toy story cheese

life is rather busy.

class, homework, friends, meeting.. and repeat.

i met a cartoonist this past week, he was pretty goofy. i decided we could be best friends. he drew a cow on the board. and had a cartoon about steamed vegetables, what more could you want. google "leigh rubin".

can't believe next week is week NINE. that means 3 weeks left until thanksgiving break! got my flight booked and everything. wee bit of homework to do this weekend. if you define an 8 page paper & animation as a wee bit. cooking fun artsy meals has been put on the back burner for significantly less time consuming ones (ie. applesauce and veggie burgers) or that lentil soup that took me 2 whole weeks to finish. i need to remember the beets i'm store in the back of my car..

wegmans had toy story cheez-its on sale this week, it has made me quite a few friends.

fantastic. how are you?

legacy of letters

Legacy of Letters from Luca Barcellona on Vimeo.

discombobulation

flying from Rochester to Maryland on the last day of finals week, driving from Maryland to Wisconsin a day later for thanksgiving then flying out of Milwaukee to JFK the day after thanksgiving to Treviso, Italy for the first week of winter quarter.

if that was confusing, don't worry, i'm confused too.

so i guess the main point is.. i'm going to italy in a month!

anyway, i just got my computer back from the apple store after a few days last week and drove back from syracuse where i was for the weekend so i'm all jumbled. i'm in java's working on a paper but figuring out flights at the same time is rather distracting.

details from this weekend at a later time. when life slows down wee bit.

noah's ark

black swan

Aren't these fantastic?

An added bonus is that my very own cousin was in dance company scenes. Pretty awesome, right?

[link]

the united plates

[John Holcomb "The United Plates"]

brick city weekend

this weekend was fantabulous and went by oh so quickly. pictures are out of order so it's just like speeding through the weekend backwards.

went to pittsford twice. once for dinner at Aladdin's! very tasty Mediterranean food. then again on sunday for brunch (brunch that alison declared was the best thing she had ever eaten and made quite a few sound effects throughout the meal to inform us of this). walked a good ways along the canal, didn't see any locks, we'll have to go the other direction next time.

saturday was the hockey game. much excitement involved. a packed rink -- 10,556 people came all wearing orange.

the glass panel broke. delayed the game.

and then after being up 4-3 the other team tied with 1.3 seconds left. went into an OT & no one scored. first tied game i've ever been to.

other than that ate some graham crackers, walked around campus, got dibella's sandwiches and visited the public market on saturday morning.

and now it is monday of week seven...

i pushed snooze on my alarm for 30 minutes today.

letchworth state park

visited a craft fair down around letchworth state park this past sunday. kind of disappointing in terms of actual art that we saw there but nevertheless it was a gorgeous day and you can't really complain about walking around a state park in the fall.

the enormous line of cars made for good picture taking time.

there were thousands of people swarming the park which made an already 70 degree day even hotter.

there were fantastic old cars driving about and nice orange trees.

and an amazing view of the river going down between the cliffs. pretty huh? don't lean too close to the edge. i wish i had gotten a better angle but i wasn't about to jump the fence.

be careful please.

Dear Everyone I know and love,

Please be careful.

Avoid high rates of speed, drugs, alcohol, too much sugar, high cholesterol, large knives, anything bad for you, skunks, snakes, large animals or anything else potentially threatening to your well-being. Don't drink and drive. Or drink and walk. Or drink and talk for that matter. Unless it's milk and you're talking about the cookies you'd like to dip in it. Let's just all vow to not leave the house after 11 pm, deal? Nothing good happens then.

And see the speed limit signs? They are not just a decoration. Let's pay attention to those. No texting either. Or singing while driving or talking/typing/calling. In a bad mood? Don't drive. FOCUS people.

Love,

Me.

ps: this may or may not have been brought on by the fact that there have been 3 deaths at RIT within the past 2 weeks (4 within the last month). I do not enjoy receiving what seems to be weekly emails. while somethings could not have been avoided, others could. just praying for all of the families/friends that lost people :(

you mean i can eat cool whip for breakfast?

some mornings my usual bowl of oatmeal with raisins gets a little on the redundant side. i got all of the ingredients to make [this] except coming home from my second wegmans run of the weekend i realized i forgot cottage cheese. go figure, main ingredient.

so i improvised a bit. and yes, i did eat cool whip for breakfast. it was fantastic.

