Lemon Heaven

  • April 9, 2003
  • Categorized: Sweet   Tagged:

lemons.jpgThere is something wrong with the world
Very, very wrong, I think
When there is real lemon in my furniture polish
And artificial lemon in my drink.
~Rex Knowles

One of our local grocery stores had GREAT lemons this week!! It’s so exciting (and surprising) to find quality produce in the middle of winter in New York state!! I’ve been hearing a lot about Meyer Lemons lately too–apparently they’re a cross between an orange and a lemon, so one of their many superior traits is that they’re sweeter than regular commercial lemons. Inspired by the unblemished and sprightly skins, I stocked up on these puppies and made some scrumpscious lemonade this weekend.   

Fresh Lemonade (Blend until smooth)
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup-3/4 cup sugar
1 cup crushed ice
4 cups water

Because I had some generic brand frozen lemonade in the freezer that I needed to use up, I made an alternative lemonade by preparing the frozen lemonade according to the directions on the can (i.e. add water and stir), but used 3/4 cup less water. Then I squeezed the juice from two lemons into this prepared lemonade, sliced one lemon and threw those in for color and texture. DELISH! It was just the right amout of tartness and sweetness.  In addition to providing gustatorial pleasures, lemons have natural medicinal purposes to boot!

Make the most out of your lemons!

 

Chocolate and Whipped Cream

  • April 5, 2003
  • Categorized: Binghamton   Tagged:

whip.jpgThis was a rough week: the first week I actually had real schoolwork to do every single day! Plus, I took the entrance exam for the Culinary School that I’m desperately hoping to get into. So, I got to study 8th grade math all week too, which was really a nice change since I haven’t done math since senior year of high school!

(Want a taste? Here’s a SIMPLIFIED problem for you: The cost of food sold at the Seascape Inn amounted to $347,991. The food sales totaled $1,853,234. What is the food cost percent of the Seascape? The real catch is that you’re NOT ALLOWED TO USE A CALCULATOR)

To celebrate the end of all this hectic stressfulness (and because we like to have fun as much as possible), Caitlin L. held a potluck dinner last night. She made pork tenderloin soaked in a vinegar marinade for two days–yummo! We also had corn, rice, two different kinds of chicken, and wine. Then for dessert Jen made a tasty fruit shortcake and I made a buttermilk chocolate cake with chocolate sour cream frosting. The cake was an experiment that I don’t recommend anyone try, so I won’t post the recipe. But the frosting was good!

In the process of doling out the whipped cream for these tasty treats, a whipped cream war ensued; then Luis got out the chocolate syrup. Oh boy. Can we say HUGE MESS? I think we can. By the end of the whole thing just about everyone was COVERED from head to foot in whipped cream and chocolate. And then Caitlin K. decided it would be hilarious to incorporate the entire dessert onto our bodies so she started throwing cake crumbs. Faces were the main targets, so you can just imagine the fun we all had washing our hair last night. AIEE! It was great fun!

Jen and co. are going to have better pictures on their sites soon–these are just a few to give you an idea of the situation. 😉
Joe is coming to visit today!

Winter: Still Here

IT SNOWED TODAY!! HELLOW?!?! IT’S PRACTICALLY APRIL! I THOUGHT WE WERE DONE WITH THAT FREEZING PRECIPITATION ALREADY!!

Time to put away the flip flops I guess. There’s so much going on in the world right now, the dumb weather doesn’t even matter that much. Just a bit frustrating, you know? What’s the weather like where you are?

Here are pictures from this past weekend (March 27-29, 2003): Night of Love and Karaoke at Chi Chi’s. Fun times!

Small, pointed pleasures

  • March 27, 2003
  • Categorized: Savory - Sweet   Tagged:

dimsum.jpgHave you ever seen or tried any of the neat mini-dishes that some Chinese restaurants serve? Well, here’s some trivia for you; these little dishes, which are favored by the Cantonese, are collectively known as dim sum (loose translation: “dot the heart” or “tickle the heart”). Dim sum are little snacks usually associated with yam cha, the Chinese ritual of tea taking. Yam cha is a tradition in which business men or families gather for a long, leisurely morning of tea sipping, dim sum nibbling and warm conversation. This usually occurs very early in the morning (read: even as early as 5AM), and is most popular in Guangdong and Hong Kong.

Looking to enjoy some small, pointed pleasures yourself? There are hundreds of them! Dim sum are usually steamed, deep fried, or boiled and are mostly savory. They are wrapped in all sorts of different leaves–
lotus leaves, banana leaves… If you’ve got a sweet tooth like I do, there are a few sugary dim sum available: water chesnut cake, coconut snowwballs and thousand-layer sweet cake with egg topping. (If you’re really ambitious, you can make your own sweet dim sum by following this recipe courtesy of a chef in Honolulu. President and Mrs. George Bush enjoyed these exact dim sum during one of their visits to Hawaii!). China is also home to a large variety of delicious teas: black tea, green tea, oolong tea, chrysanthamum tea, pu’er tea, etc. Green tea is especially good for digestion and may even help you live longer! When going out to try some of these tasty breakfast treats, keep in mind some of these important courtesies and tactful behaviors to follow when dining in a traditional Dim Sum restaurant.

Purple Teeth

npv.jpg
Back from the West Coast (definitely deserves capitaliztion). Gosh, that was the best vacation I’ve EVER been on in my ENTIRE life. I think I’m finally old enough to Appreciate vacations now (—>therefore, I should take them more often, right?). SOOO much to share with you about that trip–I’m getting all of our pictures together and will feature Complete And Official Documentation Of Spring Break In The Napa Valley on a visually stimulating website like none you’ve ever seen!!

Until then, you should check out the recently updated Photo Gallery, please. Of special interest is the new mini-page: Thrift Store Extravaganza. Speaking of quality secondhand establishments, Dad just told me about the Salvation Army in Bath, NY. Recently renovated, this S&A Boutique is new and improved with more square footage to house the color-coordinated racks of radiant retro-wear! Apparently I’m going to need to hire an entire camera crew for that excursion: should be a good time!! 😀

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