It Be Hot.

Just needed a reminder of the cold.



Today was the hottest it's been in Rochester since 1993.

For real.

I'm all for breaking records. Heat is not one of those I wish to break.

My car showed temperatures I wish to never see again.

I was not pleased.



Especially considering my internship has no AC. And work required carrying heavy boxes outside.



So I came home and looked at pictures of snow.

Working all day tomorrow and Saturday for College & Careers. Outside, giving tours. Luckily it's supposed to be a "cool" 92 degrees. Melting might occur.

week with mom

Since last Wednesday Mom has been in upstate NY hanging out with me! Sarah had a volleyball camp over at Cornell so it made sense for her to just come hang out with me for a few days until that was over.

It was nice having my own personal coffee barista :)

And dinner preparer! (note: that beer isn't mine.. it is however a Rochester one with a label done at a local design place around here that won a big design award for it. very cool.)

We tested out some new Rochester restaurants.. like John's Tex Mex in South Wedge that had delicious tofu burrito bowls. Yum. And a funky restaurant.. too bad we had to wait for what seemed like forever to get our food.. I think our level of hunger led to us being even more impatient.

Checked out a free concert up at Park Point. An ACDC cover band.. totally not our scene. We decided that getting a few tattoos and a motorcycle might help us fit in a bit more. Still nice to sit outside for a while.

Ate dinner outside at Global Village in our own personal outdoor living room (there are sweet outdoor couches & no one else was around!)

(that's my roommate Kristin, she came along for some company)

And mom took lots of pictures, although I have yet to get those from her so all I have are these grainy ipod pics! Ooops.

Definitely nice to come home from work everyday and hang out. Mom might argue that going home will buy her a wee bit more room in bed because apparently I choose to only sleep directly in the middle of my bed here :) Whoops.

On to week number 3 at work... more updates on that later. And more pictures once I get those.

canal ride

Today we decided to one up our 7 mile bike ride around campus from yesterday. In all honesty, that ride was done as a let's just get out for a while and circle campus but it ended up being tons of fun!

So today we went back at it with a longer ride in mind (yeah jon, you can quit laughing now ;)). Our only faulty planning in this was we decided to go right around noon when it was blazing hot (90 degrees) and super sunny. Regardless we packed up Kristin's car and headed off.

It did require some strategic packing..

We ended up driving to Pittsford which is about 15 minutes away from campus. There is technically a path that goes to the canal that we could pick up right from RIT except I feel more comfortable around Pittsford and I really wanted to see some new parts of the canal without getting super exhausted first (just getting from RIT to Pittsford and back would have added about 15 miles to the ride).

Got our bikes all unloaded and ready to go (Kristin only questioned our sanity once during this...)

It ended up being really nice along the water with a breeze and everything. Made it a good 45 minutes before our first water break.

Kristin was less than pleased.

Our bikes also got a lovely coating of white all over them from the dust. The part we biked along was not paved so the gravel kicked up a lot. In short, we got a wee bit dirty.

And became somewhat discouraged when we saw that others were enjoying the view from the comfort of their large boat.. That was until we passed them with ease :)

Finally made it to Fairport which is about 7 miles from Pittsford. We got there just in time to watch the bridge go down after the boats passed.

And took a quick apple/water break.

And then apparently forgot to take more pictures... Oops! We were so hot by the time we made it back to Pittsford, it didn't help that the wind was working against us on the way back. Did run into Destler & his wife (he's the President of RIT) except they were on their electric bikes which kind of left us in the dust.

At this rate we're going to have to do a 28 mile ride tomorrow ;) Just judging from our energy levels after work last week that's not going to happen.

loaf of bread

Okay, I confess. We may or may not have consumed a loaf of bread.

But in our defense, it was two people and it's technically a 1/3rd of a loaf and it's lunch time. Except, really, I don't feel that bad because man that is tasty. And homemade!

I tested out the Stecca no-knead bread recipe from Jim Lahey's book. It's one that we've made somewhat frequently at home so I thought I'd try it myself.

Let's just say, this might become a frequent occurrence around here. So frequent, in fact, that I have a designated "flour rising" towel. Priorities.

Ingredients
3 cups bread flour
1/2 teaspoon table salt
3/4 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon instant or other active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups cool (55 to 65°F) water
Additional flour for dusting
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt

Directions
1. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, table salt, sugar, and yeast. Add the water and, using a wooden spoon or your hand, mix until you have a wet, sticky dough, about 30 seconds. Cover the bowl and let sit at room temperature until the surface is dotted with bubbles and the dough is more than doubled in size, 12 to 18 hours.

2. When the first rise is complete, generously dust a work surface with flour. Use a bowl scraper or rubber spatula to scrape the dough out of the bowl in one piece. Fold the dough over itself two or three times and gently shape it into a somewhat flattened ball. Brush the surface of the dough with some of the olive oil and sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon of the coarse salt (which will gradually dissolve on the surface).

3. Place a tea towel on your work surface and generously dust it with wheat bran, cornmeal, or flour. Gently place the dough on the towel, seam side down. If the dough is tacky, dust the top lightly with wheat bran, cornmeal, or flour. Fold the ends of the tea towel loosely over the dough to cover it and place in a warm, draft-free spot to rise for 1 to 2 hours. The dough is ready when it is almost doubled. If you gently poke it with your finger, it should hold the impression. If it springs back, let it rise for another 15 minutes.

4. Half an hour before the end of the second rise, preheat the oven to 500°F (260°C), with a rack in the center. Oil a 13-by-18-by-1-inch baking sheet.

5. Cut the dough into quarters. Gently stretch each piece evenly into a stick shape approximately the length of the pan. Place on the pan, leaving at least 1 inch between the loaves. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt.