Ingredients:

1 small cup plain yogurt

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

2 spoonfuls of cool whip

cinnamon

apple cider spice (or nutmeg)

1/4 cup water

handfull of ice

optional: teddy grahams or graham crackers crushed on top

Instructions:

Blend everything. Enjoy.

i fully intend on having another one of these babies tomorrow morning for breakfast. quick, tasty and just right for fall!

butternut squash black bean eggrolls

rainy monday nights after 9 hours of class are not generally good candidates for intensive cooking.except i've had this recipe for a good long while and i finally located all of the ingredients.. so i gave it a shot. baked butternut squash black bean eggrolls. found the original recipe [here] but changed it to suit my needs.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 lbs peeled, diced butternut squash
2 tbsp canned diced green chilis (i threw in the whole darn can because what am i going to do with an extra tbsp of chilis?)
2 tsp cumin
dash of cayenne pepper
salt & pepper, to taste
1 cans black beans, drained and rinsed (recipe called for 2, i only used one can because that sounded excessive)
1/2 cup chopped cilantro (didn't have it, didn't miss it)
juice from 1 lime (i bought one of those fancy lime in a bottle things and squirted it out, no fresh juice around here)
1 package egg roll wrappers (i only had a pack of 15 and it worked out perfectly)

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the butternut squash and cook until tender, about 5-10 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for about 10 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic, green chilies, cumin, cayenne, salt and pepper, and cook for a few more minutes. Add the black beans, cilantro and lime juice and stir to combine evenly. Remove from heat.

Place the butternut squash and the onion mixture in a large bowl and mash to combine. These will be best if the mixture is left a little bit chunky.

To assemble the egg rolls, place a wrapper on your surface with one corner pointing down (diamond position). Place a some of the squash mixture onto the wrapper, and use a pastry brush dipped in water to wet the edges of the wrapper. Fold the bottom corner up, then fold the outside corners in, and roll it all up.

Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Put eggrolls on sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, turning halfway through. The recipe said something about water and cooking spray, i used none of that.

pretty tasty if you ask me and not a bad monday night dinner considering i now have leftovers for the rest of the week! good news.

the sometimes

sometimes when homework seems to be getting in the way of life, i like to go impromptu bridge wandering.

especially on fall days like today.

because sometimes balancing on tracks is more fun than reading for art history.

and getting scared because it sounds like a train is coming up right behind you (even though it was an airplane, mom) is more exhilarating than waiting for my homework to do itself-- that's how it works, right?

and sometimes pictures like this are worth it, even if just below that rickety wooden slab is a pretty large 10 foot drop into water...and you're using someone elses camera.

just sometimes.

Peanut Butter Tofu Protein Bars

I've been looking for a super high protein something that is portable because who doesn't like to eat breakfast while biking to class. I'm usually awake early enough but it's nice to have something to throw in my bag for a quick energy boost.

I recently found this peanut butter tofu protein bar and thought I'd give it a shot.

Ingredients:

1 cup oats (I used a cup and a half because I didn't have enough protein powder)

1 cup vanilla protein powder (I made mine with one of those individual packs and it worked fine)

1 tsp salt

16 oz firm tofu

1/4 honey

1/2 creamy or crunchy peanut butter

4 egg whites, beaten

1 tsp vanilla

stevia, to taste

Step one, gather all ingredients and take a picture.. or not.

Mix all of the dry ingredients in a bowl, set aside.

Put all wet ingredients into a blender or food processor. Blend.

Mix all ingredients together and dump in pan. At this point it kind of looks like cookie dough.

Bake at 325 for 25-30 minutes, mine took closer to 35 minutes.

Enjoy with a glass of milk -- more protein!

Highly recommended, I pretty much followed the recipe I found on Dashing Dishes with a few tweaks but I might have to try it again and experiment even more.

so i should probably tell you...

...that i'm a huge graphic design dork!

oh wait, you probably knew that. and i didn't really need to make you wait until friday for that brilliant observation.

but.... what you didn't know is that at this very second (unless, of course, you're reading this a million minutes after the fact) i'm meeting with my first official client!

okay so the story is more like i hunted them down kindly proposed needed a new logo. but regardless i was still overly excited. probably slightly more than i should be. it's a LOGO for goodness sakes. i'm going to be so sick of those darn things after a few million attempts but for now in all of their simplistic & conceptual glory, i'm in love.

a real logo that i can put in my portfolio (granted that it does not come out looking like clip art) and then perhaps i can get a real job. just exciting stuff, ya know? no cardboard box houses for me, thanks.

what makes me even more giddy and warm feeling inside is how much i'm enjoying the design classes right now. try to teach me sociology all you want but i'd rather whip out some concepts any day. who needs a balanced education anyway?

did i mention that it's a logo for a bakery? that sells cupcakes and other delicious things? and that it's vegan? PERFECT.

okay, carry on. you may resume your friday now.

baby carrots

NPR Story

pumpkin spice

sometimes wednesdays of midterm week require grabbing a pumpkin coffee & scone with a friend. good thinking.

one more class until the weekend! and what a busy weekend it will be.

look out for exciting news on friday morning! (i've never really made people wait for exciting news so we'll give this a try!) anxious now?

how about now?

