomorrow's planned dinner
Crustless quiche with eggs, milk, ground chicken, portobello mushrooms, spinach, and parmesean cheese

I don't have anymore flour, or else I would bake a crust. I don't want to buy a pre-made one because I've had them before and they just don't do it for me.

Chocolate Therapy

Bar classes are sort of a drag because they're 4 hours a day. They give us two 10 minute breaks, but it's still a long information cram session. It's the first weekend after bar classes started, but I have lots of homework. We're only doing torts right now and I'm already scared of not passing the bar because I'm only getting 50% of the practice questions right. We're supposed to aim for 70% to pass. The questions are tricky and I really do feel like the examiners are trying to lay sneaky traps on us and they're clever, unlike the simple tricks on the SATs. I did practice multiple choice questions today and outlined 2 essays like we were assigned and about 5-6 hours later, I was so drained that I had to call someone after not having human contact for half a day. Luckily, I was able to get a hold of Kitty de Medici who placated my fears and talked to me about fun non-Bar or law school related things.

I couldn't do anymore studying. What to do? Make a new dessert!

Chocolate Mousse with Crystallized Ginger. Mmmmm It was so easy too except for when I tried to squeeze cream out of the carton and it splattered all over me and the counter. Only 3 ingredients for this mousse: semi-sweet chocolate chips chopped up with food processor, chopped up crystallized ginger, and heavy cream. I had a small taste of the end product because I had been licking the beaters and spatulas throughout the process- can't let all the good stuff go to waste! Homemade mousse is delicious. I think it's as good as what I can buy at The Nugget.

Other than cooking and working out, my other escape from bar review has been, unfortunately, online shopping. It's Memorial Day weekend so the big sales are starting and when I'm stressed, I can't help but browse and if I'm really vulnerable from studying, I click the "place order" button. This week I already bought items from Victoria's Secret and Urban Outfitters. MUST...STOP...BUYING!

Crane's First Performance

A fellow crane and I at this year's first "The Lord of the Cranes" performance at an elementary school. Why the anonymous faces? I like to have a secret identity. Our costumes are pretty neat with the winged gloves. I really like dancing with them since they add a nice visual effect onstage. The kids were a good audience and applauded after our dance even though it was in the middle of a scene. While I was rehearsing I was bitching inside about how this was a little sad; a bunch of old adults who aren't professionals, performing for free. (Well this one is for free, but the ones next week aren't, and a lot of other performances are discounted.) Anyway, the long rehearsals were getting me down, but the first performance really lifted me up. Having an audience makes a difference and everybody was a bit more on. The principal came backstage later to shake hands and thank everyone. She was sincerely grateful and said that many of these kids don't get to see live performances since they are from low income families. So even though I had to wake up at 7am to perform at 9:30, I thought it was worth it, unlike when I have to wake up for Immigration which I missed 3 days in a row now.



That same night I broiled myself 1/2 lb. of salmon doused in lemon juice, olive oil, sherry, mashed garlic, salt & pepper, capers and dried basil. I sauteed some spinach for some veggies.
I only finished 1/2 of the salmon though since it was a big piece.

She-Hulk Moment of the Day: I was doing weighed lunges with my back foot propped up on a stepper to put more weight on the front leg and make the exercise more difficult. I'd gone up that day to 22.5 lb dumbbells so I was taking it nice and easy. I left after two sets to grab water and came back.

My dumbbells were gone!

I was annoyed. I couldn't find them on the racks. I became upset. VERY UPSET. I was GREEN WITH RAGE. Wasn't it obvious that someone was using the weights? People don't just leave big dumbbells near the cardio machines and next to a stepper. Determined to find the culprit, I scoured the gym twice scowlingly walking to find the person, most likely a male since most females do not carry around that kind of weight. I was so mad that my routine was interrupted I had to do some curls to get it out. I returned to the racks and found the 22.5s put back. So I finished my set, but was disappointed that I didn' get to call someone out on their bad gym etiquette.

• Well, no big workout today since I just flew home. I did walk on the beach with my parents though, and later we went out to eat. Usually we go out for Vietnamese or Chinese/Vietnamese. If my brother is home, maybe sushi. But I was thinking Korean. Problem was my mom had never eaten Korean and I wasn't sure if the idea would fly. Somehow, I brought it up during our walk and she said a lot of her friends like it and had told her about this one place on Brookhurst and Dale. Super. We had dinner at Tofu Village. I had beef soondibud, she had blue fin crab soondibud, and my dad ordered egg and tofu pancakes. The restaurant called the tofu soup "SoonTofu," but I think that is an americanization of the word since I'd never heard my Korean friends say it like that before.

• They gave each of us complimentary steamed egg in a bamboo cup. Delicious! Then all the random small plates. My mom, having never eaten a place like this before, asked the waitress "what does this go with?" since none of the main dishes had been served yet. The waitress looked confused so I told her my mom had never eaten Korean before. hehe. The pancakes came out first and they were excellent. Then the soups with green rice. The rice was really nice with delicate tea flavor. The last time I had soondibud was with my sister when I was home last month, and I had stuffed myself then. Tonight was no different. I just can't let myself let the good broth go to waste even if I could take it home. My mom was really happy and my dad liked everything too. I think they will go back to try the cold noodles. My dad told us about this one excellent Korean BBQ on the same street that was always full of Vietnamese people, so maybe we can visit that restaurant later. Yumyumyum in my tumtumtum.

• I seem to turn into a little kid when I'm home by myself with my parents. Today on the walk, I was galloping and skipping and just doing goofy moves. I dunno if it would be the same if my brother and sister were there too. Something about being home on my last spring break.