6. Bake the baguettes for 15 to 25 minutes, until the crust is golden brown. Cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then use a spatula to transfer the stecca to a rack to cool thoroughly.

Note: The baguettes may become a bit soggy in just a few hours because of the salt on the surface. If that happens, reheat the loaves in a hot oven until crisp.

Variation
Stecca Pomodori, all’Olive, o al’Aglio (Stecca with Tomatoes, Olives, or Garlic)
Push 10 cherry tomato halves, cut side up, 10 large pitted olives, or 10 lightly crushed garlic cloves into each formed stecca, taking care to space the additions evenly down the length of the dough. Brush each stecca with enough olive oil to create a thin coat of oil on the surface. For the tomato stecca, top each tomato half with a very thin slice of garlic and a couple of fresh thyme leaves, and sprinkle with salt. Sprinkle the garlic stecca with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Do not salt the olive stecca—it’s already salty from the olives.

Summer in Rochester

Summertime in Rochester is arguably one of the greatest things ever. We spend so much time here during the awfully cold months that it makes you look twice when Wegmans is seen selling things like sunflowers, they just look out of place.

Adventuring is a mandatory task that sometimes leads to bouncy ball searching (we refrained from releasing them all).



And nerf gun (sword?) fighting in the aisles.

But best of all there is the Rochester Public Market. Which is open year round but Oct-March offers little outside of the usual onion/potato/apple/insert your root veggie name here. In spring & summer (which feel quite similar up north) there are flowers! And fruits! And lots of tasty things.

Of course, there is the obligatory coffee stop. How else do you expect me to wander around for 3 hours?

Free samples help too. Especially when the apple seller handed us an entire apple to try... Along with the bread samples, vegan mango pudding, farro with tomato pesto and honey. So pretty much you can consume lunch for free if you wander for long enough.

Not to mention bringing home bucket loads of food all for under $25, who needs Wegmans anymore ;) (See the rhubarb mom?)

Three hours at the market spent wandering does leave one rather exhausted which calls for a little outside relaxation and book reading. And potentially more apple samples.

every pretty smile

(via jwitwer)

The Summer of Cooking

As much as I enjoy cooking (and eating) good food, during the school year it's really not always an option. Tons of classes, homework and work time leave little room for cooking, not to mention I'm one person and can only eat one dish so many times before I get tired of it.

Enter summertime.

I've been fortunate enough to get to spend June at home in Maryland eating some good home cooking by my mom :)

With Dad's grill shenanigans thrown in..

And sometime from Sarah & her boyfriend, Sean.

And other times, I get in the baking mood and decide to make two kinds of granola bars & cookies all in one night. But at least there are plenty of people around to help eat them!

I tested out a recipe from my cousin, Erika for Peanut Butter Granola Bars. She had previously sent me a box of these during a really busy week at school. So tasty and much appreciated!

Peanut Butter Granola Bars

1 22-oz. box granola

1 cup nut pieces

3 cups crispy rice cereal or puffed brown rice

½ cup dried cherries or raisins

1 tsp. cinnamon, opt.

1 ½ cups peanut butter

1 to 1 ½ cups brown rice syrup

½ cup honey

In a large bowl mix dry ingredients. Mix together peanut butter, syrup and honey;

combine with dry ingredients. Press into greased 12 x 18” pan; put a piece of wax or

parchment paper over the bars and roll flat with a rolling pin. Refrigerate until firm.

Keeps best in the refrigerator. Yield: 2 dozen bars

I tried some Gingered Carrot Cake Cookies from BrownEyedBaker

Gingered Carrot Cake Cookies

Yield: 18 cookies

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Bake Time: 16 to 18 minutes

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
Pinch of grated nutmeg
¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup shredded carrots (about 3, peeled and trimmed)
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1 cup raisins
½ cup coarsely chopped pecans

1. Position oven racks in the upper-middle and lower-middle positions and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, ginger and nutmeg.

3. With a stand or hand mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy and smooth. Add the sugars and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes, then add the egg and beat for another minute. Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in the vanilla. Continuing on low speed, add the flour mixture in 2 or 3 batches and beat only until they just disappear into the mix. The dough will be very thick, but don’t overbeat to incorporate the flour. Using a rubber spatula, mix in the carrots, coconut, raisins and pecans.

4. Spoon about three heaping tablespoonfuls of dough (or use a large cookie scoop, which is what I did) onto the prepared baking sheets at a time, leaving about an inch of space between them. Using your fingers, every so slightly flatted the tops of the cookies.

5. Bake for 16 to 18 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point. The cookies should be light brown and only just firm on top. Carefully transfer the cookies to racks to cool to room temperature. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

And some Cherry & Chocolate Peanut Butter Granola Bars from Healthy Food for Living. Although apparently I forgot to document those. Oops.

This past weekend we made our way up to New Jersey (after a long 7 hour drive due to flash floods and tons of traffic-- should have taken 4 hours) to spend some time with family and celebrate Father's Day!

Of course, there is the mandatory elevator shots in Eric's fancy Jersey City apartment complex (which by the way, I have decided that I'm going to move into the laundry room of the place if the rest of my life doesn't work out.)

On Saturday morning after breakfast I hopped on the train and headed into NYC to visit Jon for the day. Apparently my picture taking skills have gone down the drain because I failed to document any portion of it. But we spent a good long while wandering through Central Park, eating tasty pizza, and sitting on fire escapes.

Sunday was spent back in Jersey, after picking Eric up, with lots of outdoor patio time.

Tomorrow morning early we're headed off to Wisconsin for Grandma's 80th (belated) birthday celebration. But first a pit stop in Chicago tomorrow night to see Remy (one of my roommates from RIT this past year). After Wisconsin I have a few days at home to pack up -- and steal more of Sarah's clothes ;) -- before headed back up to Rochester for the rest of the summer.