Eggplant Parmesan & Zucchini Spaghetti

Last week Kara and I made some pretty tasty dinner (as I mentioned previously in a post) except I forgot to take a picture so here are the leftovers! Still not bad, right? Added some spinach on the side this time.

Zucchini Spaghetti might be my new favorite invention. Aside from mashed cauliflower, of course.

Ingredients:

• 2 eggplants, (about 2 pounds total)
• 3 egg whites
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1 cup fine dry breadcrumbs
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, (1 ounce), divided
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1/4 cup slivered fresh basil leaves
• 2 1/2 cups tomato sauce
• 3/4 cup grated part-skim mozzarella cheese, (3 ounces)
• 
  

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat two baking sheets and an 8-by-11 1/2-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Cut eggplants crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Whisk egg whites and water in a shallow dish until frothy. Combine breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup of the Parmesan, salt and pepper in another shallow dish. Dip the eggplant slices into the egg-white mixture, then coat with the breadcrumb mixture. (Discard any leftover breadcrumbs and egg white.) Arrange the eggplant slices in a single layer on the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 15 minutes, turn the eggplant slices over, and bake until crisp and golden, about 15 minutes longer.
3. Stir basil into tomato sauce. Spread about 1/2 cup of the sauce in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Arrange half of the eggplant slices over the sauce, overlapping slightly. Spoon 1 cup of the remaining sauce over the eggplant and sprinkle with half of the mozzarella cheese. Add a layer of the remaining eggplant slices and top with the remaining sauce, mozzarella and Parmesan. Bake, uncovered, until the sauce bubbles and the top is golden, 15 to 20 minutes.

From EatingWell

MINI Countryman

Mashed "Potatoes"

I've been wanting to try a cauliflower for the longest time, they've been on sale dead center staring back at me in the store for longer than I can remember. But they just appear so large and overwhelming and I'd rather not be eating cauliflower for the rest of October.

Finally I broke down and got one. It was HUGE. Seriously massive. I've been bringing it to class for a week (probably a good cup a day), plus eating it for dinner and some snacks all just raw. And I still had over half a cauliflower left! That baby multiples in the fridge.

I was kind of in the mood for something a wee bit warmer now that all of the leaves have dropped and at the market yesterday they were selling 20 lb bags of potatoes.. so my mind was on mashed potatoes. I thought to myself that cauliflower is white too so why not. Today, after getting one of my projects finished, I decided to experiment. I saw some recipes online involving caramelized onions, whipped cream, etc. none of which I had. So I went to work.

Ingredients:
1 Cauliflower (or half/three quarters, whatever)

water

1 tbsp butter

skim milk

salt/pepper to taste

basil leaves

Directions:

1. Cut cauliflower into florets and stick in a microwave safe container with water for 10-12 minutes. Stirring occasionally to avoid explosions.

2. Transfer cauliflower to a blender, add butter, skim milk (enough to not burn out your blender) and salt/pepper at this time.

3. Blend.

4. Add basil.

5. Eat and wish you had more cauliflower on hand.

I made the mistake this time of putting too much milk in but I anticipate making this again in the near future so that will be fixed.

blog revamp

i talked a while ago about trying to get into more food blogging.

number of factors:

1) i follow 58 bagillion other food blogs.

2) it seems intriguing.

3) maybe it will get me to eat more interesting things on a regular basis.

4) that's where i get most of my recipes ideas from

5) i don't cook of recipes often, just for things like temperature the rest i eyeball

6) i'd rather organize my blog than work on homework

i decided to set it up and give it a whirl. right now it's rough. really rough. as in there are only about 3 recipes in there so far. but hopefully overtime it will add up! so just be patient for now, i'm testing things out.

there is also the design page link right next to the recipes one. it is empty. i just thought 2 tabs looked awkward. why i think a link to no where fixed that problem.. i have no idea!

ignore them if you'd like, i'll let you know when it's something worth visiting.

perfect fall saturdays

goodness gracious farmers markets are fantastic. if only i could eat a bushel of tomatos.

woke up early this morning and kara & i got some coffee before heading downtown to the public market! finallyyy got some cortland apples! i've been waiting for weeks. also picked up some asian pears, mangos and a squash! yum

otherwise just a great morning to go wandering around. absolutely love fall.

now i get to spend the rest of the day working on some design projects and enjoying the apples :)